Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

... and all I've been doing is a sansho here and a sansho there.

Anyway, I hope everyone is ok and doing better than me. Keep up your chanting my friends because when you slacken your faith THE THREE OBSTACLES AND THE FOUR DEVILS MIGHT JUST BEAT THE LIVING PISS OUTTA YOU. Please forgive the negative tone of my message, I hope this cloud over my head goes away and I know it will take more daimoku than ever before.

Have a good week and I hope this message finds you well and doesn't discourage you. If I made you feel bad that wasn't my intention, I'm genuinely suffering over here.

Be good,
MyohoDisco

Hey Easy! "A sansho here and a sansho there"? WTF DO YOU EXPECT??? (for those of you who do not know, a "sansho" is when we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon three times when entering or leaving the home where it is enshrined) To be perfectly honest, chanting hours a day each day, I don't do sansho when I enter and leave my home anymore.

But if that's all the daimoku coming out of your mouth, I'm glad you do!

One cannot strive as hard as you do without getting hit by the three obstacles and four devils. You seem to keep thinking you're gonna get a pass on that because you are trying so hard to live your life for the Law. It's confusing, I know, because I felt the same way. But it's just our Christian background deluding reality by making us think that if we are making the effort to be righteous and correct in the actions of our daily life that somehow that means we will be in a heaven like state as a reward for that.

WRONG!

Never forget the parable of Shariputra and the Brahman and the "eye plucking" episode! How much more selfless can one be than to give their own eye? Wouldn't you rightly be pissed if someone stomped on it after asking you to make that sacrifice? Who was the loser? Shariputra, for not being able to accept the karmic effort one must take on in seeking the unsurpassed way.

Just a few posts ago you were full of piss and vinegar! What happened?

You forgot to NOT LOAD UP YOUR SCHEDULE WITHOUT KEEPING ABUNDANT DAIMOKU AS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF IT! The good thing is this is actually quite easy to fix. You just have to have the guts to do it.

Much love and DEEPEST respect,

T

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Thank you for the encouragement T. This week I'll do my best to actually start chanting again. I'll begin today.

 

[Babbabud]

Im with you Easy ill try to add more then just Sansho. Its so easy to get caught up in our day to day living and forget our real purpose here. Much love to you all !!
Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

You forgot to NOT LOAD UP YOUR SCHEDULE WITHOUT KEEPING ABUNDANT DAIMOKU AS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF IT! The good thing is this is actually quite easy to fix. You just have to have the guts to do it.

Much love and DEEPEST respect,

T

Wow, Sounds like some of us Chanting Grower Bodhisatvas are hitting the 'Late Summertime Blues'; Me included.

Let's not rely on PTD to hold up all the daimoku power. I am making a determination now! MyohoD and Babba, let's do it!

Mugi Wasshin!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Even a word or a phrase of the correct teaching will enable one to gain the way,
if it suits the time and the capacity of the people. But though one studies a
thousand sutras and ten thousand treatises, one will not attain Buddhahood if
these teachings are unsuitable for the time and the people's capacity.

(WND, 302)
Letter from Sado
Written to Toki Jonin on March 20, 1272

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Buddhism teaches, through the example of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, to never
look down on anyone. This is the essence of Buddhism. Nichiren Daishonin states
that the "Ultimate transmission" of Buddhism is to accord friends and fellow
believers who are striving for kosen-rufu the same respect and reverence one
would a Buddha.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[SoCal Hippy]

When one chants the daimoku bearing in mind that there are no distinctions among
those who embrace the Lotus Sutra, then the blessings one gains will be equal to
those of Shakyamuni Buddha.

(WND, 756)
The Fourteen Slanders
Written to the lay priest Matsuno Rokuro Saemon on December 9, 1276

 

[SoCal Hippy]

When your determination changes, everything else will begin to move in the
direction you desire. The moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and
fiber in your being will immediately orient itself toward your success. On the
other hand, if you think, "This is never going to work out," then at that
instant every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight, and
then everything really will move in the direction of failure.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[Forest20]

Yesterday was a great... I became one year older and one year wiser

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Is not the meaning of the sutra and the commentary that the way to Buddhahood
lies within the two elements of reality and wisdom? Reality means the true
nature of all phenomena, and wisdom means the illuminating and manifesting of
this true nature. Thus when the riverbed of reality is infinitely broad and
deep, the water of wisdom will flow ceaselessly. When this reality and wisdom
are fused, one attains Buddhahood in one's present form.

(WND, 746)
The Essential for Attaining Buddhahood
Written to Soya Jiro Hyoe-no-jo Kyoshin on August 3, 1276

 

[SoCal Hippy]

In the twinkling of an eye we grow old. Our physical strength wanes and we begin
to suffer various aches and pains. We practice Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism so
that instead of sinking into feelings of sadness, loneliness and regret, we can
greet old age with an inner richness and maturity as round and complete as a
ripe golden fruit of autumn. Faith exists so that we can welcome smiling and
without regrets an old age that is like a breathtaking sunset whose dazzling
rays color heaven and earth in majestic hues.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[mrwags]

"It is rare to be born a human being. The number of those endowed with human life is as small as the amount of earth one can place on a fingernail. Life as a human being is hard to sustain--as hard as it is for the dew to remain on the grass. But it is better to live a single day with honor than to live to 120 and die in disgrace."

(The Three Kinds of Treasure - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 851) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, August 21st, 2009

I like that I like that a lot. Hi All and sorry I've been away so long and there is NO EXCUSE. To think of all the times I've come here in the past and wasn't until tonight that I clicked on the thread again. Considering it's probably the best thread in the house I will now go hang my head in shame.

I have not chanted yet would be a lie to say anything else but if there ever was a person who believes in the power of Karma and good will it's me and can only hope you all let me hang again?


TY Again
Mr.Wags

 

[LolaGal]

Since Ya'll Are Trichy's Favorites, Let me tell you first!

Since Ya'll Are Trichy's Favorites, Let me tell you first!

I am so happy, let me share the happiness with ya'll!

Trichy is coming back soon!

JJ Scorpio has promised to restore her account as it was.

 

[Payaso]

Howdy Mr. Wags - nice to see you here!

Lola! We will welcome Trichy Trichy with many open arms and hope that if a problem ever arises it is brought to my attention ASAP. Now let's make sure there are no problems...chant with me:

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo...

 

[PassTheDoobie]

This all really happened!

This all really happened!

I gotta share this experience. I keep reliving it in my head and it was pretty incredible, but to a degree you’d have to have been there. It happened late last week and I have just been too busy to type it up. But I have now been typing it to share with you for three days! I was in the country. Frankly, kind of the middle of nowhere, because for whatever reason, even though this place is fairly accessible, there is no one living around there; call it remote.

We have a friend that is doing some work for us in the area, and we had not been able to reach him even though we had tried calling many times. To not reach him was worrisome—more so with the work and capital invested with him. We decided to drive there to see if we could find him and to make sure everything was OK. After the long drive, we found his place locked up with no one around. Yet his van was parked outside. It was unusual.

We went to some land where we knew he had been working, but he was not there either. After the long drive and not finding him, we decided to at least make the trip a “fruitful” one. The land had many fruit trees of a special kind well known in this area. They weren’t going to be harvested and he had offered us to help ourselves on several previous occasions earlier before the fruit was ripe.

The hitch was where the trees were located. The closest place to reasonably get a car to was down a narrow dirt drive with a 45 degree decline for around sixty yards to a first flat area, a fenced boarder was the only protection from a 250 ft. drop-off into a deep gully all the way down on the left side. I could get our car down to there, carefully, a few inches at a time as the wife helped direct me down watching that the wheels didn’t get stuck in a rut on the way. It was tedious but I got it done.

However, where the fruit were was further down another curving dirt drive that fed off of the first as you got to the spot where I had parked the car. This one was not used for four wheel vehicles very often so it wasn’t really very “road worthy”. It had been recently mowed and was at a much steeper decline varying from probably 50 to 60 degrees! Again the same fence on the left was the only protection from a steep drop down to the plateau where the fruit trees were. The second steeper dirt drive was probably around the same distance as I had driven to park.

We trudged down the drive to find that a landslide had been clear off so there was loose soil for around a ten foot stretch, but other than that it was pretty clear, and made our way on down to the fruit trees. We had brought a few large bags with us as we planned on picking some fruit as part of the trip to try and locate our friend. The trees were loaded. I mean LOADED. And it was all gonna be wasted if we didn’t pick them.

We have lots of kids and lots of friends and family and frankly we got a little too ambitious! In a short time we had much more fruit than we could comfortably carry back up the hill. The wife asks, “what are we going to do?” She’s exhausted from the picking, so I say don’t worry, I’ll truck it all back up, and take off with a bag over my shoulder. About half way up that steep hill my legs started aching and the pulse was going pretty good, my heart was thumping pretty hard, and the wife starts yelling “Drive the car down here! It’s OK! I’m sure you can make it”

And I’m going, “Are you fucking crazy? We’ll never get that car back up that hill!”

“No! It’s OK! If their little truck makes it back up, you can too. They’re the same size”

“No way! We’ll never make it!”

“Do it! It’s the only way we’ll ever get the fruit back home!”

Well my legs and heart rate told me that was probably true. So in a weak moment, I decided to go along with her idea, thinking if nothing else, at least it wasn’t my idea! I got in the car, turned on the ignition, and said out loud, “Gohonzon, I hope I don’t regret this.”

Now at this point, I must admit to not thinking clearly about whether my car was front or rear wheel drive. All I knew was there was no place to turn around down there and the dirt drive ended up at a flat landing that continued after around 20 feet to another 200 foot vertical drop cliff (definite death). So I decided to back the thing down, and chanting loudly, with a racing heart, I inched it down to the bottom. The scariest thing however was that twice, early into my attempt to get down, I thought better of it, tried to go back up, and could not—the wheels just spun out.

As it turned out, once I started down, I could only continue. So the first thing I did when I got to the bottom was to announce, “We’re fucked!” The ride down had scared the shit out of me (even though I was chanting all the way), and my heart was pounding and my legs shaking. And the wife goes, “Yea, I saw you almost hit the fence twice coming down. Don’t worry, you’ll make it back up!” I said, “Baby, you don’t know what you’re talking about. There were a couple of times where I was literally sliding backwards with the brakes on!”

“Oh well, if you can’t get back up, you can’t get back up. We’ll just call a tow truck.”

“Would you really be able to find one to come out here? Would they really be able to find us? How in the hell would a tow truck get all the way down here to hall us up?”

“Worry about that later. Right now, let’s load the fruit. I still don’t think you’ll have a problem, but if you do, you do. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Fruit loaded: both of us sweated out with legs trembling, climb back into the car.

Seat belts on, low gear, we hold our breath and go for it!!! Ha! We probably made it fifteen feet up that incline on the first try before spinning out and creating a dust cloud that choked the air for several minutes so we couldn’t even see to back down to try again. We tried again. Again we got no farther than before. Waited for the dust cloud to settle, backed down to start again, and tried once more only to again achieve the same result. I backed it down the third time.

“Shit!! Goddamn it! How fucking stupid am I?”

“Hey, it was my idea.”

“Yea, but I should have never listened to you! Why would I let you convince me to do this when I knew this would happen? All I had to do was say no! Look, it’s not your fault! It’s mine! I knew better and you didn’t. I’m the one who did what he knew from the beginning not to do. I still can’t believe I was so stupid! Damn it!!! But it’s already 4:30 (PM)! Hurry and call someone before it gets any later!”

The wife calls her office and gets my sister-in-law on the project of finding someone to help us. She says, “I’m so sorry honey! I really thought you’d be able to get back up! Why can they get up and we can’t?”

“I think we’re much heavier than them and our tires are not at all for this kind of terrain and theirs are. But the big problem is this shit.”, and I got out of the car and went up the drive and started scuffing off with my foot, a layer of cut vegetation that was laying on top of hard dry soil that was wash from up the hill—basically sand and dust. It was creating like a lube layer that the front tires were just spinning out on. And yes, at this point, I realized that with a front wheel drive car I should have driven down so I could back up the hill, but with the degree of incline and the way the drive curved, I wouldn’t have been able to see where I was going. And I couldn’t turn around where I was now.

I found a stick and started to try and brush the layer of cut vegetation to the side of the drive. Needless to say a stick was hardly up to the task of clearing the drive. But I did my best and seemed to get a little farther up the hill. The problem was that is wasn’t that much farther and each failed attempt left an obstacle for the next as wherever I stopped, the tires spun a slick spot that was difficult to get past the next time I tried.

The wife was supposedly up the drive clearing the cut vegetation in the unlikely event I was to have been able to proceed further. Each time I tried another attempt to get up the drive I kicked up a big cloud of dust. I kept chanting, but it was a Daimoku of fear and frustration, not confident challenge. I finally thought to myself, “Why am I freaking out? I am going to be fine. I have been chanting hours each day and now that the Sansho-Shima has come, I should have not fear, but confidence! Shame on you Tom! Get your head out of your ass!”

By that time, I had already tried to go up at least seven or eight times. I thought, “Go for it dude!” I again started chanting but this time with a sense that this was impossible but not impossible for me. I hit it and started up the hill going immediately past the spot that had been stopping me so many of the previous times. I was freaking. “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!” I cried, over and over again. The wheels were spinning, but not catching enough traction to keep me going forward. As I came up the curve of the hill, I surprised and scared the wife who was on the phone with her sister and there was no tow truck on the way yet—she was still trying to find one.

Just at that time I was about to the loose soil of the landslide area, when despite my intense ichinen to get up that fucking hill, it was just too steep for my tires to be able to dig in and keep going up. I had to stop, because the car wouldn’t go any further. I was about forty percent of the way up! But I was still too far down to see how any kind of tow truck would be able to get to me. The curve of the drive made the end of it still not visible from where I had gotten to.

I thought maybe if I back up a bit I can go forward again! I cleared cut vegetation from the path of the wheels. I backed up, spun out. Backed up and spun out some more. Backed up and spun out some more. And finally realized from where I was there was no advantage over being at the bottom so I might as well back on down again as I had already given back a third of the distance I had originally gained. So I backed the fucking car down one more goddamn time.

It was hard not to be pissed. It was hard not to be scared. It was hard not to say fuck it. I tried again three more times and never got close to where I had been before. But as I sat at the bottom after that third time, I stared at the hill defiantly and calmly and powerfully in a loud voice proclaimed, “I am a Thus Come One of Original Enlightenment Eternally Endowed with the Three Bodies! I’m a Buddha Damn it! I call for the protection of the Buddhist Gods and the Buddhas of the Ten Directions to come and help me! I have got to get up this hill!”

And the voice said, “OK then, if you are…..do it. Go!! Go now!!! Do it! Now!!!” So I took off. And I went past the toughest spot that had stopped me so many times before. “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!” Loud, Powerful, Confident! My Daimoku got stronger and stronger as I kept going up. My heart was about to come out of my chest, as I passed the farthest point, almost halfway up. I knew if I got stopped, backing down again would be a dangerous pain in the ass.

“Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!” I was past the loose soil of the land slide! I kept hauling ass up! Wheels spinning out but pulling me forward steadily, the soil area actually allowed me to pick up a little speed. “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!” I was screaming with the veins sticking out of my neck till I thought I might stroke out. I was gripping the steering wheel so hard that I thought it might break as well.

All of a sudden I came up on my wife who looked terrified as she ran to try and get out of my way. She fell down but just then the wheels started spinning out again and I had to hit the brakes anyway. She had quit clearing the cut vegetation off as she walked up because she didn’t think I would ever get back this far. I joyfully realized that I was within around fifteen to eighteen feet of the finish line! Now a tow truck would definitely be able to get to us!

I backed up about two feet, tried to go forward, spun out, put it in park, turned off the ignition and put on the parking break. My wife was laughing hysterically, rushing me asking, “How in the hell did you do that? How in the hell did you do that?”

I said, “I’m a Buddha. I finally decided to act like one.” I then told her about my little speech at the bottom of the hill before the successful last attempt. I have to tell you guys, the endorphin rush of that experience was beyond anything I can describe. I was ready to pick up an asses jaw and take on an army. My wife treated me like a hero and I felt like one.

I was pretty spent from that experience and she insisted that I take it easy and sit back while she got a tow car to finish getting us out of there. So I sat in the car and chanted. I waited for around ten or fifteen minutes and then called her cell to ask what was up. She sounded bummed as there had been no success in finding a tow car. I said, don’t worry, we are obviously being protected.

So I thought just in case there was never a tow car found, maybe I should be proactive in finding a further solution so I got some tree branches and was putting them in front of the tires to give them something to grip into, and I cleared the cut vegetation that would facilitate getting out. Then I could hear her way up at the top of the hill talking and she sounded excited and happy. My cell phone rang a minute later.

“You are never going to guess what! He’s here!” Our friend had come back and had come to the land to do some late day/early evening work. Unbelievable! He told her no tow truck would be able to get us out and he was leaving to go get his brother-in-law’s four wheel drive. But get this!!! He had it at his place because he had just happened to borrow it that day because he had been gone all of this time getting medical work done in another city. It’s the only reason it was available!

When he got down to the first flat spot at the bottom of the first drive, the steel tow cord attached to the back of it exactly reached to where I had been able to drive the car to. The four wheel drive made all the difference, kicked ass and hauled us out effortlessly. We were soon at the top of the hill with our car loaded with succulent fruit to share with family and friends.

Every time I think of what I experienced I get tears in my eyes, and my wife is still talking about it nearly a week later. Never doubt the power of your life or that you deserve to see a result for the efforts that you make. We are ALL powerful Buddhas!

Much love and deepest respect,

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

I am so happy, let me share the happiness with ya'll!

Trichy is coming back soon!

JJ Scorpio has promised to restore her account as it was.

Hey Lola! I knew it! Thanks so much from the bottom of my heart! I am looking forward to a PM from you soon! Please keep hanging with us here!

Trichy I have been chanting for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can't wait for you to get home!

Thanks again Lola!

Much love and deep respect,

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

... if there ever was a person who believes in the power of Karma and good will it's me and can only hope you all let me hang again?


TY Again
Mr.Wags

Dude are you serious? "...can only hope you all let me hang again?" Brother! We been missing you and hoping you never really left, which is what you are confirming right now. We are always here and always here for you. Just don't be a stranger then! We are honored and happy to have you pick up the conversation where ever you left off.

Bowing in humble obeisance,

T

 

[Payaso]

WoW T That's amazing! Being like Buddha does help conquer all!

Congrats on getting out and congrats on getting the fruit!

Now keep that passenger car on the highway...~

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Hope Jack Herer is healing and in no pain...Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[LolaGal]

OK, every time I come here and chant with ya'll it gets stronger.

I was sitting in a lotus position on the bed with the laptop chanting the namnehoregnko.. thingy.

Is it normal for your whole body to vibrate like a bell when you chant this?

I could feel the vibrations fromthe chanting in my legs and stuff.

not into chanting, so don't know what you are supposed to feel when you do it.

it was cool.

 

[scegy]

EasyDisco: Keep chanting friend, never give up!
Every winter is followed by spring!
An you still have a lot of SpringS to go over, keep your spirit high and let's face another spring and another winter, and another spring, and another winter, togheter!

Sending Daimoku to you every morning and every evening,

DAIMOKU

It's easy, Easy ~Nam~Myoho~Renge~Kyo~ do it!



p.s.

I just read your experience Thomas, wonderful! I had many many simmilar experiences in our hills and i believed in my skills and that i will succeed, and i did every time! Thank you for sharing that and i'm glad you and you'r family is safe and sound!

p.s.2
Lola, yes that's the energy you inhereted!
I played didgeridoo before i learned how to chant and in the moment i tried my first Nam Myoho Renge Kyo i felt the same vibe just stronger and more focused.

WOOOOHOOO!


p.s.3

mrwags, hang here any time because your most welcomed to join and kick some Devilsh asses and make way for you, Buddha!