Need A Job? Want to Change Jobs? Chant with this PowerPrayer in Mind~

The Beautiful White Lotus - Symbol of our Lives. 

The Lotus blossoms and seeds at the same time, signifying the law of cause and effect. The exact second that we make the cause - ANY cause - the effect is already there in our lives and will manifest. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the best cause we can make for our lives...along with doing shakubuku - introducing others to this practice. 

I have been enjoying our million Daimoku Campaign and chanting two hours a day. Yesterday a family member found an item of mine that had been lost for four years...my extra set of car keys with the remote opener attached. 

I opened the trunk of my car with one click for the first time in sooo long! 

I didn't have to unlock the car door with the key, lean down to the floor and hit the switch. I know, it might not seem like such a big thing to you, but it is delightful to me! I would have replaced the lost key years ago but that little gizmo costs about $130 and I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for something so small!

 And I know that's just the tip of the iceberg as far a benefits that are accruing with the determination to chant two hours a day. Yesterday I heard the perfect guidance (I shared it in yesterday's post) And I have overwhelming confidence and hope in all areas of my life. 

I have time to chant for everyone, and to really dig deep into my own karma. It's not too late to join the million Daimoku Campaign. Come along with us! See the previous posts to learn how and email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com! A million Daimoku is 300 hours - with goals!

Here is a PowerPrayer from our upcoming book for you. In reality, what is really necessary when chanting for a job is to chant for the best job for your life, and the best job for kosen-rufu! We've found the following PowerPrayers helpful too:

Confidence, Job Creation Power Prayer

All the Best is coming to me now. 

The best job of my life joyfully emerges right now. 

I now attract all that I need. 

All the right people, resources, connections and opportunities are flowing my way, at just the right time and I am ready for them! 

I have confidence in my own life

I am determined to keep my spirits up. 

I am determined to stop any negativity from coming into my mind. 

As I am chanting, everything is lining up so that I find work that uses all my talents, and pays well with benefits. 

I am determined to be around people whom I appreciate and respect and who appreciate and respect me!

I am determined to show actual proof of the power of this practice through my own life!

In order to help crystalize your desires, write a list of your talents and goals below regarding your dream job:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Making a deadline galvanizes you prayer and helps it manifest ~

If the deadline passes, make a new one and keep chanting no matter what! 

My Do-date ___________________________________________________

Power Prayer to Reveal my True Self and create the Profession that uses ALL my talents:

Today, I am willing to discard everything that no longer serves me. 

I discard all doubt, negativity and any feelings of not being good enough or not knowing what I should do.

My mind is becoming crystal clear. 

I am determined to be full-filled in every possible way, and to utilize every single one of my skills

joy

and potentials. 

I am in an organization that is thriving with self-fulfilled individuals living their passion every day.  My professional environment reflects my true identity, my real, magnificent self, and is filled with appreciation and love. I am richly compensated.

I am DONE with the karma of being unappreciated. I permanently root that pattern out of my life.

I permanently wash doubt and negativity from my life. I don't care how many times it arises. Each time I feel doubt I will chant and chase it out of my brain like the fierce lioness I am. 

I can already feel the excitement of my new full-filled professional life!

Ghandi Taught...

"Gandhi taught people 
to live with lionlike courage, 
impressing upon them 
that they could not afford 
to leave things up to others, 
that they had to stand up 
for themselves 
and fight for justice. 
Ultimately, the only way forward is
by developing self-reliance, 
forging a stand-alone spirit. 
That is the only path to victory"

Daisaku Ikeda, For Today and Tomorrow, page 61

Chanting a Million Daimoku! And some Guidance Involving Addiction or Drug usage

A few days ago I issued a challenge to you to see if you'd want to chant a million Daimoku (300 hours) with me by the end of the year and many of you responded YES! And that means chanting 2 hours a day from now until them. 

But you know, if you don't want to chant two hours a day you can still join us - you can just end your campaign later than the end of the year. You can chant one hour, or as much as you can every day. The important thing is to have a chart with either 300 spaces (1 per hour) or 300 spaces divided up by 4 (1200 spaces total ~ each counts as 15 minutes) and then set your goals. 

It is only 99 days until November 18th right now. We all have goals that we want to accomplish by November 18th. 

And if you don't ~ now is the perfect time to set them! 

Make big goals. 

November 18th, as you may know is the anniversary of the day the Soka Gakkai was founded, and the day that Tsunesaburo Makiguchi died in prison at the age of 72 for refusing to give up his beliefs. AND it is the day the new World Headquarters of the Soka Gakkai will open, establishing a new age of Soka Gakkai Buddhism on the World's stage. I have huge goals towards this day ~ I hope you do too! 

So with that in mind I hope you'll consider joining us on our shared Million Daimoku Campaign. Just send me an email at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. Ask me any questions you have about chanting a million Daimoku. And think about what deep seated karma you want to change. Make Your List!

And be prepared to encounter obstacles! I just started this two days ago and already I am pleased to report that I have SUMMONED some great obstacles! Yaaayyy! And I got some great guidance which I will share with you now. 

Someone I care about is having trouble with drugs, and, of course, I am very concerned. This morning I was up and out of the house by 7:30 am to go to the Chicago Buddhist Center to chant my two hours of Daimoku. Chanting with others always makes the time fly. 

At a break in the chanting I talked to my new wonderful women's region leader about the drug problem. She told me that she has a niece who had a very hard time with addictions, and the guidance she (my region leader) received was to chant to eradicate ANY and every bit of her OWN karma that was tied to addiction in any way, and that her prayer to eradicate this karma in HER own life would spread across her family line. Her niece is now in rehab and is embracing this practice. Chanting. Cool. OK I can do this. I will chant with renewed focus and use MY life and my determination to help others. I will root that tendency (to want to escape) out of my own life. 

Human Revolution at work, right?!

I am so appreciative of my brilliant Soka Gakkai Family. I am chanting and chanting for Shakubuku and for the happiness and strength of members worldwide. It is my greatest treasure to know YOU, and I love hearing from you. Please let me know if you're joining the Million Daimoku Campaign. Let's all change our karma together! 

Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

What's this Blog All About? How Does Chanting Work?

The following is a Passage from Julia Landis' and Jamie Lee Silver's upcoming book, The BuddhaZone, PowerPrayers for Chanting Your Way to Absolute Happiness:

As Nichiren (SGI) Buddhists we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to summon up our fathomless wisdom while steering our life-craft in the direction of our innermost desires. We chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo over and over and over again. We call this chanting Daimoku 
(Die-MOH-Koo). Daimoku means title and the title of the Lotus Sutra is  Myoho-Renge-Kyo.  The founder of this practice, Nichiren Daishonin, added to Myoho-renge-kyo  the syllable Nam which means “I devote my life to.” 

So, a brief translation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is, 

“I devote my life to the mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration,” or, “I am one with the very rhythm of life.”

“Myoho-renge-kyo is the name of the ultimate mystic truth, and Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo  is the name of the life state of Buddhas who embody and reveal this truth.” 
p.28 On Attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime.

It actually becomes very natural over time to focus on a personal PowerPrayer while chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.  It is nothing more than putting your deepest fundamental wish into action. By chanting and focusing on our most cherished desire, we come to steer our lives with confidence in the direction of Buddhahood. Our lives become lives of immense creativity, wisdom and value, and most of all Love. For as we chant, rhythmically and powerfully, we exude into our environment a music that evokes our deepest, innermost  capacity and transforms any manner of poison (problem) into a medicine (benefit), and further, into a nectar (deep and absolute happiness). 

Love's Got to do with it

A PowerPrayer is infused with love. That's the source of its power. When we chant for what we really want it comes from a real love for ourselves. All love begins with self love. However, you don't have to come to this practice in a state of self-love. This practice will take you there. Chanting Daimoku will itself bring about this state in your life. As the well known writer in the personal growth movement, Louise Hay, has said at the age eighty-two, “self love is the most important thing of all.” When you love yourself, everything in your environment loves you back. Your environment is a reflection of your own state of life and connection to the source of all happiness. 

Sadly, in general, Human beings tend to project this source outside of themselves. In fact, we are most comfortable, it seems in today's spiritual culture, when we project both the source of our mystical power and, also, its recipient outside of our lives. (Everyone seems to be praying to a power outside of themselves for a person who isn't them!) A great majority of souls, and you, yourself, we imagine, have prayed with love in your heart for the happiness of someone else, invoking a power that you have come to believe is “higher” than your own life. It has become commonplace.

But how often have you prayed with immense love...
for your own life, 
for your own happiness, 
for your own well-being? 
And more importantly, how often have you prayed...
from your own life
to your own life 
for the very best things 
and experiences for you
in short, for your own happiness?

We have found that, as it has been written, if we intone our voice with Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we can summon up great love, the kind of love that is required of us if we want to awaken to our true potential. And that is another name for Buddhas: Beings who have realized their infinitely positive wise and loving potentials.

It is our PowerPrayer that as you are reading, these words are activating within you the curiosity and courage it will take to sustain you on this journey. For the Lotus won't give its seed if one's hand is not open. It is our prayer that you open your hand in such a way that you open your mind, heart, and Life, as well. And you chant! 

Listen to the secret we whisper into your ear:

You are the Buddha of Infinite Potential. Yes, YOU are the Buddha. Your life story is one of awakening. Through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo you will be able to solve your problems and awaken to your own Buddhahood that has always been your birthright. 

The above passage is part of the preface to the book Julia and I have been writing for you. It is almost finished and is packed with PowerPrayers to strengthen your life and your practice. 
On this blog I have written many posts for people who are interested in chanting, and I invite your questions and comments. You may email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. 

For the Million Daimoku Campaign ~ An Update

Hello to all of you who are joining in to chant a million Daimoku between now and the end of the year. 
Just a note to say I miscalculated a bit. 

We need to do 2 hours a day between now and then to reach a million. 

We can do it! 

Join us by sending an email to chantforhappiness@gmail.com. 

Let's all change that stuck karma once and for all! 

Make your list and let's chant together! 

Experience in Faith to Start Your Weekend!

From a reader from India who now lives in the US:

I started this practice in 2005. I moved to the US from India in 2003 all alone. As per indian tradition I got married in 2004. My marriage was not successful; we had lots of hardship during my marriage. 

I left the house so many times but always came back due to lack of courage and I was always scared what people would think. But somehow I got connected to my friend who had moved to the US. She introduced me to this wonderful practice. 

At first I chanted alone and not much. Whenever I would feel lonely, I always chanted (as my family as in India). I never wanted to tell them what I was going through. One day I got into big fight with my Ex and the next day I chanted - if this relationship is not going to work then I should know right away. 

No wonder, within 1 month I was out of that house. Not sure where that courage came from but I was really happy that I made that decision. Since then my faith is stronger and stronger day by day and I have never looked back. 

I used to chant for hours and received benefits beyond my imagination. A few years later I was chanting for a partner who would accept me with my chanting. I am married now and my partner fully supports my practice.  

I even have my own chanting room in my home (Beyond my imagination). I have two wonderful kids. I always chanted for a Harmonious family. My husband is so understanding and kind hearted that at one time in my life it seemed impossible. 

I have succeeded in my professional life as well. I will share that experience later. 

At the end all I can say this practice is my soul. 

Nothing is impossible - Keep chanting. 

Join Us as We Chant A Million Daimoku by the end of the Year

This is a momentous year for the SGI. On November 18th the new world headquarters will be completed in Tokyo. Many of us have big goals that we intend to complete by that time. You can set goals to achieve by then as well. 

Yesterday I decided that I was facing a lot of challenges, and that NOW was a great time to begin a Daimoku Campaign. I thought about having it end by November 18th, but that would mean chanting three hours a day, and I just can't commit to that at this point. So I decided to aim my Daimoku chart for the end of the year - or sooner, and chant at least an hour and a half a day. Would you like to join me? 

If you begin with us now, you will have chanted a million daimoku (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) by the end of the year. You can download a free daimoku chart, buy one at your local SGI center for about a dollar or make your own. One million Daimoku equals 300 hours. I'm not sure who first figured that out, but it's the formula everyone uses. To reach that total by the end of the year we each have to chant an hour and a half ~ are you up for the challenge?

Already many of you have emailed and said "YES~! I'm IN!" and some of you have also sent your goals for the campaign. 

How do you launch a Daimoku Campaign? 

First, DECIDE to do it. Find a way to track. I like the Daimoku chart I got at the SGI Center because it has little circles to fill in for every 15 minutes I chant. 
(It has 4 circles for every hour so 4 x 300 hours means there are 1200 little circles)
I always write in the date after I fill in the circles so I don't lose track. It makes chanting even more fun, I think, because every day you have a goal and track it. And on the chart, or on the back of the chart you write all your goals. 

I remember chanting a million daimoku towards the birth of my first child. I wasn't even pregnant before I started the chart. I chanted for the maturity to be a good mother, I chanted for a house to raise my child, to have a great relationship with my husband, for the child to be healthy, to have a safe delivery, and a good income to take care of everything. I found a job where I earned sales commissions that went up and up and up, and only worked three days a week. We bought a beautiful house on the top of a hill in San Francisco and I started having SGI meetings. And I poured Daimoku into the child that was coming to me. I chanted that this child's karma would be totally affected by all my daimoku and that this child would not have to suffer from all the things I did as a child. I chanted so hard for this child, and every one of my goals came true. 

Will all your goals manifest with one Daimoku Chart? That I can't tell you. But I can tell you you'll be a lot closer to them for having made a strong determination and completed it. And if you still have things you want to accomplish - well then, you start another million daimoku campaign! I have done many in my life and I feel the effects of them every day. 

If you have questions, or if you want to let me know you are joining us please email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. You can even send your picture and your determinations. Maybe I will share some of them on this site (never without your permission, of course!). And I look forward to sharing all our successes!