The story of my path to Buddhahood through the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin
03 Sep 2014 1 Comment
in Buddhism Tags: Challenges, Criticism, Determination, Focus, Goals
When you truly devote yourself to achieving your goals, you will not be bothered by shallow criticism.
Nothing important can be accomplished if you allow yourself to be swayed by some trifling matter, always looking over your shoulder and wondering what others are saying or thinking.
The key to achievement is to move forward along your chosen path with firm determination.
02 Sep 2014 3 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Bankers, Banking Crisis, Compassion, Ethics, Greed, Human Nature, Money, Wealth
The capitalist system in western society has caused many of us to become addicted to wealth and be dominated by the pursuit of money and power.
This is at the expense of fairness, sharing and compassion. We are all constantly being measured, to all intents and purposes, by what we own or what we earn, rather than who we really are as a person.
A society that has sacrificed so much to material wealth that it has forgotten the human heart and the best of human aspirations, degenerates into something compassionless, doctrinaire, ignorant and ultra-conservative. When this happens, fundamental solutions to the issues of that society become impossible. If we protect the truth and are resolute, we are capable of creating peace and prosperity, and the truth that we should be protecting has to be high and great.
The great truth of Nichiren Buddhism, the thing that we must do our utmost to protect, involves ethics and the very best of human nature. At the very heart of this lies our duty to protect the truth of life, the truth that we are all one with the universe, and that every single human thought contains the entirety of universal life.
The sooner we realise that this addiction is destroying our human nature, the sooner we can start to right the injustices in society. Failure to take steps to redress the balance of wealth will result in more of the kind of riots and protests we saw across the country in the last few years. We all knock the bankers for their greed and avarice, but we are all to blame to a greater or lesser extent for letting the system continue, and we must do better.
If you would like to help change the way money is controlled and how it dictates the structure of society, you might like to join Positive Money and find out how money really circulates. We need to change the money mechanism in order to make the world a fairer place. The sooner that process begins, the better for all (but the richest) of us.
01 Sep 2014 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Love, Peace, Point Of View, Respect, Right Thinking, Understanding, Wisdom Courage and Compassion
My dear old friend Billy Brown had a favourite saying, ‘that everyone had the right to his opinion’. He was generally joking, but sometimes he meant it.
My view is somewhat different. I believe everyone has a right to their own opinion, whether it agrees with mine, or not.
Seeing things from another’s viewpoint is a critical part of being able to meet that person half way in any situation. That then gives us the ability to resolve, or at least come to terms with any potential point of conflict in a positive and constructive way.
If someone stands by their beliefs, even when doing so might run the risk of causing hurt in some manner, those beliefs must be respected. To do anything else would be to concur with Billy’s idea, and that, I am afraid, is not a recipe for peace, love or understanding.
31 Aug 2014 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Good News, Learning, Love, The Buddha Geoff & Me
When you find something that excites and enthuses you, you want to tell people about it and spread the news. When it is a spiritual matter it can be a more delicate situation, wanting to be enthusiastic without being evangelical or overbearing.
My go to book, as we all know, is The Buddha, Geoff and Me, beautifully simple, brilliantly written and, for me at least, a life changer. So to make a present of the book, to someone you care about, might be an idea.
That way, you show you care, you pass on the idea , but you don’t force the issue. If they are interested they may choose to read it. They also have the chance to pass on the news at a later date, if they so decide. And so the good news spreads.
30 Aug 2014 2 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Balance, Learning, Mindfulness, Patience, Point Of View, Viewpoint, Wisdom Courage and Compassion
There is an old saying, that before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticise them, you have a pair of their shoes, and you are a mile away 🙂
But seriously, it is easy to see the faults in another when you are only seeing things from your point of view.
There is a wise Buddhist saying that says ‘we hate in others, what we refuse to see in ourselves’. Before you start picking on someone for their faults, make sure that you don’t have the same faults yourself.
Seeing the other persons viewpoint takes wisdom, courage and compassion, particularly in the heat of the moment. But taking a few seconds to allow yourself to become mindful, and then trying to reach a balanced view will do no harm, and may help resolve the issue once and for all.
29 Aug 2014 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Enlightenment, Learning, Life, Poetry, Wheel of Life
I love the way this poem beautifully encapsulates the stages of learning, and the long, long road to enlightenment …
- I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost…
I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
~~~~- I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I’m in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
~~~~- I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit
My eyes are open; I know where I am;
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
~~~~- I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
~~~~- I walk down another street.
28 Aug 2014 2 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Buddhist Practice, Challenges, Chanting, Honzon, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Practice
There are times when we need to be reminded of the important things in life. When distractions come along it’s all too easy to get side tracked and let our focus slip. It isn’t that we forget that our Practice is the centre of our lives, it’s just that sometimes life itself can get in the way, albeit temporarily.
When everything comes along at once, it can all be a little too much to cope with. But being reminded that our practice is the one constant that keeps us on the straight and narrow is a very good thing. When we remember that everything pivots around our honzon, that our faith is central and the very thing that makes us who we are, we can take steps to realign ourselves.
Take a firm grip of the wheel, get your ship back on your desired heading, feel the wind of change at your back and focus on the horizon. Chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, and it’s steady as she goes captain !!!
27 Aug 2014 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Challenges, Determination, Happiness, Poison Into Medicine, Problems, Sadness
Nobody ever said that life was supposed to be a bowl of cherries.
Our journey from birth to death, whichever lap we happen to be on at any one time, is a series of lows and highs, the rough and the smooth, the not-so-happy and the happy, the bad and the good.
So by assuming that even though things may be going along smoothly just now, we should prepare ourselves for the next pot hole, the unexpected hairpin or that most untimely puncture that will most certainly come along, to make that journey even more satisfying. Being prepared, as all boy scouts know, is the trick to reducing the effect that these unforeseen circumstances will have on our progress.
We have often talked about turning poison into medicine, using the difficulties in life as our way of making ourselves stronger, and seeing obstacles as challenges rather than problems. The old adage of ‘what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger’ is exactly right, if we approach these things in the right manner. Being doggedly determined not to be beaten, to meet the challenges head on and win through, come hell or high water, is a great start and a great way to move on.
Imagine how disappointed we would all be, if the latest ride at Alton Towers was a perfectly straight, perfectly level piece of track, that started slowly, trundled along at walking pace, and gradually slowed to a genteel halt five minutes later. Who in their right mind would queue for something so predictable, so comfortable, so boring? Nobody I know.
The most popular rides, the ones that have the longest queues, and the ones that we want to get back on, time after time, are the ones that scare us witless, the ones that actually make us wonder if we will live to tell the tale. And that is how life can be if we prepare ourselves for the turns, the plunges, the unexpected. The greatest books, films and life stories are all about facing almost impossible adversity, battling against the odds, getting the odd knock along the way, but coming out as the victor in the end.
So face up to the rigours of life, meet those challenges head on, stay strong, be brave and make your life the subject of the greatest story Hollywood has ever told.
26 Aug 2014 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Human Rights, path to enlightenment, Respect, Responsibility
We all have to find our own path to enlightenment. One person’s way may not be that of another, but we all have a path, if we take the time, and have the courage to find it.
Finding the right way is not an easy task, but you owe it to yourself to keep looking.
Everyone has the right to flower, to reveal his or her full potential as human beings and to fulfil their particular mission in this world. You have this right, as does everyone else.
This is the meaning of human rights. To scorn, violate and abuse people’s human rights destroys the natural order of things.
Valuing human rights and showing respect for other people are amongst our most important tasks in life.
25 Aug 2014 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Goals, Kyo Chi Gyo I, Self Awareness, Self Determination, Self Discipline, Self Improvement
Set your goals with care. Whether they are big or small, work towards realising them.
You must be serious and dedicated to your goals – you will never get anywhere if you set them on a whim, or just treat them like a joke.
An earnest, dedicated spirit shines like a diamond and moves the hearts of people. That is because a brilliant flame burns within.
If we are sincere, people will understand our intentions, and our positive qualities will shine forth. It is pointless and destructive to be overly conscious about outward appearances.
As the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote,
“How may one get to know oneself?
Never by contemplation, only indeed by action
Seek to do your duty, and you will know at once how it is with you”
Goals are at the heart of our success, in fact they are the Kyo, and indeed the very basis of Kyo Chi Gyo I. Set your goals with care, and once they are set, aim for them with vigour passion and determination in equal measure.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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