Power Prayer for Overcoming Depression and Hopelessness

Those of us who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo 
are the lights of our families, 
our neighborhoods 
and our countries. 
We are able to tap into the vast source of life itself every single day, every morning, and every evening. And if we can continue to have hope and continue to draw on our higher nature...continue to see ourselves as the Buddhas we are and not give in to feelings of hopelessness and despair...we can make the impossible possible in our lives...there is nothing we can't do. 

"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion, what sickness can therefore be an obstacle?"
Nichiren Daishonin, Letter to Niike. 

But......
"A sword is useless in the hands of a coward."
Nichiren Daishonin, Reply to Kyo'o

So we must be brave and forge ahead, even when we feel darkness in our hearts. 

My goal is to inspire you with my life, and for you to actively seek out Daisaku Ikeda and Nichiren Daishonin's heart, and for all of you to make good friends in the SGI, the organization full of regular people awakened to their Buddhahood who are dedicating their lives to helping others become happy through this practice.  

It is because of my mentors, and the heart-to-heart guidance I have received from my friends in the Soka Gakkai - my "good friends in faith," that I have been able to vanquish depression and anxiety from my life. 
And I am telling you this for sure - if I can do it so can you. My depression was a deep-seated karmic depression. My mother had it and it runs deep within her side of the family.  I'd wake up in the morning encased on a veil of sadness. I knew the moment my eyes opened that it was back. And every day, in my morning Gongyo I learned to face it down and chase it out of my life. 

My friend-in-faith Kate got rid of her own depression and counseled me to chant with fierce determination in my heart and to create this power prayer:

Power Prayer for Vanquishing Depression

While chanting, have this determination:

"I don't CARE how many times you rear your ugly head depression. I WILL defeat you! I will defeat you to show actual proof for kosen-rufu, so I can encourage others.  I will come back and chant time and time again until you are gone from my life forever. You are no match for me hopelessness and depression! I reveal my life state as the life of the Buddha. I embrace my mission to encourage others. I will win!" 

And I won. It's over. I no longer feel depressed. I no longer wake up into darkness for no reason. 

Prayer and action are the key. Because of my prayer I stopped trying to escape into bad habits that just made the depression worse. I began working out vigorously 20 minutes each morning. I also changed my eating habits and lost weight. Earnest prayer gives rise to positive action. 

Powerful Prayers and stories!

POWERFUL PRAYERS! 


Buddhism says one of the causes of suffering is ignorance...ignorance of your own Buddha Nature! Chanting to do your Human Revolution and Praise your life is a great way to pray to reveal and recognize your own Buddha Nature. 


You may remember that my job duties changed in several ways over the past few months. I now work for three locations and faced a lot of challenges at the beginning. I had to introduce myself, and my way of working, to two new campuses. 


Every morning in front of the Gohonzon and in the car ride I would chant to PRAISE MY LIFE! In other words, to recognize my own brilliant Buddha Nature. This is what I call a SuperPrayer! When you chant this way you touch your life in many ways! You bring about changes from deep within. 


Another SuperPrayer I love is the one to EXPAND MY CAPACITY. I sit in front of my Gohonzon and I chant to expand my capacity, and I list all the ways I want to experience expanded capacity:


I chant to expand my capacity for writing blogs that inspire you!
...expand my capacity for compassion...
...for happiness...
for skill in writing my book...
for being a great Mom...
for being a great friend...
for feeling immense joy every day...
I chant to expand my capacity for JOY!
and for pleasure
and for feeling the love in my life
for brain power and memory
for learning and resourcing new ideas
for making new friends
for producing amazing results in my job...
for giving powerful guidance...
for inspiring others to chant...
for overcoming negative emotions quickly!


There are so many ways I chant to Expand my Capacity! 
And so many ways I already HAVE expanded my Capacity!


If you've been reading this blog for awhile you know how frequently I used to sink into depression...and have a feeling of being unloved. That almost never happens anymore. And when I feel that feeling coming on, I chant it away very quickly. I almost never feel depressed or hopeless, and I used to feel depressed very frequently. This practice has SOLVED THAT PROBLEM for me, and IF I CAN DO IT YOU CAN DO IT! 


At the core of my prayer is always the the deep conviction that I must overcome my problems so that I can show actual proof of this practice and help others to become happy. 


You can have the same prayer. 


WHEN YOU BECOME HAPPY YOU AFFECT EVERYONE AROUND YOU! THEY BECOME HAPPY TOO, AND THEY MIGHT JUST BE INSPIRED BY YOU TO CHANT! 


For me, there is no greater happiness than watching my friends and new members and blog readers become happy through this practice. You can SEE IT AND FEEL IT! 


There's a woman in our district who inspires everyone every time she comes to a meeting because of the bright smile she wears. All of us remember her early days of chanting when she was so sad you could feel her sadness walk right in the door with her! She has totally transformed! You can transform ANYTHING though this practice!


It all starts with you and your determination to be happy and to solve your problems. 


Chant every day...every morning and evening! Read the Gosho!
And regard your troubles as wonderful reasons for you to chant and show actual proof. 


In Nichiren Daishonin's "Letter to Sado" he writes:
"Only by defeating a powerful enemy can one prove his own strength." 
What is your "powerful enemy"? Is it sadness, depression, abuse, hopelessness...whatever it is: 


You can definitely defeat it! 


Do you have others suffering around you? You can help them too! 
As always, thank you for writing me! Thank you for letting me share your challenges (only with your permission). Thank you for helping me inspire all 6,000 blog readers every month. And THANK YOU for sending the link chantforhappiness.com to everyone you know! You never know when YOU are going to profoundly help someone!