Chanting Growers Group

[Desiderata]

Thankyou "T" for all the good you have caused...

Thankyou "T" for all the good you have caused...

....from your first thought of conception, to creating your baby, the "Chanting Growers Group!"......... Good change is priceless!
***************************************************************
In his letter “The Entity of the MysticLaw,” Nichiren writes: “When the sage was observing the principle and assigning names to all things, he perceived that there is this wonderful single Law [myoho] that simultaneously possesses both cause and effect[renge], and he named it Myoho-renge. This single Law that is Myoho-renge encompasses within it all the phenomena comprising the Ten Worlds and the three thousand realms, and is lacking in none of them. Anyone who practices this Law will obtain both the cause and the effect of Buddhahood simultaneously” (WND-1, 421).

When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,we can instantaneously bring forth our innate Buddhahood. In addition, every moment that we make efforts to develop faith in the Mystic Law, we are making the cause to reveal the life-state of Buddhahood. And when our thoughts, words and actions express that enlightened state, they become causes that contribute to our own happiness and that of others from this moment on into the infinite future.

2008 BUDDHIST LEARNING REVIEW | STUDY GUIDE21BLR_2008_pp.20-31.qxd:BLR 6/19/08 8:34 AM Page 21
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Pet your self on the head, you are a good person........Everyone..........Desi!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

A tardy PS: Just called Bonz and missed him but his mom says they are fine but that his back is still bothing him a bit. That was the case when I saw him last month. Keep sending Daimoku and give him a call if you can. He's offline so that's why he isn't posting. I am sure he misses us as much as we all miss him!

gp! Dude I am so sorry I blew giving you a shout out! I read your post and then didn't back to the keyboard for a while. Please tell your Dad I send my deepest love and respect. I so appreciate your participation and the bottom line is that you are a Bodhisattva of the Earth so you should definitely be here. Please keep posting and let's all keep chanting!

Again, please tell your Mom and Dad and Chris if you see him that I really and truly think of them often and am very remiss from not making a better effort to stay in touch. Being a Dad is keeping me pretty busy these days. If any of you are ever around my part of the Earth, please consider yourselves welcome to stay with me.

Disco you make me so happy! Expect more days like that bad one you described. Blow them off as quick as you can. They mean nothing. They are just there to challenge you. It's not the result of bad karma, it's the result of good karma. To keep going in the face of adversity not only builds character, it builds strength. Pump it up.

Desi, dude thank you for continuing to seek the way. Your comments about Daisaku Ikeda inspired me! Thanks! May I state the obvious: Your Gohonzon awaits you.

Hi Scegy and Sleepy!

To the Babbas we send all our love and a genuine appreciation for having been given the gift of knowing you. It is a blessing from the Gohonzon. Much love and deepest respect!

Hang in there SoCal. I'm here if you need me. You are my Brother.

Hit I hope you score. I chanted for my wife for eight years. And yet thanks to that effort I live in the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light. For reals. Never give up on what you want.

I bow in humble obeisance to all!

Thomas

 

[Hitman]

Thanks for the great wishes for me and my green girl, PTD and Desi, I really appreciate it.

Peace to everybody out there in this big old universe.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

 

[flashog]

Whatever all of you guys have been smoking... I want some!

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

"I cannot adequately express my gratitude for your frequent letters. At the time of my persecution on the twelfth, not only did you accompany me to Tatsunokuchi, but also you declared that you would die by my side. This can only be called wondrous."

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 196
The Persecution at Tatsunokuchi
Written to Shijo Kingo on September 21, 1271

 

[Desiderata]

"I will Die by his side."

"I will Die by his side."

Nichiren that is..........one that hoped & prayed that chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo created the freedom needed to change one's own Karma would be realized. That a person can transform their own reality through their own good actions into a real cause with values & virtue.

Love, Desi

 

[Desiderata]

Who We Are

Who We Are

The 12 million members of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) around the world embrace Nichiren Buddhism, a dynamic philosophy grounded in the realities of daily life. This Buddhist practice leads to empowerment and inner transformation or "human revolution" which enables individuals to take responsibility for their lives and contribute to building a world where people of diverse cultures and faiths can live in peace.

"I feel transformed after todays District Meeting! It was frigging fun, we played jeopardy with "Karma", "Mission", "SGI", and "Gosho." Well, our team came in second....hey, I knew some real answers......but, we laughed and smiled. It was a natural procession of telling experiences and asking questions revolving around Karma and Mission.......hmm, very interesting, wouldn't you like to know?..........lol........smart ass, yes, but, in time, in time my friend, it all flows like water!..........Desi!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Life is limited; we must not begrudge it. What we should ultimately aspire to is the Buddhaland." *

(Aspiration for the Buddha Land - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 214) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, September 17th, 2008


*Buddha land
[仏国土] (Skt buddha-kshetra; Jpn bukkoku-do )

Also, pure land, Land of Tranquil Light, or Land of Eternally Tranquil Light. In Buddhism, a land where a Buddha dwells after having vowed to save living beings, completed his own practice, and attained enlightenment. The Sanskrit word kshetra means land. According to the Sarvastivada school, a major Hinayana school, the saha world, or the world in which Shakyamuni Buddha appeared, is the only Buddha land. In contrast, Mahayana Buddhism makes reference to numerous Buddhas and their lands; it describes, for instance, Akshobhya Buddha's Land of Joy located in the east, Amida Buddha's Land of Perfect Bliss in the west, and Medicine Master Buddha's Pure Emerald World in the east. Mahayana Buddhism developed the concept of the three bodies of a Buddha: the Dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body. It was taught that each Buddha possessed one of these three bodies— hence the Buddha of the Dharma body, the Buddha of the reward body, and the Buddha of the manifested body—and that each Buddha had his own Buddha land. The Pure Land teachings regard the Land of Perfect Bliss as the land where Amida, the Buddha of the reward body, was reborn as a reward for his many kalpas of Buddhist practice. Because of the Buddhist view that the land or environment is an element of one's entire being, however, the term Buddha land also refers to the enlightened state or absolute happiness that Buddhas enjoy, and does not necessarily indicate a paradise or pure land removed from the real world.

 

[Desiderata]

Always Good News!

Always Good News!

"The Human Connection is the Poetic Heart."

What is poetry? When we feel the pangs of love or the sweep of inspiration--the soft chafing of our exposed hearts against the textures of the world--why are we more apt to express ourselves in a poem than in a paragraph? The poetic heart reaches out, seeking expression and connection. It is a heart that tries to cast a bridge between ourselves and the world; and that bridge may be built by words, movement, color or music. These expressions form the core of all human cultures and help define our diversity and uniqueness, as well as showing us our commonality.

The poetic heart, or spirit, is synonymous with the spirit of peace. The loss of this spirit, this sensitivity to life, describes the pathology of our ailing planet, the apparent withering of our humanity. To nurture the poetic spirit in our own lives is to nurture hope for the future.

This issue of the SGI Quarterly celebrates the poetic heart, as it celebrates the 80th birthday this month of SGI President Daisaku Ikeda, who has frequently called for the restoration of the poetic sensitivity in us all.

"This was January 2008"..........Desi

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Today and everyday,
let's give our very best to all the challenges we face,
keeping a positive attitude and persevering towards
achieving all our goals and targets.
Let's make every effort to advance so that we can say
at the end of each day,
with a sense of pride and accomplishment,
"I did absolutely everything I could possibly do!"

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Each of you should summon up the courage of a lion king and never succumb to threats from anyone."

(On Persecutions Befalling the Sage - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 997) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's essay, Seikyo Shimbun, September 21st, 2008

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"People always have many different roles to play. The crucial thing is to be determined to do one's best in everything and be fully engaged in what we are doing at any given moment. To worry about the job when it is time to focus on the children and then worry about the children when it is time to focus on the job is a half-hearted way to go about either task. As Nichiren Daishonin writes: 'Even an individual at cross purposes with himself is certain to end in failure' (WND-1, 618). The secret to successfully fulfilling a variety of roles is to concentrate fully on the task at hand and give it our best effort with enthusiasm, maintaining a positive, forward-looking attitude and not worrying."

SGI Newsletter No. 7631, The New Human Revolution--Vol. 21: Chap. 4,Jewelled Crown 25, translated Sep. 19th, 2008

 

[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, September 20th, 2008

 

[GrowDude]

Hello everyone in this thread

I`m a big fan of the Buddha and his fellowers ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpeNJx7pctY )

And i would like to introduce some new informations to this thread that have nothing to do with the buddha but with his knowledge.
I´m also a big fan of Walter Russel who has been enlightened in early 20`s.
I bought his book "A Course in Cosmic Consciousness" and was amazed that his knowledge goes really near to Buddhas. It seems that their source of knowledge have to be the same. But Walter Russel tries to explain it in a different way in the language of modern science.

“This New Age is marking the dawn of a new world-thought. That new thought is a new cosmic concept of the value of man to man.
The whole world is discovering that all mankind is one and that the unity of man is real – not just an abstract idea.
Mankind is beginning to discover that the hurt of any man hurts every man, and, conversely, the uplift of any man uplifts every man.
Mankind has a great new lesson to learn – which is that Nature only gives for re-giving.
That is the secret of Nature’s continuance... Wars can stop only then we stop making them – and we shall stop making them only then we learn the great lesson of the unity of man – and the fact that other men are not only brothers but are actually ourselves."

“The first and most conspicuous effect of Illumination into full Cosmic Consciousness is one’s awareness of the utter absence of evil, sin, or shame.
There is no thought of such an unbalanced condition while in the one ecstatic condition of perfect balance, which the Light of love is. …
That which Man calls evil, sin, or shame – or any of its attributes, such as anger, jealousy, worry, fear, cruelty, lust, or the greeds which lead to murders and wars – are unbalanced conditions created by Man who has not yet learned the law love, which demands equal interchange between all opposite conditions in all human relations.
Man, himself, has manufactured evil, sin, and shame because of the impossibility of keeping himself in balance due to his greeds, which impel him to take what he wants without giving in order to be regiven.
There is no such thing in Nature as evil, sin, or shame. Nature is never unbalanced. The heavens give light and rains to earth and earth regives equally of her forests, crops, and vapors that replenish the heavens.
That is Nature’s manifestation of the law of love, which keeps Nature ever in balance.”

"To meditate is to become one with God. It means to STOP THINKING and thus get out of the awareness of body.
One can be aware of his body and of material things only while, and because, one is thinking.
… To concentrate is to think very hard and focus your thoughts to a point.
To meditate is just the opposite – it means to expand one’s thoughts into space until one stops thinking and steps into the still Light of KNOWING.
Thinking is sensing, and sensing is vibratory motion. Conversely, meditation is becoming still in order to talk with God.
When I say “talk with God” I mean become inspired with His Light of all-knowing.
One talks with God in timeless Light. Inspiration comes in flashes of still Light – invisible Light.
If you want to know anything whatsoever, just desire to know it, then stop thinking.
Try to get into a state of universal ecstasy or inner joyousness, which is a state of consciousness like unto the God-Mind.
Void your mind of thoughts, thought forms and ideas. Become perfectly blank insofar as idea and form are concerned.
In that manner, you become transformed from man as an individual unit of mankind, and become all Soul – the universal Soul.
In that manner you make the transition from the state of sensing some things materially to knowing all things cosmically."



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Russell

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Tom you were right again! I was transferred from working with that abusive manager and asked to participate more in corporate matters outside her jurisdiction! I chanted for her happiness and was mystically relocated away from the abuse! I'm in awe and so grateful for everyone's support! WOW!

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! TOTALLY WORKS FOR ME!!!

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Monday, September 22, 2008

"I cannot see the sun in the daytime or the moon at night. In winter there is deep snow, and in summer the grass grows thick. Because so few people come to see me, the trail is very hard to travel. This year, especially, the snow is so deep that I have no visitors at all. Knowing that my life may end at any time, I put all my trust in the Lotus Sutra."

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 779
The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra
Written to the lay nun Konichi in 1276

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

The Secret to Happiness
The secret is that there is no secret!

Buddhism teaches that a universal Law (dharma) underlies everything in the universe. This is the very essence of life. One could also think of it as the fundamental rhythm of life and the universe. Nichiren identified this Law or essence as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. He taught that by correctly carrying out the practice of Buddhism everyone is able to bring their individual life into harmony with the greater life of the universe. The result of this is that one is able to experience greater wisdom, courage, life force and compassion (the qualities of this life-essence). This, practically, is what it means to manifest Buddhahood, or an enlightened life condition.

SGI members are encouraged to employ their Buddhist practice to squarely confront and overcome the specific challenges of their daily lives. Through this process, one is able to appreciate and manifest the profound potential of one's life. Buddhist practice also means to realize and unfold one's unique life purpose. SGI members believe that this process of inner spiritual transformation or "human revolution" not only leads to individual empowerment and constructive action but is the surest way to direct humankind's energies toward creating a peaceful and prosperous world.

Based on the teachings and philosophy of Nichiren Daishonin, the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a lay Buddhist organization, seeks to promote the values of peace, culture and education. The practice of Buddhism exists for the happiness of each individual and the fostering of world peace. To learn more about the SGI or to attend a meeting, please contact the Community Center near you.

(from: http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/thesecrettohappiness.php )

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Dear GrowDude,

Welcome and stick around, you might come to some additional realizations. We appreciate your desire to share that other stuff about cosmic consciousness, but the purpose of this thread is to discuss Nichiren Buddhism and not to serve as a platform to new age thinking.

How much of this thread did you take the time to read before you decided to post that? I would appreciate it if you read a little more before you do it again. No hard feeings, just understand what we are doing here before you jump in. Thanks!

Try chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! Based on what you have said, I think you would like it! By the way, you aren't the first to do this so don't think I am singling you out. I'm not.

Deep respect,

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"When I consider these passages of the sutra and the commentaries, I wonder if you and I have not been pledged to each other as teacher and disciple from countless kalpas in the past."

(Reply to Sairen-bo - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 309) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, September 22nd 2008

 

[PassTheDoobie]

It's our strong determination and conviction that
is going to make the situation we are in, change.
The person who decides,
"I am going to make it happen, I am going to win. Regardless of whatever!"
is the one who will most definitely be successful.
Let's live out our lives with such strong bold confidence!

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[Abja Roots]

Just found this thread and it's made me smile indeed.

One question PTD...how do you think herb fits into life and spirituality.

I've been smoking for 10 plus years. About two years ago I had a very moving experience and stopped for about 7 or 8 months. Then I picked it up again. I just finished taking a month off after about 6 months of smoking almost daily.

I enjoy having a smoke in the evening but sometimes I wonder if this herb should be saved for special ocassions and ceremonies...or whether every day/moment is special and as long as the appreciation and respect is there it's in balance.

Thanks for the thread. Respect and Love

Oh yeah I also want to paint some mantras on the walls of my room. Any recommendations