Outstanding Disciples - The Key to Happiness and Meaning

What does it mean to be an outstanding disciple? 

Many of us have heard of the Mentor Disciple Relationship and we understand it in different ways. How can it help you to become happy and infuse your life with meaning? Can the Mentor Disciple relationship do this? 

Well, the answer for me is yes, but it takes focus and concentration. And Work. And a Vow. All the things it takes to develop the mentor disciple relationship are also the things that give life meaning and bring happiness. 

First I'll share a quote from Faith in Action about Mr. Toda and Mr. Makiguchi. I've been thinking about them all week, and just marveling about having the kind of conviction that you are willing to go to JAIL for your beliefs in order to inspire those in the future, and really make a difference in the world. This takes extraordinary guts and conviction.

Here is President Ikeda's quote: 

"When Mr. Toda was released from prison, the Soka Gakkai was left with only a handful of members. Even before the war, the membership had stood at only about 3,000. The organization's presence in Japanese society was, therefore, minuscule. Nevertheless, Mr. Toda characterized President Makiguchi as "a great man of global stature." And he encouraged us to be aware that we are disciples of this outstanding individual. Nobility is the mark of a true disciple. And Mr. Toda was an example of an exceptional disciple." 

Daisaku Ikeda, Faith in Action, page 231

In my opinion the mentor disciple relationship is self generated. It doesn't just happen, you have to search for it, understand it and internalize it. And when you do gain the understanding you do become proud and noble, and your faith becomes like the fly on the tail of the horse...

Okay, if the mentor disciple relationship needs to be generated from the disciple ~ how do you do it? 

For me, it starts with study. I read President Ikeda's words every single day. And I chant about what I read. I also chant to see with Daisaku Ikeda's eyes, to chant with the same conviction her has. I literally chant to have my daimoku be as strong and as far reaching as his...for my daimoku itself to become 10,000 times stronger, and develop my faith that much deeper. I chant to share his heart for humankind and kosen-rufu. I chant to develop as wise a life. 
I don't "worship" him, I aim to emulate and understand his heart. And this has had a profound effect on my faith, my happiness and my life. I chant for my every action to make him proud, and for all the words I write to resonate - and be the words he might say too. 
And I am so grateful I was born at this time, with him, and with YOU, so we can carry out kosen rufu together! 

Our Proud Soka Gakkai Heritage ~

From July's World Tribune:

"A single lion will triumph over a thousand sheep. A single person of courage can achieve greater things than a thousand cowards." 
~Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, founding president of the Soka Gakkai. 

"In July 1943, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, traveled to Izu Province to attend a discussion meeting in Shimoda, well aware of the danger. Mr Makiguchi, a progressive geographer and educator, and his disciple, Josei Toda, had founded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Value Creating Education Society) more than a decade before, on November 18th, 1930, as a society to promote reform based ont eh theories outlined in Mr. Makiguchi's book, The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy.

From there, the Soka Gakkai developed into a bold religious movement that sought to transform society through the practical application of Nichiren Buddhism, a life philosophy that seeks to unlock the limitless potential in all people. 

This movement ran counter to the aims of Japan's militarist government, which in the mid-1930s began dismantling religious groups at odds with state-sponsored Shinto and its view of the emperor as a living god." 

In July of 1943 Mr. Makiguchi and Josei Toda were both arrested for violating the notorious "Peace Preservation Act" and disrespect for the emperor. They both refused to recant their beliefs and place the Shinto sun goddess Talisman on their altars. Putting this talisman on their altars would have been, in effect, praying for the Japanese war effort. The Nichiren Shoshu Priesthood DID accept the Talisman, and that's one of the many reasons the Soka Gakkai eventually decided it could flourish a a lay organization and had no need of priests. 

My Makiguch died in a Japanese prison at the age of 72 after 500 days of solitary confinement. Josei Toda lived to be released from prison on July 3, 1945 and build the foundation of our movement along with his disciple, our mentor, Daisaku Ikeda. 

I believe the history of these great lions of Kosen Rufu is extremely important. Mr. Makiguchu died in prison with the deep conviction that his faith, OUR faith, was correct and true. His refusal to cave in to the fundamental darkness operating in the land is an inspiration to us all. Josei Toda was released in a weakened physical state, but he possessed a strengthened spiritual practice and deepened faith. 

Without these two martyrs, and Daisaku Ikeda whose faith, convictions, writings and actions continue to inspire us all,  we would not be facing the Gohonzon every morning and changing our lives, and the lives of others through this practice. 

We celebrate our founders this week. We celebrate their indomitable spirit. It is hard to even fathom the fact that Mr. Makiguchi attended over 240 discussion meetings under the watchful eye of the state police. He must have known he would eventually be arrested. What a lion of conviction. 

On this day, the 4th of July, American Independence Day, I tip my hat to our founding presidents of the Soka Gakkai, and I deeply appreciate the founders of America. 

Chanting Consistently WORKS - Inspiring Experience

This is the "Sunshine 60" building in Tokyo

Read on for its story:

The Building That Looks Down on Airplanes

When you don't feel like doing gongyo or daimoku, get on the green train in Tokyo that circles downtown I. and look out for the "Sunshine Building" near K--- station. This was built by someone who did not skip gongyo and daimoku for 30 years.

Once there was man who was so completely down and out that he had made up his mind to commit suicide. He was in debt to his ears, his wife was blind, and his child had problems. But before he died, he wanted to have one last meal of his favorite dish — a vegetable stew called "oden." 

As he was walking around town in the evening shadows looking for a stew shop, he noticed a warm, gentle glow of lanterns coming from a place tucked in a corner. There were a number of people milling about. "Ah, a stew shop!" he delightedly mused. He walked briskly toward the light.

As he entered and made his way through the small crowd, he realized he had made a mistake. It was a lecture. When he asked a person nearby, he was told that the speaker was a Mr. Toda. 

After listening, the man demanded of Mr. Toda, "If this Nam Myoho-renge-kyo is so powerful, will my financial problems be resolved?! Will my wife see?! Will my child's problems be resolved?!" 

To this, Mr. Toda replied: "Don't be ridiculous! If all it did were petty things like that, I wouldn't be doing this! Your financial problems will be resolved! Your wife will be able to see! And your child's problems will be resolved! Not only that, you will become a wealthy man! You will build a building that even looks down on airplanes! Do morning and evening gongyo and chant daimoku every day." 

Not because the man believed any of it, but because he was moved by the powerful conviction Mr. Toda had, he began to practice. Although it was difficult at first, he faithfully followed President Toda's instructions. He did not skip gongyo. He did morning and evening gongyo and chanted one and a half hour of daimoku every day.

Sure enough, results began to happen. His financial problems were solved. His wife was no longer blind. His child no longer had such problems. The man even became vice president of a board in his company even though he was not well-educated like most of his peers. He became wealthy. His child became active in the youth division. Things exceeded his expectations.

At the mark of practicing 30 years, he was seen standing on the top of a building, mumbling through tears. The man was standing on the top of a skyscraper that he had built. "It all became true! This building even looks down on airplanes! After 30 years ... Thank you Sensei, thank you Soka Gakkai!"

It wasn't many years later that the man passed away in his 80's, leaving a legacy of consistent practice. But before he did, he often pointed to the skyscraper and said, "This shows the power of daimoku!  I am here to say it. So please, do morning and evening gongyo and chant daimoku."

So when you don't feel like doing gongyo or chanting daimoku, take a look at the "Sunshine Building." It's still there. 

[Here is a picture of the City of Ikebukuro (in Tokyo) and the Sunshine Building. It is very well known and was once the tallest building in Tokyo. It has everything in it: business offices, restaurants, a department store, even an aquarium and a planetarium. The Sunshine Building was built on the site where Suginamo Prison — where Mr. Makiguichi and Mr. Toda were imprisoned — once was.]  

PowerPrayer for Absolute Happiness

What is Absolute Happiness? 

Daisaku Ikeda states in Faith in Action, page 37:

"There is a saying, "A small heart gets used to misery and becomes docile, while a great heart towers above misfortune." True happiness is not the absence of suffering, you cannot have day after day of clear skies. Ture happiness lies in building a self that stands dignified and indomitable like a great palace on all days, even when it is raining, snowing or stormy. "

The following is an excerpt from the book we're almost finished writing: 

The BuddhaZone
PowerPrayers for Chanting for your Absolute Happiness.

PowerPrayer for Absolute Happiness

You have arrived! Go ahead, chant your way to absolute happiness. We've done it. We've proven the power of this prayer. Now it's your turn. If we can do it, you can do it.

Core Strengthening PowerPrayer

I am determined to experience my brilliant Buddha-self. 
I am determined to raise my life condition. 
I am determined to develop a strong— strong 
core of life 
so that NOTHING will bring me to this state of unhappiness ever again. 
I am determined to strengthen my life from deep within and to radiate happiness wherever I go. 
I don't CARE if unhappiness keeps rearing its ugly head along the way. 
I WILL WIN and I will defeat it forever. 
I will defeat you, unhappiness.
I am determined to become happy so I can inspire others to become happy. If I can become happy, anyone can become happy.
I now embrace absolute happiness as my mission.

DIS-couraged, or EN-Couraged? - Some Quotes to Inspire!

In all of our lives we sometimes experience frustration, right? We all have things we've chanted about for a long time and we think maybe they will never happen...and we face the choice of being discouraged, or encouraged. 
Let's think about those words for a moment: 

DIS-COURAGED. 
Lost courage. 
No more courage. 
Negative courage. 

We do feel this from time to time, I know. It is at exactly this point that we can put our faith to its best use. We have a unique tool. 
We have faith we can use to re-EN-COURAGE us. 

En-Courage
Filled with courage
Inner courage
In the state of courage

Much better, right? 

I know this from experience. This weekend I had an event I was pretty excited about. I chanted three hours the day it  happened, and it ended up being a bit disappointing. Thank goodness I chanted all those hours. I was a little miffed, but not depressed or upset. My life condition was sky-high! 

So I had a choice. DIS couraged or EN couraged? I must admit, after this incident on Saturday, on Sunday morning I woke up and sat in front of the Gohonzon (my life) and said "Really Gohonzon? Is that the best my life can do?" and I realized I was just facing an obstacle. And yes, it was really hard to chant! 
Today I woke up, and because of YOU, because I live not just for myself, I re-encouraged myself and was able to focus, chant and redetermine to WIN in all aspects of my life. That is the power of this practice. That is the power of our lives!  

I turned to the great writings of Daisaku Ikeda. 
In Faith in Action he writes in the section Perseverance:

"It is important to take a long range view. 
No great achievement is accomplished overnight 
or without difficulty. 
Should benefit be obtained easily, 
and without making serious efforts in our Buddhist practice, we'd probably easily abandon our faith 
and end up miserable." 
p. 145 

And he continues on the next page: 

"It is important to become strong 
and to not be defeated. 
Don't become the kind of people 
who are always depending or leaning on others 
or who weakly and timidly 
leave hard work and responsibility to others. 
Whatever obstacles you may encounter, 
please use them as a launching pad for your growth 
and keep advancing, 
bravely enduring all hardships, 
telling yourselves, 
"I'll show them what I'm made of!" 
p. 146

And:

"No matter what the circumstances, 
you should never concede defeat. 
Never conclude that you've reached a dead end. 
You possess a glorious future. 
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 worry about the past. 
We must always have the spirit to begin anew 
"from this moment," 
to initiate a new struggle each day." 
p. 146

I was also thinking about the wise words of my own personal mentor and good friend in faith Kate Randolph. She explained the concept of setting deadlines, and what it means to our Buddhist practice and our lives in this wise way:


"We set deadlines to motivate OURSELVES into action. 
A deadline is not for the universe to respond to us. 
We chant. 
We take action. 
The deadline comes. 
We either win or we don't. 
If we don't get the result by the deadline 
we pick ourselves right up again and redetermine. 
The goal is to never be defeated. 
Sensei always says "To win in life is to never be defeated." That does not mean that we will never fail. 
It's our spirit that matters. 
The battle we fight is not with the universe. 
It's with our inner demons...
the ones that say things like 
"obviously chanting doesn't work 
because I did not get my dream by my deadline...or...maybe I should have a different goal...
maybe I wasn't MEANT to have that thing!....
or what am I doing wrong? 
Maybe I wasn't chanting the RIGHT way!" 
It is at that juncture that we must recognize 
the opportunity to deepen our faith and our understanding of the profundity of Buddhism. 
ANYTHING that DRAINS OUR LIFE FORCE 
is the negative function. 
Any inner voice that causes us doubt and hopelessness 
IS the negative function. 
Once we decide we will win no matter what ~ 
we need only to continue. 
We've already won. 
The battle is with the negative function within. 
Ultimately, deadlines are irrelevant. 
Set them if you need them to motivate yourself. 
But decide from the onset that you will win no matter what. And hold YOURSELF accountable. Not the universe. 
If it is a crucial moment and you are in a dire predicament, financially, or health-wise, i
t is time to DEMAND the protection of the Shoten Zenjin. 

No prayer of a votary of the Lotus Sutra will go unanswered. If your prayer is going unanswered find out what it means to be a votary of the Lotus Sutra. STUDY. And as you are chanting DEMAND the result that you want through your prayer. Awaken to your mission and realize that all your suffering is your opportunity to encourage other people. That is what is meant by turning Karma into Mission."

Small Things Matter ~ Keep Moving Forward

PowerPrayer to Realize You DESERVE your Desires

This PowerPrayer comes from my writing partner Julia Landis. I love it!

Powerprayer 
to realize I deserve what I most want

I Deserve a life of Beauty, Gain, and Good.*
I am now ready to live a life of beauty, gain and good.
I realize that I am completely worthy
of the best and most beautiful riches
and resources this world has to offer,
including money,
especially money.
Any hinderances I have every experienced to realizing my worthiness
have burned up in the fire of my Daimoku!

I am beautiful, I inspire others to realize that they are beautiful, too.
My beauty uplifts people.
The beauty, elegance, and simplicity of my
home,
clothes,
life
creates a cause in the lives of others to surround themselves with beauty and to bring forth great beauty from the depths of their lives.
From the inexhaustable well of Buddhahood within
I bring forth a positive spiral
of ever increasingly high life condition,
(material wealth), that sparkles with inherent generosity.

I am a cause for many great and needed projects
that raise the world's life condition through my wealth.
Gain is inherently good and wealth reflects a healthy self esteem, motivated productivity and generosity.
My wealth flows from my deep innate goodness that I reveal with each Daimoku I chant.
I am beauty, gain and good incarnate now
and I am simultaneously the cause of beauty, gain and good
in the lives of an uncountable number of others.

* What is value creation? Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, visionary founder of the SGI, saw the ability to create value as a distinctively human possibility. He defined value as the triad of beauty, gain and good. "Beauty" might be defined as aesthetic enhancement; "gain" as everything that enriches a person's life in the broadest sense; and "good" as that which benefits society as a whole. http://www.daisakuikeda.org/assets/files/educator/creativ-edu-maki.html