The Calm After The Storm

06 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Hamworthy SunsetHaving worked about ten hours solid today, with hardly a break, and seeing the sunshine streaming down outside, it was nice to be able to catch the rays of the setting sun this evening.

I took a stroll down to the beach, armed with Daisaku Ikeda’s Buddhism Day by Day, found a nice sunny spot and proceeded to read the whole of Sensei’s thoughts for January.

A couple stood out, and I thought you might like them too …

“There simply are no Buddhas who spend all their time in meditation. Buddhas are Buddhas precisely because they continually ponder and take action to help others resolve their worries.”

“A coward cannot become a Buddha. We cannot attain Buddhahood unless we possess the heart of a lion.The harsher the situation, the bolder the stand we must take. This is the essence of the Soka Gakkai spirit.”

A wonderfully calming end to a rather busy day.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

A Day To Remember

02 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Taplow Court - SGI-UK HeadquartersTomorrow I am going to travel up to Taplow Court in Maidenhead, the UK headquarters of the Soka Gakkai, to receive a Gohonzon.

I was tempted to say ‘presented with my Gohonzon’ but I believe that is more correct to say ‘a’ because I will merely be the custodian of the Gohonzon, as it will most certainly still be in existence long after I have passed on.

So I am hoping for an auspicious visit and looking forward to the honour of receiving the Gohonzon.

Although I have a Gohonzon I ‘rescued’ from eBay it will be an honour to have an authentic one, if that is the right term, to be the object of my Practice.

Ken Hawkins is going to accompany me on the trip. I hope I don’t talk him to death on the journey, there are so many things I want to ask about. We are planning to arrive in good time to attend Kosen Rufu Gongyo, which will be followed by registration and the ceremony during which I will receive the Gohonzon.

I’ll give you an update on how it all turns out when I get back, hopefully with a few photos.

The Value Of Youth

23 Mar 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

YouthI was thinking that, as the meeting yesterday did not go strictly to plan, and the Youth Division did not get it’s voice heard in the way it might have liked, that I would post a couple of the quotations that they brought for discussion at the start of the meeting.

I hope you enjoy them …

 

Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind.
it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees
it is a matter of will, a quality of imagination, a vigour of the emotions
it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. Samuel Ullman (poet)

— + —

That we take pains to protect weapons while we expose children –
the future of the race – to peril is impermissible.
To ignore this absurdity will spell defeat for humanity.
We must not live to destroy.
We have the spiritual power to create peace and happiness. Daisaku Ikeda

— + —

Let me be more mother than the mother herself
in my love and defence of the child who is not flesh of my flesh.
Help me to make one of my children my most perfect poem
and leave within him or her my most melodious melody
from that day when my lips no longer sing. Gabriela Mistral (teacher)

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

The Best Laid Plans

22 Mar 2011 6 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

ButsudanTonight, ten of us attended the study group at Jayne and Ken Hawkins’ flat in Sandbanks.

The meeting had been planned by the Youth Division, there were several young people there and the topic had been set based around several poems about youth and the importance of youthfulness. The youth of today are, after all, the future.

We started to discuss a couple of the poems, but one lady, who had practiced Nichiren Buddhism in her youth, rather derailed the discussions when she started to explain that she had been rather ill, both physically and mentally. She wanted to know why she was being punished and told us that there were times when she felt she just could not face the future.

Whilst it wasn’t the planned discussion, it gave us all the opportunity to show our support and to help her see that she wasn’t being punished, that is was simply her karma to be suffering in the way she is.

Ken pointed out, that although she had been through some very difficult times, that was in the past and by focussing on the future, and making the right causes, that she could be confident of a much better future. We all tried to explain that the future was under her control.

I don’t think that this single meeting will change her current plight, but it will, if she is supported and resumes her practice, be the trigger for her to create a much better future for herself. After all, we are responsible for our own lives, and for creating the causes for the happiness we wish in our lives.

The meeting ended and I had offered Simon, the head of the youth division in Poole, a lift home. I had no idea that he had been cured, or rather, had cured himself, of Hodgkin Lymphoma, a form of cancer that attacks the body’s lymphatic system.

Whilst Charlotte’s cancer is slightly different, it had spread to the lymph glands under her arm, so is similar. Simon was very helpful and during the journey to Bournemouth, jotted down several natural remedies as well as some useful website addresses for me.

So an evening that was intended to be all about youth, turned into a support group for one of the members and a fact finding mission, albeit unwittingly, about cures and treatments for Charlotte’s condition.

When we chant, it always brings results, but as I have said on so many occasions, not always the results you might expect.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

So Far, So Good

21 Mar 2011 1 Comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: ,

Charlotte, Rob and the ladsAs  you may know, my eldest daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks ago.

Today was the first day in the battle to rid her of this frightening condition and she underwent radical surgery in the Bristol Royal Infirmary this morning.

The initial signs are very promising. The surgery went as planned and Charlotte, although still drowsy from the anaesthetic, is reasonably comfortable and taking the first steps on the road to recovery.

I would like to extend my profound thanks to the medical team and the nurses who are looking after Charlotte. I would also like the send the most heartfelt thanks to the many, many people, from all around the world, who have sent Diamoku, prayers and good wishes for her swift and full recovery.

For my part, I’ve been chanting my socks off and praying for Charlotte, as you might expect. I am looking forward to more proof of practice as she gets well again.

Wimborne Men’s Meeting

19 Mar 2011 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , ,

Buddhism Day by Day - Daisaku IkedaThis morning was great. The sun was shining and the short trip to Jack Horwood’s house in Wimborne, for the meeting, was traffic free.

I really like the idea that the SGI districts have men’s and women’s meetings, as well as meetings for everyone. This morning was a men’s meeting and there were half a dozen of us in attendance.

Of course Jack and Ken were there, as was Boots, who appears to have a season ticket, because he’s been at every meeting I have attended since finding the local groups. Good on you Boots. Thierry and Jeff arrived a little later, having come from Dorchester. Jack has a beautiful garret room, dedicated to his Butsudan, very conducive to concentrating on Practice and study.

Having had a quick coffee, which was very welcome and did a good job of waking me up, we sat and chanted, guided by Ken. Again, the energy of the group was amazing, and being all male voices, the dynamic of the resonance was different from that at the mixed meetings.

I know I’ve said this a number of times, but the energy levels at group chanting sessions are so much higher than when I chant alone. It’s a bit addictive if I’m honest.

Following Gongyo, the group discussion started with Thierry reading some quotes, from the last few days, from Daisaku Ikeda’s book Buddhism Day By Day. It has, as you might expect, a quote for every day of the year. and as with all Sensei’s writings, they were full of wisdom and provided several interesting talking points. The discussion continued on a varied and diverse number of topics, with much humour, but with much to absorb, me being a complete novice compared to the others.

I was given the honour of closing the meeting by chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and ringing the bell three times. Even I couldn’t muck that up.

So the morning flew by and, as always, I left feeling full of life-energy, having learned more about the Practice and Nichiren Buddhism in general.

My thanks to Jack for being the perfect host, and to the guys for making me welcome as usual.

Calm Amidst The Storm

16 Feb 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

The ScreamBefore I start this post, I want to say that although it is about me and our current situation, it is not a boast or in any way self glorification. So here goes …

Yesterday, as you may already know, my eldest daughter Charlotte was diagnosed with breast cancer. She will receive the results of the biopsy next week, but that will probably only give more details of the form of cancer she has.

You can probably imagine the emotional turmoil that the family was going through yesterday evening. There was a lot of crying and pain.

The strange thing was that I wasn’t part of that grieving. Maybe it was because I was 100 miles from Charlotte, so wasn’t affected by the upset in others, though I did speak to everyone by phone. You might say that I am hard-hearted, though those who know me well will tell you otherwise. It certainly isn’t that I don’t love my daughter, because I do, with all my heart.

I hadn’t really even noticed that I had remained so calm and collected until one person after another commented upon it.

But my belief is that it’s my Practice that has allowed me to cope with such a trauma. Of course, as soon as I heard about Charlotte’s diagnosis I started praying and chanting for her to make a complete recovery. The chanting helped my life-energy levels and also brought me closer to the World of Bodhisattva, but it appears to have allowed me to remain composed and I feel that has helped other people too.

I suppose I shouldn’t be at all surprised because this is what is so powerful about Nichiren Buddhism. It actually allows you to control, to a greater or lesser extent, your own life-state, or mood in common terms, as well as your life-energy. Nichiren insists that we test our Practice in that if we don’t see tangible results from what we practice, we desist from that practice.

Well the Practice has certainly proven itself today, and that is good for me and, of course most importantly, for Charlotte.

Inner Strength

14 Jan 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

BuddhaBefore I became aware of Nichiren Buddhist, through Jason and Karen Jarrett’s A Buddhist Podcast initially, I found disappointments very difficult to handle.

I have always been prone to setting my expectations too high, and that leads to disappointment when the expectation isn’t met. My Dad, on the other hand, always seemed to be a little pessimistic, he never appeared to have very high expectations, never got overexcited about anything, so didn’t allow himself to feel disappointment, or that was the way it looked to me.

Since I have been practicing Nichiren Buddhism I have an inner strength that helps me through difficult times. It is a great comfort and I would recommend it to anyone who is struggling with issues or problems.

The strange thing is that Buddhism doesn’t always make the problems go away, although that does sometimes happen, but it gives me a different way of looking at the situation and a focus that makes the problems more easy to understand and to bear.

In general, my life has been very easy. I have a very loving family, great parents and had a very stable home life in my formative years. I’ve been through a few troughs, the usual things like losing my grandparents, my father and failed relationships, the same as every one else. I’m not looking to test my practice to that extent, but I truly believe that my inner strength will see me able to cope with such times much better now.

If I were to try to pinpoint the single most important reason for this, I would say it was a new found mental calm. I’ve never been a fighter. At school I used to use humour to get out of the usual scrapes all kids get into. But I was prone to letting my feeling show, particularly when disappointment was involved.

Now, because I can see the situation from all angles, just like those reviews on the web, where you can spin the item around and look at it every which way, I can rationalise more easily. Being able to see a situation from other peoples perspective allows me to make sense of how things appear to them, and understand why they are reacting in the way they are.

It has changed my life, or at least the way I look at it, and it can help anyone. Maybe it could help you.

Again And Again Till It Sticks

10 Jan 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

The Buddha, Geoff And MeYou all know how much I admire Edward Canfor-Dumas’ book, The Buddha, Geoff and Me. It’s packed full of Buddhist philosophy and great lessons, set in everyday situations.

Well it’s been a little while since I read any of it, let alone re-read the whole book. But I have the entire volume on podcast, and today I’ve upgraded my mobile to a Nokia N8, which not only receives FM radio, it transmits it too.

The upshot is, that I will be able to listen to Ed’s adventures all over again, on my way to work, on the car radio. What a treat !!!

So if I start banging on about it once again, at least you’ll know the reason why.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Back On Track

07 Jan 2011 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , ,

Lotus SutraNow my flu is starting to ease, I need to get my Practice back on track.

I’m going to be spending even more time on my own, with my partner having to work away from home for a few months. I could look at this as a problem, but I can also see it as giving me the time to concentrate of my Practice and Learning.

I could feel sad, as I have in the past, because my Honzon has deserted me albeit temporarily, but now my Honzon is my Practice and that stays with me at all times.

So, plenty of chanting, reading and learning are the order of the day. I’m not happy that my partner has to go away, I shall miss her, but by turning that poison into medicine I can make the most of the extra time.

I’m sure it will make the weeks fly by too, so two birds with one stone.

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