Chanting Growers Group

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

Nam myoho renge kyo

Gongyo
By SGI President Daisaku Ikeda
When you do morning gongyo and daimoku, your resounding voice pierces the dawn; you could also say it heralds daybreak for your own life. When the day’s work is done and you sit upright before the Gohonzon, your evening gongyo is an expression of your ichinen; it is a sublime act, like a full moon rising to illuminate the Buddha’s realm within you. In gongyo, we fuse our lives with the Gohonzon, the core of the great universe, and reveal our full, individual potential. Gongyo sets in motion the dynamic rhythm of life.





Hope everyone is getting in rhythm


Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Forest20]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Happy B-day EasyM!!!

 

[SoCal Hippy]

If a tree is deeply rooted, its branches and leaves will never wither. If the
spring is inexhaustible, the stream will never run dry. Without wood, a fire
will burn out. Without earth, plants will not grow. I, Nichiren, am indebted
solely to my late teacher, Dozen-bo, for my having become the votary of the
Lotus Sutra and my being widely talked about now, in both a good and bad sense.
Nichiren is like the plant, and my teacher, the earth.

(WND, 909)
Flowering and Bearing Grain
Written to Joken-bo and Gijo-bo in April 1278

 

[SoCal Hippy]

From my other daughter Jessie

From my other daughter Jessie

I mentioned a while ago about my daughter Lisa and her incredible experience with her pet dog Lola. Thru this experience she was able to encourage my oldest daughter Jessie to practice again.

Just recvd an email from her and this was part of it:

Lisa and I went to a special preview of the Rock the Era performance (SGI) the youth division has been practicing for yesterday. The elementary school division was so cute, I couldn't stop crying--I was so moved! They wore these sparkly head and wrist bands and climbed on top of each other to do pyramids...it was freakin adorable, lol.

I just started practicing again this past month, after a near-10-year hiatus! It's an interesting process to re-connect with something so familiar, but also to try to apply this practice to my life personally in ways that I was unable to as a kid. I have a deeper appreciation for the value that it has brought to my life, and for you and Mom for bringing us up with it.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Here is Lisa's experience with Lola

Here is Lisa's experience with Lola

Sorry took so long to post. This is an experience Lisa shared at an SGI meeting.

Thanks and much appreciation for all the Chanting Growers to have sent daimoku for Lisa and Lola.

I have edited it.

"Being born a fortune baby my perspective on challenges and obstacles has always been fairly optimistic. But like most fortune babies, for most of my life I took my Buddhist upbringing and practice for granted. Unlike most members who seek out and choose to become an SGI member, I was born into it so never felt the same intense desire to chant and practice like others. It was something I did when something big came up, and though I’ve always known that chanting works, after overcoming the obstacle I’d quickly go back to doing gongyo now and then and never really saw the need to have a consistent, dedicated practice.

....On Wednesday we woke up to a horrible surprise (and I apologize in advance for the graphic details)…Lola was having diarrhea that looked like pure blood. We immediately rushed to the vet office and saw another doctor because Dr. Vickers was out that day. He suggested she be hospitalized for the day to ensure that she get fluids into her system. That afternoon when we went to speak with the doctor, he said that she hadn’t improved and suggested once again that we take her to the emergency hospital to keep her overnight (which again would be around $500). He saw the struggle that we were going through in choosing whether or not to pay that much money for our pup (which I can honestly say would not even cross my mind if we were not in the financial situation we’re currently in), and he gave us an amazing alternative—though they normally do not do this, for only $100 we could leave her at their office overnight hooked up to fluids and though they do not have staff overnight, he was willing to stay at his parent’s home in the city so that he could check in on her during the evening. I knew in that instant that coming to this vet office was a huge benefit. We went to check in on her and it was really disheartening to see her like that—she was extremely lethargic (she wouldn’t wag her tail and barely lifted her head) and it just broke my heart to see Lola so sick when normally she is an energetic bundle of joy. But we knew that we were leaving her in good hands. The doctor wanted to run some blood tests and those would be coming in the next day.

......Though I had been chanting an hour a day since Monday, that evening I decided to take this issue straight to the Gohonzon. I determined to do a 5 hour daimoku toso that evening from 7pm-midnight, then get some sleep, and then do another 5 hour toso the next morning from 8am-1pm. After my ten hours of intensely powerful daimoku for Lola’s 100% full recovery, we went to visit with the doctor Friday afternoon. Lola seemed to have improved by leaps and bounds! She actually stood up to greet us and was excited to take a walk outside. The doctor gave us the blood test results and though her white blood cell count had improved, her albumin level was still extremely low, which meant it was still life-threatening. Dr. Vickers said that she wanted Lola to remain hospitalized through the weekend to ensure that she was given the proper chance to recover. She knew that the cost of hospitalizing Lola for another four days and four nights would not be possible for us and so, as a true shoten-zenjin for Lola and for us, she offered to keep her there, hooked up to fluids/antibiotics, for the entire four days/nights without charging us a penny. And on top of that, their office is closed on Sundays but she said that she would be in to administer her meds that day and check in on her. In that moment I was reminded that there are some truly amazing people in this world, and Dr. Vickers is one of them. Lola hadn’t even been a patient of hers for a week and she offered to do something as amazing as this.

My heart was overflowing with appreciation, so that evening during my 4 hour toso, my prayer had changed. Not only was I chanting for Lola’s 100% full recovery, I was also chanting in appreciation. Appreciation for the staff at the vet hospital, for my co-worker who recommended them to us, for the members who were chanting for Lola, for the tons of friends and family who were sending their good thoughts and prayers to her and for my job being flexible so that I could work from home and chant throughout the day. But I think the biggest change came when I began chanting in appreciation for this struggle—I felt so much appreciation for having to go through this incredibly intense struggle so that I could prove to myself and to others that this practice works. I’ve heard many times to chant in appreciation for your obstacles, but I never thought it could ever be a genuine prayer. I also felt so much appreciation for my parents. My parents were both raised Catholic and at different points in their lives they became Buddhist, met each other when the organization was still the NSA, and raised me and my two siblings Buddhist. I was chanting in appreciation for the people who shakubuku’d them, for all of those members who encouraged them to continue practicing, for their taking us to meetings and activities growing up, and for their giving me this amazing practice which not only helped me get through this difficult time but it helped make amazing things happen. This experience also helped me grow closer to my dad who lives in (somewhere else) and in the past few years our relationship has been extremely rocky. The guidance and encouragement that he gave me was so sincere and so amazing, it honestly helped me keep going at certain points during this struggle. To bond with my dad in my Buddhist practice has meant the world to me, and it is because of this struggle that I now feel so connected to him on this level.

......They gave her some oral medication and she was able to keep that down as well so we were finally able to take her home that night! Though she had lost 6 pounds (and for a 48 pound dog that’s quite a drop in a week) and was extremely skinny and was still pretty weak, she was home and was finally able to recover at home with me and Kevin. Over the course of the first week she improved day by day, keeping all of her meds down (all six doses each day!), and slowly but surely returning to her old self. This past Monday we went in for our week checkup and the doctor and all of the staff were amazed at her recovery. Two nurses told us that they weren’t sure she’d make it. All of the staff were so supportive during the time and you could just see how much Lola made an impact on them because she was basically their mascot for the week.
.......In the end, I chanted 23 hours in 6 days for Lola and not only do I have her recovery to show for actual proof, I have an extremely strong Buddhist practice to show for actual proof.




Since that meeting Lisa has taken the position of YWD (young women's division) Chapter leader in her community.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

I would like to post a pic of Lola but don't know how to do that. Anyone got a quick lesson to help me out?

 

[Babbabud]

Wow SoCal a really cool and moving post ... thanks so much for that .
Nam myoho renge kyo !
First you much upload the picture to your Album... then go to "post reply" ... click it and at the top it will say "albums" follow that to your pic .. then click it so it gets large .. then drag it to your post and drop it . Thats the quick jist of it ... if that doesnt work out for ya pm me and we will see if we can get you some more exact directions !!
Or check this link ...http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=109704

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Picture of Lola - Thanks Bud!

Picture of Lola - Thanks Bud!

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

Nam myoho renge kyo

March 29th - April 4th, 2010

---- WORDS OF THE WEEK ----
The power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is boundless.
By setting clear-cut goals and targets,
let's chant continuously and specifically for what we want to achieve!
And via the forces of the universe being further strengthened
and enhanced by our chanting,
let's all advance and be victorious!

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Great posts Socal! That's it!

 

[SoCal Hippy]

You also are a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, and your faith is like the
waxing moon or the rising tide. Be deeply convinced, then, that your illness
cannot possibly persist, and that your life cannot fail to be extended! Take
care of yourself, and do not burden your mind with grief.

(WND, 656)
The Bow and Arrow
Written to the lay nun Toki on March 27, 1276

 

[SoCal Hippy]

While controlling your mind, which is at once both extremely subtle and solemnly
profound, you should strive to elevate your faith with freshness and vigor. When
you do so, both your life and your surroundings will open wide before you and
every action you take will become a source of benefit. Understanding the subtle
workings of one's mind is the key to faith and attaining Buddhahood in this
lifetime.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Now, if you wish to attain Buddhahood, you have only to lower the banner of your
arrogance, cast aside the staff of your anger, and devote yourself exclusively
to the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra. Worldly fame and profit and mere baubles
of your present existence, and arrogance and prejudice are ties that will fetter
you in the next one. Ah, you should be ashamed of them! And you should fear
them, too!

(WND, 58-59)
Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra
Recipient unknown; written in March 1263

 

[SoCal Hippy]

There are many elements involved in a prayer being answered, but the important
thing is to keep praying until it is. By continuing to pray, you can reflect on
yourself with unflinching honesty and begin to move your life in a positive
direction on the path of earnest, steady effort. Even if your prayer doesn't
produce concrete results immediately, your continual prayer will at some time
manifest itself in a form greater than you had ever hoped.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

Good day friends !! Well good news!! Over the last couple weeks ive been able to put together 3 of us from our old local group for some chants. We are two with the mrs and I and have had two little meetings where one person showed up after hearing by word of mouth we were chanting . So I put out our first email to as many old members as possible. So far we have gotten 3 more responses of people ready to chant. Figured we would just put together a couple hour Toso to see how much interest we can generate. The cool part... looks like we might actually have our first meeting at our house. Ill keep you guys updated on how this all works out. Hope to have a meeting before we leave town for 4/20 ... wish us luck !! Chant that we might end up with even more for our first meeting !! Need to set a date !

Nam myoho renge kyo !!
Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Nam myoho renge kyo

.. looks like we might actually have our first meeting at our house...... Chant that we might end up with even more for our first meeting !!

Nam myoho renge kyo !!
Nam myoho renge kyo

That is awesome Bud! Will do that and it will happen.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Gongyo

Gongyo

I have written out the prose section of the "Expedient Means" chapter for you. You should recite it together with the verse portion of the "Life Span" chapter, which I sent you earlier.

(WND, 486)
Reply to the Lay Priest Soya
Written to the lay priest Soya in March 1275

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Position and appearances are irrelevant. The important thing is to carry out our
personal duty, our commitment, no matter what anyone else may say. This is a
life of true victory, a life of unsurpassed nobility and fulfillment.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[TrichyTrichy]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo