Strong Determination is the Key to Everything!

Strong determination is the key to everything. Once we begin chanting we realize that everything is under our control...not everything that happens necessarily, but ALL of our reactions, responses, and how we create our lives. Our environment reflects our inner life. This is fundamental to Nichiren Buddhist workings. 

A reader wrote me the other day and asked how I can be a practicing Buddhist and have a son who died. That's a very good question. I know other strong Buddhists have lost children. I know "bad things" happen to good people. At any rate, I can't change the past and I can't bring him back.

What I CAN do is to continue to advance with hope in my heart, passion in my life, and even, sometimes, a song in my heart. Yes, I am still grieving. Yes -  it comes and goes in waves...but I am still ME. I am still Jamie Lee Silver, and I still have my deepest passion in life...my passion for ending the suffering of other. And I know in my heart that helping others end their suffering is the path to ultimate happiness...not just the PATH, but also that I can be happy along the way...not waiting for anything.

If I can do this - advance steadily, show continual actual proof, and even enjoy my life - if I can do this, YOU can do anything! 

This past week in Aspen was like being in heaven with many like-minded people from all over the world. It was a vision of kosen-rufu (world peace, a world of respect for all) in miniature. 
And I came home to discover virtually all of my technology needed to be updated. So I have spent the week upgrading my internet connection, my phone and taking my computer in to be serviced. 

This is a big deal for me. I'm a person who would rather have another person do some of these things for me - usually a man! But I am determined to be self-sufficient in all ways.  So I am chanting to be able to do this myself, and not have to pay the cable guy. 

As I mentioned, I am still myself, and next Tuesday will be the 30th anniversary of the day I received my Gohonzon. When I chant, I feel more connected to my mission than ever. And I know, with this feeling, I can't lose! 




As an aside, for my politically minded American friends: 

Here in the states we are in the run-up to an election. And all of the media is owned by several companies. I found it astonishing that I could not watch the Democratic debate without upgrading my cable package by $20 a month, which they will probably try to raise at some time in the future...but I went ahead and upgraded it to see Bernie Sanders. He's a man who is telling the truth about the takeover of America by corporations. 

Ever since "Citizens United" was voted in by the Supreme Court, allowing "Corporations to be people" and contribute unlimited amounts of money into political campaigns, this country has not been our own, and the rich have been getting richer, while normal working people have seen their incomes shrink. Safety nets for the disadvantaged have been being taken away. And I see this in action. I see people who NEED these safety nets, not because they are lazy, but because they need them for health reasons. 

Interestingly enough, CNN had a live feed going on during the debate, where we could vote live as the debate went on. Anyone could tell that Sanders overwhelmingly won the debate. And as soon as it ended, CNN, owned by Time Warner, Hillary Clinton's 7th biggest funding source, declared she had won the election. This is outrageous. And it is up to US, the people to rise up and use our votes, use our voices, to take back this country. The next few months are going to be very interesting indeed!