Saturday, August 8, 2015

Enjoy Your Life!



Activity is another name for happiness. Give free, unfettered play to your unique talents, live with the full radiance of your being. This is what it means to be truly alive.
Daisaku Ikeda, Ikedaquotes.org

Today I am going out on a boat on Lake Michigan all day with some new friends. Last night I went to the New Philharmonic's performance at the Lakeside Pavilion at the College of DuPage. 

Summer in Chicago - fleeting, but lovely. I hope you enjoy this day! 

Friday, August 7, 2015

PowerPrayer to Vanquish a Recurring Regret

(These are the clouds above me as I sit to write on my patio at 6:00 am this morning)

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Happiness doesn’t exist 

on the far side of distant mountains. 

It is within you, yourself. 

Not you, however, sitting in idle passivity. 

It is to be found 

in the vibrant dynamism of your own life 

as you struggle to challenge and overcome 

one obstacle after another, 

as you clamber up a perilous ridge 

in pursuit of that which lies beyond. 

Daisaku Ikeda


Yes! 

As I've been observing and swimming in this process of feeling and experiencing grief, and gathering the insight and tools to keep moving up the mountain Daisaku Ikeda describes above, I have realized something.

The thoughts of "I wish I had ___________. Or I wish I hadn't_____________." Or "If only I had___________."
are the ones that torment me the most. These are the thoughts that sometimes wake me up at night, or "attack" me at odd times. And they cause great suffering. 
And yesterday, when I went to my study meeting I realized those thoughts of regret are just fundamental darkness. 

Fundamental darkness tries to trip us up in our practice...It can appear as these thoughts of regret, these thoughts that make us think we are not the Buddhas that we are. These thoughts can be insidious and defeat us, OR once recognized and challenged, they can serve to strengthen our faith, and strengthen the protective forces of the universe. 

And we all know that once we recognize fundamental darkness for what it is - THEN we have the power to face and challenge it!
So, I am going to challenge this fundamental darkness, (the regret that surfaces and attacks me), the same way I challenged and overcame depression. I am going to shout it out of my life while I am chanting. You may remember when I was challenging depression I chanted "I don't CARE how many times you come back to me depression. I recognize you for what you are. I will win over you. I will root you from my life. I will root this depression out of my life NOW...no matter how many times you return!" And I did totally root that depression from my life. 

It will be the same with the fundamental darkness of this regret. We can win over it, and we can help others to do the same. 

Do you have a thought that resurfaces and causes you to suffer? You are the Buddha, the great Buddha! You can challenge that thought too, and move on to scale the next mountain.  

The next time that thought arises, or even before it arises, challenge it in front of the Gohonzon. 

PowerPrayer to 
Vanquish a Recurring Regret
PowerPrayers are meant to be read before chanting to fuel our determination! 
By Jamie Lee Silver of chantforhappiness.com

"Hello regret!
Hello thought and emotion! 
I know you for what you are, 
fundamental darkness meant to discourage me. 
NOT THIS TIME! 
NOT TODAY! 
I see you for what you are and I replace you with thoughts that make me happy, not sad. 
I replace you with appreciation. 
I am rising in my Buddha power 
as I chant these words. 
I now root out the pain of this thought forever, 
I AM WINNING
Right Now! 
And I will be stronger than ever. 
Right now, 
As I am chanting, my life is getting stronger. 
I am recognizing this devilish function 
and I am winning over it. 
Pain of this thought ~ Be Gone! 

Also, I have to tell you how much I am appreciating your letters. You can write me at Jamie Lee Silver 17W702 Butterfield #104, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

PowerPrayer for Your Loved One's Glorious Rebirth


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PowerPrayer for Glorious Rebirth.

I know many of you are also grieving. You are writing me to tell me that my words are calming your hearts, and helping you to heal from sorrow of yesterday and beyond. If my words are helping, I owe it all to the power of Ben's LIFE...for I feel that life going on. I feel his eternal life.

In Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, where we chant the name of the Mystic Law in all of Life (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo - meaning "I fuse my life with the Mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration) we believe that life is eternal and death is a time for gearing up and resting for the next life. 

I have heard from readers who tell me Ben (my sweet son who recently began his next journey to prepare for his next life) is communicating to them, or somehow inspiring them. I love hearing these stories. Write me at chantforhappiness!gmail.com anytime. 

Ben's girlfriend says he runs with her 
and inspires her to keep going.

Friends who have never chanted 
are now chanting with me for Ben's life.

His life is going on.

Yesterday a neighbor came and brought me over $800 that she had raised for Ben's memorial bench we want to put in Whitlock park (in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA) by going door-to-door to tell our neighbors about Ben. 

In June of 2016 we are hosting Ben's Memorial Mile and all are invited. We will have fast and slow races of many lengths (not all a full mile), races for kids, races for Moms and maybe even a race for people and their pets. It will bring the community together again. You can like Ben's Memorial Mile on Facebook for updates.

Today I reached a new level of chanting for him. Previously I tried, I did the best I could. But after Sunday, when Danny told me Ben will be reborn soon I feel more urgency. If Ben is to be reborn soon I need to chant in earnest!

And as I was chanting I wrote this PowerPrayer to share with you ~ with love. 
You can read it before chanting to focus while you chant. 

PowerPrayer for Glorious Rebirth 
By Jamie Lee Silver of Chantfrohappiness.com
(please share by sending a link to this blog) 

Life!
As I am chanting I am changing_______'s karma
My daimoku is clearing ________'s negative karma
He/she will never experience ________________________________again! 
They will have THIS instead_______________________________.
My daimoku is changing their karma right now! 
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! 
This daimoku I am chanting right now 
is for _______'s glorious rebirth
He/she will be born in a harmonious and loving home 
with a Gohonzon!
And he/she will have all his/her 
great talents of this lifetime, 
leaving all the negatives behind.

________ will be able to use all his/her talents joyfully 
right from the beginning of his/her life
And find appreciation for him/her EVERYWHERE
The universe will support him/her in every way!
__________ will burst forth 
into a glorious new life of appreciation, 
love, fulfilment and joy!

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo




Monday, August 3, 2015

Introducing Others to the Mystic Law = Changing Our Karma

The Chicago SGI Center!

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I have always been told (and have seen with my own eyes) that the fastest way to change our own karma is to do Shakubuku! On Sunday, I joined with my fellow Buddhists and at Kosen-Rufu Gongyo...

What could be better than joining our fellow Bodhisattvas once a month for encouragement from each other, and encouragement from our leaders and mentors? 

I know the purpose of each Kosen Rufu Gongyo (on the first Sunday of the month) is for each of us to feel refreshed and more determined than ever to create the changes we want in our lives and in society. And I feel so refreshed and appreciative to our SGI, our Soka Gakkai and organization of lay Buddhists. 

Yesterday Danny Nagashima, and all the major leaders from the Chicago area and more were there. I wrote out a thank you note to Danny for the beautiful orchid plant he sent me, and to Linda Johnson for coming to my home to encourage me. 

At the end, the last song was playing and everyone had their arms around each other singing. Danny was at the end of the aisle so I ran up and put my arm around him and he put his arm around me and we sang together. He made a spot next for me to sit next to him for final sansho, just before sansho, Ethan Gelbaum, the Chicago Center Central figure (sorry I may not have that title correct) reminded Danny I'd just lost my son. 

Danny held my hand during sansho, and afterward I showed him the picture of Ben with the poems (I'll post this for you) and reminded him he'd met Ben many times, including when Ben was a baby and we practiced together in San Francisco. He told me Ben would be reborn soon with full life force. 

Seriously, we DO have the most wonderful SGI organization - because it is filled with people who have warm hearts who are changing the world. 

If you are reading this and you have not yet met the SGI, I urge you to do so. You can use the link to the right to find your local organization. I promise you they will welcome you with open arms!

My biggest realization during the meeting was that I need to focus even more intently on introducing people to this practice. This morning, and every morning,  I'm chanting to meet people who are seeking happiness, and seeking this practice. Look at me. I looked for this practice for 25 years. I knew it had to exist. There are countless others seeking. 
I am chanting to meet seeking people in person and through this blog. Please share this blog...share whatever has touched you here...and together we will change the world. 

Every seed we plant is important. Tell people about the power of the Mystic law! Have them say Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with you. We are the Soka Gakkai Buddhists! We have a great mission! 


Saturday, August 1, 2015

When We Resolve to Be the Sun!


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"Resolve to be the “sun.” 
Then no matter what problems you may face, 
the dawn will always break, 
fine weather will always return, 
and spring will never fail to come."
By Daisaku Ikeda, Ikedaquotes.org

What a great quote. 
My personal motto is:   

"When one sun rises everything is illuminated.
Daisaku Ikeda

These quotes can frame our lives.  

What happens when we resolve to be the sun? 

When we resolve to be the sun 
everyone wants to bask in the glow of our warmth. 

When we resolve to be the sun 
we shine from within. 

When we resolve to be the sun 
We shed light and warmth on all we touch
and we dispel darkness. 

When we resolve to be the sun 
WE are the core, 
the heat, 
the glow
and we don't have to seek our own glow. 
We are IT! 
It comes from us. 

Every day in the morning when we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon (our life itself) we cause that sun to rise in our heart, and we can direct it any way we want it to go. 

When we resolve to be the sun 
We are the Buddha
We are Life itself! 










Friday, July 31, 2015

8 Great Quotes on Hope by Daisaku Ikeda


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Resolve to be the “sun.” 
Then no matter what problems you may face, 
the dawn will always break, 
fine weather will always return, 
and spring will never fail to come.

Hope is the secret to a robust life force.

Material wealth does not necessarily make for happiness. Nor does fame. 
Hope is life’s greatest treasure. 
A life without hope is bleak and gray. 
If you have no hope, create some.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Throwing the Windows Of Our Lives Wide Open!

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Six years ago today, July 30th, 2009,  I made the determination to root sadness and depression out of my life by chanting 2 hours a day. I joined with my dear friend Melissa Bradford, and made a pact to chant 2 hours a day together by texting when we started and ended, called each other frequently, and chanted together in person as often as possible.

During the first hour of Daimoku, I thought about how long I searched to find this practice...how I spent years in bookstores, only finding books on Buddhism that said the cause of my suffering was my desire...and thinking "Buddhism really sounds good on so many levels, but I don't think I want to separate from my desires!" and I kept looking for the practice I KNEW had to exist. 
I moved to California searching for this practice, found it in 1985, (Thank you, Kate Randolph! Delores Hepburn, Gene O'Connell, Amos Snell, Diane Douglass and countless others who raised me!) and have gratefully embraced my daily practice ever since. 

As I was chanting that first hour of my campaign in 2009, I thought "YES! I WILL alleviate my lifelong depression, AND I will take the world with me and spend the rest of my life proving the validity of this practice through my own life." I envisioned people all over the world sitting down at their computers thinking "Happiness has to be in here somewhere!" and I wanted to help each one find it! So I called the blog Chantforhappiness.com. 

Since then I have permanently changed my emotional karma. I have a full range of emotions, I am happy, sad, thoughtful, you name it, but I no longer wake up with a veil of depression blanketing me and thinking "Oh no, I just have to get through this day." (As I had so many days in my life - and I am certain my mother also felt) I have changed this karma by constantly challenging it in front of the Gohonzon and roaring "NOT AGAIN! NOT TODAY! With this Daimoku right now I'M FOREVER VANQUISHING THIS FEELING!" every time it resurfaced. Boom. 

And of course, so many things have happened in these six years, great life changes, including a much-needed divorce that has been so amicable it has inspired people to chant, honing my skills as a public speaker and writer, and challenging my life at every moment. Including when my dear son Ben became sick two years ago. Ben began his next journey four weeks ago today. On a full moon. 
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Ben! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

Nothing can stop me now. My worst fear has happened, and I am still living, more determined to create value with my life ~  to live my life as an example that anything is possible through chanting the name of the Mystic law, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with my mentor in life, Daisaku Ikeda, and the glorious SGI at my side. 

And YOU, my precious friends, have been with me, comrades in faith! At first one, then ten, then many have come along to read this blog and be inspired to become happy. Your communications have lighted my way as much as my blogs have lighted yours. Together, along with our mentor we care changing the world through our own Human Revolution. You are now 60,000 strong a month and growing. Thank you for sharing this blog and your heart with the world, and with me! 

In the July 3rd World Tribune, Daisaku Ikeda states:

"The Buddhist principle 
of three thousand realms in a single moment of life 
teaches us that 
each moment contains possibilities as vast as the universe. Nichiren Daishonin writes, 
"As life does not go beyond the moment, 
the Buddha expounded the blessings 
that come from a single moment of rejoicing 
[on hearing the Lotus Sutra]" 
("Embracing the Lotus Sutra" The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol.1, p. 62). 

Don't let the present moment slip by. 
Like throwing the windows wide open, 
open your lives to the fullest, 
and manifest the joy-filled 
wisdom and power 
of the Buddha. 
Faith in the Mystic Law enables us to do this. 
Every moment is a challenge, 
every moment is a win-or-lose struggle. 
It's a waste to limit your potential 
by locking yourself away 
and letting yourself be ruled by fear, 
Challenge yourself 
with an eager and optimistic spirit. 

When things are tough, 
warmly encourage one another as good friends in faith, 
and move resolutely toward victory 
by bringing forth 
the invincible power of the Buddha and the Law 
through the dynamic power of faith and practice." 

From the Essay "July 3rd and the Spirit of mentor and Disciple" by President Ikeda, in the July 3rd, 2015 World Tribune, page 4

Here is my first post: 

Join me!
I chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo (pronounced Nahm Meeyoho Raingay Kyo)
It means - I fuse my life with the law of cause and effect through sound vibration, or I am one with the flow of life, or I am the Buddha myself! Chanting these words has a profound and practical impact on my life....and it can on anyone's life.
When you chant these words you tap into the eternal universe that's already inside you...the one you know is there, that you've always known is there. Chanting these words allows you to tap the great power you have always had.
On October 20th of 2009 I will have been chanting these words every day...twice a day for 25 years! Between now and October 20th I will be chanting two hours every single day. By October 20th I will have chanted a million daimoku (pron: diemoku, and it means chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo over and over) with a goal to accomplish many dreams:

Here are my determinations:
I wish to inspire others through sharing my heart, my struggles and my successes.
I wish to share the heart of my mentor Daisaku Ikeda (President of the Soka Gakkai International) with the world.
I will release my life from the underlying sadness I have always felt...the sadness that has no name and no real cause. I believe I was born with this sadness, and that it is my mission in this life to free myself from it.
I will have a body that is pain free! I will be able to move in any way I want. For several years I have been battling with a painful right leg. I believe it is arthritis, but I keep thinking I can solve the pain through some other means than surgery. I have never had surgery and never want to have it! (I completed this surgery in 2010 and have been pain-free ever since)
I will be on the way to losing the rest of the weight I've been challenged with my entire life. (I've already lost 50 pounds). 
I will naturally attract opportunities that delight me!
I will make lots of new friends and connections!
I will become a published author!