Become a Light of Hope and you will be Victorious!!!

YES! Congratulations Soka university Class of 2013!  

This post is derived largely from the 
June 14th World Tribune celebrating the graduation. 

Soka University, Los Angeles was founded by Daisaku Ikeda and opened in 2001. In 2013 Soka was named as one of the top 50 finest liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report. They also ranked Soka #1 in Faculty Resources, #2 in Foreign Support Factor ( with 42% of students coming from outside the U.S.), #2 in Ethnic Diversity and #8 in Best Value School. 

The June 14th World Tribune has wisdom for us all:

In his address to the class of 2013, Soku University of America President Dr. Habuki noted that the song "The Light of Hope," which Dr. Ikeda wrote and dedicated to SUA, speaks of his hopes and expectations for the school's graduates to become the "light of hope" wherever they go. How do they do this? 
The key, Dr. Habuki said, is to become a person who works for the sake of others. 


"When you center everything and base things only on yourself, it becomes much easier to give up, because you will only disappoint yourself." he said. "When your efforts are for the sake of other people and society, you become far more determined to succeed. Like those of you who are the first college graduate in your family, I am sure you worked harder because of your families. 
"After today, you will soon leave the campus where you lived for four years, and I know there will be many challenges ahead," he continued. "There will be occasions when you will feel defeated or stuck. During those times, always remember those who have supported and believed in you, and those waiting for you in society - your parents, your friends and the people of the world. Let this become the basis of your strength."

Dr. Habuki, President of Soka University. 

We can all take this message to heart. When we are chanting we can focus on fulfilling our dreams not just for ourselves, but also to be a beacon of hope for others. 

When I started this blog in 2009 I was determined to overcome my deep-seated and life-long sadness, not just for myself, but for my members, for my friends and for anyone who might be reading this blog. Every day I chanted to root the cause of this sadness and despair out of my life FOREVER. And now, I am just amazed at my life every single day. I am victorious. 
I have defeated my biggest internal demon  - I no longer suffer from depression and sadness! 

Having a strong determination for the sake of other people is one of the golden keys to happiness. Thank you for saying it so succinctly Dr. Habuki and good luck to all the Soka U graduates!!!!

Powerful Guest Post about Belief from Morag in the UK

From 'The Nature of Success'  

Discover the Power of Belief

For more than a hundred years, runners tried to break the 4 minute mile.  It was considered the 'holy grail' of track and field. In fact, doctors in medical journals wrote how it was impossible and explained how the human body was physically incapable of accomplishing this feat.

Then in May 1954 a british medical student named Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3 minutes 59 and a half seconds.  This made headlines around the world!

Then, even more amazing, the record was broken again the following month and again and again.  It has since been broken over 700 times sometimes by several people in the same race.

What happened, what was different?  They believed they could do it!  The barriers of the mind had broken down.  successful people have one thing in common: they believe with all their heart they can do it.

You see, whether you think you can or whether you think you can't...you're right!

In the world of faith this principle works with even greater results.  The Daishonin believed with his entire being that his exile to Sado was only temporary.  He wrote to Shijo Kingo "When I come back to Kamakura we will meet."  
(And the majority of people did NOT return form an exile on Sado Island)

We empower our prayers when we believe they will be answered.  The Gosho says several times and in different ways that 'no prayer of the votary of the Lotus Sutra goes unanswered.'  It is down to us to deepen our faith, strengthen our practice and live our lives in such belief without doubting.

Sent from Morag Waghome, in the UK. 

Chanting for Others Has a Profound Effect and an Ultimate Power Prayer for Change

Yes, we are all connected.

Suppose we have someone at work we don't get along with...or a family member that is giving us problems. What is the best way to handle this situation as a Buddhist? 

Many of us have proven, time and again, that chanting for that person's happiness changes everything. Chanting for their happiness might not sound like something you want to do, or even feel capable of, but it works every single time, I promise. 

Here are two examples: 

The first time I tried this I hadn't been chanting all that long and I was selling advertising for the Bay Guardian Newspaper. This was before so much of the technology we have now. Ads were placed on the boards by hand, and it was all meticulously done. I sold a lot of advertising. And the person who handled my ads in production (I'll call her Katia) was always upset with me for some reason or other. It got to the point that she was really driving me crazy. So I sought guidance from one of my seniors in faith. She said I should chant for Katia's happiness, because my prayer would affect her state of life, and the energy between us would change. 

I'll be honest, I thought it would be really difficult, if not impossible, to truly chant and desire this person's happiness. But the senior in faith told me to "fake it till you make it." In other words, start chanting for Katia even if I couldn't really put my heart into it. She told me to picture Katia with a big smile on her face, and sooner or later my prayer for her happiness would become sincere. 

This is exactly what happened. Within a very short period of time I found myself earnestly desiring happiness for Katia, and knowing in my heart that my chanting was going to have an effect. 

About a month later, Katia announced that she was getting engaged and moving to Los Angeles. She was happy and so was I!

I realized that through this practice I was actually exercising my muscle of compassion. After that, chanting for anyone I was having problems with came much easier. 

Another example was when I went to work for a larger company here in the Midwest. I could tell, that for no apparent reason, one of the employees really didn't like me, (I'll call her Sharon). She never said anything negative, and I didn't work with her very closely, but I could feel her hair standing on end when she saw me. So I decided to chant for her happiness every day for months. 

Instead of leaving the company like Katia did, Sharon just totally changed her feelings for me and came to love and respect me. She served on several of my committees and spoke very highly of me. She and I put together a Holiday party for the senior staff based on kind words and love. We worked together happily for many years. 

Throughout the years of my practice I have proven over and over that chanting for another person's happiness has a profound effect, and that I can GENERATE compassion by exercising my muscle of faith. 

Is there anyone you have been resenting who you could chant for? 


Ultimate PowerPrayer to receive insight from and for my life

Gohonzon, I am willing to change in any way possible to achieve _____________________in my life. 
Show me what I need to change 
in my thoughts, words, and actions 
and help me realize that
because I possess the world of Buddhahood  
I already have the strength,  
receptivity 
and courage to hear, 
to understand, 
and to change. 
Open my heart and mind to hear the messages
that will move me forward.
I release my resistance to change. 

I can now learn from my environment 
and everyone in it 
because I realize that I am one with my environment, 
and my environment is coming towards me to help me. 
It comes towards me through people, books. etc.
in everything there is a loving message for me 
and I'm wise enough to figure out what it is 
and generous enough with myself to take it in 
and benefit from it.  
My environment is a clear mirror of my life 
and I joyfully realize 
that I need to change for “it” to change. 
Life, I am ready!

The first thing is to pray:

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 Nam-myoho-renge-kyo 
with a deep and powerful resolve, 
the sun begins to rise in our hearts. 
Hope --- prayer is the sun of hope. 
To chant 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 Buddhism.

Daisaku Ikeda

Ultimate PowerPrayer for Human Revolution, the KEY to Absolute Happiness

Doing your own Human Revolution is the most important thing you can do. 

Why? 

Human Revolution is YOU, growing and changing from within, strengthening your life, and raising your life condition to the life condition of the Buddha. 
By doing your Human Revolution you can change ANY poison into a medicine. 
Why is this? 
When we change on the inside of our lives, due to the principle of Esho Funi, our environment and everything in it HAS to respond because we are one with it. We are interconnected with everything. There are times we feel and see this connection, and there are times that we don't. But whether we see it or not it is there. SO if you want to make real changes you must change from within. 

Today, on the day my son just got back from three weeks of medical work in Bolivia, I am sharing with you two PowerPrayers from the book Julia and I are writing for you. These PowerPrayers, along with your strong practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo every day, twice a day, going to SGI meetings and studying and encouraging others can be extremely powerful in your life. 
I am interested in your feedback. 

UltimatePowerPrayer 
for Human Revolution


I am determined to make any changes necessary 
in my thoughts, 
in my actions, 
even in the way that I chant 
in order to make continual positive causes 
in every moment of every day. 
These positive causes 
result in rooting the negative karma OUT OF MY LIFE! 
I am determined to make the changes inside myself, 
to change any weakness within me into strengths...
to do my own human revolution 
and raise my life condition! 
I am determined to change in any way necessary 
to accomplish_____________. 
Life! 
I am bringing the determination, 
wisdom and fire 
I need to create the life of my dreams. 
I AM NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO! 
I AM ROARING LIKE A LION IN MY OWN LIFE! 
I WILL CREATE MY LIFE! 
I do this not only for me, but for everyone who is suffering. 
I am determined to glow within my own life. 
I am a shining light for all who are suffering. 
I am a beacon of hope 
that ANYONE can solve their problems 
by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. 
I am ready to meet people 
who are ready to hear about this practice!  
I chant to have the most inspiring life. 
Gohonzon (my life) I demand to see these results now!"

Happy Summer Solstice!

When you chant enough daimoku 

your life is shining like the sun. 

Are you feeling a little down? 

Are things not going your way as often as you would like? 

If you start chanting more daimoku more consistently your life will rise with the power of daimoku, you'll feel a glow and contentment, you'll be happier, people you want to have in your life will be drawn to you...

Try challenging yourself to chant more daimoku in the morning and the evening. You can make it fun by chanting with others. And you may experience the place I am in right now...the more I chant the more I WANT to chant. The time flies. It is effortless. I have so many things to chant for! I feel so connected. I chant with so much joy! 

Daimoku is FREE and a "happiness making machine." 

I've been chanting at least two hours a day for awhile. I'm focusing on writing the PowerPrayer book, and on YOU who read this blog. 

My deepest desire is to write words that inspire you, give you hope and make you want to get back in front of your Gohonzon and rededicate yourself to creating the life you really want. When you chant you TELL your life what you want.

My deepest desire is to encourage you to take Nichiren Daishonin and Daisaku Ikeda's words to heart and engrave them in your lives. 

My deepest desire is for you to be so happy that people naturally want to learn what you're doing and you can teach them to chant. 

My deepest desire is to always connect with Sensei (Daisaku Ikeda) and take the actions, chant the prayers, and write and say the words that he would say. 

Sensei's Daily Guidance for June 21 from For Today and Tomorrow reads:

"When you devote your life to achieving your goal,  
you will not be bothered by shallow criticism. 
In fact nothing can be accomplished 
if you allow yourself to be swayed by some trifling matter, 
always looking over your shoulder and wondering what others are saying or thinking. 
The key to achievement is to move forward resolutely along your chosen path."

Experience of Protection in the Recent Colorado Wildfires

Heather's Colorado Springs' Fire Story 

of actual proof and protection  

through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. 

This is a photo of me, Heather, Kathy and Shirley. 

We are Heather's "Buddha Moms" and this was taken on Mother's Day at the Chicago SGI Center just before Heather moved to Colorado Springs. 

Heather has been a dear friend and YWD (Young Women's Division member) in my district for over two years. She was brought up as a traditional Buddhist to believe that personal desires are bad, and desires are the cause of all suffering. 

So, all the times that I urged her to chant for what she wanted, she just could not. She also did not want to commit to chanting every morning and evening, saying, "I don't do anything twice a day!" and seeing a consistent practice as a sign of giving in to something. Those of us who chant every morning and evening know there is a real difference between chanting twice a day and chanting occasionally. Life flows more easily, insights come more quickly and it is easier to defeat our own negativity and make things happen with a twice a day practice. Your inner power emerges. 

Last November, after a trying year of facing several painful events, Heather decided to give every morning and every evening chanting a try, and immediately told me she could feel the difference. She said she would never have believed it if she hadn't seen for herself. So she continued to do it. 

One day soon after, in front of my Gohonzon chanting with me, she chanted for her first desire, and tears fell down her cheeks. I told her "every tear cried in front of the Gohonzon is a diamond in your life." And she began sincerely chanting for her desires. 

Her first real desire was to move to Colorado. She accomplished this right after Mother's Day. I told her the members there must be chanting for her to come! On Mother's Day, Danny Nagashima told us that a new SGI Center had been opened in Colorado Springs just the day before. She was totally in rhythm.  

She moved in with a friend in a great house in Black Forest by Colorado Springs and was loving every minute.  She has a beautiful sunny bedroom and a great situation for her and her faithful dog Bowser. She loves her roommates and talks to them about her "prayer box" (Butsudan) and practice. 

She's found friendships in the Colorado Springs SGI already. When she walked into the SGI center she told them she had just moved from Chicago they said "We've been chanting for you!" and welcomed her with open arms. 

Two weeks ago Heather came back to Chicago for a wedding. Before she left Colorado she locked her room with her Gohonzon and Butsudan in it. She moved her Gohonzon to a fire-proof safe, and hid a key in the front yard "just in case." 

As many of you may know, Colorado Springs just had the biggest wildfire in Colorado's history. The flames reached over 300 feet.  Heather was already here when it broke out. 

The fire began mid-day and when her roommate headed home she was stopped at a barricade and told she couldn't go back to the house to get her dog or belongings. Heather's roommate was determined to save her dog and Heather's "Prayer Box" and she went around the barricade and raced to the house. When she got there she found Heather's bedroom door locked and called Heather who told her where she'd hidden the key. Her roommate safely rescued the dogs, the Butsudan and the Gohonzon!

For many days, no one knew if the house was still standing, and we were all chanting. 

On Tuesday, Heather learned that her entire block and all around it was burned...except...you guessed it...her house. Her roommate said it looked like there was a "bubble around the house" because everything else was burned. 

Heather says now she is going to return and everyone in her house is going to start chanting because of her amazing actual proof!