Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

If we follow the mind of delusion of ordinary people-a mind that tends to be weak and easily swayed-our inner potential can rapidly wither or, even worse, we may succumb to negative and destructive impulses. ..

The Daishonin states: "Become the master of your mind rather than let your mind master you" (WND, 502). ... Becoming the master of one's mind means having a sound compass in life and the bright beacon of faith. We must not be mastered by the inconstant, weak, and ever-changing mind of delusion of ordinary people. To master our mind, we must guide it in the right direction. In that sense, the true master of the mind is the Law and the teachings of the Buddha.

(Source: SGI Newsletter No. 6931, featuring SGI President Ikeda Study Lecture Series, ON ATTAINING BUDDHAHOOD IN THIS LIFETIME, [6], The Mystic Nature of Our Lives, Become the Master of Your Mind Rather Than Let Your Mind Master You. Translated from the June 2006 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai study journal)

 

[Hitman]

I hope all is well for Dutch and Gypsy!

Hi all, friends forever!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to all of IC and the world!

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm keeping my head up staying faithful!

 

[Guest]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to all of IC and the world!

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm keeping my head up staying faithful!

thats the ticket! you can't lose if your faithful!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Hitman knows!

 

[Hitman]

The True Aspect of All Phenomena by Nichiren is Deeeeeeeeeeep! Thanks Doob and all others.

EasyDisco- I love the temple that you are building inside your heart.

What an inspiration to us all!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"... because of these praises of the Buddha he will gain immeasurable blessings. And if one lauds and extols those who uphold this sutra, one's good fortune will be even greater ."

(Letter to the Lay Nun of Ko - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 595) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's speech, Seikyo Shimbun, August 8th, 2006

 

[PassTheDoobie]

For my dear friend Dutchgrown:

For my dear friend Dutchgrown:

The Buddha promised in the Lotus Sutra that, for women, the sutra will serve as a lantern in the darkness, as a ship when they cross the sea, and as a protector when they travel through dangerous places.

[ The Supremacy of the Law, WND Page 614 ]

 

[PassTheDoobie]

What can we say, then, of persons who are devoting themselves to Buddhism? Surely they should not forget the debts of gratitude they owe to their parents, their teachers, and their country.

But if one intends to repay these great debts of gratitude, one can hope to do so only if one learns and masters Buddhism, becoming a person of wisdom. If one does not, one will be like a man who attempts to lead a company of the blind over bridges and across rivers when he himself has sightless eyes. Can a ship steered by someone who cannot even tell the direction of the wind ever carry the traveling merchants to the mountains where treasure lies?

If one hopes to learn and master Buddhism, then one cannot do so without devoting time to the task.

[ On Repaying Debts of Gratitude, WND page 690 ]

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"You should realize that it is because of a profound karmic relationship from the past that you can teach others even a sentence or phrase of the Lotus Sutra."

[ A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering, WND page 33 ]

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The Opening of the Eyes I / Pgs 245 to 247

The Opening of the Eyes I / Pgs 245 to 247

In the various sutras preached during the earlier period of the Buddha's teaching life, which have been compared to the first four flavors, the voice-hearers were depicted on countless occasions as being subjected to all kinds of abuse and shamed before the great assembly of human and heavenly beings. Thus we are told that the sound of the Venerable Mahakashyapa's weeping and wailing echoed throughout the (92) major world system, that the Venerable Subhuti was so dumbfounded that he almost went off and left the alms (93) bowl he had been carrying, that Shariputra spat out the food he was (94) eating, and that Purna was berated for being the kind who would put filth in (95) a precious jar.

When the World-Honored One was at Deer Park, he extolled the Agama sutras and enjoined his disciples to rely on the two hundred and fifty precepts as their teacher, warmly praising those who did so, and yet before long, as we have seen, he turned about and began condemning such men. He is guilty, we would have to say, of making two different and completely contradictory pronouncements.

Thus, for example, the World-Honored One cursed Devadatta, saying, "You are a fool who licks the spit of others!" Devadatta felt as though a poison arrow had been shot into his breast, and he cried out in anger, declaring: "Gautama is no Buddha! I am the eldest son of King Dronodana, the elder brother of the Venerable Ananda, and kin to Gautama. No matter what kind of evil conduct I might be guilty of, he ought to admonish me in private for it. But to publicly and outrageously accuse me of faults in front of this great assembly of human and heavenly beings - is this the behavior appropriate to a great man or a Buddha? He showed himself to be my enemy in the past when he stole the (96) woman I intended to marry, and he has shown himself my enemy at this gathering today. From this day forward, I will look upon him as my arch enemy for lifetime after lifetime and age after (97) age to come!"

When we stop to consider, we note that, of the great voice-hearers, some were originally from non-Buddhist Brahman families, or were leaders of various non-Buddhist orders who had converted kings to their teachings and were looked up to by their followers. Others were men of noble families or the possessors of great wealth. But they abandoned their exalted positions in life, lowered the banners of their pride, cast off everyday clothing, and wrapped their bodies in the humble, dingy-hued robes of a Buddhist monk. They threw away their white fly whisks, their bows and arrows, and took up a solitary alms bowl, becoming like paupers and beggars and following the World-Honored One. They had no dwellings to protect them from the wind and rain, and very little in the way of food or clothing by which to sustain life. Moreover, all the people of the five regions and the four seas of India were disciples or lay supporters of the non-Buddhist teachings, so that even the Buddha himself was on nine occasions forced to suffer major hardships.

Thus, for example, Devadatta hurled a great stone at him, and King Ajatashatru loosed a drunken elephant on him. Failing to receive alms from King Agnidatta, the Buddha was forced to eat horse fodder, and at a Brahman city, he was offered stinking rice gruel. Again, Chincha, the daughter of a Brahman, tying a bowl to her belly, claimed to (98) be pregnant with his child.

Needless to say, the Buddha's disciples were likewise forced to suffer frequent hardships. Thus, countless numbers of the Shakya clan were killed by King Virudhaka, and ten million of the Buddha's followers were trampled to death by drunken elephants that were set upon them. The nun Utpalavarna was killed by Devadatta, the Venerable Kalodayin was buried in horse dung, and the Venerable Maudgalyayana was beaten to death by members of a Brahman group named Bamboo (99) Staff. In addition, followers of the six non-Buddhist teachers banded together and slandered the Buddha before King Ajatashatru and King Prasenajit, saying: "Gautama is the most evil man in the whole land of Jambudvipa. Wherever he may be, the three calamities and seven disasters rampage without fail. As the numerous rivers gather together in the great sea and the groves of trees cluster on the great mountains, so crowds of evil men gather about Gautama. The men called Mahakashyapa, Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, and Subhuti are examples. All those who are born in human form should place loyalty to the sovereign and filial piety above all else. But these men have been so misled by Gautama that they disregard the lessons of their parents, abandon their families, and, defying the commandments of the king, go to live in the mountain forests. They should be expelled from this country. It is because they are allowed to remain that the sun, moon, and stars manifest sinister phenomena, and many strange happenings (100) occur in the land."

The voice-hearers did not know how they could possibly bear such persecutions. Then, as if to add to their hardship, [the Buddha himself began to denounce them]. They found it difficult to follow him. Now and then, hearing him condemn them repeatedly in great assemblies of human and heavenly beings, and not knowing how to behave, they only became more confused.

On top of all this, they had to face the greatest hardship of all, as revealed in the Vimalakirti Sutra, [when the Buddha addressed the voice-hearers], saying, "Those who give alms to you are cultivating for themselves no field of good fortune. Those who give alms to you will fall into the three evil paths." These words were spoken when the Buddha was staying at Ambapali (101) Garden. There Brahma, Shakra, the deities of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, and the heavenly gods of the threefold world, along with earthly gods, dragon gods, and other beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, had gathered in this great assembly, when the Buddha said, "The heavenly and human beings who give alms to Subhuti and the other monks will fall into the three evil paths." After the heavenly and human beings had heard this, would they be likely to go on giving alms to the voice-hearers? It would almost appear as though the Buddha were deliberately attempting through his words to inflict death upon those who upheld the two vehicles. The more sensible persons in the assembly were no doubt repelled by the Buddha's action. Nevertheless, the voice-hearers were able to obtain enough of the alms given to the Buddha to keep themselves alive, meager though the amount was.

When I consider the situation, it occurs to me that, if the Buddha had passed away after preaching the various sutras delivered in the first forty and more years of his teaching life and had not lived to preach the Lotus Sutra in the following eight years, then who would ever have offered alms to these venerable ones? They would have been living in the realm of hungry spirits.

But after more than forty years of preaching various sutras, it was as though the bright spring sun emerged to melt the frigid ice, or a great wind arose to dispel the dew from countless grasses. With one remark, in one moment, the Buddha wiped away his earlier pronouncements, saying, "I have not yet revealed the truth." Like a great wind scattering the dark clouds or the full moon in the vast heavens, or like the sun shining in the blue sky, he proclaimed, "The World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth." With the brilliance of the sun or the brightness of the moon, it was revealed in the Lotus Sutra that Shariputra would become the Thus Come One Flower Glow and Mahakashyapa would become the Thus Come One Light Bright. Because of the Lotus Sutra, the phoenix among scriptures and the mirror that reflects the teachings, after the Buddha's passing, the voice-hearers were looked up to by the human and heavenly supporters of Buddhism just as the Buddha would be.

Notes:

92. This story appears in the Vimalakirti Sutra. When Mahakashyapa heard Vimalakirti speak about enlightenment, he could not understand it at all and wept over the fact that he did not inherently possess the seed of Buddhahood. The sutra relates that the sound of his weeping echoed throughout the major world system.
93. This story is also found in the Vimalakirti Sutra. One day Subhuti came to Vimalakirti asking for alms. Vimalakirti filled Subhuti's bowl but told him that he did not deserve to receive alms and that those who offered alms to him would invariably fall into the three evil paths. At that time Subhuti was so shocked that he almost went off without his alms bowl.
94. This story is found in The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom. When Shakyamuni Buddha reproached Shariputra for eating impure food, Shariputra was so surprised that he spat it out. Impure food indicates what is not an offering made from the heart.
95. This story appears in the Vimalakirti Sutra. When Shakyamuni Buddha saw Purna preaching the Hinayana teachings to the people, he told Purna that he should not put impure things into a precious vessel.
96. In the period before Shakyamuni renounced the secular life, he married Yashodhara, a beautiful woman whom Devadatta had wished to marry. As a result, Devadatta nurtured a grudge against Shakyamuni.
97. Based on a passage in the Nirvana Sutra.
98. The above stories are included among the nine great ordeals or persecutions suffered by Shakyamuni Buddha. They are described in Great Perfection of Wisdom and other texts.
99. The story of King Virudhaka appears in The Monastic Rules on Various Matters and elsewhere; it is also included in the nine great ordeals mentioned above. The story of the nun Utpalavarna is found in Great Perfection of Wisdom; because she reproved Devadatta for being a great enemy of Buddhism, he was so enraged that he beat her to death. Kalodayin's disaster is described in The Ten Divisions of Monastic Rules: one day when he was going about begging, a woman offered him alms, but her jealous and enraged husband killed him. The fate of Maudgalyayana is found in Monastic Rules on Various Matters. All of these stories appear also in the various Agama sutras.
100. Adapted from a passage in the Nirvana Sutra.
101. The garden of mango trees in the city of Vaishali in India.

(if you read this you'll understand why I posted it shortly)

 

[Guest]

Looking GOOD!

 

[Hitman]

We all know your a good person, EasyDisco. Keep up the great inspiration. Our minds are the first place that we have to get it right, with Nam Myoho Renge Kyo we can succeed!

 

[Hitman]

If we chant we will see things for what they truly are. We will see things for their beauty. The order and rhythm of our lives falls into place with abundant daimoku. Without Nam Myoho Renge Kyo I feel like a bobber floating aimlessly, like what PasstheDoobie was saying.

Hi Bubbabud, Socal, Doob, Delta, Dutch, Gypsy, and every name back to the beginning of this thread and beyond!

Hit

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Making the Best of Everything:

Making the Best of Everything:

THE TEN FACTORS OF LIFE

Life is dynamic--its capacity for change from one moment to the next is immense. A hungry baby who was crying a minute ago now smile sin the arms of its mother. A heated dispute between lovers suddenly turns into an affectionate embrace. Does this means that we are always at the mercy of whatever happens to us, that we must rely on pleasant experiences and circumstances at every moment to be consistently happy? It need not be so. Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism explains how we can make the best of everything--positive or negative--and take control of our lives.

Our lives express any of what Buddhism describes as the Ten Worlds[1]--from the state of Hell to Buddhahood--at each moment, like each frame of a movie film projecting its image one at a time. Another set of ten--the ten factors--describes the workings of our lives in the context of the Ten Worlds and how we manifest change from one moment to the next. The concept of the ten factors, in other words, provides a philosophical still shot of our lives. It clarifies the functions common to all life in any given condition at any given moment.

The ten factors are described in the second, or “Expedient Means,” chapter of the Lotus Sutra: “The true entity of all phenomena can only be understood and shared between Buddhas. This reality consists of the appearance, nature, entity, power, influence, inherent cause, relation, latent effect, manifest effect, and their consistency from beginning to end” (The Lotus Sutra, trans. Burton Watson, p.24).

The first three factors--appearance, nature and entity--make up life itself. “Appearance” describes the visible, outward aspect of life such as facial expressions and behavior. “Appearance” thus represents the physical or material aspects of life. “Nature” indicates the invisible inner quality and tendencies of life, for example, our disposition and character. “Nature” thus represents the spiritual aspect of life. “Entity” means life as a whole or the essence of life itself from which the material and spiritual aspects of life are manifest.

The rest of the ten factors describe the workings of life and their characteristics. “Power” is the capability latent within life. When this latent power becomes manifest, it is called “influence.” “Inherent cause” refers to our karmic orientations or tendencies formed by our past actions, that is, our thoughts, words and deeds. It refers to the internal causes or karma active at the moment we exert “influence” on our environment. “Relation” refers to our relationships with external circumstances, through which inherent causes become manifest. In this sense, “relation” may be viewed as an external cause. “Latent effect” is the result simultaneously implanted in one’s life when an “inherent cause” acts in “relation” with an external event. “Latent effect,” however, is not yet manifest. When a “latent effect” becomes visible, it is called “manifest effect.” From the standpoint of a “manifest effect”--that is, if manifest effect is the only recognized effect--“inherent cause,” “relation” and “latent effect” collectively constitute a cause. “Consistency from beginning to end” means that life’s appearance, nature, entity, power, influence, inherent cause, relation, latent effect and manifest effect all consistently express the condition that life is in at any particular moment.

For example, when doctors tell their patients that they have a serious illness, despair may result. The patients’ complexions may pale (“appearance”), and they may feel depressed (“nature”). The body and mind, that is, their whole existence (“entity”) expresses a state of suffering. This hellish state can be also explained as follows: Upon hearing the diagnosis (“relation”), the fear of illness (“inherent cause”), developed through past experience, is brought forth. The patients’ latent feat is now realized, and they feel hopeless (“latent effect”). They become anxious, break into a sweat and breathe heavily (“manifest effect”). When they hear this unfortunate news, all aspects of their entire being consistently manifests the state of Hell (“the consistency from beginning to end”). But if they later find out that their illness is much less serious, they may experience a state of joy.

What state or condition of being we manifest at any given moment determines how we experience our environment. On the deepest level, it is not our environment or external circumstances that determine our state of life but the nature of our “relation” without environment. The same event, for example, may cause different reactions in different people. Some may feel defeated by illness or relationship problems while similar difficulties may inspire others to further develop their strength and character. Angry people are upset by small things while optimistic, confident people tend to remain calm regardless of their circumstances. The Ten Worlds are potentials within each of us. What we experience day to day, however, differs vastly from one person to another.

From the standpoint of Buddhism, how we relate to our environment largely depends upon how we have lived our lives, not only in this lifetime but in our past lives as well. Our past actions from karmic orientations, or what we might term life-habits, which constitute “inherent causes.” Based on these deep inner tendencies, we sometimes react automatically, either positively or negatively, to stimuli in our environment. Our reactions to our environment are often beyond conscious control or intellectual understanding. It is hard to explain why we hate certain animals or insects or feel attracted to a certain type of person.

The concept of the ten factors, therefore, teaches us the importance of developing good karmic habits in our lives so that we may consistently from positive “relations” with the events in our environment regardless of what they are. No matter how adverse our current circumstances, if our karmic tendencies are firmly grounded in the states of Bodhisattva or Buddhahood, our lives can transform every hardship into personal growth. Without such grounding, we tend to react negatively top negative situations and cause further confusion and suffering for ourselves and others. Our Buddhist practice--praying to the Gohonzon and encouraging others to practice--is the key to solidifying within us the states of Bodhisattva and Buddhahood, thus developing the habits or “inherent causes,” of happiness.

June 2000
Living Buddhism
By Shin Yatomi, SGI-USA vice Study Department chief, based on Yasashii Kyogaku (Easy Buddhist Study), published by the Seikyo Press, 1994.

 

[Bonzo]

Thats heavy T cause at the moment i seem to making a mountain out of every fuckin' molehill that comes my way what the fuck is wrong wth me i am chanting alot am i resisting this somehow ? well i half 1/2 hour left to chant in front of the Gohonzon. At least im actually reading all theses damn pages you put up, even printed out a few. Im not giving up that easy. hows the little one T?

PEACE

bonz

.................................NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO..........................................

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Bonz!

Bonz!

Thank you T ! It starting to make sense, ill get it damnit. Shit i kinda got it!

bonz nam myoho renge kyo

Remember you said this?

 

[PassTheDoobie]

And in today's post you proved it!

And in today's post you proved it!

Thats heavy T cause at the moment i seem to making a mountain out of every fuckin' molehill that comes my way what the fuck is wrong wth me i am chanting alot am i resisting this somehow ? well i half 1/2 hour left to chant in front of the Gohonzon. At least im actually reading all theses damn pages you put up, even printed out a few. Im not giving up that easy.

PEACE

bonz
................................NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO..........................................

The Daishonin quotes a statement based on a passage in Great Concentration and Insight that describes the ignorance of ordinary people: "That is what is meant by the saying that the heavens and one's eyelashes are alike. People can see neither their own eyelashes, which are so close, nor the heavens in the distance." [The Teaching for the Latter Day, WND page 903]. The ignorance referred to is that of our inability to perceive our own Buddha nature. (Remember ignorance is 'uneducated', not 'stupid'.)

But if you think about what you just posted above, YOU CAN SEE THAT YOU ABSOLUTELY ARE GETTING IT! Your Buddha nature, evidently invisible to you is very evident to me! You are seeing things that once were mountains as the molehills that they are--you are perceiving your own delusion. This comes from you chanting a lot! And what is your reaction to seeing your own delusion? It is to chant Daimoku in front of the Gohonzon--which we both know means getting in your fucking car and driving to the friendship center to do! What Cause! What Wisdom! What a fucking kick-ass Bodhisattva you are!

Are you discouraged by seeing these things as they are, by observing your mind (something you are doing when you are chanting whether you are aware of it occurring or not)? In reality NO, YOU ARE NOT! How can I say that? Because your reaction is that of a Bodhisattva! "Im not giving up that easy."

Dude, you don't "just kinda got it." You got it! Cut yourself some slack. Continue as you are and you will squash those shitty little molehills like the tiny clumps of shit that they are--stinky and probably messy, but nothing that can't be washed away.

Bonz, YOU ARE THE BUDDHA AND YOU MAKE YOUR OWN BENEFIT! You are doing that now, and if you continue forward without letting your own fundamental darkness stop you by obscuring your clear vision of who you truly are, this is something that you will come to clearly see. Continue!

Forward!

Deepest respect!

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Concerning prayer, there are conspicuous prayer and conspicuous response, conspicuous prayer and inconspicuous response, inconspicuous prayer and inconspicuous response, and inconspicuous prayer and conspicuous response. But the only essential point is that, if you believe in this sutra, all your desires will be fulfilled in both the present and the future.

[ Letter to the Lay Priest Domyo, WND Page 750 ]

Background: ...the Daishonin clarifies the relationship between prayer and its resulting benefit. "Conspicuous prayer" means prayer offered with a clear objective or purpose. "Inconspicuous prayer" means prayer offered without a pressing need, that is, simply chanting the daimoku continually. "Conspicuous response" indicates the immediately perceptible fulfillment of one's prayers. "Inconspicuous response" indicates benefit that may not become manifest immediately, but is evident over the course of time, such as the gradual purification of one's life.

The Daishonin stresses that the important thing is simply to maintain strong faith in the Gohonzon.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

The Mystic Law is not visible to the human eye. Therefore, the Buddha uses a concrete metaphor in order to help people understand the Law's wondrous and mystic nature. This is renge, meaning "lotus flower."

Why does he employ the lotus flower? Usually plants flower first and then bear fruit --a relationship that is used to illustrate linear or sequential causality, with the flowers representing the cause and the fruit the effect. In Buddhism, this is referred to as the non-simultaneity of cause and effect. By contrast, the lotus flower puts forth its petals and its receptacle (which contains its fruit) simultaneously -- in other words, its fruit is produced at the same time as its petals open. The lotus thus symbolizes the principle of the simultaneity of cause and effect.

The provisional pre-Lotus Sutra teachings do not teach that the cause for attaining enlightenment is the Buddhahood that is inherent in the lives of all people; rather they teach that one can only gain the life-state of a Buddha after undergoing countless eons of Buddhist practice. Here, cause and effect are non-simultaneous. The teachings of the Lotus Sutra, however, clarify that all people are originally endowed with the state of Buddhahood and can reveal it instantaneously. In other words, the mind of delusion of an ordinary person is instantly transformed into the mind of myo (the supreme enlightenment) of a Buddha. The lotus flower symbolizes this simultaneity of cause and effect.

(Source: SGI Newsletter No. 6931, featuring SGI President Ikeda Study Lecture Series, ON ATTAINING BUDDHAHOOD IN THIS LIFETIME, [6], The Mystic Nature of Our Lives, Become the Master of Your Mind Rather Than Let Your Mind Master You. Translated from the June 2006 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai study journal)

 

[Delta9-THC]

bonz ... you already got it .... you ask what the F"ck is wrong .... nothing .... you have faith beyond most my friend ...
This belief you have is exactly for times like now ... you should use it in its greater sense .... I know you (like me) can think everythings gettin at ya .... but believe that your
hope/faith is strong enough to guide you through .... until we all meet eh?

Peace

Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Bonzo]

Good morning my friends. So what your saying T, is that if i was'nt getting it at all, i would only see a mountain, not realizing its actually a molehill. Interesting, Thank you for pointing that out, you know i was just pullin your leg about all your pages, these pages may just help me and all those that read them live a much more fullfilling life and that is priceless. Your dilligence and eagerness to relay all this knowledge is unreal. I looked at one other site before i came here, soon as i came through the doors , i new i was home. Then i saw this thread and just a couple months before i saw this thread ,NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO had popped into my head yet again as it has done over the years. Coinsedense or Destiny? I dont know , but i do know im so glad to have found you all, and T for starting this thread and letting nothing take it down or discourage your enthusiasm and willingness to spread these words to whoever feels some need to listen and learn.

Thanks T, your work does not go unapreciated, have a brilliant day and hows the little one?

peace to all

bonz

>>>>nam myoho renge kyo>>>>