God, the universe and beyond.... The fundamental expression of life.

Who or what is God to you?

Hello Sir.

I am a young girl. Recently, I discovered that my view of what is God  and my beliefs in general fit more to Buddhism than any other existing religion. (Buddhism and the logic of the life-stream -we are energy that obtains mass through "birth" and has to clean it until it's pure and doesn't suffer the pains of existence but still exists-)

And...this one is very weird...I sat outside and closed my eyes and saw my spirit uniting with the whole universe. I mean, I felt that we are one. One life-force...I know it sounds weird, but it was beautiful. I am unsure whether I should consider making the big change. That's why I turn to you. I seek the truth, i want to know! I want to clean the life-force in me...what should I do?

------------------- ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- ----------------- -----------------

Nice to meet you.

What you describe is indeed a beautiful thing indeed. Nothing weird at all.

God is a concept, an idea if you will.

God is not something you can put in to words or in a box.

Over the centuries the church has done just that, they have taken the idea of God and put it on a box and tried to sell it, or use it to control people, create fear and suppress the potential of human kind.

If you see how big the churches have become, and how much power they have over peoples lives, you can see the proof there.

God is not a man, or a woman, God is not a human being. God has no form.

God is and all that is is God.

In Buddhism we don't believe in the concept of God.

The creative exuberant power of the universe,  this is exactly what "God" is.

God is the power and energy that weaves its self through all existence, through flesh and bone, stone and grass, water and gas.

Godis the creative force that brings cohesion to all that is.

As you look around you, the world you see, seems separate and solid, but it is not.

Everything around you is simply matter expressing itself in different ways; flesh, stone, gas, liquid etc.

And of course all this matter you see is simply energy, re-arranged in different ways.

What you see is your eyes interpreting a field of energy.

Each object gives off a different field and so when you see it, smell it, touch it, taste it, your body is simply interpreting this energy and sending the information back to your brain.

As you walk through your daily life, you interact with the field, and you interpret it with your eyes, your sense of touch, taste, smell and thought.

So in answer to your question, is yes you are correct. We are all connected.

You, me, the table the chairs, the soil, the mountains, the rivers and the streams, the fish and the birds.

Everything you see, is a part of the web of life. We are a part of it.

Buddhism is about becoming aware of your place in this web and being aware of your actions as a living being.

Through every single thought, word and action we create a ripple of change that spirals outward from the microcosm of our lives to the macrocosm of the universe.

So this is the goal of what we are trying to achieve, through the human revolution and individual personal happiness.

As each person finds happiness within them selves, the effect is like a domino.

Everything happens for a reason, the good and the bad.

Through these situations we are able transform our lives, our societies, our world.

If you watch the first video on my profile is explains what the SGI is about and how our movement is changing one life at a time, empowering people to build strong and unshakable happiness.

The path is not easy, it is fraught with struggles, but I believe that through Buddhist principles we can have the lives and world we dream of.

What's wonderful is that the "power" comes from within us... never from outside us.

So when you chant Nam Myoho renge kyo, remember that you are tapping in to the power of the universe. If you want to call it God, you can.

But always remember it begins with you.

Fond wishes,
Robbie

Checkout a post by  my fellow SGI Nichiren Buddhist David Hare over on his blog - Thanking the spoon