Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

"Nichiren Daishonin writes: 'You will grow younger, and your good fortune will accumulate' (WND-1, 464). Though we may advance in years, we mustn't grow old in our hearts. We who embrace the great law of life, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, can grow younger and more vibrant each day. We can forge ahead with a sense of joy and enthusiasm.

"Until the very last day of his life, the Daishonin dedicated himself to the great struggle for kosen-rufu. There is no retirement age in faith. We mustn't let our faith or passion wane. Let's pledge together to keep advancing with youthful vitality throughout our lives, holding high the banner of our mission."

SGI Newsletter No. 7898, REGION LEADERS CONFERENCE--PART 1 [OF 3], Growth Begins with Human Revolution, from the Oct. 5th, 2009, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Dec. 22nd, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"It must be ties of karma from the distant past that have destined you to become my disciple at a time like this. Shakyamuni and Many Treasures certainly realised this truth. The sutra's statement, 'Those persons who had heard the Law dwelled here and there in various Buddha lands, constantly reborn in company with their teachers,' cannot be false in any way."

(The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 217) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, December 24th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Its so good to have you back DG!

Merry Christmas to all. Please be safe and drive VERY carefully! Enjoy the love of your families and if you can't be with the ones you love, buddy, love the ones your with!

Much love and deep respect,

Thomas

 

[swampdank]

Wow! So far I am only through page four of this thread and it has blown me away. I will eventually make it through all of it but I am taking it slow and soaking in a page at a time. I get a strange sense of comfort when I read your words.

And I always have been curious why everybdies pets flock to me. It has been like that for a long time.

I chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo while sitting on my deck last night and I swear the wind answered back through the trees. Maybe it has always done so and I never noticed before. Made the hairs on my neck stand on end.

So much wisdom here and so little screen to read it from.

Hello everybody!

I have so many questions as well as so many emotions to share. I think I will stay awhile.

 

[Hitman]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to everyone. May you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Keep Chanting and soar through difficulties. Have the wisdom to know that when you're up and feeling ever so powerful and proud that you will come back down. And remember when you feel like you're on desolation row that you will bounce back. Keep in rhythm with daily practice.

May your Gohonzons smile back at you and may all your wishes in the past, present and future be fulfilled. May negative Karma be eradicated by your abundant daimoku-Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

Fight back negativity with goodness. Remember, that inside you have a treasure to share with the world. There is enough to go round. Keep risin' with you budZ!!!!!!!

Curtail your pleasures and base desires and chant as if it were your last go round. Lift your spirit and flap your wings- Perch on the highest Arie that your mind and Nam Myoho Renge Kyo will take you. Show hate it's proper place by loving all! Don't forget about you good friends, the ones that hurt your feeling even when you want nothing more than for them to succeed. They're the ones that make you chant, they're the ones that keep you up late at night and make you think of them when you first open your eyes before your alarm goes off. Take the medicine of jealousy and envy. Share your hopes and dreams! Create hope for other while practicing Nam Myoho Renge Kyo daily.

My heart is bubbling over for all of you right now= so glad you are always here for me. I might not be here in key but I am always here at heart.

May you stay clear, and cloudy, and milky and amber. May you nod off at intervals with joy in your heart- May your refrigerator be plentiful and may you take hits and eat up all of the cereal and milk! May your spider mites have mercy on you and save some for you.

May you endure the cruel poison that humans inherently harbor and turn it in to medicine. And may you make the best damn lemonade ever!

Peace to the fullest - I just can't stop. This spot's the cream of the crop. May sadness shudders when I come here, Dube! Way to go for keepin it real! Give all the babies hugs and kisses. Good luck on your next Daimoku Marathon. Cherish it all! It's all here for us and it's for the taking as long as we don't abuse it, this life. Sometimes I wonder what it's all for and why I have to work so hard and for so many hours. And then I realize that it's better than being horizontal. Hard work, Buddhism, Budz, family, food. I'm going to put away my hang ups and try to listen for once more closely than ever before. Every star in the sky is pulling on me right now. I'm feeling the love and the fear and the pain all together and it's giving me x-ray vision to my dreams. To help as many people as I can in the world. To give hope and have hope and remain positive is all I want to be able to do with a loving family of my own. Since I haven't found my future wife and I ain't married yet, I bought my mom something special. She's the one who's got my back the most no matter how I may treat her sometimes and how she may hurt my feelings. We know that we love each other more than anything!

To all the beautiful people out there - Merry Christmas!

But it's all good baby-baby.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Letter to the Priests of Seicho-ji / WND pg. 650

Letter to the Priests of Seicho-ji / WND pg. 650

Let us congratulate each other on the coming of the New Year! Since you paid me no visit last year, I have been worried that something unfortunate might have occurred. If you have a chance to call on me, would you borrow for me from the priest Ise-ko The Treatise on the Ten Stages of the Mind, The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury, A Comparison of Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism, and the other commentaries of the True Word school? I need them in order to refute the True Word priests who have for some time been clamoring against me. Bring with you also volumes one and two of Great Concentration and Insight. I would also appreciate Tung-ch’un and The Supplement to “The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra,” if they are available. Borrow The Collection of Tendai Documents, which is owned by Kanchibo, the disciple of Enchi-bo. I have heard people say that he possesses not only that, but other relevant writings. Please borrow them as well, and tell him that I will return them as soon as possible. This year the question of which Buddhist teachings are right and which are wrong will definitely be resolved.

Tell Joken-bo, Gijo-bo, and the other priests on my behalf: “Nichiren has often been on the verge of being killed. Twice he was exiled and once almost beheaded. This is not because of any worldly wrongs on his part. [As a youth,] he received great wisdom from the living Bodhisattva Space Treasury. He prayed to the bodhisattva to become the wisest person in Japan. The bodhisattva must have taken pity on him, for he presented him with a great jewel as brilliant as the morning star, which Nichiren tucked away in his right sleeve. Thereafter, on perusing the entire body of sutras, he was able to discern in essence the relative worth of the eight schools as well as of all the scriptures.”

The True Word school, among others, attempts to destroy the Lotus Sutra. It is essential to refute the True Word teachings, so in preparation I first attacked the errors of the Zen and Nembutsu schools. I have good reason for my accusations. I will reserve discussion of the rights and wrongs of Buddhist schools in India and China for some other time, but as for Japan, all the people have discarded the correct teaching of the Lotus Sutra and are therefore without exception destined to fall into the evil paths. This is because, at each and every temple, the True Word school invariably exists side by side with the Lotus school, just as a shadow follows the body. Thus, to the practice of the Lotus Sutra that accords with the Law is added the eighteen paths,(1) and to the practice of repentance is added one based on the Amida Sutra. And in conferring titles upon priests of the Tendai school, the True Word procedure predominates, while that of the Lotus Sutra is relegated to a secondary position.

In reality, the True Word sutras belong to the provisional teachings preached before the Lotus Sutra and are inferior even to the Flower Garland or the Wisdom sutras. Yet Jikaku and Kobo were confused on this point and held that the True Word sutras were equal or even superior to the Lotus Sutra. The eye-opening ceremony for a newly made image of the Buddha(2) is therefore conducted with the mudra of the Honored One Buddha Eye and the mantra of the Buddha Mahavairochana. As a result, all the wooden and painted images of the Buddha in Japan have been rendered soulless and sightless, and in consequence, have been possessed by the heavenly devil, bringing ruin upon their own worshipers. This is why the imperial court [in Kyoto] is about to perish. Now the evil teaching of the True Word school has made its appearance in Kamakura and threatens to destroy all of Japan.

The Zen and Pure Land schools also hold extremely perverted views. I knew that if I declared this it would certainly cost me my life. Yet I was determined to requite the favor of Bodhisattva Space Treasury. With this in mind, on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month in the fifth year of Kencho (1253), I pointed out the errors of the various schools for the first time to a priest called Joen-bo and to some of the people on the southern side of the image hall in Dozen-bo’s quarters at Seicho-ji temple in Tojo Village of Awa Province. During the more than twenty years since then, I have spoken out with unremitting zeal, and I have been either driven from my dwelling or exiled. In former days Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was beaten with staves; now Nichiren must face the sword.

All the people in Japan, both wise and foolish, from the sovereign on down to the common people, say that the priest Nichiren is no match for the scholars, teachers, great teachers, and eminent priests of old. I waited for the right time to dispel their distrust of me. The time finally came when a great earthquake occurred in the Shoka era, followed by the appearance of a huge comet in the Bun’ei era.(3) Observing these, I made this prediction: “Our country will suffer two terrible disasters: internal strife and foreign invasion. The former will take place in Kamakura in the form of internecine strife among the descendants of the acting administrator.(4) The latter may come from any direction, but that from the west(5) would be the most violent. This latter will occur solely because all the Buddhist schools in Japan are incorrect, and Brahma and Shakra will therefore command other countries to attack us. So long as the country refuses to heed me, it will certainly be defeated, even if it has a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand generals as brave as Masakado, Sumitomo, Sadato, Toshihito, or Tamura. If these words of mine prove false, then the people are free to believe in the distorted views of the True Word, Nembutsu, and other schools.” This is the prediction that I have made known far and wide.

Above all, if the priests of Mount Kiyosumi treat me with less respect than they show their own parents or the three treasures, they will become wretched beggars in this life and will fall into the hell of incessant suffering in the next. I will explain why. The villainous Tojo Saemon Kagenobu once hunted the deer and other animals kept by Seicho-ji, and tried to force the priests in the various lodging temples to become Nembutsu believers. At that time I pitted myself against Tojo and supported the lord of the manor.(6) I composed a fervent oath that read, “If the two temples Kiyosumi and Futama(7) should come into Tojo’s possession, I will discard the Lotus Sutra!” Then I tied it to the hand of the object of devotion, to which I prayed continuously. Within a year, both temples had been freed from Tojo’s grasp. Certainly Bodhisattva Space Treasury will never forget this, so how can those priests who make light of me avoid being forsaken by the heavenly gods? Hearing me say this, the more foolish of you may think that I am invoking a curse upon you. But that is not so. I am warning you simply because it would be a pity if you should fall into the hell of incessant suffering after your death.

Let me say a few words about the lay nun, the wife of the lord of the manor. Being a woman and foolish, when threatened by others, she must have thought that what they were saying was true. I pity her because, having forgotten her debt of gratitude, she will fall into the evil paths in her next existence. Despite that, however, she treated my parents with kindness, so I am praying that I may somehow be able to save her from that fate.

The Lotus Sutra is none other than the scripture that reveals that Shakyamuni became a Buddha numberless major world system dust particle kalpas ago. It also predicts that Shariputra and the other disciples will become Buddhas in the future. Those who do not believe the sutra will fall into the hell of incessant suffering. Not only did Shakyamuni himself declare all this, but Many Treasures Buddha also testified to its truth, and the Buddhas of the ten directions extended their tongues by way of verification. Furthermore, the Lotus Sutra teaches that the votary of this sutra will receive the protection of the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds, the bodhisattvas Manjushri and Perceiver of the World’s Sounds, Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, and the ten demon daughters. Thus there is no other way to attain Buddhahood. It is in the true Lotus Sutra that matters of the past and future are spoken of correctly.

I have never seen Tsukushi, nor do I know anything about the barbarians [of the west]. Yet the prediction I made in light of the entire body of sutras [concerning foreign invasion] has already come true. Hence, when I say that you will all fall into the hell of incessant suffering because of your ingratitude, how can my words prove false? You may be safe for the time being, but wait and see what happens later. All of Japan will be reduced to the same miserable state in which the islands of Iki and Tsushima now find themselves. When vast numbers of Mongol hordes close in on the province of Awa, those of you priests who cling to prejudiced views will cringe in terror and finally fall into the hell of incessant suffering, saying, “Now I know that the priest Nichiren was right.” What a pity! What a pity indeed!

Nichiren

The eleventh day of the first month

To the priests of Seicho-ji in the province of Awa

This letter is to be read aloud by the priest Sado and Acharya Suke(8) before the statue of Bodhisattva Space Treasury for all the priests of Seicho-ji to hear.


Background

This letter was written in the first month of the second year of Kenji (1276), while Nichiren Daishonin was living at Minobu. As the title indicates, it was addressed to the priests of Seichoji on Mount Kiyosumi, the temple to which the Daishonin had been sent as a child to study.

Seicho-ji was founded in 771 by a priest named Fushigi, who enshrined there an image of Bodhisattva Space Treasury that he had carved from an oak tree. Bodhisattva Space Treasury was believed to possess wisdom and good fortune as vast as the universe.

Seicho-ji, which belonged to the Tendai school, at first became a center for the study of the Lotus Sutra. Then it fell under the influence of the True Word school, which promoted esoteric rituals, and later adopted Pure Land teachings, which relied on Amida Buddha. Nichiren Daishonin was formally ordained at the age of sixteen and later left the temple to visit the great centers of Buddhist learning so as to further his study of Buddhism. The Daishonin says in this letter that he had obtained “a great jewel,” meaning that he attained Buddha wisdom. He then went on to deepen his understanding of the sutras and other works in the Buddhist tradition. Eventually, in 1253, twenty years after he had entered Seicho-ji, he proclaimed the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the first time.


Notes

1. The eighteen paths refer to the True Word school’s mandala worship. The school’s Womb Realm and Diamond Realm mandalas each contain nine primary objects of devotion. True Word practitioners join their fingers in eighteen different ways when they meditate on these eighteen objects of devotion.
2. This refers to the ceremony for imbuing a newly made Buddha image with spiritual properties, thus making it an object of devotion. The honored one Buddha Eye, described in the esoteric True Word teaching, represents the virtues of the five types of vision (see Glossary).
3. References are to the earthquake that struck Kamakura in 1257 and to the comet that appeared in 1264.
4. Reference is to Hojo Yoshitoki (1163– ), the second regent of the Kamakura government, who defeated the imperial forces during the Jokyu Disturbance (1221) and established the regency’s control over western Japan. “Internecine strife” refers to the uprising in the second month of 1272, when Hojo Tokisuke staged an ill-fated rebellion against his younger half brother, the regent Hojo Tokimune.
5. Indicates the Mongol empire.
6. “The lord of the manor” refers to Hojo Tomotoki, a younger brother of Hojo Yasutoki, the third regent of the Kamakura government. His wife was called the lay nun of Nagoe, or Oama (literally, elder nun). She became a lay supporter of the Daishonin, but later abandoned her faith.
7. These were temples located in Tojo Village, Awa Province. Kiyosumi is another name for Seicho-ji, but little is known about Futama.
8. Sado is another name for Niko (1253– ), one of the six senior disciples of the Daishonin. Acharya Suke is believed to have been a follower of the Daishonin and a confidant of the lord of Tojo Village. According to another view, he was one of the priests of Seicho-ji temple.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

In case anyone missed it, or is not aware of it, the Object of Devotion enshrined, at least at that time at Seicho-ji, was a statue of Bodhisattva Space Treasury, not Shakyamuni Buddha. At a later time, under the influence of the True Word school's doctrines, perhaps possibly Mahavairochana replaced Bodhisattva Space Treasury, but I doubt it.

Bodhisattva Space Treasury almost always has a hand extended, so the "Then I tied it to the hand of the object of devotion..." makes sense regarding the physical ability to do so. "At that time..." and "to which I prayed continuously. Within a year..." describes a time when the Daishonin would have been continuously at the temple. This circumstance that he is re-telling is obviously from a time when he was a young priest at Seicho-ji, something that occurred after 1233, but most assuredly before declaring his Buddhism there in 1253. At any rate it seems very obvious to me that the Daishonin is discussing an experience from early in his studies at the Temple. He would never threaten to discard the Lotus Sutra under ANY circumstance after he declared his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in 1253.

No statue of Shakyamuni in play here as far as I’m concerned.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Hey Hit! Thanks for the wonderfully inspired seasons greetings! That was outstanding!

I'm so glad to see you back. Please stay around for awhile. OK? Don't be a stranger!!!

Give Mom a hug from us all! Much love and deepest respect to both of you!

T

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"The renowned English poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850) wrote: 'We from today, my Friend, will date / The opening of the year.' Whatever the time or circumstance, everything starts anew from the day we decide to stand up with a fresh determination in our heart.

"As practitioners of the Daishonin's Buddhism--the Buddhism of true cause that stresses the importance of moving forwards from the present moment on--each new day is the eternal starting point of time without beginning. As people who have inherited the vow for kosen-rufu, each day for us is a solemn anniversary of the founding of our movement."

SGI Newsletter No. 7898, REGION LEADERS CONFERENCE--PART 1 [OF 3], Growth Begins with Human Revolution, from the Oct. 5th, 2009, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Dec. 22nd, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all. From the time you read this letter on, strive to accumulate the treasures of the heart!"

(The Three Kinds of Treasure - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 851) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, Dec. 25th, 2009

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The Daishonin encourages us, "My wish is that all my disciples make a great vow."* Our goal is to achieve the absolute ultimate in whatever we are challenging. Aim high and dream big--this is an essential ingredient of creating a truly wonderful life.

Daisaku Ikeda

*"The Dragon Gate" - WND-I, page 1003

 

[Babbabud]

Happy Happy Birthday !!

Happy Happy Birthday !!

Happy Birthday "T"
Hope you have a great day !!!!
Nam myoho renge kyo !!!

 

[Wilson!]

Happy Festivus! (for the rest of us)

I hope you all had a great airing of grievances round the ol’ pole. The Sky God’s son’s birthday is always a bustle.

A full belly and spending too much KaChing on this years soon to be obsolete gadgets makes me jingle all the way, eh?

The pumpkin man and I got guitars for Festivus and I’m gonna be his practice mate. We’re both starting at; this is a guitar…The classes he’ll be taking will have him on stage after a couple of months of basics playing pop and rock with costuming, cool lighting and learning stage presence.

He is still out of GroupThinkSchool and he is getting lessons from me and his mom in mischief and tree house building, cart building and riding, sledding, tubing, critter catching, magic, juggling, art, math and science experiments with minor explosions included. And a major in crash course rocketry. Noshitinski.

Oh and mom was here. She’s 79 and not walking so good. I gave her several hits on the vape and a bottle of canna-tincture. She was in the drug/alcohol counseling biz for a long time and always thought (for herself) that our sweet herb is a gift. She has Gohonzon and chants once in a while.

I frequently come to this page and I’m grateful for your posts.

Peezout.

 

[Payaso]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

The sun was shining strongly yesterday, I should have known it was T's Birthday! Sorry I missed wishing you all the best on your special day - but here it is:

Happy Birthday Thomas!

And to all the others it has been a pleasure chanting with you and hope we do a lot more together! Peace and bet wishes to all for a Happy New Year!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"It's up to us to change, not others. At the same time, we mustn't assume that someone else will take care of what needs doing, it's important that we have the spirit to take action ourselves.

"No matter what challenging situation we find ourselves in, we should put our minds to work, summon our wisdom and ingenuity, and strive to achieve something meaningful with a forward-looking attitude. Depending on the situation, sometimes it will be important to concentrate on chanting daimoku; sometimes, on encouraging our fellow members, and sometimes, on talking to others about Buddhism. Crucial to everything is chanting earnestly before the Gohonzon, bringing forth from within us the 'wisdom of the truth that functions in accordance with changing circumstances' (OTT, 10), and then taking the most constructive course of action possible. Buddhism is action. Buddhism is winning."

SGI Newsletter No. 7898, REGION LEADERS CONFERENCE--PART 1 [OF 3], Growth Begins with Human Revolution, from the Oct. 5th, 2009, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Dec. 22nd, 2009

 

[Hitman]

Happy Birthday! Pass the Doobie! Chant on!

 

[Hitman]

Let's Win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Hey Hit! Thanks and stay with us! I love you Brother!

Much love and deepest respect,

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

My dear Asita! You bring such warm smile to my face. Does what I say really get under your skin so much? Why would you care what I think anyway? And why would I care in any shape or form what Robin or ANY N S priests have to say or how they interpret ANYTHING? (And I didn’t get this perception from being a disciple of Daisaku Ikeda.)

I love things expressed as declaratives, as though the source were infallible or actually there: “The actual events at the time…” (By the way you may want to clean up your cut and paste as it currently reads,”…and friends. Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting Rencho’s Sensei...”

As far as I’m concerned, no one in NS has had any credibility since the time of Niko! Why bother me with such baloney? You don’t share their beliefs or you’d be NS yourself. It’s funny how you insist on everything being taken literally and reject oral teachings when the Lotus and ALL of the other Mahayana teachings are exactly that! There is no such thing as pure doctrine in Buddhism! There is only pure faith.

Knock yourself out trying to convince yourself otherwise! I find you very entertaining! You are actually my very good friend and I pray for your happiness everyday. Thanks for all your effort and attention!

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Lots of Love to my Sister Trichy! You make my day so often. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you! Stay happy!

I hope everyone is chanting abundant Daimoku. Be careful because there are obstacles to our faith everywhere! Let's embrace the oneness of all things and pray for even those who oppress us!

Much love and deepest respect,

T