Daily Practice - Chanting for safety during the Paralympics

Daily Guidance for daimoku for the safety of all during the Paralympics ELA'12 - Wednesday 5th September - tozo hosted by Hackney South

... Because we of the SGI have summoned forth the power of faith and the power of practice directly linked to the Daishonin - tapping the latent power within us - we can boundlessly manifest the power of the Buddha and power of the Law, which activate the protective functions of the universe. President Ikeda, Newsletter 8538

Daily Gosho - The Four Debts of Gratitude

Let's celebrate our parents! For without them, we could not have met the practice...

"As for my parents in this lifetime, however, they not only gave me birth but made me a believer in the Lotus Sutra."

(The Four Debts of Gratitude - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 44) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=41 Selection source: For YMD Gosho Study Meeting, Seikyo Shimbun, July 31st, 2012


Background
Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter while he was in exile in Ito on the Izu Peninsula. It was addressed to Kudo Sakon-no-jo Yoshitaka, known also as Kudo Yoshitaka, the lord of Amatsu in Awa Province.
Kudo Yoshitaka is said to have converted to Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings around 1256, about the same time Shijo Kingo and Ikegami Munenaka did, a few years after the Daishonin first proclaimed his teachings. While the Daishonin was in exile on Izu, Yoshitaka sent offerings to him and continued to maintain pure faith. He was killed defending the Daishonin at the time of the Komatsubara Persecution in the eleventh month of 1264. The Four Debts of Gratitude is the only letter still extant that the Daishonin addressed to him.
In this letter, in light of the reason for his banishment, Nichiren Daishonin expresses his conviction that he is a true practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. He mentions the “two important matters” that concern his Izu Exile. He states, “One is that I feel immense joy,” and explains the reasons for his joy. The greater part of the letter consists of this explanation. Following this, he states,
“The second of the two important matters is that I feel intense grief.” Citing passages from the Lotus and Great Collection sutras that reveal the gravity of the offense of slandering the Law and its devotees, the Daishonin explains that he grieves at the thought of the great karmic retribution his tormentors must undergo. This is the concluding part of the letter.
In the body of the letter, the Daishonin gives two reasons for his “immense joy.” One is that he has been able to prove himself to be the votary of the Lotus Sutra by fulfilling the Buddha’s prediction made in the sutra that its votary in the Latter Day of the Law will meet with persecution. The other reason is that, by suffering banishment for the sutra’s sake, he can repay the four debts of gratitude. He declares that the ruler who condemned him to exile is the very person to whom he is the most grateful; thanks to the ruler, he has been able to fulfill the words of the Lotus Sutra and so prove himself to be its true votary.
Then, the Daishonin stresses the importance of repaying the four debts of gratitude set forth in the Contemplation on the Mind-Ground Sutra. The four debts of gratitude are the debts owed to all living beings, to one’s father and mother, to one’s sovereign, and to the three treasures—the Buddha, the Law, and the Buddhist Order.
Among these four debts of gratitude, the Daishonin places special emphasis on the debt owed to the three treasures, without which one could not attain Buddhahood.

Daily Practice - Chanting for safety during the Paralympics

Daily Guidance for daimoku for the safety of all during the Paralympics ELA'12 - Tuesday 4th September - tozo hosted by Redbridge Chapter

In a letter dated May 1279, the Daishonin writes: “Those who call themselves my disciples and practice the Lotus Sutra should all practice as I do. If they do, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, Shakyamuni’s emanations throughout the ten directions, and the ten demon daughters will protect them” (WND-1, 978).

Daily Practice - Chanting for safety during the Paralympics

Daily Guidance for daimoku for the safety of all during the Paralympics ELA'12 - Monday 3rd September - tozo hosted by Newham district

More and more, people around the world are seeking the philosophy of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism - the essence of the Lotus Sutra - which draws forth the supremely noble power of the human being. As SGI members, everything comes down to our behaviour and actions as individuals who uphold the Mystic Law. Today, leading figures in all spheres are expectantly watching our efforts to share a truly universal teaching of humanism with people all across the globe. Our movement has only just begun! President Ikeda, Newsletter 8294

Daily Study - The Selection of the Time

The Selection of the Time http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=538

I'm writing these study notes while my neighbours are having yet another blazing row. This Gosho has reminded me of our mission to propagate Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism so that we can alleviate suffering like that of the people next door...
As Sensei says on p11 of August's AOL, by awakening to our mission as Bodhisattvas of the Earth, we live our lives with the "fundamental spirit of empathy and caring for others".  Nichiren Daishonin stood up, alone and persecuted so that we could meet the practice in the Latter Day of the Law. We should practice with his spirit and become "the foremost votary of the Lotus Sutra in the entire land of Jambudvipa (the entire world).  It was Nichiren Daishonin's supreme compassion for us to become enlightened that enabled him to make this his mission in life. And he took responsibility for that mission, completely, understanding that it was only him, as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, who could make this mission a reality.
Sensei writes that with this spirit of transforming our lives, and helping others to transform theirs, we can prove our worth as a human being.  It isn't down to how powerful we are, or what our status is, the true measure of a human being is how by we help people overcome their suffering.
We are fortunate in England not to suffer major religious persecution such as Nichiren Daishonin did, but in his day in 1275, his teachings certainly ruffled a few feathers to say the least.  The 'evil demons' which had taken over the priests and rulers of his time, did everything in their power to cut Nichiren Daishonin down to size, to banish him in exile. But still he carried out, out of sincerity and respect for all human beings. He would not be silenced.  He recognised that their slander of the Law was having grave effects on the country and the people, but also, sadly realised that these 'eminent priests' would accept his word as true, when it was too late.
So, how do we achieve our mission for widespread propagation - by treasuring the person right in front of us! As Sensei writes on p17, "It all starts with one person. That person's passion and commitment will inspire another person, and then another..." becoming a Mount Sumeru of perfect enlightenment. 
In our recent Chapter Study lecture, our wonderful Women's Division leader spoke of determining in front of the Gohonzon, every day, on how we can "consolidate our strong foundation" and then build on this foundation. That it starts with us, determining to live our life to the absolute fullest. 
Sensei gives us guidance that we shouldn't begrudge our own lives; that we can't fully commit to the struggle with a half-hearted attitude. "Without a thoroughgoing commitment, one cannot persevere in the struggle to propagate the correct teaching in the Latter Day of the Law. But unless this struggle is undertaken, the teaching of the Lotus Sutra will become obscured and lost, and the Latter Day will remain in darkness." 
We are reminded of the examples of the farmers at Atsuhara, of Shijo Kingo and the Ikegami brothers - people with pure and strong faith who took on this struggle whole-heartedly, no matter what the cost to themselves or their lives. Similarly, what  personal sacrifices have our three presidents undertaken for their mission - Makiguchi dying in prison, Toda's selfless struggle to rebuild the Soka Gakkai and achieve his determination of 750,000 households practicing, and Sensei Ikeda's ongoing efforts to achieve worldwide kosen-rufu amidst persecution, slander, arrest to name but a few of the challenges he has had to face - and overcome.
As he says, "Now is the time to show brilliant actual proof of worldwide kosen-rufu by reading with our lives the Daishonin's words:  'Try practising as the Lotus Sutra teaches, exerting yourselves without begrudging your lives! Test the truth of Buddhism now!"
This is our mission! Let's do it!  I'm going to start with my neighbours :)

Daily Practice - Chanting for safety during the Paralympics

Daily Guidance for daimoku for the safety of all during the Paralympics ELA'12 - Sunday 2nd September - tozo hosted by Tower Hamlets district

Unless we establish a solid network of people united in the supreme cause of good that is the happiness of all humanity, then selfishness and division will continue and the world will remain shrouded in the darkness of confusion and chaos. The ultimate power resides within us human beings. We have the power to stand up for the happiness of humanity. We have the power to believe in and create a bright, hope-filled tomorrow. President Ikeda, Newsletter 8294

Daily Practice - Chanting for safety during the Paralympics

Daily Guidance for daimoku for the safety of all during the Paralympics ELA'12 - Saturday 1st September - tozo hosted by Lea Valley district

Mr. Makiguchi discussed the process of elevating our humanity as a shift from a dependent life, to an independent life, and finally to a contributive life. He hoped to see each individual experience this evolution from dependence to independence and then to contribution - the last being a life in which we strive for the happiness of ourselves and others. President Ikeda, Newsletter 8294