Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion. What sickness can therefore be an obstacle?"

(Reply to Kyo'o - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 412) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, December 19th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Let's use this holiday season as a wonderful opportunity to have heart-to-heart conversations with as many people as we possibly can. It is stated that "the seeds of Buddhahood sprout as a result of conditions."* By sharing sincere words of greetings in holiday cards, etc., let's take every possible opportunity at this time of the year to enlarge our circle of friendships and help as many people as possible to form a connection to Buddhism.

Daisaku Ikeda

*"I entrust you with the propagation of Buddhism in your province. It is stated that 'the seeds of Buddhahood sprout as a result of conditions, and for this reason they preach the single vehicle.'" - "The Properties of Rice", WND-I, page 1117

 

[PassTheDoobie]

" The lion king is said to advance three steps, then gather himself to spring, unleashing the same power whether he traps a tiny ant or attacks a fierce animal. In inscribing this Gohonzon for her [Kyo’o, Shijo Kingo’s daughter] protection, Nichiren was like the lion king. This is what the sutra means by 'the power [of the Buddhas] that has the lion’s ferocity' [LSOC15, 258] (WND-1, 412). - From 'Reply to Kyo’o' (WND-1, 412).

"To give one’s wholehearted attention to even the smallest task or matter, to not grow careless or negligent, to approach challenges with the determination to succeed, and to win out through all—this is the essential spirit of the lion king.

"The SGI is a gathering of such lionhearted champions in faith. The sound of our daimoku—our chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—is a powerful lion’s roar that can vanquish all obstacles and devilish functions. Enabling us to summon forth wisdom and courage from within, our practice of chanting daimoku is the fundamental means for achieving absolute victory."

SGI Newsletter No. 8418, Living the Gosho: Words of Encouragement from SGI President Ikeda (63) A Gathering of Lionhearted Champions in Faith, from the Dec. 25th, 2011, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Dec. 28th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"This life is like a dream. One cannot be sure that one will live until tomorrow. However wretched a beggar you might become, never disgrace the Lotus Sutra."

(A Warning against Begrudging One's Fief - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 824) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, December 28th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Hurrah to all of you who have worked so hard for kosen-rufu! It is thanks to your strenuous efforts and struggles that the SGI has been able to achieve remarkable victories and make such great advancement. The great benefits and good fortune that accumulates from all your efforts will radiate brilliantly, without fail, in the lives of all your family, friends and loved ones.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"If only leaders or a select group of members try to achieve the goals set by the organisation, capable people won’t be fostered and the kosen-rufu movement won’t be able to truly expand. All members should share the responsibility, become the protagonists, and strive their hardest in activities. That’s the way to achieve fresh advances filled with new vitality.

"All members are Bodhisattvas of the Earth. All are Buddhas with a noble mission."

SGI Newsletter No. 8394, The New Human Revolution––Vol. 25: Chap. 1, Light of Happiness 33, translated Dec. 7th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

""The stronger one’s faith, the greater the protection of the gods.” This means that the protection of the gods depends on the strength of one’s faith."

(General Stone Tiger - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 953) Selection source: Editorial, Seikyo Shimbun, November 30th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Just when I start to worry Sister T, you let me feel your sunshine. Thank you! It's part of what sustains me!

Bowing in humble obeisance,

Thomas

 

[easyDaimoku]

Happy Belated Bday to Babba and Tom. Thanks for always being there for me.

I regret to inform all of you that my kitten (6 months old) died two nights ago because of a congenital heart disorder that caused him to have an enlarged heart (10 times the normal heart size for a kitten). He died at a cardiologists office after an expensive visit to his vet. I never spent so much money on a pet and it was because this little guy was my best friend and loved me more than any pet I ever had. His name was Bodhi and we're so devastated. I cried more in the past two days than I have in the past 15 years. The little guy was so special to me.

Today is my girlfriend's bday and I'm hoping to take her to a nice dinner so we could relax and focus more on the good times than this terrible tradgedy. I'm trying to refinance my home and I'm struggling financially, but better days are ahead and I take comfort in reading all your posts. Wish you guys (and gals) were closer. I need to start chanting again in groups and its been tough for me. Solo chanting isn't enough for me, I hope this message finds you all doing well.

Happy new year. May 2012 bring your goals and dreams to fruition! Thank you so much.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Happy New Year Everyone! Someone post up the New Year's Gosho! (Or "quote" it from a previous January One.)

Easy, Your kitty will come back to you. Hide and watch. No loss. Just change. Buck up Brother! Daimoku will bring him back. But you have to chant with heartfelt faith that you can't unless you're chanting enough to defeat your fundamental darkness. Are you!?!

I hope so! Only you can do that for you, but know that you are in my prayers, as are all of my Brothers and Sisters as we start another New Year together.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!!!

Bowing in humble obeisance,

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"If you have no hope,
create some.
If the world around you is dark,
be the sun that illuminates all.

"Happiness
is not something we attain
by chasing after it.
Happiness
comes to those who live with
courage and tenacity.
Similarly, peace
will come to human beings
when they lead lives
of wisdom and principle."

SGI Newsletter No. 8416, Symphony of Life: SGI President Ikeda’s Photographs and Poems, from the June 12th, 2011, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Dec. 27th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"... where there is unseen virtue, there will be visible reward"

(Unseen Virtue and Visible Reward - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 907)
Selection source: Editorial, Seikyo Shimbun, December 29th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Many hear about and accept this sutra, but when great obstacles arise, just as they were told would happen, few remember it and bear it firmly in mind. To accept is easy; to continue is difficult. But Buddhahood lies in continuing faith."

The Difficulty of Sustaining Faith - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 471.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Genuine leaders launch into action by taking the first step forwards themselves. Their example serves as a source of courage and inspiration for others to follow suit.

"If we don’t move forwards ourselves, our words, no matter how fine, will be meaningless. People won’t follow our lead if we are only going through the motions.

"It all comes down to how many people we actually meet with, talk to, and encourage each day, to how earnestly we make efforts to chant and draw forth our wisdom to open fresh avenues for promoting kosen-rufu.

"It’s results that matter, not how much time we spend or what grand things we may say.

"In any struggle or battle, one must take concrete steps for victory."

SGI Newsletter No. 8417, (17) Fulfilling Our Leadership Responsibilities for Kosen-rufu. To successors taking the lead for kosen-rufu: from the Dec. 24th, 2011, issue of Seikyo Shimbun, translated Dec. 28th, 2011

 

[Bonzo]

HAPPY NEW YEAR MY FRIENDS!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Desiderata]

So sorry for your loss my brother....

So sorry for your loss my brother....

Happy Belated Bday to Babba and Tom. Thanks for always being there for me.

I regret to inform all of you that my kitten (6 months old) died two nights ago because of a congenital heart disorder that caused him to have an enlarged heart (10 times the normal heart size for a kitten). He died at a cardiologists office after an expensive visit to his vet. I never spent so much money on a pet and it was because this little guy was my best friend and loved me more than any pet I ever had. His name was Bodhi and we're so devastated. I cried more in the past two days than I have in the past 15 years. The little guy was so special to me.

Today is my girlfriend's bday and I'm hoping to take her to a nice dinner so we could relax and focus more on the good times than this terrible tradgedy. I'm trying to refinance my home and I'm struggling financially, but better days are ahead and I take comfort in reading all your posts. Wish you guys (and gals) were closer. I need to start chanting again in groups and its been tough for me. Solo chanting isn't enough for me, I hope this message finds you all doing well.

Happy new year. May 2012 bring your goals and dreams to fruition! Thank you so much.

"Oh Easy, dag namit, how awfull, the little one lived such a short life. Your compassion for his big soul,....it's the courage that our 'family' pets show while their lives come to an end,.... into death they transform into all the energy that encompassed their lives....like the love and care we gave them ,.... then after awhile they can come back around as another kindred spirit."

This just happened with Ann & I. We have a six month old grey tabby with a raccoon tail Lil' Spark, looks and acts like my favorite cat of all time Sparky who passed in 2006. I swear the similarities are striking....he keeps us amused with all his scatting around.

I feel for you and GF...time is the only healer and chanting while he's transforming through death energy evolving into a new life form....time...I always feel our chants are like an ocean wave that carries them through....F A I T H...I love you bro.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The time for the great flourishing of Buddhism, that all human beings have been yearning for, has arrived. For the sake of the peace of the entire world and the happiness of all people, singing songs of unity aloud with our friends, let's muster up all our courage and be absolutely victorious, no matter what kind of obstacles might confront us!

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Nam-myoho-renge-kyo embraces both the converting of others and one's own religious practice. Now Nichiren and his followers are encouraging others to adopt Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and to make it their own practice."

(Ongi kuden - Gosho Zenshu, page 747, The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, page 109) Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, January 1st, 2012

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Peace
is caring for and valuing
a single individual.
It is bringing joy, not suffering,
to our mother.
It is reaching out
to those who are different from us.
It is having the wisdom
to reconcile after an argument.

"And it is protecting
our beautiful natural world.
It is fostering
a rich culture.
It is refusing to build our happiness
on the misfortune of others.
It is sharing
others’ joys and sufferings."

SGI Newsletter No. 8416, Symphony of Life: SGI President Ikeda’s Photographs and Poems, from the June 12th, 2011, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Dec. 27th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

(New Years Gosho)

I have received a hundred slabs of steamed rice cake and a basket of fruit. New Year's Day marks the first day, the first month, the beginning of (1) the year, and the start of spring. A person who celebrates this day will accumulate virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, (2) moving from west to east, and as the sun shines more brightly, traveling from east to west.

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. This must be true because hell is in the heart of a person who inwardly despises his father and disregards his mother. It is like the lotus seed, which contains both blossom and fruit. In the same way, the Buddha dwells within our hearts. For example, flint has the potential to produce fire, and gems have intrinsic value. We ordinary people can see neither our own eyelashes, which are so close, nor the heavens in the distance. Likewise, we do not see that the Buddha exists in our own hearts. You may question how it is that the Buddha can reside within us when our bodies, originating from our parents' sperm and blood, are the source of the three poisons and the seat of carnal desires. But repeated consideration assures us of the truth of this matter. The pure lotus flower blooms out of the muddy pond, the fragrant sandalwood grows from the soil, the graceful cherry blossoms come forth from trees, the beautiful Yang Kuei-fei was born of a woman of low station, and the moon rises from behind the mountains to shed light on them. Misfortune comes from one's mouth and ruins one, but fortune comes from one's heart and makes one worthy of respect.

The sincerity of making offerings to the Lotus Sutra at the beginning of the New Year is like cherry blossoms blooming from trees, a lotus unfolding in a pond, sandalwood leaves unfurling on the Snow Mountains, or the moon beginning to rise. Now Japan, in becoming an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, has invited misfortune from a thousand miles away. In light of this, it is clear that those who now believe in the Lotus Sutra will gather fortune from ten thousand miles away. The shadow is cast by the form, and just as the shadow follows the form, misfortune will befall the country whose people are hostile to the Lotus Sutra. The believers in the Lotus Sutra, on the other hand, are like the sandalwood with its fragrance. I will write you again.

Nichiren

The fifth day of the first month

Reply to the wife of Omosu

Background

This letter was written to the wife of Omosu in acknowledgment of offerings Nichiren Daishonin had received from her at the beginning of the year. The precise year of this letter, however, remains unclear.

Omosu derived his name from that of the area in which his estate was located, Omosu Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province. His full name was Ishikawa Shimbei Yoshisuke. His wife was the elder sister of Nanjo Tokimitsu.

In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin explains the operative principle of the Ten Worlds in a simple, poetic way, revealing that both Buddhahood and hell exist within the life of each individual. A person with a heart full of hatred experiences the world of hell; a person with faith in the Lotus Sutra experiences the world of Buddhahood.

Notes

1. According to the Japanese lunar calendar, spring begins with the first month -that is, on New Year's Day by that calendar, which on the Gregorian calendar falls somewhere between January 21 and February 19.
2. This refers to the fact that the new moon is first seen in the west just after sunset. On successive nights, as the moon grows fuller, it appears to have moved a little farther toward the east.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!!!