Chanting Growers Group

[EasyMyohoDisco]

Had a chanting meeting and last night it was all guys cept for my gf. Two new guys showed up that just started chanting a couple weeks ago, one is my friend Jack and the other was Jimmy. They both did gongyo and really encouraged me so keep chanting all day today knowing that I have an uphill battle waiting for me at work.

I got to work after doing gongyo on the way and kept chanting all day! Tomorrow I have to force myself off meds so that I could be clean for a month in anticipation of a silly drug test I may have to take next year. This is not good timing either because I've been enjoy some really beneficial meds lately and tasting a fellow homegrower's homegrown gave me a huge psychological boost this weekend. In fact, I feel so great today that I may just be ready to wake up tomorrow and not puff anything.

I've got the Gohonzon now, tons of personal proof of the validity of the practice and even more proof through my friends Babbabud, Mrs. Babba, PasstheDoobie, Socal, Weird, Desi, Forest, Hitman, Bonz and Scegy. The faith into action that we've documented on this thread has me completely convinced that my friends who chant aren't only Bodhisattvas of the Earth- people that have been close to my heart and soul for sooooo many lifetimes it must be an infinite connection! Even newer chanting growers have demonstrated a special connection with me including Weird, Trichy, Lapides, Wilson and many others. Its not just appreciation I'm alluding to, its an eternal debt of gratitude. The last couple months have been dark and I've been exhausted on the weekends, even over this holiday, but tonight I can say with clarity and comfort: "Chanting Growers yall are the most badass and worthy friends a guy could ever hope for."

Let's keep turning poison into medicine and keep doing our human revolution. My closest pal and my good friend actually chanted today for a little bit! It's hard to support my friend and help him chant, but as long as we keep chanting and working for kosen-rufu in our areas, homes and lives- everything will keep falling into place.

Wishing you a good night and a better tomorrow,
MyohoDisco!!!

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Is a person great just because they have a high position in society or have graduated from a prestigious university? Most certainly not. Truly great are the ordinary people who work tirelessly every day for the happiness of others, for the prosperity of their communities, and for the sake of peace."

SGI Newsletter No. 8111, YOUTH AND THE WRITINGS OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN, The People Are the Foundation, from the June 30th, 2010, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Nov. 26th, 2010

 

[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 30th, 2010

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"It is the heart that is important. No matter how earnestly Nichiren prays for you, if you lack faith, it will be like trying to set fire to wet tinder. Spur yourself to muster the power of faith." The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra, WND-1, page 1000

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"In a world such as ours, when the problems facing one region or country quickly become global problems, we cannot afford to remain self-centred. In order to develop the kind of character that enables us to empathise with the sufferings of others and take appropriate action, we need to strive tirelessly to transform ourselves from within. This, I believe, is the only way out of the morass of problems confronting us today."

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[PassTheDoobie]

900 pages friends!

 

[Weird]

nam myoho renge kyo

nam myoho renge kyo

nam myoho renge kyo

 

[Babbabud]

Nam myoho renge kyo
SMILE
Nam myoho renge kyo

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Though water may be muddied, it will again become clear. Though the moon may
hide behind clouds, it will surely reappear. Similarly, in time my innocence
became apparent, and my predictions proved not to have been in vain.

(WND, 1007)
Letter to the Lay Priest Nakaoki
Written to lay priest Nakaoki and his wife on November 30, 1279

 

[SoCal Hippy]

President Toda often said: "Those of you who have problems or sufferings, pray
earnestly! Buddhism is a deadly serious win-or-lose struggle. If you should
[pray with such an earnest attitude] and still have no solution forthcoming,
then I will give you my life!" This invincible conviction on which Mr. Toda was
willing to stake his life inspired the members.

Daisaku Ikeda


Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"If you propagate it, devils will arise without fail. If they did not, there would be no way of knowing that this is the correct teaching."

(Letter to the Brothers - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 501) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", Seikyo Shimbun, December 1st, 2010

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Nichiren Daishonin writes: 'What does Bodhisattva Never Disparaging's profound respect for people signify? The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behaviour as a human being' (WND-1, 852).

"Our humanistic behaviour is the most important aspect of our Buddhist practice. It can have a deep, positive impact on the lives of others. The key is to always act with sincerity, to have unwavering commitment, and to be in complete earnest. And, above all, it is to have courage. Only through this can we genuinely move the hearts of others. By persevering in his practice with sincerity and conviction, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging was able to win ultimate victory."

SGI Newsletter No. 8111, YOUTH AND THE WRITINGS OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN, The People Are the Foundation, from the June 30th, 2010, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Nov. 26th, 2010

 

[PassTheDoobie]

December, the month that gears us all up to achieving the final victories on our (goals and targets for the) year,has started. Let's be in perfect rhythm everyday based on our practice of Gongyo and chanting Daimoku! I am praying for us all to have a completely accident-free finale to this year.

Daisaku Ikeda

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Tatsunokuchi Persecution
[竜の口の法難] ( Jpn Tatsunokuchi-no-honan)


Reflecting on the event, he wrote in The Opening of the Eyes: "On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year... this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado" (WND/269), and later in Letter to Misawa, "As for my teachings, regard those before my exile to the province of Sado as equivalent to the Buddha's pre-Lotus Sutra teachings" (WND/896). This is interpreted by Nichikan, the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple, to mean that the ordinary person Nichiren ceased to exist after the Tatsunokuchi Persecution, but the Buddha Nichiren went to Sado alive. Hence, Nichiren asserts, the teachings he had expounded before his exile to Sado should be regarded not as true but provisional. This process has been described as Nichiren's "casting off the transient and revealing the true" ( Jpn hosshaku-kempon ), i.e., discarding his transient status and revealing his true identity.

It has come to my attention that someone ignorant, claiming to know what the don't know, might twist the point I made in the above post, to try and imply that I was saying that Goshos written before the Tatsunokuchi Persecution have little value. I just wanted to confirm I have said nothing of the kind. As you can see above, my point was that according to Nichiren, these are to be considered provisional teachings--not unimportant teachings! But what is a provisional teaching?

provisional teachings
[権教] (Jpn gon-kyo )

The teachings that Shakyamuni Buddha expounded as expedient means to lead people to the true teaching. According to T'ient'ai's doctrine, all the teachings expounded before the Lotus Sutra. The provisional teachings reveal only partial aspects of the truth that the Buddha attained, while the true teaching expounds the truth in its entirety. T'ient'ai (538-597) states in Great Concentration and Insight, "'Provisional' means a temporary expedient, which is to be employed temporarily and then discarded. 'True' means a true teaching; it is the ultimate goal to be reached." From the viewpoint of T'ient'ai's classification of the Buddha's teachings into five periods, the provisional teachings correspond to the teachings of the first four periods—the Flower Garland, Agama, Correct and Equal, and Wisdom periods—and the true teaching, to the Lotus Sutra. Provisional teachings, which include Hinayana and provisional Mahayana, were set forth in accord with the people's capacity as a means to lead them to the true teaching of the Lotus Sutra, in which the Buddha directly reveals his enlightenment. Although various Buddhist schools in China divided Shakyamuni's teachings into two categories—provisional and true—what constituted each of these differed according to that school's system of classification. The Dharma Characteristics (Chin Fa-hsiang; Jpn Hosso) school regarded the one vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sutra as a provisional teaching and the three vehicle teaching as the true teaching, while the T'ient'ai school regarded the three vehicle teaching as provisional and the one vehicle teaching as true.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

I vowed to summon up a powerful and unconquerable desire for the salvation of
all beings and never to falter in my efforts.

(WND, 240)
The Opening of the Eyes
Written to Shijo Kingo in February 1272

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Buddhism means putting the teachings into practice. Practice equals faith. With
sincere prayer and action, our desires cannot possibly fail to be fulfilled.
When you continue to apply yourselves to your Buddhist practice toward
kosen-rufu, solidifying and gaining mastery in your faith, you will find that
all your prayers will definitely be answered.

Daisaku Ikeda


Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

 

[Weird]

nam myoho renge kyo

nam myoho renge kyo

nam myoho renge kyo

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Victory is born from strong determination and deep inner resolve! With the fierce resolve "as though to produce fire from damp wood"* and a prayer imbued with great conviction, let's completely transform our adversities into victories!

Daisaku Ikeda

* "I am praying that, no matter how troubled the times may become, the Lotus Sutra and the ten demon daughters will protect all of you, praying as earnestly as though to produce fire from damp wood, or to obtain water from parched ground." Gosho, On Rebuking Slander of the Law and Eradicating Sins - WND-1, page 444

 

[PassTheDoobie]

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

(The Supremacy of the Law - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 615) Selection source: "Kyo no Hosshin", December 2nd, 2010

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"Bodhisattva Never Disparaging triumphed through courage, sincerity, and perseverance.

"In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, the Daishonin states: 'When one faces a mirror and makes a bow of obeisance, the image in the mirror likewise makes a bow of obeisance to oneself' (OTT, 165). Though the people of overbearing arrogance among the four kinds of believers--monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen--persecuted Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, their Buddha nature was actually bowing in reverence to him.

"Similarly, when we engage others in dialogue and show respect for their Buddha nature, though they might reject our words at the time, their Buddha nature is in reality venerating our Buddha nature in response. When we sincerely convey the message of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, the seeds of Buddhahood are planted in the other person's life and their lives begin to move on a course towards positive change.

"When we speak out courageously, our Buddha nature is also powerfully manifested. It also activates the innate Buddha nature of the other person. The sincere dialogues we have contribute to our mutual enrichment, happiness, and victory. The only way to actualise kosen-rufu and world peace is in such steadfast efforts in dialogue.

SGI Newsletter No. 8111, YOUTH AND THE WRITINGS OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN, The People Are the Foundation, from the June 30th, 2010, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Nov. 26th, 2010