A Long And Winding Road?

05 Oct 2011 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Nichiren DaishoninIn 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.

The Perfect Role Model

04 Sep 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Shakyamuni BuddhaWhy was Shakyamuni Buddha so well respected? One of the reasons was the power of this voice, which was said to be ‘beautiful, sweet like honey, warm and graceful, resounding and clear’. He is also described as an individual who ‘speaks brightly, remarks positively, narrates gracefully, talks clearly and expresses himself eloquently to make himself understood’.

Shakyamuni is recorded as having always called out to his visitors, ‘welcome,welcome’. It is known that he associated with people with friendliness, joy and gentleness. He never greeted people with any semblance of an unfriendly manner. It is said that he was always first to speak to visitors, so that he or she would feel comfortable and have an easier time opening up to Shakyamuni Buddha.

Such an approach is nothing magical or mystical and still works well today. Employing this manner is an easy and powerful way to emulate the perfect role model.

Cowards Cannot Become Buddhas

15 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

BuddhaThis challenging and inspiring piece came from last night’s Gosho Study.

The direct route to uncovering your enlightenment is by challenging negativity. You don’t call out your Buddhahood by running away from your problems. Change your way of thinking. Obstacles, negativity, adversity, whatever words you want to attach to it – think instead – opportunity, opportunity, opportunity! This is the means by which you can call out your Buddhahood and become in charge of your life.

Every time that you think that you are powerless to change a problem in your life; you have reverted to being non Buddhist. You must chant out of the conviction that you will win. It is not mindless Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, it is not half hearted. It is a deep conviction that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is more powerful than anything else and you must attack your negativity with this conviction. You can’t do it if you won’t become a fighter. Buddhism is win or lose. And, for those of us practising Buddhism, victory is the only option. We must become masters at life by mastering negativity.

You learn that after challenging negativity, negativity, negativity, day after day, over many years, that what you were always looking for all of your life you always had; it’s always been there within you. What you learn is that your life is the greatest dream that you could ever dream. It is within your grasp and control at this moment and every moment.

So create a life for yourself that is beyond your wildest dreams. Buddhism is about winning. Buddhism is about not stopping until all people become happy. It’s about becoming mad at fundamental darkness that takes away peoples’ souls so that they become hopeless, when in fact; inside them they have the greatest seed to change anything.

The reason we have faith is to do what you cannot do already with your own human effort. You don’t need faith to do what you can already do. But how can you ever know your limitless potential of the power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo unless you have the courage to fight for that which is illogical in your mind. Challenge the impossible. The more you have the courage to challenge the impossible, the more you will come to understand YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT!

(Source unknown)

The Festive Meaning

20 Dec 2010 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Judging by the adverts on TV, the news reports of lower than expected footfall in the shopping malls of the UK, you might be forgiven for thinking that Christmas existed purely to boost retail businesses.

The actual meaning of the Christmas festival has been hijacked a few times. The original winter festival Yule Tide was assimilated into the Christian religious calendar many centuries ago. There seems to be evidence to show that Jesus was not born on, or even near to Christmas day, but that can be excused as being similar to the Queen’s Birthday.

Father Christmas himself, in his red and white outfit, is an invention of Coca-Cola, although they were not the first company to use images of Saint Nicholas.

I am sure that the birth of The Buddha is exploited in a similar way in Buddhist countries around the world.

I am not saying whether using such festivals in such a way is right or wrong, but I do think that it is important to remember the real reason behind them.

The Ultimate Role Model

15 Dec 2010 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

BuddhaThe purpose for, or the idea behind, my Buddhist Practice is to bring me 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.

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 learn about the Ten Worlds, from Hell to Buddhahood.

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 closer I come to Buddhahood, a very positive thought for today.

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