3 Benefits of Consistent Practice and 4 Ways to Achieve it

I've been receiving emails from readers who have many challenges, and are not chanting consistently, and I think "If only they knew what a joy it is to practice consistently...many problems just fade away!"

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"Living in the saha world, it is impossible to stop the winds of suffering from blowing. Our only alternative is to become strong. 
Daisaku Ikeda, August Living Buddhism, page 50

"The Japanese word for fellow member, or comrad (doshi) can also be read as "shared resolve," or commitment. The SGI is a gathering of fellow members, comrades in faith, who share the same resolve and purpose. 
..."SGI members, dedicated to the earnest resolve of helping all people, are the treasures of the world. SGI members, with the resolve to realize peace, are the treasures of humanity. The expansion of our network of shared resolve will change the planet into a beautiful treasure realm." 
Daisaku Ikeda, September 2015 Living Buddhism, page 39

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Always remember how noble and important you are!

How do we become strong? By strengthening our resolve, and our practice. 

When we do our practice every morning and evening our problems get smaller because we raise our life condition. 

We can each picture our problems as a big wall in front of us. When we practice consistently our life condition rises, just as if we are a big balloon rising to the sky. What looked like an insurmountable wall is now a tiny little ridge - way below us. We can step right over it. 

How can we establish and maintain a consistent practice? 

How can we reinforce our determination to practice twice a day every day, strengthen our lives and create unshakable benefit? 

3 benefits of consistent practice 
(Doing morning and evening gongyo and chanting daimoku consistently) 

1. It's easier. Once you establish the practice you just greet your life twice a day in front of the Gohonzon without having to force yourself to do it. It just becomes part of your life. 

2. Benefits flow more consistently, 

3. It WORKS! You change your karma, embrace your challenges and win over any challenge you face. You get what you want and so much more. 

4 Dynamic ways 
to establish a consistent practice

1. Determine that you want to use this practice to the best of your ability! Chanting consistently means winning the battle over your lesser self. Make your list of determinations and goals.  What have you decided is impossible in your life? We chant to make the impossible possible. Go for it. 

2. Embrace your friends in the SGI. (You can click on the SGI Portal to the right to find your local SGI, if you're not connected yet. Remember there are no dues or rules or priests. The SGI is an organization of people working together for their own happiness and the sake of others.) 

3. Establish a "Chanting Buddy" to chant with you.
Our friends in the SGI are our friends in faith. When I was first chanting 28 years ago my mentor came to my house every morning for a few weeks to help me generate Activation Energy for my practice.

4. Establish a Tele-Toso Chanting Buddy
If you can't chant together in person you can do it by telephone, or by text. Just establish a time and contact each other before and after. If you want, you can keep the telephone connection while you chant. (It's better if one person turns the volume down.) Or you can just call or text before and after. 

An Experience in Chanting Consistently: 

Chanting consistently must be experienced to be understood. 
My dear "Baby Buddha" (the nickname she chose for herself) heard me tell her for two years to chant every morning and evening, and she replied that she doesn't do ANYTHING consistently and wasn't going to do this. No way. I kept chanting for her and inviting her to chant. And one day, she just made the decision to try chanting twice a day to see how it felt. She couldn't believe how different she felt. She also realized a deep desire and began to chant for it to happen. Now she lives in Colorado - she got what she was chanting for! THIS is why we practice. Our desires are worth chanting for! 

You may have other ways of creating and maintaining your consistent practice. Please share them with me and I'll share them with the other readers of this blog. Email me at chantforhappiness.com with your ideas, questions, suggestions, victories and challenges. 

PowerPrayer to Send Love to YourSELF

As soon as I started chanting this morning tears welled up in my eyes and I had to stop for a few moments to release the sadness. It's just going to be like that for awhile. As I began to chant again I thought "I need to send myself some love." 

And for much of the rest of my daimoku I sent waves of love to myself. 

I know we chant for others. I know we chant for circumstances to change in our lives. I know we chant to change ourselves so that our environments can change and we can do shakubuku and kosen rufu...and sometimes we need to focus on our hearts - we need love too. That's where it all starts.  

As I was chanting, my Daimoku was so delicious I want to share it with you in the form of this PowerPrayer. 

PowerPrayers are fresh determinations to read before chanting to refresh our hearts and power our Daimoku. 

I wish you all a day of love!

So for today, here is a 
PowerPrayer to Send Love to YourSELF
By Jamie Lee Silver of Chantforhappiness.com

Life, 
AS I am chanting I am feeling waves of Daimoku

Nam myoho renge kyo

flowing through my body
waves of love for my own self
waves of love for my precious body
waves of love for my heart. 
Life, 
Open my life to the love all around me today.
Life, 
Let me receive and experience the love and the good all around me today. 
Today, and every day, 
may I bask in the love I generate
the love I share, 
the love I am

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"Whatever your circumstances, whatever your past, the forces that determine your future are nowhere but within your own heart and mind. It is here that the star of your destiny shines." Daisaku Ikeda, Ikedaquotes.org

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Deepening our Missions

Living the Dream! 

That's the name of my friend's boat 

I spent the day on yesterday. 

And I met so many "Dock friends" yesterday. 

One of them told me about her brother who died when he was 32 years old. Her mother never recovered from her brother's death. Even though her mother had grandchildren, and many children who were alive, she never recovered.  

I thought "Wow - my mission is so deep!" I must recover completely from my wonderful son's death. I must live a life of vibrant happiness because he died, not in spite of it. 

I am a Soka Gakkai Buddhist. I know how to turn karma into mission. I MUST turn karma into mission. There is no other way! Even through my tears.

I continue to chant to learn how to encourage people from the depths of my heart. 

This is from the Lecture by Daisaku Ikeda from the Letter to Horen in the June Living Buddhism: 

"The Daishonin says that each of the 510 characters of the verse section of the "Life Span" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, from "ji ga toku burrai" (Since I first attained Buddhahood) (LSOC, 270) to "soku joju bushin" (quickly attain the body of a Buddha) (LSOC, 273), changes into a sun and then into a Buddha. It emits great beams of light that pervade every corner of the universe, finding Kyoshin's father wherever he might be and illuminating him (see WND-1, 517-18)

In other words, each character of the verse section of the "Life Span" chapter recited by Kyoshin becomes the Buddha, shining with the brilliant light of compassion that reaches his deceased father in whatever state of being he may reside, relieving him of his suffering and guiding him to enlightenment."

I am chanting for Ben and I KNOW it is reaching his life. 
I am chanting for all of you! 

We Change EVERY Negative into a Positive...every single one!

(Special note: to the person who is writing me from pujita912  -  your email is bouncing back to me and I can't get through. Please create another email so we can communicate. Thanks.) 

From the August Living Buddhism, page 58 Guidance Series 10.4 
All Karma Has Profound Meaning by Daisaku Ikeda:

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"Accordingly, defeat for a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism lies not in encountering difficulties but rather in not challenging them. Difficulties only become our destiny if we run away from them. We must fight as long as we live...
To practice Nichiren Buddhism is to live with the unshakable conviction that the most painful and trying times are opportunities for changing karma, for carrying out our human revolution and that, no matter how difficult the situation, we can ultimately and without fail transform them into something positive." Daisaku Ikeda

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That's right, of course, that's right. We have to keep moving no matter what, we have to keep challenging our situation no matter what...no matter HOW difficult the situation! 

As many of you know, it has been six weeks since my 22 year-old son Ben died, and every day is different. 

Some days I let my sadness freely flow, because I believe holding it in is unhealthy and has no merit, and some days I have a heart full of appreciation and happiness for the 22 years we had together, the knowledge that we are still together, and always will be, and a hopefulness for my future that is truly exhilarating. Yesterday was one of those happy days where I danced in the sun. 

Today is another beautiful sunny, summer day here in Chicago and I'm looking forward to an easy Saturday. Business has been booming. All of the efforts I've been putting into it are paying off. My days are sailing by quickly, filled with beautiful people. 

And I'm centering my daimoku on getting rid of Ben's negative karma so he can be reborn with every happiness, every wonderful passion, skill, interest and love he had in this life, without the disease...without the negative karma. 

And somehow, I'm going back to happy memories with him, but without the sadness from time to time. I'm picturing us on that cruise ship laughing and laughing, dancing and playing guitar, and enjoying being together. I can picture those moments and feel happy. 

I know I am human, and this loss is devastating. But I also know that I am a disciple of Nichiren Daishonin, my mentor is Daisaku Ikeda, and I am a Soka Gakkai Buddhist. I chant the name of the Mystic law of the Universe - Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon, my life itself. I have immense power! And so do you. 

I feel my mission even more deeply than before. If I can live through this, turn poison into medicine, develop even more ways to help others, and really enjoy my life. Well then, anything truly is possible. 

Not just for me, but for you! 

As always the key is changing twice a day, perfecting gongyo, studying the Gosho and Daisaku Ikeda's writings, going to meetings and doing shakukubuku and encouraging others. With this combination it is impossible to fail! 
Have a wonderful Saturday! 

From Poverty to A Private Plane ~ Inspiring Financial Experience

Living the most contributive life -
Luis Nieves   

I was so poor when I received the gohonzon in aug 1968 that it seems almost unimaginable today today. I regularly hitch-hiked 50 miles to youth activities, sometimes taking all night to get home.i couldn’t seem to hold a job for more than a week or two- either I would get fired or was too depressed to shop up.
One day my landlord kicked me out of the apartment for failing to pay rent and took away everything except the alter, in lieu of rent. I spent many nights sleeping on the floor, as I tried to work to payback the rent while struggling to attend some days of school. Late night my friend Randy, who had also begun chanting nam myoho renge kyo, would stand guard at the laundrymat, while I huddled behind the machines waiting for my one set of clothing to dry.
I continued to do SGI activities because they gave my life meaning. I remember hitch hiking 35 miles north of Napa California to deliver a gohonzon to a new member. After walking for 10 miles with my thumb out, no one stopped. My clothing was thin, threadbare and then it began to snow.i arrived at the member’s house late next morning , helped enshrine the gohonzon, then hitched a ride back in time for a discussion meeting.
During these years my friend Linda and I did many youth activities together, along with her sister Becky, and my friend Randy. Linda had received the Gohonzon the same day as my mother.
Even though many people in small our town derided us when we shared Buddhism with them, our hearts were filled with joy. We would huddle together in the cold, sometimes very late into the night, reading SGI President Ikeda’s guidance, proud students of Ikeda University. Prez Ikeda’s guidance was so real, so tangible, it gave us inspiration and hope.
Linda eventually got a steady job and bought a very old car which we used mercilessly for youth activities at home and in san Francisco.
Linda and I came to understand that our problems were not revelations of our misery or failure, as people in the town were swift to point out to us. We chose this life to demonstrate the greatness of Nicheren’s Buddhism, the truth of prez Ikeda’s Guidance and the potential innate in ordinary people to become true victors in life.
With the spirit to transform poison to medicine through our Buddhist Practice, our determinations were these-
Because we are so desperately poor, we must become wealthy.
Because we have to walk , hitch hike and drive such battered cars, we must become people who can drive any car we wish
Because school is impossible for us to attend, we must become educational advocates for many young people like us. In other words, we viewed our Karma as our mission for Kosen Rufu/ world peace.
This gets to the heart of why we never ever missed any  opportunity to contribute to the SGI, including  making Financial Contributions. Don’t ask me how we did it- we were so desperately poor. We chanted a whole lot not to miss any opportunity to contribute and do more than we thought we could. When we had no money, which was the norm, we ‘d find working extra jobs, collect old bottles- anything to make a cause for our happiness.
Linda and I were always of the same mind. We made every financial cause selflessly and without expectations, because doing so made us happy. After about 10 years of friendship, and as comrades in faith, we married, realizing how deeply in love we were.
As we continued to live a Cause-oriented practice, our environment reflected the changes that occurred within ourselves. Over time, we got better jobs, better timings and better bosses.
We had beautiful children, and, in 1990, I started an automobile insurance company from our spare bedroom. With quick and sincere service- traits we had learnt and developed through doing SGI activities in my youth- our business grew. Recently, my company completed construction on a new headquarters in Napa, California.
 
This year Linda and I celebrated our 30^th wedding anniv. We now live in a large beautiful jewel of a home we have built in our own vineyards, complete with an observatory. Our home is always open for SGI members and for faith related activities. We now have 4 holiday homes, including one overlooking the bay and across the ocean in Miami.
Linda’s old car has now changed to a custom-made powerful Italian sculpture on wheels.
Our commitment to kosen- rufu remains the same. In order to get home in time for meetings and activities we now fly on our family jet plane. We are privileged now to do everything we can behind the scene to financially support and further president Ikeda’s vision for Soka University of America, a school fostering the next generation of world leaders and peacemakers
Linda and I are more deeply in love and have more fun together than we could have ever imagined. Most importantly, we feel like we have only begun to fulfill our mission for contributing to the growth of the SGI Peace Movement together with prez Ikeda. The best is ahead, and we determine never to give up, no matter what.

Our Altar Represents Our Life - Some Observations on Placement

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Yesterday's post on altars had some interesting responses. 

One reader emailed that her altar was in her basement - could that be the reason her life was so dark? Interesting, right? 

I can relay to you my personal experiences and observations from 30 years of enshrining and re-enshrining altars - both mine and fellow members. As always, I write from my heart, not as an official SGI representative. 

I can state very clearly that EVERY TIME I have improved my altar, either by moving it, clearing it, dusting it, and lighting it better, there has been a positive impact in my life. 

I have visited people and made suggestions about placement, and they have reported positive consequences that come out of changing locations. 

Here are a few: 

When I first started chanting I was in a tiny apartment in San Francisco. It was essentially a studio with glass doors between the "bedroom" and the living room. The ONLY place for my Gohonzon was in the bedroom. It was here I chanted for a home to raise my children, start my life, and host incredible Buddhist meetings. We moved to a beautiful home on a hill overlooking all of San Francisco and I placed my altar right in the middle of the main wall of the living room. Our lives were very happy there! I had both my children while living in my kosen-rufu home before I decided to move back to the Chicago area to be with my Mom who needed my help. The Gohonzon "my life" was at the center of my life!

When I first moved to the apartment I'm in now, I placed my altar closer to the window and the television at the center of the room. That did not last long! I quickly realized I needed to switch the two and it made a difference in my mood, my spirits, and my environment. 

I had a member whose Gohonzon was very dark, and in a corner. You could barely see it. I suggested a light like the kind I use (from Home Depot) and she was able to quickly make a major life change she'd been chanting about for years. 

I visited a young woman whose altar was on her dresser in front of a window. It felt unprotected and exposed. She was struggling with direction in her life. We moved the dresser against the wall so the butsudan would be more protected. She enrolled in college and is on her way to being a teacher. 

Just think about it. If your altar represents your life, because the Gohonzon IS the mirror for your life...where would the perfect place be for it? Where would you like your brilliant and sparkling life to be? And wouldn't you want it to be lit up! 

If you don't like where it is - chant about it! Make a determination! 

Share your stories with me at chantforhappiness@gmail.com! 

Sparkling Altar = Sparkling Life!

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As Nichiren Buddhists, we chant at the altars in our homes. They consist of a box holding the scroll we focus on when we chant, along with a table with fruit, a bell, and various other things. We do  not all have to have the same set-up. Some prefer incense; others don't. Most have either real or fake candles. Some have plants. Today's post isn't about what we put on our altar; it's about how we treat it and where we have it. 

Our altars represent our lives. The better we take care of our altars, the better our environment treats us. It's simply cause and effect. 

Just think about it. Our altar is the place we go to connect with our own lives, our Buddha nature. If it's dusty, or cluttered, our life is dusty and cluttered. I have often found that the fastest way to have immediate change is to change something about my altar. 

At one time, my butsudan (box that holds the Gohonzon, or scroll) was inside a bookcase. I felt stuck in my life at the time. I wanted to break through. Kate suggested I change my altar set up. The minute I moved the box out of the bookcase and affixed it securely onto the wall my life moved forward in a positive direction. I felt free. 

Lately, my house has gotten crowded with mementos, pictures, photo albums, and all kinds of things that came into my house last month. I thought "I need a change!" 

So I looked at my altar, moved the huge fruit basket and was shocked to discover there was fruit residue all over the wood table and a dead peach in the pile of fruit. Awesome opportunity for change! I brought out my wood polish and shined it up, and took the huge fruit bowl away and replaced it with a small bowl of new fruit. 

And I decided to remove one of the plants so there was more space - more open space on my altar table. I moved this plant to another place, looked at my shiny wooden table and thought: "THIS is going to cause a change in my living space and in my life!" Whenever we clear our space we make room for more good to come into our lives. 

That night I woke up in the middle of the night (as I often do) and started straightening everything up in my apartment. It just felt easy. I sorted, I moved things and my space feels much more open. Much better! 

Every change we make to our altar makes a difference. 

The more secure we have our altar, the more secure our life. Is your butsudan safely away from a window? Is it bolted to a wall or does it tip easily? Think of it as your life. How do you want it? Secure...or easily tipped? 

You might want to take a fresh look at your altar space right now. Is it in the center of your house? Is YOUR LIFE in the center of YOUR LIFE? Is it in a dark corner? How is it lit? I have a bright light so I can see my life (my Gohonzon). 

Do you have fresh fruit? Take a new look!

And if you change something and see it's effect send me a note at chantforhappiness@gmail.com!