Lastminutemanifestbuddhadotcom! Guest Post from Morag in the UK ~ Enjoy!

ok, this is how exciting and amazing this practice can be.  first you have a really rubbish start to the week where every possible financial obstacle arises like a krakon from the depths. you chant and fight off negativity, read a bit of study here and there; keep your spirits up no matter what. you scrape through with the bank for three hard days. (actually, you sit at your desk chanting while your non-believing partner runs around collecting everything that's owed on every job, but they all pay up..)  that leaves your own payment on the credit card due on friday; has to be cash and paid in direct.  you chant at all day your desk, you chant while walking about tidying the shop, you determine not to lose heart, determine to summon courage and conviction that everything will be ok.  you serve customers to the best of your ability, you even talk about how your practice has changed your life to a lady who asks how you keep so cheerful giving her a booklet and NMRK card....at 3:30 a customer walks in with an enquiry but leaves again. you decide that it might be best to go and do the measures a bit early, but in good heart for tomorrow is another day... the last customer comes back just as you are locking the door, and you both go back in and book out the job for which he pays cash, the exact amount you need.  it's 4:15 and I guess the S-Z must be screaming silently 'cos you think, does the bank open this late? you turn the van around and head back to town at 4:25, drive up to the bank which closes at 4.30  go up to the cashier with the biggest grin of all time on your face, and come out with 70p change.

THAT'S THE POWER OF NMRK!!                    Morag xx 

LETTING IT GO!

We all have huge problems from time to time...problems that are so all-encompassing that we seem to recede a little from the world, and it feels as if we have lost our friends and family because this problem has laid us SO low. 

We all know that Daimoku (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo)is bigger and more powerful than any problem, but sometimes, even when we are striving our hardest, getting guidance, studying, chanting, going to meetings, our problem still weighs so heavily on our hearts. 

Many of us have experienced deep loss, grief, sadness, that seems bigger than we are. 

Well, I have been going through one of these. I've been fighting hard, and my only victory has been to NOT GIVE UP THE FIGHT. Even though I am taking every action I can think of for kosen rufu...every morning I've awakened into the problem and it has weighed on me all day. 

Well, yesterday, after reading the guidance I posted on this blog. I talked myself into setting new goals for myself. I decided I would take better care of myself. I decided to be better to myself. I got a massage. I took action to change some habits, and wrote a bunch of new goals before I chanted...among them was the goal to somehow regain my happiness. As my friend Kathy says: 

"Gohonzon some-kind-of-way this has to happen." 

And last night in the support group I go to for people who are also dealing with similar problems, they miraculously picked MY PROBLEM to workshop. We spent an hour as a group breaking it into parts, and hearing other's experiences and brainstorming solutions... and somehow I just came to terms with it. I came to a new understanding that, for now, I can't FIX it. I can only choose to stop suffering. I can LET IT GO. Just LET IT GO for now. And choose not to suffer. 

I will still chant to fix it with all my heart. But I am not going to suffer over it anymore! 

Thank you life! Thank you Gohonzon-my life itself! Today I am a new woman. And the sun is shining here in Chicago. Spring HAS TO be on its way. 

I am wishing YOU breakthroughs in happiness, breakthroughs in happiness. 

And I offer you, from this Month's Gosho The Pure and Far Reaching Voice:

"...voices infused with the prayer of the Mystic Law have the power to awaken the Buddha nature of those with whom we speak. Even though the effect might not be immediately apparent, please be assured that your voice will deeply permeate others' lives" 
Daisaku Ikeda, Living Buddhism, March 2014 p. 27

Very Interesting guidance

This is continued from the guidance I posted yesterday, and it is from the Facebook Page The Power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

Guidance on prayers answered based on our Goals - Part 2
By SGI Vice President Kawai

There are 3 kinds of directions to drive our practice:

Forward "Gear"
Forward Gear practice consists of having a clear and specified target and determination to accomplish it through prayer and action, for example: I want a white cat. She must be of Persian species, 3 yrs old, with blue eyes, female. And I want her in 2 weeks. I will get it. In other words, doing a lot of activities and daimoku with no targets and clear goals is no use, as it will not produce any changes in your life.

Neutral "Gear"
Neutral Gear Practice is chanting out of duty, with no joy. A habitual practice. E.g.I am a leader, I have responsibilities, so I'm doing activities. But there is no effect. Its like the car analogy... the engine is full and ready to go... but nothing happens.

Reverse "Gear"
Reverse Gear Practice is when the more activities and daimoku one is doing, one is still going backwards, rather than forward in one's life. In other words, one may be making a lot of seemingly good causes, but one is also complaining. There is slander and grudges against others. Or one might be Complaining about ones' own situation on not seeing immediate results. This is dangerous practice.

Just like in automatic transmission car, there is very little difference between Forward and Reverse Gears, from outward appearance it is difficult to tell where one's ichinen is. But one's life will ultimately clearly manifest it.

Slander
Even if you commit slander without realizing it, it is still slander. One should never criticize leaders. Right or wrong, one should not complain at all. Instead, one can chant for them to grow and one will benefit from that too. Similarly, never do "onshitsu" in your family. That is do not complain, criticize or carry a negative feeling towards husband /wife, children or parents. This is your karma. You chose your spouse/partner children.Chant for their growth. Further, do not depend / rely on others. Do not complain that they don't do this or that. Criticism will bring no benefit. But it will certainly bring negative effects.

In conclusion
We must eradicate the following types of prayer:

Ø Out of habit or ritual (that is without any target or determination)
Ø Out of delusion (that is while chanting, trying to find solutions to your problems)
Ø Out of disbelief (that is thinking that this is impossible and will not happen / change)

Instead, pray with your entire heart, your entire being that I am going to build a bridge towards my happiness and those of others by myself, by using the Supreme wisdom of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. One needs to have the experience of benefits / breakthroughs, so as to encourage others. "I have so many benefits through this practice... what about you?" Especially, senior members must receive many benefits. Buddhism is reason. Otherwise what is the use of practicing this faith? If they don't witness changes/ benefits then their faith has become habitual.We need to experience benefits through faith and prayer to show power of Gohonzon and encourage others.

President Toda and President Ikeda said there are 10 reasons why no change or benefits occur in senior leaders' lives, even though they have been practicing for a long time.

Ø Unclear Determination
Ø No concrete targets in faith
Ø Doing regular Gongyo but no Concrete Prayer
Ø Passive Gongyo and activities from a sense of obligation
Ø A complaining and begrudging Attitude about Faith
Ø Seeking spirit for senior leaders/ guidance has become weaker
Ø Not working hard in office or home
Ø Depressed because of various sufferings in life
Ø Weak of sense of mission for Kosen Rufu
Ø Sense of responsibility as leader is weaker

Even if one of the above is missing, then faith has become habitual and there is no benefit. We must have dreams, which lead to hope and finally become reality when we chant! Therefore, we must have big dreams!

Experience
The President of a Fisheries Co was very concerned about the drop in catch of fish as it was affecting his sales, so he went for guidance. The leader asked him "You say that you can't get lots of salmon fish. Does this mean that there is no salmon or are you unable to catch them?" "I can't get any," he replied. "Why can't you call them to your net? Did you pray like that?" The leader encouraged. "No I didn't"."There is no natural boundary in the ocean. So why don't you pray like that?" The leader encouraged. So he did. His catch went up from 20 fish to 300 in one day. His company went from deficit to surplus. This is no miracle. This is the Law. This is reason.

What is amazing is when you don't get benefits even though you do chant.

Mr. Kawai's guidance in faith, conveyed by Mr. Noro, based on President Ikeda's guidance

Prayer in Buddhism

PRAYER IN BUDDHISM….

Prayer is central to the practice of Nichiren Buddhism. SGI members often relate experiences of "offering earnest prayer," or "praying from the bottom of my heart." They also speak of having their prayers "answered." What do SGI members mean when they make such statements?

The Webster's Third International Dictionary defines prayer as "a solemn and humble approach to Divinity in word or thought, usually involving beseeching, petition, confession, praise, or thanksgiving."

In what way does the Buddhist understanding of prayer accord with this definition, and how does it differ?

Prayer appears to be a universal human activity. There is evidence to suggest that humans have been engaged in some form of "prayer" since the earliest days of our species. As soon as humans developed a consciousness of their relative powerlessness before the forces of nature, the precariousness of their existence and their own mortality, they no doubt began giving expression to intense feelings of petition, praise or thanksgiving.

SGI President Daisaku Ikeda has written that religion grew from prayer; that the sentiment and act of prayer precedes the forms that different religious traditions have since given this primordial human act. Buddhist prayer likewise may be thought of as a focused expression of these same sentiments of yearning, commitment and appreciation. It is, however, distinguished by the fact that Buddhism locates the divine within the life of the individual practitioner. The purpose of Buddhist prayer is to awaken our innate inner capacities of strength, courage and wisdom rather than to petition external forces.

Also, as in many Eastern spiritual practices, there is an emphasis on a specific physical form of prayer. For practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism this means reciting portions of the Lotus Sutra and the repeated chanting of the phrase "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo," the name of the mystic law that lies within all life, and which Nichiren derived from the title of the Lotus Sutra. That the chant is audibly intoned expresses the fact that in Nichiren Buddhism prayer is not a meditative turning inward, but an act making manifest inner qualities, bringing them out into the real world.

SGI members direct their prayer to the Gohonzon, or object of veneration. This is a mandala, a symbolic representation of the ideal state of Buddhahood, or enlightenment, in which all the tendencies and impulses of life--from the most debased to the most noble--function in harmony toward happiness and creativity. The Gohonzon is not an "idol" or "god" to be supplicated or appeased but a means for reflection and a catalyst for inner change.

SGI members are encouraged to make their prayers specific, concrete and focused on real-life problems, hopes and concerns they confront. Nichiren Buddhism stresses the inseparability of "earthly desires" and enlightenment. Nichiren states that it is by burning the "firewood" of our desires--through the act of prayer--that we are able to bring forth the flame of renewed energy and the light of our inner wisdom. Buddhist prayer is the process by which our intensely felt desires and sufferings are transformed into compassion and wisdom. In this sense, it inevitably involves self-reflection, including a sometimes painful confrontation with our own deeply-rooted destructive tendencies. To quote Nichiren again, "Your practice of the Buddhist teachings will not relieve you of the sufferings of birth and death in the least unless you perceive the true nature of your life." (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, "On Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime," page 3.)

SGI members are also encouraged to view prayer as fully integrated with the actions and behavior of daily life. Prayer only becomes genuine prayer when it is acted upon. To succeed in life we need determination and prayer, effort and ingenuity.

Most fundamentally, prayer is the process of bringing forth the supreme state of life referred to as our "Buddha nature." A potential possessed equally by all people, the Buddha nature is the fundamental, compassionate life force inherent in the cosmos. Prayer is the process of realigning our individual lives (the lesser self, with all its impulses and desires) with the rhythm of the living cosmos (the greater self). In doing this we unleash previously untapped sources of self-knowledge, wisdom, vitality and perseverance. And because, in Buddhist philosophy, there is no separation between the internal world of human beings and their environment, changes that occur in our inner life are reflected in our external circumstances. The experience of having one's prayers "answered" is the manifest result of this process.

Daisaku Ikeda has written that the ultimate form of prayer is in fact a vow--a vow to contribute to the happiness of others and the development of human society.

It is this vow and pledge to action that most profoundly attunes our lives to the larger life of the universe and brings forth our highest, most noble "selves."

Adapted from an article in the January 2000 issue of the SGI Quarterly with permission from Soka Gakkai International Office of Public Relations.

3 Important Questions to Ask While Chanting

Many of us have read Daisaku Ikeda's essay "Buddhism is the Clear Mirror that Reflects our Lives."

Here is the link to the "Clear Mirror Guidance" that asserts "The Gohonzon (scroll we face while chanting) is the clearest of all mirrors that reflects the entire universe exactly as it is. When you chant to the Gohonzon, you can perceive the true aspect of your life and tap the inexhaustible life force of Buddhahood." 

Read the entire guidance through this link:

http://www.sgi-usa.org/memberresources/womensdivision/docs/2010/WT_Clear%20Mirror.pdf

Sensei has said that our ability to bring our own wisdom to the surface through chanting is the key. How can we expand our ability to do exactly that? 

3 Important Questions to ask our lives while Chanting:

1. Life! Illuminate what I need to change...what I need to see and how I can improve. 
2. Life! What can I reveal to myself about the inner workings of my mind, my life, my actions and words that will free me from the blocks that still exist for me? 
3. Life! What actions do I need to take so that I can affect real, lasting, positive change in my life?

See what these questions reveal for you. This kind of inquiry takes concentration and courage. 

As I sat down to write for you today I opened "My Dear American Friends" and turned to the essay "The Age of Soft Power" that Daisaku Ikeda delivered at Harvard University on September 26th of 1991. In it he states: 

"One of the important Buddhist concepts, dependent origination holds that all beings and phenomena exist or occur in relation to other beings or phenomena.  All things are linked in an intricate web of causation and connection, and nothing, whether in the realm of human affairs or natural phenomenon, can exist or occur solely of its own accord. 
...It is the fusion of the self and others. At the same time it is the expansion of the limited, ego-shackled self toward a greater self whose scale is as limitless and unbounded as the universe...In practical terms, the most important question for us as individuals is how to activate the inner sources sof energy and wisdom existing within our lives...
...Our society today urgently needs the kind of inwardly directed spirituality to strengthen self-control and restraint. It is a quality that deepens our respect for the dignity of life. In a world where interpersonal relationships are becoming increasingly tenuous, greater self-control and discipline would also help restore and rejuvenate endangered feelings, including friendship, trust, and love, for without them there can be no meaningful bonds between people."

We have the capacity to use our Buddhist practice to gain self-control, express ourselves clearly, with composure, forethought, and mutual respect to strengthen our relationships, and build our environments into worlds of absolute happiness and fulfillment. 

This is a worthwhile endeavor, don't you think?

I offer you some additional quotes from
"For Today Onward" by Daisaku Ikeda:

"Why is it that sometimes our prayer seems not to be answered? This is a manifestation of the Buddha's wisdom - so that we can deepen our prayers, become stronger people, live more profound lives and secure deeper, more lasting good fortune. If our slightest prayer were answered immediately, we'd become lazy and degenerate. And we couldn't hope to build a life of great dignity and substance."  Page 89. 

"There may be times when life seems gloomy and dull. When we feel stuck in some situation or other, when we are negative toward everything, when we feel lost and bewildered, not sure which way to turn ~ at such times we must transform our passive mind-set and determine "I will proceed along this path," "I will pursue my mission today." When we do so a genuine springtime arrives in our hearts, and flowers start to blossom."
Page 88. 

And:
"Viewing events and situations in a positive light is important. The strength, wisdom and cheerfulness that accompany such an attitude lead to happiness. To regard everything in a positive light or with a spirit of goodwill, however, does not mean being foolishly gullible and allowing people to take advantage of our good nature. It means having the wisdom and perception to actually move things in a positive direction by seeing things in their best light, while all the time keeping our eyes firmly focused on reality."
Page 29.

Daily Guidance by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday

4th March

THE Law of Myoho is eternal. It possesses infinite power. Therefore, basing oneself on correct faith in the Law of Myoho is like having an engine with infinite power. Only through Myoho, which exists forever as the fundamental law of the universe, can one surely construct a correct and secure course in life based on the eternal boundless power of the universe itself.


UNDER no circumstances does Buddhism discriminate among people on the basis of race, class, social standing or both. And it is precisely for this reason that it has spread throughout the world. Equality is the spirit of the world religion that is Buddhism.


THE driving force that enables us to open the supreme palace of happiness is faith and chanting daimoku. A person of daimoku, a person who can conquer the self, will be able to enjoy life to the full throughout the three existences.


IT is important that you possess the inner strength and common sense to always have the spirit to learn everything you can where you are, to develop the means by which to support your life, to pursue substance rather than surface, and to explore the depths of your potential. And it is vital that you become irreplaceable wherever you are.


WE must not spend our lives lost in dreams and driven by illusionary pleasures. Our life itself is a great palace. By chanting and propagating the Mystic Law, we open for ourselves and others a great palace of life imbued with eternity that will never perish throughout t

Winter Always Turns to Spring

Even here is Chicago, winter will turn to spring. We are still facing dangerous temperatures around 0 degrees here, even though the norm is about 41 degrees for this time of year. Please join me in chanting for spring to come to Chicago! This post was forwarded to me from Nalini Prakash and is from the Singapore SGI organization. 

Winter Always Turns to Spring - Advancing Fearlessly towards the Spring of Victory

Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are a if in winter, but winter always turn to spring. Never, from ancient times on, has anyone heard or seen of winter turning back to autumn. Nor have we ever heard of a believer in the Lotus Sutra who turned into an ordinary person. The sutra reads, “If there are those who hear the Law, then not one will fail to attain Buddhahood.”

(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol 1, p997)

This letter, written in the fifth month of 1275 when Nichiren Daishonin was 54, was addressed to lay nun Myoichi, who lived in Kamakura.

Lay nun Myoichi and her husband were strong believers who maintained pure faith throughout the most difficult times of the Daishonin’s life from the Tatsunokuchi Persecution to the Sado exile.

But because of their faith in the Lotus Sutra, their estate was confiscated and on top of this, Myoichi’s husband passed away before the Daishonin was pardoned from his sentence of exile on Sado. Besides losing her husband, Myoichi was struggling to raise her children alone. Despite her many difficulties, Myoichi sent her attendant to where the Daishonin was in Sado to serve and protect him.

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter to encourage her, explaining that believers of the Lotus Sutra are as if in the midst of winter, but that winter unfailingly turns to spring. The Daishonin assured her that there is no doubt about her husband’s attainment of enlightenment since he displayed strong faith by continuing to follow the Daishonin even when his estate was confiscated because of his faith.

**********

Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is a teaching of hope that expounds the possibility of changing any kind of karma. The purpose of our practice of faith is to accumulate good fortune each time we overcome hardships in life to attain a life state of absolute happiness that remain indestructible for eternity.

Even though we may be in the midst of a harsh winter in life, there is no doubt that we will usher in the spring of life underscored by victory. The winter of life is filled with harsh adversities is in fact, a turning point that serves as an opportunity for us to establish a life state of Buddhahood, that is, absolute happiness.

This was precisely what Nichiren Daishonin perceived in the life of Myoichi. The Daishonin perceived that this was the crucial moment for Myoichi. She must have been experiencing extreme hardship having lost her husband and left alone to raise her children, one of whom was sickly.

However, from the perspective of the eternity of life, there is absolutely no doubt that both Myoichi and her husband who strove together with the Daishonin through the most difficult times, had already entered the orbit of attaining Buddhahood, that is, realizing a life state of absolute happiness that remains indestructible for eternity.

The Daishonin experienced successive persecutions, some of which were life-threatening, for the sake of propagating the teaching of the Mystic Law that leads all people in the Latter Day to happiness. However, no matter how great the persecution, the Daishonin’s heart remained undefeated. Even in the midst of adversities, the Daishonin wrote, “Not once have I thought of retreat” (WND-2, p465); “I feel immeasurable delight” (WND-1, p386).

The Daishonin established a magnificent life state that remained unaffected by the trials and tribulations in life. Not only did he remain undefeated, the Daishonin waged a tremendous struggle and turned the tables around by actually returning to mainland Japan alive from his exile on Sado, scoring an unprecedented victory.

On top of this, the righteousness of the Daishonin’s teachings was proven when his prediction of foreign invasion was realized with the Mongols’ invasion of Japan.

Based on these actual proofs of victories that the Daishonin demonstrated with his life, the Daishonin called forth to Myoichi with absolute conviction: “Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are as if in winter, but winter always turns to spring.” The Daishonin powerfully convinced Myoichi that it is simply not possible that one who believes in the Lotus Sutra would continue suffering forever.

Through these words, the Daishonin urged Myoichi that she must never harbour any doubts in her practice of faith and that she must continue forging ahead, no matter how difficult it is.

SGI President said in his novel, The New Human Revolution, “When the spring of victory comes after a winter of harsh trials, everything is transformed into happiness and joy. Without having cried, you cannot genuinely laugh; without having suffered, you cannot savor real joy. I’m sure there are times when, in the midst of some difficulties, you think, ‘Why me?’ But that in fact is your change to fulfill the mission you have chosen. The deeper your suffering, the greater your mission.”

Let’s us be convinced of the spring of victory in our lives and continue in our courageous endeavor to construct a youthful SGI.

(Translated and adapted from the February 2012 issue of The Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai's monthly study journal.)