Our Altar Represents Our Life - Some Observations on Placement

(You can now subscribe to chantforhappiness.com 

by putting your email in the box to the right)

Yesterday's post on altars had some interesting responses. 

One reader emailed that her altar was in her basement - could that be the reason her life was so dark? Interesting, right? 

I can relay to you my personal experiences and observations from 30 years of enshrining and re-enshrining altars - both mine and fellow members. As always, I write from my heart, not as an official SGI representative. 

I can state very clearly that EVERY TIME I have improved my altar, either by moving it, clearing it, dusting it, and lighting it better, there has been a positive impact in my life. 

I have visited people and made suggestions about placement, and they have reported positive consequences that come out of changing locations. 

Here are a few: 

When I first started chanting I was in a tiny apartment in San Francisco. It was essentially a studio with glass doors between the "bedroom" and the living room. The ONLY place for my Gohonzon was in the bedroom. It was here I chanted for a home to raise my children, start my life, and host incredible Buddhist meetings. We moved to a beautiful home on a hill overlooking all of San Francisco and I placed my altar right in the middle of the main wall of the living room. Our lives were very happy there! I had both my children while living in my kosen-rufu home before I decided to move back to the Chicago area to be with my Mom who needed my help. The Gohonzon "my life" was at the center of my life!

When I first moved to the apartment I'm in now, I placed my altar closer to the window and the television at the center of the room. That did not last long! I quickly realized I needed to switch the two and it made a difference in my mood, my spirits, and my environment. 

I had a member whose Gohonzon was very dark, and in a corner. You could barely see it. I suggested a light like the kind I use (from Home Depot) and she was able to quickly make a major life change she'd been chanting about for years. 

I visited a young woman whose altar was on her dresser in front of a window. It felt unprotected and exposed. She was struggling with direction in her life. We moved the dresser against the wall so the butsudan would be more protected. She enrolled in college and is on her way to being a teacher. 

Just think about it. If your altar represents your life, because the Gohonzon IS the mirror for your life...where would the perfect place be for it? Where would you like your brilliant and sparkling life to be? And wouldn't you want it to be lit up! 

If you don't like where it is - chant about it! Make a determination! 

Share your stories with me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com! 

Sparkling Altar = Sparkling Life!

(You can now subscribe to this blog by putting your email in the box to the right)

As Nichiren Buddhists, we chant at the altars in our homes. They consist of a box holding the scroll we focus on when we chant, along with a table with fruit, a bell, and various other things. We do  not all have to have the same set-up. Some prefer incense; others don't. Most have either real or fake candles. Some have plants. Today's post isn't about what we put on our altar; it's about how we treat it and where we have it. 

Our altars represent our lives. The better we take care of our altars, the better our environment treats us. It's simply cause and effect. 

Just think about it. Our altar is the place we go to connect with our own lives, our Buddha nature. If it's dusty, or cluttered, our life is dusty and cluttered. I have often found that the fastest way to have immediate change is to change something about my altar. 

At one time, my butsudan (box that holds the Gohonzon, or scroll) was inside a bookcase. I felt stuck in my life at the time. I wanted to break through. Kate suggested I change my altar set up. The minute I moved the box out of the bookcase and affixed it securely onto the wall my life moved forward in a positive direction. I felt free. 

Lately, my house has gotten crowded with mementos, pictures, photo albums, and all kinds of things that came into my house last month. I thought "I need a change!" 

So I looked at my altar, moved the huge fruit basket and was shocked to discover there was fruit residue all over the wood table and a dead peach in the pile of fruit. Awesome opportunity for change! I brought out my wood polish and shined it up, and took the huge fruit bowl away and replaced it with a small bowl of new fruit. 

And I decided to remove one of the plants so there was more space - more open space on my altar table. I moved this plant to another place, looked at my shiny wooden table and thought: "THIS is going to cause a change in my living space and in my life!" Whenever we clear our space we make room for more good to come into our lives. 

That night I woke up in the middle of the night (as I often do) and started straightening everything up in my apartment. It just felt easy. I sorted, I moved things and my space feels much more open. Much better! 

Every change we make to our altar makes a difference. 

The more secure we have our altar, the more secure our life. Is your butsudan safely away from a window? Is it bolted to a wall or does it tip easily? Think of it as your life. How do you want it? Secure...or easily tipped? 

You might want to take a fresh look at your altar space right now. Is it in the center of your house? Is YOUR LIFE in the center of YOUR LIFE? Is it in a dark corner? How is it lit? I have a bright light so I can see my life (my Gohonzon). 

Do you have fresh fruit? Take a new look!

And if you change something and see it's effect send me a note at chantforhappiness@gmail.com! 

Happiness

Happiness doesn’t exist 

on the far side of distant mountains. 

It is within you, yourself.

Not you, however, sitting in idle passivity.

It is to be found in the vibrant dynamism 

of your own life as you struggle to challenge and overcome

one obstacle after another, 

as you clamber up a perilous ridge

in pursuit of that which lies beyond.  

-Daisaku Ikeda

10 Secrets for Beginning to Chant - Please share with friends!

(You can now subscribe to this blog by putting your email in the box to the right)

Whether you are new to chanting, or revitalizing your practice - this post is for you. You can use the points you like, and share the others with someone brand new to chanting. 

It is true that: 
By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo you can transform all of your sufferings into benefits, and crystallize every desire into a blooming flower in our lives. You can become happier than you ever imagined...happier, more resourceful and more couraBygeous in taking action. 

AND, you will make a difference in the lives of all you touch.  

We can change anything through chanting because we tap into our inner realm of unlimited possibility when we chant. You are a Buddha of infinite potential. 

When we chant the Mystic law we see changes in our life - whether we believe they will happen or not. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo means "I fuse my life with the mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration" or, as some say "I tune my life to the rhythm of all life." Saying these words is a great cause that breaks through all suffering and creates a life of happiness. It works! 

"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a Lion." What sickness could therefore be an obstacle? 
Nichiren Daishonin 

10 Secrets for Beginning to Chant
By Jamie Lee Silver from Chantforhappiness.com

1. Make a Promise to YOURSELF. Decide to try this practice, to really do it, for at least 100 days. You can start small, by chanting 5 minutes a day in the morning and in the evening, and really DO it! Part of this decision involves finding your local Soka Gakkai meeting (see the link to the right. There are meetings everywhere. Call the center closest to you and they will help you connect. Check out the SGI-USA website, there are resources for beginners that are really helpful! 

2. Make a list of what you really want in life. Take a fresh look at your desires and write them down.  Dream big. What do you really want? What do you want for yourself? What do you want for others? What do you want for the world? Make a list. Write it down and put the date on it. 

Many people began chanting with desires that later transformed into other desires. So don't worry about whether your desires are "right" desires to have. Chanting is progressive, both you and your desires will evolve. I know people who began a very rewarding practice chanting for things that were important at the time, but later changed into other desires. 

One of my friends chanted for a month to prove to his wife that this practice doesn't work. Well, he found out it DID work and more than 40 years later he is still practicing. In Nichiren Buddhism your desires ARE enlightenment. It is okay to desire whatever you desire, whether it's money, the happiness of someone else, a relationship, a job, or peace of mind and contentment. With continued practice you will see that your dreams for yourself actually become tied to the dreams of happiness for all. 

Chant for what is really in your heart. 

3. This is a great time to start a Journal.  It's not essential, but I think it's a great idea. Writing in a journal helps you become aware of your progress and benefits.

4. Revitalize your altar if you have one. Make it clean, shiny, uncluttered and make sure there's fresh fruit on it! 

If you are new to chanting: 
Choose a place to chant comfortably. Find your "home" with your home, where you can feel comfortable chanting out loud, having a dialogue with your life itself.  Sit comfortably. (Did I say this enough times?! ~ I like to be comfortable!)

5. If you are creating your sacred space choose a focus point on the wall. Some people start by facing a blank wall; I chanted to a moon in a picture. Choose a focal point slightly above eye level. 

6. You may wish to have a small table nearby for tea or your journal. 

7. Write the words Nam Myoho Renge Kyo 
on a piece of paper. 

The words are pronounced as follows: 

Nam ~    Nahm, rhymes with Mom, 
Myoho ~ meeyohoh,  
Renge ~  rain gay, 
Kyo ~     kee oh. 
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. 
Nahm Meeyohoh Rain Gay Kee Oh
(Phonetic spelling) 

8. Begin to chant. Hold your hands with the palms facing in and touching each other in front of your heart. And say Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over and over and over again with your eyes OPEN looking at the wall. 

9. At first, you will probably only be able to concentrate on the words themselves, and that's fine.  Once you've got the chant down you can think about what you want and chant at the same time. 

10. Join fellow practitioners as soon as you can. The SGI Portal to the right will help you locate a center near you, and you can call that center to connect to your local meeting house. 

Chant twice a day every day. Get in rhythm! Establishing a twice a day rhythm to your chanting is important. It gets the wheels of your life moving. 

Keep your goals in mind and you’ll remember your reasons for chanting! 

These words and this vibration go deep into the heart of your life itself. They summon forth your highest wisdom, vitality and sense of purpose. They also uproot the karma that is making you suffer, and give you the opportunity to change this karma forever. 

When you chant you are entering into a dialogue with your life itself. You are not chanting to any god or asking for favors. Instead, you are connecting with the rhythm of the universe itself. 

As Nichiren Daishonin says in the famous writing (Gosho) "On Attaining Buddhahood" :

"If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must perceive the mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings. This truth is Myoho-renge-kyo. Chanting Myoho-renge-kyo will therefore enable you to grasp the mystic truth innate in all life...It is called the mystic truth because it explains the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena. 
"Life at each moment encompasses the body and mind and the self and environment of all sentient beings in the ten worlds, as well as all insentient beings in the three thousand realms, including plants, sky and earth, and even the most minute particles of dust. Life at each moment permeates the universe and is revealed in all phenomena. One awakened to this principle himself embodies this relationship. However, even though you chant and believe in Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the mystic law but some inferior teaching."
From Lectures on Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime by Daisaku Ikeda, 2007  

Enjoy Your Life!

Activity is another name for happiness. Give free, unfettered play to your unique talents, live with the full radiance of your being. This is what it means to be truly alive.
Daisaku Ikeda, Ikedaquotes.org

Today I am going out on a boat on Lake Michigan all day with some new friends. Last night I went to the New Philharmonic's performance at the Lakeside Pavilion at the College of DuPage. 

Summer in Chicago - fleeting, but lovely. I hope you enjoy this day! 

PowerPrayer to Vanquish a Recurring Regret

(These are the clouds above me as I sit to write on my patio at 6:00 am this morning)

(You can now subscribe to this blog by putting your email in the box to the right)

Happiness doesn’t exist 

on the far side of distant mountains. 

It is within you, yourself. 

Not you, however, sitting in idle passivity. 

It is to be found 

in the vibrant dynamism of your own life 

as you struggle to challenge and overcome 

one obstacle after another, 

as you clamber up a perilous ridge 

in pursuit of that which lies beyond. 

Daisaku Ikeda

Yes! 

As I've been observing and swimming in this process of feeling and experiencing grief, and gathering the insight and tools to keep moving up the mountain Daisaku Ikeda describes above, I have realized something.

The thoughts of "I wish I had ___________. Or I wish I hadn't_____________." Or "If only I had___________."

are the ones that torment me the most. These are the thoughts that sometimes wake me up at night, or "attack" me at odd times. And they cause great suffering. 

And yesterday, when I went to my study meeting I realized those thoughts of regret are just fundamental darkness. 

Fundamental darkness tries to trip us up in our practice...It can appear as these thoughts of regret, these thoughts that make us think we are not the Buddhas that we are. These thoughts can be insidious and defeat us, OR once recognized and challenged, they can serve to strengthen our faith, and strengthen the protective forces of the universe. 

And we all know that once we recognize fundamental darkness for what it is - THEN we have the power to face and challenge it!

So, I am going to challenge this fundamental darkness, (the regret that surfaces and attacks me), the same way I challenged and overcame depression. I am going to shout it out of my life while I am chanting. You may remember when I was challenging depression I chanted "I don't CARE how many times you come back to me depression. I recognize you for what you are. I will win over you. I will root you from my life. I will root this depression out of my life NOW...no matter how many times you return!" And I did totally root that depression from my life. 

It will be the same with the fundamental darkness of this regret. We can win over it, and we can help others to do the same. 

Do you have a thought that resurfaces and causes you to suffer? You are the Buddha, the great Buddha! You can challenge that thought too, and move on to scale the next mountain.  

The next time that thought arises, or even before it arises, challenge it in front of the Gohonzon. 

PowerPrayer to 

Vanquish a Recurring Regret

PowerPrayers are meant to be read before chanting to fuel our determination! 
By Jamie Lee Silver of chantforhappiness.com

"Hello regret!

Hello thought and emotion! 

I know you for what you are, 

fundamental darkness meant to discourage me. 

NOT THIS TIME! 

NOT TODAY! 

I see you for what you are and I replace you with thoughts that make me happy, not sad. 

I replace you with appreciation. 

I am rising in my Buddha power 

as I chant these words. 

I now root out the pain of this thought forever, 

I AM WINNING

Right Now! 

And I will be stronger than ever. 

Right now, 

As I am chanting, my life is getting stronger. 

I am recognizing this devilish function 

and I am winning over it. 

Pain of this thought ~ Be Gone! 

Also, I have to tell you how much I am appreciating your letters. You can write me at Jamie Lee Silver 17W702 Butterfield #104, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 

PowerPrayer for Your Loved One's Glorious Rebirth

(You can now subscribe to this blog by putting your email in the box to the right)

PowerPrayer for Glorious Rebirth.

I know many of you are also grieving. You are writing me to tell me that my words are calming your hearts, and helping you to heal from sorrow of yesterday and beyond. If my words are helping, I owe it all to the power of Ben's LIFE...for I feel that life going on. I feel his eternal life.

In Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, where we chant the name of the Mystic Law in all of Life (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo - meaning "I fuse my life with the Mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration) we believe that life is eternal and death is a time for gearing up and resting for the next life. 

I have heard from readers who tell me Ben (my sweet son who recently began his next journey to prepare for his next life) is communicating to them, or somehow inspiring them. I love hearing these stories. Write me at chantforhappiness!gmail.com anytime. 

Ben's girlfriend says he runs with her 
and inspires her to keep going.

Friends who have never chanted 
are now chanting with me for Ben's life.

His life is going on.

Yesterday a neighbor came and brought me over $800 that she had raised for Ben's memorial bench we want to put in Whitlock park (in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA) by going door-to-door to tell our neighbors about Ben. 

In June of 2016 we are hosting Ben's Memorial Mile and all are invited. We will have fast and slow races of many lengths (not all a full mile), races for kids, races for Moms and maybe even a race for people and their pets. It will bring the community together again. You can like Ben's Memorial Mile on Facebook for updates.

Today I reached a new level of chanting for him. Previously I tried, I did the best I could. But after Sunday, when Danny told me Ben will be reborn soon I feel more urgency. If Ben is to be reborn soon I need to chant in earnest!

And as I was chanting I wrote this PowerPrayer to share with you ~ with love. 
You can read it before chanting to focus while you chant. 

PowerPrayer for Glorious Rebirth 
By Jamie Lee Silver of Chantfrohappiness.com
(please share by sending a link to this blog) 

Life!
As I am chanting I am changing_______'s karma
My daimoku is clearing ________'s negative karma
He/she will never experience ________________________________again! 
They will have THIS instead_______________________________.
My daimoku is changing their karma right now! 
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! 
This daimoku I am chanting right now 
is for _______'s glorious rebirth
He/she will be born in a harmonious and loving home 
with a Gohonzon!
And he/she will have all his/her 
great talents of this lifetime, 
leaving all the negatives behind.

________ will be able to use all his/her talents joyfully 
right from the beginning of his/her life
And find appreciation for him/her EVERYWHERE
The universe will support him/her in every way!
__________ will burst forth 
into a glorious new life of appreciation, 
love, fulfilment and joy!

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo