thank you * Thank You * THANK YOU!

I'm sending the sunshine in my heart 

to your heart. 

As of right now, chantforhappiness.com has reached 21,000 readers for the month of May. 

Thank you for being my companions, spreading the great practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and helping people connect with the heart of our mentor and the noble SGI. 

Thank you for taking action every day to create a world of kosen-rufu like Daisaku Ikeda describes in the post below. 

Thank you for your courage in confronting your fundamental darkness and roaring it away so the sun inside your life will shine. 

And most of all, thank you for your emails and your connection with me. I cherish all of your friendships and hope to travel and meet you all. Some of your emails have come at precisely the right time! 

Please continue to send your victories, your comments, your questions and messages to chantforhappiness@gmail.com.

Sending love ~ * Jamie *

The Twenty-First Century ~ The Century of Life

Lenticular clouds over Mt. Hood 

on Tuesday of this week.

In Conversations with Youth, Daisaku Ikeda writes of his hopes for this century. On Page 375 he addresses us all:

"This is your time. 

The future is in your hands. 

I hope you will make the twenty-first century wonderful. 

Please make it a century 

in which the life of each individual is cherished 

and respected to the utmost.

A Century 

without discrimination, 

without bullying, 

war 

or murder. 

A Century in which 

no child cries from hunger, 

in which no mothers or children 

take their own lives in despair. 

A Century without environmental destruction.

A Century free of academic elitism, greed and materialism. 

A Century in which 

human rights are upheld as the most precious of treasures. 

A Century of true democracy, 

in which people hold corrupt political leaders to account.

A Century in which 

the people exercise sound judgement 

and pay no heed to misinformation spread in the media. 

I hope you will make it a Century in which each of your precious dreams comes true and your unique individuality blossoms to the fullest. 

To realize these goals, 

it is vital that each of you achieve victory, 

that each of you 

grow into people of philosophy and compassion, 

into people who possess both real ability 

and the sincerity to understand others' hearts. 

Your victory will be the victory of the twenty-first century. 

You are our only hope. 

Quote from Daisaku Ikeda

ROAR! Be Fearless and Bold in the Face of Your Obstacles

You and I are very similar. I am not a better Buddha than you. My prayers are not any more powerful. We are all Buddhas. I started this blog to use my life as an example for you - that anything is possible, so I use every moment to expand my capacity and show more and more actual proof. I know you are doing the same in your own sphere of influence, because that is one of the keys to becoming absolutely happy. We don't become happy just for ourselves, because absolute happiness just for ourselves isn't possible. We strive for the happiness of all beings, those we love and those we don't love. We are all interconnected. That is why this Buddhism is so powerful. We are all rising together in happiness, and you and me, we are Buddhas leading the way. 

You know I am writing the book 
The Buddha Zone, 
Power Prayers for Chanting Your Way to Absolute Happiness. 
This book is my life's dream - this book and the ones that will follow. I think the first book is the biggest challenge, don't you think? This is the book that forces me to believe in the power of my own life. This book is making the impossible possible in my life. I see you holding this book in your hands and saying "YES! I can't wait to share this passage with my mother, and friends, and fellow members." I imagine you saying "Now I really want to read more of President Ikeda's and Nichiren Daishonin's Writings, and I want to attend SGI meetings and really get involved. I am going to dig into this practice and change my karma once and for all. I KNOW I can do it!" 

That really is the point. If I can change my own karma, and stand up to my fundamental darkness and feelings of "Who am I to do this?" ~ you can accomplish anything too. 

So what do I do in the face of obstacles? I do the same thing you do. I study SGI publications. I encourage members. I chant. Here are some of the gems I've gleaned from my study lately. Check it out. 

At last night's meeting I pulled out an exam study guide for us to discuss and envision kosen-rufu. (I am really interested in hearing your thoughts on what you believe kosen-rufu looks like.) And this morning I want to share a passage with you. 

The following passage is from the 2011 Essentials of Nichiren Buddhism Exam, from President Ikeda's lecture on Nichiren Daishonin's Gosho "The Three Kinds of Treasure" page 32. 
It was written to Shijo Kingo. I call him the "everyman" of feudal Japan. He was a staunch follower of the Daishonin, a samurai who worked for a man called Lord Ema. In feudal Japan in the 1200s your lord was very powerful in your life. He was your source of income, your source of where you lived and could easily ruin everything for you. Lord Ema tried to get Shijo Kingo to give up his practice of Buddhism, and threatened to take away his lands if he didn't. Nichiren Daishonin instructed Shijo Kingo very carefully in many aspects of his life. He told him to be careful on the roads because fellow samurai were out to get him, he told him to be modest and keep his hot temper under control, he even told him "when you drink sake stay at home with your wife," and, of course, he told him to never stop chanting no matter what obstacles arose. Eventually Lord Ema fell sick, and Shijo Kingo was the powerful healer who cured him. Shijo Kingo achieved total victory in his life through this practice. We can learn from every one of the Gosho written to him. He is so much like us...working in the world...having obstacles arise, and continuing to chant no matter what. 

On page 32 Daisaku Ikeda states: 

"Another piece of advice Nichiren gave Shijo Kingo was to not be fawning or servile. Servility is tantamount to destroying one's own dignity or self-esteem. Even worse, behaving in a cowardly or servile manner toward devilish functions will prevent one's Buddhahood from shining forth.

"We must firmly stand up to devilish functions that bring misery to people. When confronted by people of dignity and integrity, devilish functions will always make a fast retreat. This is just like foxes fleeing when they hear the roar of the lion king, or like darkness vanishing the instant the sun comes out. 

"Let us live with unshakable confidence and pride, and without the least servility. The Daishonin repeatedly teaches his followers that is where the true brilliance of human dignity is found."

I just love the imagery in this piece. I love the thought of me, the Lion King, looking at the forest filled with all my obstacles...all my devilish functions that appear as people telling me I can't accomplish my dreams, or my own doubt and negative voice arising in my head, and opening my mouth and ROARING Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~ and seeing my doubts and fears high-tailing it into the forest once again. I know they will be back, but I will roar again, and roar again and roar again! THAT is the beauty of this practice. ROAR with all the power in your soul and don't confuse obstacles for the truth. Be fueled, not fooled! 

Request for Your Experiences of Victory

Hi Readers! 
Please send me your pictures and experiences of Victory in faith. I can publish them with or without your pictures and identifying you. When you share your victory you make a great cause! Pelase include quotes and guidance that encouraged you. Send them to chantforhappiness@gmail.com

Become a Person of Unlimited Self Esteem

….How to become Men/Women of Unlimited Self Esteem….
By Danny Nagashima, SGI General Director (USA)

You can analyze your situation all you want. You have to get to the root of why “I don’t believe in the greatness of my life”. You have to grab it by the roots and yank it out of your life. The answer is probably so simple, but we tend to over-analyze, it gets complicated and the solution seems far away. Your mission as a Buddhist is to become happy – not to master suffering. We have the negative and positive sides of us – one says, “who are you kidding”, the other, “you can do it”. You have to fight to not to give in to your negativity. This is not about being a writer, an artist, an actor, etc. It is about becoming the man or woman that you always wanted to become, a man or woman who really values his/her life.

The obstacles you face are the answer to your prayer.

Those feelings of self-doubt, those feelings that “I am a failure” – those are the feelings that you have to face and to address. How you feel about yourself, that feeling of self-loathing, of not being good enough, of being a sham. Those are the feelings you have to face. Your talent is not being questioned; it is about how you feel about yourself. That is the karma. You have to value your own life, to appreciate that it has nothing to do with anybody else validating you. Follow your heart; follow your Buddhahood and the effect from that, the benefit from that will be massive.

You need to follow your heart, truly treasure your life. When Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the Gohonzon, he was already chanting daimoku out of the greatness of his life, his Buddhahood, his enlightened state; he inscribed the Gohonzon for all humanity so that everyone could relieve his or her suffering. When you sit in front of the Gohonzon and chant, you have to have the most reverence for your life, the same as the Daishonin’s; therefore your life deserves that kind of reverence.

If you chant for two weeks to really be a person of unlimited self-esteem and to really, truly appreciate your life including your flaws, your accomplishments, your defeats and your losses, your victories, all that you have created and to truly appreciate your talent as XYZ for two weeks, everything will change.

Forget about the past garbage. Put it away. That will only make you feel impotent. From today on, really chant about being that man/woman of unlimited self-esteem. Really appreciate everything about your life; all the things that make you incredibly unique and wonderful. All your sufferings, problems, heartaches, will be the stuff you need, in order to share your experience, to encourage and to inspire others. Focus on really, truly awakening to your greatness. This is the opportunity (sufferings, obstacles, lack of self-esteem) you needed to go through in order to become outrageously successful – so you can fulfill your dream. If you focus on this – really valuing your life now, then everything will fall into place in a much bigger way. This is something no one can give you; the universe is showing you what you need to tackle. When you first chant this way, a lot of garbage may come out of your life, a lot of negativity, awful feelings may surface. We always bring into our lives what matches our life condition. So chant to feel incredible joy about your worth and you will feel and know self worth and greatness.

You not being able to do whatever you determine is a manifestation deep down of your feeling of fear, that you are not good enough, that you do not have it in you. You must get yourself to a place where there is the greatness of your life, then everything will be transformed. We have to believe in our Buddhahood. When we face the Gohonzon, we should say, “I am going to praise my wonderful life”. It is important to awaken to your own greatness. Your life is the Gohonzon. Now is the time for you to start over.

When you pray to a deity, your prayer becomes passive. Our voice is the Mystic Law. This law is not outside of you. When you get a benefit, it was you who created it. You must awaken to your greatness, appreciate and value your own life. It is no different to the enlightened life of Nichiren Daishonin, embodied in the Gohonzon.

Just as a beautiful piece of art elicits a response, or a great book touches your life in a certain way, we must elicit the Buddha nature from our own lives. It is right here, and the Gohonzon is the perfect vehicle to bring out that strength, joy and vibrant life condition; then you take that to the world and change the environment. 

We are not necessarily chanting for the house, the car, the job, the relationship, but we are chanting to elevate our life condition to attract that happiness. The results that we see in our lives are a reflection of our life condition. 

Every day as you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo consciously call forth your Buddhahood to manifest itself consistently. 

Chant to rise above your basic tendency of disbelief, or continually thinking that you are a common mortal who does not deserve good fortune in this life. Do not negate your life when you sit in front of the Gohonzon. Do not beg. Do not scream. Do not berate the Gohonzon. Believe in the greatness of your life; manifest the extraordinary side of you. The Gohonzon is the tool we need to bring out our Buddhahood. "My life is the Gohonzon." Do not slander your life. The doubt is necessary to prove to myself that “I am a Buddha. I will fulfill every one of my dreams for myself”.

We already possess something incredible – our Buddha nature, the Gohonzon. But we do not believe that the good fortune, the “million dollars” is truly mine. I will not be able to get it, or to enjoy it. Trust that the Gohonzon, your prayer, is the absolute means for you to transform your life. Trust and faith are the key words.

Chant with the expectation that every one of your wildest dreams will be fulfilled beyond your wildest imagination. Chant to believe in your Buddhahood. Trust in the greatness of your life. 

In “On Attaining Buddhahood”, Nichiren Daishonin made a primary point: to free ourselves from the suffering of birth and death which we have endured in lifetime after lifetime, and to attain absolute happiness, we need to awaken to the mystic truth that has always been within our lives. That truth is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. That truth is “I am a Buddha”. Trust that you have everything you need for your happiness.

TEN POINTS TO BECOME A PERSON OF UNLIMITED SELF-ESTEEM

1. Chant to become a person of unlimited self-esteem
2. Chant to awaken to your own greatness
3. Chant to appreciate your life, including flaws, accomplishments, defeats, losses, and victories and truly appreciate all that makes you a unique and wonderful person
4. Chant to make the impossible possible
5. Chant to consistently manifest your Buddha nature and rise above your basic tendencies and overcome your inherent negativities in your life
6. Believe that you are a Buddha and create all the benefits for yourself
7. Believe you are the Gohonzon
8. Trust that in the Gohonzon, (your life itself) you have the means to fulfill each and every desire to become extraordinarily happy
9. Chant to display your Buddhahood and to bring forth that strength, joy, vibrant life condition
10. And then take it to the world and change the environment.

Friendship from Daisaku Ikeda