Chanting Growers Group

[Guest]

Donald E.Shelby

Donald E.Shelby

Hello!

 

[Guest]

Doobie Man!

Doobie Man!

Hey PTD,
Well I guess I will give you my take on our recent clearing of the air. Everyone appreciates what you do and what you offer to the thread you created for the purpose of shakabuku, encouragement and support. I don't think it mattered to us whether you typed forever or cut and pasted. The point is it is a guided learing tool. Everyone can go into the SGI site and get that information, just like going to the library. However, the discussion in class, with sometimes multiple questions and input is truly the learning tool. I would hope that you would continue to pull out and guide that which you think is important at the time for the continued discussions that go on in here.
I also understand your knee jerk reaction to the comment, however, it was not meant in the way you took it. But to be fair to you, I didn't understand or think about the obstacles around you, nor problems it may create for you. And I have to say, I may have taken it the same way. Please continue!

Ha! Gordy P! I snuck and said Happy Birthday to PTD on Dec 25!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

I accept the full responsibilty of being such an idiot I only used the online bookstore, and I have never really cruised or used the SGI site in my life! Shame on me! Me and my books! Why did I need to? How arrogant! Duh! Like to know how to provide access to this information for internet free? The devil of the sixth heaven is seriously in my shit.

Thank you for your compassion SG! I wish your perspective was universal. Right now, I feel like I really don't have much more to say. Gonna take a break for awhile guys. I hope you'll keep the chat going.

Love for all
all for love,

T

 

[stonegirl]

I have seen the living proofs!

I have seen the living proofs!

Dear WW420, please do try and do what SG is saying. This chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo really works. I have seen miracles with my own eyes. I am the witness myself. I have seen things that cannot scientifically be explained. There is real power. I hope you will try and use it (with BOG's help )

SG, (sweet girl) you sounded so sweet recently! I could melt just by listen to your tone and words You know what I mean!

I have to apologize to PTD, AGAIN, in public for give him so much shit of sitting in front of computer whenever he get a chance to. I wish he is as smart as SoCal. So I wouldn't have to sleep alone so often . And especially when he is so old, can't read the book without glasses, and then broken knee (have time to type but don't have the time to get his therapy; that really piss me off ) , and we have two maids sent back to Phillippines for their annual vacation, we are down to one maid from three and! It is our busy season, I work my ass off every day with three babies today start walking and one have endless energy AND!!! Plus now dogs and cats are here to take care of. I can go on and on, but one things for sure PTD just want to share the correct thinking with the people he love. And it is important to him and to me so I should support him more so now he have a pass to spend in front of computer ten minutes a day He have to type FAST now!

GordyP, sweetheart thanks for the things you wrote. We love you too.

SoCal, Thanks for your warm greeting and I wish you and Cora have a happy holiday and I can't wait to meet her!

BOG, I haven't met you but after translate your seeds, I am your fan too!

May everyone have a happy holiday!

stonegirl

 

[Guest]

Stonegirl and PTD

Stonegirl and PTD

I know how difficult it is to combine to households. When I was in Florida, I lived in a two story, 2700 sq ft house. Me and the cats upstairs. My Son, his fiance, dog and two birds downstairs. Now that we are here, we are ALL on one level in 1600sq ft. There are days that when I pull the car in the garage, and I have worked 13 hrs, I sit for a minute and chant before I come through the door. So that I won' t be hysterical. Beds aren't made, dishes stacked in the sink, bird seed all over the floor. It is an hour of chores before I can get my clothes off. Compassion, Compassion Compassion! Because I AM the maid!

Ten minutes a day is good Stonegirl. Just so long as he continues to drop in and add to the conversation. You know he is who keeps us going in here. And we can be big boys and girls and use those sites for the particulars. If I had my man here with me, I wouldn't want him to spend hours on the puter either. So I am there for ya. You have no idea how much I look forward to meeting you and getting to spend time with you. Hurry and get to Vancouver!
:friends:
And PTD, I always love you, always have compassion for your life. YOU ARE my big brother.....good, bad or indifferent. Southern Girl

 

[Guest]

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

"Buddhism primarily concerns itself with victory or defeat",WND, Hero of the World

My wish is that the new year finds all of you with a total victory today, tomorrrow, and forever!

Nam Myoho Renge kyo, Like the roar of the Lion, What sickness can therefore be an obstacle"

Avid Lerner


http://sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/Nichiren/wnd/concord/pages.view/835.html
updated link above to read the complete letter titled "The hero of the World.

http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/Nichiren/wnd/concord/pages.view/412.html

updated link above to read the entire letter titled Reply to Kyo-o

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Thank you my friend....

Thank you my friend....

My thanks to Mr Avid Learner! You are SOOOO welcome here! We look forward to hearing more from you throughout the New Year!

Thank you for stopping by to share your holiday cheer! And thanks for the links! However, those urls don't post right, so if anyone can't figure them out, I hope you won't mind some PM's to get that sorted out.

T

 

[WW420]

Isness

Isness

SG Good point,
We "are" responsible for our condition.In my youth
the "pain" of the physical universe was easily handled & I lead a XXX
life(I'm 60 now)The effects of the Cancer has knocked me to my knees,
"never been done before"I didn't believe it was possible.But after all it is a
Body,if it was a car it would have hundreds of thousands of miles on it.
It's the threat of loss,that jars our thought patterns or I know it is in my case.
Thxs for the Ear.
WW420

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Well chosen and well spoken...

Well chosen and well spoken...

WW,

Here's to many many more New Year's to come. We would all do well to:

"Live as if there's no tomorrow,
Dance as if no one's watching,
Love as if you've never been hurt"

Thank you and don't be a stranger. AND HELLO DONALD!

Happy New Year to All of You!

 

[Guest]

WW420

WW420

You can do it buddy! How many times in all our lifes have we just been so done and tired we want to lay down. But there is always that flicker of light of hope in side that makes us pull ourselves up and keep going. And it is those experiences that make us stronger....survivors.
Never Give up No Matter What! If you cannot say the chant for yourself then say it for me, for I HAVE that much faith in it. My thoughts and prayers are with you pushng you all the way. Southern Girl

 

[BushyOldGrower]

Avid Learner turned me on to the SGI site and I have been reading volumes. Nicherin certainly is great as a teacher and the site is wonderful. I hope these translations are ok because they seem quite readable and easy to understand.

Perhaps I should mention the Tsunami that killed so many. A disturbance in the force but just momentarily I am sure as nothing can be lost really and no one can die. But, it's sad and it's a reminder of the fact that life can never be safe for long. Luckily life gives way to life and leads to the next world. Perhaps our lost brothers are chanting still as they look over their world from the other realm. Chant Nom Myoho Renge Kyo with them as they continue their journey. BOG

I was reading a discussing of what happens when govt becomes corrupt with corrupt priests or monks. 7 plagues just like predicted in the Bible.

 

[Guest]

New Year's Gosho

New Year's Gosho

Nichiren says,"First of all, as to the question of where exactly hell and the Buddha exist, one sutra states that hell exists underground, and another sutra says that the Buddha is in the west. Closer examination, however, reveals that both exist in our five-foot body." (WND)

Clink on the link to read more about Hell and The Buddha
http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/Nichiren/wnd/concord/pages.view/1137.html

Avid
"Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Like the Roar of the Lion, What sickness can therefore be an obstacle"

 

[PassTheDoobie]

My greatest Christmas Gift!

My greatest Christmas Gift!

A.L.! Thanks for coming back so soon and thank you for the link! Ho nin myo!

I love you brother, please DO NOT be a stranger.

T

 

[Guest]

Empitness

Empitness

BOG. Unfortunately once one enters nirvana, it is impossible to change ones life-state. The life-state we are in at the moment of death is the life-state we remain in until we manifest the proper causes and conditions to be reborn as a human again. It is for this reason we chant Nam myoho renge kyo as much and as often as we cxan while we are alive and a human being. To elebvate our life-state from this moment forward.

Now we must chant the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra for those unalbe to chant the daimoku for themselves. Practice for oneself and others!

Avid.

"It is the heart that is most important!" WND

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Absolute truth

Absolute truth

Understanding that he is referencing ku as Nirvana, I believe exactly as A.L. This is what the teachings say. My wife sobbed uncontrollably last night--cried herself to sleep. I made the mistake of leaving CNN on just a few minutes too long. Footage of that disaster is emotionally devasting. The human sorrow, grief and sense of loss is a level not seen in our lifetimes (assuming none of us were around for WWII). So many babies and innocents lost at their most defense-less stages of development. This is going to have social impacts for generations to come in the areas devastated. Some of the most beautiful places on earth have been completely destroyed. The reality is that not being affected makes it difficult to feel the pain. I will do my best to chant the daimoku that A.L. has correctly suggested we all should be doing.

T

 

[PassTheDoobie]

A 'PS' to my understanding:

"The life-state we are in at the moment of death is the life-state we remain in..." might be more clearly and precisely stated as "The 'fundamental life-state or fundamental life-condition' we are in...." I don't want everyone to think that that Buddhism declares all of those children automatically are subjected to the horror and agonizing fear of being drowned and taken from their families as the life-state they will experience throughout their time in ku.

In my understanding, that is NOT the case. Your collective karma is this determination, not that represented by a single moment. One is always encouraged to pray to be able to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo at the moment of death. This does not however absolve you of sins (karmic retribution/'bad karma') as say, a 'last confession' is supposed to do.

To be able to chant at one's last moment is supposed to be one's desire and determination. I know it is mine. That's why whenever I am suddenly scared by something that seems life threatening, I immediately begin chanting outloud and vigorously!

T

 

[GordyP]

So many

So many

I've found it difficult many times to correctly interpret what I'm reading because there are so many names/titles that have evolved that refer to the same being, place, or doctrine. As I pondered the term "life-state", I thought of several different conditions this term could describe. Thanks, PTDoobie, for elaborating more on Nichiren's teachings in this matter. For all the compassionate words I have read so far in his teachings, I found it difficult to believe entering the state of ku (nirvana) meant one was left as they were exactly at the moment of their death. What a Hell that would be! It's good to understand an element of compassion remains for beings in that state.

Your mention of the terrible loss of life suffered from the recent tsunami brings to mind another question from this Buddhist rookie. What of all the infants that were taken from their short lives so quickly? Infants who haven't spoken their first word, let alone Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. Are they all destined to a state of ku, simply because their lives were too short to learn the words, understand the doctrine, and improve their state by actually practicing Nichiren's teachings? Are infants and the idle-minded sentenced to an eternity in ku simply because their minds are not capable of making any decision to leave that state and continue down the path? Certainly, this situation must have been considered and addressed somewhere in the teachings of the lotus sutra.

How can so many beings be taken together in such a short lapse of time? Such a huge influx of humans and animals guided into ku or other new life-states within a matter of seconds. Such a loss to us here in our present lifetimes.

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

GordyP

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Dude ku is not a bad place

Dude ku is not a bad place

In and of itself. As A.L. said, the biggest problem with ku is that without being in an incarnate form, you can take no action, make no cause, change no wrong, reveal no truth. You are on hold so to speak. What kind of music the intercom is playing is based on your karma, which was changing one way or the other all the way up to this most recent moment of death. You mention an eternity in ku. No. Eternity means forever. No one stays in ku forever. But how long you stay for is definitely also determined by your karma. A Buddha goes in and out, according to deceased SGI senior leader Ted Osaki, one of my mentors in faith. Everything I just said is from him. I have the lecture on audio tape. It is now more than 20 yeras old. Dude was a Buddha.

For sure, for sure.

And he didn't live to his sixties. So longevity is what it is. Relative. Don't worry about the children.

But definitely chant for them. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo...

T

 

[PassTheDoobie]

PS: Don't be confused. Ku is NOT nirvana. They are two different things. In reality, the Lotus Sutra says nirvana never occurs. Unless I am mistaken, A.L. was using BOG's use of the term nivana as a segway to discuss the need for us to chant for the victims since they cannot chant for themselves.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[PassTheDoobie]

And a further PS: When I say the Lotus Sutra says nirvana never occurs, I mean it from the traditional understanding of the Hinayana concept of achieving extinction or non-rebirth.

For BOG and the further clarity of our conversations here about good an devil, the Dictionary of Buddhism definition of:

Oneness of good and evil (jpn zen'aki-funi): Also, non-duality of good and evil. The principle that good and evil are not separate and distinct, but are inherent in all phenomena. "Good" in Buddhism means that which benefits oneself and others, while "evil" means that which harms oneself and others. Good and evil are not two mutually exclusive entities but are two diffferent functions of life. The principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life elucidates that all possible conditions or states of existence reside within life at each moment. Life therefore simultaneously possesses the potential for both good and evil, and even when manifesting one, it is never devoid of the potential for the other.