Powerful Guidance from Kate Randolph

The one and only Kate Randolph

Hello friends, 

Recently I spoke at Kate Randolph's Life Celebration in LA. My charge from her daughter Sarah was to encapsulate Kate's guidance. What an honor. Truly. Kate and I spoke almost every other week for 34 years. I took notes. 

Here's how Kate introduced me to this glorious 

practice: 

It was August of 1985 when we met. 

Kate told me a story that changed my life. In Kate's work for the Great Peace March Across America, she needed to work with the megastar Paul Newman. The first day she was so flustered in his presence she couldn’t even form sentences. That night she chanted for one hour, and came back the next day and could talk to him like he was anyone else on the planet. 

I knew right I’d finally found what I’d been searching for my whole life. A tool that I could use to channel my energy in the direction I wanted it to go. A practical tool for happiness! And she told me I did not have to release my attachment to my desires. I could keep them, and chant for my desires! And my prayers would make the world a better place, and me happy, too.

DONE. I was hooked.

Kate and I became fast friends. We had our babies around the same time, First my son Aaron, then Kate and Hal's daughter Sarah, then my Ben. We vacationed together and raised our children together.

I would call her to get guidance about my challenges and she'd congratulate me for having these problems. She'd assure me that THESE problems were exactly what I needed to get me to the next level of my happiness. They were a benefit. 

Kate put my life in perspective by reminding me that I am a powerful Buddha, by winning in my life others could be inspired by my example and win in theirs. She taught me to turn poison into medicine. 

Basing her life on the Gosho by Nichiren Daishonin and the

words of Daisaku Ikeda she taught me victory:

She taught me to live a life of Victory. The key to Victory 

is making a strong determination to win over our 

problems 

Once we make a determination we may have doubts arise, 

but doubts are not real:

SHe said: 

You have to expect doubts to arrive in your mind. Now is the time to realize they are not real...they are only thoughts in your mind. They are not reality. They are just thoughts and you just pop them out with your prayer  ~ with your eye on the outcome…do battle in your mind and say No No No that is not my reality, that is not reality, that will not be my reality. 

These obstacles and doubts are NOT my reality, these negative thoughts are NOT my reality. Envision your outcome and say YES YES YES YES with each Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. And tell the Shoten Zenjin: YOU will get my back...you have my back...what I envision...my perfect outcome...THAT is my reality and then you add to it: For the sake of all people, I will show actual proof! 

Kate says: Once we decide we will win no matter what ~ 

we need only to continue. 

We've already won. 

The battle is with the negative function within. 

All you need to do is make a fresh determination! Live with hope

One of my favorite quotes of Kate's is:

We Breathe Rarified AIR!

By chanting we can ROOT OUT the causes of our suffering!

Faith is Envisioning the outcome exactly as you want it to be as if there were no obstacles and then challenging the doubt in your mind with your Daimoku and send it like arrows through each obstacle, shooting them down as they arrive in your mind. 

That's why I say be FUELED BY YOUR OBSTACLES, not FOOLED BY THEM!

Battling Depression:

In Kate's own battle over depression, she won by focusing on this thought while chanting: I don’t CARE how many times you rear your ugly head. Depression! I will defeat you. I will root the causes and effects of this depression straight out of my life….and she did just that. 

Based on her guidance I wrote this 

PowerPrayer to Defeat Despair:

Written by Jamie Lee Silver, from the blog ChantforHappiness.com

While chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo I would focus on these thoughts and TELL my life who is BOSS:

No way Unhappiness! You will NOT WIN TODAY!

No way anxiety~I am the Buddha!

I don't CARE how many times I have to chant to defeat you. I WILL WIN! For Myself and for all! 

I am a noble, brilliant Buddha! 

I DEMAND a life free from sadness and fear! 

I root the karmic cause of my sadness and fear

right out of my life now!   

I DEMAND that my environment reflects who I really am, 

not my fears or doubts about who I am. 

I DEMAND that I have the courage 

to do Human Revolution 

and to FOREVER break 

those ties to my own unhappiness. 

I am determined to stop making causes that bring me pain! 

I am determined to make causes that bring me happiness! 

Not just for me, but for everyone!

I MUST succeed 

LIFE 

No matter what! 

I choose to be happy!

I choose happiness now! 

With every new obstacle think:  

"This is just another opportunity for your life to stand up and tell your fundamental darkness who is BOSS. This is just another WAVE, just another WAVE. You MUST stand up to it. You must chant with the conviction that there is no other way than your victory. You must summon that conviction from within your heart." 

Kate said: 

Chant for absolute and total conviction

 in your Buddha Nature

and know that you are changing karma 

for your self, 

for your family 

 for your descendants 

and for the world by this prayer

Pray that THIS Daimoku makes the difference!  

Pray that THIS PRAYER changes your karma forever.

Facing death, Kate said to me:

"NOW is the time to wake up to joy. 

Now, more than ever, 

SGI members need to summon joy, 

forget complaining about anything, 

and wear a radiant smile on our faces. 

She says our smiles must radiate so brightly 

that light comes out of our fingertips 

and we glow as beacons 

so people can learn of the mystic law, 

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo from us, 

and be moved to happiness 

just by being in our presence.

Kate said we must have Joy 

to show the possibilities of life...

JOY is a REQUIREMENT, 

not an afterthought, 

and it comes from our determination 

to summon it from within our lives 

and express it in our smiles, 

the pep in our step, 

and our lives themselves. 

We can do this! 

We can do this for ourselves, 

and by doing this we change the world." 

"Our smile is a cause, not an effect." we can't sit around waiting for joy to come into our lives. We must be joyful, and invite more. That's how it works! 

She said: "Joy's the leading edge. Wake up and be joyful, smile at the person next to you in bed, smile at the person next to you at the store, in the elevator, and at other drivers. BE Kosen rufu in action!" 

"It's gotta be real, but you can also fake it till you make it. Put that smile on your face and you will spark your happiness. Try to be sad with a huge grin. It doesn't work so well!

"We have to go deeper into our own lives, and into the Buddha we are every day. We've gotta do this NOW. This is it. This is our time. We're ALIVE! whether we are 17 or 95. Grab the moment for all it's got and say "I am creating the deepest value that's ever been created. NOW. Right this moment. There's no other moment. There's no other person. How are we influencing the person next to us...it is our SMILE...beaming with joy...Joy!"

STOP complaining. NOW. It must be replaced, even if it's phony at first. It may feel phony but it will cause a shift inside your life.  And we have to keep going deeper and deeper into joy. There can't be a place at which we stop. we need constant movement...constantly going deeper." 

Thank you for a lifetime of WISDOM and DETERMINATION Kate. Thank you for showing us Buddhahood by example. Thank you for walking this world as a Buddha with strength and determination alongside your magnificent family, Hal and Sarah. Thank you for always leading the way. Thank you for your grace. And thank you for your poetry and for bringing us closer to Emily Dickinson. (She performed the one-woman-show The Belle of Amherst like none other)

Thank you for always leading with Daimoku and Shakubuku - the spirit and action to lead others. 

And, if we want to continue Kate's marvelous legacy, let's all be joyful right now! Beaming JOY from our fingertips!

Thank you, Kate!  

Lighting the Lamp of Hope from Florida !

This egret is walking along St. Pete Beach on a beautiful day recently. I think he was posing for me. 

On Sunday I went to my local SGI Center and chanted for 4 hours for the Lions of Justice Festival, 50K youth gathering across America on September 23rd. 
I chanted for the youth of the world to realize their power to make the world a better place...and to be happy...
I chanted...
...for all the youth who are going to the festival to have a breakthrough in their lives...
...for all who registered to overcome obstacles and be able to attend...
...for safety, great weather, and operations to go smoothly...
...for all who are supporting and chanting for this festival to have breakthroughs...
...for every member everywhere to feel an incredible connection to the power within their own lives when chanting to the Gohonzon...
...and to have conviction in my own Buddha Nature... 

It's been a while since I chanted that much daimoku at one time. I sat right up front and supported the people who were leading the chanting. I love doing that...listening to their rhythm, and expanding it.

And, of course, yesterday, Monday, I was energetic and focused. I launched a project at work involving teamwork and leadership...and it flowed naturally. Later this week, on my birthday, I'm going to my High School reunion feeling healthy and happy with that Florida Glow. 

When we chant for others we are also chanting for ourselves. We are all interconnected. We are all one being. When we chant for those who are giving us problems in life, we are opening our channels of compassion and expanding our capacity to feel joy, love, and happiness. Who can you chant for? How can we each expand our capacity to love and be loved? 

No matter where you are in life, or what's happening, you can always launch a new rocket of hope into your life. Chanting nam-myoho-renge-kyo infused your life with the life of the universe...and chanting is YOURS. For FREE. 

Join with your fellow SGI members, make a fresh determination. Refuse to give in to ANYTHING that is getting you down. Your life IS the Buddha. Chant to feel this with your life at every moment. Let's all be radiantly happy and victorious together! 

"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion. What sickness can therefore be an obstacle?" 

Nichiren Daishonin. From the Gosho Reply to Kyo'o

Inspiring Experience from Shara Gulati, YWD in India

From Shara Gulati: 

I am glad that I am able to share my delightful experience.

Chanting 'Nam-myoho-renge-kyo' has worked like Magic.

I am a masters graduate from The University of Manchester. I currently live with my parents in India. After spending one and a half years in the UK, I came back to India this year in January, to live with my family.

Looking back at the past 6 months is a nightmare.

I was extremely depressed. I have never lived idle in my life. But the struggle to find the perfect job has its own repercussions. I stopped socializing, meeting friends or anyone else with the fear that people would ask me what I would do next and I would look like a failure. I used to chicken-out of any conversation that was related to my career. Long story short, I was miserable.

Then Buddhism came into my life and things started changing.

I met a distant relative who encouraged me (I am very grateful to her)  to start chanting. Not knowing what that meant, I started searching Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and SGI Buddhism on google and that very day I felt different, I felt good, I felt like myself after a long time.

That happened and then I have another relative who is an SGI district leader, who motivated me further more and sent me two books for more knowledge.

All this happened in late July and things started turning so much better in just a month's time. 

I found an amazing woman from Quora who has been there through my thick and thin, to motivate me and keep my Daimoku strong, so strong that I can conquer anything and come out victorious.

I started chanting for 5 minutes a day which has now changed to 2 hours a day.

I could feel that I started caring more about other people's happiness too.

I have now taken full charge of my life and have stopped blaming anyone for my condition.

My friend's grandmother got extremely ill and ghospitalized sed not once but thrice. I kept my faith strong and chanted for her everyday. I chanted with the aim that she should be healthy and should get discharged by 28th Aug. Mystically, she got discharged on the same day.

My niece got diagnosed with eczema and she is just three years old. It took 5 doctors to diagnose something like that until we found out what exactly appeared on her cheeks. I kept chanting for her and also prayed that her skin condition improves by 28th Aug and miraculously the skin ailment vanished completely by then.

I have also been considering to get help from a good recruitment agency for an overseas career. I found one. My family and I got in touch with them. It took us 10 days to have faith in them and be ready to pay the amount the next day.

I chanted to be saved from any fraudulent act. I chanted that 'if the company is not genuine, I should not pay the amount the next day'. Mystically, the very next day I got up late and I forgot to ask my father to get the amount deposited. 

In the evening, one of the employees of the company, who I had been in touch with, contacted me and to quote her exact words 'I believe in Karma. I believe if you do good to others, you get things back. So I would suggest you not to rely on this company as my other colleagues stop taking calls once the candidate has paid the amount.

So mystic, isnt it?

That's the power of daimoku, that is the power of our Gohonzon.

With this practise, I am determined to report four victories by the end of this year.

"Chant abundant Daimoku and pray to the Gohonzon. Ask the Gohonzon for whatever you need. Everything will come true as you wish, and the path of kosen-rufu will open up in front of you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Jamie: 

Thank you, Shara! Thank you for your enthusiasm and determination. Thank you for submitting your experience to me. 

And to the readers of ChantforHappiness.com, please have renewed hope that you can accomplish all your dreams. 

Chant for conviction in your Buddha Nature! Chant to realize your life as the beautiful Buddha you are! 

Today I am taking my pen in hand to write down as many goals as I can for my life. What number will I achieve? 100? 200? Danny Nagashima encouraged us to do this in 1993 in San Francisco when he was the center leader there. I wrote 200+ goals and met Sensei that year. Go for your goals! Live your beautiful lives! Sending love from sunny Florida, Jamie

Great Insights from Kate Randolph

My Dear friend Kate

Hello, my friends! Thanks for all the emails prodding me back into writing. You have always been on my mind! 

I'm sitting here in paradise on St. Pete Beach with a few moments on my hands because I'm off work today. I have a great full-time job helping families go through the difficult maze of figuring out the best place for their loved one to live when they can no longer take care of themselves. I enjoy giving people hope, changing the lives of seniors, and infusing love into my community.

There's so much to share! Ben's Memorial Mile (Bensmemorialmile.com) took place in June with hundreds of attendees running, walking, playing and having fun in my son Ben's name. We are about to reach our goal of contributing $50,000 for research to cure schizophrenia, and taking concrete action to prevent suicide through "Hope for the Day." We're already planning an amazing event in Downers Grove, Illinois, USA next June. I'll keep you posted. 

And, many of you know that Kate Randolph is battling the same kind of cancer that just killed John McCain, a glioblastoma brain tumor. Kate was diagnosed right after we went to the Florida Nature Culture Center together in November of 2017. She's challenging three hours of daimoku (chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) a day, and is fighting a fierce battle. 

The other day I reached her in LA and she had important words for all for us when I told her about a goal I'm determined to reach. Kate said: 

"There's only one thing you need to do. 

There's only one prayer you need to have. Along with chanting for the youth of the world and the 50K Lions of Justice Festivals in America and around the world, 

Chant for 

absolute and total conviction

 in your Buddha Nature

and everything you want will fall in line. 

Don't keep searching for what you desire - 

use this prayer, use the power of your daimoku. 

Pray that THIS TIME you are changing your karma forever...for you, for your parents, 

for your descendants. 

Pray that THIS PRAYER changes your karma forever."

Let that sink in! 

I'll tell you it's a challenge. When I'm chanting I latch onto that prayer, and I'm quickly pulled off of it by some distraction (fundamental darkness) in my mind. But it's real. And powerful. It takes strong determination to stay on this prayer...and let other prayers bubble up...for my family, my coworkers, the youth of the world. It's a daily challenge to keep praying while chanting - not just letting my mind wander and wondering about stuff. But that's where the magic is...the sustained launching of our prayer on the wings of Daimoku.  

I hope this post finds you well...and that you keep strong determination. As Nichiren Daishonin states in the Gosho Letter to Nikke, 
"Chanting nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion. What sickness can, therefore, be an obstacle?"

Whatever you are facing don't give up. Don't give up! We are here for a reason. We chose this life. We even chose our problems. In the August 17th World Tribune on page 7, Daisaku Ikeda, my mentor in life, quotes the words of the Argentine poet Almafuerte: 

"Sometimes a great destiny sleeps to be awakened by anguish."
He goes on to say: 
"Buddhism teaches that suffering is the springboard to enlightenment. No one is free from problems and worries - nor is any family or region. 
"Life is a struggle against problems. What's important is how we solve the problems that weigh down on us. We need to call forth all our wisdom and make repeated efforts to overcome those problems and reach the victory that lies beyond them. 
"Dreaming about what life might be like if only you didn't have any problems is just an escape from reality into a fantasy realm. It only leads to defeat in life. People who are always making positive efforts, thinking about how to overcome each problem and transform it into a source of value and victory are the winners in life. 
"Your resolve determines your life. I hope you will all be great actors in your own dramas of victory, brilliantly proving this truth, and be people who encourage and impart self-confidence to everyone around you."

Yes! Write that drama brilliantly! Smile and carry on! Chant and study and encourage your fellow members! Sending love to you!