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Chanting Growers Group
- Thread starter PassTheDoobie
- Start date
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Guest
Hi, hello!
I'm new here, just starting to like this theard!
I would like to say something to PTD...
[this bear is for you
]
and another joyful year!
I hope it's not strange since we never talked before, but you know what. We are no strangers, we just havent met
Peace,
Agnes
I'm new here, just starting to like this theard!
I would like to say something to PTD...
[this bear is for you
]and another joyful year!
I hope it's not strange since we never talked before, but you know what. We are no strangers, we just havent met
Peace,
Agnes
Welcome Agnes
Welcome Agnes
Welcome to the Chanting Growers Thread Agnes. Im so glad you stopped in. Your searching nature has brought you to this thread. Hope you enjoy the post here and make it a regular stop on your ICmag travels. You might want to check out this site http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/SokaGakkai/Study/LectLS/Lectur01.htm as there is much more information there on Nichiren Daishonins buddhism
Nam myoho renge kyo !
Welcome Agnes
Welcome to the Chanting Growers Thread Agnes. Im so glad you stopped in. Your searching nature has brought you to this thread. Hope you enjoy the post here and make it a regular stop on your ICmag travels. You might want to check out this site http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/SokaGakkai/Study/LectLS/Lectur01.htm as there is much more information there on Nichiren Daishonins buddhism
Nam myoho renge kyo !
Marley sounds like you are having a great vacation and have found some great ppl to hang out with Happy Holidays to you too brother glad to see you stopping in.
Nam myoho renge kyo !!
____________________________________________________
Bog my friend I see you back on the boards. I hear sounds of big life changes ? Hope you had very Happy Holidays with your friends
and your travels were interesting and enlightening. So glad to see you back on the boards. Much love from the Babba's...... Welcome Home!!
Nam myoho renge kyo!!
Nam myoho renge kyo !!
____________________________________________________
Bog my friend I see you back on the boards. I hear sounds of big life changes ? Hope you had very Happy Holidays with your friends
and your travels were interesting and enlightening. So glad to see you back on the boards. Much love from the Babba's...... Welcome Home!!
Nam myoho renge kyo!!
Happy Holidays/New Year
Happy Holidays/New Year
Happy Holidays and Happy New Years to all!
Been traveling seeing family and now getting ready to entertain them here for the NY's. (very tiring!)
Would like to express my appreciation to all who have posted or just popped in and viewed on occasion this past year and in my heart am appreciating those who will do the same next year. Thank you all!
It has been one incredible year and if not for this practice for sure I wouldn't be in such an incredible confident and determined life-state and I am glad to see others here doing the same. Let's make 2006 the best!!! Keep chanting!
Nam myoho renge kyo
Happy Holidays/New Year
Happy Holidays and Happy New Years to all!
Been traveling seeing family and now getting ready to entertain them here for the NY's. (very tiring!)
Would like to express my appreciation to all who have posted or just popped in and viewed on occasion this past year and in my heart am appreciating those who will do the same next year. Thank you all!
It has been one incredible year and if not for this practice for sure I wouldn't be in such an incredible confident and determined life-state and I am glad to see others here doing the same. Let's make 2006 the best!!! Keep chanting!
Nam myoho renge kyo
Marley
Member
How can someone talking bad mind about someone with me there make me feel like it was me. Meaning i was feeling all the pane for what they said and the rest of my day was shit. Why was i feeling the pane for someone else and why was the pane so strong, it was like i had no energy and couldnt think.
How can i get over getting this feeling with other bad mind?
i feel like this sounds crazy and didnt no if to put it up, but hey
Well hope all r enjoying there rest and again happy new year to all with a blesssing
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
How can i get over getting this feeling with other bad mind?
i feel like this sounds crazy and didnt no if to put it up, but hey
Well hope all r enjoying there rest and again happy new year to all with a blesssing
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
The internet connection happened today
The internet connection happened today
To all who wished me a happy birthday, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Sorry to be so tardy in my thanks, but we just moved into our mucho, mucho benefit house (that's HOUSE, not condo). Seven bedrooms, six full bathrooms, swimming pool, fire place, (the pad is a former diplomatic residence). It's so nice to have a real yard again! My dog is in heaven, and so are the kids!
Everyone I know here wants to move in with us!
But it's been so much work! Give me a day or so to catch up! No internet since we moved on Christmas day. The dude just left, and I'm posting this quickly to let you know where I've been. My love to all. Where is BOG?
Happy New Year everyone!
T
The internet connection happened today
To all who wished me a happy birthday, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Sorry to be so tardy in my thanks, but we just moved into our mucho, mucho benefit house (that's HOUSE, not condo). Seven bedrooms, six full bathrooms, swimming pool, fire place, (the pad is a former diplomatic residence). It's so nice to have a real yard again! My dog is in heaven, and so are the kids!
Everyone I know here wants to move in with us!
But it's been so much work! Give me a day or so to catch up! No internet since we moved on Christmas day. The dude just left, and I'm posting this quickly to let you know where I've been. My love to all. Where is BOG?
Happy New Year everyone!
T
"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.."
(On Prayer - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 345) Selection source: SGI member's experience, Seikyo Shimbun, December 28th, 2005
(On Prayer - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 345) Selection source: SGI member's experience, Seikyo Shimbun, December 28th, 2005
Here, in my opinion, is the answer to your Q, my friend Marley
Here, in my opinion, is the answer to your Q, my friend Marley
oneness of life and its environment
[依正不二] (Jpn.: esho-funi)
1. Also, non-duality of life and its environment. The principle that life and its environment, though two seemingly distinct phenomena, are essentially non-dual; they are two integral phases of a single reality. In the Japanese term esho-funi, esho is a compound of shoho, meaning life or a living being, and eho, its environment. Funi, meaning "not two," indicates oneness or non-duality. It is short for nini-funi, which means "two (in phenomena) but not two (in essence)." Ho of shoho and eho means reward or effect. It indicates that "life" constitutes a subjective self that experiences the effects of its past actions, and "its environment" is an objective realm in which individuals karmic rewards find expression. Each living being has its own unique environment. The effects of karma appear in oneself and in one's objective environment, because self and environment are two integral aspects of an individual. The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom by Nagarjuna (c. 150-250) introduces the concept of the three realms of existence, which views life from three different standpoints and explains the manifestation of individual lives in the real world. These three are the realm of the five components of life, the realm of living beings, each as a temporary combination of these components, and the realm of the environment. T'ien-t'ai (538-597) included this concept in his doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. According to Miao-lo's Annotations on "The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra," two of these three realms-the realm of the five components and the realm of living beings-represent "life," and, naturally, the realm of the environment represents "environment" in terms of the principle of oneness of life and its environment. These three realms exist in a single moment of life and are inseparable from one another. Therefore, a living being and its environment are non-dual in their ultimate reality. Nichiren (1222-1282) writes in his letter On Omens: "The ten directions are the 'environment,' and living beings are 'life.' To illustrate, environment is like the shadow, and life, the body. Without the body, no shadow can exist, and without life, no environment. In the same way, life is shaped by its environment" (644). He also writes in On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: "If the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds".
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
So in short, my Brother, in Nichiren's Buddhism, moment by moment, based on our life condition in each moment, either we control our environment, or our environment controls us. This is how one's good mind either conquers the bad mind of others, or the bad mind of others conquers us. Chanting sincere Daimoku will conquer the bad mind every time. This is Nichiren's promise that is never, ever, broken. It is up to you.
If they made you feel like shit, you let them do that to you. Not letting them is not a matter of will or strength or weakness; it's a matter of life condition. This is why we encourage each other and do our best to chant every single day. If we bring out our higher life conditions (whether we can accept it or not, our innate Buddha nature becomes manifest WHENEVER we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) it is impossible to be defeated by the lower life condition of those in our environment. Just chant as much as you can Brother, and have a safe trip home.
T
Here, in my opinion, is the answer to your Q, my friend Marley
oneness of life and its environment
[依正不二] (Jpn.: esho-funi)
1. Also, non-duality of life and its environment. The principle that life and its environment, though two seemingly distinct phenomena, are essentially non-dual; they are two integral phases of a single reality. In the Japanese term esho-funi, esho is a compound of shoho, meaning life or a living being, and eho, its environment. Funi, meaning "not two," indicates oneness or non-duality. It is short for nini-funi, which means "two (in phenomena) but not two (in essence)." Ho of shoho and eho means reward or effect. It indicates that "life" constitutes a subjective self that experiences the effects of its past actions, and "its environment" is an objective realm in which individuals karmic rewards find expression. Each living being has its own unique environment. The effects of karma appear in oneself and in one's objective environment, because self and environment are two integral aspects of an individual. The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom by Nagarjuna (c. 150-250) introduces the concept of the three realms of existence, which views life from three different standpoints and explains the manifestation of individual lives in the real world. These three are the realm of the five components of life, the realm of living beings, each as a temporary combination of these components, and the realm of the environment. T'ien-t'ai (538-597) included this concept in his doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. According to Miao-lo's Annotations on "The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra," two of these three realms-the realm of the five components and the realm of living beings-represent "life," and, naturally, the realm of the environment represents "environment" in terms of the principle of oneness of life and its environment. These three realms exist in a single moment of life and are inseparable from one another. Therefore, a living being and its environment are non-dual in their ultimate reality. Nichiren (1222-1282) writes in his letter On Omens: "The ten directions are the 'environment,' and living beings are 'life.' To illustrate, environment is like the shadow, and life, the body. Without the body, no shadow can exist, and without life, no environment. In the same way, life is shaped by its environment" (644). He also writes in On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: "If the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds".
From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
So in short, my Brother, in Nichiren's Buddhism, moment by moment, based on our life condition in each moment, either we control our environment, or our environment controls us. This is how one's good mind either conquers the bad mind of others, or the bad mind of others conquers us. Chanting sincere Daimoku will conquer the bad mind every time. This is Nichiren's promise that is never, ever, broken. It is up to you.
If they made you feel like shit, you let them do that to you. Not letting them is not a matter of will or strength or weakness; it's a matter of life condition. This is why we encourage each other and do our best to chant every single day. If we bring out our higher life conditions (whether we can accept it or not, our innate Buddha nature becomes manifest WHENEVER we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) it is impossible to be defeated by the lower life condition of those in our environment. Just chant as much as you can Brother, and have a safe trip home.
T
Living Buddhism
Buddhist Concepts for Today’s Living (4)
The Oneness Of Life And The Environment
MOST WESTERN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS hold that life is the product of a supreme creator, placed into its environment as part of a grand plan. Science suggests that life sprang forth from inanimate surroundings—that it is merely a phenomenon of a higher complexity.
The Buddhist view of the relationship between life and its environment, between people and their surroundings, is very simple yet profound in its implications. It explains that life naturally emerges wherever causes and conditions are suitable for it to do so. The place were life emerges and exists is called an environment. “Environment” means surroundings, and life is what it surrounds. For human beings, environment includes our families, communities and workplaces, as well as the landscape upon which we live and all life that fills it. Life cannot exist apart from its environment, and life in turn profoundly effects its environment.
At the dawn of life on Earth, the oceans teemed with single-celled organisms. Some of these began to absorb the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and in turn give off oxygen (O2). Gradually these simple organisms evolved into plant life, producing more and more oxygen. An atmosphere that once contained little oxygen slowly transformed into one that was oxygen rich, as new forms of oxygen-breathing life evolved. Some of that oxygen (O2) was transformed into ozone (O3), creating a layer in the atmosphere that blocked out much of the sun’s harmful radiation, cooling the land and oceans and protecting life. Under this protection, life flourished and evolved. Life thus transformed the environment, making it more conducive to more forms of life.
Human beings are immersed in an environment rich with myriad forms of plant and animal life, divorced from which we cannot survive. Because we depend on the water, air and the plant and animal life that surrounds us, our environment truly deserves the name “mother nature”—giving birth to and nourishing human beings. Furthermore, our very bodies are composed of the same elements found in our environment—the liquid component of our bodies, for instance, is similar in composition to seawater.
That we depend on and closely resemble our environment make the Buddhist concept of the oneness of life and its environment a matter of common sense. But the Buddhist view goes beyond a merely mechanical connection; it recognizes a common thread that binds living entities and their environment. This thread is the true aspect of all phenomena, the Mystic Law, which can be understood as the very life of the universe itself.
While science recognizes that life arises from the environment and is an extension of that environment, Buddhism sheds light on why this is so. It is because the environment itself is “alive”—because the universe is brimming with the potential for life.
The “oneness” we have been referring to derives from a Chinese term that literally means “two but not two.” On one level, people and their surroundings are distinct and separate entities. Naturally, it is important to recognize and appreciate this distinction. Yet when viewed from the standpoint of the essential reality, or what the Lotus Sutra refers to as the true aspect of all phenomena, they are one and the same.
Nichiren Daishonin states: “It means that all beings and their environments in any of the Ten Worlds, from Hell at the lowest to Buddhahood at the highest, are, without exception, the manifestations of Myoho-renge-kyo. Where there is an environment, there is life within it. Miao-lo states, ‘Both life (shoho) and its environment (eho) always manifest Myoho-renge- kyo.’” He equates Myoho-renge-kyo to the true entity or true aspect of all phenomena. The Daishonin also writes, “The Environment is like the shadow, and life, the body. Without the body there can be no shadow. Similarly, without life, the environment cannot exist, even though life is supported by its environment" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 4, p. 146). The phrase translated here as “is supported by” can also be understood as “is created by” or “is formed from.”
When people’s inner lives are misguided or unbalanced, the environment—human society, the ecosystem, oceans, atmosphere and geography—is negatively influenced.
It is important to realize that this is not a static relationship. The connection between us and our surroundings is dynamic, alive. We are constantly exerting an influence on our surroundings while our surroundings are constantly influencing us. What should concern us is whether we are exerting a positive, valuable influence on our environment, and whether we are responding to the influences of our environment in positive and valuable ways.
If we don’t like what we see in our environment, we can work to change it for the better. And to do this, the principle of oneness with our environment suggests that we must simultaneously work to better ourselves.
Today our world stands at the brink of an environmental crisis. The habits of humankind have been causing cumulative global environmental effects that are beginning to degrade the well-being of humanity. The dangerous depletion of the Earth’s protective ozone layer and global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels are just two publicized examples. In addition, some 50,000 species are becoming extinct each year, many from causes directly linked to human influence.
According to the principle of oneness of life and the environment, a fouled environment is the product of polluted hearts and minds. It in turn functions to pollute the bodies, hearts and minds of those living within it. The ongoing destruction of nature, in this light, is clearly a sign of people’s ignorance of the true nature of life.
In our study of Buddhism we often use the term life-condition to describe our inner mental or emotional state. Life-condition, however, actually refers to the whole picture of our internal and external circumstances. Not only does it mean one’s outlook, frame of mind, heart and spirit; it also includes one’s surroundings—the harmony of one’s family setting, work environment, role in the community, prosperity, etc. All of these things characterize our life and its environment.
When we view ourselves and our environment as essentially one, we see the value of cultivating and enriching our inner humanity while working to improve our external circumstances. To attend exclusively to either the internal or the external will leave us going in circles. The purpose of the SGI movement is to enable a positive transformation in the lives of individuals, who in turn act with wisdom to exert a positive influence on their environment. As the preface to the novel The Human Revolution reads, “A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further, will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.” Understanding of this principle is perhaps best expressed in our determination always to improve ourselves while working positively for the well-being of others and the improvement of our environment.
By Jeff Kriger, Managing Editor
Title: The Oneness Of Life And The Environment
Subject: Living Buddhism 06/99 v.99 n.6 p.6 LB9906p06
Author: Jeff Kriger
Keywords: Buddhist Concepts Environment Jeff Kriger Life Oneness Study Terms
Buddhist Concepts for Today’s Living (4)
The Oneness Of Life And The Environment
MOST WESTERN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS hold that life is the product of a supreme creator, placed into its environment as part of a grand plan. Science suggests that life sprang forth from inanimate surroundings—that it is merely a phenomenon of a higher complexity.
The Buddhist view of the relationship between life and its environment, between people and their surroundings, is very simple yet profound in its implications. It explains that life naturally emerges wherever causes and conditions are suitable for it to do so. The place were life emerges and exists is called an environment. “Environment” means surroundings, and life is what it surrounds. For human beings, environment includes our families, communities and workplaces, as well as the landscape upon which we live and all life that fills it. Life cannot exist apart from its environment, and life in turn profoundly effects its environment.
At the dawn of life on Earth, the oceans teemed with single-celled organisms. Some of these began to absorb the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and in turn give off oxygen (O2). Gradually these simple organisms evolved into plant life, producing more and more oxygen. An atmosphere that once contained little oxygen slowly transformed into one that was oxygen rich, as new forms of oxygen-breathing life evolved. Some of that oxygen (O2) was transformed into ozone (O3), creating a layer in the atmosphere that blocked out much of the sun’s harmful radiation, cooling the land and oceans and protecting life. Under this protection, life flourished and evolved. Life thus transformed the environment, making it more conducive to more forms of life.
Human beings are immersed in an environment rich with myriad forms of plant and animal life, divorced from which we cannot survive. Because we depend on the water, air and the plant and animal life that surrounds us, our environment truly deserves the name “mother nature”—giving birth to and nourishing human beings. Furthermore, our very bodies are composed of the same elements found in our environment—the liquid component of our bodies, for instance, is similar in composition to seawater.
That we depend on and closely resemble our environment make the Buddhist concept of the oneness of life and its environment a matter of common sense. But the Buddhist view goes beyond a merely mechanical connection; it recognizes a common thread that binds living entities and their environment. This thread is the true aspect of all phenomena, the Mystic Law, which can be understood as the very life of the universe itself.
While science recognizes that life arises from the environment and is an extension of that environment, Buddhism sheds light on why this is so. It is because the environment itself is “alive”—because the universe is brimming with the potential for life.
The “oneness” we have been referring to derives from a Chinese term that literally means “two but not two.” On one level, people and their surroundings are distinct and separate entities. Naturally, it is important to recognize and appreciate this distinction. Yet when viewed from the standpoint of the essential reality, or what the Lotus Sutra refers to as the true aspect of all phenomena, they are one and the same.
Nichiren Daishonin states: “It means that all beings and their environments in any of the Ten Worlds, from Hell at the lowest to Buddhahood at the highest, are, without exception, the manifestations of Myoho-renge-kyo. Where there is an environment, there is life within it. Miao-lo states, ‘Both life (shoho) and its environment (eho) always manifest Myoho-renge- kyo.’” He equates Myoho-renge-kyo to the true entity or true aspect of all phenomena. The Daishonin also writes, “The Environment is like the shadow, and life, the body. Without the body there can be no shadow. Similarly, without life, the environment cannot exist, even though life is supported by its environment" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 4, p. 146). The phrase translated here as “is supported by” can also be understood as “is created by” or “is formed from.”
When people’s inner lives are misguided or unbalanced, the environment—human society, the ecosystem, oceans, atmosphere and geography—is negatively influenced.
It is important to realize that this is not a static relationship. The connection between us and our surroundings is dynamic, alive. We are constantly exerting an influence on our surroundings while our surroundings are constantly influencing us. What should concern us is whether we are exerting a positive, valuable influence on our environment, and whether we are responding to the influences of our environment in positive and valuable ways.
If we don’t like what we see in our environment, we can work to change it for the better. And to do this, the principle of oneness with our environment suggests that we must simultaneously work to better ourselves.
Today our world stands at the brink of an environmental crisis. The habits of humankind have been causing cumulative global environmental effects that are beginning to degrade the well-being of humanity. The dangerous depletion of the Earth’s protective ozone layer and global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels are just two publicized examples. In addition, some 50,000 species are becoming extinct each year, many from causes directly linked to human influence.
According to the principle of oneness of life and the environment, a fouled environment is the product of polluted hearts and minds. It in turn functions to pollute the bodies, hearts and minds of those living within it. The ongoing destruction of nature, in this light, is clearly a sign of people’s ignorance of the true nature of life.
In our study of Buddhism we often use the term life-condition to describe our inner mental or emotional state. Life-condition, however, actually refers to the whole picture of our internal and external circumstances. Not only does it mean one’s outlook, frame of mind, heart and spirit; it also includes one’s surroundings—the harmony of one’s family setting, work environment, role in the community, prosperity, etc. All of these things characterize our life and its environment.
When we view ourselves and our environment as essentially one, we see the value of cultivating and enriching our inner humanity while working to improve our external circumstances. To attend exclusively to either the internal or the external will leave us going in circles. The purpose of the SGI movement is to enable a positive transformation in the lives of individuals, who in turn act with wisdom to exert a positive influence on their environment. As the preface to the novel The Human Revolution reads, “A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further, will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.” Understanding of this principle is perhaps best expressed in our determination always to improve ourselves while working positively for the well-being of others and the improvement of our environment.
By Jeff Kriger, Managing Editor
Title: The Oneness Of Life And The Environment
Subject: Living Buddhism 06/99 v.99 n.6 p.6 LB9906p06
Author: Jeff Kriger
Keywords: Buddhist Concepts Environment Jeff Kriger Life Oneness Study Terms
Oneness of Self and Environment
The Buddhist principle of the oneness of self and environment (esho funi) means that life (sho) and its environment (e) are inseparable (funi). Funi means "two but not two." This means that although we perceive things around us as separate from us, there is a dimension of our lives that is one with the universe. At the most fundamental level of life itself, there is no separation between ourselves and the environment.
Buddhism teaches that life manifests itself in both a living subject and an objective environment. Nichiren wrote, "Life at each moment encompasses . . . both self and environment of all sentient beings in every condition of life as well as insentient beings--plants, sky and earth, on down to the most minute particles of dust."
"Life" means the subjective self that experiences the effects of past actions and is capable of creating new causes for the future. The environment is the objective realm where the karmic effects of life take shape. Each living being has his or her own unique environment. For example, a person whose inner life is in a state of hell may perceive the environment of the inside of a crowded subway train as being hellish, while a person in the state known in Buddhism as bodhisattva (see January 1998 issue) might manage to feel compassion and a sense of camaraderie with the other people pressed around them.
People also create physical environments which reflect their inner reality. For instance, someone who is depressed is likely to neglect his home and personal appearance. On the other hand, someone who is secure and generous creates a warm and attractive environment around them.
According to Buddhism, everything around us, including work and family relationships, is the reflection of our inner lives. Everything is perceived through the self and alters according to the individual's inner state of life. Thus, if we change ourselves, our circumstances will inevitably change also.
This is a liberating concept as it means that there is no need to seek enlightenment outside ourselves or in a particular place. Wherever we are, in whatever circumstances, we can bring forth our innate Buddhahood, thus transforming our experience of our environment into "the Buddha's land"--the joy-filled place where we can create value for ourselves and for others.
As Nichiren wrote, "If the minds of the people are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure and impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds." ("Evil" means self-centered and shortsighted actions based on greed, arrogance, fear and aggression.)
This is simply illustrated by the state of the natural environment in different societies. In some rural environments, indigenous peoples show deep respect for their natural surroundings, not taking more than they need, and the riches of nature have been preserved, providing protection and sustenance in return. However, in developed areas where materialistic greed predominates, the environment has frequently been devoured and stripped, with catastrophic effects.
The single most positive action we can make for society and the land is to transform our own lives, so that they are no longer dominated by anger, greed and fear. When we manifest wisdom, generosity and integrity, we naturally make more valuable choices, and we will find that our surroundings are nurturing and supportive. Often, we cannot foresee the long-term results of our actions, and it is hard to believe that one individual's choices can really affect the state of the world, but Buddhism teaches that through the oneness of self and environment, everything is interconnected.
And the more we believe that our actions do make a difference, the greater the difference we find we can make.
(from: http://www.sgi.org/english/Buddhism/more/more16.htm )
The Buddhist principle of the oneness of self and environment (esho funi) means that life (sho) and its environment (e) are inseparable (funi). Funi means "two but not two." This means that although we perceive things around us as separate from us, there is a dimension of our lives that is one with the universe. At the most fundamental level of life itself, there is no separation between ourselves and the environment.
Buddhism teaches that life manifests itself in both a living subject and an objective environment. Nichiren wrote, "Life at each moment encompasses . . . both self and environment of all sentient beings in every condition of life as well as insentient beings--plants, sky and earth, on down to the most minute particles of dust."
"Life" means the subjective self that experiences the effects of past actions and is capable of creating new causes for the future. The environment is the objective realm where the karmic effects of life take shape. Each living being has his or her own unique environment. For example, a person whose inner life is in a state of hell may perceive the environment of the inside of a crowded subway train as being hellish, while a person in the state known in Buddhism as bodhisattva (see January 1998 issue) might manage to feel compassion and a sense of camaraderie with the other people pressed around them.
People also create physical environments which reflect their inner reality. For instance, someone who is depressed is likely to neglect his home and personal appearance. On the other hand, someone who is secure and generous creates a warm and attractive environment around them.
According to Buddhism, everything around us, including work and family relationships, is the reflection of our inner lives. Everything is perceived through the self and alters according to the individual's inner state of life. Thus, if we change ourselves, our circumstances will inevitably change also.
This is a liberating concept as it means that there is no need to seek enlightenment outside ourselves or in a particular place. Wherever we are, in whatever circumstances, we can bring forth our innate Buddhahood, thus transforming our experience of our environment into "the Buddha's land"--the joy-filled place where we can create value for ourselves and for others.
As Nichiren wrote, "If the minds of the people are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure and impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds." ("Evil" means self-centered and shortsighted actions based on greed, arrogance, fear and aggression.)
This is simply illustrated by the state of the natural environment in different societies. In some rural environments, indigenous peoples show deep respect for their natural surroundings, not taking more than they need, and the riches of nature have been preserved, providing protection and sustenance in return. However, in developed areas where materialistic greed predominates, the environment has frequently been devoured and stripped, with catastrophic effects.
The single most positive action we can make for society and the land is to transform our own lives, so that they are no longer dominated by anger, greed and fear. When we manifest wisdom, generosity and integrity, we naturally make more valuable choices, and we will find that our surroundings are nurturing and supportive. Often, we cannot foresee the long-term results of our actions, and it is hard to believe that one individual's choices can really affect the state of the world, but Buddhism teaches that through the oneness of self and environment, everything is interconnected.
And the more we believe that our actions do make a difference, the greater the difference we find we can make.
(from: http://www.sgi.org/english/Buddhism/more/more16.htm )
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings
Chapter Ten: The Teacher of the Law
Sixteen important points
Point Sixteen, on the words “…he will see Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: To “see Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands” means to see the treasure tower. “Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands” refers to the Buddha Many Treasures of the treasure tower. The “Many” of the name Many Treasures refers to the Dharma-realm, the realm of many phenomena. “Treasures” refers to enlightenment into the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. To see the Dharma-realm as the Buddha Many Treasures is to see “Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands.” Therefore the present chapter, “The Teacher of the Law,” is followed by the chapter, “The Emergence of the Treasure Tower.”
The treasure tower is the vehicle in which the teacher of the Law, who possesses understanding, practice, and enlightenment, rides. Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are exemplifying wonderful understanding, wonderful practice, and wonderful enlightenment; that is, they exemplify unfathomable understanding, unfathomable practice, and unfathomable attainment. This means they have gained enlightenment into the truth of the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life.
The word “Ganges” in the phrase “Ganges sands" denotes a river that washes away evil and brings forth good. “Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands” means that every single word of the sutra represents a Buddha body golden in color.
You should think carefully about the word “see.” It refers to the insight or vision of a Buddha. The word “following” in the preceeding line of the sutra means following this Buddha wisdom and vision.
The word “see” in the phrase “he will see Buddhas” and the seeing of the treasure tower refer to the two concepts of the insentient environment and the living self. The “see” of “see Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands” represents the living self. The “see” of the seeing of the treasure tower represents the insentient environment.
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings
Chapter Ten: The Teacher of the Law
Sixteen important points
Point Sixteen, on the words “…he will see Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands.”
The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings says: To “see Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands” means to see the treasure tower. “Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands” refers to the Buddha Many Treasures of the treasure tower. The “Many” of the name Many Treasures refers to the Dharma-realm, the realm of many phenomena. “Treasures” refers to enlightenment into the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. To see the Dharma-realm as the Buddha Many Treasures is to see “Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands.” Therefore the present chapter, “The Teacher of the Law,” is followed by the chapter, “The Emergence of the Treasure Tower.”
The treasure tower is the vehicle in which the teacher of the Law, who possesses understanding, practice, and enlightenment, rides. Now when Nichiren and his followers chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they are exemplifying wonderful understanding, wonderful practice, and wonderful enlightenment; that is, they exemplify unfathomable understanding, unfathomable practice, and unfathomable attainment. This means they have gained enlightenment into the truth of the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life.
The word “Ganges” in the phrase “Ganges sands" denotes a river that washes away evil and brings forth good. “Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands” means that every single word of the sutra represents a Buddha body golden in color.
You should think carefully about the word “see.” It refers to the insight or vision of a Buddha. The word “following” in the preceeding line of the sutra means following this Buddha wisdom and vision.
The word “see” in the phrase “he will see Buddhas” and the seeing of the treasure tower refer to the two concepts of the insentient environment and the living self. The “see” of “see Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands” represents the living self. The “see” of the seeing of the treasure tower represents the insentient environment.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THOSE OF US ALREADY IN 2006 TO THOSE OF YOU STILL IN 2005!
"I am forever reminding them that they will not only ruin themselves and destroy the country in this lifetime, but fall into the great Avichi hell in the next. Hence I have suffered this severe persecution. ... Stones are split open for their hidden gems, deer are slain for their hides and meat, fish are caught for their flavour, the kingfisher is killed for its gorgeous feathers, and a beautiful woman is envied for her beauty. This is the case with me. Because I am the votary of the Lotus Sutra, I have suffered all manner of persecution at the hands of the three powerful enemies. How wondrous that you have, nonetheless, become a disciple and a supporter of such a person! There must be some profound reason for our relationship. Make every possible effort to deepen your faith, and reach the pure land of Eagle Peak."
(The Swords of Good and Evil - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 451) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's speech, Seikyo Shimbun, December 27th, 2005
(The Swords of Good and Evil - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 451) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's speech, Seikyo Shimbun, December 27th, 2005
New Year's Gosho / WND pg. 1137
New Year's Gosho / WND pg. 1137
I have received a hundred slabs of steamed rice cake and a basket of fruit. New Year's Day marks the first day, the first month, the beginning of (1) the year, and the start of spring. A person who celebrates this day will accumulate virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, (2) moving from west to east, and as the sun shines more brightly, traveling from east to west.
First of all, as to the question of where exactly hell and the Buddha exist, one sutra states that hell exists underground, and another sutra says that the Buddha is in the west. Closer examination, however, reveals that both exist in our five-foot body. This must be true because hell is in the heart of a person who inwardly despises his father and disregards his mother. It is like the lotus seed, which contains both blossom and fruit. In the same way, the Buddha dwells within our hearts. For example, flint has the potential to produce fire, and gems have intrinsic value. 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. You may question how it is that the Buddha can reside within us when our bodies, originating from our parents' sperm and blood, are the source of the three poisons and the seat of carnal desires. But repeated consideration assures us of the truth of this matter. The pure lotus flower blooms out of the muddy pond, the fragrant sandalwood grows from the soil, the graceful cherry blossoms come forth from trees, the beautiful Yang Kuei-fei was born of a woman of low station, and the moon rises from behind the mountains to shed light on them. Misfortune comes from one's mouth and ruins one, but fortune comes from one's heart and makes one worthy of respect.
The sincerity of making offerings to the Lotus Sutra at the beginning of the New Year is like cherry blossoms blooming from trees, a lotus unfolding in a pond, sandalwood leaves unfurling on the Snow Mountains, or the moon beginning to rise. Now Japan, in becoming an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, has invited misfortune from a thousand miles away. In light of this, it is clear that those who now believe in the Lotus Sutra will gather fortune from ten thousand miles away. The shadow is cast by the form, and just as the shadow follows the form, misfortune will befall the country whose people are hostile to the Lotus Sutra. The believers in the Lotus Sutra, on the other hand, are like the sandalwood with its fragrance. I will write you again.
Nichiren
The fifth day of the first month
Reply to the wife of Omosu
Background
This letter was written to the wife of Omosu in acknowledgment of offerings Nichiren Daishonin had received from her at the beginning of the year. The precise year of this letter, however, remains unclear.
Omosu derived his name from that of the area in which his estate was located, Omosu Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province. His full name was Ishikawa Shimbei Yoshisuke. His wife was the elder sister of Nanjo Tokimitsu.
In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin explains the operative principle of the Ten Worlds in a simple, poetic way, revealing that both Buddhahood and hell exist within the life of each individual. A person with a heart full of hatred experiences the world of hell; a person with faith in the Lotus Sutra experiences the world of Buddhahood.
Notes
1. According to the Japanese lunar calendar, spring begins with the first month -that is, on New Year's Day by that calendar, which on the Gregorian calendar falls somewhere between January 21 and February 19.
2. This refers to the fact that the new moon is first seen in the west just after sunset. On successive nights, as the moon grows fuller, it appears to have moved a little farther toward the east.
New Year's Gosho / WND pg. 1137
I have received a hundred slabs of steamed rice cake and a basket of fruit. New Year's Day marks the first day, the first month, the beginning of (1) the year, and the start of spring. A person who celebrates this day will accumulate virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, (2) moving from west to east, and as the sun shines more brightly, traveling from east to west.
First of all, as to the question of where exactly hell and the Buddha exist, one sutra states that hell exists underground, and another sutra says that the Buddha is in the west. Closer examination, however, reveals that both exist in our five-foot body. This must be true because hell is in the heart of a person who inwardly despises his father and disregards his mother. It is like the lotus seed, which contains both blossom and fruit. In the same way, the Buddha dwells within our hearts. For example, flint has the potential to produce fire, and gems have intrinsic value. 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. You may question how it is that the Buddha can reside within us when our bodies, originating from our parents' sperm and blood, are the source of the three poisons and the seat of carnal desires. But repeated consideration assures us of the truth of this matter. The pure lotus flower blooms out of the muddy pond, the fragrant sandalwood grows from the soil, the graceful cherry blossoms come forth from trees, the beautiful Yang Kuei-fei was born of a woman of low station, and the moon rises from behind the mountains to shed light on them. Misfortune comes from one's mouth and ruins one, but fortune comes from one's heart and makes one worthy of respect.
The sincerity of making offerings to the Lotus Sutra at the beginning of the New Year is like cherry blossoms blooming from trees, a lotus unfolding in a pond, sandalwood leaves unfurling on the Snow Mountains, or the moon beginning to rise. Now Japan, in becoming an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, has invited misfortune from a thousand miles away. In light of this, it is clear that those who now believe in the Lotus Sutra will gather fortune from ten thousand miles away. The shadow is cast by the form, and just as the shadow follows the form, misfortune will befall the country whose people are hostile to the Lotus Sutra. The believers in the Lotus Sutra, on the other hand, are like the sandalwood with its fragrance. I will write you again.
Nichiren
The fifth day of the first month
Reply to the wife of Omosu
Background
This letter was written to the wife of Omosu in acknowledgment of offerings Nichiren Daishonin had received from her at the beginning of the year. The precise year of this letter, however, remains unclear.
Omosu derived his name from that of the area in which his estate was located, Omosu Village in Fuji District of Suruga Province. His full name was Ishikawa Shimbei Yoshisuke. His wife was the elder sister of Nanjo Tokimitsu.
In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin explains the operative principle of the Ten Worlds in a simple, poetic way, revealing that both Buddhahood and hell exist within the life of each individual. A person with a heart full of hatred experiences the world of hell; a person with faith in the Lotus Sutra experiences the world of Buddhahood.
Notes
1. According to the Japanese lunar calendar, spring begins with the first month -that is, on New Year's Day by that calendar, which on the Gregorian calendar falls somewhere between January 21 and February 19.
2. This refers to the fact that the new moon is first seen in the west just after sunset. On successive nights, as the moon grows fuller, it appears to have moved a little farther toward the east.
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