Perfecting Our Spiritual Workouts (Gongyo!) to Bring Benefit to Our Lives

As I'm sitting here watching the news about hurricane Irma barreling this way.
Please join me in chanting for Irma to veer to the right and north and miss America completely! 
Let's also chant about the flooding in India, the wildfires in the West and continued cleaning up in Texas and all other areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. Oh yes, let's not forget North Korea, and keeping the peace. 
There is so much going on. 

Here are some of my thoughts on how we can continue to leverage our spiritual muscles to change ourselves, and change the world. 

Perfecting our daily recitation of Gongyo and Daimoku is our spiritual work-out for the interior of our lives. This work-out makes our environments 
(our world at every moment, and all the people and things and EVERYTHING in it) 
flow smoothly...and we can accomplish our goals and live fulfilling lives.  

When Shakyamuni was meditating under the Bodhi Tree, he was assailed by many thoughts to make him stop or to throw off his meditation. 
He kept focused. He won. 
Our practice of Gongyo every day is just like this. 
We are the Buddha! 
Every day - twice a day!  
We must win! 

Gongyo is important!

Our concentration will pay off. Doing gongyo with the following guidelines has brought me great benefit. 
(As always ~ these writings are mine, and come from my heart to yours.)

5 Keys to Make Your Gongyo 

and Your Life Sparkle!

Don't just "do" Gongyo. Feel it. Experience it.
by Jamie Lee Silver at chantforhappiness.com

1. Put your phone in another room. 
                 Claim this time as your own! 

2. Pray each silent prayer with all your heart. 

Elevate the moment from reading to praying! 

Read each silent prayer over and over until you can actually feel the appreciation. Read the silent prayers until they sink in...so you are truly praying in appreciation. If you don't know why Nichiren Daishonin and the three presidents deserve your praise, please ask a fellow member and study the history of Nichiren Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai. (Clink the link to the right to find your local SGI group) It took tremendous conviction and courage to bring this practice to us today! 
During these prayers, I bring forth the gratitude I feel for having this practice in my life.   

3. Begin and end Gongyo 
                     with no interruptions. 

You can chant as long as you'd like between gongyo and the silent prayers. 
Sometimes I recite the silent prayers at the end of Gongyo soon after the recitation...not after finishing all my daimoku for the morning. This makes it easier to do a complete gongyo before I get up to do something else, or refresh my drink or whatever. 
I start and complete gongyo. Boom. 
Then I can do as much daimoku as I want, with gongyo done. Complete. With no interruptions. If I get interrupted in the middle of gongyo I begin again! I see this helping me complete things in my life on a much more regular basis. 

4. Chant every morning and evening. 

I know, I know, you've heard this before. The reason I keep repeating this message is that it WORKS! When we do gongyo twice a day our lives get on a roll. You have to experience it to see it! I can't tell you how it feels. I can tell you that one of my YWD (young woman) finally began chanting twice a day (after refusing to do this for two years) she was able to realize a hidden goal, bring it to the surface, chant about it, and now she's living her dream in Colorado. Chanting twice a day WORKS! 

5. Perfect Your Rhythm 
              and Pronunciation of Gongyo

In the early days of my practice, I was fortunate to have a leader who believed that perfecting gongyo was important. Every day I showed up at her house to fine-tune my rhythm and pronunciation. You can do the same, and it will energize your practice and life. 
I suggest finding a mentor in your SGI circle who can work with you. To learn, we can bring a pencil and circle the parts we find difficult, and highlight our mistakes. The next time through we can be aware of the challenging parts because we circled them. We can learn it like a song. 
It is easier to learn it right the first time, but not impossible to fix, if learned wrong. 

Having perfect gongyo gives us confidence. 

I'd like to hear your stories of how perfecting your gongyo changes your life. Everything we do to enhance our practice is reflected in our lives. 

Gongyo and Daimoku are our laboratory 
where we create the lives of our dreams! 

I'm interested in hearing how you are perfecting your gongyo! 
Doing Gongyo is like lifting spiritual weights. how strong can we make our lives? 
That's what we're talking about! 

Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

Going From Grief to Relief!

Here's a picture of me and my son Ben. Many of you know him, or chanted for him when he was sick, and when he became eternal on July 2nd, 2015, when he was 22.  

Ever since I got back from Ben's Memorial Mile in June,  I've been preparing for tonight's talk at First Unity Spiritual Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. Go From Grief to Relief. Chanting three hours a day for everyone who attends to have some kind of permanent relief!  

It will be my first talk in my new city. 

It's amazing how fast a year flies. This time last year I was here in Florida finishing my book "Our Forever Ben, One Mom's Letters to her Son-in-Spirit and his poetic replies." (Available on Amazon).  It was difficult to write the book because I had to overcome all the thoughts of not being good enough. One day I thought I could write the book, the next day I was sure I could never write it....but I kept chanting and kept writing to Ben and somehow gave birth to this book. Right now it's helping people with grief all over the world. 

Being a Buddhist isn't easy, is it? We HAVE to turn poison into medicine. But when you think about it, isn't that what we want to do anyway? Take anything bad and make it great? We have that power when we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with all our hearts. Then, as my son Aaron says, when we've really chanted and taken action, we know we are at our best. We know we are doing the best we can do. And that feels good. 

I've been hearing from you to post more often so I'm going to do my best to more frequently. 
Just don't give up. 
Get guidance from your local leaders. Study. Chant. Take action. Do shakubuku. That's the formula for happiness. And chant for kosen-rufu! 

Tonight I will teach people to write letters to their loved ones, and have their loved ones write back to them through their own hand (or imagining that their loved ones are writing back to them). This is something I developed. It's not part of Buddhism, but the belief that life is eternal fits.
It's not necessary that you believe this is possible, or you do it to be a Buddhist. This is my gift, and talent to teach.    

Whatever you are doing, wherever you are, no matter how dark it seems ~ DO Not Give UP! 
Sending love, Jamie
Jamie@jamieleesilver.com 

Every Day is New Year's Day!

Every single day we get the chance to remake our determinations...review how far we've come, and make a fresh step towards our dreams. Our term "Hon-nin-myo" means "from this moment forth." The past does not matter. What matters is this moment. 
Our failures...the things we regret...none of this matters at this very moment. What matters is our determination. 
My friend in faith Amos used to say: 
"How many times do you get to make a new determination? How many times do you get to not live up to that determination, and to remake it the next day? An infinite amount of times! Just keep making that determination every day, chanting about it, and not giving up! That's where your power lies!" 
WE are the Buddha. We embody Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. It is our life...and everything else. Nothing is NOT Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Our sincere prayer to raise our life conditions, strengthen our lives, shakubuku others, work for kosen-rufu and be the absolute proof that this practice works bring US happiness, and makes the world a better place. 

This week was a blast for me. I did a ton of networking...meeting new people...doing shakubuku. My prayers come true every day. I chant to change myself...and see the truth at every moment....and to enjoy my life! 

"Hon-nin-myo" is a profound part of the teachings of this practice. Every moment begins anew. Our past brought us to where we are but does not determine the future. 

I just passed a milestone, as I mentioned. I passed the second anniversary of the "death" of my son Ben. I put "death" in quotes because I don't like the word. BEN didn't die. His body died. But he is very much alive in spirit. He and I converse every day, or whenever I want to talk with him, he's there, ready to talk with me. 

This Tuesday will be the first "From Grief to Relief" workshop I've given. I hope to do many more because I know I have something to teach that can bring people comfort. The workshop will be very interactive. 
Everyone will share about the main person they are grieving. And everyone will process the pain, the guilt, the sadness using EFT techniques, and then we'll move on to the writing section. It will be so much fun. We'll also chant for each person as I introduce the Buddhist concepts that allow me to be open to the eternity of life. 

I'm preparing for this the same way I prepare for every Buddhist meeting...by chanting for each person. Each person will experience permanent change. They'll leave with tools to use. And, they will have the opportunity to choose to work with me one-on-one at a later date if they desire. 

New Year's Day. This week I began a new exercise routine, a new visualization exercise, and I started doing Dahn yoga again at home. This week was my New Year's Eve. Any day can be New Year's Ever for us. ANY DAY. It doesn't have to be a milestone. All it takes is a fresh determination! Do you want to start something anew? Go for it. Happy New Years. Every single day! 

Faith Equals Daily Life!

Faith Equals Daily Life is a term we hear often in this practice. This week a reader emailed me to ask what this means to me. 

For those of you new to this blog, I'm a 32 year practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism, and I live my life to rid the world of suffering. I'm a proud member of the SGI, but I do not speak for them. I blog from my heart to yours. 

Faith equals daily life means: 
chant about everything! 
Chant about everything. YOU are the Buddha. YOU tell your life what you want by praying to your life every single day. 
Each day I take all my cares, worries, hopes for my life, and for the happiness of all around me, and I chant every day...FOR every day. I pray. 

As Daisaku Ikeda writes: 


"Prayer is an attempt to merge the inner workings of our life with the rhythm of the universe. When we pray in such a way, all the workings of the universe will function to protect us and the endless cycle of painful reality will be transformed into a cycle of victory and happiness. Prayer is the key to open the door to unleash that infinite human potential within our lives."
Daisaku Ikeda, Ikedaquotes.org

I begin every morning with at least an hour of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Every once in a while I have to rush out of the house without chanting an hour. But I make sure to connect in my daimoku, no matter how long I have to chant. 
Today I chanted to be in rhythm all day long, and to feel connected to that rhythm. I chanted to meet key people for my future, and to use this day to further my work of kosen-rufu in action. 

It was a joyous day! I spent most of it at a large, gorgeous retirement community connecting deeply with the staff, and exploring the ways my workshops can help their residents, their staff, and help them with marketing. It was a blast.  

Faith equals daily life means that every single day is a reflection of your faith and determination. Faith equals daily life means our faith is not shut off in some little box that we only take out every once in a while. No, our faith IS each day...our determination for each day...our live, Well-Lived...every single day. Chant about it all. Chant to connect life to life. Realize that, as Daisaku Ikeda says: YOU are the protagonist in the great play of your life. Enjoy it!!

How to Break Through Those Walls!

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Have you ever felt like you were stopped at every turn? That, somehow there were thick walls between you and everything you want? Have you ever been making positive causes, chanting, and still the walls getting higher and higher? 

I have felt walled in lately - and I am in the process of breaking through - I know it. I know there's a bright expanse on the other side of these walls! 

Here's how I am turning these walls into tiny little pebbles that I will just step over. 

This week I made a call to one of my treasured friends in faith, and she had some wise words for me. 

She said that when she was experiencing walls, she learned that there was something deep in her life, and in her character...at the very depths of her human revolution that needed to change. She asked me some questions and I could clearly see the action I needed to take, and the Daimoku I needed to chant. 
I went to the Gohonzon and chanted to learn what I needed to change. Some things came to mind...my tendency to get defensive in the face of criticism, and the need to develop the skill of understanding the other person's point of view and not letting my emotions overrun my brain. In front of the Gohonzon I chanted with all my heart to have the courage to see my shortcomings...and the courage to change them. 

As James Hermann in Chicago once said: "We don't chant so we can say "That's just the way I am." We chant to CHANGE  what we see needs to be changed! 

So, for the past few days, I've been chanting three hours a day and I am on the verge of a huge breakthrough! I know this because three of my good friends are coming to the meeting on Tuesday when I will be giving my experience.
I also uncovered something important about my finances and made two new dear friends. Treasures of the heart! 

It's not complete yet, but I'll tell you all about it when it's done! 

Today I fly off for Ben's Memorial Mile! It will be Saturday the 17th of June at Downers Grove North Illinois High School's outdoor track at 5:00. Join us if you can! Here's the link: Bensmemorialmile.com. 

This week I'll see my whole family and around 500 wonderful friends in Downers Grove. Hope for the Day, National Alliance of Mental Illness, Your Story Counseling and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will all have booths. There are children's events and a costume mile, great music, laughter, cheers and fun. Al Carius, the coach of the century will be speaking. 

It's hard to believe it has been almost two years since my precious boy became eternal! 

I can hardly breathe I'm so excited! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! 

Lighting the Lamp of Hope! The Joy of Fostering Youth!

Ahhhh the brilliance of introducing youth to this practice! Some of my golden memories are of the youth I took under my wing. They are living the lives of their dreams with the ultimate tool for creating happiness and value for themselves and others...this practice!

The other day someone magical...seeking...young and vibrant came happily into my life. I was at a restaurant with  my new friend Mari Beth whom I'd just introduced to chanting. She came up to my apartment and chanted with me for the first time. 

Our server was this delightful, beautiful young woman...she looked like she couldn't possibly have a care in the world. We had some laughs with her and a great time. At the end of the dinner I said "I have something for you!" and took out my card and wrote Nam-myoho-renge-kyo on it and the connection was INSTANT. 

It was as if she had been seeking this her whole life. She said "Oh! I really need this right now, my Mom's in the hospital in pain and I'm all alone caring for her!" I asked her if she wanted to come over to chant after she got off - my apartment was right across the street and she said SURE! 

She said she'd get our by about 10:30, but she got some last minute customers and was able to come around midnight (!!!)...and I was waiting for her and so happy to see her! She told me the story of her young life (she just turned 20), and I could see what a fighter she is, against all odds. She's faced extreme challenges and is intent on fulfilling her dream of helping people with artifical limbs. She is such a Bodhisattva already. 

We sat in front of the Gohonzon. I put the bell in front of her, taught her how to chant, and told her she could ring the bell when she was finished. She chanted almost half and hour!  

Yesterday her Mom was released from the hospital! Last night she came over at 10:30 pm and we chanted and talked. She is so grateful to be embraced into this practice and my life. There is nothing better than having experience, knowledge and HOPE to give someone who is soaking it up! She is my Mother's Day gift! Last night we watched the Ben videos and she got to know and love my boy. What a wonderful life I lead! 

I am dedicated to raising her. I am dedicated to helping her achieve each of her dreams. I see her as a leader of our bright, positive movement that will attract 50,000 youth and more!  

I am grateful for all your Daimoku for the youth. We can feel the groundswell... feel them arising...and RISE to meet them! We all have determination to raise capable, happy, bright beacons of hope. And introducing her has brought ME such happiness...a new vibrancy in my step...a fresh determination to live as a brilliant beacon of hope, to overcome my sufferings and achieve my dreams. 

It is time for our youth to find relief and stop suffering. It is time for them to gain human connection...and hope. It is time to stop losing so many to despair! It is up to us to reach out and be available. And it is the greatest joy to watch them blossom like flowers! 

As Daisaku Ikeda writes in the May 2017 Living Buddhism study material on Fostering Successors, (page 44):

"The right time 

is not something one waits for; 

one creates it!"

Now is the time! We can carry cards everywhere we go. 
Introducing people who work close to where I live is now a focus for me. I live on the beach. There are countless restaurants and stores close by. If I meet someone who is receptive they can pop on over before or after they work to learn to chant! 

So happy to be sharing this journey with YOU! 

THIS Daimoku is changing my karma NOW!

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What kind of daimoku (the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo)
changes our lives? 
The answer is ALL kinds of daimoku - 
the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the mystic law, changes our lives and changes our karma...

But I have a question. Do you sometimes chant with all the best intentions while thinking "I don't know why I'm doing this...it's just one more time to chant but I don't feel it, and really, I'm feeling kind of hopeless?" 

And the first thing I'll say is "Congratulations for keeping your promise to yourself and showing up to chant. THAT in itself will change your life. 

So, I've been thinking about the quality of my own chanting and I have something I want to share with you. (As you know, I do not represent the Soka Gakkai, I belong to it, but this is not a Gakkai publication. I love the organization and have been a member since 1985. And I started this blog in 2009 to overcome my own heartache, and to show, through my own example, that anything is possible when we base our lives on the Gohonzon.( 

And lately my daimoku has been very strong, 
because as I chant I am thinking:

NOW! With THIS Daimoku I am changing my karma. 
Now this very Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is THE Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that is changing_____________________________on the inside of my life. 
Whatever you want to change...have the conviction that:
THIS Daimoku!
THIS Daimoku!
THIS Daimoku!
Is the one that does it! 

Here's to YOU and your happiness and success! 
Go Buddha GO! 

Universal Power Prayer for Ourselves and the Planet

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As Nichiren Buddhists, we are the Buddha  ~  
as we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo summoning our fathomless wisdom while steering our life in the direction of our innermost desires...both for ourselves and for others. 

We chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over and over and over again. We call this "chanting Daimoku"(Die-MOH-Koo). Daimoku means title. The title of the Lotus Sutra (Shakyamuni Buddha’s self-proclaimed highest teaching) is  Myoho-Renge-Kyo.  

Nichiren Daishonin added "Nam" (devotion - focusing) before Myoho-renge-kyo to make the phrase mean “I devote my life to the mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration,” or, “I am one with the very rhythm of life.”

“Myoho-renge-kyo is the name of the ultimate mystic truth, and Nam-myoho-renge-kyo  is the name of the life state of Buddhas who embody and reveal this truth.” 

p.28 Lectures on “On Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime”, Daisaku Ikeda

What follows is a Universal PowerPrayer to tap into our desire for happiness for all beings...the real vow we all make as Buddhas! 

Here's a PowerPrayer for you. You can read this before chanting to help focus your brain while chanting: 

Universal PowerPrayer 
for the Happiness for ALL

By Jamie Lee Silver of Chantforhappiness.com

Every Daimoku I chant 
remakes my VOW as a Buddha 
for Victory in my own life 
so that all others can achieve VICTORY in theirs! 

reaches every other person who is chanting. 
I see everyone chanting...
tapping into the deepest prayer they have ever felt ~

At this moment 
I deepen the power of my prayer by 10,000 times
Just like my mentor describes ~

so that all who are chanting can also deepen their faith, 
and bring forth the results they desire 
as we 
spread the word of this great teaching 

to those still suffering

we all become absolutely happy

and create a happy and peaceful world!

I chant that every single person who is chanting 

feels the full power 

sees the full power

experiences the full power

of this faith in their lives. 

I chant for all members to have faith

receive incredible 

benefits

and to know, and feel 

within every cell in their body

the power welling forth 
with each Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!!

Together we create kosen-rufu
the total energy shift of our planet! 

Chanting for Kate Randolph, and 12 Buddhist Quotes on Overcoming Illness

Kate Randolph introduced me to chanting 32 years ago, and has been my dear friend ever since. Many of you know her from the experiences I've posted, and the guidance from her I've passed along. 

Well, last weekend we were at FNCC together and she was having some symptoms that were troubling. When she returned to LA she found out she has a mass in her brain, and is having surgery tomorrow at 4:00 pm Pacific Standard time to remove it.  She's at Kaiser in Los Angeles. 

Kate has always felt a connection to you throughout the years. Occasionally she has helped me answer your emails. She is incredibly sincere. Next year is her 40th anniversary of chanting. 

Please join me in chanting for Kate tomorrow and throughout the week. I'm chanting for her total and complete protection...for all the protective forces of the universe to surround her...for the surgeon to be having a really great day and for complete success in removing the mass. 
Read on for 12 quotes on overcoming illness: 

12 Buddhists Quotes for Overcoming Illness

From President Ikeda's Lecture series "The Hope-filled Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin: On Prolonging One's Life Span - Faith for Leading a Long and healthy Life" in the July-August 08 Living Buddhism. (Thank you to my friend Melissa Bradford for compiling these great quotes!)

1. “Suffering from illness is a means by which you can eradicate your negative karma.”  
President Toda, as quoted by President Ikeda. - pg 70 

2. “To see illness as an opportunity to transform our karma – this strong spirit and resolve can break through all obstacles and devilish functions and open wide the path to happiness.  Like a rocket blasting out of the earth’s atmosphere, the passionate conviction of faith that comes from viewing illness as an opportunity to transform our karma can become a powerful engine propelling us forward not only in this existence but throughout eternity, enabling us to freely savor everlasting happiness.”  Pg 74

3. “Becoming ill in itself is certainly not a sign of defeat.  Even the Buddha, who is said to have ‘few ills and few worries’ (LS, 214), struggles with sickness from time to time.  Accordingly, there will be times when we are confronted with illness.  The important point above all is not to be defeated mentally or emotionally by the prospect of being ill.  Faith is the source of the fighting spirit to stand up to illness.  Therefore, as we noted earlier, Nichiren Daishonin first of all talks about the ‘treasure of faith’.  Pg 77

4. “As Nichiren says, ‘Illness gives rise to the resolve to attain the way’ (The Good Medicine for All Ills, WND-1, 937).  If a practitioner who upholds faith in the Mystic Law becomes ill, it definitely has some profound meaning.  It could be said that confronting illness is one route to awakening to the eternity of life.  President Toda often said, ‘A person who has overcome a major illness knows how to deeply savor life.’” Pg78

5. From Matilda Buck’s guidance, World Tribune 4/27/01 pg 10 “When We Face Disappointment” – regarding SGI leaders who overcame cancer and chanted this way:  

Through this experience, I will become someone who does not doubt the Gohonzon (my life), no matter what happens.
As a Bodhisattva of the Earth, I have the mission to experience this, and as a Bodhisattva of the Earth, I have the mission to create a victory.
I will share the power of Buddhism with others, even as I grapple with this experience.
I won’t let my spirits stay down.  I won’t make a place in my life for negativity to settle.

6.From The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra Volume 6:  “Praying with doubt is like trying to keep water in a bathtub with the plug pulled.  Our good fortune and benefit will drain away.  A passage from the ‘Perceiver of the World’s Sounds’ chapter reads, ‘from thought to thought never entertaining doubt!’  A confident prayer will reverberate powerfully throughout the entire universe.”  Pg 88

From Buddhism Day by Day:

7. “Buddhism views illness as an opportunity to attain a higher, nobler state of life.  It teaches that, instead of agonizing over a serious disease, or despairing of ever overcoming it, we should use illness as a means to build a strong, compassionate self, which in turn will make it possible for us to be truly victorious.”  pg 300

8. “The expansive world lies not in some distant place; it exists right where you are.  That is why you need to win where you are right now.  Today’s victory is linked to your eternal victory.”  Page 314

9, “No matter what the circumstances, you should never concede defeat.  Never conclude that you’ve reached a dead end, that everything is finished.  You possess a glorious future.  And precisely because of that, you must persevere and study.  Life is eternal.  We need to focus on the two existences of the present and the future and not get caught up in the past.  We must always have the spirit to begin anew ‘from this moment,’ to initiate a new struggle each day.” Pg 315

10. “The air around us is filled with radio waves of various frequencies.  While these are invisible, a television set can collect them and turn them into visible images.  The practice of chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo aligns the rhythm of our own lives with the world of Buddhahood in the universe.  It ‘tunes’ our lives, so to speak, so that we can manifest the power of Buddhahood in our very beings.”  Pg 314



11. From "For Today and Tomorrow" Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda: Sept 20 pg. 288:  
When your determination changes, everything else will begin to move in the direction you desire.  The moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and fiber in your being will immediately orient itself toward your success.  On the other hand, if you think “This is never going to work out,” then at that instant every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight, and then everything really will move in the direction of failure.

12. From "For Today and Tomorrow" Aug 15 pg. 249:  
The first thing is to pray.  From the moment we begin to pray, things start moving.  The darker the night, the closer the dawn.  From the moment we chant daimoku with a deep and powerful resolve, the sun begins to rise in our hearts.  Hope – prayer is the sun of hope.  To chant daimoku each time we face a problem, overcoming it and elevating our life-condition as a result – this is the path of “changing earthly desires into enlightenment,” taught in Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism.

Chanting for Kate Randolph, and 12 Buddhist Quotes on Overcoming Illness

Kate Randolph introduced me to chanting 32 years ago, and has been my dear friend ever since. Many of you know her from the experiences I've posted, and the guidance from her I've passed along. 

Well, last weekend we were at FNCC together and she was having some symptoms that were troubling. When she returned to LA she found out she has a mass in her brain, and is having surgery tomorrow at 4:00 pm Pacific Standard time to remove it.  She's at Kaiser in Los Angeles. 

Kate has always felt a connection to you throughout the years. Occasionally she has helped me answer your emails. She is incredibly sincere. Next year is her 40th anniversary of chanting. 

Please join me in chanting for Kate tomorrow and throughout the week. I'm chanting for her total and complete protection...for all the protective forces of the universe to surround her...for the surgeon to be having a really great day and for complete success in removing the mass. 
Read on for 12 quotes on overcoming illness: 

12 Buddhists Quotes for Overcoming Illness

From President Ikeda's Lecture series "The Hope-filled Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin: On Prolonging One's Life Span - Faith for Leading a Long and healthy Life" in the July-August 08 Living Buddhism. (Thank you to my friend Melissa Bradford for compiling these great quotes!)

1. “Suffering from illness is a means by which you can eradicate your negative karma.”  
President Toda, as quoted by President Ikeda. - pg 70 

2. “To see illness as an opportunity to transform our karma – this strong spirit and resolve can break through all obstacles and devilish functions and open wide the path to happiness.  Like a rocket blasting out of the earth’s atmosphere, the passionate conviction of faith that comes from viewing illness as an opportunity to transform our karma can become a powerful engine propelling us forward not only in this existence but throughout eternity, enabling us to freely savor everlasting happiness.”  Pg 74

3. “Becoming ill in itself is certainly not a sign of defeat.  Even the Buddha, who is said to have ‘few ills and few worries’ (LS, 214), struggles with sickness from time to time.  Accordingly, there will be times when we are confronted with illness.  The important point above all is not to be defeated mentally or emotionally by the prospect of being ill.  Faith is the source of the fighting spirit to stand up to illness.  Therefore, as we noted earlier, Nichiren Daishonin first of all talks about the ‘treasure of faith’.  Pg 77

4. “As Nichiren says, ‘Illness gives rise to the resolve to attain the way’ (The Good Medicine for All Ills, WND-1, 937).  If a practitioner who upholds faith in the Mystic Law becomes ill, it definitely has some profound meaning.  It could be said that confronting illness is one route to awakening to the eternity of life.  President Toda often said, ‘A person who has overcome a major illness knows how to deeply savor life.’” Pg78

5. From Matilda Buck’s guidance, World Tribune 4/27/01 pg 10 “When We Face Disappointment” – regarding SGI leaders who overcame cancer and chanted this way:  

Through this experience, I will become someone who does not doubt the Gohonzon (my life), no matter what happens.
As a Bodhisattva of the Earth, I have the mission to experience this, and as a Bodhisattva of the Earth, I have the mission to create a victory.
I will share the power of Buddhism with others, even as I grapple with this experience.
I won’t let my spirits stay down.  I won’t make a place in my life for negativity to settle.

6.From The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra Volume 6:  “Praying with doubt is like trying to keep water in a bathtub with the plug pulled.  Our good fortune and benefit will drain away.  A passage from the ‘Perceiver of the World’s Sounds’ chapter reads, ‘from thought to thought never entertaining doubt!’  A confident prayer will reverberate powerfully throughout the entire universe.”  Pg 88

From Buddhism Day by Day:

7. “Buddhism views illness as an opportunity to attain a higher, nobler state of life.  It teaches that, instead of agonizing over a serious disease, or despairing of ever overcoming it, we should use illness as a means to build a strong, compassionate self, which in turn will make it possible for us to be truly victorious.”  pg 300

8. “The expansive world lies not in some distant place; it exists right where you are.  That is why you need to win where you are right now.  Today’s victory is linked to your eternal victory.”  Page 314

9, “No matter what the circumstances, you should never concede defeat.  Never conclude that you’ve reached a dead end, that everything is finished.  You possess a glorious future.  And precisely because of that, you must persevere and study.  Life is eternal.  We need to focus on the two existences of the present and the future and not get caught up in the past.  We must always have the spirit to begin anew ‘from this moment,’ to initiate a new struggle each day.” Pg 315

10. “The air around us is filled with radio waves of various frequencies.  While these are invisible, a television set can collect them and turn them into visible images.  The practice of chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo aligns the rhythm of our own lives with the world of Buddhahood in the universe.  It ‘tunes’ our lives, so to speak, so that we can manifest the power of Buddhahood in our very beings.”  Pg 314



11. From "For Today and Tomorrow" Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda: Sept 20 pg. 288:  
When your determination changes, everything else will begin to move in the direction you desire.  The moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and fiber in your being will immediately orient itself toward your success.  On the other hand, if you think “This is never going to work out,” then at that instant every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight, and then everything really will move in the direction of failure.

12. From "For Today and Tomorrow" Aug 15 pg. 249:  
The first thing is to pray.  From the moment we begin to pray, things start moving.  The darker the night, the closer the dawn.  From the moment we chant daimoku with a deep and powerful resolve, the sun begins to rise in our hearts.  Hope – prayer is the sun of hope.  To chant daimoku each time we face a problem, overcoming it and elevating our life-condition as a result – this is the path of “changing earthly desires into enlightenment,” taught in Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism.

4 Surprising Reasons Nichiren Buddhists Are So Happy ! Please share

Why are Nichiren 
(also known as SGI, Soka Gakkai or Practical) 
Buddhists 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.  (To find a meeting near you click on the link to the right) We introduce others to the practice because we are delighted with the results we see in our own lives from chanting. 

4 Surprising Reasons 
Nichiren Buddhists are so HAPPY ~

1. Our Happiness is not based on our happiness alone. It is based on the profound results we see in our own lives - and in the lives of others as we chant. 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...a world of respect for all of life. 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 - or critical mind" we hear in our minds telling us we can't do it, that we aren't strong enough and asking us "who do you think you 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. 

By Daisaku Ikeda from Ikedaquotes.org: 

Faith in Buddhism is not blind faith that rejects reason. It is in fact a rational function, a process of the cultivation of wisdom that begins with a spirit of reverent searching. The impulse of true reason is to continuously and eternally transcend the confines of the present self. It aims to reach beyond its grasp, always higher, always transcending itself. The source of energy and foundation for that constant search is faith in something larger than oneself. Faith purifies reason, strengthens it, and elevates it.