Chanting Growers Group

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Thank you all so much for reflecting my sense and understanding of happiness. I'm sure you all feel much better from chanting, that is why we keep challenging ourselves to keep doing it, of course among a multitude of other reasons as well.

Very very pleased to read such great encouragement and messages. Desi, only you and the Gohonzon truly know what is in your heart and I got faith nobody is gonna invade your home or bother our dearest Ann. I'm in the states and could always make a phone call if you need me to speak to someone for any reason. Please know I can empathize with feeling overextended/overburdened with our hobbies and personal life it is very very difficult to entertain people let alone invite others over to chant.

I did not have any chanting in meetings in my home until I moved into a place where I could segregate somewhat the illegal with the peace, I asked Babba about this and he and Mrs.B really couldn't either because we're all on a medical mj site and well even Bonzo and I and Hitman and ummm Sleepy 'everyone does it'. So please don't expect to turn your sanctuary into anything other than how you live and enjoy it. I still want to say though that is why its such a benefit to be a part of the SGI because there are some people who let us come over and chant with others.

You know Ann's healing and your continued fight against fundamental darkness are things we are chanting for as a result of our long term friendship and link through Gohonzon. We all have the Gohonzon within and there is no need to seek this Buddhism outside ourselves, so I'm in synchronization with the current message. Mugi Wasshin is Doubt free faith, that is what we all developing and challenging as a result of our practice carried out in our lives and depicted on the thread. We either put up or shut up and only a small minority of the Chanting Growers thread posters ended up shutting up for whatever reason, but the Core keep spreading The Law! This is awesome, isn't it?!

So Scegy, i look forward to giving you a big hug and firm handshake my brother because you are in Rhythm with me over there. We both appreciate the same things and continue to focus on the happiness of our environment, others and selves as nobly as possible! It wasn't easy starting, but everyday is a fresh start right? Everyday we renew our mission, and refreshen our spirits united in daimoku we will never be defeated my man.

Babba and Thomas, thank you both very much. I let our little lady know your kind words and she is very pleased. She has stepped up more into the role of chapter leader and is having great results with the YWD. I'm impressed how much more natural it is for these ladies to stay connected to the practice instead of us Men, lol. I had a huge victory this saturday because one of my District meetings w/ the *Women's Division Bucket List Theme* had more guests than I have seen in a while, and this is because I home visited members in that district, I chanted for them, invited them to my place to chant for there goals and needs and then encouraged them to come and chant with everyone else towards everyone's "Bucket List" *list of goals*. There is some movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson that is about a guy who makes a list of things to accomplish before he kicks the bucket and the rich friend helps him make it happen. I'm encouraging others to chant for there determinations and goals as if this is the last thing they do in their lives (like you have 24 hours to live). Yesterday I did the study presentation for the Chapter which was from The Gosho: The Dragon Gate (Volume 1: pages 1002-1003). I will make my next post a summary and outline of this Gosho as I presented it. Since it is short I'll try and copy it onto the thread.

Gonna challenge myself to do an hour of daimoku before 8pm.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! BUDDIES!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"In our world today, the prevailing tendency is towards superficial relationships and avoiding deeper involvement with our fellow human beings. The fundamental solution to this depends on whether we can discern a profound significance behind the phenomenon of our encounters with others. Buddhism is the source that enables us to discover the broadest and most elevated meaning behind any event, to use those events and encounters to better our lives, and to create value from them."

SGI Newsletter No. 7694, The New Human Revolution--Vol. 22: Chap. 1, A New Century 23, translated Jan 23rd, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"When great evil occurs, great good follows."

(Great Evil and Great Good - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 1119) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's essay, Seikyo Shimbun, January 24th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Great events never have minor omens. When great evil occurs, great good follows. Since great slander already exists in our land, the great correct Law will spread without fail. What could any of you have to lament? Even if you are not the Venerable Mahakashyapa, you should all perform a dance. Even if you are not Shariputra, you should leap up and dance. When Bodhisattva Superior Practices emerged from the earth, did he not emerge dancing?"

Great Evil and Great Good (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1119)




Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

Let's dance our asses off!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

By believing and practising the Mystic Law,
we can definitely change poison into medicine.*
Although some of us might be facing a great struggle in
weathering the economic storm right now,
let's never give up, no matter what!
The inner strength of your Buddha nature is absolutely infinite.

Daisaku Ikeda

* Changing Poison into Medicine http://www.sgi.org/changingpoison.html

**When we believe in the fundamental Mystic Law, it becomes manifest within us, and our state of life changes at the very core. The karmic relations arising from ignorance are eradicated, with the Mystic Law enriching our lives and overflowing into our environment. The world is transformed at the fundamental level. This is the basis of the benefit of the Gohonzon. (The World of Nichiren Daishonin's Writings, Vol. 2, page 179)

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Changing Poison into Medicine

Changing Poison into Medicine

SGI members often speak of "turning poison into medicine" when they describe how their Buddhist practice has enabled them to transform a difficult, negative or painful situation into something positive.

In its most fundamental sense, "changing poison into medicine" refers to the transformation of deluded impulses into enlightenment. The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, attributed to the third-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, compares the Lotus Sutra to "a great physician who changes poison into medicine." This is because the Lotus Sutra opens the possibility of enlightenment to people whose arrogance and complacency had caused them to "scorch the seeds of Buddhahood." In earlier sutras such people had been condemned as being incapable of becoming Buddhas. An important implication of this principle, thus, is that there is no one who is beyond redemption.

In his writing, "On First Hearing the Teaching of the Supreme Vehicle," Nichiren develops this idea, stating that by using the power of the Mystic Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, one can transform the three paths of deluded impulses, karma and suffering into the three virtues of the Buddha, i.e., the Dharma body, wisdom and emancipation.

This can be understood to mean that any unfavorable situation can be changed into a source of value. More fundamentally, it is by challenging and overcoming painful circumstances that we grow as human beings.

How we respond to life's inevitable sufferings is the key. Negative, painful experiences are often necessary to motivate us. One Buddhist scripture describes illness as awakening the desire to seek the truth. Likewise, people have been inspired to a lifetime commitment to peace and justice by their experience of war and injustice.

The process of changing poison into medicine begins when we approach difficult experiences as an opportunity to reflect on ourselves and to strengthen and develop our courage and compassion. The more we are able to do this, the more we are able to grow in vitality and wisdom and realize a truly expansive state of life.

Suffering can thus serve as a springboard for a deeper experience of happiness. From the perspective of Buddhism, inherent in all negative experiences is this profound positive potential. However, if we are defeated by suffering or respond to challenging circumstances in negative and destructive ways, the original "poison" is not transformed but remains poison.

Buddhism teaches that suffering derives from karma, the causes that we ourselves have created. The Buddhist teaching of karma is one of personal responsibility. It is therefore our responsibility to transform sufferings into value-creating experiences. The Buddhist view of karma is not fixed or fatalistic--even the most deeply entrenched karmic patterns can be transformed.

By taking a difficult situation--illness, unemployment, bereavement, betrayal--and using it as an opportunity to deepen our sense of personal responsibility, we can gain and develop the kind of self-knowledge from which benefit flows. Buddhism teaches that self-knowledge ultimately is awareness of our own infinite potential, our capacity for inner strength, wisdom and compassion. This infinite potential is referred to as our "Buddha nature."

The original meaning of the phrase "to turn poison into medicine" relates to this level of self-knowledge.

In the "Belief and Understanding" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Subhuti and others of the Buddha's long-time disciples respond to the prophecy that another disciple, Shariputra, will attain the ultimate enlightenment. The disciples admit that they had long ago given up on becoming Buddhas themselves, but that on hearing the teaching of the Lotus Sutra they renounced their earlier stance of resignation and spiritual laziness. "[T]heir minds were moved as seldom before and danced for joy." Nagarjuna and T'ien-t'ai (538--597) therefore compare the Buddha to a good doctor capable of turning poison (the laziness and resignation of the aged disciples) into medicine (a sincere aspiration for the ultimate enlightenment of Buddhahood).

This teaching of the possibility of profound trans-formation makes Buddhism a deeply optimistic philosophy. This optimism propels Buddhists as they seek to transform the negative and destructive tendencies within their lives as well as those in society and the world at large.

[Courtesy, January 2002 SGI Quarterly]

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

Nam myoho renge kyo

An excerpt from a favorite of mine, "Chanting to be a Woman/Man of Unlimited Self-Esteem", by Danny Nagashima.

Just as a beautiful piece of art elicits a response,or a great book touches your life in a certain way, we must elicit the Buddha nature from our own lives, it's right there, and the Gohonzon is the perfect vehicle to bring forth our greatest potential. When you do so, you bring out that strength, joy and vibrant life condition then you take that to the world and change the environment. We are not necessarily chanting for the house, car, job, relationship....but we are chanting to elevate our life condition to attract that happiness. The results that we see in our lives are a reflection of our condition. Every day as you chant Nam Myoho Rengue Kyo consciously call forth your Buddhahood to manifest itself consistently. Chant to rise about your basic tendency of disbelief, of continuously thinking that you are a common mortal who does not deserve good fortune in his/her life. Don't negate your life when you sit in front of the Gohonzon, don't beg, don't scream, don't berate the Gohonzon. Believe in the greatness of your life; manifest the extraordinary side of you. The Gohonzon is the tool we need to bring out our Buddhahood. My life is the Gohonzon; don't slander your life. The doubt is necessary to prove to myself that 'I am a Buddha', I will fulfill every one of my dreams for MYSELF.' We already possess something incredible, our Buddha nature, the Gohonzon, but we do not believe that the good fortune, the 'million dollars' is truly mine. I won't be able to get it or enjoy it. Trust that the Gohonzon, your prayer is the absolute means for you to transform your life. TRUST AND FAITH are the key words.

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

TRUST AND FAITH are the key words.

Nam myoho renge kyo

Mugi wasshin baby!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Those who face adversity with hope and the willingness to try their very best don't consider the process as painful. As the champion of Indian independence Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) observed: 'Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.'"

SGI Newsletter No. 7719, The New Human Revolution--Vol. 22: Chap. 1, A New Century 49, translated Feb. 23rd, 2009

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

"We are not quitters!"

"We are not quitters!"

I completed 2 hours and fifteen minutes of strong chanting today. My territory had a great teleconference tonight and we discussed renewing our vow through living this year with the intensity of fifty or one hundred years! Faith and Prayer! MUGI WASSHIN!

Like the roar of the Lion, NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

""...one of the titles of the Buddha is 'One Who Can Endure.' With the great power of endurance, build a life as indestructible and imperishable as a diamond.

''Don’t be defeated!'
'Resolutely take the lead!'--
my mentor's voice
still resonates powerfully
in the depths of my being.

"My mentor Josei Toda rousingly encouraged a suffering friend, saying:

"All people face periods of despair. But if we endure such times and ride them through, then all those problems and worries will later come to seem small and insignificant. Nothing can obstruct the tremendous power of the Mystic Law. If you rise up boldly in the face of devilish functions with the firm resolve to battle them head-on and win, they'll beat a hasty retreat. No matter what happens, just keep sending them flying!"

SGI Newsletter No. 7713, Be Invincible in Spirit, from the March 2009 issue of Daibyakurenge, translated Feb.17th 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Let us always exert ourselves to advance one more step,
going forwards even if only by half a step!
Those who challenge everything with a strong seeking spirit*
are indeed the ultimate victors in life!**

Daisaku Ikeda

*A seeking spirit gives rise to courage and strength, and it is advancing with a seeking spirit that enables us to grow as human beings. (The New Human Revolution, Vol. 20, Chap. 1, Path of Friendship 54)

*"The Russian author Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) said: 'Those who live life in perfection look only forwards, those who have stopped moving forwards look back on their achievements.' Moving forwards--this is what all of you are doing. Those who keep pressing ahead for their own growth, for the happiness of their friends, and for the development of kosen-rufu are the most praiseworthy; they are the ultimate victors in life. If, on the other hand, we become arrogant and self-satisfied, thinking that we've already done enough and can just sit back and relax, we begin to stop growing. Not advancing is regressing. (19th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders meeting - June 18th, 2008)

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Believe in this mandala with all your heart. 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, page 412) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, February 25th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Buddhism also teaches about gratitude. In Buddhism, gratitude is not something that reinforces society's hierarchical relationships. Rather, Buddhism speaks of gratitude for all living beings, advocating a philosophy of being open to society, accepting others, and cultivating a spirit of mutual trust.

"Shin'ichi Yamamoto asked Konosuke Matsushita* about his view of gratitude. Matsushita placed great importance on this virtue, saying that gratitude and appreciation were the foundation for his faith and life, and also among his fundamental business principles to share with his employees. 'The spirit of gratitude,' he wrote, 'imparts immeasurable joy and vitality to our hearts, and as long as we have a keen sense of it, it serves as a wellspring that enables us to overcome every form of adversity and welcome true happiness into our lives. Gratitude enriches our lives to an incomparable degree.'"

SGI Newsletter No. 7721, The New Human Revolution--Vol. 22: Chap. 1, A New Century 51, translated Feb. 24th, 2009

[* Mr. Matsushita was the president of Matsushita Denki (Electronics), the company uses the name "Panasonic" these days.]

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Does anyone know where Bonz is? SoCal??? Chant for our Brothers. I tried calling Bonz and the number is no good anymore. Anyone that give me some piece of mind will be much appreciated. Give us a shout you two!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Employ the strategy of the Lotus Sutra before any other."

(The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 1001) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, February 26th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"When great evil occurs, great good follows."*
It is precisely when our situation is at its worst,
that we actually have the best possible "chance"
to completely turn it around.
Fearlessly brave the challenges ahead of you, and win!

Daisaku Ikeda

(* Gosho - Great Evil and Great Good, WND-1, Page 1119.)

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"At such a time, the three obstacles and four devils will invariably appear, and the wise will rejoice while the foolish will retreat."

(The Three Obstacles and Four Devils - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 637) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, January 28, 2009.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"As the English poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) once pointed out: 'Adversity is the first path to truth.' And the Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) wrote: 'Misfortune opens eyes that were never open before.' As a saying goes, 'The greater the resistance that waves meet, the stronger they grow.' Struggling with difficulties and tribulations trains us and makes us stronger. Hardship is indeed a very essential part of life."

SGI Newsletter No. 7697, The New Human Revolution--Vol. 22: Chap. 1, A New Century 25, translated Jan. 27th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Why would someone feel compelled to come in and post such a thing for no reason other than to cause dissent? (Isn't that called being a troll, and aren't such actions against ICMag site rules?) The above statement isn't even an opinion.

One looking for nothing will not find it here! If one were to check out Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they would not find nothing. Sorry guys, there's nothing but something here. Only an idiot, talking out of their ass, would imply otherwise.

And by the way, according to the Law of Karma, ignorance is not bliss--so always watch your mouth! (and thereby cover your ass!)

T