Hope is Life's Treasure

The purpose of this blog is to give you hope and inspiration....to keep that fire burning in you --- even when it seems like everything is rising up against you. Hope is the most important thing. It is important for me. It is important for you. It is important for all those around you that you maintain hope!
I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I do.
I am reading it over and over as I face the challenges in my life!
Enjoy!

Daisaku Ikeda wrote this for us on January 2nd, 2012...his 84th birthday.

Hope Is Life's Treasure

Hope is
life's treasure.

Those
who have hope
are always happy.

One can have
all the wealth, power and fame
in the world,
but if one loses hope,
one will falter and stumble
in life.

The ancient Roman orator
Cicero wrote:
"Our capital is invested in hope
rather than in money;
if that hope be abandoned,
all else will be amassed
only to be lost later on."

The arrogant
who ridicule the hopeful
invariably fall in defeat,
left with naught but regret.

On no account
must we ruin
our lives,
which shine with such promise!

Hope is
a jewel that inspires and uplifts.
As long as we have hope,
we will never be deadlocked.

Victory always awaits
and happy smiles spread
where there is hope.

In the words of
the admirable Wangari Maathai,
the Kenyan environmental activist
and friend whom my wife and I
will never forget:
"Hope is like a flower,
which, when it blooms,
does so no matter
what mood it's in
or who is watching.
It always gives its best.
We can too."

Hope is
a flower that blossoms
in effort and perseverance.
Hope is
the noble visible reward
of those who accumulate unseen virtue.

People who live out their lives
with hope
never become jaded
or apathetic.

A contributive life
of giving hope
to those who are suffering
is a source of growth,
fulfillment,
learning,
creativity
and solidarity.

The great Spanish author
Miguel de Cervantes wrote,
"Just as light shines
more brightly in darkness,
so hope should be
more steadfast in trials."

Hope is the hallmark
of invincible fortitude.
Life is a struggle -
hence, our challenge is to live
with optimism and strength,
year after year.

InazoNitobe,
the great Tohoku-born educator,
friend of first Soka Gakkai president
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi,
declared that hope
can be found
even in the darkest gloom.

Such hope, he said,
is "visible only
to the eye of
faith and courage."

Even while imprisones dor his beliefs,
President Makiguchi wrote serenely,
"Depending on one's frame of mind,
even hell can be enjoyable."

Josei Toda later said
in gratitude to his martyred mentor,
"In your vast and boundless compassion,
you let me accompany you
even to prison."

As the third Soka Gakkai president,
I have steadfastly walked
the profoundly solemn
path of selfless dedication
of mentor and disciple.

I have given my life
to realizing all
the cherished hopes of
my mentor.
My heart is clear and bright,
without a cloud of regret.

As Nichiren Daishonin writes,
"The sun breaks through
the pitch-black dark."
Courageous faith is
the sun of limitless hope.

Mentor and disciple
committed to the noblest cause
will rise above all trials and adversity;
the unsurpassed brilliance of their lives
shining on forever.

Infinite hope!
The mystic law is the source.
A boundless state of life!
Faith and practice are the key.

In the Lotus Sutra,
we find these truly generous words:
"We beg that the merit (we have) gained...
may be spread far and wide to everyone,
so that we and other beings
all together may attain the Buddha way."

Kosen-rufu us
the supreme and colossal hope
of elevating
all humanity
to a vast life-state
of peace and happiness.

Ah---
Hope! Hope! Hope!
Hope is life's treasure.

At the start of a new year,
a new day,
let us set forth,
brimming with bright hope,
the sun of time without beginning
brimming in our hearts!

Let us boldly break through
even the deepest turmoil
of these troubled times,
and be the ones to create new hope!

Let us advance in triumph,
imparting the hope
of absolute victory
to one person after another!

The French writer and activist
Romain Rolland said,
"The last hope of our day
lies in youth."

I now wish to declare for all to hear:
"The greatest hope for the future lies in Soka youth."

My young friends,
never be defeated!

No matter what trials and hardships
may befall you,
never lose sight of
the golden light of hope!

Oh my friends,
my beloved friends
whom I trust with all my heart,
live out your lives with hope!
Be victorious without fail!

Daisaku Ikeda
--on my 84th birthday,
January 2nd, 2012

Our True Battle Begins!

Master and Disciple PowerPrayer and Explanation

What is the Mentor Disciple Relationship? Yesterday a reader wrote me and asked that question. 

As many of you know, I am facing a huge challenge...a crucial moment that I can use to deepen my faith!

I am putting the master and disciple relationship at the center of my life. Here is my understanding of it: 

Daisaku Ikeda, the President of the Soka Gakkai International has committed his life the happiness of each individual through peace, culture and education. Since the age of 19 he has spent every moment working towards our happiness, and the happiness of all mankind. He has published hundreds...hundreds of books, written more speeches and essays than I can possibly count, visited with world leaders throughout the globe inspiring them to be their best selves, founded cultural institutions, universities, grade schools, kindergartens and museums. He has received over 300 honorary doctorates...more than any living human has ever received. And he has inspired ME with his heart for us all. So the mentor disciple relationship for me, is chanting to feel his heart, and chant with the depth of his prayer for the whole world. 

When I chant, I chant to see the world through his eyes, to feel the world through his heart and to have the depth of prayer and compassion towards others that he has. I literally chant to deepen all my levels of compassion so that my prayer is as deep as his. I know he is a human being. A deeply committed human being. I am a deeply committed human being who has the wonderful fortune to be alive at the same time as Daisaku Ikeda. I respect him as a towering force of good for all of humanity and I aspire to chant like him and have his heart. 

This morning I chanted with this 

Master and Disciple PowerPrayer:

I chant to experience the deep faith of my mentor! I chant to deepen my faith so that I chant with the same ICHINEN as Daisaku Ikeda. 

Life!

Deepen my prayer a million times so that I realize
beyond a shadow of ANY doubt
that I AM THE BUDDHA
I AM THE BUDDHA
I AM THE BUDDHA

Remove any part of me
                               DOUBT
                                  Hesitation
                                     Confusion
                                         FEAR
That is not the BUDDHA!

Reveal the brilliant burning core of my life 
and burn this bad karma away!

Strip away the hopelessness
Wash away the fear

I am chanting with the Pure Heart Of Kosen Rufu
for those I love, for my readers, for my members, and for those who are searching to find this practice and put it to use in their lives! I chant to meet those who are ready to hear of this practice and to help them change their lives! 
I chant for the land, for the planet, for the universe. 

May every breath I breathe 
every word I write 
everything I say
Serve to strengthen EVERYONE'S FAITH! 

Shoten Zenjin! 
Support me in all my efforts for Kosen Rufu! 
This is what I am making happen through my strong determination right now!!!_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________!

The Universal PowerPrayer

I heard Linda Johnson, the incredible SGI-USA Women's Division leader talk about the Universal Prayer a few years ago. She talked about a person suffering from an "incurable" jaw disease. Linda recommended they chant the Universal Prayer and they were able to cure the jaw disease.  This is my version of the Universal PowerPrayer. Feel free to devise your own. I like to picture every single one of you in front of your Gohonzon chanting, and feel us chanting deeply together.

Universal PowerPrayer

As I am chanting, with every Daimoku I chant

I feel every other person who is chanting deepening their faith and belief in the power of their own lives! 
As I feel my strength growing, may everyone chanting feel their strength growing! 
As I polish the diamond of my life, may ALL polish the diamond of their lives with renewed conviction, increased energy and life! 

I deepen the power of my daimoku 10,000 X,

and feel all who are chanting deepen their faith, so that their benefits are overflowing and they show brilliant actual proof to all who are still suffering! 
The energy of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo spreads to create a happy world of Kosen Rufu where everyone respects everyone and no one wishes anyone harm! 

I chant that every single person who is chanting 

feels the full power 

sees the full power

experiences the full power

of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in their OWN lives. 

I chant for all members to praise their lives

receive incredible benefits

and to know, within their DNA ~

within every cell in their body

that this practice works!

I chant in unison with all who are chanting. 

May my own deepened prayer (feeling of connection with Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and the power within) serve to help all deepen their prayer! 

What Is True Victory In Life?

Burn With Ever Brighter Spirit!

I have huge challenges now! Huge. Bigger than ever. I am burning bright as the sun because I am embracing these challenges and I am determined to WIN. Not just for myself...but for YOU...and my district, for kosen-rufu and for the world. The problems I face are the problems people are facing all over. I MUST defeat them. I must use them to fuel my growth and to help people. I am a warrior for happiness...a warrior for kosen-rufu. I burn with the spirit of my mentor Daisaku Ikeda, and I AM Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and so are YOU!

The second Gosho I ever studied and studied and studied is "A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering" by Nichiren Daishonin. In it, he makes it clear that our problems are actually our benefits because the more problems we have the more we will strengthen our lives. And the stronger our lives become the happier we are. The happier we are, the more we can help others. And happiness is contagious. Our happiness leads to kosen-rufu...our happiness SPREADS. Our happiness is IMPORTANT. 

In America we have a couple of phrases that represent this. One is: "Happy Wife, Happy Life." Smart husbands say this, because they know it is true. Another is "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy" and that's true too, isn't it!

A happy wife makes a happy husband. A happy wife and mother creates a happy home. A happy home creates a happy neighborhood. A happy neighborhood leads to a happy world. Your happiness is important. In Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism we create our own happiness. We are responsible for turning poison into benefit. And we have the ultimate tool to do it! We chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in front of the mirror of our lives, the Gohonzon. We are fortunate indeed. 

This is one of my favorite quotes from the Gosho "A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering:" "In the Latter Day of the Law (now), the Votary of the Lotus Sutra (us), will appear without fail. The greater the hardships befalling him, the greater the delight he feels, because of his strong faith. Doesn't a fire burn more briskly when logs are added? " and...by extension, our problems cause us to chant and make new determinations. These new determinations strengthen our lives. We forge our own humanity and strength through having problems and defeating them one by one by one. 

President Ikeda says: 
"Instead of becoming discouraged by setbacks or changes of our circumstances, we need to lift ourselves up and take on new challenges with even greater energy. The important thing is that we remain true to the goal we have pledged to achieve that we burn with ever brighter fighting spirit to win in the end."
 (April 5 World Tribune, p.3,)

Creating Financial Fortune

In "My Dear Friends in America" there is an essay by Daisaku Ikeda called "Our Attitude Changes Everything." Here are some of his insights into Financial Fortune:

"When you clearly envision a victorious outcome, engrave it in your heart and are firmly convinced that you will attain it, your brain makes every effort to realize the mental image you have created. Then, through your unceasing efforts, that victory is finally made a reality. 

Andrew Carnegie was born into a family so poor that they couldn't afford to call a midwife to assist at his birth, but by death he had accumulated $400 million. It is difficult to calculate the equivalent value today. 

Carnegie believed in returning his earnings to society. He contributed $60 million to the creation of public libraries and $78 million to improving the educational system. When all his contributions are totaled they amount to $365 million. This is equivalent to a contribution of one million dollars a day for an entire year!
Incidentally, Carnegie's philosophy of victory was that a cheerful personality is more important than wealth. The human heart, he insisted, is just like the body. It should not remain in the shade but should move to a place in the sun. When we face difficulties, we should laugh at them. Carnegie called on everyone to walk out into the sunshine. 
Always turning our hearts to the sun - that kind of life will bring victory, according to Carnegie. As a child he would often tell his impoverished mother: "Mother I promise that someday I will buy you a silk dress. I will make sure that you have servants and your own carriage to go out in."
This determination, this mind of Carnegie's became a force for invincible effort and infinite wisdom in life. His mother also believed in her son's future, believed without the slightest doubt. "I know you will become a great person," she said to him. 
Carnegie never dreamed of the possibility of failure. That is why he could march forward without fear. His energy and confidence were contagious. A story of victory unfolded around Carnegie, with him as its central character.

The Positive Life View Within a Single Moment

You are the playwright of your own victory. You are also the play's hero. Shakespeare wrote, "All the world's a stage. / And all the men and women are merely players. (from As You Like It, act II, scene vii, line 139)

Buddhism teaches us that the individual writes and performs the script of his or her own life. Neither chance nor a divine being writes it for us...

To the Coward Everything is Impossible

Sir Walter Scott wrote that everything is impossible to the coward. Why? Because he sees everything as impossible." 

Generous Hearts Invite Great Happiness

The most important thing is to develop our states of life. When human beings think of nothing but themselves, they increasingly become entrenched in small-mindedness and their small, lesser selves. 
In contrast, those who work toward a great and all-encompassing objective - for the sake of the law, for others, for society - can forge generous hearts and great, magnanimous selves through the mystic function of their minds. Those with big hearts are assured of savoring great happiness."

Daisaku Ikeda is incredibly wise, learned and insightful. I hope we can all take the time every day to read his words.  

An now I am going to chant, and I leave you with a song and hope in your hearts. You are magnificent. Chant your song. Chant your life. Live cheerfully today and every day. And never give up!