Guidance on Faith & Practice

Guidance on Faith & Practice

NO matter what happens, you must carry out the practice of gongyo and chant daimoku every day. Doing gongyo and chanting daimoku give rise to a bright and vibrant life-force from the depths of your life, giving you the power to resolve life difficulties. Therefore, you should never neglect gongyo on account of being too busy or too tired. Never "pull the plug" of your faith.

WHEN I say faith, I do not mean blind faith. I assume that the person with true faith lives in accord with the most profound wisdom. Wisdom is what gives meaning to religious beliefs.

MOST religions do not seek to make their followers wiser. In fact, we observe the opposite tendency - to keep their followers in darkness. The danger there is that such followers may become spiritual slaves. True Buddhism completely opposes this. It tries to open people's eyes, to awaken them.

IT is when we carry out our practice of faith with a sense of courage and joy that we are able to gain truly immense benefit. If, on the other hand, one has a grudging, negative attitude in faith, then one will be unable to gain great good fortune - good fortune that is truly profound and inexhaustible. While only a fine line separates these two attitudes in faith, the difference in the effects they bring about is immense.

FOR those who have not yet decided your future course, please concentrate your energies on the things you need to accomplish right now. You will discover your path as you keep searching, chanting earnestly to find your direction, and seeking advice and guidance from those around you.

IT is easy to simply parrot the word, "faith". However, putting faith into practice is difficult. The activities of the Gakkai are significant, however in that they allow us to strive together to continually solidify our faith and to help one another improve. This is the purpose of our organisation and the basis of our unity of itai doshin.

BY guiding another individual towards happiness, we guide ourselves towards happiness. This is our practice of introducing others to Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. Through such efforts to share Buddhism with others, we can carry out our human revolution, and we can transform our karma.

This is the greatness of Buddhism. The act of introducing others to Buddhism, which enables us to profoundly benefit ourselves and others, is the formula for hope for humanity.

I sincerely hope you will advance with courage. Courage is necessary in an individual’s practice of faith in the family, in the community and in society as a whole. Furthermore, only courageous faith is instrumental in proving our justice.

THE SGI's movement for peace is striving through dialogues to establish a philosophy of the sanctity of life as the spirit of the age in the 21st century. The dialogues you engage in everyday are noble and important. I hope you will continue them with supreme confidence and pride.

TO the extent that one is earnest in his/her faith and activities, everything will become his good fortune and benefit. Do not let grumblings or complaints lead you to abandon your faith. Whether you gain or lose will become clear ten or twenty years down the line.

Excerpts from the book "Guidance Today" volume 1 to 5, published by Singapore Soka Association.