Chanting Growers Group

[stonegirl]

thank you the universe(for PTD)!!!

thank you the universe(for PTD)!!!

and thank all of you, PTD MADE IT!!! the Doobie's brothers are not feeling well, I just want to make sure you guys not to worry for him, and I got to go here, take care you all

love stonegirl

 

[LoveRulz]

Thanks Ms.Grat3ful - I knew that information was probably in here somewhere, but I wasn't up for looking through all 37 pages of this thread!


I know everyone probably has their own way to do it, but I found this interesting - can't hear the "K" in "Kyo" at all...

http://www.buddhanet.net/filelib/mp3/nam_myoho.mp3​

 

[Guest]

You are welcome Loverulz... It was really no problem.. I have been reading the thread ever since it started, so I knew right where to look....

 

[BushyOldGrower]

Such harmony here.

Tom Pass the Doobie called me the other day and told me all about his knee and alternative treatment for it. We had a long and wonderful conversation and TOM pretty much cleared up most of my immediate questions. There were quite a few.

Stonergirl, my son should be living in Vancouver before you arrive so you will have friends and I can't wait to meet you both there or at my place. I have huge plans for Vancouver and perhaps in time we can even have a Buddhist Place where folks could come to be helped as they seek enlightment.

I told TOM that I see Vancouver as a progressive place for alternative medicine to flourish. Hopefully our herb will be legal there soon but the country allows more freedom than America now. In truth we are free wherever we live because freedom is a state of mind for the most part.

Southern Girl, Tom chanted for me on the phone and I have been chanting more each day. My results so far are very good. There is proof in life when you chant so this should be easy to evangelize. I find that it helps my mood swings and puts me in that spiritual place where everyone loves me.

Gordy, Tom told me how good a friend you have been to him over many years. Treasure your good friend because having just met him I sure do.

TOM, you gonna have to listen to stonergirl in the future about medical treatment eh? Glad it helped. So funny to hear how you complained all the way. BOG

I can be such a bitch.

 

[Guest]

Wow! Happy to see you all!

Wow! Happy to see you all!

Ms Grat3ful,
Thanks for helping LoveRuiz. That is great that you knew where to find that one. The sounds that I was taught was Nam(as in vietnam), meyoho,ringkay, Kyo(as in tokoyo). It can be a bit of a tongue twister at first, but once you get into the rhythm of it ,it acutally becomes natural. You will find yourself doing it in your subconscious.

Mr. Bog,
PTD told me he had spoke with you and it does make a difference when you hear it. I'm very excited that you are doing the chant.

It is such a beautiful gift to know NamMyohoRengeKyo. I have never been one that fit in the box. I would be a doubting Thomas, and that is exactly the attitude I had when I first started chanting. Show Me! I turned around the first 34 years of my lfie in the next 10. The power of this prayer is beyond anything you will have ever done before. And I have chanted about every aspect of life and people in it. There are no boundaries to it. It is about what YOU need in your life. Earthly desires equal enligtenment.

Southern Girl

 

[SoCal Hippy]

We are truly the Chanting Forum

We are truly the Chanting Forum

LoveRulz, nice to see you here and liking what you hear about Nichiren Daishonin's True Buddhism. That MP3 file was cool; felt I was at a mtg with many believers. Ms.Grateful, thanks for going back and copying a previous post from PTD for LoveRulz. I agree, 37 pages of posts could be quite tedious but then its all good stuff. Glad to hear from you StoneGirl and PTD's success. I felt real bad I couldn't make it last wknd to help out and when I talked to him Sunday all I could do at that point was to tell him I would chant for him. Hope he arrives successfully with all the animals. Now there will be some culture shock for Sweetheart, Lifu, Coal and Chika I am sure.

Got a great benefit yesterday, month end in my biz. Seems i was a bit under quota for the month but my mgr pulled some strings and fooled with the #'s so I would have a sufficient commission check for Xmas. Really cool of him to do that. I have never been in a sales firm so humanistic. I feel it is a true result from my practice of chanting.

Now I can add a new destination to my travel goals in the future. Vancouver.
Always wanted to go there and now will have a reason. Hope to meet Bog and the Mrs there also.

WW40, Ms Grateful, LoveRulz and everyone else; always glad to hear your perspectives on life, chanting or whatever. This thread has alot of value for many in our crazy world we live in here beginning the 21st century, the Century of Life and we are all making great causes for humankind and its future.

Quote by Nichiren Daishonin, "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is like the roar of the lion. What sickness can therefore be an obstacle"

 

[BushyOldGrower]

Quote by Nichiren Daishonin, "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is like the roar of the lion. What sickness can therefore be an obstacle"

Thanks for that one SoCalHippy. I just roared and felt the power. This is it!!!!! BOG

We shall all meet soon.

Question? Is the chant as good if silent? I often pray silently but feeling the power of the roar may have answered my question already.

 

[GordyP]

Shift Your Perspective

Shift Your Perspective

a story from "The Art of Happiness"

Once there was a disciple who was commanded by his Master for three years to give money to everyone who insulted him. When this period of trial was over the Master said to him, "Now you may go to the city and learn wisdom". When the disciple was entering the city, he met a certain wise man who sat at the gate insulting everybody who came and went. He also insulted the disciple, who burst out laughing. "Why do you laugh when I insult you?" asked the wise man. "Because," said the disciple, "for three years I have been paying for this thing and now you give it to me for nothing." "Enter the city," said the wise man, "it is all yours . . ."

Does your perspective tell you you have problems, or opportunities?

Keep Em Green and Growin'

GordyP

 

[LoveRulz]

SoCal - This really is an interesting thread! Great to find such a high level of discourse on this site.

<preacher hat ON>

I tend to agree with Gregg Braden's idea about prayer that he discusses in The Isaiah Effect. His theory is that it is the emotional aspect of prayer that is most powerful (perhaps even the only powerful aspect). If you want, for example, more love in your life, then the powerful way to pray for that is to actually invoke the experience of love within your experience, within your prayer.

Being creators, we attract things into our lives not by asking for them (which is a disempowered position - someone else has to do it for me), but by actually invoking or creating the things we intend to manifest. First we create our desired experience within (as in prayer), after which the invoked experience begins to naturally show up in our outer lives as well. Creation proceeds from our intention to our inner experience (prayer, visualization, etc.) and then finally shows up in our outer reality - often in forms we never expected!

This principle is always at work, in every aspect of our experience, not just "prayer": whatever feelings we are creating and nurturing inside -whether positive or negative, conscious or unconscious- these are the experiences we are drawing to ourselves on the outside as well. Such is the blessing and the curse of being a creator, and that is why I believe personal empowerment will lead every person to fulfillment.

I also believe in the power of group fields (i.e. Rupert Sheldrake's morphogenic field theory). This idea proposes that the more people "use" or focus on a certain form (like a specific prayer), the more energy becomes invested in that form, and this energy is available to everyone who taps into the form.

I don't know whether the particular sounds of a prayer have any "inherent" power, but I do believe that the consciousness and the intention that we have been associating with these sounds for centuries has definitely imbued them with power.

Just my 2 cents ​

<preacher hat OFF>

PEACE

 

[Guest]

I would pick opportunities to change the problems!

I would pick opportunities to change the problems!

Although I and My disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbor doubts in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood. Do not have doubts simply because heaven does not lend you protection. Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life. This is what I have taught my disciples morning and evening, and yet they begin to harbor doubts and abandon their faith.

Foolish men are likely to forget the promises they have made when the crucial moment comes. Some of them feel pity for their wives and children and grieve at the thought of parting from them in this life. In countless births throughout many long kalpas they have had wives and children but parted from them in every existence. They hav done so unwillingly and not because of their desire to prusue the way of the Budha. Since they must part with them in any case, they should remain faithful to their belief in the Lotus Sutra and make their way to Eagle Peak, so that they may lead their wives and children there as well.

Nichiren Daishonin

 

[Guest]

Chanting Growers

Chanting Growers

I think our own meeting of the minds in Vancouver would be a very appropriate thing. SoCal, GordyP, Think we could all get it together and crash PTD and StoneGirl.

What do you think about that Mr. Bog? And silent chanting works just as well as roaring like a lion. YOu are making a sincere effort for your life regardless of the level of sound. You can work alot out in you mind silently chanting while working. I do. I chant in my mind when I'm shopping.

Southern Girl

 

[GordyP]

Vancouver

Vancouver

I might be movin' to Vancouver soon . . .
Just ta raise me up a crop of...dental floss
(with apologies to Frank Z.)

All together in Vancouver? Sounds like a hoot!

Could be dangerous, though. With all of us together in one place, we could create a critical mass of Daimoku that would spread like a mushroom cloud over the entire earth! Imagine if our little group brought peace and good will at once to all the peoples of the earth . . . it would destroy economies everywhere! Think of all those military and defense contract jobs that would be lost, not to mention lawyers, politicians, and police. I'm IN!!

It does sound like a sweet idea, though, S. Girl. Just let me know when, point me in the right direction, and say "go"!

GordyP

 

[Guest]

LoveRuiz Your 2 cents is worth One Million

LoveRuiz Your 2 cents is worth One Million

LoveRuiz- If you take that emotion...passion of your heart felt desires and add NamMyohoRengeKyo then you have what you need. If you have a group of people chanting together then you have a Toso. When there is a group, then you have a common goal of say...."World Peace" which begins with each individual. Commonly at toso's, each person will write down their personal prayer and it is placed on the altar. Power in numbers.

GordyP! I never joke around about moving someplace! ha ha However, you better start saving your money! That "Go" may come sooner than you may imagine.

Southern Girl

 

[Guest]

Explanation of terms that I promised

Explanation of terms that I promised

The comments and statements made by all who continue to participate in here only shows me that you all have the inherent Buddha nature and basic understanding of what we try to share. And because of some of the statement made by each of you, I think the following will touch on what each of you have stated or ask. I will type it in sections, so stick with me. Southern Girl

 

[Guest]

Common Goal/Common Prayer World Peace

Common Goal/Common Prayer World Peace

Wold Peace can only be accomplished through personal Human Revolution. The "human revolution" is a term used by Josei Toda, second president of the Soka Gakkai, to describe the process by which an individual gradually expands his life, conquers his negative and destructive tendencies, and ultimately makes the state of Budhahood his dominant life condition. The idea of revolution as most people understand it usually refers to a political or economic revolution. Such a revolution usually imposes new ideas upon people at large, and thereby effects change. The idea and the goal of human revolution is very different.

Rather than changing society directly, through improving or reforming social or political systems, the object of change lies deep within the life of each individual. As Josei Toda states: "The human revolution' I am talking about...refers to the estalishment of one's ultimate purpose in life and working towards the perfection of self. We carry out our daily lives according to our own views on life and society. However, Human revolution refers to the change that we bring about in the way we view life, society and the world. A fundamental change occurs in the way one has led his or her life up until that point. The human revolution of an individual becomes apparent when he or she establishes an unwavering and absolute conviction in the eternity of life. Rather than focusing on short term goals which apply only to one's present lifetime, this conviction becomes the basis for the pursuit of loftier goals and greater good, in contrast to one's previous satisfaction with the accomplishment of leser goals and good.

SGI President Daisaku Ikeda wrote these words int he foreword to his novel The Human Revolution: "A great revolution of charactre in just a single man will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further, will cause a change in the desting of all humankind."

 

[Guest]

Chanting

Chanting

Chanting is neither meditation, nor positive thinking, though it reaps the benefits of both these practices and much more. The essence of chanting NamMyohoRengeKyo is that in the very act of doing so we are expressing our Buddha nature. Meditation and positive thinking do not have Buddhahood as their objective. It is not possible to express Buddhahood through these means. Although meditation and positve thinking may have value they cannot change the fundamental element in our lives which makes us unhappy and unfulfilled as human beings....our karma, nor can they bring out the highest condition of life, Buddhahood.

Meditation is a more passive exercise than chanting; one usually calms one's mind by concentrating on a particular phrase or image. At first glance this may seem close to the practice of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, but actually the difference is apparent. The practice of chanting NamMyohRengeKyo enables us to express and experience our innate Budhahood and release the powerful energy contained within that, rather than to clam our minds or negate certain ways of thinking.

Again, while it is true that our thinking does become more positive as a result of chanting, this is because chanting draws out our Buddhahood which, in turn, influences every aspect of our lives, both metal and physical. Therefore, chanting is not so much a question of "thinking positively" or exercising "mind over matter," which implies restriction;rather, through chanting, our highest state of life naturally influences our thoughts and actions towards the most valuable ends.

 

[Guest]

Why Chant NamMyohoRengeKyo

Why Chant NamMyohoRengeKyo

All words have power. Words can make people happy or sad, angry or loving, and so on. Language has a more profound effect on our lives than we realize. Nichiren Daishonin says;" They say that...if you so much as hear the wors "Pickled Plum", your mouth will begin to water. Even in everyday life there are such wonders, so how much greaer are the wonders of the Lotus Sutra." Major Writings, Vol 3, pp 34

Historically, Myoho Renge Kyo is the title and essence of the lotus Sutra, the highest of Shakyamuni's teachings, as translated from Sanskrit into ancient Chinese characters. Nichiren Daishonin placed "NAM", a sanskrit word meaning devotion, in front of these characters; so that in simple terms Nam Myoho Renge kyo means Devotion to the ultimate law of the universe. Each of the characters themselves contain extremely profound principles of life, however, and together they express how everything in the cosmos works in one harmonious relationship.

Of course this is etremely difficult to believe and understand, but that does not mean it cannot be understood, or that chanting this phrase does not have a profound effect on our lives.

Scientists and mathematicians use formulas and language which are quite incomprehensible to most other people, but they can convey enven the most difficult concepts to each other with accurate use of these expressions. Daisaku Ikeda says: "In the same manner, when we chant NamMyohoRengeKyo, even if we don't understand its profound meaning, we can tap the condition of Buddhahood. Our voice chanting NamMyohoRengeKyo permeates the cosmos and reaches the life condition of Buddhahood and all the Buddhas in the universe. It also penetrates our lives, enabling us to unlock the palace of Buddhahood, or the supreme life condition of eternity, happiness, true self and purity. It is the same as music that, without any explanation, reaches and filters into peoples hearts, calling forth a sympathetic response from them."

The most important point ot remember is that everyone who chants NamMyohRengeKyo can draw out of themselves the state of Buddhahood which influences all the other states in our life and guides our actions in the very midst of our day to day struggles and problems. Although it is very difficult to believe at first, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is the essence of everyone's life, and when we chant this phrase it affects us in countless positive ways, from the very core of our lives.

The extent to which we can benefit from chanting depends not on the power inherent in the characters Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, which is limitless, but entirely on how much sincere effort we make when we practice. The natural Law of life is in everything, but only by chanting and taking action in our daily lives can we tap or activate it and so enable it to work for the happiness of ourselves and other people.

 

[BushyOldGrower]

Southern Girl... WOW!

Lets all meet up in Vancouver eventually.

The part about the human revolution intrigues me because that is what I see as the goal. By imparting enlightenment to many people it could occur eventually because the world is a war of minds and ideas in reality.

It's hard for peaceful folks to ever seem to win but they do sometimes. It requires creative thought and patience but I think there is a grand plan for Earth right now.

We are in a time of change. I feel the Earth is on the verge of something terrible and great at the same time. Look at the recent election in America.

There are many good people who didn't vote for Bush and the election was close. The type who like to create demons use peoples ignorance to win elections by creating fears about gay people threatening marriage. I am not gay btw but I would be proud to march with them anyday.

Some day love will be stronger than fear and perhaps there is method to the madness. The universe is a lot bigger than just our small planet and the same rules apply here as anywhere else. Since the universe has this system of justice so perfect we can rest assurred that the good always eventually wins out.

A lot of good people who want to help us are here. Ideas of aliens shouldnt be hard to accept if you believe in reincarnation and life elsewhere in the universe. Why would spirits between lives be limited by distance? I doubt they would.

We do have friends out there I think. We aren't alone and from what I have read it is the meek who shall inherit the earth. True Christians or Buddhists are always nice to people and animals because being cruel isn't spiritual at all. Blaming certain people like Jews or Gays has always been one of the worst things about Earth.

In a universe where justice is promoted as a ultimate law or karma it seems a no brainer that eventually Earth will be a paradise. I spoke to Tom about many things and we have different views of some things but overall we see the same things as true. I told him how I see Jesus as a great master whose teachings have been perverted at times in the bible. He was a true prophet in my opinion and as I pointed out to Tom, "who knows which masters have reincarnated as other masters"?

I hate the way christian churches have perverted his words and teachings but if you read his words you find little to disagree with. I believe the prophecies of Jesus are true in revelations. This is a fearful future but it will happen just as fortold. We are working up to a war of armeggedon right now but will that be the end? No way...

Jesus never said we wouldn't have our day. He fortold the return of our friends from space in legions of angels in power and glory to overthrow the corrupt gov'ts of this world. I don't care who is driving the lead UFO as long as we are truly being liberated from our cruel masters. To me Jesus is Buddha and the revolution is in the minds of our people. Karma will do the rest.

Marx forsaw this revolution of the workers who are the people and he was no villian. BOG

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Sg, your explanation of those Buddhist terms and concepts is right on! I'm so impressed with your insights and explanations. Thanks for sharing all of that and taking the time to do so for everyone here.

I'm all for the Vancouver thing Gordy; I'm saving now. Dental floss growers now???

 

[BushyOldGrower]

LoveRulz, thanks for that insight as I believe in my power of creation. There is a concept in massage called, "intention and attention". The caregiver has an intention to say heal or begin a healing process somewhere or perhaps just to relieve pain. With this intention the caregiver places his or her attention to the doing of that intention. Belief in one's power is easy to gain as people respond to your loving touch. Just by loving and caring do we remove each others pain.

Can you imagine how I desire to create medical strains of great potency? It is good to make a contribution that matters but we all do what we can. Knowing our power will make whatever our mission is more successful. With success comes confidence in our ability to effect change and to create. The power of creation lies within us because we are part of the whole and this is how we progress.

Knowing that you have this power makes the chanting seem all the more reasonable. When you see all the blessings you are capable of bestowing on others you will want to sing about it. It doesn't seem a chore to chant anymore and I just started.

Thank you all for the help already given here... BOG