Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

Say hey Scegy! I am so happy to say that the back is doing much better. I am healing rapidly. I did some serious nanner-nanner with stonegirl last night so the biggest concern for loss of mobility has been put to bed, so to speak. Thanks for your good wishes! Sceggers--do me a favor and keep a line open to our to our new friend Peaceful. My sense tells me you two are kenzoku-myo.

Peaceful just start chanting. It all flows from there for all of us. Everyone here that chants found out about about Nam-myoho-renge-kyo at some point and decided to try it. That experience led to the posts you read here. Check it out; it can't hurt!

Welcome to chaingmai and iShack. We look forward to hearing from you guys again, and that includes you HenDoku!

SoCal! Baby! What up dude??? Glad to know it was a case of connectivity. We need you here man. This thread is like without one of it's legs, when you are gone. The steady supply of wisdom you share with us is very important, so let's make good fortune together by encouraging one another to do our best to KICK SOME DEVIL ASS!!! I'm so happy you're back!

(By the way, the f word is now censored so it posts up as x's)

Hey Bud! Hey Bonz! Hey Easy! Easy what up?

Today was a great day!

T

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"'Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion. What sickness can therefore be an obstacle?' (WND-1, 412), writes the Daishonin. Whenever you face an obstacle or challenge in life, vigorously set to chanting daimoku until it has been surmounted. Daimoku is a lion's roar. It is the fundamental means for vanquishing all devilish functions and eradicating all evil.

SGI Newsletter No. 7380, SGI President Ikeda's Editorial, Daimoku--A "Lion's Roar" of Happiness and Victory, translated Oct. 30th 2007, from the November 2007 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"There can be no question that through this act the truly excellent medicine of the Wonderful Law is being applied in order to cure the grave illness of darkness that afflicts all living beings."

(Ongi kuden - Gosho Zenshu, page 720, The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, page 41) Selection source: "Myoji no Gen", Seikyo Shimbun, November 4th, 2007

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

thanks bonz babba and socal,

I was reading just before you posted Tom, finished chanting and was preparing to smoke before the gym, I'm here everyday, although I have not been posting I am walking the XXXXXX walk and still making causes to have Gohonzon shake me up and rattle me when I go zombie, what I mean is:

I wasn't chanting much again, started slipping, i was getting consumed with a few burdens, 3 obstacles and the 4 devils, you know when fundamental darkness within your life is just too much to bear its hard to keep your swagger. I'm a very high life condition hombre usually but lately I was finding it tough to get out of the lower worlds, then a couple days ago... Gohonzon says "more daimoku, come on your not chanting enough, that's the real problem", hehehe it is the real problem, I have not missed gongyo in the morning in a while and then I did a week ago and didn't chant for the whole day and felt so shitty and depressed it hurt quite a bit. Took quite a bit to claw my way out of self doubt, self slander by feeling defeated and even worse avoiding everyone. So I called up my shakubuku and he is going to take part in our November 18th meeting and share poetry and I will discuss the significance of the day during the meeting. My girlfriend is going to share an experience in faith too and I'm going to make this meeting and help this dude receive Gohonzon.

So, I will have a job soon, and will work harder for kosen-rufu and I know I'm good at spreading The Law because my brothers the bad ass MOTHAXXXXXXX chanting growers are here everyday standing up in the world and making a difference. I'm really excited about our current prospects and glad to see everyone riding the wave in and enjoying the tide. Sometimes it seems its too much to bear and thats only because we're not elevating our lifecondition and chanting enough. I pumped out 2 hours in one sitting a couple days before that day I did not chant and after that experience I felt like I could and should do more, that feeling of trying my best is coming back, I resolve not to entertain complacency and work harder on practicing my faith because the fruits of those actions are the prize I got my eyes on.

Thank you very much (every individual), welcome new participants and a big hug to my brothers and sisters.

Peace!

"If one doubts the strength of the Buddha when he says, "I am the only person who can rescue and protect others"; if one is suspicious of the rope held out by the Lotus Sutra when its teachings declare that one can "gain entrance though faith alone"; if one fails to chant the Mystic Law which guarantees that "such a person assuredly and without doubt [will attain the Buddha way]," then the Buddha's power cannot reach one, and it will be impossible to scale the embankment of enlightenment."
Reference:

WND Page 59
Page 55 Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra
Written in March of 1263 from Kamakura

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

"The heart of the Lotus Sutra is its title, or the daimoku, of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Truly, if you chant this in the morning and evening, you are correctly reading the entire Lotus Sutra. Chanting daimoku twice is the same as reading the entire sutra twice, one hundred daimoku equal one hundred readings of the sutra, and a thousand daimoku, a thousand readings of the sutra. Thus, if you ceaselessly chant daimoku, you will be continually reading the Lotus Sutra."
Reference:

WND Page 923
Page 922 The One Essential Phrase
Written to Myoho-ama on 3 July 1278 from Minobu

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

"How long does a lifetime last? If one stops to consider, it is like a single night's lodging at a wayside inn. Should one forget that fact and seek some measure of worldly fame and profit? Though you may gain them, they will be mere prosperity in a dream, a delight scarcely to be prized. You would do better simply to leave such matters to the karma formed in your previous existences."
Reference:

WND Page 63
Page 55 Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra
Written in March of 1263 from Kamakura



"I, Nichiren, am the richest man in all of present-day Japan. I have dedicated my life to the Lotus Sutra, and my name will be handed down in ages to come."
Reference:

WND Page 268
Page 251 The Opening of the Eyes - Part Two
Written to Shijo Kingo in February of 1272 from Sado - Tsukihara

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"It is the heart that is important."

(The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 1000) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's speech, Seikyo Shimbun, November 11th, 2007

 

[PassTheDoobie]

I'll be gone for the next couple of day at an SGI activity. I hope someone helps keep us on page one! Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

 

[Bonzo]

Holding steady on page one. Is there a page two? Hmmmmmmm.

Dang morning Gongyo feels good eh? Now some Jimi Hendrix, exercise, and get some thangs done!

Have fun there Big Homie, cant wait to hear about it!

The most Golden of days to you all!!!!!

peace

bonz






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Nam myoho renge kyo!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Babbabud]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Dutchgrown]

Hey everyone!

My deepest apologies for being absent from this great thread. Have been on the mend from abdominal surgery, spending alot of time basking in the warm tropical SE Asian weather, but wanted to drop in and shout out a big

Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo!

Hugs to you all! Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

dg

 

[Babbabud]

Great to see you DG Hope your well mended and getting back to normal again Life condition is very high here. We sure have some great and caring members . What a wonderful place this is. Thanks for having us DG

Tomorrow will be a 5 hour toso at Georgialouwhos........... woop you are all in our chants......... much love to each and everyone of the bodhisattvas that visit this thread!!!!!!!!
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

from: The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period after the Thus Come One's Passing


Volume five of Great Concentration and Insight states: "Life at (1) each moment is endowed with the Ten Worlds. At the same time, each of the Ten Worlds is endowed with all Ten Worlds, so that an entity of life actually possesses one hundred worlds. Each of these worlds in turn possesses (2) thirty realms, which means that in the one hundred worlds there are three thousand realms. The three thousand realms of existence are all possessed by life in a single moment. If there is no life, that is the end of the matter. But if there is the slightest bit of life, it contains all the three thousand realms. . . . This is what we mean when we speak of the 'region of the unfathomable.'"

Note: "[Three thousand] realms" might also read "[three thousand] factors," but the number is the same. The only difference lies in the method of expansion. Another copy of Great Concentration and Insight states, "Each world is endowed with the three realms of (3) existence."

Question: Is the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life explained in The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra?

Answer: Miao-lo states that it is not.

Question: Then is it explained in The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra?

Answer: Miao-lo states that it is not.

Question: What are his exact words?

Answer: He says, "None of them reveal that a single moment of life contains (4) the three thousand realms."

Question: Is this principle mentioned in any of the first four volumes of Great Concentration and Insight?

Answer: No, it is not.

Question: What proof is there of this?

Answer: Miao-lo says, "When at last he revealed the method of meditation in Great Concentration and Insight, he at the same time employed the 'three thousand realms' as a way to understand (5)."

Question: Volume two of Profound Meaning states, "Each of the Ten Worlds contains the other nine, and in those one hundred worlds are one thousand factors." Volume one of Words and Phrases states, "Each sense field (6) is endowed with the Ten Worlds, each of which again is endowed with all of the ten within itself. Since each of those hundred worlds is endowed with the ten factors, the total becomes one thousand." The Profound Meaning of the "Perceiver of the World's Sounds" Chapter (7) comments, "The Ten Worlds are all mutually inclusive, thus making one hundred worlds. One thousand factors are inherent in life. Even though these are not visible, life by its nature possesses all of them."

Isn't the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life mentioned in the first four volumes of Great Concentration and Insight?

Answer: Miao-lo says it is not.

Question: What does he say exactly?

Answer: Volume five of The Annotations on "Great Concentration and Insight" reads: "In comparison with the (8) chapter on correct meditation, the preceding chapters fall short of describing the practice in its entirety. But they do contain the twenty-five preparatory exercises that lead to understanding, and thus they provide the expedient means to the correct practice. The first six chapters, then, are all meant to bring about understanding." Also in the same volume: "When at last he revealed the method of meditation in Great Concentration and Insight, he at the same time employed the 'three thousand realms' as a way to understand. This principle is the ultimate revelation of his final and supreme teaching. That is why Chang-an states in his introduction [to Great Concentration and Insight], 'Great Concentration and Insight reveals the teaching that T'ien-t'ai Chih-che himself practiced in the depths of his being.' He had good reason for saying this. I hope that those who read this work and seek to understand it will not allow their minds to be distracted by anything else."

T'ien-t'ai Chih-che propagated his teachings for thirty years. During the first twenty-nine years, expounding the doctrines contained in Profound Meaning, Words and Phrases, and other works, he explained the five periods and the eight teachings as well as the hundred worlds and thousand factors. He not only refuted the erroneous doctrines of the preceding more than five hundred years, but also clarified matters that had not been fully explained by the Buddhist scholars of India. The Great Teacher Chang-an states: "Even the great scholars of India were not in a class with him, and the Chinese teachers - well, one need hardly mention them. This is no idle boast - the doctrine he taught was indeed of such (9) excellence." How pitiful that T'ien-t'ai's successors allowed those thieves, the founders of the Flower Garland and True Word schools, to steal the priceless gem of three thousand realms in a single moment of life and then, ironically, became their followers! The Great Teacher Chang-an was fully aware this would happen when he remarked in sorrow, "If this teaching should be lost, it would be a tragedy (10) for the future."

Question: What is the difference between the principle of the hundred worlds and thousand factors and that of three thousand realms in a single moment of life?

Answer: The former concerns only sentient beings, but the latter applies to both sentient and insentient beings.

Question: If insentient beings are endowed with the ten factors, is it correct to assume that plants and trees have minds and can attain Buddhahood like sentient beings?

Answer: This is a matter that is difficult to believe and difficult to understand. T'ien-t'ai defined two points that are "difficult to believe and difficult to understand." One lies in the realm of doctrinal teachings and the other in the realm of meditative practice. With regard to the former, in the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra we read that persons of the two vehicles and icchantikas, or persons of incorrigible disbelief, are forever barred from attaining Buddhahood, and that Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, attained enlightenment for the first time in this world. Nevertheless,we find that the theoretical and the essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra repudiate both these statements. One Buddha who says two things as opposite as fire and water - who could believe him? This is the point that is "difficult to believe and difficult to understand" in the realm of doctrinal teachings.

The point that is "difficult to believe and difficult to understand" in the realm of meditative practice concerns the principle of the hundred worlds and thousand factors and that of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, which explains that even insentient beings are endowed with the ten factors of life, and that they are endowed with both material and spiritual aspects.

Both the Buddhist and the non-Buddhist scriptures permit wooden or painted images to be used as objects of devotion, but T'ien-t'ai and his followers were the first to explain the principle behind this practice. If a piece of wood or paper lacked the cause and effect [of Buddhahood] in either the material or the spiritual aspect, it would be futile to rely on it as an object of devotion.

Question: What authority do you have for stating that a plant, a tree, or a land manifests cause and effect, or the ten factors?

Answer: Volume five of Great Concentration and Insight says, "The realm of the environment also has the ten factors. Thus an evil land has appearance, nature, entity, power, and so on." Volume six of The Annotations on "The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra" states: "Appearance exists only in what is material; nature exists only in what is spiritual. Entity, power, influence, and relation in principle combine both the material and the spiritual. Internal cause and latent effect are purely spiritual; manifest effect exists only in what is material." The Diamond Scalpel (11) states: "A plant, a tree, a pebble, a speck of dust - each has the Buddha nature, and each is endowed with cause and effect and with the function to manifest and the wisdom to realize its Buddha nature."

Question: You have told us about the sources of this doctrine. Now what is meant by the observation of the mind?

Answer: The observation of the mind means to observe one's own mind and to find the Ten Worlds within it. This is what is called observing the mind. For example, though we can see the six sense organs of other people, we can not see our own. Only when we look into a clear mirror do we see, for the first time, that we are endowed with all six sense organs. Similarly, various sutras make reference here and there to the six paths and the four noble worlds [that constitute the Ten Worlds], but only in the clear mirror of the Lotus Sutra and of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai's Great Concentration and Insight can one see one's own Ten Worlds, hundred worlds and thousand factors, and three thousand realms in a single moment of life.

Question: What part of the Lotus Sutra do you refer to, and what section of T'ien-t'ai's commentaries?

Answer: The "Expedient Means" chapter in volume one of the Lotus Sutra states, "The Buddhas wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings." This refers to the world of Buddhahood inherent in the nine worlds. The "Life Span" chapter states: "Thus, since I attained Buddhahood, an extremely long period of time has passed. My life span is an immeasurable number of asamkhya kalpas, and during that time I have constantly abided here without ever entering extinction. Good men, originally I practiced the bodhisattva way, and the life span that I acquired then has yet to come to an end but will last twice the number of years that have already passed." Here the sutra refers to the nine worlds inherent in Buddhahood.

The sutra states, "Devadatta will be called the Thus Come One Heavenly King (12)." This indicates that the world of hell also contains Buddhahood. In the sutra it says, "There were demon daughters, the first named Lamba . . . [The Buddha said to them], 'If you can shield and guard those who accept and uphold the mere name of the Lotus Sutra, your merit will be immeasurable (13).'" Thus, the world of hungry spirits contains all the Ten Worlds. When the sutra speaks of "the dragon girl . . . attaining impartial and correct enlightenment (14)," it is indicating that the world of animals has the Ten Worlds. The sutra says that, by listening to one verse or one phrase of the sutra, the asura king Balin will attain (15) supreme perfect enlightenment. Thus the world of asuras contains the Ten Worlds. The sutra says, "If there are persons who for the sake of the Buddha fashion and set up images . . . then (16) all have attained the Buddha way," meaning that the world of human beings contains the Ten Worlds. The sutra states that the great heavenly king Brahma and the other deities declared, "We too in the same way will surely be (17) able to attain Buddhahood." Thus the world of heavenly beings contains the Ten Worlds. The sutra says, "Shariputra . . . will be able to become a Buddha with the name Flower Glow Thus Come One (18)." Thus the world of voice-hearers contains the Ten Worlds. The sutra says, "Those who seek to become pratyekabuddhas, monks, and nuns . . . all press their palms and with reverent minds wish to hear the teaching of perfect endowment (19)." Thus the world of pratyekabuddhas, or cause-awakened ones, has the Ten Worlds. The sutra describes the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth, numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds, and who declared, "We ourselves wish to gain this great Law, true and pure (20)." Thus the world of bodhisattvas contains the Ten Worlds. The sutra says, "Sometimes I speak of myself, sometimes of others (21)." Thus the world of Buddhahood contains the Ten Worlds.

Question: Although I can see both my own six sense organs and those of others, I cannot see the Ten Worlds in myself or others. How can I believe in them?

Answer: The "Teacher of the Law" chapter of the Lotus Sutra says, "[This Lotus Sutra is] the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand." [In describing how difficult it will be to fulfill the teachings of the Lotus Sutra after the Buddha's passing,] the "Treasure Tower" chapter speaks of the six difficult and nine easy acts. The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai states, "Because the theoretical and the essential teachings [of the Lotus Sutra] contradict all the earlier sutras, they are extremely difficult to believe and difficult to understand (22)." The Great Teacher Chang-an comments, "The Buddha intended these as his ultimate teachings. How could they ever be easy to understand?" (23) The Great Teacher Dengyo says, "The Lotus Sutra is the most difficult to believe and to understand because in it the Buddha directly revealed what he had attained (24)."

Those who were born in the days of Shakyamuni Buddha and heard his teachings in person had formed deep karmic bonds with him in past existences. In addition, Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, as well as Many Treasures Buddha, the Buddhas of the ten directions who are Shakyamuni's emanations, the countless Bodhisattvas of the Earth, and the other bodhisattvas such as Manjushri and Maitreya, aided them and encouraged them to believe, but even then there were those who failed to take faith. Five thousand people left the assembly (25), [arrogantly thinking that they had understood what they had not]. All human and heavenly beings [other than those already present in the assembly] were moved to other worlds. How much more difficult it was to believe in the Lotus Sutra after the Buddha's passing - in the Former and Middle Days of the Law - and even more difficult it is now at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law! If it were easy for you to believe in, it would not be the Buddha's correct teaching.


Notes

1. In Great Concentration and Insight, the Chinese word for "one mind" or "one thought" is used here, but in Nichiren Daishonin's teaching it is interpreted as indicating the entire psychosomatic entity; hence the word is translated as "life" rather than "mind."
2. Each of the Ten Worlds is endowed with ten factors, each of which in turn is endowed with the three realms of existence. The thirty realms refer to the ten factors multiplied by the three realms.
3. The Japanese text contains two parenthetical notes, one directly following the beginning clause, "Volume five of Great Concentration and Insight states," and the other following the quotation. They are translated together here. T'ien-t'ai's Great Concentration and Insight elucidates two ways to arrive at the "three thousand" of the "three thousand realms in a single moment of life": (1) The hundred worlds are multiplied by the three realms of existence and then by the ten factors to arrive at the "three thousand factors." (2) The hundred worlds are multiplied by the ten factors and then by the three realms of existence to arrive at the "three thousand realms of
existence." Although the method differs, the principle is the same.
4. The Annotations on "Great Concentration and Insight."
5. Ibid.
6. "Each sense field" refers to each of the six sense organs (the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) and the objects that stimulate them.
7. T'ien-t'ai's annotations on the "Perceiver of the World's Sounds" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, recorded by his disciple Chang-an.
8. The seventh chapter, which is regarded as the core of Great Concentration and Insight because it explains the practice of meditation.
9. The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, T'ien-t'ai's major work, recorded by Chang-an.
10. Introduction to Profound Meaning.
11. A work by Miao-lo that maintains that even insentient beings are endowed with the potential for Buddhahood.
12. Lotus Sutra, chap. 12.
13. Ibid., chap. 26.
14. Ibid., chap. 12.
15. A rephrasing of a passage in chapter 10 of the Lotus Sutra.
16. Lotus Sutra, chap. 2.
17. Ibid., chap. 3.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid., chap. 2.
20. Ibid., chap. 21.
21. Ibid., chap. 16.
22. The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.
23. The Annotations on "The Treatise on the Observation of the Mind."
24. The Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sutra.
25. According to the "Expedient Means" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the five thousand arrogant people, who are mentioned in the preceding sentence, left the assembly as Shakyamuni began to preach about "the replacement of the three vehicles with the one vehicle," because they supposed they had attained what they had not attained. In the "Treasure Tower" chapter, Shakyamuni transforms the lands three times to accommodate the Buddhas who assemble from the ten directions. He purifies the saha world by removing all heavenly and human beings to other worlds, leaving only the assembled multitude.


The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind / WND pg. 354-358

 

[PassTheDoobie]

We kicked some ass and took some names in the last four days!

All of a sudden I have conspicuous benefit raining down on me constantly. I am going to enjoy what there is to enjoy. This good fortune is of my own making and I want to make some more!

Hey DG! Glad to hear about your good spirits and I am sure you are going to recover nicely! KEEP CHANTING SISTER! Since you're kicking for a minute, hang with us a bit! Thank you!

Bud I will do my best to chant with my brothers and sisters. What time are you guys starting? Where the hell has Georgia been? Give my love to her and my mystic brother Mr.D.


I know the above Gosho is already posted, but Ichinen Sanzen is probably a good thing to make our new friends aware of. Read these things and chant about them and you will understand them as you're intended to.

Much love and deep respect,

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

PS: If anyone is interested in reading the rest of this teaching, let me know and I'll PM it to you.

 

[Babbabud]

Heya T we start chanting this morning (sunday here) at 7 am and go through till noon wooooooooop
The whole Georgialouwho family had some sort of cold for the last couple weeks and are just now all better. A good toso is just the thing we all need. Much love to you all !!!
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo Like the Roar of the Lion !!!!!

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Thanks T.

We're starting at 4pm here, my shakubuku is going to perform poetry at today's meeting and I will emcee. Very exciting to read the last post on ichinen sanzen and I really feel great! Thanks.

Thanks to all for keeping the thread going and coming back in, we're in this together and it doesn't matter who you are and what world your in, they all lead to Buddhahood! Best believe!

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

Today is the day November 18 that is designated as the day the Soka Gakkai International was founded. Happy Birthday SGI!

 

[Sleepy]

i have already started thanking people...

i have already started thanking people...

i thanked a fellow worker on Veteran's Day this past Monday (he is a veteran)...he said that never happened to him before...he also said "I 'made his day'"!

thanks to all who have helped and taught me.

peace.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Congrats Sleepy! Thanks for hanging here with us for all these years! I encourage everyone to keep chanting as much as they can.

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Thanks everyone for helping me fight fundamental darkness in my life and help me get closer with Gohonzon. Through you prayer and applications of faith on this thread I can take my continuing experience and push myself to greater heights. Thanks everyone for helping me become closer to Gohonzon! I am doing my best in my district to lead others towards the same goals we realize on this thread. Grasping even a thread of the wonderful fabric of every post in this thread can help you shakubuku, be strong fight fundamental darkness in their life as well just as Gohonzon had mercy to let another do the same for you. Now is the time for me to really make my faith concrete and never backslide because I am capable of this. Help me achieve my most ambitious endeavor to date.... reaching a higher level of wisdom to not backslide or entertain any doubts despite the hardship or benefit.

ROLL WITH ME!

My shakubuku christopher did great tonight, I am so pleased he performed so well, the turnout with respect to youth was incredible, I did not emcee but did participate and gave encouragement, alot of people young and old look up to me I realized and I look up to them as well. I saw so many amazing connections with Gohonzon, a new conferral was exciting to see and my young buddy should be the next to receive Gohonzon!

I am pleased I study The Goshos diligently and within that expression of my seeking spirit is the intent to revere The Sutra, I wake up and read the Nichiren Daishonin Gosho Quote of the day everyday and this is wonderful. Buddhism flows in my life and the problems I am experiencing are becoming precious, its seems they may go away so I should cope and deal with them very well and apply Toda's value creation model more diligently in my life, but clearly none of this rigor begrudges my life in any way and actually seems to enhance my existance so please accept my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your continued participation. Thank you all for taking part in this leg of this this journey and its going amazing, it only gets better from here