Chanting Growers Group (2013-∞)

[PassTheDoobie]

"A well-known proverb from Madagascar states: 'Don’t seek soft soil to dig in.' In other words, challenge yourself!"

SGI Newsletter No. 8750, 65th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting, Laying the Solid Foundation for Victory, from the 14th April, 2013, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated 17th April, 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Strengthen your resolve more than ever. Ice is made of water, but it is colder than water. Blue dye comes from indigo, but when something is repeatedly dyed in it, the colour is better than that of the indigo plant. The Lotus Sutra remains the same, but if you repeatedly strengthen your resolve, your colour will be better than that of others, and you will receive more blessings than they do."

(The Supremacy of the Law - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 615) Selection Source: President Ikeda's Essay - Our great path to victory, Seikyo Shinbun, March 30th, 2013

 

[BushyOldGrower]

Even the strong man may stumble when alone but with the help of others we all manage to stay on our feet.

 

[CrazyDog]

One of the first important steps to expanding our circle of friends
is a warm and refreshing greeting!
Let's act with the utmost of sincerity
so that we become trustworthy and reliable members of our local communities.
It is my hope that each one of us can play a leading role
in positively transforming our neighbourhoods!

 

[BushyOldGrower]

See the beauty in the smiles we never lose when we chant...Nam Myoho Renge Kyo...

The divine joy of the light inside us. Let others see your joy and see theirs.

Be excellent to each other...

 

[BushyOldGrower]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/images/smilies/plant grow.gif

Just plant a seed...lol

 

[Payaso]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

Just finished IC version 4!!! Happy Day indeed! Many thanks to all who contributed to our best edition ever...

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

Without ALL of your help this would not have been possible, especially

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!

Final proofing now, will post the eMagazine up sometime later today!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

To all of our youthful Bodhisattvas of the Earth,*
I sincerely hope that you will always live out you lives
with the most lofty of ideals!
You, our youth are our very hope.
With your voices and actions overflowing with confidence and conviction
please open up the the way to a new age.

Daisaku Ikeda

* Bodhisattvas of the Earth: http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=175

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Bodhisattvas of the Earth
[地涌の菩薩] ( Jpn jiyu-no-bosatsu )

An innumerable host of bodhisattvas who emerge from beneath the earth and to whom Shakyamuni Buddha entrusts the propagation of the Mystic Law, or the essence of the Lotus Sutra, in the Latter Day of the Law. They are described in the "Emerging from the Earth" (fifteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the first chapter of the sutra's essential teaching (latter fourteen chapters). In this chapter, countless bodhisattvas from other worlds ask for permission to propagate the sutra in the saha world after the Buddha's death, but Shakyamuni refuses, saying that bodhisattvas who will carry out that task already exist in the saha world. At this point the earth trembles and splits open, and from within it emerges a host of bodhisattvas equal in number to the sands of sixty thousand Ganges Rivers, each with his own retinue of followers. Their bodies are golden and possess the thirty-two features that characterize a Buddha. They are led by four bodhisattvas—Superior Practices, Boundless Practices, Pure Practices, Firmly Established Practices—and Superior Practices is the leader of them all. In the "Supernatural Powers" (twenty-first) chapter, Shakyamuni transfers the essence of the Lotus Sutra to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, entrusting them with the mission of propagating it in the Latter Day of the Law.As the person who first revealed the Mystic Law, or Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which he described as the essence of the Lotus Sutra, and began its propagation in the Latter Day, Nichiren (1222-1282) identified himself with Bodhisattva Superior Practices, the leader of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. He also regarded his followers who embrace and propagate the teaching of the Mystic Law as the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. In this connection, Nichiren states in his work The True Aspect of All Phenomena: "There should be no discrimination among those who propagate the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo in the Latter Day of the Law, be they men or women. Were they not Bodhisattvas of the Earth, they could not chant the daimoku. 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'?" (WND/385). See also bodhisattvas of the essential teaching.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Club of Rome Honourary President Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner stressed the importance of talking with others, no matter who they might be, because in the course of doing so we can discover the treasure within each individual.[1]

"Through dialogue, we can gain hope and faith in our fellow human beings.

"Bodhisattva Never Disparaging who appears in the Lotus Sutra consistently bowed and spoke to others with reverence for the supreme treasure of their inherent Buddha nature. Even when arrogant people responded with abuse, he refused to be discouraged or deterred.

"Such indomitable efforts to reach out to others in dialogue based on respect for their humanity are the essential practice of the Lotus Sutra. With unflagging commitment, joy, and patience, we of the SGI are carrying out this very practice in contemporary society."

SGI Newsletter No. 8751, Creating a “Treasure Realm” of Happiness and Harmony, from the May 2013 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated 18th April 2013

[1] Translated from Japanese. In an article in the Daibyakurenge, May 2012 issue.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"This life is like a dream. One cannot be sure that one will live until tomorrow. However wretched a beggar you might become, never disgrace the Lotus Sutra."

(A Warning against Begrudging One's Fief - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. I, page 824) Selection Source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shinbun, April 24th, 2013

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[TheDanishBuddha]

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Friday, April 26, 2013:
​

What matters is winning in the end; the wins and losses along the way are of secondary significance. It's final victory in life that counts and that is the reason for our Buddhist practice. No matter how powerful or famous or privileged a person might be, Nichiren Daishonin says, from a Buddhist point of view it is all nothing more than a dream, an illusory pleasure; true happiness can only be attained by revealing the state of Buddhahood within our own life.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."

(On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 4) Selection Source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shinbun, April 25th, 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"People who can rejoice and be positive are happy. . . . Let’s advance with faith that enables us to live with joy and fight courageously against wrongdoing and injustice."

SGI Newsletter No. 8754, excerpts from the 17th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting held in Tokyo, on April 23rd, 2008. These excerpts were shown during the 65th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting in Tokyo, on April 13th, 2013. The excerpted text appeared in the April 24, 2013, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, published 24th April 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"More than proclaiming your determination, it is important to take action and show actual proof!"

SGI Newsletter No. 8745,* Young Phoenixes, Soar into the Future!, from the August 2011 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated 5th April 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"In the light of the above points, this shows, my followers, that you had better cut short your sleep by night and curtail your leisure by day, and ponder this! You must not spend your lives in vain and regret it for ten thousand years to come."

(The Problem to Be Pondered Night and Day - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page ) Selection source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shimbun, April 10th, 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Nichiren Daishonin clearly states: 'I have believed it is most important to understand one’s obligations to others, and made it my first duty to repay such debts of kindness' (WND-1, 122). This feeling of gratitude is an essential part of being human, as well as central to the teachings of Buddhism. . . .

"In a famous piece of guidance, Mr. Toda said: 'Looking at the world today, there are very few people with a proper sense of appreciation and gratitude. Ingratitude is the root of society’s troubles.' A family is in trouble when the children forget to be grateful and appreciative of their parents. . . .

"Of the different kinds of gratitude that exist, Buddhism teaches that the most important is gratitude to one’s teacher—in other words, to the person who teaches us the principles of Buddhism and the correct path in life. . . .

"What is the key to repaying one’s debt of gratitude to one’s teacher or mentor? . . . The way to do so is to strive for kosen-rufu with the spirit of 'not begrudging one’s life.'"

SGI Newsletter No. 8754, excerpts from the 17th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting held in Tokyo, on April 23rd, 2008. These excerpts were shown during the 65th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting in Tokyo, on April 13th, 2013. The excerpted text appeared in the April 24, 2013, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, published 24th April 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. no matter what happens. How could this be anything other than the boundless joy of the Law? Strengthen your power of faith more than ever."

(Happiness in This World - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 681) Selection Source: Kyo no Hosshin, Seikyo Shinbun, April 26th, 2013

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"This sutra is superior to all other sutras. It is like the lion king, the monarch of all the creatures that run on the ground, and like the eagle, the king of all the creatures that fly in the sky."

(The Sutra of True Requital - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 929) Selection source: President Ikeda's Essay: Our Grand Road to Victory, Seikyo Shimbun, March 20th, 2013