4 Secrets for Strengthening Your Muscle of Appreciation

A reader requested I write a blog giving tips for generating more gratitude and appreciation in her life. 

Daisaku Ikeda writes in Faith into Action, page 7 (under Appreciation)
"To "enjoy what there is to enjoy" means to cause the "mystic lotus of the heart" to blossom brightly with a sense of appreciation and joy. Someone who can find joy, who can feel appreciation, experiences a snowballing exhilaration and joy in life. Such is the heart's function."

So here you go. Thanks so much for writing in! 

4 Secrets for Strengthening 

Your Muscle of Appreciation! 

By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

Gratitude is attitude. It starts with YOU. It is a muscle you can build. And once you build it....ahhh the benefits that begin to flow! 

Tip #1
Before you get out of bed think about ten things you are grateful for that very day. They can be ANYTHING. You can be grateful for sight, hearing, feeling. You can be grateful to be alive...grateful to have woken up! Lie there and think of ten things. I've mentioned before that when my Mom was feeling depressed I gave her this tip and everyday after that she did this, and her depression lifted. She always told me it was this one action that changed her life. 

Tip #2
SMILE! 
Smiling is a cause not an affect. 
The more you smile, 
the more reasons you will have to smile!
Make your smile light your day. 

I like to think of the song by Carol King:

You've got to get up every morning

And show the world

All the love in your heart!

When you smile you physically create a happiness hormone in your body. There have been studies done recently about this. Also, when you smile at another person, they automatically feel better...their brain registers happiness even if they do not smile back at you. Isn't that cool? Smile! 

Tip #3
Write a Rampage of Appreciation
Take a notebook and put titles as the top of each page. Titles could be:
My body
My work
My relationship with _______
My parents
My children
My home
My car
My self
My practice
My________
...and on an on...you get the idea. 

Then list all the things you ARE grateful for under each heading...or all the things you COULD BE grateful for. 

I promise you that you will feel happier after doing this! 

4. Chant in Gratitude
While chanting  ~ generate these feelings of gratitude and happiness. Your gratitude will amplify and spread.

What do you do to build the muscle of appreciation into your life? Write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

What does Nam myoho renge kyo mean and why do we chant it?

What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean, 

and why do we chant it? 

By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

The literal translation is:

"I fuse my life 

with the mystic law of cause and effect 

through sound vibration." 

It is the title of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha's highest teaching that declares that ALL people possess the Buddha Nature...all people ARE Buddhas...and we can access this nature by calling it forth in our lives using this phrase. 

Being a Buddha - 
is tapping the river of life that runs through ALL life - summoning the mystic law 
by 
realizing we ARE the Mystic Law. 
We not only chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~ we ARE Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~the Mystic Law. 

I like to think of it as "I am one with the rhythm of all life." It is the rhythm that exists within all of life...the reason for the turning of the tides...the reason for the seasons...the atoms that exist within every single cell...from an elephant to a spec of dust. Everything possesses this connectedness...this rhythm.  
It is all encompassing and contains the wisdom and energy of all of life itself...the whole universe. 

When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo we tap into that energy and access it for our lives...directed towards our desires. In this practice it's okay to have desires. More than okay! We don't have to alleviate them. Desires make us who we are and lead us to chant. 

When we chant we change the internal life within our lives. We change the core and fiber of our lives. We change our karma. And when we make that internal change, our ENVIRONMENT (meaning everything that is not within our own skin, our jobs, our relationships, our sense of self, everything we experience and think) ALL of that changes to reflect our internal change. We call this "Human Revolution."

When we chant we harness the energy that is our birthright. And we chant twice a day, every single day, to get and keep our lives in rhythm. 

When we are in rhythm we are in the right place at the right time... to find out about and get the job...or to meet the man of our dreams...or to protect our child from danger. When we are in rhythm life isn't so much of a struggle as it is a joy...we see the beauty in everything and we feel our lives overflowing with appreciation. 

We chant for something and get it or something better. We get access to internal happiness and strength that cannot be blown away by any event or obstacles. 

In fact we view obstacles themselves as benefits, as strange as that may sound....because obstacles make us chant more, and when we chant more we draw even higher life conditions and deeper satisfaction into our lives. 

What can we chant FOR? Anything. That's right, anything. We can chant for whatever our desire may be...even if it might not be the "right" desire for us. In the act of chanting we will change our karma and our desires themselves will naturally begin to shift. We will open our lives to the deeper wisdom within...the deeper yearning, the REAL desires that we have forgotten or given up on. We will grow. We will prosper and we will blossom. 

We will gain the wisdom of the right action to take - because ACTION springs from wisdom. 

The challenge is...we have to DO it. We have to chant to bring all this rhythm and harmony about. And that's why we practice together as an organization, the SGI, The Soka Gakkai, our fellowship of friends who support each other, chant for each other, and create a new Soka family for each practitioner. We are so fortunate. 

I hear from people all over the world, and some have strong SGI groups in their towns and others are completely alone. I love that we can connect through the power of the internet. From the moment I began chanting almost 30 years ago I have had the deep desire to share this practice, this practice that WORKS, with everyone who is looking for the real, practical means of creating happiness and results in their lives. 

We are in this life together...sharing our challenges and our successes. If you are not yet connected to the SGI please go to sgi-usa.com and find your local members. You will be so glad you did. 

Some Powerful Quotes from Daisaku Ikeda:

THIS moment, this instant, is important, 
not some unknown time in the future. 
Today, this very day is what matters. 
You must put your whole being 
into the time that exists now. 
For future victory rests in the present moment.

BUDDHISM holds that 
everything is in a constant state of flux. 
Thus, the question is 
whether we are to accept change passively 
and be swept away by it, 
or whether we are to take the lead 
and create positive changes on our own initiative. 
While conservatism and self-protection
might be likened to winter, night and death, 
the spirit of pioneering and attempting to realize 
the ideals evokes the images of spring,
morning and birth.


DO gongyo and chant daimoku with a fresh spirit. 
And, filled with renewed vitality, 
build a history of accumulating fresh benefit.

PowerPrayer for Finding Love

Nichiren Buddhists believe that the world - 

our entire environment and everyone and everything in it 

is a reflection of our own lives, and that any real change comes from changing from within...doing our own "Human Revolution." And then we see the "world" around us change. We've all experienced this many times. 

So...
If the world is a reflection of our own lives, 
doesn't it make sense to fall in love with our own lives?
Isn't the Gohonzon our own life? It is the deepest and best part of our own lives. What if we concentrated and chanted to fall in love with our own lives by 
falling in love with the Gohonzon? 
What can I mean? 
Fall in love with a piece of paper? 
Those of us who chant the Mystic Law know that the Gohonzon, the scroll we chant to - we face - we focus on - is a depiction by Nichiren Daishonin of our lives - our highest possible potential - Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in the depths of our lives. In this light, falling in love with the Gohonzon is falling in love with my life itself! 

This guidance came to me from a senior leader, and it made sense to me. Fall in love with the Gohonzon, fall in love with your own life, and you will find your lover because your love for your own life will attract him. 

"A lotus seed may be buried in mud for thousands of years, until, when conditions are right, it sprouts, grows and sends forth buds. Cherry trees endure the harsh winter to blossom beautifully in spring. Nichiren is saying that no matter how trying our circumstances, flowers of happiness will emerge from our lives and adorn it."
Daisaku Ikeda, Living Buddhism, 11/14, p. 29

I am basking in love right now - and I believe it is because I have been chanting in love with my Gohonzon - which is my life itself. I think these the following PowerPrayer when I chant. This has been a breakthrough prayer for me. As I am chanting, I am keeping the spirit of this PowerPrayer in mind. I am feeling my love for my Gohonzon - my life as I chant the Mystic Law Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I offer it in love and gratitude to you: 

PowerPrayer for 
Falling in Love with Your Gohonzon 
Falling in Love with Yourself! 
~and finding true love - 
and/or cultivating the love you have! 
By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

Oh Life! 
Oh Heart!
I am overflowing in Gratitude to this wonderful Gohonzon 
~MY OWN LIFE here before me!

Gohonzon! You have been 
my strong supporting arm, 
my torch, my guide!
You have always been here for me - all these years of my practice.
I feel my love flowing towards you! 
Thank you Gohonzon, thank you my life!
As I am chanting I am feeling this love pouring from me
this gratitude
this light!
My own love for my own self is blooming, blooming, blooming! Gohonzon! 
Let me now experience the magnificence of my own life in ways I've never experienced before. 
Silence my critical mind! 
Bring forth my praising mind ~ my self, dancing in gratitude!
Oh Gohonzon! 
Bring forth all who love me, including MYSELF! 
So that we can dance in joy forever.
I open my life to love from within and without 
in this golden dance
I draw to me all who wish to dance in the light of love. 

PowerPrayer for Dancing In Love!

"A lotus seed may be buried in mud for thousands of years, until, when conditions are right, it sprouts, grows and sends forth buds. Cherry trees endure the harsh winter to blossom beautifully in spring. Nichiren is saying that no matter how trying our circumstances, flowers of happiness will emerge from our lives and adorn it."
Daisaku Ikeda, Living Buddhism, 11/14, p. 29

Flowers of Happiness! Flowers of Love! 
My deepest desire as a young girl was to feel loved and be loved and love in return. It was my deepest, deepest, most heartfelt desire. I knew that I was born for this, that my desire had merit, and through this desire I could contribute to the world. Somewhere deep in my life I had the determination that this great love I would create and dance in, this great love would be mine, and would be a gift to the world as well. This was and still is my desire. 

I KNEW my desires were awesome. I KNEW I could never practice a philosophy that declared that my desires were the cause of my suffering and that somehow I had to lose my attachment to them to be happy. That just never resonated with me. So I turned away from many forms of Buddhism and kept searching until I found this wonderful Soka Gakkai International organization, found my mentor Daisaku Ikeda, and learned from all my leaders and Soka friends. With this practice our DESIRES are enlightenment. That is why I always say "Chant for what you truly desire!"

And each moment, with every action I take, and every door I open I am getting closer and closer to the experience of this desire. I have studied others who have found their great loves, and watched them keep the flame alive. I have read books. I have done courses. I have opened myself up to online dating, and each person I've met has been a learning experience. I have gone to Meetups through meetup.com and met people. 

Each moment...like the Lotus waiting to bloom in the earth, I have said, "Ahhh, this is getting me closer to my desire. I am greatly enjoying this, and I am welcoming getting closer and closer to fulfilling my desire. NO GOOD CAUSE IS EVER WASTED." That has always been my creed. 

I am basking in love right now - and I believe it is because I have been chanting in love with my Gohonzon - which is my life itself. I think these things when I chant. This has been a breakthrough prayer for me. As I am chanting, I am keeping the spirit of this PowerPrayer in mind. I am feeling my love for my Gohonzon - my life as I chant the Mystic Law Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I offer it in love and gratitude to you: 

PowerPrayer for 
Falling in Love with Your Gohonzon 
Falling in Love with Yourself! 
~and finding true love - 
and/or cultivating the love you have! 
By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

Oh Life! 
Oh Heart!
I am overflowing in Gratitude to this wonderful Gohonzon 
~MY OWN LIFE here before me!

Gohonzon! You have been 
my strong supporting arm, 
my torch, my guide!
You have always been here for me - all these years of my practice.
I feel my love flowing towards you! 
Thank you Gohonzon, thank you my life!
As I am chanting I am feeling this love pouring from me
this gratitude
this light!
My own love for my own self is blooming, blooming, blooming! Gohonzon! 
Let me now experience the magnificence of my own life in ways I've never experienced before. 
Silence my critical mind! 
Bring forth my praising mind ~ my self, dancing in gratitude!
Oh Gohonzon! 
Bring forth all who love me, including MYSELF! 
So that we can dance in joy forever.
I open my life to love from within and without 
in this golden dance
I draw to me all who wish to dance in the light of love. 

PowerPrayer for Awakening Our Own Buddha Nature

I just finished a wonderful hour of studying 
"The Heart of the Lotus Sutra" by Daisaku Ikeda. 
(Available at sgi-usa.org - you can click on the portal to the right). 
As a fellow SGI member and lover of this practice (not as an official representative of the SGI) I share my thoughts here with you:   

"The Heart of the Lotus Sutra" is truly the story of our lives. In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni reveals that he did not attain enlightenment in his present lifetime as so many people assume. (And as Shakyamuni said in earlier sutras) In the Lotus Sutra he reveals that he attained enlightenment in "beginningless time" and that we, as practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism also attained enlightenment in beginningless time, and are fulfilling our vow to come to this world and show everyone the path to happiness by using the example of our own lives, never being defeated, and overcoming every obstacle.  

Once we are awakened to the fact that we are Buddhas equal to the original Buddha, we can embrace every challenge with fresh eyes, saying to ourselves 

"Yes! I chose this challenge. 
I chose this because I KNOW 
that I can chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo 
and absolutely, without a doubt I can change this.
It is up to me. 
I have the power to tap into the vast resources within, 
as long as I stay focused on my mission for kosen-rufu." 

Each of us can awaken every day with the ability to access the reality that we are Boddhisatvas of the Earth ~ Dancing in happiness ~ assured of our own power to overcome anything in our lives, through reading President Ikeda's words, chanting, refreshing our determination and knowing, absolutely knowing that we chose this existence to manifest our highest potential. 

This might not be our first thought upon awakening - but we can access it in front of the Gohonzon every single morning!

What kind of PowerPrayer (thoughts in our minds while we are chanting) would be useful?  
Let's look at a few of Sensei's quotes from "The Heart of the Lotus Sutra,"

"The Buddha's original state of life is identical with all people's original state of life. They could not be in any way different. Fundamentally, all people are Buddhas. The only difference is that the Buddha understands this while others are ignorant of it. " p. 153

When we realize that we are Buddhas from beginningless time "We can attain a state of eternal happiness as indestructible as a diamond~that is, the true aspect of the Buddha ~ in our lives." and that "No matter how heavy our burden of karma, through tapping our inner life force, we can revolutionize our existence." p. 163. 
"It enables us to address the reality of our situations with a fresh, forward-looking spirit, always basing ourselves on life's "original moment." 

Sensei goes on to quote Josei Toda who talks about how we all dwelt together as Buddhas of absolute happiness before making our vows to return to this world and lead others to happiness. 

We are all here fulfilling our vow joyously together. 

What problem could stop us? 
Could financial difficulty stop us?...not unless we let it. 
How about heartbreak, a karma many of us are challenging? I just started a bright new relationship but don't know what the future holds.  Every day I chip away at my karma right along with you. And every day I awaken refreshed...when I study, chant, encourage others and go to SGI meetings. We have such precious lives. People are depending on us to shine. We ARE the suns in our lives! 

PowerPrayer for
Awakening Our Own Buddha Nature!
By Jamie Lee Silver, from the Blog Chantforhappiness.com. Please do not cut and paste this without sharing its origin. 

Life! 
Once again I greet you in front of the Gohonzon! 
I appreciate one more day in this world of strife! 
Once again I strive at every moment 
to bring forth the world of Buddhahood within. 
Right now I am raising my life condition! 
I am determined to live in wisdom, 
tapping the highest potential in my life. 
I am determined to harmonize with my fellow humans 
in a way that makes a difference. 
I am determined to be all I can be, 
and fulfill my vow for kosen-rufu! 
(Happiness and respect for all of life - 
the raising of the life-condition of ALL)
I am determined to forge ahead 
with wisdom, happiness and composure. 
May I live this day fully and happily, 
and shine like the sun! 
I am determined to_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
as I joyously bring forth my Buddhahood! 

What Does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Mean and Why Do We Chant it? ~ Please Share!

What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean, 

and why do we chant it? 

By Jamie Lee Silver of ChantforHappiness.com

The literal translation is:

"I fuse my life 

with the mystic law of cause and effect 

through sound vibration." 

It is the title of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha's highest teaching that declares that ALL people possess the Buddha Nature...all people ARE Buddhas...and we can access this nature by calling it forth in our lives using this phrase. 

Being a Buddha - 
is tapping the river of life that runs through ALL life - summoning the mystic law 
by 
realizing we ARE the Mystic Law. 
We not only chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~ we ARE Nam-myoho-renge-kyo ~the Mystic Law. 

I like to think of it as "I am one with the rhythm of all life." It is the rhythm that exists within all of life...the reason for the turning of the tides...the reason for the seasons...the atoms that exist within every single cell...from an elephant to a spec of dust. Everything possesses this connectedness...this rhythm.  
It is all encompassing and contains the wisdom and energy of all of life itself...the whole universe. 

When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo we tap into that energy and access it for our lives...directed towards our desires. In this practice it's okay to have desires. More than okay! We don't have to alleviate them. Desires make us who we are and lead us to chant. 

When we chant we change the internal life within our lives. We change the core and fiber of our lives. We change our karma. And when we make that internal change, our ENVIRONMENT (meaning everything that is not within our own skin, our jobs, our relationships, our sense of self, everything we experience and think) ALL of that changes to reflect our internal change. We call this "Human Revolution."

When we chant we harness the energy that is our birthright. And we chant twice a day, every single day, to get and keep our lives in rhythm. 

When we are in rhythm we are in the right place at the right time... to find out about and get the job...or to meet the man of our dreams...or to protect our child from danger. When we are in rhythm life isn't so much of a struggle as it is a joy...we see the beauty in everything and we feel our lives overflowing with appreciation. 

We chant for something and get it or something better. We get access to internal happiness and strength that cannot be blown away by any event or obstacles. 

In fact we view obstacles themselves as benefits, as strange as that may sound....because obstacles make us chant more, and when we chant more we draw even higher life conditions and deeper satisfaction into our lives. 

What can we chant FOR? Anything. That's right, anything. We can chant for whatever our desire may be...even if it might not be the "right" desire for us. In the act of chanting we will change our karma and our desires themselves will naturally begin to shift. We will open our lives to the deeper wisdom within...the deeper yearning, the REAL desires that we have forgotten or given up on. We will grow. We will prosper and we will blossom. 

We will gain the wisdom of the right action to take - because ACTION springs from wisdom. 

The challenge is...we have to DO it. We have to chant to bring all this rhythm and harmony about. And that's why we practice together as an organization, the SGI, The Soka Gakkai, our fellowship of friends who support each other, chant for each other, and create a new Soka family for each practitioner. We are so fortunate. 

I hear from people all over the world, and some have strong SGI groups in their towns and others are completely alone. I love that we can connect through the power of the internet. From the moment I began chanting almost 30 years ago I have had the deep desire to share this practice, this practice that WORKS, with everyone who is looking for the real, practical means of creating happiness and results in their lives. 

We are in this life together...sharing our challenges and our successes. If you are not yet connected to the SGI please go to sgi-usa.com and find your local members. You will be so glad you did. 

Some Powerful Quotes from Daisaku Ikeda:

THIS moment, this instant, is important, 
not some unknown time in the future. 
Today, this very day is what matters. 
You must put your whole being 
into the time that exists now. 
For future victory rests in the present moment.

BUDDHISM holds that 
everything is in a constant state of flux. 
Thus, the question is 
whether we are to accept change passively 
and be swept away by it, 
or whether we are to take the lead 
and create positive changes on our own initiative. 
While conservatism and self-protection
might be likened to winter, night and death, 
the spirit of pioneering and attempting to realize 
the ideals evokes the images of spring,
morning and birth.


DO gongyo and chant daimoku with a fresh spirit. 
And, filled with renewed vitality, 
build a history of accumulating fresh benefit.

We are Living Lives of Great Fortune!

In the October 10th, 2014 World Tribune there is an experience entitled "Creating True Wealth." It illustrates to us one more time that true fortune is not money. 

The family in the experience had perfect timing for a loan while buying their house and all kinds of financial fortune with college tuition for their son.  

True fortune is what we are building with our life force, 
our devotion to the mystic law 
and our regular contributions to the SGI. 

Yes, I know this idea frustrates some people, but I have found it to be true with my own life - that consistent contribution creates consistent fortune. I myself choose to donate a certain portion of every paycheck. The minute my pay hits my account,  I donate via the website. And I feel the effects of this in my life all the time. I feel it creates a vacuum for more money and fortune to come into my life. 

Although I am not wealthy yet, I feel protected. I am not afraid. I am never "on the edge" and my life and fortune is strong. I am determined to continue having breakthroughs in prosperity but in the mean time I do not worry. I am not stressed. 

The "Creating True Wealth" experience includes this quote from My Dear Friends in America, 
President Ikeda quotes Nichiren Daishonin, 

"Nichiren and his followers who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are the people of great virtue and influence  (of whom the Sutra speaks) who have gained the supreme cluster of jewels when they least expected it" (Gosho zenshu, p. 819)

President Ikeda goes on:

"Therefore, you who have embraced this great law are wealthy people rich in life force who possess good fortune surpassing the wealth of even the world's richest people" (third edition, pp. 35-36)

Whatever your struggle...whatever your challenges - as long as you do not give up you will be victorious. Today I chanted again with strong determination and vision...appreciation and optimism. With this in mind and in practice we will all win at all our endeavors!