Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

No matter where you might be or what the situation is, whether someone takes notice of your efforts or not single-mindedly devote yourself to live up to the vow based on the shared commitment of mentor and disciple. It is only because of our unseen efforts* that visible rewards shine forth.

Daisaku Ikeda

* Moreover, since you have disobeyed your lord and gone against his wishes from time to time, the calumnies made to him against you must have been all the more numerous. However, even though you have been forced to relinquish your fief time and again, in your letter you said that he has now conferred an estate upon you. This is indeed wondrous. This is precisely what is meant by the statement that unseen virtue brings about visible reward. It must have happened because of your profound sincerity in trying to lead your lord to faith in the Lotus Sutra.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"And could not this illness of your husband's be the Buddha's design, because the Vimalakirti and Nirvana sutras both teach that sick people will surely attain Buddhahood? Illness gives rise to the resolve to attain the way."

(The Good Medicine for All Ills - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 937) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 7th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Transforming one’s heart or mind transforms the karma of one’s environment."

SGI Newsletter No. 8349, The New Human Revolution––Vol. 24: Chap. 4, Beacon 47, translated Oct. 6th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Buddhism teaches that your determination can transform the realm of the environment. Chanting daimoku is the key.

"Nichiren Daishonin writes: ‘From [the] single element of mind spring all the various lands and environmental conditions’ (WND-2, 843). Our heart or mind encompasses our environment; likewise the changes that occur in our environment arise from our heart or mind. The mind is incredibly powerful. If you have strong and invincible faith you can transform your environment."

SGI Newsletter No. 8348, The New Human Revolution––Vol. 24: Chap. 4, Beacon 45, translated Oct. 6th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Paving the path towards our goal of kosen-rufu is a noble undertaking for the sake of leading people to true happiness. Being able to talk about our practice to people boldly and with conviction is the highest, most noble Buddhist act. Come now, let us advance brimming with confidence!

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"I will be the pillar of Japan. I will be the eyes of Japan. I will be the great ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it!"

(The Opening of the Eyes, Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume-1, Page 280) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's essay, Seikyo Shimbun, October 9th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Regarding all the teachings of Shakyamuni’s lifetime, Nichiren Daishonin writes: “All these are teachings encompassed within the single entity of an individual” (WND-2, 843). Buddhism does not exist apart from us. The entirety of the Lotus Sutra is the drama within one’s own being, and the entire universe and the fundamental principle underlying it are all encompassed within our lives.

SGI Newsletter No. 8348, The New Human Revolution––Vol. 24: Chap. 4, Beacon 46, translated Oct. 6th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"My mentor, second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda, often used to say: 'Approach life with confidence and courage!'

"When someone was ill, he would repeatedly encourage them with warm care and concern. Sometimes his guidance could be strict and emphatic, because remaining steadfast in faith as a practitioner of the Daishonin's Buddhism is so vital when waging a life-and death struggle against illness. He would say: 'Don't let anything shake you. Just chant with your whole life. Never lose heart! Activate the positive forces of the universe!'"

SGI Newsletter No. 8347, Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin: The Teachings for Victory, [31] 'The Good Medicine for All Ills.' Turning All Adversity into an Impetus for Unceasing Progress, from the August 2011 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated Oct. 5th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Today there are people who have faith in the Lotus Sutra. The belief of some is like fire while that of others is like water. When the former listen to the teachings, their passion flares up like fire, but as time goes on, they tend to discard their faith. To have faith like water means to believe continuously without ever regressing."(

The Two Kinds of Faith - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 899) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 10th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

It is through making ceaseless efforts for kosen-rufu that we can elevate our life condition. The Daishonin states, "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo embraces both the converting of others and one's own religious practice."* Let's courageously engage ourselves in dialogue with others and share this Buddhism with as many people as we possibly can!

Daisaku Ikeda

*Ongi kuden - Gosho Zenshu, page 747, The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, page 109

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"When I, Nichiren, first took faith in the Lotus Sutra, I was like a single drop of water or a single particle of dust in all the country of Japan. But later, when two people, three people, ten people, and eventually a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and a million people come to recite the Lotus Sutra and transmit it to others, then they will form a Mount Sumeru of perfect enlightenment, an ocean of great nirvana. Seek no other path by which to attain Buddhahood!"

(The Selection of the Time - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 580) Selection sourse: President Ikeda's message, Seikyo Shimbun, October 10th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is the Buddhism of sowing. It plants the seed for attaining Buddhahood, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, in the lives of living beings of the Latter Day of the Law who have never heard the true teachings of Buddhism. It is the great teaching for leading all to genuine happiness by enabling them to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime.

“Our actions, as practitioners of this Buddhism dedicated to our mission for kosen-rufu, must all be connected to this act of sowing. In other words, we need to cultivate an awareness that everything, from our daily Soka Gakkai activities to our attitudes and behaviour in daily life, is part of this important task of sowing the seeds of the Mystic Law.

“It’s important to sincerely wish for the happiness of those who haven’t yet started practicing this faith or are opposed to it, to embrace them with a broadminded spirit and interact with them with a warm smile, trying to be their friends. This is the way that connections to Buddhism are formed and spread far and wide."

SGI Newsletter No. 8351, The New Human Revolution––Vol. 24: Chap. 4, Beacon 49, translated Oct. 7th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"'We ordinary people can see neither our own eyelashes, which are so close, nor the heavens in the distance. Likewise, we do not see that the Buddha exists in our own hearts.' From “New Year’s Gosho” (WND-1, 1137).

"What does it mean to know one’s true self?—Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism offers a clear answer to this enduring question of human existence.

"Even when confronted with painful karma and finding ourselves feeling discouraged, as practitioners of the Daishonin’s Buddhism we can get back on our feet with confidence and dignity again and again. This is because we know that the supreme life-state of the Buddha exists within us.

"Everything is decided by our mind and attitude in each moment. Let’s wholeheartedly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with the conviction that 'I am a Buddha,' and cheerfully and energetically live out our lives true to ourselves."

SGI Newsletter No. 8353, Living the Gosho: (56) The Supreme Life-state of the Buddha Exists within Us, from the Oct. 7th, 2011, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Oct. 11th, 2011

 

[PassTheDoobie]

“The stronger one’s faith, the greater the protection of the gods.” This means that the protection of the gods depends on the strength of one’s faith."

(General Stone Tiger - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 953) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 12th, 2011

 

[SoCal Hippy]

The Nirvana Sutra teaches the principle of lessening one's karmic retribution.
If one's heavy karma from the past is not expiated within this lifetime, one
must undergo the sufferings of hell in the future, but if one experiences
extreme hardship in this life [because of the Lotus Sutra], the sufferings of
hell will vanish instantly. And when one dies, one will obtain the blessings of
the human and heavenly worlds, as well as those of the three vehicles and the
one vehicle.

(WND, 199)
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]

Mr. Toda once told me: "You can make a defeat the cause for future victory. You
can also make victory the cause for future defeat." The Buddhism of Nichiren
Daishonin is the Buddhism of the true cause, the Buddhism of the present and
future. We don't dwell on the past. We are always challenging ourselves from the
present toward the future. "The whole future lies ahead of us! We have only just
begun!" -- because we advance with this spirit, we will never be deadlocked.

Daisaku Ikeda

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

At first only Nichiren chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but then two, three, and a
hundred followed, chanting and teaching others. Propagation will unfold this way
in the future as well. Does this not signify "emerging from the earth"? At the
time when the Law has spread far and wide, the entire Japanese nation will chant
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth cannot miss the
target.

(WND, 385)

The True Aspect of All Phenomena
Written to Sairen-bo Nichijo on May 17, 1273

 

[SoCal Hippy]

What will the future be like? No one knows the answer to that question. All we
know is that the effects that will appear in the future are all contained in the
causes that are made in the present. The important thing, therefore, is that we
stand up and take action to achieve great objectives without allowing ourselves
to be distracted or discouraged by immediate difficulties.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The Daishonin teaches, "Words echo the thoughts of the mind and find expression through the voice."* If we really do have genuine care and concern for our friends, then our words will definitely echo our thoughts and touch their hearts. Let's, therefore, make sure they hear those voices of hope and concern!

Daisaku Ikeda

*"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

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"The famous linguist and lexicographer Fumihiko Otsuki (1847-1928), who had a close connection to Tohoku, compiled the first modern Japanese-language dictionary, titled Genkai (Sea of Words). Assembling and editing this massive collection of nearly 40,000 words was a time-consuming and arduous task that took Otsuki 17 years to complete. During that period, he lost his beloved infant daughter and wife in quick succession, but he stoically persevered.

"What sustained him in his undertaking? The words of his grandfather, the renowned physician Gentaku Otsuki (1757-1827), which he had engraved in his heart as a youth: 'Don't stop until you succeed.'"

SGI Newsletter No. 8265, Learning Is the Light That Illuminates Society, translated June 24th, 2011, from the May 9th, 2011, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun