Part 2.
Written by By SGI-UK Advisor Mitsuhiro Kaneda, UK Express March 2000. Reprinted from the Facebook page The Power of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Written by By SGI-UK Advisor Mitsuhiro Kaneda, UK Express March 2000. Reprinted from the Facebook page The Power of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Taking action
Very often, however, members chant a lot of daimoku but do not take any action. Some people don’t take action because they are afraid of the results they might see. They are afraid that they won’t see the result they want, so they don’t take any action. For example, a salaried employee with a fixed income might want to become self-employed, or start his or her own business, but might not take any action for fear of accumulating a lot of debt.
Another common example is found amongst young people who want to get married. Because they’re not sure that the marriage will work out, and that they will live happily ever after, they are full of anxiety. So, before they get married, they think, “Well, maybe we should live together.” Some end up not getting married as a result of having lived together.
So, even when people chant a lot of daimoku, other factors such as personality and human character come into play and prevent people from taking action, even if they are praying.
Of course, taking action also includes Soka Gakkai activities. When you participate in Soka Gakkai activities, you are encouraging others. So you are actually working as a messenger of the Buddha. Inevitably, therefore, all those who participate in Gakkai activities will accumulate good fortune. And because these people accumulate good fortune, they will be able to achieve their goals and show actual proof.
I know that all of us have very different circumstances and situations – some of us may not have that much free time. Nevertheless, I really want to encourage all of you to participate in Gakkai activities because this will allow not only you, but your whole family, to be bathed in good fortune. So in order to achieve our goals, not only do we need to take concrete action, we also need good fortune. That is why Soka Gakkai activities are crucial.
Make up your mind
In Italy, we have a couple who have been living together for fourteen years. Once they came to me because they wanted to receive guidance. I said to them, “You’ve been trying out your relationship by living together for fourteen years now. The fact that it has continued this long, is this not a sign that it is working?
Even though their relationship had been successful and they still wanted to live together, they still weren’t sure whether they should get married. Of course I gave them all kinds of encouragement, but there is one particular point that I would like to share with you. I asked them, “In order to make a firm determination, how much time do you need?” To make a determination requires less than one second. So I asked, “How many seconds there have been in fourteen years?”
You may laugh at this story but please, reflect on your own life.
To sum up, to put Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism into practice, we need to decide, chant and take action.
FAITH AND PRACTICE DOUBT-FREE FAITH
DECIDE
Clarify the goal and make a determination
DECIDE CHANT CHANT
If you have a problem,
Chant one million daimoku
ACT ACT
Make maximum effort;
strive to resolve the problem
EXPERIENCE
Accumulating experiences deepens one’s faith
Theories without experiences are no more than pure idealism
RESULT
Show actual proof DON’T DOUBT
Faith means having no doubts
BELIEVE
Written by By SGI-UK Advisor Mitsuhiro Kaneda, UK Express March 2000
