Tuesday, December 7, 2010

New Practitioners

Isn't it truly an amazing thing to have something so deep, so profound and so USEFUL to share with people.

Today I talked to my friends in California who just started chanting. It is amazing how deeply they understand that this practice of Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is, in fact, the TRUE lineage of Shakyamuni Buddha for the age we are living in RIGHT NOW.
It is mystifying because it is so EASY, and yet so HARD:

There are no rules of any kind
-no dietary rules
-no "path" rules
-no lifestyle rules
-EVERYONE is a Buddha
-we are all equal
-there are no "life lessons" to learn and relearn
-we are not here to master suffering, we practice to WIN in life!
-karma is changeable, chanting changes it
-there is no clergy of decision/rule makers
-we are all lay believers (not clergy)
-this is a Buddhism OF the people! for all, no one is left out
-It produces results - when you chant, your life connects with the mystic law of cause and effect, and you GET the effect...maybe not right away, but you will get it...

All you do is chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, connect with the fellowship of believers at sgi-usa.org, study the writings of Nichiren Daishonin and help others find out about chanting....and have the COURAGE to FACE YOUR LIFE. That's the hard part. That's why we practice together. We all help each other. Join us! And make your list of what you want to see happen. You ROCK!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Awakening the Poetic Soul ~

THE POETIC SPIRIT by Daisaku Ikeda


“The cloud-seas of the heavens are riled by waves.

The moon a ship rowed into hiding behind a forest of stars.”


This waka-style poem was written some 1,300 years ago. It is included in the “Manyoshu” (“A Collection of 10,000 Leaves”), the oldest extant collection of Japanese poems. Today we have sent human beings beyond the reaches of Earth’s atmosphere; we have stood on the surface of the moon. Yet, reading this poem one has to wonder if people in ancient times didn’t sense the presence of the moon and stars more intimately than we do today. Is it possible they lived richer, more expansive lives than we, who for all our material comfort, rarely remember to look up to the sky?


The eyes of a poet discover in each person a unique and irreplaceable humanity. While arrogant intellect seeks to control and manipulate the world, the poetic spirit bows with reverence before its mysteries.


Human beings are each a microcosm. Living here on Earth, we breathe the rhythms of a universe that extends infinitely above us. When resonant harmonies arise between this vast outer cosmos and the inner human cosmos, poetry is born. At one time, perhaps, all people were poets, in intimate dialogue with Nature. In Japan, the Manyoshu collection comprised poems written by people of all classes. And almost half of the poems are marked “Poet unknown.”


These poems were not written to leave behind a name. Poems and songs penned as an unstoppable outpouring of the heart take on a life of their own. They transcend the limits of nationality and time as they pass from person to person, from one heart to another.


The poetic spirit has the power to “retune” and reconnect a discordant, divided world. True poets stand firm, confronting life’s conflicts and complexities. Harm done to anyone, anywhere, causes agony in the poet’s heart.


A poet is one who offers people words of courage and hope, seeking the perspective—one step deeper, one step higher –that makes tangible the enduring spiritual realities of our lives.


Now more than ever, we need the thunderous, rousing voice of poetry. We need the poet’s impassioned songs of peace, of the shared and mutually supportive existence of all things. We need to reawaken the poetic spirit within us, the youthful, vital energy and wisdom that enable us to live to the fullest. We must all be poets.


An ancient Japanese Poet wrote; “Poets arise as 10,000 leaves of language from the seeds of people’s hearts.”


Our planet is scarred and damaged, its life-systems threatened with collapse. WE must shade and protect Earth with “leaves of language” arising from the depths of life. Modern civilization will be healthy only when the poetic spirit regains its rightful place.


This article is reprinted from THE JAPAN TIMES, October12, 2006


Daisaku Ikeda is President of Soka Gakkai International, and Founder of Soka University and the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research. He is also a Poet Laureate.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A wood burning fireplace

Here I am in the living room, watching the embers of a dying fire. It was roaring not that long ago...I'm still trying to figure the real-wood fire out! Those fake logs...I've got them down pat!

So this morning, who comes sauntering into my bedroom saying meow? You guessed it! My escapee~Myoho. Don't know where he'd been, but he had a bunch of new mats in his fur. People all day have been asking me "Where was he?" and I keep responding "He won't tell!"

But he's home! Most of the mats are gone by now. I brushed him this afternoon. So all is back to normal.

I learned a lot during the ride to Champaign last night. I learned that Ben's time on the Footlocker race last week was in the all time top 100 times...and on the way down a coach called to recruit him. Isn't it wonderful that Ben is in this position? Especially since he was injured for 5 weeks in the middle of his season. I just keep chanting for him, even when he doesn't have the time. It's a challenge to be a senior and get all the applications in to colleges and take 5 advanced placement classes AND be an all-state runner at the same time. Right now I hear him playing his guitar and I'm so happy he can take the time to write a song tonight!

I determined a while ago, through watching my friends who are Buddhist parents that the kids chant when they can...but my prayers are so powerful that they don't have to. A year ago my friend chanted for 6 hours one day so her daughter could break through and get a lead in the play...and she got it. I chant like that for my kids. Yes, it's nice when they can chant...but I can chant for them when they can't!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

BASKETBALL and an escaped cat...and chanting to trust my life!

Well life sure has its ups and downs. Even though the door blew open and my gorgeous himalayan cat (Myoho) got out, I am trying to focus on the great things...and chanting for the beautiful beast!
I have the door open and the wind blowing as I'm writing this...

And at 3:30 Ben and I head out to the Illinois/UNC game in Champaign! I got new tires this morning and while I was gone the door blew open and the cat got out. I hope he's having a grand adventure...and I hope he returns.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

Lately I am chanting to trust the power of my life...to not overthink everything I do...and to have faith that what I am chanting about will happen. I am chanting to trust the power of my prayer...and to stop thinking that one mistake is going to blow everything. I am chanting to relax in peace of mind! I deserve all the good that I know is coming to me...I am chanting to quiet all the noise in my brain!!!!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Holiday Season~and BASKETBALL!

Wow...it really is winter here. All the leaves are gone, and the sky looks like snow. I hope the snow holds off until at least Wednesday because tomorrow is a big day! The coach at Illinois is working on recruiting Ben...and gave him tickets to the UNC/Illinois game tomorrow and GUESS WHO is going? That's right! Ben and Aaron and I will be there! Woohoo!
I LOVE live basketball. When I was in High School at Oak Park High my entire family went to every basketball game, at home and away. My junior year we played at the University of Illinois and came in third in the state. What a golden memory!
Ben's hearing from a lot of coaches. He is going to have many choices when it comes to college. Of course, as his Mom, I just want him to be happy!
Aaron was just home for Thanksgiving break and we chanted together often...the three of us. There is nothing like it. NOTHING.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Sooo Thankful

I can feel it in my life...major negative karma is changing.
I will keep you posted.
Let's just say for the moment that I am feeling thankful, so thankful.
I feel stronger, less sad...stronger and stronger every day.
I feel as if a great weight has lifted, and there are blue skies on the horizon.
I KNOW my karma is changing...it has to change...all around me I am seeing the results of my introducing people to the Gohonzon, and helping them learn to practice. Julia sent me a picture of herself and the light in her eyes, and energy in her face was so ALIVE. She said, in a way, that before she began chanting she had been feeling her life force just sapping away due to an incident that happened in 2003. Now that she is chanting she has gotten so much more healthy and happy...you can see it in her face and feel it in her life! She's also experiencing a real growth in her musical talents...who knows what else will come along.

I love to introduce my people to chanting. It is truly the most rewarding thing. And the fact that when I do it, my life gets more strong and happy...and I draw more benefits in....well, that's just icing on the cake!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Mary Lou gets her Gohonzon

Today we had a study meeting/gosho lecture at my house. I studied this material over and over until I felt I had something useful and practical to relate to the members.
And Mary Lou also received her Gohonzon! She and I first began our friendship out of my quest to solve my leg problem through something other than surgery. She helped me quite a bit...but in the end, as you know...there was only one way for me to go.
I have to say I have been so much better since the surgery. I can walk, and walk and walk! Just like I used to!
And I will tell you...my karma is changing. It has to! You can't do a ton of shakubuku and keep your life standing still. Nohow...NO WAY! Something I have been chanting for is coming true. I don't want to spoil it here ...but I will say that I deserve it and I am a happy girl!
I've also been asked to write an online column about Buddhism, and to lead a class at the Chicagoland Wellness Center called (what else?) Chant for Happiness! Yaaayyy!