And those of you who know about this practice know about "renge" the simultaneity of cause and effect." Once you make the cause...the effect is already there. Chant for your Happiness, and you may not see it today...you might not see it tomorrow morning but you WILL see it.
This was a big week for me. I was a little under the weather when I got back from New York...then suddenly I felt a lot better and wrote my book proposal for 8 solid hours. I submitted it to my editor and she said this needs a lot of work!! I have to change tenses and begin again in a new format...but I am undaunted. I am not giving up.
I keep thinking about all those people who will one day be standing in their local Barnes and Noble and say "What is this?" And they will pick up the Book: Chant Your Way to Happiness, 30 days to a Brand New You! and they will think "Hmmmmm maybe I should at least give it a try...what would thirty days hurt?
And I think back to my days at the Bay Guardian Newspaper...where my name was in the paper every week...and I would get those calls saying "Is this the same Jamie Lee Silver who told me about Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo?" When I responded affirmatively they'd say "Oh my goodness let me tell you how my life has changed for the better since you told me about this practice"...then I'd listen with tears running down my cheeks thinking "I helped someone change their life, their karma, the lives of their children." And I know it's not ME. Not ME who changed their lives. They are the ones who had the courage to chant.
"A sword will be useless in the hands of a coward." says the Gosho.
But I TOLD them about it...I planted the seed!
I see this book being passed from person to person. "You've GOT to read this! Just try it!"
I see Gakkai members buying it en masse for their friends.
I know the time is now.
How fast can I finish it?
How fast can I get the book proposal out, while taking on new responsibilities at the job that pays my rent? Are there other ways I can earn additional money?...all these questions are in my mind.
But when I sit down in front of the Gohonzon to chant for an hour in the morning my prayer is the deep prayer I have chanted for so many years...it is the prayer YOU say every day when you do gongyo because it is in the part of the Lotus Sutra that we recite each day. It says:
"At all times I think to myself:
How can I cause living beings
to gain entry into the unsurpassed way
and quickly acquire the body of a buddha?"
In other words: use my life to help others become HAPPY!!!!
This is my mission in life. I HAVE the secret to end suffering and create happiness in my life. I discovered this secret so that I could help others. This is my mission...my joy...and my honor!
Now I have to help more and more and more and more people!
When I sit down and chant I think about YOU! How can I help my blog readers realize their goals and be happy? What words can I offer them that will lead them back in front of the Gohonzon to NOT GIVE UP! ONE MORE TIME!!! How can I live my life as an example that this practice works?
I suggest YOU chant the same way. CHANT TO SEE THE RESULT YOU NEED THAT WILL INSPIRE YOU THE MOST!!!! TELL THE GOHONZON (YOUR LIFE ITSELF) THAT YOU MUST HAVE THE RESULT YOU WANT...and KEEP CHANTING UNTIL YOU GET IT! Chant to have the strength of spirit to forge on no matter what...just like Daisaku Ikeda has done and is still doing at the age of 84!!!! Stay close to the life flow of faith...your fellow members!
And share your progress with me...after all you may end up in a book!!! Woohooo!!! Go YOU!!!
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