The story of my path to Buddhahood through the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin
11 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Faith, Nichiren Buddhism, Practice
The true victors in life are those who, having endured repeated challenges and setbacks, have sent the roots of their spiritual being to such a depth, that nothing can ever shake them loose.
By practicing Nichiren Buddhism, with all our heart and mind, on a daily basis, can allow us to grow our own spiritual roots to a great depth. Whilst our practice takes us along the road to enlightenment, this is a powerful side-effect that makes us able to defeat anything that life throws at us.
10 Oct 2011 5 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Buddha, Buddha Nature, Buddhist Practice
A life lived without purpose or value, the kind in which one doesn’t know the reason why one was born, is joyless and lacklustre. To just live, eat and die without any real sense of purpose, surely represents a life pervaded by the life-state of Animality, that of animals.
On the other hand, to do, create or contribute something that benefits others, society out ourselves and to dedicate ourselves, as long as we live up to the challenge, that is a life of true satisfaction, a life of value.
To live the Buddhist way is a humanistic and meritorious way to live.
09 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Determination, Enlightenment, Practice, Wisdom Courage and Compassion
No this isn’t a post about the motto of the Boy Scout organisation, it’s about being ready to face whatever life may throw at you. Many things happen to us in life. There are joyous days and times of suffering. Sometimes unpleasant things happen, but this is really what makes life so interesting. The dramas we encounter are part and parcel of being human.
If we went through life, without changes or dramas, if nothing unexpected ever happened, we could simply live like robots, and our lives would be unbearably dull and monotonous. We must therefore develop an inner strength, so we can enact the drama of our lives with confidence and poise, in the face of whatever challenges we may encounter.
Just as a footnote, my day today was rather joyous, how about yours?
08 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Belief, Lotus Sutra, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Practice, Understanding
Every day can be an adventure into the unknown. If we allow ourselves to go with the flow of events, we can find ourselves in new situations, with new challenges. Making assumptions about where life will take us, to expect the mundane, the ordinary, the usual, may mean that we walk straight past the very opportunity we need to take our lives in a completely different and exciting direction.
The belief taught in the Lotus Sutra provides no easy answers, no escape route from the difficulties of human life. In fact it firmly rejects such easy answers, and instead implores us to take up the two tools for exploring life. The use of those tools, belief and understanding, allows us to continually challenge, and work to perfect, ourselves. When combined with the practice of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, they also provide us with the wisdom, courage and compassion and the energy to do just that.
07 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Happiness, Practice, Self, Wisdom Courage and Compassion
Ultimately, happiness rests on how you establish a solid sense of self or being. Happiness does not lie in outward appearances or vanity. It is a matter of what you feel inside, it is a deep resonance in your life.
To be filled each day with a rewarding sense of exhilaration and purpose, a sense of task accomplished and deep fulfilment, when you feel this way, you are happy. What is more, those who have this sense of satisfaction, even when they are busy and under pressure, are much happier than those who have all the time in the world, but feel empty inside.
06 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Apple, Reincarnation, Steve Jobs, Wheel of Life
Of course there is a sadness about the passing of Steve Jobs, the Apple guy, but it’s only ‘so long’ and not goodbye. Steve will be back with us very shortly, granted in a different form, but as a practising Buddhist, he believed it, and we all do too.
Steve was a charismatic and driven person, an iconic visionary in the field of consumer electronics, and computers in particular. His passing will leave an irreplaceable void in his family’s life, the Apple corporation’s hierarchy and in the business world at large.
But we should not fret for all that. He is simply taking a well earned rest from the sufferings of this life, and preparing himself for the challenges of the next. I love his products, even though I hate the ethos of the controlling nature of Apple, but one can only admire a man who made such a difference to everyone he touched. See you soon Steve.
05 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Buddha, Buddhahood, Enlightenment
In Nichiren Buddhism, attaining enlightenment is not about embarking on some inconceivably long journey to become a resplendent, godlike Buddha, it is about accomplishing a transformation in the depths of one’s being.
In other words, it is not a matter of practicing in order to scale the highest summit of enlightenment at some point in the distant future. Rather it is a constant, moment to moment, inner struggle between revealing our innate Dharma nature or allowing ourselves to be ruled by our fundamental darkness and delusion.
I know which path I would prefer to take, and I’m walking slowly along it day by day.
04 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Determination, Fortune, Life-State, Responsibility
They are estimating the Friday Euro Lottery draw will have a jackpot of €100,000,000. What would you do with that kind of money? Buy a fancy car, a posh house, even buy Greece? It’s a pipedream for so many people, which is where all the money comes from, from the tickets that people buy. For many, it is, in effect, their only realistic route to such riches. Or is it?
Buying their lottery ticket once, or twice, even thrice a week, is their little bit of fantasy, their change to make it big. There is nothing wrong with such dreams, somebody has to win, sometime. But does it mask their responsibility for their own lives, futures, fortunes?
Of course, the idea behind the lotteries, scratch cards and the rest of the paraphernalia is to raise money for projects, causes and charity work that is so needed in these austere times. All well and good, it’s a bit of harmless fun, a couple of quid a week to buy the chance to live the high life.
I’ll never win it, I know that for a fact. The very first UK National Lottery was drawn on my 40th birthday, not as a celebration of that auspicious event, it just happened that way. For the first few weeks I went along with the wave of enthusiasm, the same as everyone else. When it became clear that there was more chance of being struck by lightning than picking six correct numbers, and I stopped.
Now I’m not preaching against the evils of gambling, for that is what it is. I don’t want to stop people having a little slice of fun, if that is how they want to achieve that. But we are all responsible, all in charge and in control of our own fortunes, not those fat cats at Lottery HQ. So have your fun, get excited as the balls rattle around inside Arthur or Lancelot, but never forget, your life is your responsibility, take charge with both hands, summon up boundless determination and make it happen.
03 Oct 2011 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Life-Energy, Life-State, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Having had a nice long weekend, with beautiful weather and plenty of time for chanting, had left me well rested and ready for the start of a new week. It’s well documented that I’m allergic to Mondays, they are always busy with the build up of orders, questions and issues from the weekend. But with my batteries fully charged I was ready to meet the challenge head on.
With all the changes to the website, the business systems and the company, it’s a pretty rare occurrence to have the whole team in the office at one time, but today was one of those times. We have a great team, we all get on and we work well together, and as they say, a problem shared is a problem halved, so the day went rather well.
I find that taking to our customers, in order to resolve their queries and issues, much easier and pleasant than trying to do it via email. So today I got to speak to some very nice people, all of whom seemed to appreciate the personal touch of a phone call. We can never please everybody all the time, but leaving them feeling that we really care at least makes things a little better.
So a good day, some nice comments about yesterday’s post and photo and I’m feeling good about taking on the world.
02 Oct 2011 3 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Contrasts, Peace, Sunset, Tranquillity
The beautiful weather continues, and it’s brought all the tourists down to Dorset this weekend. Hamworthy Park was heaving in the sunshine today, families having picnics on the grass, children making sandcastles on the beach and paddling in the sea, and everyone having fun.
Seeing all these people, and the shouting and laughter, is a big contrast from the quiet of The Quay. I currently spend a lot of time on my own, and although I’m fine with that, I do find it very different from when I go into town or out when there are a lot of people about.
It’s been so warm here today, and although I’ve had all the doors and windows open, it was stifling this evening. So as the sun was setting, and the temperature dropping, I decided to go out for a stroll, in an attempt to cool down a little. There were still a few people about. A couple of guys out for an evening bike ride and a family walking their dog, but it was much quieter than it had been earlier.
By the time I got to the park I was almost alone, the hoards had gone and because there was little or no wind, the waves were lapping gently on the deserted beach. Looking out towards Studland, there was a beautiful crescent moon rising into a soft sunset. The contrast between the backlit jetty and the peach coloured sky was stunning. So I took a photo and that’s the image at the top of this post.
If you like it as much as I do, you can click on it and download the full size image. It’s big enough to use it as a desktop if you want. I hope it conveys the tranquillity of the scene and that some of that transfers itself into your life.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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