DIS-Couraged or EN-Couraged ~ Some Quotes to Inspire

In all of our lives we sometimes experience frustration, right? We all have things we've chanted about for a long time and we think maybe they will never happen...and we face the choice of being discouraged, or encouraged. 
Let's think about those words for a moment: 

DIS-COURAGED. 
Lost courage. 
No more courage. 
Negative courage. 

We do feel this from time to time, I know. It is at exactly this point that we can put our faith to its best use. We have a unique tool. 
We have faith we can use to re-EN-COURAGE us. 

En-Courage
Filled with courage
Inner courage
In the state of courage

Much better, right? 

Daisaku Ikeda's writings always encourage me. 
In Faith in Action he writes in the section Perseverance:

"It is important to take a long range view. 
No great achievement is accomplished overnight 
or without difficulty. 
Should benefit be obtained easily, 
and without making serious efforts in our Buddhist practice, we'd probably easily abandon our faith 
and end up miserable." 
p. 145 

And he continues on the next page: 

"It is important to become strong 
and to not be defeated. 
Don't become the kind of people 
who are always depending or leaning on others 
or who weakly and timidly 
leave hard work and responsibility to others. 
Whatever obstacles you may encounter, 
please use them as a launching pad for your growth 
and keep advancing, 
bravely enduring all hardships, 
telling yourselves, 
"I'll show them what I'm made of!" 
p. 146

And:

"No matter what the circumstances, 
you should never concede defeat. 
Never conclude that you've reached a dead end. 
You possess a glorious future. 
Precisely because of that, 
you must persevere and study. 
Life is eternal. 
We need to focus on the two existences 
of the present and the future 
and not get caught up in worry about the past. 
We must always have the spirit to begin anew 
"from this moment," 
to initiate a new struggle each day." 
p. 146

I was also thinking about the wise words of my own personal mentor and good friend in faith Kate Randolph. She explained the concept of setting deadlines, and what it means to our Buddhist practice and our lives in this wise way:


"We set deadlines to motivate OURSELVES into action. 
A deadline is not for the universe to respond to us. 
We chant. 
We take action. 
The deadline comes. 
We either win or we don't. 
If we don't get the result by the deadline 
we pick ourselves right up again and redetermine. 
The goal is to never be defeated. 
Sensei always says "To win in life is to never be defeated." That does not mean that we will never fail. 
It's our spirit that matters. 
The battle we fight is not with the universe. 
It's with our inner demons...
the ones that say things like 
"obviously chanting doesn't work 
because I did not get my dream by my deadline...or...maybe I should have a different goal...
maybe I wasn't MEANT to have that thing!....
or what am I doing wrong? 
Maybe I wasn't chanting the RIGHT way!" 
It is at that juncture that we must recognize 
the opportunity to deepen our faith and our understanding of the profundity of Buddhism. 
ANYTHING that DRAINS OUR LIFE FORCE 
is the negative function. 
Any inner voice that causes us doubt and hopelessness 
IS the negative function. 
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. 
Ultimately, deadlines are irrelevant. 
Set them if you need them to motivate yourself. 
But decide from the onset that you will win no matter what. And hold YOURSELF accountable. Not the universe. 
If it is a crucial moment and you are in a dire predicament, financially, or health-wise, it is time to DEMAND the protection of the Shoten Zenjin. 

No prayer of a votary of the Lotus Sutra will go unanswered. If your prayer is going unanswered find out what it means to be a votary of the Lotus Sutra. STUDY. And as you are chanting DEMAND the result that you want through your prayer. Awaken to your mission and realize that all your suffering is your opportunity to encourage other people. That is what is meant by turning Karma into Mission."

We ARE the Universe and We Can Solve ALL Our Problems if We Don't Give Up!

Our eyes and the nebulae in the universe...

Buddhist thought holds that we are microcosms of the universe. Science is moving closer to Buddhist thought all the time. This picture really intrigued me. It's just mesmerizing isn't it? And we access the power of the entire universe every time we chant. 

When we look around our lives we see that our lives actually do reflect how we feel, what we see, and how we experience the world. And if we don't like what we see, we can change it by chanting and accessing the universe inside our own lives. 

Daisaku Ikeda states: 

"Faith is the courage to never give up. 
It means never giving up 
on the potential of your own life 
and that of others. 
It means never giving up on expanding happiness. 
It means never giving up on the victory of our cause. 
It means never giving up on creating peace. 
Faith, above all, is the courage
to never ever give up on propogating the mystic law...
The Daishonin's spirit of "What greater joy could there be?" expresses the very essence of faith. 
May your lives always powerfully resound 
with this same positive conviction. 
Please fearlessly and calmly 
discern the true nature of all obstacles with deep faith, 
and then, confidently, 
wisely and cheerfully overcome them. 
I hope you will also reach out to others near and far, 
and share with them the joy of human revolution, 
which is a source of unsurpassed hope, 
fulfillment and joy." 
World Tribune, September 20, 2013. Faith is the Courage to Never Give Up. 

Through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (it means: I fuse my life with the mystic law of cause and effect through sound vibration) we can set our entire lives right. 

We can change ANY poison into medicine. 

We can change anything. 

Life is eternal. 

Some things take longer than others, 

I know, we all know. 

But the important thing, as Daisaku Ikeda says, 

is to keep chanting until we DO change it. 

The important thing is to not give up, and to take every challenge and make fresh determinations around it.

ANY experience can be a catalyst for greater happiness when we meet it right in front of the Gohonzon, and don't run from it! 

How much should we chant? It depends on oue goals, our state of life, yes, we do need to sleep! We need to chant as much as we need to keep our life condition elevated! Only we know how long that is. Each person is different. And whatever we do ~ when confronted by obstacles and "problems" we meet them head on in front of the Gohonzon and declare with conviction through our prayer:

"Life! I summoned this storm and I will USE it to revolutionalize (my word!) MY LIFE! I will use this as fuel for my life and the lives of others! I will prove the power of my life and this practice right here. I will never give up!" 

Transforming Ourselves

PowerPrayer for a Harmonious Family

As Nichiren buddhist, we know that wars begin and end within our own hearts. and I know from personal experience that we sometimes turn against the ones we love when we are really stressed and challenged. But we know, we really know, that the answer lies in our determination to create a harmonious family, and to change our own, and our family's karma with our determined Daimoku. (Chanting of nam-myoho-renge-kyo). 

Daisaku Ikeda states: 

A person who respects others is respected by others in return. Those who treat others with compassion and concern are protected and supported by others. Our environment is essentially a reflection of ourselves.
From Ikedaquotes.org

Daimoku can change ANYTHING. It can change inharmonious relationships, and give us the courage and wisdom we need to make changes in our lives. 

With that in mind, I offer you the PowerPrayer for a Harmonious Family. Usually we read PowerPrayers before chanting so that we can keep our determinations and prayers fresh in our minds while sonorously chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the title of the Lotus Sutra and the name of the rhythm of life itself. Chanting allows us to tap into the vast resources our lives already possess, raise our life conditions and become absolutely happy...possessing the type of happiness that is not swayed by daily changes in our lives.  Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the most powerful cause we can make for our lives. 

That's it! 

The following PowerPrayer is an excerpt from the upcoming book The BuddhaZone, PowerPrayers for Chanting Your Way to Absolute Happiness and Success by Julia Landis and Jamie Lee Silver. 
Please do not copy and past the PowerPrayer. You can share it by emailing the url chantforhappiness.com or using the sharing buttons at the bottom of the post. Thanks! 

PowerPrayer for a Harmonious Family

Life!

I am Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I have the power to chant happiness and harmony for my whole family

With every daimoku I am picturing us happy

I am erasing years of karma with every Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

With every Daimoku I am summoning appreciation for my loved ones. I appreciate them more and more. 

For every fault, sickness, sadness, problem I see in my family ~

I chant to change this in MYSELF so that the karma of the whole family is changed! 

I am chanting happiness and harmony into my family

My prayer is enough!

I will not give up

I am tearing every bit of karma that makes any of my family members suffer - I am tearing that karma out by the roots. 

My family will never be the same. 

I will not give up!

I will have a happy family that will shine as a beacon of hope to all who are suffering. 

My chanting gives me the wisdom to communicate with composure and compassion. 

I am the Buddha!

I chant specifically for these outcomes:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PowerPrayer for Overcoming Obstacles (Sansho Shima!)

SGI World Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan

November 18th ~ the opening of the new Worldwide Headquarters of the SGI is getting closer. Many of us are determined to permanently change our karma between now and then. Many of us are challenging shakubuku goals and personal goals. And we are facing obstcles, of course! 
I know my obstacles have risen up in front of me like a huge wall. I also know, that as Daisaku Ikeda states, on the other side of every wall is a HUGE expanse. I am determined to get there. Below is a PowerPrayer for Overcoming (and recognizing) Obstacles. 

As you know, in any worthy endeavor obstacles HAVE to arise. They are a natural function of life. But the important question is this ~ Can we see them for what they are, necessary obstacles to FUEL our determination and make us chant HARDER? Or are we FOOLED by them into thinking "Oh well, I guess I wasn't supposed to do this anyway" and then give up? Are we stuck blaming the other person or the obstacle, or can we see them for what they ARE - our own karma to change? 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 past the url or share it using the buttons at the bottom of the post. This PowerPrayer is copywritten and from Julia Landis' and my upcoming book The BuddhaZone, PowerPrayers for Chanting Your Way to Absolute Happiness and Success)

PowerPrayers are meant to be kept in mind while chanting to help focus on outcomes. 
Please email chantforhappiness@gmail.com with your victories from using these PowerPrayers and you could be in my second book.

PowerPrayer for Winning Over Obstacles (Sansho Shima):

Hello, Sansho Shima, 
I was expecting you.
I recognize you for what you are.

Sansho Shima, 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.
You  are not real, you  have no power here.
On the contrary, 
I take your pure energy now, and though my Daimoku I make you my ally, instead. 
Shoten Zenjin! Support me in every single action I take towards my goal. I am doing the Buddha's work on earth. Support me in every way!

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

Sansho Shima, I am now turning you into Shoten Zenjin! 
You are now the cause 
for victory in the lives of those I will
encourage by sharing this story.
You are now part of a powerful 
and inspirational story of victory.

Sansho Shima! You don't scare me! 
I am raising my life condition
and the life condition of ALL 
by challenging and winning over YOU Sansho Shima! 

Rooooaaaaarrrrrrrr!
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

PowerPrayer For Expanding Our Capacity ~ And Words of Wisdom on Achieving Our Goals

PowerPrayer to Expand 

My Capacity in All Areas of My Life

(You may want to read the PowerPrayer prior to chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to your heart's delight. 
If you like this PowerPrayer please share it with the links provided at the bottom. Do not cut and paste it. Thanks!)

Life,

I chant to expand my capacity, 

decisiveness and ability to achieve my goals!

As of now I expand my capacity to use this practice to activate the life of my dreams. I vow to accomplish:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________by ______________(date)

I expand my capacity in ALL AREAS

I chant to expand my capacity 

to think positive thoughts 

and to make positive causes

and take decisove POSITIVE ACTIONS 

every single moment of every single day. 

As I am chanting I increase  

my capacity 

to experience feeling loved 

and to accept love in my life. 

I chant to expand my capacity 

to dance in joy 

                 in love 

                       and in light. 

I now spread that joy and love and light effortlessly 

and naturally to everyone in my life. 

by Jamie Lee Silver and Julia Landis from the Upcoming book: The BuddhaZone, PowerPrayers for Chanting Your Way to Absolute Happiness

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

The following passage was published on the facebook page of "The Spirit of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" today. Thank you so much. Enjoy! I published the Expanding Capacity PowerPrayer to go along with the last paragraph of this passage: 

The following points were shared by Norimasa Saito, SGI North America Bureau director, at meetings he attended during his recent visit to the United States, including the mentor and disciple relationship study conference held Nov. 18–20 at the Florida Nature and Culture Center.

~ 

It is important to win in our daily lives. What I mean by winning is achieving each of our specific goals. First be determined to win, you can then specify your personal goals one by one. I personally have some 33 things I am praying deeply to achieve. With a strong determination to win and an earnest desire to accomplish each goal, your prayer as you chant daimoku will be focused. This means you will tap greater wisdom, giving you insight about how to face your problems, and bring forth more courage to do what you need to do.

• When you need to achieve a major breakthrough in your life, I suggest you start with what is most essential, and that is faith. In other words, you can first ask yourself whether you have a personal determination or pledge you aim to fulfill for the sake of kosen-rufu. I think we should each have our own specific pledge or goal for kosen-rufu. We should be able to say to ourselves that “This is what I will achieve for kosen-rufu” or “I will help this person begin practicing Buddhism” or “I will help this person develop into a capable leader for kosen-rufu.”

• Since Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the Gohonzon for the happiness of all humanity, our lives should be geared to the objective of all people's happiness. The Daishonin did not establish the Gohonzon simply so that we can wear nice clothes or own a fabulous car. We need a higher sense of purpose, and when we have a higher sense of purpose, our prayers about personal matters are more easily answered.

• Then, it all boils down to effort. When your life is well geared to the objective of kosen-rufu, you are contributing to the purpose for which the Gohonzon was established, which means you belong to the world of the Gohonzon or Buddhahood. Firmly positioned in this world of great fortune and dynamic rhythm, we then take the actions necessary to win in our personal struggles. In this way, the protective functions of the Mystic Law will become clearly apparent in our day-to-day existence. In Buddhism, this approach is called the “Strategy of the Lotus Sutra.”

• President Toda described the two types of circumstances in which we derive benefit from our Buddhist practice. The first occurs at the very initial stage of our Buddhist practice. It arises naturally from the pure faith and pure joy we experience over the fact that we have encountered the Gohonzon. Of course, this is always a source of benefit and fortune.

The other type of benefit comes from our earnest prayer. In “On Rebuking Slander of the Law and Eradicating Sins,” Nichiren Daishonin writes, “I am praying that, no matter how troubled the times may become, the Lotus Sutra (Gohonzon) and the ten demon daughters (Buddhist gods) will protect all of you, praying as earnestly as though to produce fire from damp wood, or to obtain water from parched ground” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 444). At a time of crises, or any crucial juncture in our lives, such determined prayer is necessary. And the Daishonin describes the sweeping power of such prayer when he says, “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like a gale” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 742).

• At times we may feel overwhelmed by our personal problems. However, we have to realize that Buddhism teaches us to expand our capacity rather than trying to get rid of our problems. Some problems may be with us for quite some time. However, as our life-capacity and our capability grow, we can more easily cope with our problems.

Experience of a Fortune Baby: Aaron's Medical School Victory

Experience of a Fortune Baby 

On getting into the best possible

medical school 

for my life:

A Fortune Baby is defined as a person who was born into this practice. I am one of those people. And, there is something we refer to as Fortune Baby Syndrome. In general, it is a neglect of the practice itself, the lack of appreciation or understanding of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Let’s just say…I had it bad. 

To me, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo was simply a means to an end. When I was a child, I chanted with my mother to get the newest toy, win a baseball tournament, or conquer a class. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. For me, it was merely circumstantial evidence, just like, I thought, of all other religions. 

College was different. Amid the freedom and the chaos of it all, I tried my best to chant, squished into my little fraternity room. Four times per week would have been a major victory, but I only chanted when I needed to prepare for some track race or test. In that time, I was growing, but I was anxious, anxious in uncomfortable social situations that are so prolific in college. I set my sights on medical school, studying late nights and liberally making sacrifices. Often, I studied through a weekend, even if the test wasn’t until Wednesday. At the time, I called it diligence. But really, it was fear, fear of throwing myself fully into the college experience. 

Along came the MCAT, the mother of all college tests, that which could entirely decide my fate in medicine. I set the goal of chanting 15 minutes every day, a drastic increase from the previously meager effort, to achieve the score that would be best for my future. At the time, I did not understand what that meant. Every day, every day, every day, I chanted. But, just like some of my childhood experiences, I did not do as well as I had hoped. Disappointed again, I put away the practice. I told myself that there would never be anything more important. If it failed me then, it would fail me forever. (That was major Fortune Baby Syndrome). 

What I didn’t notice at the time, however, was that my life grew in leaps and bounds that semester after I chanted so consistently. I made true friends and found a feeling of belonging that had evaded me for the two years prior. My running reached a new level, and I felt powerful. At the end of that semester, I even met a great girl! Essentially, everything was going well. As the rest of that year progressed, I felt like I was leaking, like I had a sip of some powerful juice that was finally wearing off. I could feel myself slipping. 

It all came to a point during winter break of my senior year of college. Everything was still going well, but something inside was troubling me. We had just won the National Championship for club cross country, I had gotten into medical school, I was going into my last semester of college, and I went skiing with great friends.  I should have been on top of the world! Instead, I was angry, I was irritated, and I was uncomfortable with myself. I was unhappy. At that moment, I evaluated my life, looking back to the last time I really felt happy. 

The answer? 

The semester after I had chanted my heart out all summer long for that MCAT. 

Well, that was a realization. So, in that new year of 2012, I decided to start chanting again. After a few weeks of chanting every single day, things started to click again. I felt that power, the power that we call Buddhahood. Slowly, my life started to grow again. My relationship with myself and with my girlfriend began to improve. 

I started going to weekly SGI meetings, a goal that I had long since left behind for the sake of my studies. But, with all the work behind me, I could throw my energy into something new. That last semester put quite the exclamation mark on college. Every day, I felt the progress…just a little more strength, a little less doubt, and a lot more positivity. 

Halfway into the semester, something happened that nicely illustrated the overall change in my life condition. One day, all of my important things were stolen out of gym locker: laptop, phone, video camera (I was pretty dumb about what I carried with me), research hard drive, and all of my notes! But, something strange happened. When I opened my locker and found nothing, that deep, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach never came. I didn’t ask all the what ifs and I didn’t swear at the world for doing this to me. Instead, I walked calmly downstairs and reported my things missing. What a benefit! I really started to understand how much my practice could affect those little elements within my personality that I never thought it could reach. What a benefit! And, it gets better. All of my stuff magically was returned a few days later.

With that extra boost, I powered forward, now determined to chant 2 x per day! I still made goals, but I was not a slave to them the way I had been in the past. I just started to have this feeling that things will work out and that I will be prepared for what life throws at me. 

All of sudden, I was graduating and moving on to medical school. And, as it turns out, my score got me into a medical school where balance, happiness, and spirituality are taught as much as medical knowledge. I found a real community of happy individuals in one of the last places you would expect it. So, perhaps I got exactly what I chanted for: the medical education that was best for me. There will be many challenges along the way, but I will continue to progress as a student, a friend, an athlete, and a Buddha.