2 Great Keys to Developing Friendships ~ Treasures of the Heart

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From Daisaku Ikeda from Ikedaquotes.org: 

"As the Buddhist teacher Nichiren states: “More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all.” “Treasures of the storehouse” refer to money and other forms of material wealth. “Treasures of the body” are skills and abilities, as well as physical health. “Treasures of the heart” are the riches that we build within our lives. This indicates the kind of inner strength that cannot be defeated by any tribulation. It refers to the power to live out our lives in a creative way, with constant joy, fulfillment and vitality."
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And how do we live our lives in a creative way, with constant joy, fulfillment and vitality? I think one of the keys is through the rich friendships we make. Having good close friends to be there for us, celebrate with us...share their lives with us and create close community...Aaaahhhh, THIS is true treasure.

But not everyone is skilled at making friends...and there IS a skill to making friends. AND we can use our Buddhist practice to fulfill our desire for new friends...along with actions to take as well. 

As a child, and throughout most of my younger life I had very few friends. I found myself living in San Francisco as a young mother, a fairly new Buddhist, with very few friends. And I knew I could change this, and that something had to change within me. AND I had to gain some friendship making skills. 

How did I chant? 
What did I do? 

I chanted to change the karma of not having friends. I chanted to change whatever needed to be changed within my own core...within my own BEING, that would change my environment and bring loving, lasting friendships into my life. I chanted to BE a friend. 
I did tons of shakubuku. I chanted for my members everyday. AND I consulted my father, the world's best friend maker. 

And what happened? I TOTALLY changed that karma and developed the skills to make new friends. Now I have more than 20 people I consider BEST friends, and the list is always growing. I love them all, and they love me. I love you too, my readers. My capacity to love just grows and grows. 

How has this changed my life? How could making new friends, lasting friends, real friends - gaining the ability to really open your life to others in a way that allows you to blossom like the Buddha you are...how could that change your life?

Well, for me, it got me through the worst, most challenging times when my sweet son got so, so sick. My wonderful Buddhist friends surrounded me and chanted with me. One friend came every morning. And when Ben died, I flung open my doors and called out to my friends and they filled my house from morning till evening - because I wanted them to. They cried with me, reminisced about Ben with me, chanted with me, and sometimes just sat in silence. 

They helped me plan Ben's Life Celebration, and showed up to be there for me. And they gave me a fantastic send-off when I left Chicago and moved to Florida last June. And although I was sad to be leaving my friends in Chicago, I knew I would make great new friends in Florida, and I HAVE!

THIS is a treasure of the heart. THIS is what really matters in life. Something has unfolded in the core of my life...some energy that opens me to be real...to be ME...to be love and forgiveness and alive...and to love and be loved. 

Key # 1

We can start with the sincere prayer to open to loving friendships, and to change our friendship karma. 

Key #2

Using a mirror - look yourself in the eye. Every morning, and say: 

"I am ready to make new friends now! I am ready right now to bring new friends into my life. I have a lot to offer. My new friends are waiting to meet ME! I am ready!" 

Try this one incredible key.  

Have a beautiful day! 

4 Surprising Reasons Nichiren Buddhists are so Happy ~ Please Share!

Why are Nichiren (Practical) Buddhist so Happy? 

What is so special 

about this twice-daily practice 

of chanting 

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo?

What is a Nichiren Buddhist? Why are we also called "Practical Buddhists?" The two titles are interchangeable. 
Practical Buddhists chant every morning and evening and EVERY MORNING and evening. We study the works of Nichiren Daishonin, and the writings of Daisaku Ikeda, to learn the workings of the practice, and how and why chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo  (meaning I fuse my life with the Mystic Law of Cause and Effect Through Sound Vibration) draws forth the power innate in every life to find fulfillment and become happy. The more we study, the more we deepen our ability to tap this power. We encourage each other and attend Soka Gakkai meetings.  We introduce others to the practice because we are delighted with the results we see in our own lives from chanting. 

We are known by several names:
SGI Buddhists (there are different names in different countries)
Soka Gakkai Members ~ SGI Members, 
(For more about the SGI click on the link to the right) 
Practical Buddhists
Nichiren Buddhists  

4 Surprising Reasons 
Nichiren Buddhists are so HAPPY ~

1. Our Happiness is not based on our happiness alone. And we base our practice on RESULTS! We GET what we chant for, or something better, as long as we don't give up! 

Our happiness has a higher purpose. Don't get me wrong...happiness for any reason is great. Happiness is the purpose of our practice, and we join our own happiness with the happiness of ALL. We call this kosen-rufu. We chant to be happy so that we can prove through our own lives the validity of chanting the name of the Mystic Law - and to prove everyone can generate happiness if they chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. 

With every problem we face we chant: 

"I will defeat THIS problem for the sake of Kosen-rufu 
(the happiness of ALL) 
And one by one I will knock all my problems down. 
I achieve all my goals. 
I will succeed is all areas of my life to prove the power of the law! 
I vow to win in all areas of my life!"

2. We KNOW we have the POWER, and the TOOL to overcome our own negativity ~ and raise our "Life Condition" and become happy! To us, Happiness means winning over ourselves. 

It's true. When we chant the name of the rhythm of life itself ~ Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~ we see results. And what will we WIN over? Ourselves. We are fighting and winning the biggest and most worthy battle of all...the battle over our own negativity. And the thing is, no one can do that but US. We are the only ones. And our negativity never entirely goes away, but our daily practice keeps it away, and is the source of our happiness. We talk about the "evil twin" in our minds telling us we can't do it, that we aren't strong enough and who do we think we are? When we chant consistently that voice recedes, and our true and powerful Buddha nature emerges.  And we DO succeed!

3. We KNOW we can change our karma and make the impossible possible. And we do it together with our fellow SGI Members. 

Whether we have studied eastern religions or not, we are all familiar with karma no matter what name we call it. Cause and Effect ~ Karma. Karma is passed down from one generation to another. Karma is reoccurring problems...you know, the way in which people marry one person, move on to the next and have the exact same problems crop up. 
Nichiren Buddhists know Karma is nothing to be afraid of. Karma is the sum total of every cause we have ever made through every existence we have ever had. And since, according to Nichiren Daishonin, those existences number more than grains of sand in the ocean, what need is there to fret about karma? And we do not need to spend countless lifetimes trying to undo every negative thing we have ever done. How could we? We don't even know what these things were. What we can do, is make the absolute most positive causes NOW. When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo we are making the most positive cause for our lives. When we introduce others, these causes are magnified across many existences because we have introduced them to the power to change their own and their family's karma. 
And chanting with and for our fellow members is a huge part of our practice. We join our "family" for meetings and individually to surmount challenges. If you have not yet found your SGI family you can use the SGI-USA.org link to the right or search on Soka Gakkai International. 

4. We are aware of the interconnectivity of life and know that when we change our inner life, our outer life changes as well. We are Power-FULL not Power-LESS and we can chant for others as well! 

There's a Buddhist term called "Esho Funi". It means that we see and experience ourselves as separate from our environment (our environment is everything outside of our skin - the air we breathe, the couch we are sitting on, the music we hear, and each person, thing, animal in our environment and throughout the entire universe). But we are intricately connected to everything. That is why we can chant and change our lives. We change our inner lives, and because of the interconnectivity of life (also called "dependent origination") we are able to influence our environment. This is the fulcrum of true happiness and true power in our lives.