Our actions in previous lives are all engraved upon, and contained within, this lifetime. The causes for our present suffering, our joy, happiness or misery, all lie with our own past actions. But Nichiren Buddhism enables us to fundamentally transform our destiny.
When we truly base ourselves on the Buddhist view of eternal life, we realise the first thing that must change is how we live in the present. In Nichiren Buddhism, change arises from the very depths of our being, brought about by our daily Practice.
When we practice with vigour, strong, pure vitality wells forth in abundance. The chains of our destiny are broken, and our original identity, the fresh and robust world of Buddhahood, shines forth. Far from being set in stone, our destiny truly is in our own hands, through our everyday thoughts, words and deeds.
The misfortune of others is our misfortune. Our happiness is the happiness of others. To see ourselves in others and feel an inner oneness and sense of unity with them represents a fundamental revolution in the way we view and live our lives.
What Buddhism terms ‘good friends’, are sincere, honest people without a trace of deceit, who guide others toward the correct path, toward good. It also refers to people who lend their assistance or support to us so that we can practice Buddhism with full assurance.
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 bit pessimistic, he never appeared to have very high expectations, never got overexcited about things, so didn’t allow himself to show disappointment, or that was the way it looked to me.
There are situations and challenges in life, when the almost overwhelming tendency is to look inwards, to examine repeatedly, the reasons and causes that have brought us to this point in time.
The true victors in life are those who, having endured repeated challenges and setbacks, have sent the roots of their spiritual being to such a depth, that nothing can ever shake them loose.
Every now and then it is a good thing to brush up on the basics. That applies to pretty much everything in life, be it academic, occupational, sporting or more especially spiritual. 
So the HCRV diet is going rather well. I’m hoping to get over to Thailand next summer for the inaugural Thai Fruit Festival, but situations may not conspire to make that possible. Never the less, I am trying to make the causes to see it through to fruition.
Religion must teach us an “attitude to life”. To live a life of true human dignity is certainly difficult.
We all have a mental view of where we are going in life, what we would like our future to look like, a set of challenges that we must conquer if we are to find our utopia.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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