Sadly, I’ve never been in a position where I can sit back and think, “Right that’s it, I’m who I want to be, I’m where I want to be, I have nothing left to do”. Maybe that is a rather rare situation to find oneself in, maybe we might call it Enlightenment.
But if there are things we still wish to improve, to learn, to complete, the question arises, “Where To Next?”. Some things have to be done in sequence, some things can be changed in isolation, but deciding which one to choose can be difficult.
Sensei, as always, has some very good advice:
“You may have fundamental questions about yourself and your identity: Who am I? What should I do with my life? It is quite natural to feel unsure about the best way to proceed. If you haven’t yet decided on your future course, I feel the best thing is just to concentrate your energies on what you need to do right now, and gradually your full potential will emerge.”
~ Daisaku Ikeda
Wise words indeed, and when they are allied to chanting, focussed on the same question, the answer is sure to come in no time. Having been through a great deal of change over the last few years, I would like to share a morsel of acquired wisdom, that being, to remember to be compassionate towards yourself. Change can be, and often is, quite painful.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
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.
This is nothing about the motto of the Boy Scout movement. It is about being ready to face whatever life may throw at you. Life challenges us daily. There are joyous days and days of suffering. Sometimes really unpleasant things happen, but this variety is actually what makes life so interesting. The dramas we encounter are part and parcel of being human.
The Sanskrit word Buddha means “One who is awakened [to the truth].” While the term was widely employed by various schools of the time, it eventually came to be used exclusively in reference to Shakyamuni. At the same time, the word Buddha implies “to bloom.”
I love the way this poem beautifully encapsulates the stages of learning, and the long, long road to enlightenment …
You know the saying about taking the rough with the smooth? Well life generally consists of a mixture of good times and bad times, happiness and sadness, health as well as sickness. In general, it is the ratio of these opposites that makes us feel that life is going well, or going badly.
The path to enlightenment involves a lot of learning, much of it about yourself.
Now you know that Monday isn’t my favourite day. A whole weekend worth of questions and issues, a change of email servers, and really terrible weather making for a late start. The perfect storm, literally.
It may seem to be a strange thing to say, but our happiness, or otherwise, is actually a choice we make for ourselves. It’s basically tied to the way we view the challenges that life throws at us.
The Search For Enlightenment 
Recents Comments