Halloween 2011 ~ a Chip off the Old Block, as they say....

I am definitely my mother's daughter! 

Great Guidance! Don't let negativity defeat you!

When you're feeling hopeless... 

Remember that:

Our own negative patterns are always there...

ready to take over. 

When you are reprogramming your thoughts...

your karma...and your life...

you command the Buddhist Gods (functions) at your disposal. 

Remember, the Gohonzon cannot come down off the wall and do the Buddha's work. 

You yourself are the Buddha...

you are the Buddha doing the Buddha's work. 

You DESERVE the support of ALL the protective forces of the universe. Try chanting like this!  

"Pray that instead of devils or negative, destructive forces infiltrating your being, 

Brahma, Shakra, and the gods of the Sun and the Moon--positive, protective 

forces of the universe--will enter your life! 

Pray that they will enter the lives of all members in your district, 

your region and the entire membership of the SGI, as well. 

If you do this, your strength will multiply a hundredfold, a thousand fold. 

With such prayer, with such faith, 

you will be able to realize a fundamental transformation 

in the very depths of your life. It is the secret to 

achieving your human revolution."

World Tribune 2008

Here's Our SGI District!

Here we are last Wednesday night! We're missing a few of our members, but you can tell we come from all over the world. The Downers Grove Illinois District of the SGI has members from China, Japan, Indonesia, Ireland, India, Trinidad, Oak Park, the South Side of Chicago and other parts of Chicago. 
Every Wednesday we join together to chant, to study, to learn, and to act as mirrors for each other. We've seen each other overcome job struggles, and we've helped each other through the death of a parent. We celebrate weddings and victories encourage each other every week. 

What is Enlightenment?

A reader posted a comment asking this question: What is enlightenment? And they asked...after you are enlightened can you still go in and out of being enlightened? 
And I'd love to give you the definition of enlightenment in this particular Buddhism.
This quote comes form the introduction to the first book of Nichiren Daishonin's writings published first in America in 1979:


"ENLIGHTENMENT is not a mystical or transcendental state, as many might assume. Rather, it is a condition of the highest wisdom, vitality and good fortune wherein the individual can shape his or her own destiny, find fulfillment in daily activities, and come to understand his or her  purpose in being alive."


This explains it so well...and I can feel these words with my life. I do understand my purpose in being alive....I know I am a Silver Sunbeam of light and encouragement, and I live my life with the constant thought of what I can be doing to help others have hope and be happy. The other day a Buddhist who had recently returned from Japan said "If you don't have any hope, you don't have any compassion." and that thought has been rolling around in my head...of course...hope is an essential to life and happiness of everyone. How can we help everyone have hope? Those who have a tool to solve their problems have hope!


 Think about the word itself "enLIGHTenment".
 And I know that every single morning when I sit in front of my Gohonzon and pray ernestly to meld my prayer with Daisaku Ikeda's and express his ichinen for the peace and happiness of everyone...I know I access the highest wisdom for my life. And whenever I feel stuck, or sad, or restless...I know just what to do...chant...study...encourage people...and I'll break out of that feeling right away. I also know that all my dreams and prayers and hopes are within my reach...for me and for others...because I have a tool to make them all come true. That does sound to me like enlightenment, and it is available to everyone!

Happy Gohonzon Birthday to me!

What's a Gohonzon Birthday you ask?


It's the anniversary of the date I received the scroll originally inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin depicting the highest possible Life Condition.
It's the day that I decided to devote my life to practicing the mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration...and chant every day, twice a day.
From the beginning I was committed. I really was.
I had so much hope in my heart...that this was it....this was what I had searched my whole life to find...something that I could put my energy into...that would come back channelled any direction I wanted it to go. I was born knowing that this sort of practice existed...that I could truly find a way to overcome the suffering I was experiencing. I was born with what we call in Buddhism "a seeking spirit".
I searched high and low for this practice. Mostly I found practices that said "Your attachments to your desire are the CAUSE of your suffering" and I thought "forget THAT!" I will keep my attachment to my desires, thank you...they are part of who I am.
So I kept searching for the practical means to increase my level of happiness and channel my energy.
In the fall of 1985 I met Kate Randolph through the "Great Peace March Across America" you probably never heard of it...but it was a really big deal at the time. A man had a vision of a traveling tent city of regular people who would walk across America from LA to Washington. A lot of celebrities got behind it, and it excited my imagination. I called LA and asked how I could help. I was living in San Francisco at the time...looking for a job and in a deep depression. I'd been laid off from my job working for Werner Erhard and Associates and was really bummed about my life and my future. I was 25 and deeply confused and scared.
Through the Great Peace March, I met Kate Randolph and she spent an entire day talking to me about chanting. She told me this one story that stays so vividly in my mind. She said she had to work with celebrities and she'd gotten all tongue tied around Paul Newman. He was a superstar...not just a star...and a great humanitarian as well. She said she chanted Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for an hour and could then just talk to him like a normal person. She had a solution to her problems. That's just what I was looking for! So I found a wonderful local Buddhist Mentor, Dolores Hepburn, and was raised as a baby Buddhist by so many wise and loving Buddhist "parents". Kate remains my lifeline to wisdom and strength to this day!
And here I am....having raised two delightful Buddha boys...having had a great career...having had so many wonderful experiences fueled by chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo...and with so many more to come. And I have so much to look forward to. Every day is a delightful unfolding of revealing my own Buddha nature and making a difference with every breath I take!
Remember to view EVERY challenge as a benefit!!!! Every single one! You can turn each one of them into magic by chanting about them!!! Don't give up! Find a Buddhist parent in your neighborhood! And if you need extra help ask me....just DON"T GIVE UP and your life can be brilliant and sparkly and beautiful...and you can overcome ALL of your problems! I promise!!!

What to Chant when you're not sure...

If you are not sure that what you want is good for you - 
chant for wisdom...
chant for Strength, 
chant for happiness. 
Chant to reveal the Buddha you already are....
for the beautiful diamond life that you are to shine brilliantly forth. 
You deserve to be happy right now...
Chant to really FEEL how much you deserve to be happy! 
And study President Ikeda's Guidance, read the gosho and help others learn to chant. Then you can NOT go wrong!!!! 

Ask for Exactly What You want...and remember....

I just received the question...
"How do I chant to get my boyfriend back?" 


And the answer is "Chant for exactly what you want." If you want your boyfriend back...chant for it. Picture him coming to you. Chant for exactly what you want...


And Remember,,,,what I've been blogging about here for the last several days is a prayer that is deep enough that it truly encompasses all of your desires...and in fact...raises you out of the Hunger of always wanting more, into a higher elevated state. 


Try chanting to unite your prayer with Daisaku Ikeda's prayer for peace...chant to unite your heart with his heart for all of humanity...and watch how deeply THAT prayer affects your life!


And yes, go ahead and chant "Gohonzon! I want my boyfriend back!" Chant with your passion! Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!!!