HOW TO ACHIEVE VICTORY THROUGH YOUR PRACTICE

HOW TO ACHIEVE VICTORY THROUGH YOUR PRACTICE

"Start by writing down your dreams or goals on a piece of paper. There is something really magical about the written word. Writing down what you want to do will put you on the path in that direction. By the way, scientists have also recently found that writing your goals down on paper stimulates the brain and makes you want to try to achieve those goals.

After writing down your goals, chant about them. Nichiren Daishonin says: "Nam-myoho-renge-...kyo is like the roar of a lion". Like the roar of a lion, the king of beasts, Daimoku is the greatest source of strength that nothing can defeat. When you chant Daimoku the lion like courage and determination to realize your goals and dreams will well up inside you. The next step is to take action.

In SGI we have the winning rhythm of setting goals, chanting about them and taking action to realize them. I hope all of you will make "DECIDE, CHANT, ACT" one of your mottos and win each and every day.

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. However, if you use those hours wisely, you can accomplish a week's worth of effort in a day or 10 year's worth of effort in a year. I have lived my life with that spirit."

President Ikeda

(VC July 2013, pg 100-101)

GUIDANCES ON GONGYO & CHANTING DAIMOKU

GUIDANCES ON GONGYO & CHANTING DAIMOKU

How to approach the Gohonzon to perform Gongyo & chant daimoku:

1.  It’s important to WANT to sit before the Gohonzon as though going to meet the original Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, and that Daimoku and gongyo be enjoyable. (DOY 2, page 44)

2. When all is said and done, to have the DESIRE to sit in front of the Gohonzon and chant Daimoku is very important. It is an expression of one’s determination to improve oneself. That spirit is important. That spirit is proof of our humanity, an expression of the noble spirit to accomplish something in our lives.

What is the Right speed for doing Gongyo and Daimoku:

Our gongyo and Daimoku should not be too fast, nor too slow. It should also not be too loud, nor too soft, and it should have a good, vigorous rhythm. The speed of gongyo often depends also on such things as a person’s age, or the time and place. So don’t worry too much about what the right speed is. Just do gongyo in the way that seems most natural and comfortable to you. One of our seniors once said we should do gongyo with the rhythm of a galloping horse. (DOY2, 137)

Should we close our eyes while doing Gongyo:

It’s best to keep your eyes open and to look at the Gohonzon. It’s generally considered impolite not to look others in the eye when speaking to them. I think this is also true when we are facing and addressing the Gohonzon as we do Gongyo or chant Daimoku. Of course, if you do close your eyes occasionally, there’s no need to worry. We should just bear in mind that when we close our eyes, it can be more difficult to commune strongly with the Gohonzon. This, of course, does not apply to people who are blind or sight impaired, who need simply to chant or do gongyo to the Gohonzon within their heart. (DOY2, 44)

How much Daimoku should we Chant:

No particular amount is specified in the Gosho. Nichiko Shonin states, “There is no fixed rule about the number of Daimoku to be chanted. The important thing is the ichinen that manifests in our pure and sincere prayers to the Gohonzon. We should chant to our hearts content, until we can feel refreshed and savor the overflowing joy of life. Concerning this Nichiko Shonin emphasizes that ”chanting Daimoku must fill one’s whole body with a thrill of joy. We must exert ourselves in it until we can become one with the Gohonzon.” In short, everything depends on whether we have deep, strong ichinen in faith. (Buddhism in Action 4, page 267)

THE KEY TO UNLOCKING OUR POTENTIAL

THE KEY TO UNLOCKING OUR POTENTIAL

Please understand that our karma is both positive and negative. We need to recognize all our positive karma and embrace ourselves for that too. At least we don’t suffer from that stuff. Understand that there is a causal thread between us and everyone we meet and everything we experience. In other words, each one of us has the most fortune in the world because we have been given the greatest gift by Nichiren Daishonin. And here we are in the most perfect environment in which to prove it. That gift is the key to unlock our potential to tap into the Mystic Law that exists inside and outside of us. And by unlocking it we can direct it to anywhere in the universe. Through using it with the conviction and the belief that it has limitless power, it can enable us to do anything.

So try to see, that those people in our life that cause us pain and suffering, are also part of the gifts to allow us to fundamentally transform our destiny. If only we can find the compassion to send our daimoku to them with the determination that, through our chanting, we are going to battle their weakness with them. They may be unable to win over their weaknesses at this moment, but now they are in my life to provide me with the opportunity to battle negativity in theirs. And through battling the manifestation of negativity or weakness in another person, I simultaneously change it in myself. All of the people in our life that bring us suffering are our greatest gift. They are the ones that provide us with the opportunity to change in the most fundamental way. Instead of seeing everything as separate from skin out, we have to chant to see cause and effect in our life. To see that there is a causal connection between me and everything I experience in thought, in words, and in action. When we get that point, it is empowering. When we see that there is a causal connection between all of us, our problems and our environment, it means that we have the ability to change it there and then. If however, we separate the environment from ourselves we become powerless to change it.

When we perceive things from such a deep perspective, although we cannot see it with our eyes, that inner connectiveness between ourselves and everything else is always present. We have to challenge all of the little problems, as well as the big ones because the big problems are usually composed of lots of little ones. And we must believe, that no matter what it is we pray for, whatever happens during the day, every little challenge that comes up is the answer to our prayer. Each challenge is there to get us to take on that weakness in our life that holds us back. And it is only by taking them on and winning, that we make the causes to move our lives, and kosen rufu, forward.

Life is this journey of discovering, sometimes after many, many years of practice, that what we have always been in search of in our lives, we have always had. It’s always been inside of us. With Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo there is no limit to what we can achieve…what we can be…and what we can do. Our experience of growth can then be limitless. If we have but the guts and the courage to use the mighty sword of the Lotus Sutra, we can win. Use the strategy of chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo first, rather than using your head. If we can use the strategy of understanding no matter what the problem, fundamentally we will always have the solution. And chanting with that conviction that Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo will awaken the wisdom in us to see life correctly, we can make the necessary causes to change our lives.

That joy, that new sense of joy we’ve been talking about, is the direct affect of the willingness to take on our greatest and deepest insecurities, fears, and doubts. On the other side of that is everything we’ve always been waiting for, always been wanting, but we can only get to the other side by fighting through the problems and challenges of the present reality.

The Art of listening with the eyes of a Buddha - Excerpt

By Linda Johnson, SGI-USA WD Leader

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING GUIDANCE IN FAITH

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING GUIDANCE IN FAITH

Having guidance with someone who has greater experience of applying his teachings in daily life is crucial to developing our 

own understanding and experience of this practice. Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda said:

The Soka Gakkai is an organization for providing guidance. The ultimate aim of guidance is to help the recipient bring forth vigorous life force from within and obtain the great benefits of the Gohonzon.

The purpose of guidance is to gain a deeper view of the problem from the perspective of Buddhism, and also to inspire us with the determination to solve it through our efforts in faith, practice and study. So, it's best to have guidance with someone who has been 

practicing for long enough to accumulate a broad experience and understanding of Buddhism.

Deciding whether or not to seek guidance begins with our Daimoku. Making this decision is often a real struggle. It takes a great courage to go for guidance as it is often very difficult to be open about our innermost hopes and fears. We may start to experience 

doubts, perhaps feeling that the obstacle or problem we're chanting about isn't that big after all, and that talking about it would be a waste of someone else's time. We may fear that having guidance means that our `secrets' will be out in the open; or we may spend ages trying to decide who to go for guidance.

All of these experiences are obstacles that appear quite naturally and are an opportunity for us to strengthen our faith. We should simply chant to have the courage to go for guidance, and then take the appropriate action to arrange it. Usually it's best to contact the person you wish to see directly.

The best way to prepare is to chant. Chanting for the person from whom we are receiving guidance will have two very positive effects. First, the Daimoku will help us to create a great bond with that person even before we meet them and second, it will help to draw out their wisdom to give great guidance.

We also need to prepare ourselves. Chant to express the problem clearly. There is no need to worry about this, simply determine to be open, frank, and, if possible, go directly to the relevant point or points. In addition, it is a good, idea to chant to listen well and absorb what is said to us. We can also determine to take action based on the guidance we are going to receive.

While actually receiving guidance, the most important thing is to listen. Many of us are good at changing what we have heard into what we think we have heard. Some people find it helpful to make notes of key points during or immediately after the guidance in order prevent this from happening.

Just as guidance begins with daimoku, afterwards we must continue to chant – to understand it and put it into practice. If we find that there's something we feel unhappy about, it is very important to seek further guidance with the same person in order to clarify this. It could well be a simple misunderstanding or an incorrect interpretation of what the person has said. It is best to clear this up as soon as possible.

Sometimes, it may seem helpful to share guidance we have received with someone who appears to have a similar problem. We should remember, however, that though another person's problem may seem to 

be like ours, they themselves are, of course, quite different. Thus it is far wiser to encourage that person to seek guidance themselves.

  

Finally, please remember that guidance will not provide an instant solution. Rather, it enables us to deepen our faith so that we can find our own answers and come to our own conclusions about what we must do to overcome our suffering.

Selection: UK Express, Sep 1996, By Steve Smith, Page No 32-33

Guidelines of Faith - We Are "Lotus Flower"

We Are "Lotus Flower"

  

The only place that a lotus can bloom and grow thick, healthy roots is in the mud and slime of a lotus pond. If the lotus started to hate its dirty pond and snuck away to some school swimming pool, how could it ever bloom? What would happen to its roots? People may complain of all kinds of troubles in life, but it’s only because of such difficulties that you can attain your human revolution. This is the principle of changing poison into medicine. If you clean the mud out of the pond and pave it with concrete, what’ll happen to the lotus? It’ll never bloom. The pond represents our problem-filled world, the lotus is you and the mud is your problems – the indispensable nourishment for your human revolution, your own growth. No matter how muddy or dirty its pond is, the lotus can still bloom beautifully.

  

Therefore, in order to attain your human revolution, you have to stay in the pond and struggle to grow right in that mud. In other words, without all kinds of difficulties and problems in life, you can’t really grow as a human being. The organisation may do something you don’t agree with , but that doesn’t mean you have to get out. Your effort to overcome those difficulties makes you grow. But whatever you do to overcome them should be based on sincere daimoku to the Gohonzon. Otherwise, you will neither change your karma nor achieve any lasting success. In order to change your karma you have to bring forth strong vitality and establish an unshakeable self amid this troubled, mundane world. With consistent efforts you can bring the beautiful flower of your human revolution to bloom.

  

Don’t ever run away again. Instead, chant lots of daimoku to the Gohonzon. Pledge to become an individual who can really contribute to kosen-rufu. Always remember the principle of the lotus flower. 

  

Source: Guidelines of Faith by Satoru Izumi

Prayers answered based on Goals

Prayers answered based on Goals

We practice this faith not for mere exertion, that is, not for the sake of practice, but for change and progress and as quickly as possible. Members may say, I'm doing many SGI activities, but so what? The real question is how much have I changed my life, my environment, and my livelihood? How much benefit have I received? There are many members who are doing lots of daimoku, but there is no change in their lives.

Something is wrong. Buddhism is not the Law of Cause and Effect in Action.It is the Law of cause and effect in ichinen (determined prayer). For example, faith is not "feeling refreshed" after prayers and activities. Faith exists for us to change our lives. When we wish to travel somewhere, first we decide on the destination, then we plan on the action (route/ mode of transport) and then we travel and reach that destination. Faith is the same. In faith, we must first have clear targets, prayer and action. It is important to pray strongly and then take action and we will see the results without fail. It is important to determine to change. That is to pray "I want to change", and then take necessary action. It is absolutely no use to ask the Gohonzon, "What should I do?" There will be no answer.

YOU must decide what you want to accomplish, not the Gohonzon. Once we decide / determine on some goal, there may seem no solution. But that is precisely why we pray. If it were possible, we would not need the Gohonzon. If there is a way out, then there really is no need to chant. But we pray to change the impossible to possible. Do not engage in "what shall I do..." daimoku, that is, while chanting to think of strategies / look for options in your mind. There is absolutely no need to think of methodology, because there is no way out! We should simply pray like this "I want to accomplish this. I will accomplish this."

If, while chanting, we think that our desires are unattainable / impossible, then that is the prayer that will be reflected onto the universe. And that is exactly the answer we will get back from the gohonzon... impossible/no solution. We must pray with 100% confidence in the Gohonzon. I believe in the Gohonzon, my prayer will definitely be answered, just as the Gosho states "no prayer to the Gohonzon will go unanswered". This is the Buddhist formula, which is 100% correct. It is our doubts that get in the way. While chanting, we always try to find ways out of our problem. Therefore, our ichinen is not directed towards the Gohonzon, but directed elsewhere. Thus it follows, that there is no real joy in daimoku and activities. We just keep doing what we were told to do.

There was a young lady (student division) who wanted to go to USA from Japan to study. It was impossible, as she had no money etc. So she prayed, not chanted, but deeply prayed "I want to go to USA to study - I will go" One year later, she reported positive results. There had seemed no solution, but a "bridge" was formed through her sincere daimoku. This is the Mystic Law. It is beyond our understanding, which is why it is called Mystic. So there is no need to think, just trust and pray...

There was a WD who came for guidance. Her husband had terminal cancer and doctors said he would not live longer than 3 months. Her question was "can he be cured?" The answer was "I don't know". The leader went on to say that President Toda's guidance was that when we determine that the only one thing we can trust is the gohonzon, then the body begins to recover from sickness. This means to cure ones own illness by oneself, through faith. The human body is capable of producing 700 types of medicines. But when our life force is weak, then nothing is produced. When our life philosophy is polluted by slander, and impurities then our life cannot produce its healing power. Buddhism is great. Our life is great! It is supreme. It is Divine. It is the life of the Buddha. So through faith we can always manifest this supreme state of the Buddha, this power of the Gohonzon.

People call Buddhism great, but actually it teaches us that our own lives are great. With determination, great life force and wisdom can be manifested from our lives and bodies to overcome sickness which is one's negative karma-the source of which is slander. So the real question is not whether the illness is curable, rather, the question is whether I can determine it is curable. The woman told her husband about this guidance and together both corrected their ichinen and prayed and he was cured.

A Woman's Division leader in Japan could not walk due to pain in her legs caused by rheumatism. She was asked "do you think that your disease can be cured?" She replied "No!" "So then that is your desire. Your state of mind and that is why the answer from the Gohonzon is - - no cure!" replied the senior leader. The leader continued by saying that if the medical doctor has given up, if he says there is no cure for your condition, then that is the time to summon up your determination to change the impossible to possible. The very next day, the woman called the leader to report that when she determined, the pain disappeared from her legs and 2 weeks later she was completely cured. Her suffering had been caused by her thinking that it was impossible to be cured, that she would have to live with this life condition. But the moment she determined (ichinen) to overcome through faith in the gohonzon, the power of the mystic law was manifested through her life.

Mr. Kawai's guidance in faith, conveyed by Mr. Noro, based on President Ikeda's guidance