Back to Business...and blogging! And the Marvelous May Campaign!

I'm so sorry I could not write very much while I was in California. Now it's Memorial Day in America. I just put on a memorial day party on my first day back. My apartment is almost cleaned and I can take a few moments to write. 


This vacation was such a special time. It was the first time my boys and I have gone on a long vacation together. Ever. And it was so perfect. Every single morning we joined our voices in harmony by chanting and doing gongyo. It is impossible to describe the splendor of chanting with your children...through all of their lives. I remember their tiny little voices when they were little "OK Mommy" they'd say when I invited them to chant. Now, at the ages of 22 and 19 they are men, and their sonorous voices send chills down my spine when we chant together. And when you chant together like this...well, you just KNOW the day will hold wonderful tidings!


And our prayers gave us the most rhythmical and beautiful vacation ever. We never argued...we always agreed on what we wanted to do...and we went from one precious moment to the next. Since we have so many dear friends in California we spent almost every night in one of their homes. We stayed in San Anselmo, Benicia, Agoura Hills and Los Angeles. And we were on our own through Santa Cruz, Big Sur and Pismo Beach. 


And on Saturday night we were at a huge Buddhist leader's meeting in Santa Monica at the Ikeda Auditorium. The passion of the Taiko drummers was amazing. And I gained an even deeper understanding about the May Contribution Campaign. 
It really exists for us to challenge us ALL to change our karma regarding money and what we call "fortune". Most people do not come to this practice already rich. Most are struggling in some way. That is precisely why many begin the difficult practice of chanting. When we challenge ourselves to contribute a specific amount during the May contribution campaign we can use it as a cause to change something deep within our lives. We can choose what to change. We can change our financial karma forever. As Soka Gakkai Buddhists we MUST change our financial karma. We have the opportunity to inspire so many who are still suffering. 


And if we study and truly understand this practice we KNOW that the only way to change any of our circumstances starts with changing our lives on the INSIDE...doing our own Human Revolution...changing the core of our lives so that our circumstances can change to reflect our diamond-like selves. 


That is where the financial contribution campaign comes in. Every May we make determinations and goals. 


I heard many experiences about finances. Kate was chanting to be able to donate a certain amount and she didn't know exactly where it was going to come from. She got a call about a substitute teaching assignment. And they told her they had no money to give her for "prep" time. Ever teacher has to prep. If they don't pay you for prep, you still do it, and essentially work those extra prep hours for free. Kate said "No, I won't take it without prep time" and she said there was silence on the other end...then the person who wanted to hire her agreed to her price. 


Kate stressed that it's not just about the money. It is about how we value ourselves as people. It is about what we feel we deserve and standing up for ourselves. YES. I believe we all need to learn this more deeply...and put it into practice! 


We ALL need to really value our lives...our worth...ourselves as noble Boddhisatvas of the earth! 


I am still collecting your experiences! Let me hear from you!

Pismo Beach Sunset

Beautiful, isn't it? 

We spent 7 hours winding our way down Highway One, clinging to the coast. 
It was majestic, sunny, windy in some places...indescribably beautiful. 
We made friends with some adorable beach squirrels who clearly loved people (and bread!)

After making our way down Big Sur slowly, we landed at Pismo Beach and found the coolest hotel overlooking the beach. The waves were still big and the water was still the incredible indigo of the Big Sur Coast. We stayed at the Kon Tiki Inn and enjoyed every last minute of ocean view, ocean sound, ocean smell. I would love to return some day!
Now we're in Los Angeles and will be spending the weekend with Hal, Kate and Sarah. If you've been reading this blog for awhile you know that Kate introduced me to this practice and is my mentor. I will have lots of encouragement to share with you from this weekend. Today we'll be going to the Getty Museum. It's perched high above the LA Basin...has glorious views and incredible art. The structure IS the art, the setting, location and views are all a part of the art. 


We shall see...what will today hold. 
Now to chant! 

Big Sur Today!

Aaron and Ben on Big Sur...making our way on a beautiful, sunny, spectacular day!
I chanted about this vacation for months...and we are having a great time! 

Big Sur

Santa Cruz, California

Here we are in Santa Cruz California. 


What a beautiful place! 
This picture was taken from the wharf last night at sunset. 
Today we spent at the beach...playing in the water, hiking, running, climbing huge rocks. 


We had dinner tonight at Shadowbrook...the most romantic and interesting restaurant in the world...built into the side of a hill with huge tropical vegetation everywhere...just lovely. The boys liked it as much as I thought they would! 


It's great to just relax and enjoy ourselves together! 


Tomorrow we head down the coast to Big Sur. The boys have never seen that. I'll post more pictures! Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! 

We're on Vacation!

Here we are staying on the beach in Santa Cruz California! 


When we lived in San Francisco this was our favorite place to take a day excursion. I always longed to stay the night and wake up here on the beach. And now, with my two sons, we are waking up with this view this morning! (It will look like this in a few hours after the fog has burned off- right now I have a moment to write a blog!)


It has been a magical, music-filled vacation so far. We stayed with our friends Amy and Ian and their son Andrew for the first part of the trip in beautiful San Anselmo in Marin County. There is only one Marin County in the world...land of hot tubs and hybrid cars at the base of Mt. Tamalpais! 


We spent Saturday up on the mountain playing music with our friends. We were there celebrating Julia and Cliff's thirteen years of marriage. This very event was a benefit of Julia's two-year practice of chanting! Ben sang some of his original songs, I sang John Denver songs, everyone played guitar and sang, then we came down the mountain...taking the Bolinas Fairfax road (! what a wild ride !) and Amy and Ian hosted a party for us in their redwood-decked home nestled on the mountain side. At one point in the party almost everyone there joined us for a few minutes of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo! And Danielle, and Julia and I did Gongyo together for the first time! 


Every morning the boys and I have done a rousing gongyo and chanted daimoku. It is incredible to chant with their low voices! 


On Sunday we headed to Donna, Peppino and Aleza's house in Benicia. We went to a benefit concert for Voena, the world-renowned children's choir out of Benicia. I wish I could go back in time and join this choir. Their costumes were colorful, flowy scarves and they moved freely in a joyous dance of life! They are headed to the London to sing for the Olympics this summer! Then Peppino played and Aleza sang. I wish everyone reading this blog could have been there!


The next morning we all chanted together and will reconnect for another of Peppino and Aleza's concerts in the LA area on Friday. 


There is nothing like friendship, is there? We have been friends with all these people since we lived in California from 1984-1998. And seeing them again it feels like no time has passed - except we don't have babies ~ we have grown children bursting with potential! We have raised young men and women who are poised to make their mark on the world! 


I received an email from a reader today who feels hopeless...she wonders how I made it through the times when I felt hopeless myself. And there were plenty of those times. 


And I say to my reader and to all of you ~  please don't give up. I look at my joyous life now...at my sons who love spending time with me as much as I love spending time with them...we are traipsing though California laughing and joking and loving life! We are free to enjoy every moment as it passes! We are safe, we are happy, we are healthy. And every morning our voices rise in harmony as we fill our lives with the rhythm of the universe and chant Daimoku together. 


And I say...all of our happiness was BORN in those dark times when I did not give up. We've met with several of my Buddhist mentors so far this trip. One of them remembered me crying. A lot. But I kept chanting and didn't give up. I forged a new life through my tears. 


My prayer has always been  ~ I am determined to BE the BUDDHA OF ABSOLUTE HAPPINESS! I am determined to be happy and enjoy my life so that I can be an inspiration to those who are still suffering...and I can inspire them with my own life! I am determined that MY LIFE is an example that ANYONE can be happy! Let me use every moment, every chant, every word out of my mouth to make a cause for my happiness, and the happiness of others. 


This has worked for me! Look at me taking my wonderful boys on their victory lap! They are happy and successful and we are appreciating life together! Don't give up! happiness is yours to claim. 
Claim it THROUGH your tears, not despite them! Claim your happiness NOW!!! You are a Buddha!!!

Aaron and Amos in California

Amos Snell and Aaron at 

Amos's house in Vallejo California

We are celebrating Aaron's graduation from college, and his entry into medical school by going on "Aaron's Victory Lap" to visit all our dear friends in California. 

We're staying with our amazing friends in San Anslemo (Marin County) right now. Today was our day with one of my first Buddhist Mentors, Amos Snell. Amos was the leader of the first Buddhist meeting I ever attended. He told me "This practice is way too hard for you...you'll never be able to do this." And, of course, I HAD to show him! I was so determined! 

At that time we had meetings every single night...and Amos had a way of putting things that totally inspired me. 

And he inspired me with his life. 

"You a Buddha! Dream BIG!" 

I've repeated Amos's words to many young practitioners! 

We spent the afternoon listening to his stories and encouragement. He told us about his daughter. When she lost her second set of teeth in an accident they both sat down and chanted for her third set of teeth, and she got them!

Amos encouraged Aaron to accept the challenge to live a limitless life. 

Amos told Aaron to think beyond his own everyday concerns and think about how much potential he could have if he practiced consistently everyday, and fully believed that he could take on ANYTHING with his practice. 

And if he doesn't chant sincerely he could be cheapening his ability to really help other people in the future. 

Amos said life can be like the frog at the bottom of the well who can see directly above him, and aim for the light, but there's so much more he can accomplish....there's a whole world beyond the well... Aaron compared that to an ant who has no idea how tall a building is...to just aim for the impossible. Amos kept saying the word "limitless"...and asked Aaron to consider giving himself endless potential by practicing consistently and giving his all to the practice. 

Amos told Aaron about meeting Martin Luther King in Alabama when he was young. King told him "By the time you're sixteen, if you haven't found something worth dying for, you are not living your life." Amos was later imprisoned four times by joining MLK in his fight for civil rights for all. 

Then he moved to San Francisco and started his family. His grand daughter is now at Soka University where she know's Kate's daughter Sarah. I'll get to meet her when we go to Soka University next week! What a small world! 

Thanks for all the encouragement Amos!