Chanting Growers Group (2013-∞)

[PassTheDoobie]

"Numerous struggles for human rights throughout history have sought to rouse the people, weighed down by the burden of suffering and oppression, to boldly speak out and take action as the protagonists in building a better society, to rise up with invincible hope.... But the spirit of Nichiren Buddhism is to confront such challenges with the “courage of the lion king” (WND-1, 997) and triumph over them.

"Nichiren Daishonin called out to his followers to confidently unite as one with him in the cause of establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land, an undertaking realised through courageous dialogue. He taught us that this shared struggle of mentor and disciple to communicate the truth of Buddhism is the driving force for opening the way for kosen-rufu. The eternal and unchanging path to victory in this endeavour lies in speaking out and taking action just as the Daishonin instructed, with the same spirit he demonstrated."

SGI Newsletter No. 8731, LEARNING FROM THE WRITINGS OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN: THE TEACHINGS FOR VICTORY [45] “Reply to Yasaburo.” A Struggle of Words to Open the Way for Kosen-rufu, from the October 2012 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated 6th March 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"From this single element of mind spring all the various lands and environmental conditions."

(The Unanimous Declaration by the Buddhas of the Three Existences regarding the Classification of the Teachings and Which Are to be Abandoned and Which Upheld - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.2, page 843) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, March 7th, 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

I'll be traveling...

See you guys again on Tuesday! Be safe!!!

Thomas

 

[iConnex]

Ill wait you!

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

 

[easyDaimoku]

HAPPY TRAVELS! CONGRATS TO THE BABBAS! THANK YOU CHRIS! EVERYBODY WE ARE JAMING!

NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO!!!

 

[easyDaimoku]

Like the roar of the LION, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[CrazyDog]

If we take bold, courageous action
for the sake of our friends' happiness
our own lives shine, too.
It is the accumulation of such selfless acts
that builds indestructible "treasures of the heart"*.

Nam myoho renge kyo!

 

[Payaso]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

Easy! Thomas! CrazyDog!!! Babbabud and the Mrs! iConnex! Greetings all!

Here it is Springing Forth Into Summer rather Quickly!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

Best wishes to everyone for great growing...

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo~

 

[easyDaimoku]

Becoming a Buddha is nothing extraordinary. If you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with your whole heart, you will naturally become endowed with the Buddha's thirty-two features and eighty characteristics. As the sutra says, "hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us," you can readily become as noble a Buddha as Shakyamuni.

[ Letter to Niike, WND Page 1030 ]

Thank you Babba, CD, Babba, iConnex and PTD! This weekend we had an amazing meeting with hundreds of youth at our biggest culture center. It was such an amazing success and I brought three (3) guests! Of course, it was no easy feat and getting 2 of the 3 friends there made us 20 minutes late. However, so many were also getting their Gohonzon yesterday that we only missed the chanting in the begining (most important part actually) and then we sat down around the Gohonzon conferrals (next part).
This was all followed by faith experiences (actual proof of the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) that really inspired everyone in attendance and helped me see the practice in action within other young men and young women. We all chant and bring out our Buddhanature when we are chanting to the Gohonzon, so when we do that together we are releasing evermore fundamental goodness into this world. The cultural dance, orchestra and even taiko drum presentation (all seperate) added that extra special dimension to the meeting and uplift our spirits even more.
I knew that by getting these three dudes to the meeting I'd be helping them sow a seed into their life to help them start on their path towards acheiving an undefeatable state of life, whereby all of us can reveal the Buddha's 32 features and 8 characteristics in our lives too (just as we are this moment). The path is the "middle way" we learn about here on the thread. This applies to every relationship, every determination, every dream and also our sincere efforts towards kosen-rufu. We are all inextricably linked in this life and the next.
Let's all make the best of this and chant to advance our goals and dreams. Sometimes even re-awakening those dreams we lost sight of could also be a source of inspiration to continue going forward towards receiving your Gohonzon. Setting up an altar at home is a huge step towards getting your Gohonzon and I really reccomend this to everyone. Keep chanting strong my friends, I'm climbing over some steep mountains and will be happy to report that moment when I truly get my head outta my ass!!! That big POPPPP is a coming! hahaaha. What I mean is that I'm cleaning up some serious karma and going to really advance in 2013! Thank you so much

 

[easyDaimoku]

LA Friendship Center, CA & Kosen-rufu Definition

LA Friendship Center, CA & Kosen-rufu Definition

kosen-rufu
[広宣流布] ( Jpn) Wide propagation, or wide proclamation and propagation. A term from the Lotus Sutra that literally means to declare and spread widely. The "Medicine King" (twenty-third) chapter of the Lotus Sutra reads, "After I [Shakyamuni Buddha] have passed into extinction, in the last five-hundred-year period you must spread it abroad widely (kosen-rufu) throughout Jambudvipa and never allow it to be cut off." Nichiren (1222-1282), identifying himself as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, made it his lifelong mission to fulfill the above injunction of the Buddha, that is, kosen-rufu. He saw widely propagating his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which he identified as the essence of the sutra, as the fulfillment of that mission.
Nichiren wrote in his Selection of the Time, "Can there be any doubt that, after this period described in the Great Collection Sutra when 'the pure Law will become obscured and lost,' the great pure Law of the Lotus Sutra will be spread far and wide (kosen-rufu) throughout Japan and all the other countries of Jambudvipa?" (550).
In The True Aspect of All Phenomena, he also wrote, "At the time when the Law has spread far and wide (kosen-rufu), the entire Japanese nation will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth cannot miss the target" (385).In On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings, he wrote: "The time will come when all people will abandon the various kinds of vehicles and take up the single vehicle of Buddhahood, and the Mystic Law alone will flourish throughout the land. When the people all chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the wind will no longer buffet the branches, and the rain will no longer break the clods of soil. The world will become as it was in the ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung" (392). He meant that the spread of the Mystic Law would bring about peace in society and nature.

The Mission of the Los Angeles Friendship Center

Spread The Circles of Friendship

The following is SGI President Ikeda’s Message upon the opening of the Los Angeles Friendship Center, Sept 21.
My dear friends of Los Angeles, whom I love and respect and with whom I share so many precious memories-my heartfelt congratulations on opening this wonderful Los Angeles Friendship Center!

This Center is a palace of victory, a precious manifestation of the faith of each of you. It is also a symbol of hope, the certainty that the Kosen Rufu movement in Los Angeles will continue to advance and develop by further spreading circles of friendship. I hope that you will love and care for this center, making it an ever more beautiful hole of good fortune, a castle of friendship open to your community.

You have lived up to your noble mission as Bodhisattvas of the Earth. You have exerted yourselves without cease in the practice of easing the pain and increasing the joy of others. You have spread strong and deep roots of service and trust into the soil of society. You have enabled our SGI movement to grow into a magnificent and towering tree that remains unshaken in the most violent storms. You who have shared the struggle for Kosen Rufu with me have accumulated good fortune that is indeed infinite and beyond measure.

To quote the Gosho: “If itai Doshin (Many in body, one in mind) prevails among the people, they will achieve all their goals, where as dotai ishin (one in body, different in mind), they can achieve nothing remarkable” (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, p.153). It is my sincere hope that you will continue to enjoy ideal unity as communities and that in bright spirits you will climb, powerfully, one step at a time, the towering peak of human revolution and Kosen Rufu.

I would like to conclude by voicing my prayer that each of my dear precious friends, who protect the headquarters of Kosen Rufu in America, will enjoy lives of unsurpassed happiness.

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

Thanks to everyone who contributes here .. its what keeps us rolling along

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Payaso]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo~

Thank you Easy for sharing that experience with us! It sounds like an enlightening time was had by all who attended.

~Nam Myoho Renge Kyo~

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[easyDaimoku]

President Ikeda's Guidance for the week and today:

Words of the Week

March 18, 2013

Spring, a time for cultivating friendships,
has arrived!
Every time we take action, a drama is born.
Whenever we engage in conversation,
joy is spread.
Let's bring a profusion of "flowers of dialogue"
to bloom while accumulating countless
"treasures of the heart."


To My Friends

March 18, 2013

Everyone is capable.
With unwavering belief in
the Buddha nature of every person,
let's patiently and determinedly
send words of encouragement
and foster new people of ability.

 

[easyDaimoku]

We are accumulating Treasures of the Heart!

We are accumulating Treasures of the Heart!

If we take bold, courageous action
for the sake of our friends' happiness
our own lives shine, too.
It is the accumulation of such selfless acts
that builds indestructible "treasures of the heart"*.

Nam myoho renge kyo!

The most badass BUDDHIST MONK EVER, Nichiren Daishonin, gave us the Gohonzon so that we could chant with him in this life and the next. Just as we have in every lifetime! We are all advancing kosen-rufu here everyday, thanks to all!

I've learned about this taking the necessary steps to support my friends through my daimoku. When I notice certain members not posting for a while like Socal, Trichy, Forest, Desi, Scegy, Always, Bonz and recently the Babbas (and now PTD), I send you all even more Daimoku!

Thanks for keeping this movement going! This thread is my home SGI district and where I come to chant, study and grow

 

[easyDaimoku]

Boku Appreciation and Respect to Chris Payaso, Skip, the Owners and Admins of ICMAG!

Boku Appreciation and Respect to Chris Payaso, Skip, the Owners and Admins of ICMAG!

I'm super grateful today to have this site available for us to grow, to practice Buddhism, learn, share about our plants and to be happy! This site is an amazing resource so non-growers and growers alike could unite under this green umbrella. Its amazing that we could also chant here together. I stay chanting "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!!"

"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."
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 283
The Opening of the Eyes (Written to Shijo Kingo in February 1272)

 

[easyDaimoku]

Prayer is saying the words "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!" Over and Over AGAIN

Prayer is saying the words "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!" Over and Over AGAIN

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Tuesday, March 19, 2013:

​

"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."

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Hi guys! I am safe and sound and recovering from my travels. Hope all is well with everyone. I'll get in all my calls this week, but may not be in a position to post as much as usual for seven more days. Can't wait to get my ass home. Where my heart is!!!!

(And my incredible, brilliant, hot wife and happy, bright and beautiful children.)

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! No prayer goes unanswered! Make the life you want through your own efforts, no matter who you are. It's simple. Your own efforts are what make your life anyway.

Bowing in humble obeisance,

Thomas

 

[Payaso]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

Glad all is well Thomas! Safe travels!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

 

[CrazyDog]

When we encourage our young people,
let's encourage them like a warm spring breeze.
It's very important that we genuinely believe,
"This person will become a far greater individual than I am,"
and at the same time sincerely respect them.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!