Our Prayers are Powerful

Our Prayers Matter

What do we do when we find out about terrible things happening in the world, when we are touched, and saddened and scared for ourselves and our fellow humans? 

As I said yesterday, the first thing I do is go to the Gohonzon and chant. I chant for all involved, for all touched by the tragedy, and for all the beings in the world to have peace in their hearts. I envision the hospital rooms and chant for the injured, and for the people who devote their lives in the service of others as nurses, doctors, security specialists and the list goes on. I chant for the families of those afflicted, and I chant to understand and continue to have hope, and to give hope, and to somehow be an inspiration to all I touch and to all who read my words.

The next thing I do is turn to the words of Nichiren Daishonin and Daisaku Ikeda. The first thing I did this morning was read the Gosho, then I took out one of my favorite books, Faith in Action, the compilation of quotes by Daisaku Ikeda separated into categories. 

Today I turned to the section on peace and read the words I have heard and learned and find to be true, and that is, of course, that true peace starts within every individual.  Human Revolution is REAL. When we change ourselves on the inside, by raising our life conditions from the four evil paths of Hell, Hunger, Animality and Anger, we change the entire world. We are all connected to all of life. When we change, our environment and all around us changes.

On Page 289, under "Peace" in Faith and Action, Sensei (Daisaku Ikeda) writes:

"In Mahayana Buddhism, which is the creed of the Soka Gakkai, there are ten potential conditions of life inherent in human beings, known as the ten worlds. According to this principle, people who start wars exist in the four lowest states of Hell, Hunger, Animality and Anger, known as the four evil paths. Controlled directly by instinct and desire, the thoughts and actions of those who start wars are inevitably foolish and barbaric. Therefore, from the Buddhist point of view, the issue of how to build the "defenses of peace" within the hearts of such individuals takes precedence over any external systemic factors and represents both the well spring and the core of any attempt to build world peace.'

And we can begin by building defenses of peace within ourselves. When we chant to raise our own life conditions we affect not only ourselves but life itself. When we chant to experience life in the world of Buddhahood (the highest of the ten worlds) our lives become imbued with compassion and move in action to help others by chanting for them, helping them learn to chant, and engaging in society in meaningful ways, including our activities for kosen-rufu, world peace through our activities in the SGI. 

Who we are makes a difference. What we think and how we act makes a difference. In Flourish, by Martin Seligman, the great book outlining Positive Psychology, Seligman asserts that what we have long felt can actually be proven, that HAPPINESS is CONTAGIOUS. And so is anger and all other lower emotions. So our happiness actually matters. That is why I am continually encouraging you to chant for your own happiness. It is important. 

Also from Faith in Action, from page 151, the chapter on Prayer, Daisaku Ikeda states:

" Prayers based on the Mystic Law are not abstract. They are a concrete reality in our lives. To offer prayers is to conduct a dialogue, an exchange with the universe. When we pray, we embrace the universe with our lives and our determinations. Prayer is a struggle to expand our lives." (taken from Learning from the Gosho p. 92)

"It is important that we offer prayers with great confidence. The powers of the Buddha and the Law are activated in direct proportion to the strength of our faith and practice. Strong faith is like high voltage ~ it turns on a brilliant light in our lives. (from Learning from the Gosho page 88)

Let's all turn our lights extra bright today, and every day!