4 Tips for a Powerful Gongyo - Powerful Gongyo = Powerful Life!

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Perfecting our daily recitation of Gongyo and Daimoku is the spiritual work-out for the interior of our lives, this work-out makes our environments (our world at every moment, and all the people and things and EVERYTHING in it) flow smoothly...and we can accomplish our goals and live fulfilling lives.  

This morning I was thinking about Shakyamuni meditating under the Bodhi Tree. He was assailed by many inner demons to make him stop or to throw off his meditation. 
He kept focused. He won. 
Our practice of Gongyo every day is just like this. 
We are the Buddha! 
Every day - twice a day!  
We must win! 

Our concentration will pay off. Doing gongyo with the following guidelines has brought me great benefit. 
(As always ~ these writings are mine, and come from my heart to yours.)

4 Tips for a Powerful Gongyo
Don't just "do" Gongyo. Feel it. Experience it.
by Jamie Lee Silver at chantforhappiness.com 

1. Pray each silent prayer with all your heart. 

Elevate the moment from reading to praying! 

Read each silent prayer over and over until you can actually feel the appreciation. Read the silent prayers until they sink in...and you are praying in appreciation. If you don't know why Nichiren Daishonin and the three presidents deserve your praise, please ask a fellow member and study the history of Nichiren Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai. (Clink the link to the right to find your local SGI group) It took tremendous conviction and courage to bring this practice to us today! 
During these prayers, I bring forth the gratitude I feel for having this practice in my life.   

2. Begin and end Gongyo 
                     with no interruptions. 

I recite the silent prayers at the end of Gongyo soon after the recitation...not after finishing all my daimoku for the morning. This makes it easier to do a complete gongyo before I get up to do something else, or refresh my drink or whatever. I start and complete gongyo. Boom. Then I can do as much daimoku as I want, with gongyo done. Complete. With no interruptions. If I get interrupted in the middle of gongyo I begin again! I see this helping me complete things in my life on a much more regular basis. 

3. Chant every morning and evening. 

I know, I know, you've heard this before. The reason I keep repeating this message is that it WORKS! When we do gongyo twice a day our lives get on a roll. You have to experience it to see it! I can't tell you how it feels. I can tell you that one of my YWD (young woman) finally began chanting twice a day (after refusing to do this for two years) she was able to realize a hidden goal, bring it to the surface, chant about it, and now she's living her dream in Colorado. Chanting twice a day WORKS! 

4. Perfect Your Rhythm 
              and Pronunciation of Gongyo

In the early days of my practice I was fortunate to have a leader who believed that perfecting gongyo was important. So I showed up at her house to fine-tune the rhythm and pronunciation. Find a mentor in your SGI circle who can work with you. I would bring a pencil and circle the parts I found difficult, and highlight my mistakes. I turned it from a chore into a song. 
I love teaching gongyo to beginners because it is easier to learn it right the first time, but not impossible to fix. Having perfect gongyo has always given me confidence. I'd like to hear your stories of how perfecting your gongyo changes your life. Everything we do to enhance our practice is reflected in our lives. Gongyo and Daimoku are our laboratory where we create the lives of our dreams! 
One of the things I will do for you is create an echo gongyo lesson. I'll let you know when that's ready for you! But please don't wait - get started perfecting your gongyo now! 


I'm interested in hearing how you are perfecting your gongyo! 
Doing Gongyo is like lifting spiritual weights. how strong can we make our lives? 
That's what we're talking about! 
Email me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com

What Does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Mean?

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What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean, 

and why do we chant it? 

One of the translations is:

"I fuse my life 

with the mystic law of cause and effect 

through sound vibration." 

a more literal translation is 

"I devote my life to the mystic law 
of the lotus (symbolizing cause and effect) sutra" 

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo  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 have the entire universe within them...and we can access this immeasurable power chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and  calling it forth in our lives. 

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. 

And when we chant, we tap into that energy and access it for our lives...directed towards our desires. In this practice, it's okay to have desires. When I was searching for this practice I found many forms of Buddhism that said our desired are the cause of our suffering, and that if we can alleviate our attachment to our desires we can become happy. In Nichiren Buddhism we don't have to alleviate our desires to become happy. Desires make us who we are and cause us to chant. 

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 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 emotions and a level of 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 chant for ourselves, 
We chant for others, 
We chant for kosen-rufu - a world of peace and respect! 

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. (You can click on the link at the right to connect with the SGI in your area.)

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  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 a
nd 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.

Write me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com. I am currently collecting experiences from chantforhappiness.com readers who have been inspired by this blog to connect or reconnect to the SGI, or who have achieved victories and/or been inspired by these writings. You are all my awesome friends!  

4 Ways to Find the Benefit in ANYTHING!

My Champion - Ben 

"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."

For Today and Tomorrow by Daisaku IkedaPage 29.

I just finished a powerful hour of Daimoku from my heart to the heart of my son, Benjamin Lee Silver. As some of you know, he has been battling schizophrenia for the past two years. Yesterday he was sent from the Hopewell community in Ohio (our great benefit to find this wonderful place for him) to the hospital - all about 8 hours from where I am. 

This morning my first prayer was one of appreciation. I love the quote I posted above. We can, even in our most challenging moments, find the light. I am a fortunate woman indeed, to have a son who makes me chant such powerful and focused Daimoku! He is my great benefit. My Daimoku, guidance from seniors, and study have led me to this point. I am so grateful for this practice!

How can we all feel fortunate...remain cheerful...and find the benefit in anything? 

Here are my 

4 Ways to Find the Benefit in Anything
by Jamie Lee Silver from Chantforhappiness.com

1. It sounds obvious - but "take it to the Gohonzon." Go to the Gohonzon, sit down, put your hands together, chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and be real. Tell your life (the Gohonzon) how you feel. There is no need to pretend anything or be different than we are. We are Buddhas when we are happy. We are Buddhas when we are sad. Tell your life how you feel, then move on and: 

2. While chanting, ask yourself if you can find the benefit in this situation. Chant to find the benefit. It is there. There are many times I have had to chant to somehow be able to appreciate a challenge. You will begin to see the benefit. You might want to have a journal nearby to record your thoughts. 

3. Get guidance in faith. Develop a relationship with someone who inspires you. This takes Daimoku and intention. And it is each of our responsibility to cultivate these relationships. Chant to find someone who inspires you! Chant to connect with them. Chant to connect with someone who has the heart of our mentor Daisaku Ikeda. Chant to have the heart of our mentor yourself! Read his words with the spirit of connecting with the spirit behind the words. (For people new to the practice, Daisaku Ikeda is the leader of the SGI, Soka Gakkai. He has spent more than 60 years dedicating himself to world peace through each person achieving their own human revolution  - happiness. Check out his quotes on ikedaquotes.org )

4. Write a list of all you appreciate in life. there are many studies that say writing lists of appreciation can alleviate pain, alleviate depression, and even extend our lives. Find the things to appreciate. And fill your heart with appreciation when you chant. 

If I can appreciate my son having this life-threatening illness, and keep going, keep chanting, and keep living my life to inspire others...there is no end to what you can do through your Daimoku! 

Have a great, victorious day! 

Win in the morning and you win in life! 

PowerPrayer for Overcoming Obstacles!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! 

May the Luck of the Irish be with you! 

And, as we say in Chicago, 

EVERYONE is Irish on St. Patrick's Day!

As you may know, I have responded to your requests to have chantforhappiness.com sent directly to your inboxes. 
I have heard from many of you in the last few days and I really appreciate it! 

I would like to meet you all...to talk with you...to see you...or even just talk on the phone. Getting blogs sent to you was the first step. Now I'm working on a website that can make more connections happen.  I've been chanting to find a great web guru for some time and now I've found her. Thanks Lynn!

Right now, more people than ever are reading Chantforhappiness.com. We have close to 40k readers and new subscribers are joining every day. My mission for this blog is to reach all who are longing for real solutions to their problems. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo works! Thank you all for sharing this blog, subscribing (see button at the right) and working together to create a world of peace and happiness for all! 

As you know, in any worthy endeavor/breakthrough ~ obstacles HAVE to arise. 
After I posted yesterday's powerful PowerPrayer for Youth I talked to my son Ben, and he was not doing very well. 
So I grasped the handles of my faith and dug in with Daimoku.  
I chanted for two more hours (after my two in the morning) and Monday morning I chanted another two hours with this PowerPrayer below in mind. When I connected with him after I chanted, he was much better. 

Obstacles are a natural function of life. And the important question is this ~ Can we see problems for what they are, necessary obstacles to FUEL our determination and make us focus our minds while chanting...And deepen our faith!? Or are we FOOLED by them into thinking "Oh no...this is never going to work out." then give up? 
It is up to each of us to either determine to win, or just succumb to losing.

The first step is recognizing them for what they are:
"When devilish functions are recognized for what they are, they lose their power."
Daisaku Ikeda, June 2013, Living Buddhism page 23. 

The second step is rousing our determination and roaring from the depths of our lives with the full force of the Nam-myoho-renge-kyo we are! 

Please do not copy and paste this PowerPrayer. If you wish to share it please cut and paste the url or share it using the buttons at the bottom of the post. 
Please email chantforhappiness@gmail.com with your victories from using these PowerPrayers! 

PowerPrayer for Winning Over Obstacles 
By Jamie Lee Silver from Chantforhappiness.com
PowerPrayers can be read before chanting to increase our focus. 

Obstacles!
___________________________
I see you for what you are!  

No way! 
Not this time
Not any more. 
I'm in charge now.
I AM Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
I am roaring like a lion.
Every Daimoku I chant is impacting this situation in this way: (be specific in what you want your daimoku to accomplish)_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Shoten Zenjin!
Unleash your protective energy!  

As a votary of the Lotus Sutra 
I am doing the Buddha's work on earth. 
Support me in every way!

I use this obstacle to refuel my determination
and I will chant   ______  number of hours
every day until I have ultimate victory.
I will win over_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Obstacle! 
_____________________fill in the blank
You don't scare me! 
I am raising my life condition
and the life condition of ALL 
by challenging and winning over this! 

I will win! I will inspire others by my victory! 
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! 

Rooooaaaaarrrrrrrr!

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

11 Powerful Buddhist Quotes on Jobs, Finances and Winning in Life ~ by Daisaku Ikeda

 Daisaku Ikeda's 

words on 

Jobs, Careers 

and Winning in Life

As Buddhists, we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo 
while focusing our minds on our determinations. 
We are all determined to show actual proof of the power of our practice, 
so we can encourage others. 
We chant to be the shining examples that there IS a solution to suffering...there IS a way to succeed and help others to succeed along the way. 
We are chanting TO our own lives, 
to summon forth our immense and immeasurable power. 
As each of us heads into the work week 
I offer you these quotes by Daisaku Ikeda for some added inspiration. 

(Compiled by Bob Hasegawa)
NOTE- Emphasis and headings added

1.Beauty, benefit and good

Mr. Makiguchi taught that there are three kinds of value: beauty, benefit and good. In the working world the value of beauty means to find a job you like; the value of benefit is to get a job that earns you a salary that can support your daily life; the value of good means to find a job that helps others and contributes to society. 

(Faith Into Action, page 45)

2. No more moaning...no complaining!

President Toda said that the most important thing is to first become indispensable wherever you are. Instead of moaning that a job differs from what you'd like to be doing, he said, become a first-class individual at the job. This will open the path leading to your next phase in life, during which you should also continue doing your best. Such continuous efforts are guaranteed to land you a job that you like, that supports your life, and that allows you to contribute to society. 
(Faith Into Action, page 45.)

3. The Fundamental Cause of Unhappiness

Problems as we have seen, are not in themselves the fundamental cause of unhappiness. Lack of power and wisdom to solve them is the real cause. Fortunately we all innately possess infinite power and wisdom;  and Buddhism shows us how to develop these qualities.

When in the depths of despair or grappling with a difficult problem, it may be hard to believe that our lives possess unlimited potential. But this is the essence of one of the profoundest Buddhist teachings, known as three thousand realms in a single moment of life, which we will explore in this chapter. 
(Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, page 105.)

4. Success Means Not Giving Up

I hope each of you will realize success in your respective fields, fully recognizing that success means not giving up halfway but resolutely pursuing the path you have chosen. To this end, it is also important that you realize that the place where you work is a place for forging your character and growing as a human being. By extension, therefore, it is a place for your Buddhist practice, a place for practicing your faith. When you view things from this angle, all your complaints will disappear. No one is more pathetic than someone who is constantly complaining. 
(For Today and Tomorrow, Daily Encouragement, page 283.)

5. Excel at something

There is a saying that urges us, "Excel at something!" It is important to become trusted by others wherever you are and to shine with excellence. Sometimes people may dislike their job at first but grow to love it once they become serious about doing their best. "What one likes, one will do well," goes another saying. Growing to like your job will also enable you to develop your talent. 
(Faith Into Action, page 46.)

6. Never be defeated!

Buddhism is an earnest struggle to win. This is what the Daishonin teaches. A Buddhist must not be defeated. I hope you will maintain an alert and winning spirit in your work and daily life, taking courageous action and showing triumphant actual proof time and time again. 

(Faith Into Action, page 3.)

7. What is actual proof?

When we speak of showing actual proof, it doesn't mean we have to try to put on a show of being any more knowledgeable or accomplished than we are. It is my hope that, in the manner that best suits your situation, you will prove the validity of this Buddhism by steadily improving in your daily life, your family, place of work and community and by polishing your character. (Faith Into Action, page 4.)

8. Chant to become people of strong will

Life is a struggle with ourselves. It is a tug-of-war between progress and regression, between happiness and unhappiness. Those short on willpower or self-motivation should chant Daimoku with conviction to become people of strong will who can tackle any problems with seriousness and determination. (Faith Into Action, page 109.)

9. What is faith?

Everything is contained in a single word faith. It encompasses truth, courage, wisdom and good fortune. It includes compassion and humanity as well as peace, culture, and happiness.

Faith is eternal hope; it is the secret to limitless self-development. Faith is the most basic principle of growth. (Discussions On Youth, Volume 2, pages 163-164.)

10. Faith and Work

Faith and daily life, faith and work these are not separate things. They are one and the same. To think of them as separate ~ faith is faith, and ~ work is work is theoretical faith. Based on the recognition that work and faith are the same, we should put one hundred percent of our energy into our jobs and one hundred percent into faith, too. When we resolve to do this, we enter the path of victory in life. Faith means to show irrefutable proof of victory amid the realities of society and in our own daily lives. 
(For Today and Tomorrow, Daily Encouragement, page 175.)

11. Strength is Happiness

Strength is itself victory. In weakness and cowardice there is no happiness. When you wage a struggle, you might win or you might lose. But regardless of the short-term outcome, the very fact of your continuing to struggle is proof of your victory as a human being. A strong spirit, strong faith and strong prayer ~ developing these is victory and the world of Buddhahood. (For Today and Tomorrow, Daily Encouragement, page 50.)

PowerPrayer for Youth on March 16th!

A note to begin: 
As some of you know, I can now send out an email to notify you when I post.  I am so happy I can do this for you! If you didn't get an email, you can put your email in the box to the right and receive my blogs. Feel free to share chantforhappiness.com with anyone you feel would be inspired by these words, and let them know they can subscribe at chantforhappiness.com too. As always, I speak from my heart, as an enthusiastic SGI member, but not officially on behalf of the SGI.  For more about the SGI, please click on the link to the right. 

Happy March 16th! 

On this day, we commemorate the historic gathering in 1958 when 6,000 youth rose at a moment's notice to gather at Josei Toda's request. It was a profound moment for Josei Toda, for the youth, and for the future of kosen-rufu. The actions on this day reverberate forever as we chant for the youth meetings being held world-wide. 

At this gathering in 1958, Josei Toda passed the baton of kosen-rufu - world peace, a world of respect for all life ~ 
onto the youth. Toda, our second SGI President, was in his last few victorious days. He died two weeks later, on April 2nd. 

All week I have been chanting for the success of these meetings, and for the happiness, and victories of all youth everywhere. I share with you this PowerPrayer for Youth. Let this fuel your Power-FULL Daimoku! No matter what we are personally challenging, chanting for the youth, for kosen-rufu, and for others can lift us out of our own despair into the world of Buddhahood!

PowerPrayer for YOUTH
by Jamie Lee Silver, from Chantforhappiness.com

Life!
I tap into my immeasurable power with this strong Daimoku!
Every Nam-myoho-renge-kyo I chant is aimed straight for the heart of the youth in this world!
I picture youth chanting
I picture youth singing
I picture youth smiling radiantly and seeing their actions change the world
I chant for every hopeless youth to have HOPE
~ I chant for them all to connect 
with this incredible law of life ~
       create happy families, 
            and challenge themselves 
            to create a happy world of respect for all 
            (kosen-rufu!)
                  while introducing their friends to chanting. 
Their Daimoku is MY Daimoku. 
Every moment of my prayer, 
I dedicate to these new, shining, spiritual ones.

May they each experience the joy of practice! 
May they each ignite and join hearts with 
our mentor Daisaku Ikeda!
May they each transform their lives
into lives of happy purpose, 
May they transform their families, their schools, their communities and the world!
My prayer is their prayer
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

From Jamie Lee Silver at Chantforhappiness.com Subsriptions now available! 

May all People Shine! May all Life Shine!

"May all people shine! 
May all Life shine!" 

"This cry of love for humanity 
is the cry of the Lotus Sutra. 
It is the cry of those who understand 
the true aspect of all phenomenon. 
Buddhism exists to enable all people 
to share in the boundless joy of life. "

From The Heart of the Lotus Sutra, by Daisaku Ikeda. 

Today it is sunny in the Midwest. It will be almost 50 degrees...and the snow is melting. 

Every day we are challenging our lives through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. We chant to change from within. 

Every day I chant to change whatever I need to change in my own life so that I can make my environment shine...continue to advance...continue to help others...continue to live out my vow of kosen rufu - a world where everyone shines! 
When I see that my life is not my life alone, that it is also a gift to the world, then days of low-grade anxiety, like yesterday, can just pass, and I can move on. 
Yesterday was the ten year anniversary of the day my beloved sister-in-law Marla died. 
We met in our twenties when we married brothers. We raised our kids together. She lived in LA and I was in San Francisco. Our two families spent weeks at a time traveling in California - camping all over the Sierra mountains. Having a blast. We were supposed to grow old together, laughing about our younger days, laughing as only the two of us could laugh. 
March 10th is a date for me to honor her and chant in appreciation for her life. I came home and chanted for two more hours last night and feel refreshed and ready to go today. 

The power of Daimoku is vast. It can heal anything. As long as we do it. That's the thing. That's the most important part. We need to chant! That's what makes us warriors. That's what makes us strong. 

My hope for you today - this day - is that you chant with all your heart. Tell the Gohonzon - your life - how you feel and tell your life what you want. Keep going. 

Don't ever give up!