Chanting Growers Group

[SoCal Hippy]

Nichiren Daishonin writes, "If you light a lantern for another, it will
also brighten your own way" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1598) please be confident
that the higher your flame of altruistic action burns, the more its
light will suffuse your life with happiness. Those who possess an
altruistic spirit are the happiest people of all.

Daisaku Ikeda
from SGI-USA
"For Today & Tomorrow"

 

[SoCal Hippy]

From the Buddhist perspective, the true aspect of life is found in its
incessant flux, the way that experiences are generated by the
interaction between inner tendencies and external circumstances. In
other words, what we experience as good and evil are not fixed, but
depend on our attitude and response. Good and evil are not unchanging
entities. To give a simple example, anger can function for good when
it is directed at those things which threaten human dignity; in
contrast, anger under the sway of self-serving egotism functions as
evil. Thus, anger, which is typically thought of as an evil, is, in
its essence, neutral.

Writing in thirteenth-century Japan, Nichiren, the Buddhist thinker
whose teachings inspire the activities of the SGI, described this as
follows: "To turn from evil is good; to turn from good is evil. Good
and evil are not found outside our own hearts and minds.

The intrinsic neutrality of life is found in its detachment from good
and from evil. Our lives are only to be found in these three
properties—good (zen), evil (aku), and the underlying neutrality
(muki) with respect to good and evil. No reality is to be found other
than in our hearts."22

This perspective, which focuses on the relativity of good and evil,
can help free us from our enthrallment to the conceptualization of
good and evil as fixed, external entities and the corresponding
tendency to label others as evil.

Neutral, however, does not mean void or empty. Far from being vacant
or void, our lives are manifestations of the cosmic life itself,
eternal and filled to overbrimming with the energy of creation.

Nichiren says of the true aspect of life that it "cannot be burned by
the fires at the end of a kalpa, nor swept away by floods, nor cut by
swords or pierced by arrows. It can fit into a mustard seed, and
although the mustard seed does not expand, there is no need for life
to shrink. It can fill the entire universe. The cosmos is neither too
vast nor life too small to fill it."23

What is described here is a perfectly clear, pellucid state of life,
indestructible and adamantine.

The Buddhist understanding of life can help us translate the ideal of
an inner transcendence of difference into the actualities of daily
life. In other words, we can achieve a state in which we are no longer
caught up in or constrained by our awareness of difference.

In this connection, I am moved to refer to the words of my mentor, the
second president of the Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda, spoken in the period
immediately following the end of World War II. Here he described the
process by which it is possible for an individual totransform even the
most deeply rooted tendencies, or karma. According to Buddhism, every
aspect of who we are—nationality, skin color, family background,
personality, gender—is the present result of causes we ourselves made
in the past. The law of cause and effect that governs the generation
of these differences and distinctions operates consistently over the
three realms of past, present and future.

Practicing Nichiren's Buddhism, Toda said, "is the means by which we
can transform our karma. When we do this, all intermediary causes and
effects disappear, and we can reveal the aspect of the common mortal
enlightened since time without beginning."24 What Toda refers to as
intermediary are causes that we have enacted and that generate
distinctions on the phenomenal plane—differences of capacity,
physical, mental and spiritual differences and the resulting
differences in circumstances such as education and occupation. These
are, together, the distinctions that make each of us the unique being
we are.

When Toda spoke of these intermediary causes and effects
"disappearing," he did not mean that the distinctions between people
would somehow be obliterated and we would all lapse into sameness or
uniformity. This could, of course, never happen. Just as no two people
will ever have exactly the same face, differences are an integral,
natural and necessary aspect of human society.

For Toda, what "disappeared" was our attachment to differences, our
negative, limiting reactions to differences. This is an example of how
a practice of faith can enable the inner transcendence of difference.

(Source: 2000 Peace Proposal) Daisaku Ikeda

22. Nichiren Daishonin gosho zenshu [The Complete Works of Nichiren
Daishonin], ed.
Nichiko Hori (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 1952), p. 563.
23. Ibid.
24. Josei Toda, speech at Kanda Kyoiku Kaikan (Kanda Education
Center), Tokyo, October
19, 1947.
25. Nichiren Daishonin gosho zenshu, p. 759.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

What is defeat in life? It is not merely making a mistake; defeat means giving up on yourself in the midst of difficulty. What is true success in life? True success means winning in your battle with yourself. Those who persist in the pursuit of their dreams, no matter what the hurdles, are winners in life, for they have won over their weaknesses.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[en-lighten-ment]

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo!..........

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

I've learned this year that you certainly reap what you sow.... clearly Cause and Effect is absolute and when you fuck up big time, expect big time things is what I'm saying... I'm trying to go forward but damn it is hard sometimes. Anyway great posts from all my buddies here, thanks and keep it coming. I was contemplating quitting icmag again and I'm glad I still retained this venue to vent my frustrations. Keep on Keeping on Amigos(friends).

 

[Babbabud]

Easy without some adversity how could we realize the good times. Keep going forward Easy. When you feel like you have fallen to the bottom ... you can only go up brother . You want to talk a bit feel free to give me a ring or drop me a note and the dimes on me
Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Easy without some adversity how could we realize the good times. Keep going forward Easy.

Nam myoho renge kyo

Not only that, but without the adversity, what would be the catalyst to activate your Buddha Nature to perceive things you are doing as "fucking up"? How would you know there are things you need to change because they ultimately make you unhappy?

If Buddha wisdom to perceive such things correctly is derived from suffering, then the suffering is your BEST FRIEND and you should express gratitude for it. There is no price too high to pay for the realization of the things that allow you to be the Buddha that you are. This is the process of the elimination of delusion.

One does not graduate from college without going to class. When we perceive things in this manner, honestly and from the bottom of our hearts, then the suffering turns into great joy. This is not a mind game or rationalization. It is Buddhahood--the correct perception of the moment in which we live.

What a beautiful thing! To no longer have fear!!! Priceless......

I bow in humble obeisance,

T

 

[en-lighten-ment]

I bow in humble obeisance,

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo!

 

[scegy]

hello

was looking for the writings to a sick person and what Nichiren was talking to him. can't find it so far, got any links?
we have some cancer issues and i'm trying to figure out what to say to remind him that this is a chance to make some movements with his daughters and wife, whome he negolected over these 30 years and replaced them with alcohol.
the same goes in my family, just from other perspectives, i'm lost a lil bit.

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

hello

was looking for the writings to a sick person and what Nichiren was talking to him. can't find it so far, got any links?

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo

http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=76

http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=631

http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=937

I hope these will help! Good Luck Scegy! Make sure you get him to say Nam-myoho-renge-kyo at least once! Well done Brother!

Deep respect,

T

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"If you propagate it, devils will arise without fail. If they did not,
there would be no way of knowing that this is the correct teaching."
One passage from the same volume reads: "As practice progresses and
understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge in
confusing form, vying with one another to interfere . . . One should
be neither influenced nor frightened by them. If one falls under their
influence, one will be led into the paths of evil. If one is
frightened by them, one will be prevented from practicing the correct
teaching." This statement not only applies to me, but also is a guide
for my followers. Reverently make this teaching your own, and transmit
it as an axiom of faith for future generations.

The three obstacles in this passage are the obstacle of earthly
desires, the obstacle of karma, and the obstacle of retribution. The
obstacle of earthly desires is the impediments to one's practice that
arise from greed, anger, foolishness, and the like; the obstacle of
karma is the hindrances presented by one's wife or children; and the
obstacle of retribution is the hindrances caused by one's sovereign or
parents. Of the four devils, the workings of the devil king of the
sixth heaven are of this last kind.

(Letter to the Brothers; WND, 501)

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Our times are changing at a dizzying pace. The resulting turmoil is capable of sweeping away all manner of power, wealth, reputation, or vanity. The people, standing firm on principle and conviction, will be the unshakable golden pillars of the age. They possess the strength and wisdom to surmount the tumult.

Stand up
with the pride of
a champion of the people,
brimming with strength, joy,
and optimism."

SGI Newsletter No. 7664, The Unlimited Power of the People, from the December 2008 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated Nov. 25th, 2008

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"It has been twenty or more years now since I found myself in that situation and began the great battle. Not once have I thought of retreat."

(The Great Battle - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.2, page 465) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, November 26th, 2008

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Guiseppe Mazzini (1805-72), a leader in the movement for Italian unity and independence, observed: 'Great ideas create great peoples.' The confusion caused by false ideas and doctrines has inflicted terrible damage on the people's spirit, promoting widespread feelings of powerlessness and apathy on the one hand, and encouraging rampant prejudice and egotism on the other. Our effort to 'establish the correct teaching for the peace of the land' is a spiritual struggle to transform this bleak situation.

"In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Nichiren Daishonin states: 'Generally speaking, the term 'Thus Come One' refers to all living beings. More specifically, it refers to the disciples and lay supporters of Nichiren' (OTT, 124). A Thus Come One or Buddha is not some sort of supernatural being far removed from us. We, ordinary people, who uphold the Daishonin's Buddhism, dedicated to the highest good, are Thus Come Ones or Buddhas."
SGI Newsletter No. 7664, The Unlimited Power of the People, from the December 2008 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated Nov. 25th, 2008

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"..it could never come about that the prayers of the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra would go unanswered"

(On Prayer - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 345) Selection source: "Kyo no hosshin", November 27th, 2008

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

 

[SoCal Hippy]

The present time corresponds to the first five hundred years of the
Latter Day of the Law. Passages of the sutra clearly state that at this
time Bodhisattva Superior Practices will appear and bestow the five
characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo on all the people of Japan. And they
reveal that he will face exile and execution. I am also like the envoy
of bodhisattva Superior Practices because I spread this teaching.

(WND, 1011)
"This Person Advances through the World"
Written to Ikegami Uemon no Tayu Munenaka on December 3, 1279

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Faith is the secret to happiness for all people. When you truly forge
your mind of faith, you will become an eternal victor throughout the
three existences of past, present and future. Strong faith enables you
to display your wisdom appropriately, so that you can take advantage of
change and move forward in the direction of victory and hope.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Josei Toda said:

"Life is a creative endeavor. It can only be experienced by the method of
trial and error. The important thing to remember is to never repeat foolish
mistakes."

 

[SoCal Hippy]

In any earnest struggle, there come crucial challenges -- mountains
that must be scaled and conquered if we are to win. In Buddhist
practice, too, we face such crucial challenges. If we hope to advance
kosen-rufu and attain Buddhahood, then we must prevail over these
mountains.

Daisaku Ikeda