Every Hardship Makes our Lives Shine!

The picture and the quote above are perfect, since I am in the Great Smoky Mountains right now with no way to travel home due to this great storm we are having in America they are calling "Hercules." 

My flight from Asheville, North Carolina to Chicago was cancelled, and I cannot get through to the airline to reschedule..even in the middle of the night. United Airlines hangs up on me. Tomorrow I was supposed to start my new job, but I've called my new boss and he is very understanding.

There is a huge storm in Chicago. It has been snowing for days. Some areas have more than 10 inches of snow. Tomorrow it will be as cold in Chicago as it will be in Antarctica...13 degrees BELOW zero. My friends in Chicago say "Stay in Asheville!" 

I am lucky enough to be visiting my Dad and Stepmom here, so I am warm and cozy...but it's weird not being booked on a flight back. I even thought of driving the 10 hours back but the roads are unsafe.  

I am chanting to enjoy my time with my Dad, for perfect timing in the beginning of my new job, and for all the stranded travelers. I went to the airport yesterday to try to get a flight booked and the lines were filled with people who were in worse situations than myself...with no where to go! 

I guess a big weather incident is just the way it goes sometimes!

Yesterday in Asheville we visited the amazing Points of Light Gallery and store. (Pointsoflight.net) It has the most amazing minerals I've ever seen. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

This amethyst cluster is about 3 feet high ~ from Brazil

Just magnificent! 

 This geode was so beautiful up close...

here's my Dad next to it! 

Today I'll be chanting and trying to arrange a way home. I appreciate each and every one of you for sending me such heart-warming greetings over the new year! You can write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com ~ and thanks for your Daimoku! 

Embracing Our Great Vow as Buddhas

Ahhhhhhhh

In yesterday's post I wrote about the great Vow for kosen-rufu. 

(If you're new to this blog please read the sidebar to the right. This blog is about chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and accessing our highest life potential...overcoming obstacles in our lives with happiness and ease and creating a world of respect and peace for all (kosen-rufu) we chant every day, twice a day along with fellow SGI members in 193 countries with inspiration from the President of the SGI, Daisaku Ikeda - please click on the SGI portal link to the right to find out more. This is not an official SGI blog; I have practiced for 28 years and continue to be amazed by the results of chanting every day!)

Last night I was studying President Ikeda's essay in the December 13th World Tribune, a publication here in the states. The World Tribune is, I believe, essential to the life flow of Buddhism. Whenever I get it, it's as if Sensei (President Ikeda) has written directly to me. Words just jump out of it. 

If you'd like to subscribe to the World Tribune call 800-835-4558 or go to sgi-usa.org. 

In Daisaku Ikeda's essay A Life Dedicated to the Realizing the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu I found some very interesting phrases to chant about and ponder. This essay was the address written to commemorate Soka Gakkai Foundation Day and the 70th memorial (69th anniversary) of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi's death, (the founder of the SGI) held on November 18th at the Great Hall of the Vow of Kosen-Rufu in Shinanomachi, Tokyo on November 18th. 

"The essential teaching (the latter 4 chapters) of the Lotus Sutra reveals that the life of the Buddha is eternal and imperishable from time without beginning (see the Lotus Sutra and its Opening and Closing Sutra, p. 267) The sutra's "Life Span" (16th) chapter, which is the heart of the essential teaching concludes with these words:

At all times I think to myself:

How can I cause living beings to gain entry 

into the unsurpassed way 

and quickly acquire the body of the Buddha? (LSOC, 273)

In other words, the Buddha is constantly thinking about how to guide all living beings to the supreme path and enable them to quickly attain enlightenment.

The life state of Buddhahood is characterized by one's mind and one's life being filled with a fervent wish for the happiness of the people and an unwavering commitment to keep striving in this suffering-filled saha world to help everyone attain Buddhahood. Because the Buddha is eternally dedicated to this vow, the life of the Buddha is eternal.

Nichiren Daishonin refers to the constant thought that occupies the Buddha's mind as "the compassionate vow of the Buddha" (see The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol. 1 p. 62) The eternal Buddha does not exist apart from this compassionate vow." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have always known that we recite the passage during gongyo:

"At all times I think to myself:
How can I cause living beings to gain entry 
into the unsurpassed way 
and quickly acquire the body of the Buddha? (LSOC, 273)

And from the first days I began chanting I embraced this phrase. I have interpreted this phrase with my life, and have written about this many times. Essentially, when I chant, when I am in dialogue with my life itself - I tell my life that I must achieve _______not just for myself, but to inspire others to chant! 

And the two phrases I have put in black italics above are very interesting to me. Last night I read them over and over and am chanting to understand them with my life. I offer them to you today, through our mentor, as phrases to ponder and chant about. Study is not only about intellectual understanding. How do we understand what we study with our lives? 

As always, write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. I love to hear your comments...I love to make new friends all over the world...and, of course, I love to hear your victories! 

3 Point Vow for World Peace (Kosen-Rufu)

Aren't these wise words? Aren't all of Daisaku Ikeda's words full of wisdom, practical wisdom for our lives? Entering the New Year I feel such gratitude to be able to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo along with my mentor, Daisaku Ikeda, and along with all of you, my friends all over the world. I have been hearing from so many of you...all my courageous friends. 

We all live noble lives as Votaries of the Lotus Sutra. Our great vow in life is to usher in the new age of light, of happiness, of respect and love. We call it kosen rufu, and I believe every person longs for this new world. Everyone longs for a world of peace, a world of no violence, a world of love. How do we do this? We do it through our own Human Revolution. The definition of Human Revolution is below:

We do our Human Revolution by making our great vow for kosen-rufu. What does this mean for each of us? Here is my interpretation. As always these are my views only. I speak to you from my experience and don't officially represent the Soka Gakkai. 

As you know, the Soka Gakkai has just opened the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen Rufu. We can now travel to the hall to renew our vow for Kosen Rufu. (There are specifications for entry. Please check with your local SGI center) 

Please do not cut and paste the following. 

Please send people to this link instead: http://chantforhappiness.blogspot.com/2014/01/3-point-vow-for-world-peace-kosen-rufu.html

My 3 Point Vow for Kosen Rufu is very simple

By Jamie Lee Silver, from the blog Chantforhappiness.com: 

1. I vow to use my life for Kosen Rufu. I vow to use every thought, every action, every word and every prayer to transform my life, to discard the transient and reveal the true, and to change the world through tapping into the power my life inherently possesses through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, studying Buddhism, doing shakubuku and deepening my connection with my mentor-in-life Daisaku Ikeda.  

2. I vow to live my life as an example that happiness, absolute happiness, is possible. I vow to use my life as an inspiration for people to learn about chanting, and tap into their own limitless potential. 

3. I vow to win in all areas of my life, health, love, happiness, friendships, family, (both my real family and my Gakkai family) work, writings and wealth for the sake of Kosen Rufu. 

This year is 2014. The 4 is very significant. To me it symbolizes stability. Security. Foundation....like the four legs of a solid table.  

This year I am determined to learn money management, build a solid foundation for myself and lead a life where I can travel freely to visit my friends all over the world. You!

I have always been protected financially throughout my practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo twice a day every day for the last 28 years. I have never longed for anything or gone into any kind of debt. Even this year, when I decided to take the time to write my book I was never without anything I needed or wanted. I was always protected. But I want more. 

Right now I am visiting my Dad and Stepmom Janis in beautiful Asheville North Carolina and learning from them. 

I am chanting to deepen my understanding of the financial world. This will be a real leap for me! And I tie it to my vow of Kosen-Rufu. If I can accomplish my goals, so can anyone. 

I enter this year with a new job (I start on the 6th) and a new relationship. I'll tell more about this after we've had more time together, but right now it looks and feels so warm and wonderful. 

If I can chant to change my life from the inside out, and have all these results, so can you. 

I am always chanting my vow of kosen-rufu. "Life! let me accomplish THIS ________so I can inspire others!" Your prayer is the same. Chant for what you want...exactly what you want. We all deserve to have our dreams come true. 

Happy New Year! 

Write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. Share your victories! 

Happy 86th Birthday Daisaku Ikeda!

Happy Birthday Sensei! 

May you live a long and healthy life. 

Our hearts are full of gratitude 

for your ceaseless devotion to Kosen Rufu 

and the happiness and protection of all members 

and all people worldwide.

Thank you for inspiring us

 with your words,
your songs,

 your poems,

 your discussions with world leaders and philosophers,

 your essays,

 your Diamoku

 and your heart!

May each of us continue seeking 

to embrace our vow

 to overcome our sufferings, 

inspire others,

 and create a world of peace and respect for all life. 
In 2014 
The Year of Opening 
a New Era 
of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Winning Over Ourselves is the Ultimate Battle

Praise Creates Courage! Praise ~ Praise ~ Praise~!

New Year's Day - A Great Day to Chant!

"New Year’s Day marks the first day, the first month, the beginning of the year, and the start of spring. A person who celebrates this day will accumulate virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, moving from west to east, and as the sun shines more brightly, traveling from east to west."

(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin vol. 1, p.1137)

The golden year [of 2014],
opening the way to a bright future, has begun!
Now is the time to expand the great solidarity of youthful, capable individuals.
Together, let's commence a grand march of hope!

-Daisaku Ikeda

On this day I am so grateful to all of you. 

What a joy to be at the forefront of World Peace with you! What a joy to be changing our karma together, and changing the world together. 

We have all arisen as Bodhisattvas of the Earth. We have chosen our various problems to transform in this lifetime so we can encourage others. And we are doing it together in our precious Soka Gakkai organization with our fellow members. (If you are not yet connected to the SGI use the link to the right, or email me and I can help you - new friends, wonderful experience and deepened faith await you in the SGI!) 

We can make the impossible possible through this practice. We can go from friend-less to friend-FULL, we can raise our life from sorrow and hopelessness to one of joy and determination. We can eliminate depression, lose weight, become happier, younger and we can find true love. The possibilities are endless. We can become happy and chant for all who are suffering. So many people are looking for what we have...let's shine and share and lead our friends to chant with us! 

Can there be any better joy? 

On this day I encourage you to chant for what you really want. Please chant for what you want. 

Last night I answered  emails...and many of them said "I want this_______but feel I can't chant for it for various reasons."
In my experience the best thing is to chant for what we really want. Chanting with passion will lead us to even greater happiness...even if we feel we shouldn't desire something, or we are not worthy of it, or someone has told us not to chant for it. 

Somehow the Nam-myoho-renge-kyo we resonate will lead us to the truest and best desires for our life. And we can start right where we are...with our desires right now.

The Mystic Law is, well, MYSTIC! We ARE nam-myoho-renge-kyo. We ARE the Gohonzon! When we chant we are dialoguing with our own life. We are telling our life what we want. Think "LIFE this is what I want!" while chanting. Not "Oh please?" We are not beggars - we are the Buddha! 

Chanting will work no matter what you are chanting for, so we don't have to worry. My dear friend Amos started chanting to prove to his wife that chanting didn't work. He thought she was wasting her time. He is still chanting and inspiring people more than 40 years later. The Mystic Law is a Law! It works. People have chanted for all sorts of "wrong" things and that chanting has "righted" their lives. Of course life is cause and effect so we never chant that harm should come to anyone ~ that just makes sense, right? 

So on this auspicious day of the New Year, and the New Moon we can pour our prayer into what we really want. Our dialogue is with our life itself. What do we want? What do we really want? 

Last night I was home, answering emails with one of the live shows ringing in the new year on in the background. All night there was the twitter feed running at the bottom of the TV screen. People were tweeting messages of hope and love and peace for the New Year. 

Kosen-rufu! World Peace! A world of respect for all of life! It is happening and we are ushering it in! We are literally chanting a higher vibration to this planet. We are noble votaries of the Lotus Sutra! We chant for our benefits in the name of benefits for all. "I must overcome this__________so that I can show to others the power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and encourage others to chant!" 

It is an HONOR to be Setting Sail into a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-Rufu with you ~ my dear friends! 

Write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com with your victories to share, and your questions. (I never share anything without your permission.) 
Happy New Year!