The story of my path to Buddhahood through the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin
15 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Buddhist Practice, Buddhist Principles, Chanting, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Buddhism comes down to practice. This means making a personal determination and steadfastly taking action to accomplish it, no matter what obstacles may arise.
If we aren’t striving to open a way forward, what we are doing cannot be called Buddhist practice.
We will only enter the path to Buddhahood by making tireless effort based on the same determination as the Buddha.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
25 Oct 2012 6 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Cancer, Chanting, Family, Illness, Life-Energy, Life-State, Pain, Positive, Practice, Sadness
Charlotte is not having a good time with this surgery at all. She is in a lot of pain, has tubes coming out of her, so can’t even get into a comfortable position, and is on a ward with other women who are also suffering post operative discomfort in various forms.
She is being given morphine to help her cope with the pain, but she has never been good with anaesthetics, they make her feel sick. So you can imagine that she is feeling very low, doesn’t want to see or talk to anyone because she doesn’t want to upset them.
All I can do, being stuck here in Poole, is to be there if she texts or calls, to concentrate my practice on chanting and praying for a good outcome to all this and to help Charlotte and the rest of the family stay positive. Several people have been in to see her, and that might help cheer her a little, but the sooner she is home and on the mend, the better.
22 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Cancer, Chanting, Family, Illness, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Practice, Recovery
Spending the majority of the day waiting for news regarding Charlotte’s latest, and hopefully last operation, on her path to defeating cancer, puts life’s priorities into proper order. The reconstruction procedure sounds almost barbaric, and worse even than the operation to remove the cancerous tissues in the first place.
Having had Charlotte recovered and well after the chemotherapy had lulled me into a false sense of well-being. This final part of the jigsaw, albeit necessary to finish the job the oncology specialists started two years ago, shows yet again, just how brave Charlotte really has been.
The news from the hospital, news that took rather longer than expected, is that although she is rather poorly after the procedure, all went well, and she is expected to be able to come home in a few days. Actually, that will be the start of a long and painful period of recuperation, during which we can only offer her our full support, and chant and pray for a successful outcome.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
12 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Chanting, Faith, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Poison Into Medicine, Practice
Some days we are strong, some days not so strong.
When water is clear, the moon is reflected. When the wind blows, the trees shake. Our minds are like the water. Faith that is weak is like muddy water, while faith that is brave is like clear water. Understand that the trees are like principles, and the wind that shakes them is like the recitation of the sutra.
~ Nichiren
10 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Chanting, Family, Happiness, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Relationships, Sadness
Feelings change as we reflect on the causes for those feelings. Acting in haste, motivated by anger, disappointment or desperation will result in the causes of unwanted effects.
When you encounter a wall, you should tell yourself, “Since there is a wall here, a wide, open expanse must lie on the other side.”
Rather than becoming discouraged, know that encountering a wall is proof of the progress that you have made so far.
So here we are, encountering a wall, and striving with all our hearts to find a way to get to the other side.
08 Oct 2012 2 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Challenges, Chanting, Happiness, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Relationships, Sadness, Self Awareness, Self Determination, Self Improvement
You may have gathered that the last few days and weeks have been a little challenging for me. It’s been a little difficult at work, though I’m happy to say that we seem to have worked through that.
But that hasn’t really been the most difficult issue. My relationship with Bridget, a relationship that had really seemed to be going so well, has struck the rocks in a major fashion, and has gone down with all hands.
It’s nobody’s fault, and although it is, and has been rather painful, in an odd sort of way, it feels strangely right that we go our separate ways. It may be that this is not the end of the story, but only time will tell. I really hope that her roller coaster ride evens out a little and that she will find happiness very soon.
So here I am, Anupadin, the one who tries to expound a daily gem of enlightening wisdom, having to call on my practice and my progress to make sense of it all. I have chanted about the past, the present and the future, but as you might expect, it’s going to be a work in progress for some time.
05 Oct 2012 4 Comments
in Buddhism Tags: Challenges, Chanting, Life-Energy, Life-State, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Practice, Strength
Having the strength to take on the challenges of everyday life is not always easy. Chanting my heart out does it for me, as we’ve discussed before, but this quote from Daisaku Ikeda sums up the reality of the situation very nicely …
No matter what the circumstances, you should never concede defeat. Never conclude that you’ve reached a dead end, that everything is finished. You possess a glorious future. And precisely because of that, you must persevere and study.
Life is eternal. We need to focus on the two existences of the present and the future and not get caught up in the past. We must always have the spirit to begin anew “from this moment,” to initiate a new struggle each day.
~ Daisaku Ikeda
Leaving the feelings and fears of the past behind us, we can forge on into a bright, exciting, and fruitful future.
21 Sep 2012 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Challenges, Changes, Chanting, Wisdom Courage and Compassion
Dealing with the ever changing aspects of life is a little like sailing a yacht in a squally breeze. There are external influences that push and pull on the direction of our path. Our role as skipper of our own craft, is to deal with the challenges that those influences bring, whilst trying to steer in the direction we want our lives to go.
The similarity to sailing is most evident when you compare the way a yacht has to sail across the wind, in a direction as close to, but rarely directly towards, the desired goal. So there has to be a degree of compromise in order to make progress towards that goal.
Life is exactly the same. It is pretty rare to find, that the influences on our lives, push or pull us directly towards our goals. The old adage of ‘two steps forward and one step back’ is often very accurate. A little progress in the right direction is often followed by a period of consolidation, during which we may even find that we have slipped back a little.
It is good to remember that, as illustrated in The Buddha, Geoff and Me, resistance is not only inevitable, and a measure of our progress, but is essential for some processes to work at all.
15 Sep 2012 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Chanting, Cycling, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Nature, Pain
The beautiful sunshine, despite a brisk westerly breeze, made my bike ride over to Hengistbury Head, near Christchurch, a real treat. There were lots of people who had also decided to make the most of the weather, so making progress along the promenade to Bournemouth was never easy.
Having the breeze at my back made the cycling easy, something I was to rue later in the day, and maybe it contributed to me riding further than I had planned to do. But it was very rewarding to find myself at the tip of the peninsula, surrounded by beautiful nature.
With the obligatory panoramic photos in the can it was time to set off on the journey home. Initially I made good progress, albeit having to weave my way through throngs of people as well as having to dodge the quaint little land train.
But as I reached to promenade, I felt the full force of the breeze that had helped me on the outward journey. Whether it was the result of the wet summer, leaving me with a lot less miles in my legs, or that I hadn’t taken enough to drink, we will never know.
Suffice to say that as I reached to rise up to the pier at Bournemouth, I started to get cramp in the top of my left thigh. Now I have never had cramp before, ever, so it was a rather nasty surprise, and I tried to ride through the pain, it just seemed to get tighter. A brief rest on a bench at Alum Chine, sitting in the sunshine and stretching my legs out, seemed to help, but the respite was only short lived.
The nasty little rise out of Sandbanks proved to be a bit of a killer, and by the time I reached to summit both my thighs were locked solid. I stopped, but couldn’t bend either leg enough to get off the bike. So I stood and waited for the pain to subside, much to the bemusement of a lady who was passing.
Finally I was able to trundle down the hill into Lilliput, but turning into Whitecliff park the pain returned. I found my self a bench and again waited for the cramp to abate again. Finally it eased a little, but not before I wondered whether I was going to be able to make it back home.
I set my pace by chanting. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo gives a good rhythm and it also took my mind away from the pain in my legs. I also kept a vision of me reaching home and entering the front door in my minds eye, and I found that this helped me to concentrate on my goal.
Well I’m back home and after having showered, eaten dinner and drunk plenty of water, and had a little rest, I’m feeling fine. I can tell that I’ve still got a bit of strain in my legs, but if the weather is good tomorrow, I think I’ll go out and stretch my legs again.
My chanting always helps me sort out the challenges in life, but I never cease to be amazed at just how versatile it can be. I can’t promise that the same method will work for you, but it might be worth giving it a try next time a challenge gives you a bit of pain or anguish.
14 Sep 2012 Leave a comment
in Buddhism Tags: Challenges, Chanting, Success, Wisdom Courage and Compassion
The little challenges that life presents now and again can be solved if we use wisdom, courage and compassion. Usually they appear one after another, but occasionally a coach load turn up all at once, and then what do we do?
First thing I do is chant. Chanting allows me to sort them into order of priority, determine which need to be solved quickly, before they cause still more challenges. Then having my running order, I chant some more to visualise the solutions to each one in turn.
Of course there are no guarantees, but this works for me. Work, family, health, money, you name it, we get challenges in every walk of life. If you can stay focussed, prioritise, and meet each challenge one by one, not only will you succeed, you will learn with each and every one.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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