Showing posts with label overcoming challenges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label overcoming challenges. Show all posts

Monday, October 7, 2013

Changing Financial Karma May Not Be What It Seems



This is a reprint from the facebook page The Power of Nam myoho renge kyo. I think Greg Martin is so matter of fact and down to earth. 

Excerpt from a lecture given by SGI-USA Vice General Director Greg Martin at the Seattle Culture Centre on June 9, 1995

A man came to see me recently and told me that he needed help with his "financial karma." He went on to explain how deep and profound his "financial karma" was. He hadn't been able to fix it in his ten years of practice. My first question to him was, "What kind of work do you do?" He said he was out of work. I asked him why. He said he quit his job six months before. I asked him why. He said he got into a disagreement with his boss and felt that he had to quit.

I asked about the job he had before that. He said that he got fired because he got angry with his boss. He told me he quit the job before that one. This person, in his ten years of practice, had eight jobs and lost them. I asked him how he expected to have financial fortune if he didn't have a job. There is no magic in Buddhism; it is unreasonable to think that one can acquire financial fortune without having a job.

He then said that his real question to me was, "Why do I have the karma to have authoritarian bosses?"

Most of us think that the bad things that happen to us are our karma. We think that our karma exists outside of us, but this is not correct. We are not the only ones that bad things are happening to. Bad things happen to everyone. Then what is karma?

Karma is our inability to deal with the "stuff." We don't know how to handle the stuff when it hits us, and we end up doing the wrong thing. We end up creating more "stuff" for ourselves.

In any case, I pointed out to this person his tendency to get angry with his bosses. There was a clear pattern. It was very difficult for this person to realise that his problem was anger. Buddhism says that if you have anger, you have the poison of arrogance. I told this person that until he was able to control his arrogant mind and his anger, he wouldn't be able to keep a job. He was actually a very talented person at his job, but this lead to him thinking he could do as he wished at his workplace and treat others badly.

I told him that since he needed a way to stop losing jobs, he needed to deal with his karma. I told him to not let his anger defeat him and to sincerely pray for the wisdom to respond to situations in a way other than with anger. To date, he has been employed for three years and has just bought a house.

What is the greater benefit: another job (which he would probably lose), or wisdom to see the root cause of his problem and never have to repeat it? People would pay millions of dollars for wisdom about the true nature of their suffering.

Of course, as we change, our environment reflects this change, and we experience benefit. However, if we try to seek out only the benefit without going through the inner process, eventually nothing will happen. The Gohonzon has almost no power to transform your environment. The Gohonzon does have power to transform you. When you use the Gohonzon to transform you, then you transform your environment. There's a big difference. We should determine in front of the Gohonzon that we will solve our problem or that we will overcome our suffering.

When you pray to the Gohonzon with that prayer, you will be amazed to find out what you see about yourself and what you need to fix in your life. Buddhism is about the inner reformation, not about the external reformation. Of course, benefits in the outside environment do come, but really that's not the point at all. It's really about inner change.

Friday, October 4, 2013

You can Overcome ALL Your Problems! Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo WORKS!



I know I say it over and over, and Daisaku Ikeda, and all of us KNOW that we are the Buddha...but how often do we chant in the sublime recongnition of being the Buddha and seeing through the Buddha's eyes? 

In our daily lives sometimes it seems there is just so much to chant for that we don't know where to start. Whenever I feel this way it is a signal to me to chant to see through the eyes of the Buddha and realize I am the Buddha at every moment. I also focus on chanting for others, kosen-rufu and elevating my life condition. 
If we have this perspectice on our lives it puts all of our problems into perspective. 

When I first began chanting almost 30 years ago in San Francisco I would ask my leaders "I am chanting every day, I am doing shakubuku with every breath I take, and I just bought a car so I can drive my beloved YWD to meetings...WHY am I having these personal problems?" 

And some of you have written me with similar questions. 

I was given this answer: "You are a leader for kosen-rufu...(world peace) one day, your members will come to you with problems just like you have now, and you will REALLY know how they feel, and you will know exactly how to encourage people." And they also told me that whatever I was going through, I was expiating karma for my life, and for my children's lives as well...seven generations back, and seven generations in the future. I learned to focus on the big picture...not just on all my problems, but on chanting for kosen-rufu and the happiness of my district members and all members...and not just members, but the whole world. Every day I would ask in my prayers while chanting "What is my mission in life? What is my mission in life?" and I knew the answer even as I was chanting...I knew I wanted to help people who were suffering like I was before I began chanting, and to help them find out about this practice and try it. 
Whoever you are - reading these words right now ~ I want you to know you HAVE found the solution, and you can use this practice to overcome suffering of ANY kind. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, practicing with the SGI, studying and introducing others to this practice is the formula for incredible happiness and strength. One day, you will look back on the hard times and realize they were golden moments that strengthened your life and your practice! 

My life proves it. 
Your life will prove it too. 
We Soka Gakkai members are proving the power of the law with our lives. 
As many of you know I've faced a tremendous challenge with the illness of one of my children. And every day I have used this practice to remain strong and to persevere and to WIN. I have chanted to be a better person, and to bring out my inner wisdom, and to work together with the health professionals to bring him back to wellness. Sometimes I have had to say difficult things. But every morning, with my focused prayer, I have set the course for a day filled with wisdom and power. I am steering the ship...even if I can't control everything, I can control myself and set goals. 

Now I have some peace! 
All week I've been side-by-side with my son who was recently released from the hospital and I've been cherishing every minute, every laugh, every experience.  The joy I feel in my heart just to be with him is immense. Every daimoku right now is filled with gratitude. I feel I have already won! 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Every Buddha Faces Challenges ~ That's How It's Supposed to Be!

Yes, every Buddha does face challenges. But the good thing is - if we keep chanting our way through our challenges  ~ and we don't give up ~ we create such wonderful benefit every single time. And the more we set our sights on our true PowerPrayers for ourselves and others, the more our life blossoms into true happiness. Right now, every day, as I am writing this blog, and writing my PowerPrayer book for you, I am experience a peace of mind and sense of full~fill~ment I've only dreamed of in the past. Every day I wake up happy to chant, happy to write, and happy to see each person I encounter. 

This week has been a challenging and fulfilling week for me. My son Ben got his wisdom teeth out and has been staying with me. He's also been facing some disappointment, so I have been chanting up a storm for him. When our children aren't happy it's hard for us to be entirely happy, isn't that true? Well, let's just say this has been a tough year for Ben who just finished his second year of college in these challenging times. 

One of the things he has discovered about himself is he gets  great joy that comes from playing with children, so he is planning on becoming a teacher. He's been volunteering at The Sudbury School, a democratic free school where children are trusted, age levels are mixed, and the children decide what they will learn and when. If you're interested in knowing more you can look at the Sudbury Valley School on Facebook or the web. Sudbury Valley is the original school and the success of the students is well-documented in the book Free to Learn by Peter Gray. 

Today, on this quiet Saturday, I arose to write something very exciting. This fall I will be leading a workshop in Bali, Indonesia called:
Explore, Enhance and Expand Your Inner Buddha... 
As soon as I have all the details for reserving your place, I will post them here. I can tell you now that it's set for November 16th-22nd in Bali, Indonesia and the cost will be $1599 including accommodations, activities and most meals. I'll be doing this through Love Your Spirit Tours. 

Here is the first write-up for the event. You get first peek at this exciting event! 

Jamie Lee Silver
Write up for Bali, 

From earliest memory, Jamie Lee Silver was searching for a practical solution to her problems. She knew that she could not have been born into a lifetime of debilitating depression, the constant urge to eat anything not nailed down, constant longing for love amidst self-loathing, and the curse of living life in America as a fat person without a higher reason. and greater purpose to help people. She had an intense yearning to revolutionize her life from within and to use her victory to help others who were suffering.  

She did her best to appreciate her life, using the songs of John Denver as her spiritual support, and exploring every avenue of relief including religion, literature, metaphysics, mysticism, psychology, yoga, est, poetry, alcohol and various mind-enhancing drugs and meditations. In each of these, she found nuggets that were helpful, but her depression persisted and she kept searching for the real, karma changing solution. 

In 1985 she was living in San Francisco and hit an all-time low after being laid off when she met Kate Randolph, a Nichiren Buddhist, who would become her mentor for life. Kate introduced her to a form of Buddhism that said that by chanting the words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (the title of the Lotus Sutra and the name of the rhythm of life itself) and simultaneously focusing on your desires (not clearing your mind of desires), you can change ANYTHING in life from poison to medicine, create lasting karmic change for yourself and countless others, and actually make your dreams come true. Kate told her the power of this chant was its ability to grant the practitioner access to the entire power of the universe within each life. 

Yes. According to this practice, everyone is a Buddha and this chant makes the Buddha burst forth generating the highest life state of fulfillment and happiness.

Immediately, Jamie began a twice-a-day practice of Practical Buddhism and embarked on a new life of Buddhist study. She immediately proved the power of this prayer by raising herself from the depths, finding a job and crawling out of her emotional hole. She knew she’d begun a life-long process of converting her own suffering, and helping anyone who was suffering find out about this practice.

 Over the next 28 years she proved the power of this chant over and over in her life by vowing to use her struggles to encourage others. In her first few years of practice she took District leadership in the Soka Gakkai, otherwise known as the SGI, or “value creating society”, the lay organization that promotes peace, culture and education through individual and collective happiness. She has hosted meetings in her own home every week ever since then. One of her first benefits from chanting was writing a Power Prayer and manifesting her “House for World Peace” on a high hill overlooking San Francisco. 

Since then, Jamie has chosen to move back to her roots in the Western Suburbs of Illinois to raise her two children, and has continued to devote her life to inspiring others by using her sparkling life as an example. 

She has absolutely and completely conquered depression, lost 70 pounds and kept it off for years. Jamie has had a wonderful and multi-faceted career in the world of sales and marketing, winning countless awards and honors. She has raised two “Buddha Boys” who started chanting to vanquish bad dreams at the age of two, and have used this practice in various powerful ways throughout their lives. Jamie has gone from being friendless and unhappy to a woman of high self-worth with countless friends and students. As the writer of the blog ChantforHappiness.com she inspires over 20,000 people a month to keep chanting, never give up, and realize their dreams.

As of this writing, Jamie is finishing up her first book The Buddha Zone, PowerPrayers for Chanting Your Way to Absolute Happiness and cannot wait to hold it in her hands and give it to the world! 

In Explore, Enhance and Expand Your Inner Buddha you will learn everything you need to know to experience plugging into your own power source through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. 

We’ll be chanting every morning and evening together, learning the intellectual meaning of the chant itself and revealing its power in our lives.   

We’ll begin with Jamie’s process that enables you to tap into your current desires, and the hopes and dream you may have forgotten, or given up on along the way. We’ll do an inspired writing process to bring these dreams to the surface and feel anew the power of the flame of desire itself. In this practice “Desires Are Enlightenment, and give us the fuel to set fire to our chanting. 

In our workshops we”ll learn the origins of this “new” form of Buddhism whose roots go back to the Buddha’s original intent and purpose. And we’ll explore and learn powerful Buddhist concepts and apply them to everyday life. You’ll feel the energy of the chant, and be in the perfect place to delve into its meaning in your life, and how you can use it to over overcome any challenges you might be facing, and to build on it to springboard your life into previously untouched realms of self-fulfillment and happiness. 

Each day we’ll chant together and study crucial concepts that help you understand why and how chanting is in complete accord with science and common sense. You’ll learn and experience “The oneness of self and environment, many in body, one in mind, the power of the mentor disciple relationship, and more. You’ll learn the essential components of a PowerPrayer, and how to write your own personal PowerPrayers that will clarify your determination and propel you in the direction of your dreams. 


The lush and indescribably beautiful setting of Bali will make your new study of Buddhism that much more resonant and meaningful during our precious time together. We’ll explore the sights, sounds and tastes of this magnificent land as we bring forth our own most delicious, savory hopes, dreams and desires and begin the process of turning them from the impossible to the possible.