Chanting Growers Group

[Babbabud]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Hello friends Hope you all are doing well. Lots of chanting going on here. Tomorrow we will take a little break and spend the day steelhead fishing at a river ive been fishing for 35 years. A super magical place that has brought many answers over the years. Ill spend the day with my son and god son. Its about alot more then fishing but still hope to get lucky and pull in a couple of these big chrome monsters!! Ill get some quality Daimoku in for you all in one of the most beautiful spots on the planet so I hope it helps! Much love to you all
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Bonzo]

Wow, sounds awesome Babba, enjoy my friend and i hope you catch a couple Big-Uns!

Hi T, EASY, scegy, So Cal hope all is well with ya!! And everyone else!

peace, love and deepest respect

bonz







~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Nam myoho renge kyo!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Referring to the Gosho, we see that the Daishonin often uses such expressions as 'more and more,' 'more than ever,' and 'still greater.' And he urges: 'Strengthen your faith day by day and month after month' (WND-1, 997). This is the spirit of the Buddhism of true cause—the spirit of always moving forward from this moment on. And it is this spirit that serves as the impetus for elevating both our own lives and those of others to a state of everlasting and eternal happiness."

SGI Newsletter No. 7348, SGI President Ikeda's Editorial, Long Live the Ever-Youthful Many Treasures Group!, translated from the October 2007 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"More valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all."

(The Three Kinds of Treasure - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 851) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, October 17th, 2007

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Buddhism is about the principal of
"three thousand realms in a single moment of life"*.
It is our strong determination
based on wholehearted faith in the Mystic Law
that enables us to change both ourselves
and the world for the better.

Daisaku Ikeda

*three thousand realms in a single moment of life (ichinen sanzen in Japanese) - http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=2376

"President Toda remarked: 'What is enlightenment in the Latter Day of the Law? It is to believe wholeheartedly in the Gohonzon.' To not doubt the Gohonzon no matter what happens, to believe earnestly--this is enlightenment in the Latter Day. Faith in the Gohonzon itself equals enlightenment.

"To illustrate, there might be someone who agonizes over his home situation. The person lives in anguish, feeling that he is the most miserable person in the world. He feels resentment toward others and complains constantly. As a result of opening his eyes to faith and learning about Buddhism, however, he comes to understand that the causes of his misery are within his own life. He then strives to carry out his human revolution. As his faith deepens and his state of life expands, he can splendidly overcome his sufferings.

"Through this experience, the person grasps the truth that when one's frame of mind or spirit changes, everything changes. This is the case of embodying the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life." (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 4, page 17)

 

[PassTheDoobie]

three thousand realms in a single moment of life
[一念三千] (Jpn ichi- nen-sanzen )

Also, the principle of a single moment of life comprising three thousand realms. "A single moment of life" (ichinen) is also translated as one mind, one thought, or one thought-moment. A philosophical system established by T'ient'ai (538-597) in his Great Concentration and Insight on the basis of the phrase "the true aspect of all phenomena" from the "Expedient Means" (second) chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The three thousand realms, or the entire phenomenal world, exist in a single moment of life. The number three thousand here comes from the following calculation: 10 (Ten Worlds) 10 (Ten Worlds) 10 (ten factors) 3 (three realms of existence). Life at any moment manifests one of the Ten Worlds. Each of these worlds possesses the potential for all ten within itself, and this "mutual possession," or mutual inclusion, of the Ten Worlds is represented as 100, or a hundred, possible worlds. Each of these hundred worlds possesses the ten factors, making one thousand factors or potentials, and these operate within each of the three realms of existence, thus making three thousand realms. The theoretical teaching (first half) of the Lotus Sutra expounds the ten factors of life. It also sets forth the attainment of Buddhahood by persons of the two vehicles (voice-hearers and cause-awakened ones), which signifies the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds. The essential teaching (latter half) of the sutra reveals the true cause (the eternal nine worlds), the true effect (eternal Buddhahood), and the true land (the eternal land or realm of the environment). T'ient'ai unified all these concepts in one system, three thousand realms in a single moment of life. Volume five of Great Concentration and Insight reads: "Life at each moment is endowed with the Ten Worlds. At the same time, each of the Ten Worlds is endowed with all Ten Worlds, so that an entity of life actually possesses one hundred worlds. Each of these worlds in turn possesses thirty realms, which means that in the one hundred worlds there are three thousand realms. The three thousand realms of existence are all possessed by life in a single moment. If there is no life, that is the end of the matter. But if there is the slightest bit of life, it contains all the three thousand realms.... This is what we mean when we speak of the 'region of the unfathomable.'" "Life at each moment" means life as an indivisible whole that includes body and mind, cause and effect, and sentient and insentient things. A single moment of life is endowed, as stated above, with the three thousand realms. The relationship of these two elements is not such that one precedes the other, or that they are simultaneous in the sense that one is included in the other. Actually they are non-dual or, as T'ient'ai put it, "two [in phenomena] but not two [in essence]." The provisional teachings stated that all phenomena arise from the mind, or that they are subordinate to the mind. The Lotus Sutra clarifies that the true aspect is inseparable from all phenomena, and that all phenomena, just as they are, are in themselves the true aspect. When T'ient'ai stated, "The three thousand realms of existence are all possessed by life in a single moment.... But if there is the slightest bit of life, it contains all the three thousand realms," he is referring to the non-duality of "a single moment of life" and the "three thousand realms." "The three thousand realms in a single moment of life" is classified into two as the theoretical principle and the actual embodiment of this principle. These are respectively termed the "theoretical three thousand realms in a single moment of life" and the "actual three thousand realms in a single moment of life." The theoretical principle is based on the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra, which expounds the equality of Buddhahood and the nine worlds. Both, it points out, are manifestations of the true aspect. The theoretical teaching also reveals the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds based on the principle that persons of the two vehicles, who were denied Buddhahood in the provisional teachings, also possess innate Buddhahood and can attain it. Strictly speaking, however, the theoretical teaching reveals only the hundred worlds and, multiplying by the ten factors of life, the thousand factors, and does not reveal their eternal nature. Only when supported by the essential teaching (the latter half) of the Lotus Sutra, can the theoretical teaching be said to expound theoretically, as a possibility, the three thousand realms in a single moment of life. On the other hand, the essential teaching reveals Shakyamuni's enlightenment in the remote past (the true effect, eternal Buddhahood), the eternal life of his disciples, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth (the true cause, the eternal nine worlds), and the eternity of the saha world (the true land). These explain the eternal Ten Worlds and the eternal three realms of existence, and thus "the actual three thousand realms in a single moment of life." Despite its comprehensive view, the essential teaching does not go on to reveal the practice that enables one to embody directly this principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. Though the sutra says, "If there are those who hear the Law, then not a one will fail to attain Buddhahood," it does not identify what the Law is. That is why Nichiren (1222-1282) defined the entire Lotus Sutra—both the theoretical and the essential teachings—as representing "the theoretical three thousand realms in a single moment of life." In contrast, Nichiren embodied his life embracing the three thousand realms in a single moment, or the life of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, in the mandala known as the Gohonzon and established the practice for attaining Buddhahood. That practice is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the Gohonzon. In Nichiren's teaching, this is the practice for "observing the mind," i.e., observing one's own mind and seeing Buddhahood in it. For this reason, his teaching is summarized in the phrase "embracing the Gohonzon is in itself observing one's mind" or "embracing the Gohonzon is in itself attaining Buddhahood." He states in a 1273 letter known as Reply to Kyo'o, "I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart. The Buddha's will is the Lotus Sutra, but the soul of Nichiren is nothing other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" (412), and in his 1273 treatise The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind: "Showing profound compassion for those unable to comprehend the gem of the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, the Buddha wrapped it within the five characters [of Myoho-renge-kyo], with which he then adorned the necks of the ignorant people of the latter age" (376).Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple, interpreted the above passage of volume five of Great Concentration and Insight from the viewpoint of Nichiren's teaching. Nichikan defined "life at each moment" as the life of the eternal Buddha, or Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which is inscribed down the center of the Gohonzon; he further interpreted "endowed with the Ten Worlds" as the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other figures inscribed on both sides of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in the Gohonzon. These represent the principles of the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, the hundred worlds and the thousand factors, and the three thousand realms. According to Nichikan, the sentence "The three thousand realms of existence are all possessed by life in a single moment" refers to the "region of the unfathomable," which he interprets as the object of devotion that embodies the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. This is not to be viewed simply as an external object but as something that exists in the life of a person with faith in the object of devotion. Without faith, the object of devotion endowed with the three thousand realms does not exist within one's life. This, Nichikan stated, is the ultimate meaning of T'ient'ai's doctrine.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"At such a time, the three obstacles and four devils will invariably appear, and the wise will rejoice while the foolish will retreat."

(The Three Obstacles and Four Devils - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 637) Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's poem, Seikyo Shimbun, October 21st, 2007

 

[HenDokuYaku]

Hello Friends!

I respectfully wanted my first post in this forum to be in this thread. I wish you all peace and wisdom. The writings posted in this thread have provided me with tranquility and opportunities to continue to grow and evolve.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Hello my friend! Let's change some poison into medicine!

 

[Fat Albert]

Hello friends Hope you all are doing well. Lots of chanting going on here. Tomorrow we will take a little break and spend the day steelhead fishing at a river ive been fishing for 35 years. A super magical place that has brought many answers over the years. Ill spend the day with my son and god son. Its about alot more then fishing but still hope to get lucky and pull in a couple of these big chrome monsters!! Ill get some quality Daimoku in for you all in one of the most beautiful spots on the planet so I hope it helps! Much love to you all
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Hope you have a great day and some relaxation, Babba....you deserve it!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Fat A

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Changing Poison into Medicine (hendoku-iyaku)

Changing Poison into Medicine (hendoku-iyaku)

SGI members often speak of "turning poison into medicine" when they describe how their Buddhist practice has enabled them to transform a difficult, negative or painful situation into something positive.

In its most fundamental sense, "changing poison into medicine" refers to the transformation of deluded impulses into enlightenment. The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, attributed to the third-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, compares the Lotus Sutra to "a great physician who changes poison into medicine." This is because the Lotus Sutra opens the possibility of enlightenment to people whose arrogance and complacency had caused them to "scorch the seeds of Buddhahood." In earlier sutras such people had been condemned as being incapable of becoming Buddhas. An important implication of this principle, thus, is that there is no one who is beyond redemption.

In his writing, "On First Hearing the Teaching of the Supreme Vehicle," Nichiren develops this idea, stating that by using the power of the Mystic Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, one can transform the three paths of deluded impulses, karma and suffering into the three virtues of the Buddha, i.e., the Dharma body, wisdom and emancipation.

This can be understood to mean that any unfavorable situation can be changed into a source of value. More fundamentally, it is by challenging and overcoming painful circumstances that we grow as human beings.

How we respond to life's inevitable sufferings is the key. Negative, painful experiences are often necessary to motivate us. One Buddhist scripture describes illness as awakening the desire to seek the truth. Likewise, people have been inspired to a lifetime commitment to peace and justice by their experience of war and injustice.

The process of changing poison into medicine begins when we approach difficult experiences as an opportunity to reflect on ourselves and to strengthen and develop our courage and compassion. The more we are able to do this, the more we are able to grow in vitality and wisdom and realize a truly expansive state of life.

Suffering can thus serve as a springboard for a deeper experience of happiness. From the perspective of Buddhism, inherent in all negative experiences is this profound positive potential. However, if we are defeated by suffering or respond to challenging circumstances in negative and destructive ways, the original "poison" is not transformed but remains poison.

Buddhism teaches that suffering derives from karma, the causes that we ourselves have created. The Buddhist teaching of karma is one of personal responsibility. It is therefore our responsibility to transform sufferings into value-creating experiences. The Buddhist view of karma is not fixed or fatalistic--even the most deeply entrenched karmic patterns can be transformed.

By taking a difficult situation--illness, unemployment, bereavement, betrayal--and using it as an opportunity to deepen our sense of personal responsibility, we can gain and develop the kind of self-knowledge from which benefit flows. Buddhism teaches that self-knowledge ultimately is awareness of our own infinite potential, our capacity for inner strength, wisdom and compassion. This infinite potential is referred to as our "Buddha nature."

The original meaning of the phrase "to turn poison into medicine" relates to this level of self-knowledge.

In the "Belief and Understanding" chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Subhuti and others of the Buddha's long-time disciples respond to the prophecy that another disciple, Shariputra, will attain the ultimate enlightenment. The disciples admit that they had long ago given up on becoming Buddhas themselves, but that on hearing the teaching of the Lotus Sutra they renounced their earlier stance of resignation and spiritual laziness. "[T]heir minds were moved as seldom before and danced for joy." Nagarjuna and T'ien-t'ai (538--597) therefore compare the Buddha to a good doctor capable of turning poison (the laziness and resignation of the aged disciples) into medicine (a sincere aspiration for the ultimate enlightenment of Buddhahood).

This teaching of the possibility of profound trans-formation makes Buddhism a deeply optimistic philosophy. This optimism propels Buddhists as they seek to transform the negative and destructive tendencies within their lives as well as those in society and the world at large.

[ Courtesy January 2002 SGI Quarterly ]

 

[Babbabud]

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Welcome to "The Chanting Growers Thread" HenDokuYaku. Hope you will drop in again. Lets all continue chanting the Daimoku together changing poison into awesome meds
woooooooooop!!!!!!!!

Heya FA great to see you !! All is good here hope things are going well for you and we will see you back out west soon

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Sleepy]

even if there were no fish...its a great thing to be with your son out in nature!

 

[Babbabud]

Hahahah Sleepy your so right !! We had a great time in a beautiful place. Although I didnt catch any fish myself, my son did catch a beautiful steelhead that weighed about 5 pounds. The area we fish in is all catch and release so no fish were killed on this trip. Sure would have loved bbquing one though
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Hey Sleepy! Good to hear from you!

Hey Sleepy! Good to hear from you!

"Daimoku
is an acclamation
of victory,
so chant confidently,
with the roar of a lion."

SGI Newsletter No. 7380, SGI President Ikeda's Editorial, Daimoku--A "Lion's Roar" of Happiness and Victory, translated Oct. 30th 2007, from the November 2007 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"'Singing
a joyous song of life
together,
let us vibrantly chant
invigorating daimoku.'

"The daimoku of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo serves as the hope-filled driving force for all people to realise their deepest wish of making the most of each and every day and leading a worthwhile and victorious life while brimming with the joy of being alive.

"The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings states: "Great joy [is what] one experiences when one understands for the first time that one's mind from the very beginning has been the Buddha. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the greatest of all joys' (OTT, 211-12).

"The resonant chanting of daimoku is a supreme paean to human dignity and life, proclaiming that we ourselves are entities of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. It is an invincible roar that fills our being with the immeasurable and unlimited power of the Buddha and the Law."

SGI Newsletter No. 7380, SGI President Ikeda's Editorial, Daimoku--A "Lion's Roar" of Happiness and Victory, translated Oct. 30th 2007, from the November 2007 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal.

 

[Big Brother]

Old Haze grower from the 70s,

Old Haze grower from the 70s,

Growing indoors now and outside also when I can, Inside I put a portable radio about in the middle of my plants and play some easy listening muisc, it also has a CD player on it and play mood muisc to them, like the sounds of whales and the sound of birds in the forerst, and ocean waves.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Buddhism is reason."

(The Hero of the World - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 839) Selection source: Q & A on Buddhism, Seikyo Shimbun, October 7th, 2007

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"It also states that, 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."

(On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 4) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, November 5th, 2007

 

[HenDokuYaku]

Thanks for the welcome!

Thanks for the welcome!

[ Courtesy January 2002 SGI Quarterly ] [/I]

PassTheDoobie: Thank You so much for your kind welcome. I feel like part of the family already. Thank you also for explaining HenDoku Iyaku. It is one of the main principles of my journey.

Babbabud: I'm all for changing poison into some dank medicine. Mother Nature is on our side.


I look forward to reading and contributing to this thread.


Nam Myoho Renge Kyo!