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 goto 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.
The most commonly asked questions, when people learn that I am a Buddhist, are ‘do you chant?’ followed by ‘what do you chant?’ and then ‘what does it mean?’. Nichiren Buddhists chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo in a rhythmic mantra during Gongyo, and quite often at other times, to raise our Life-State and Life-Energy levels.
Sorting out our life can be a bit like solving a Rubik’s cube, each part is like one of the faces, separate but all connected. We work to get one face, let’s say Blue sorted out. On it’s own that task is pretty easy and we complete it quite quickly. So we move on to to the Red face, again it’s pretty easy, in isolation, so we get it sorted and we feel a satisfaction in that. But then we turn the cube back to the Blue side, and it’s all messed up again, because it is connected to the Red side.
We have all asked ourselves this question, maybe once or twice, maybe a thousand times, but the answer to the question turns out to be so simple, so eloquent, so meaningful, when it is asked from a position of total hopelessness.
I know, I’m always going on about this brilliant book, but The Buddha, Geoff and Me is the perfect Christmas gift for the Buddhist in your life (if that isn’t an oxymoron).
My own experiences with Nichiren Buddhism have shown me how powerfully it can change your life. Whether that is simply making you a happier person or helping you see situations from a different perspective, that may help you solve your problems in a better way. As with all good things, you want to tell people about it, so they can share the benefits.
Time only moves in one direction, forwards. That is why we say time after time, and not time before time.
The path to enlightenment involves a lot of learning, much of it about yourself.
Reading is a dialogue with ourselves, it is self-reflection, which cultivates profound humanity. Reading is essential to our self development. It expands and enriches the personality like a seed that germinates after a long time and sends forth a multitude of blossom-laden branches.
Today would have been my Dad’s 85th birthday.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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