A Year On

21 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Death - A Buddhist ViewpointA year ago today, being present at the passing of the father of a close friend, and later being involved in his funeral, led me to seek out the deeper meaning of death, from the Buddhist viewpoint.

Though we may relinquish our body in this lifetime, we are not gone, nor will we ever be.

This body is not me.
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born, and I have never died.
Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars, manifestations from my wondrous true mind.
Since before time, I have been free.
Birth and death are only doors through which we pass, sacred thresholds on our journey.
Birth and death are a game of hide-and seek.
So laugh with me, hold my hand, let us say good-bye, say good-bye, to meet again soon.
We meet today.
We will meet again tomorrow.
We will meet at the source every moment.
We meet each other in all forms of life.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Protecting The Planet

20 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

The WayThe Buddhist teaching of the Oneness of Life and it’s Environment tells us that humanity, the World and the Universe are one.

That is why, if we wish to protect the environment, we must transform and purify the Three Poisons of Greed, Anger and Foolishness, that exist in every person’s life.

The principle of Human Revolution focuses on precisely this, inner transformation at the most fundamental level through our practice.

With the decimation of the rainforests occurring at an ever increasing pace and all the talk about fracking to release huge quantities of hitherto untapped reserves of fossil fuel, in the form of gas, there has never been a more pressing time to promote responsibility in all.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Give Me Strength

19 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Strength When times are easy and things go our way, it is deceptively easy to stick to the plan. It is when things go wrong, problems arise or we are distracted from our Practice that we need to summon up our inner strength.

Practicing Nichiren Buddhism is rewarding and fulfilling. Chanting and praying before the Gohonzon becomes part of the everyday routine, and wavering makes us feel that we are letting ourselves and our mentor down.

But we have to remember that being constant takes effort and that allowing ourselves to back slide can be the easiest of things. Nichiren Daishonin wrote to Shinjo Kingo on this very topic way back in 1275 ad, so it’s not a new problem.

This is in regard to the passage “This sutra is hard to uphold.” According to Acharya Ben, you said to him: “I have been practicing the Lotus Sutra correctly since last year, when you told me that those who embrace this sutra will ‘enjoy peace and security in their present existence and good circumstances in future existences.’ Instead, however, great hardships have showered down on me like rain.” Is this true, or did he give me a false report? In either case, I will take advantage of this opportunity to resolve any doubts you may have.

A passage from the Lotus Sutra reads that it is “the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand.” Many hear about and accept this sutra, but when great obstacles arise, just as they were told would happen, few remember it and bear it firmly in mind. To accept is easy; to continue is difficult. But Buddhahood lies in continuing faith. Those who uphold this sutra should be prepared to meet difficulties. It is certain, however, that they will “quickly attain the unsurpassed Buddha way.” To “continue” means to cherish Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the most important principle for all the Buddhas of the three existences. The

sutra reads, “We will protect and uphold what the Buddha has entrusted to us.” The Great Teacher T’ien-t’ai stated, “One accepts because of one’s power of faith and continues because of one’s power of constant thought.” Another part of the sutra reads, “This sutra is hard to uphold; if one can uphold it even for a short while I will surely rejoice and so will the other Buddhas.”

A fire burns higher when logs are added, and a strong wind makes a kalakula grow larger. The pine tree lives for ten thousand years, and therefore its boughs become bent and twisted. The votary of the Lotus Sutra is like the fire and the kalakula, while his persecutions are like the logs and the wind. The votary of the Lotus Sutra is the Thus Come One whose life span is immeasurable; no wonder his practice is hindered, just as the pine tree’s branches are bent or broken. From now on, always remember the words “This sutra is hard to uphold.”

With my deep respect, Nichiren

So when times get tough, or distractions occur, be strong and maintain a strong practice. It will help you through the bad times and being constant will help sustain your faith.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

If Only …

18 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Rudyard KiplingThis poem by Kipling, encapsulates such wisdom, courage and compassion, and is one of my favourites.

As I read it again today, for the first time in quite a while, I was intrigued by the similarity of the statements within it, and those in Buddhist principles.

IF …

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, ‘
Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

~ Rudyard Kipling 1895

Kipling was not a Buddhist. He was, from a very early age, a Freemason and a Christian, but I cannot help feeling that his time in India brought him into contact with Buddhism and the ethos of the poem has a Buddhist feel to it.

I hope you enjoyed reading it and that you might take a little of the wisdom contained within it away with you.

The Benefit Of Chanting

17 Jul 2013 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , ,

CapsulesA few people have asked how chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo actually works, how it raises my life-energy and puts me in a higher life-state, irrespective of the circumstances.

So how can chanting the title of The Lotus Sutra, without the need for reading or studying it, help me make contact with my Buddha nature?

Well chanting whilst keeping a problem or question in mind brings forth a certain clarity of thought, which has, on occasion, provided solutions or at least peace of mind.

So why don’t we need to understand The Lotus Sutra, chapter and verse, in order to benefit from it’s wisdom? Well, apart from the fact that we do study the major principles that it encompasses, there are a fair number of similarities with complex things in life.

I imagine you have taken painkillers like ibuprofen, a highly complex molecule that took many years to perfect, test and approve. Unless you are a pharmacist or a pharmaceutical chemist, I doubt that you have the slightest idea of how the shape of the molecule blocks the pain receptors in your nervous system. But the tablets work, whether you know, or whether you don’t.

Another good example is the humble motor car. You can drive from Land’s End to John O’Groats without having any knowledge of how an internal combustion engine works or how the friction linings of the brake pads slow the car by turning the kinetic energy into heat in the brake disks.

My point is, that some very clever people have spent many, many years developing complicated medicines or machines. Being able to benefit from them is simple, simply because they are so well thought out. So it is with The Lotus Sutra and chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin spent many, many years perfecting the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Buddhism.

The benefit of chanting can be ours simply by chanting the title, studying the sutra is not necessary, but is certainly enlightening.

A Determined Effort

16 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Crunching The NumbersApart from being a dedicated Nichiren Buddhist, I have a science and maths background, and I love to know how and why things work. So I’ve been doing the maths behind my weight loss, and the numbers are almost unbelievable.

In the past three months, or to be more precise, 80 days, I have lost 12.5kg, or 1 stone 13.56  pound in old money. Now the accepted calorific value of each pound of body fat is 3500 calories, so by multiplying the number of pounds lost, assuming I have lost fat and not bone or muscle, we arrive at a staggering 98000 calories. Dividing the total by the number of days gives us an average of just over 1225 each day, every day, amazing.

Whilst the numbers are pretty staggering, it just shows why it is so difficult for people to lose weight. When you consider that running up stairs burns 30.7 calories per minute, to burn off that number of calories would entail doing that exercise continuously for over 2 days 3 hours. Burning them off on an exercise bike, peddling at a moderate pace (around 10.8 calories per minute), would take over 6 days 8 hours.

The only way I have managed to make this work for me, is by using the hunger pangs and the nagging temptations from my Dark Passenger, to build my determination. I have learned to enjoy the hunger pangs, which sounds a little masochistic. But if I am feeling hungry, my body is burning reserves, which means I am losing weight. This method works for me. Maybe I’m strange? But if you want to do it for yourself, and most people I speak to say that they would like to lose a little, you have to find a way to increase your determination to the point that it overcomes the stream of daily temptations to over eat.

You might have noticed that, apart from eating sensibly, I’ve been doing a lot of cycling too. Since May 1st, I have ridden over 500km and burned upwards of 18,000kcal, during which, I have climbed over 1km altitude wise. I still have a little way to go, but one of the great joys of this determined effort is the feeling of satisfaction each time I visit the scales.

All Change Here

15 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

All ChangeWhen your life isn’t going the way you want it to, change it! We are all in control of our own lives, though at times that may seem a little hard to believe. We are all where we are today, doing what we are doing and being what we are being, because of the choices we have made along the way.

Karma is a perfectly imperfect science. Perfect because, as with everything in the universe, every effect has a cause, every cause has an effect. Imperfect because, with karma, the effect will only appear when the situation is right, so it’s rather difficult to predict. But that doesn’t detract from the truth, that everything we think, say or do has some form of effect, on us or others.

So if you are in a rut, if you are unhappy with your lot, if it feels as though the world has a personal grudge against you, change it. Sitting there feeling sorry for yourself will not help, sitting there blaming everything from the economy, your partner, your boss, all the way to the dog, will not help. Fix your mind on the changes you want to see in your life, decide the best route to achieving those changes, then make the causes to bring that change about. Don’t wait, set about it with determination, there has never been a better time to make that change than right now !!!

Right Thinking

14 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

Right ThinkingOne of the most difficult things to do, personally speaking, is to remain in a constant life-state when confronted by the highs and lows of life.

One of the aims of Nichiren Practice is to smooth out the emotional highs and lows in life. through right thinking.

A Buddhist quotation says that “The Wise Man is neither elated by success nor deflated by failure”.

That is not to say that you cannot be happy when you succeed, or sad when you fail, it’s about the intensity of those feelings and trying to stay nearer the mid-point.

I find it tough at times, but I’m getting better.

Too Many Lumps And Bumps

13 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Saddle SoreIf you ride a bike on the roads around Britain you’ll know how lovely it is to find yourself on a stretch of nice new smooth tarmac. The lumps and bumps of our older repaired roads really can rattle your bones, so the new surface is a real treat.

Life is very much like that too. It’s the lumps and bumps of everyday life that make you realise just how comfortable the smooth untroubled times are. But without the rough times, we would never recognise the comparison and enjoy the easier times when they appear.

We all know, that as we move through life, it is impossible to stay on the smooth untroubled path. The bumpy times are a simple fact, just as they are out on the road. So when they come along, just be determined, hold on tight, keep pedalling and look forward to the smoother times ahead.

Living In Rhythm With The Law

12 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

The BuddhaThe very reason for my Buddhist Practice is to bring me a little closer to Buddhahood each and every day.

That is to say, to emulate as closely as possible, the Buddha himself in the way he was able to see life and all things in a pure clarity through his enlightened state.

Siddhārtha Gautama was a man, albeit a prince, who forsaking his life of comfort and position, went out into the world to meditate on the causes of, and ways to reduce or remove, the suffering of life.

In Nichiren Buddhism we speak about the Ten Worlds, Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Humanity, Heaven, Learning, Realisation, Bodhisattva and Buddhahood. Each World containing, and being contained by, the other nine.

The Buddha state originates from the very depths of life, called the amala consciousness, meaning the fundamentally pure life force or consciousness. The function of the Buddha state is to bring out the positive side of the other nine worlds.

This principle of the Ten Worlds shows that the Buddha state is a naturally occurring condition of life in every living being. The purpose of Buddhist practice is to enable us to cause the Buddha state to appear; to have it working strongly in us.

In Nichiren Buddhism, therefore, the Buddha is not some perfect ideal being, but is rather an ordinary person living in rhythm with the law of the universe, taking wise, courageous and compassionate action for the benefit of others, through the functioning of the nine worlds in daily life.

The more I practice, the longer I practice, the closer I come to Buddhahood, a very positive thought for today.

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