And Finally …

18 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

TGIFWell it’s taken a whole week to get here, but finally Friday has arrived again. I know what you are saying, you were going to fill every minute, of every day, with sixty seconds of gainful employment, and I have. But doing that doesn’t stop me being pleased that, arguably, the best day of the week has put in a much appreciated appearance at last.

The weather looks like it’s going to be a bit pants over the weekend, but that can’t stop us having fun if we are determined to make the most of our weekend. Hopefully a little cycling will supplement an eclectic mix of housework and socialising. I can feel the lure of Old Harry, Corfe Castle, Creech Hill and Studland calling already. There’s a fair chance that my bike and I will get a bit wet and muddy, but that’s half the fun isn’t it.

It has been a funny old week, with a few things going pop around the place, but having finally realised that I was wishing the days away, put me in a good place to boost my life-energies through chanting a bit more and that raised my life-state. Being in one of the higher worlds really does put a sunny outlook on everything and everyone, so I hope you managed to join me, and that you too are going to have a really great weekend.

Testing Our Progress

29 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Beach Huts At Hengistbury HeadThose of you who have followed my blog for a while will have seen posts about my cycling exploits over the past few years.

Just the same way we test the progress of our Buddhist practice, I have been monitoring my progress in cycling terms.

In some ways, comparing my training times is an easier process. Am I completing the distance more quickly, is my heart rate lower for the same effort, so many metrics to compare. But testing the progress of my practice is more obvious to me day to day.

Almost a year ago to the day, I rode to Hengistbury Head and back, a journey that really caused me a whole world of pain. So much so, that I blogged about the experience. Today I repeated the journey with ease, I even raced, and beat, a bunch of lads who were waiting at the closed Poole bridge on the way home.

The difference? Last year, I was so much less fit. This year, I have been putting my heart and soul into my training. Today’s trip pushed my monthly training distance over the 900km mark, and that has made a huge difference.

When we put all our effort into something, be that training, or our Buddhist practice, we see the results. My cycling effort is backed up by lists and lists of figures and statistics. My effort in Buddhist practice terms shows up in my self awareness, my life-energy and life-state and I can feel the progress each and every day.

And there is an added bonus. The fitter I get, the higher my life-state, the more I chant, the higher my life-energy and the fitter I can get … the ultimate positive spiral !!!

So That’s That For Another Week

22 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , ,

That's All FolksLet’s just think back to Friday evening. The anticipation of a couple of days away from the office, maybe big plans, maybe just looking forward to the chance to recharge the batteries.

But where is that time now? Of course you can remember what you got up to, at least most of it I hope, but it’s time that has gone and you can never get it back.

It’s just a simple example of the unending passage of time, something we take so much for granted we often fail to remember how important it is. Because, although we have all the time in world through the process of reincarnation, to waste a single second it is to lack Wisdom.

If there is something you have been meaning to do, someone you intended to phone, but keep putting it off for any reason you can lay your hands on, you might have found the world of Tranquillity. It’s maybe not the worst of the Lower Worlds (Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Tranquillity, Heaven) but can mean that you lack the life-energy to drive you get things done.

Get chanting, raise your life-energy and hence your life-state, after all, the weekend is over for another week.

Infinite Connectivity

15 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Infinite ConnectivityIn the true reality of life as viewed from the enlightened state of a Buddha, one who has broken free of all delusion, all things are equal, transcending distinctions and differences between subject and object, self and others, mind and body, the spiritual and the material.

In its true aspect, life is infinitely expansive and eternal, without beginning or end. Life is dynamic; it is wisdom and compassion; it embodies the principle of the indivisibility of life and death; it is a universal law.

The cosmos is not so big that life cannot embrace it, nor the smallest particle of matter so small that life cannot be contained within it.

It’s All About Perception

12 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

It's All About PerceptionIt is a well known Buddhist saying, that our problems are not the real problem, it is the way we perceive them that is the problem.

Don’t have problems, have a series of challenges. Challenges are just problems that we are confident that we can overcome. Our problems come and go, nothing lasts forever, so view them with an open mind, look on them as challenges and remember, you are turning poison into medicine.

Even places that have been shrouded in darkness for billions of years can be illuminated by a simple lit candle. Even a flint from the bottom of the deepest river can be used to produce fire.

Our present sufferings, no matter how dark, have certainly not existed for billions of years, nor will they linger forever.

The sun will definitely rise, in fact its ascent has already begun. With determination, we can all overcome our problems, so look on them as challenges and enjoy the victory when it arrives.

Testing Times

04 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , ,

Testing TimesEach day brings us joys and challenges, all of which have the potential to alter our life-state in some manner. Joys tend to raise our life-state, challenges may lower it if we let them, and there lies the conundrum. We need to be vigilant, to observe our life-state from moment to moment, but in doing so, we affect that life-state.

Just as in quantum physics, the mere act of observation affects the phenomenon being observed, self observation of our life-state can, and most likely will affect that too. Imagine a situation where you become angry because something has not gone the way you would like. Initially you may be reacting instinctively, in an animalistic fashion. But as soon as you realise that you are reacting in such a manner, in other words, you observe your life-state, there is a fair chance that you will change to that of a more calm and reflective mood, even into a state of tranquillity.

So we have this little test for ourselves. We must be, as far as possible, aware of our life-state. Ideally we want to be in one of the higher states, not grubbing around in the worlds of Hell, Hunger, Animality or Anger, but in Learning, Realisation, Bodhisattva or even Buddhahood. The act of testing can help us raise our life-state through awareness, which is a good thing. But be warned, when the results come back, and you find you are in one of the lower worlds, that can be a sobering moment, when you realise that you are not as far along the path to enlightenment as you would like to be.

Is Tonight Your Lucky Night?

03 Aug 2013 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Intrinsic ValueThey are estimating that tonight’s UK National Lottery draw will have a rollover jackpot of £5.9M. What would you do with that kind of money? Buy a fancy car, a posh house, a nice yacht maybe even a helicopter or plane ?

It’s a pipedream for so many people, which is where all the money comes from, from the tickets that people buy. For many, it is, in effect, their only realistic route to such riches. Or is it?

Buying their lottery tickets once, twice, or even three times a week, is their little bit of fantasy, their chance to win big. There is nothing wrong with such dreams, somebody has to win, sometime. But I wonder whether it masks, to some degree, their responsibility for their own lives, futures and fortunes?

Of course, the idea behind the lotteries, scratch cards and the rest of the paraphernalia is to raise money for projects, worthy causes and charity work that is so needed in these austere times. All well and good, it’s a bit of harmless fun, a couple of quid a week to buy the chance to live the high life.

I’ll never win it, I know that for a fact. The very first UK National Lottery was drawn on my 40th birthday, not as a celebration of that auspicious event, it just happened that way. For the first few weeks I went along with the wave of enthusiasm, the same as everyone else. When it became clear that there was more chance of being struck by lightning than picking six correct numbers, I stopped.

Now I’m not preaching against the evils of gambling, for that is what it is. I don’t want to stop people having a little slice of fun, if that is how they want to achieve that. But we are all responsible, all in charge and in control of our own fortunes, not those fat cats at Lottery HQ. So have your fun, get excited as the balls rattle around inside Arthur or Lancelot, but never forget, your life is your responsibility, take charge of it with both hands, summon up boundless determination and make it happen.

Limited Visibility

26 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Thick FogLiving on the coast, it can get very foggy at times, to the point where you can’t see your hand in front of your face. The fog horn blares out all night, you can’t sleep, and your surroundings take on a surreal air.

That’s what life can be like at times. All the landmarks, the points of reference seem have gone and we can feel lost. The very things we took for granted have disappeared, maybe because we took them for granted.

So we try to get life back into perspective but have nothing to guide us, unless we are fortunate enough to have our Honzon, our anchor, our Practice. Using chanting to clear the mind, to allow us to see things the way they really are, instead of how we remembered or wished they were. Chanting, long and hard, will shine a new clarity on the situation.

Like a driver who has invested in a powerful set of fog lamps, we start to see things more clearly, we become better able to manage our life-state, and more able to navigate through the challenges that life continuously throws at us.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Focusing On The Positive

03 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Sunshine On A Rainy DayEvery day we have highs and lows, wins and losses, good things happen, bad things happen, each and every day.

Problems are an everyday reality, challenges are part of life and ignoring them will never make them go away.

So focus on what’s good, what’s going right, enjoy that brief spell of sunshine on an otherwise rainy day. Smile, laugh when you can, and always focus on the positives. Make the most of every minute, you will never have the opportunity to use that minute again, so don’t waste it.

Make causes today, to make tomorrow better and never give in to the inevitable resistance that you feel when you are nearing your goal. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind, never fear the truth, use the Wisdom, Courage and Compassion, we all possess, to help others to be positive, it will increase your own life-energy as you encourage them to increase theirs.

The Meaning Of NMRK

29 May 2013 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Nam Myoho Renge KyoEvery day, twice a day, I chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. You see it on the headline banner of my blog and I mention it often. I thought it would be beneficial for me to revisit the meaning and I would like to share it with you. This explanation and definition comes from the Sokka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism.

[南無妙法蓮華経] Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

The ultimate Law or truth of the universe, according to Nichiren’s teaching. Nichiren first taught the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to a small group of people at Seicho-ji temple in his native province of Awa, Japan, on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month in 1253. It literally means devotion to Myoho-renge-kyo. Myoho-renge-kyo is the Japanese title of the Lotus Sutra, which Nichiren regards as the sutra’s essence, and appending nam (a phonetic change of namu ) to that phrase indicates devotion to the title and essence of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren identifies it with the universal Law or principle implicit in the meaning of the sutra’s text.

The meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is explained in the opening section of The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, the record of Nichiren’s lectures on the Lotus Sutra compiled by his disciple and successor, Nikko. It states that namu derives from the Sanskrit word namas and is translated as devotion, or as “dedicating one’s life.” What one should dedicate one’s life to, he says, are the Person and the Law. The Person signifies “Shakyamuni,” which means the eternal Buddha, and the Law is “the Lotus Sutra,” which means the ultimate truth, or Myoho-renge-kyo. According to Orally Transmitted Teachings, the act of devotion (namu) has two aspects: One is to devote oneself to, or fuse one’s life with, the eternal and unchanging truth; the other is that, through this fusion of one’s life with the ultimate truth, one simultaneously draws forth inexhaustible wisdom that functions in accordance with changing circumstances.

Orally Transmitted Teachings further states: “We may also note that the nam of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a Sanskrit word, while Myoho-renge-kyo are Chinese words. Sanskrit and Chinese join in a single moment to form Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. If we express the title [of the Lotus Sutra] in Sanskrit, it will be Saddharma-pundarika-sutra. This is Myoho-renge-kyo. Sad (a phonetic change of sat ) means myo, or wonderful. Dharma means ho, Law or phenomena. Pundarika means renge, or lotus blossom. Sutra means kyo, or sutra. The nine Chinese characters [that represent the Sanskrit title] are the Buddha bodies of the nine honoured ones. This expresses the idea that the nine worlds are none other than the Buddha world.”

Myo stands for the Dharma nature, or enlightenment, while ho represents darkness, or ignorance. Together as myoho, they express the idea that ignorance and the Dharma nature are a single entity, or one in essence. Renge stands for the two elements of cause and effect. Cause and effect are also a single entity.”

Kyo represents the words and voices of all living beings. A commentary says, ‘The voice carries out the work of the Buddha, and it is called kyo.’ Kyo may also be defined as that which is constant and unchanging in the three existences of past, present, and future. The Dharma realm is myoho, the wonderful Law; the Dharma realm is renge, the lotus blossom; the Dharma realm is kyo, the sutra.”

As Nichiren states, namu derives from Sanskrit, and Myoho-renge-kyo comes from Chinese. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is, therefore, not simply a Japanese phrase, but a Japanese reading of a Sanskrit and Chinese phrase. In this sense, it contains aspects of the languages of three countries in which Mahayana Buddhism spread. According to Nichiren’s treatise The Entity of the Mystic Law, Nan-yüeh and T’ient’ai of China and Dengyoof Japan recited the invocation meaning devotion to the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, or Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as their private practice, but they did not spread this practice to others.

In On the Three Great Secret Laws, Nichiren states that the daimoku Nichiren chants today in the Latter Day of the Law is different from that of the previous ages—the daimoku T’ient’ai and others chanted in the Former Day and Middle Day of the Law—because the practice of daimoku in the Latter Day of the Law involves chanting it oneself and teaching others to do so as well. Nichiren not only established the invocation (daimoku) of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo but embodied it as a mandala, making it the object of devotion called Gohonzon. In Reply to Kyo’o, he states, “I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart. The Buddha’s will is the Lotus Sutra, but the soul of Nichiren is nothing other than Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” (412).

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