Chanting Growers Group (2013-∞)

[SoCal Hippy]

"Second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda once said: 'Those who dedicate themselves to kosen-rufu will never be abandoned by the Gohonzon. They will be able to move everything in the direction that they desire. Faith in the Daishonin’s Buddhism is summed up in the word "courage." As its practitioners, we must forge ahead courageously towards victory.'"

SGI Newsletter No. 8764, SGI President Ikeda’s Editorial, Walking the Path of Happiness and Victory Together with the Women’s Division

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"None of you who declare yourselves to be my disciples should ever give way to cowardice."

(The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 764)

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"A Soka Gakkai women's division leader once asked second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda what was most important when talking to others and trying to communicate the greatness of the Mystic Law to them. He replied with a question of his own: 'What is the most important thing in life and faith?'

"Uncertain as to how to respond, the leader remained silent.

"'It is conviction,' replied Mr. Toda. 'When you read newspaper stories about people who have been defeated in life, it's because they have lost conviction. As practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, therefore, we must always prize and value above all the absolute conviction demonstrated by the Daishonin.'

"On another occasion, Mr. Toda also said: 'You truly are a person of strong faith if you have the deep-seated conviction that everything will be fine because you have the Gohonzon, that you will be okay because you chant to the Gohonzon. You know you don't need to worry about having to do this or that, or how things are going to turn out. You uphold the Gohonzon. You chanted before it this morning, you are upholding it now. If you have the conviction that your life will be all right, then it will. From today, adopt that attitude. There isn't the slightest doubt that you will become happy.'[1]

"In this way, Mr. Toda stressed the importance of having absolute conviction in faith.

"Nichiren Daishonin provided a powerful example of this kind of unshakable conviction -the belief that we can overcome any suffering and transform it into something positive through faith in the Mystic Law. He taught a path of boundless hope. And we of the SGI are following the Daishonin's lead."

SGI Newsletter No. 8777, Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin: The Teachings for Victory , [48] 'Reply to the Lay Priest Takahashi,'� Striving with Conviction and Boundless Hope

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

Even you, Shariputra,
p.110in the case of this sutra
were able to gain entrance through faith alone.

---> https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/lsoc/Content/3#para-654

 

[SoCal Hippy]

One may ask why the results of these vows should be so long in appearing. And yet, though one might point at the earth and miss it, though one might bind up the sky, though the tides might cease to ebb and flow and the sun rise in the west, it could never come about that the prayers of the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra would go unanswered. ...

It makes no difference if the practitioner himself is lacking in worth, defective in wisdom, impure in his person, and lacking in virtue derived from observing the precepts. So long as he chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they will invariably protect him. One does not throw away gold because the bag that holds it is dirty; one does not ignore the sandalwood trees because of the foul odor of the eranda trees around them; and one does not refuse to gather lotuses because the pond in the valley where they grow is not clean. If they ignore the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, they will be going against their vow.

Now that the Former and Middle Days of the Law are over, persons who observe the precepts are as rare as tigers in a marketplace, and persons of wisdom are harder to find than the horns of a ch’i-lin. While waiting for the moon to rise, one must rely upon a lantern, and when there are no true gems at hand, gold and silver must serve as jewels. The debt of gratitude one owes to a white crow may be repaid to a black crow, and the debt one owes to a sage priest may be repaid to an ordinary priest. So, if you earnestly pray that blessings be given to you without delay, how can your prayers fail to be answered?

On Prayer / Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, pg. 336

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Weird]

Question: In comparing the Former and Middle Days with the Latter Day of the Law, the first two were far superior in terms of both time and the people’s capacity. Why are these factors of time and capacity ignored in the Lotus Sutra, which refers exclusively to this age?
Answer: The Buddha’s intent is difficult to fathom. Indeed, I am unable to grasp it. We may attempt to understand, however, by taking the Hinayana sutras as a point of reference. During the thousand years of the Former Day of the Law, Hinayana was fully endowed with the three elements of teaching, practice, and proof. During the thousand years of the Middle Day, teaching and practice alone remained; proof no longer existed. In the Latter Day of the Law, teaching alone remains; neither practice nor proof exists. On examining this from the standpoint of the Lotus Sutra, we find that in the thousand years of the Former Day of the Law persons who possessed all three had most probably formed ties with the Lotus Sutra during the Buddha’s lifetime. They were born again in the Former Day and were able to obtain the proof of Hinayana through its teaching and practice. Those born in the Middle Day had not developed strong ties to the Lotus Sutra during the Buddha’s lifetime and were therefore unable to attain proof through Hinayana. They turned instead to provisional Mahayana and thus were able to be born in the pure lands of the ten directions. In the Latter Day of the Law, no benefit is derived from either Mahayana or Hinayana. Hinayana retains nothing but its teaching; it has neither practice nor proof. Mahayana still has its teaching and practice, but no longer provides any proof of benefit, either conspicuous or inconspicuous.
Furthermore, the schools of Hinayana and provisional Mahayana established during the Former and Middle p.400Days of the Law cling all the more stubbornly to their doctrines as they enter the Latter Day. Those who espouse Hinayana reject Mahayana, and those who espouse provisional teachings attack the true teaching, until the country is overrun with slanderers of the Law. Those who fall into the evil paths because of their mistaken practice of Buddhism outnumber the dust particles of the land, while those who attain the Buddha way by practicing the correct teaching are fewer than the specks of dirt that can be placed on a fingernail. At such a time, the heavenly gods and benevolent deities abandon the country, and only perverse heavenly beings and perverse demons remain, possessing the minds and bodies of the ruler, his subjects, and monks and nuns, and causing them to curse, revile, and heap shame on the votary of the Lotus Sutra.
If, however, in the time after the Buddha’s passing, a person renounces his attachments to the four flavors and three teachings, and converts to faith in the Lotus Sutra that is true Mahayana, the heavenly gods and benevolent deities, as well as the bodhisattvas numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds who emerged from beneath the ground, will protect him as the votary of the Lotus Sutra. Under their protection, he will [establish and] spread abroad widely throughout Jambudvīpa the object of devotion of the essential teaching, or the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo.

---> https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/43

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Ikeda: The entire universe is like our own personal bank account. The amount of fortune we can withdraw depends solely on our faith. Faith means battling life’s negative functions. Justice means opposing evil. Buddhist practice means struggling against adversity.

At one point, the Daishonin’s follower Shijo Kingo, who was known for his spirited practice, was so overwhelmed by difficulties that he unwittingly began complaining: “I thought that those who believe in the Lotus Sutra were supposed to enjoy peace and security in this life.” When the Daishonin heard this, he instructed him as follows: “The pine tree lives for ten thousand years, and so its boughs become bent and twisted…The votary of the Lotus Sutra is the Thus Come One whose life span is immeasurable; no wonder his practice is hindered, just as the pines tree’s branches are bent or broken” (WND, 471).

Just as the pine tree stands up to the wind and snow, showing proof of its immense longevity, practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, through enduring difficulties, manifest their true identities as Buddhas of eternal life. The Daishonin stresses to Shijo Kingo that now is the time to reveal the supreme vehicle of Buddhahood. At this time when you are about to receive supreme benefit, he questions, what can you possibly have to complain about?

Saito: In the same writing, the Daishonin also says, “Those who uphold this sutra should be prepared to meet difficulties”: but he assures Shijo Kingo that “Buddhahood lies in continuing faith” (WND, 471).

Ikeda: It’s a matter of embracing the Mystic Law. We need to steadfastly uphold the Mystic Law through every obstacle, confident that we truly have a mission for kosen-rufu.

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"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."

(Lessening One's Karmic Retribution - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Voi.1, pg 199

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"From the Soka Gakkai's very inception, its emphasis on the mentor-disciple relationship has been based on the spirit that there is no path in life more admirable, joyous, or triumphant than basing oneself on the unsurpassed Mystic Law and striving together with an unsurpassed mentor.

"Ultimately, however, everything depends on the disciple's faith. As the Daishonin warns the lay priest Takahashi: 'But if you have doubts, I am powerless to help you' (WND-1, 610).

"Faith is another word for conviction. A person with conviction continues to move forwards and is always filled with hope. A person with conviction is victorious."

SGI Newsletter No. 8777, Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin: The Teachings for Victory , [48] 'Reply to the Lay Priest Takahashi,' Striving with Conviction and Boundless Hope

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"The lion king is said to advance three steps, then gather himself to spring, unleashing the same power whether he traps a tiny ant or attacks a fierce animal."

(Reply to Kyo'o - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 412)

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"Kosen-rufu is a struggle to transform people's lives by breaking through the fundamental darkness[1] that resides within them and awakening their inherent Buddha nature. The essence of the Daishonin's ideal of 'establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land' lies building a network dedicated to good among awakened, ordinary people. But because this struggle involves a transformation on the most fundamental level of people's lives, it can arouse intense resistance in some quarters - in particular, fierce opposition and persecution from arrogant false sages, the third and most formidable of the three powerful enemies.[2] Winning in this great struggle is the key to creating a realm of true peace and happiness, a Buddha land."

SGI Newsletter No. 8777, Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin: The Teachings for Victory , [48] 'Reply to the Lay Priest Takahashi, Striving with Conviction and Boundless Hope

[1] Fundamental darkness: The most deeply rooted illusion inherent in life, said to give rise to all other illusions. The inability to see or recognise the truth, particularly, the true nature of one's life.

[2] Arrogant false sages: One of the three powerful enemies who appear after Shakyamuni's death to persecute the votary of the Lotus Sutra. The term "arrogant false sages"� refers to high-ranking priests who instigate such persecution. Not wishing to be identified as the agents of those wicked acts, they make false claims to society's leaders and plot the persecution of the votary of the Lotus Sutra.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"No matter what lofty ideals one may espouse for the betterment of society, speeches alone will not change the world. The surest path to forging a hopeful future is reaching out to the young people in our immediate environment and sincerely encouraging them."

Daisaku Ikeda-SGI President

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"Shakyamuni taught that the shallow is easy to embrace, but the profound is difficult. To discard the shallow and seek the profound is the way of a person of courage."

(On Repaying Debts of Gratitude - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 712)

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"When we initiate dialogue with the courage to recognise and accept others’ differences, new horizons will open up before us. This has been the spirit with which I have engaged in dialogues with leading thinkers around the world.

"We must learn from the differences that make each of us unique, and even make them a source of value creation. In our world today, where people often misinterpret self-indulgence for freedom, and pleasure for happiness, and see differences as a cause for discrimination, it is necessary for us to reconsider what we want our children to learn from differences."

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[Forest20]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nam myoho renge kyo[/FONT]

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"Devadatta was the foremost good friend to the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. In this age as well, it is not one's allies but one's powerful enemies who assist one's progress."

(The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 770)

 

[SoCal Hippy]

"We live in uncertain times. No one knows what the future will bring, and anxiety prevails. But through chanting wholeheartedly, we can change poison into medicine, no matter what happens.

Our Buddhist practice is a source of limitless strength and hope. Let’s make a fresh start, confident that we will never be deadlocked when we practice the Daishonin’s Buddhism!"

Daisaku Ikeda

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Nichiren Daishonin says: "Words echo the thoughts of the mind and find
expression through the voice."*

A few heartfelt words spoken with sincerity can work to completely open up
the possibilities in a friend's life. Let's warmly encourage people through our
great confidence and conviction!

Daisaku Ikeda

Gosho: 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 - WND-2, page 843