Because I have expounded this teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, I have been exiled and almost killed. For as the saying goes, "Good advice grates on the ear" But still I am not discouraged.
The Lotus Sutra is like the seed, the Buddha like the sower, and the people like the field.
(WND-1,748)
Nichiren was a wise man, and what can be seen in the quote above was that he was so sure about his beliefs , that he was willing to stake his life on it.
Now many people have accused me of becoming part of a cult or believing in something that is based on fairy tales or myth. And where as I do agree, there is a lot of myth and magic sometimes in religion, Nichiren Buddhism is founded on one simple principle.
Success or Victory is achieved through self belief.
Chanting nam myoho renge kyo is about working on your inner self, your sense of self. It is about building up the missing pieces that have been removed or broken down because of your previous experience.
Nam myoho renge kyo, symbolises my life, your life and the life of the universe. We are taught that to be happy, we need to be in tune with the pulse of the universe.
We do this by chanting. But when we chant, it isn't just about sitting and saying some words and things magically happen in our lives, it is about a fundamental transformation that occurs from the inside out.
When we chant, we are polishing our lives. And there is a lot of interesting metaphors when it comes to polishing, which I will explain.
Now the Buddha has said that a normal person, who's mind is clouded by the illusions of emotion, is prone to suffering and can not be enlightened. When a person grasps the nature of life, and is able to polish their life, they are able to see the truth about them selves and about life.
The Gohonzon, which is the external representation of our inner life state. It is used to polish our lives, we practice daily, until this mirror is clear.
This is when we begin to see our true selves emerge.
But this takes time, commitment and most importantly consistency. If you want change, then you must be consistent.
Just remember, that it has taken you years to get your self in to the situation you are right now with your mind and it can take an equally long time to get out it.
This all depends on how willing you are to change.
Chanting is about changing something. Some people chant for money, fast cars, a partner. Some people chant for world peace and the happiness of all of man kind.
At the end of the day, we chant because we want to move something in or out of our lives.
Nichiren Buddhism is different to most forms of Eastern Buddhism, one of the biggest differences is that we are not expected to abstain for all the physical desires of being human.
Through our desires we discover our humanity, this is what we believe.
What we learn is that we have free will and a choice to do what ever we choose to our bodies and our lives, and to the earth, but we must suffer the consequences of the karma we create.
There is nothing wrong with smoking 100 cigarettes a day, but you must live with the fact that you could potentially develop cancer one day.
You could give up your life for others and spend all day and all night working 19 hour days, in an effort to change the world, but you could potentially die in a car accident driving home one night because you were too tired to say awake at the wheel.
Life is about choices. Every single tiny choice. From how quickly you brush your teeth, to how much you spend on your house or a car.
What we learn is that through these physical and conscious choices we create changes in the world around us.
So through our chanting, we are able to know our selves better and to know the best course of action for the benefit of all.
Through every positive action, a positive effect is created. Every-time, without exception.
The idea simple; is be aware of all your actions and causes and do your best to be a good person in all avenues of your life, respecting life and respecting others.
But at the same time, acknowledging that you are human, that you will make mistakes, that you will fuck up occasionally and that sometimes, wether you like it or not, things are going to go horribly wrong.
But when they do, you have developed a deep and resounding strength, that no matter how bad things get, you know that you will find a way out.
And if the way out happens to be death, then we know and believe, that even death is the beginning of a new and exciting adventure.
Just know that at the end of everything, your experiences and choices are all you will take with you when you do.
So live boldly and dream big!
Namaste!
Robbie
