Chanting Growers Group

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo~

Thankfully it is clear I have no supernatural powers...!

Upon reciting the Lotus Sutra, not only do your body and dwelling place (the sanctuary where you keep your Gohonzon) become the Buddhaland but anything is possible. In other words, no matter what anyone tells you, no matter where you go, with Nam-myoho-renge-kyo nothing is beyond your grasp. I am learning that, but it is safe to say old habits die hard!

I spent the last couple days doing so much homework and catching up in other things that I haven't had a chance to write back to you my brother. The other night when I was reading the Gosho On Reciting The Daimoku of The Lotus Sutura I did so because there was a reference to the Zen School of Buddhism in this thread temporarily. I know that Nichiren clearly outlined in his Goshos the erroneous nature of this Zen philosophy and did so in a way that would help those who once encountered Zen philosophy to understand that the impractical nature of that practice absconds and avoids the direct path to Buddhahood. Between 3rd grade and 6th grade I got many samurai and zen books from the local library and tried meditating on the sound of one hand clapping in the woods, what a joke. I never got any peace from that meditation and considered it to be invalid on the basis of my results. Then I started to puff pot when I was 12 and a new direction in life showed up that led me to live an atheist existence which led to more internal turmoil and trouble.

I never stopped reading but I did slow down for a few years and could not find any policies or procedures to live my life to my liking, until overgrow and icmag. I encountered Nichiren Daishonin's buddhism after compassionately sending out many clones and samples to friends on the boards and eventually was taken under the wing of the babbabud who said "hey bud check this awesome thread out, the Buddha is in this thread..." I had no idea what he was trying to tell me other than perhaps PasstheDoobie was the Buddha. But eventually without really understanding I just started chanting and reading this thread and found the philosophy and guidance stemming from Nichiren Daishonin's life was spot on and totally correct! Nothing could be refuted in my opinion and nothing has been refuted in my opinion. The opinions of others are just that and don't really negate any aspect of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. I also found that Nichiren painstakingly documented the errors of the other Buddhist schools which mostly originate from their choice of Shakymuni's most important doctrine. The Lotus Sutra is clearly the earth, the root, the stem, the fan leaves, and the flower of Buddhism and this thread helped me learn that.

From time to time members of other Buddhist schools have approached this thread and have not been able to validate their teachings in accordance with our practice of The Lotus Sutra. Coming from a christian background I've heard enough Jesus talk for a few life-times but with Nichiren Daishonin embodied in the Gohonzon in my Foyer/Dining Room I live with him in harmony whenever I chant and can appreciate everyone and even a dude like Jesus! I think the equality of man is something we can appreciate and I can further appreciate that anyone can just start chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and manifest anything: a change in the weather, defeat your mother's cancer, save your best friend from going to jail, get a raise, get a promotion, create a family, shakubuku a friend, anything!

Zen is weird and these Nichiren Shoshu people are even weirder and morose to the point where they also confuse Nichiren's true intent through their actions and words. Nichiren put his life in sumi ink for all mankind, not for man only or priests to be able to pimp out buddhahood for others. This practice is open to all and is simple enough that you don't need to be able to even read to understand the impact that just chanting even once a year will have on your life. I will continue to support this practice through this life and the next and honor that pledge with extra prayers in every gongyo for same.

It is an honor to be a part of this amazing Chanting Growers movement and I take pride in being here each time I post! The best is yet to come, I'm sure!

Keep on keeping on buddies,
MyohoDisco

 

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Everywhere we go is the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light!

Everywhere we go is the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light!

HELLO FRIENDS:

I just wanted to post something nice for yall to enjoy:

THE SAHA WORLD IS THE LAND OF ETERNALLY TRANQUIL LIGHT

The Drama Of Suffering Leads To Enlightenment Each of us possesses infinite life force. We are individual “gold mines” with limitless resources embedded within our lives that need only be tapped. These stores of riches have always been there and are ours for the taking—if we use our Buddhist faith and practice to “mine” them. When times are good and we’re riding high, this may make perfect sense. But what about when we’re facing difficulties? When problems arise, do we remember our potential, our internal treasures?

The purpose of faith is to reveal that potential whether life gives us roses or thorns. It’s during difficult times that our faith is tested. It is when we’re facing seemingly colossal problems and feeling overwhelmed that it’s most challenging to squarely face our hardships. Losing sight of our Buddhahood, we can start to unravel and begin to doubt ourselves. Or we sometimes give in to complaint and blame others or the environment for our problems. We long for a more carefree existence, a life without problems. We want to escape.

As Buddhists, we learn that amid the challenge of facing and overcoming our problems, while painful at the outset, exists the opportunity to tap our most precious resources that will eventually lead us to our greatest happiness. This chaotic world we live in is fertile earth for the revelation of our enlightenment. This concept in Buddhism is known as “the saha world is the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light.”

The Sanskrit word saha means to endure. This endurance refers to a life filled with suffering that stems from greed, anger, foolishness and other earthly desires. The “Land of Eternally Tranquil Light” connotes the Buddha’s land. The Buddha’s enlightened wisdom is often compared to light. Together the phrases imply that the mundane world in which we live is, itself, the Buddha land.

According to the pre-Lotus Sutra scriptures, Shakyamuni taught that the world we live in was an impure land filled with suffering and earthly desires, completely separate from the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light in which Buddhas were said to have lived. There was no hope of attaining enlightenment unless we were reborn into a “pure land.”

So why did Shakyamuni teach this? At the time, it was an expedient means or a way to arouse the seeking spirit of the believers who were interested only in secular desires.

In a world riddled with problems and earthly desires, is it really possible to ever become happy, let alone enlightened? How do we counteract our escapist tendencies?

Later in the “Life Span” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni clearly refutes his previous teaching: “Ever since then I have been constantly in this saha world, preaching the Law, teaching and converting. And elsewhere I have led and benefited living beings in hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas and asamkhyas of lands” (LS16, 225).

He clarifies that the saha world is where the Buddha preaches the Law to help people overcome their sufferings. Renouncing his princely status, Shakyamuni spent his entire life traveling throughout India talking with people and sharing his enlightenment.

Similarly, Nichiren Daishonin states in the “Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings”: “It is not the case that he [the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra] leaves his place and goes to some other place…. Now the places where Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, be they ‘mountain valleys’ or ‘wilderness,’ are all the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 781).

Here the Daishonin teaches that in order to attain enlightenment, rather than seek fulfillment in some other realm, we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo where we are and make that place the Buddha land. As we each grapple with our reality, “the saha world thereupon immediately changed into a place of cleanness and purity” (LS11, 173).

In spite of numerous death threats, nearly being beheaded and exiled, Nichiren Daishonin tirelessly devoted his life to the cause of huyman happiness. He revealed the Mystic Law as the way all people could also become enlightened, and one by one encouraged his disciples through letters, leaving behind his written teachings for all generations to come.

In prison, second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda thoroughly studied the Lotus Sutra as well as Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings and chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Prison was where he attained enlightenment, making his place of confinement the Land of Eternally Tranquil Light. When he was released, he spent the rest of his life teaching others how to apply Buddhism to overcoming their problems in daily life.

Josei Toda wrote the following poem in prison:

My master left this world,

offering his life like Yakuo

How can I who remain

serve the Buddha’s will?

All that is left to me

--the pure flower of life itself--

I will break from its stalk in offering

to repay my country and my friends.

(The Human Revolution, vol. 1, p. 160)

Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin—and in fact, the three founding Soka Gakkai presidents Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda--have shown how ordinary human beings can transform their sufferings into joy. And by remaining in this world and “preaching the Law” they helped other people find happiness. They did not shrink from their sufferings. Instead, they recognized their difficulties as the means to prove the existence of the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. As SGI members and Bodhisattvas of the Earth we have the same potential and many have and still are brilliantly transforming their lives. Winning over our problems is the way to prove the power of our Buddhist practice to our friends and families and all suffering people.

SGI President Ikeda often reminds us that we are enacting a great drama on the stage of kosen-rufu. He quotes his mentor: “President Toda often said: ‘Someone who is too exemplary from the outset cannot go among the people. To spread Buddhism, we intentionally chose to be born as people who are poor or sick.’ ‘Life is like appearing in a play,’ he would say” (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 2, p. 208).

No matter what struggles we are currently enduring, the key is to face them with a positive attitude and confidence that they are part of our “drama for kosen-rufu.” Since we can never divorce ourselves from this suffering world, no matter how hard we try, why not stop suffering as “escape artists” and become the protagonists in our personal dramas? As we learn to transform the reality of suffering with a sense of purpose, we can also develop a tremendous sense of freedom and power in that we are in control of how we act in relation to our environment. In doing so, we develop total fulfillment because everything is a source of growth. It is not a relative happiness, but a long-lasting one that emerges from the deeper regions of the self through faith. It is not dependent on one’s external circumstances or environment.

As we go about our everyday business in the saha world, our Buddhist practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and helping others is the way to enlightenment. And no matter how difficult our lives may become or painful our experiences in the world around us, we challenge our difficulties with the determination to turn our lives and society into the “Land of Eternally Tranquil Light.”

June 2001

Living Buddhism

By Stephanie Celano, based on Yasashii Kyogaku (Easy Buddhist Study) published by Seikyo Press in 1994.

from: http://www.sgi-usa.org/memberresources/resources/buddhist_concepts/buddhist_concept26.php

Sometimes the best thing we got going for ourselves may seem to be our daily routine, but shaking things up by trying and actually chanting more daimoku is a power move I keep making whenever I can! Not only do I write super long sentences, but I do my best to fight fundamental darkness every chance I get!

Being a caring person means a few things, but the primary aspect of caring for another is compassion. I know a few of you care enough to be here, care enough for yourself to keep chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!
and join others doing the same! Daimoku with your Gohonzon is the key!

Get your Gohonzon, I did and everything went the right way! I will continue to support each of you and I hope yall continue to share your progress with me! A few of my chanting friends aren't present lately and I'll keep sending you daimoku! We're in this movement together, let's keep going forward together!

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Thanks EasyM, always enjoy your posts!

Thanks EasyM, always enjoy your posts!

One who, on hearing the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, makes even greater
efforts in faith is a true seeker of the way. T'ien-t'ai states, "From the
indigo, an even deeper blue." This passage means that, if one dyes something
repeatedly in indigo, it becomes even bluer that the indigo leaves. The Lotus
Sutra is like the indigo, and the strength of one's practice is like the
deepening blue.

(WND, 457)
Hell Is the Land of Tranquil Light
Written to Nanjo Tokimitsu's mother on July 11, 1274

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Never be shaken, no matter what happens or what others may say. Never be
flustered; never lose confidence. This is the way we should strive to live our
lives. Being able to do so is a sign of genuine character.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"These passages mean that we, who now believe in the correct teaching, in the past once committed the offence of persecuting its practitioners, and therefore are destined to fall into a terrible hell in the future. The blessings gained by practicing the correct teaching, however, are so great that by meeting minor sufferings in this life we can change the karma that destines us to suffer terribly in the future."

(Letter to the Brothers - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 497) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 3rd, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"The leadership philosophy of Buddhism is to enable all people to shine their brightest and gain inner strength and wisdom. To employ the strategy of the Lotus Sutra means reaching out to others and wholeheartedly encouraging them and guiding them to the path of happiness and victory in life. It means breaking through the walls of prejudice and discriminatory traditions and paving the way for the triumph of the people."

SGI Newsletter No. 7863, THE WRITINGS OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN AND THE MENTOR-DISCIPLE RELATIONSHIP, [10] The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra--Part 2 [of 2], from the March 20th, 2009, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Sep.29th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Adopting the strategy of the Lotus Sutra as our leadership philosophy simply means making efforts in the midst of our daily realities to deeply awaken the minds of those around us and to bring forth the Buddha nature--the ultimate, infinite energy source for victory and happiness--in both our own lives and others.

"To do everything we can to give courage and strength to the suffering, the discriminated against, the oppressed, and the honest and hardworking, and help them attain the supreme state of Buddhahood--this is the spirit of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism."

SGI Newsletter No. 7863, THE WRITINGS OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN AND THE MENTOR-DISCIPLE RELATIONSHIP, [10] The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra--Part 2 [of 2], from the March 20th, 2009, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Sep.29th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Human beings are equally vulnerable. They give their lives for shallow, worldly matters but rarely for the Buddha's precious teachings. Small wonder they do not attain Buddhahood."

(Letter from Sado - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 301) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 2nd, 2009

 

[SoCal Hippy]

One may be letter-perfect in reciting the Lotus Sutra, but it is far more
difficult to act as it teaches.

(WND, 200)
Lessening One's Karmic Retribution
Written to Ota Saemon-no-jo, the lay priest Soya and the Dharma Bridge Kimbara
on October 5, 1271

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Nichiren Daishonin said to one of his lay followers: " I entrust you with the
propagation of Buddhism in your province. Because the seeds of Buddhahood sprout
in response to the proper influence, one expounds the teaching of the one
vehicle" (MW-5, 151). Forming connections with other human beings is important.
For each of us, everything starts with developing ties with others, forging
bonds of friendship and winning trust.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Sorry folks but I am VERY sick. Just got back from the hospital. Give me a couple of days.

T

 

[TrichyTrichy]

Get lots of rest. We'll be chanting for your solid recovery.

Nam myoho renge kyo!

 

[Babbabud]

Oh daimoku headed your way!!
Sure seems to take alot more out of ya when you come down with the flu or something after your over 50.
My daughter has the bug also ... I just took her some medicine for her naseau... I was almost afraid to go in the house.
Hope you get well soon brother !!
Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[mrwags]

Sorry folks but I am VERY sick. Just got back from the hospital. Give me a couple of days.

T

Hope all is well.

Wags

 

[Payaso]

Chanting for a speedy recovery, we miss you Thomas! Nam Myoho Renge Kyo ~

Being way over 50, I went and got a Flu Shot Friday...I do it every year now. It works for me!

Heal swiftly and stay tuned.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Returning slowly from the dead!

WELCOME HOME TRICHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interestingly, I didn't have the flu. I got a bio infection from here that I thought was the stomach flu. I have NO antibodies for this critter (although I assume I have now, with what my white count was two days ago). Goddamn was that painful! I tried fighting it without knowing what it was, so it got bad I ended up in the hospital with bleeding intestines and dehydration. I lost ten pounds and look 10 years older right now.

Still have problems and am only now strong enough to sit and type. Thanks for all of the well wishes. They filled my heart with joy! Good to see ya Wags!

I bow in humble obeisance!

Thomas

 

[TrichyTrichy]

love you Hope you are feeling better and stronger!

Nam myoho renge kyo!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

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

(A Warning against Begrudging One's Fief - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 824) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 7th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

By having hope we can acquire strength and ability!
It's when we envision our future,
thinking: "this is what I want to do," "this is what I want to be,"
and then chanting, wholeheartedly, to realise such a vision,
that we can create history.
My dear friend, let's become champions,
brimming with the spirit to constantly challenge!

Daisaku Ikeda