I have been practicing for 3 years now and I am very uncertain , at times , about just exactly what this practice brings to me and what I bring to it.
My financial situation has deteriorated but I am better able to cope with it. Overall I feel happier and more content .My health is good . My love love life has remained static i.e I don't have one .I'm dealing with work in a more holistic approach.But I still have a lot of trouble understanding many of the Buddhist concepts and still wonder why Buddhists are just as messed up as every body else.

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda, Thursday, January 27, 2011

Viewing events and situations in a positive light is important. The strength, wisdom and cheerfulness that accompany such an attitude lead to happiness. To regard everything in a positive light or with a spirit of goodwill, however, does not mean being foolishly gullible and allowing people to take advantage of our good nature. It means having the wisdom and perception to actually move things in a positive direction by seeing things in their best light, while all the time keeping our eyes firmly focused on reality.

Your Attitude in Front of the Gohonzon From Dr. Yamazaki

       Your attitude in front of the Gohonzon is like being on a holiday.

It is necessary to cut yourself off from work, from daily life.

This is important in order to regenerate, to be free of tension and relaxed.

If your practice is a prolongation of your social life, it will not be effective.

     In the ceremony in the air (Gongyo), you cut yourself off from the earth

rising above. If you are dominated by your problems in front of the Gohonzon

nothing good appears. It is necessary to rise above, to make it a special moment

relaxing. This is a ceremony of " Ku". I am a Buddha in front of the Gohonzon!

    The Gohonzon is like a mirror, it is not necessary to be either imprisoned,

nor attached, nor dominated, nor guilty, nor worthless, nor have arrogance

in order enter the world of the Gohonzon.

It is necessary to be indifferent to your own thoughts. You do not fight in front

of the Gohonzon. Be relaxed as though being in the air without limits.

With this kind of ichinen for 15 minutes........this is enough.

      From your first daimoku, change the world, feel the universe, realize

" Ku", "Ke", and "Chu"!

      ("Ku" is the world of the Buddha; "Ke" is oneself, "Chu" is all the

strength and wisdom of the universe.)

       You can recuperate all the forces of the universe. The wisdom to listen,

to believe, to meditate, and to decide. Reject your own arrogance in order

to allow your own wisdom to appear, going beyond time and space to

Detoxify yourself in front of the Gohonzon. Nothing is too far away in the morning and in the evening.....this is when you are Buddha.

You must have confidence to find a sense of the Ceremony in the Air and

declare your conviction to be the Buddha of eternal life, the Buddha of

Ichinen Sanzen, and the Buddha of confidence and joy!

The Human Revolution

When people speak of wanting to be a success, they generally mean gaining status and prestige in society. But doing our human revolution is a much more profound aspiration, for it involves changing and elevating our lives from within. The transformation achieved as a result is everlasting and far, far more valuable and precious than social status or prestige.--From the Human Revolution by Daisaku Ikeda

Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.

Viktor E. Frankl (1905 - 1997) Psychiatrist & Author

What is Kosen Rufu ?

Kosen Rufu means that you chant Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo with the belief that you yourself are the Buddha and to teach other people to chant to realize that they are also the Buddha.and to refute slander when we encounter it .Literally we are chanting the affirmation that I am a Buddha and you are too and to challenge slander whenever we encounter it..This a definition of Kosen Rufu that you may not have heard before. It is common for Kosen Rufu to be defined as the establishment of peace , culture and education . Kosen Rufu means to take up the teaching that we each have buddhahood and to refute slander when we see it.This is a righteous struggle to transform our reality .This struggle is not easy ; it is a pitched battle and one in which we face overwhelming odds on every side except the human heart. When we allow our true selves to speak we are able to penetrate all barriers and communicate directly with peoples hearts. Nothing can stop our prayer. In many ways it’s easier to chant just for ourselves and we may feel that teaching others may be a bit embarrassing and could be seen as pushy and as for challenging slander that’s probably asking a bit much.We are under the constant bombardment of slander , gossip , rumours opinions based false information , malicious comments , personal attacks. If you listen to the news it seems that the world is going to the dogs with everybody blaming each other.
Chanting for ourselves is easy but teaching others to chant is something many of us find extremely difficult. So why is this ? Perhaps when we talk to people about something we hold very dear to us we expect them to validate our belief excerpt from Jason Jarrett's website

SGI Activities outline for 2011

1. Sharing our philosophy with our friends
2.Promoting and developing discussion meetings
3.Enhancing publications and expanding readership
4.Fostering capable successors

Jazz Solo Series for Trombone- get help learning how to improvise.

The Jazz Solo Series for Trombone by Mark Vega is a great instructional tool for musicians and music students to learn or improve their improvisational abilities in the jazz - swing idiom. There are 66 examples in the book, starting at a somewhat easy level and gradually increasing in difficulty throughout the book. This book is divided into four sections: Section one, tracks 1 through 36 cover all twelve keys using 11-V-1 and 11-V-111-V1-11-V-1 chord progressions. Section two, tracks 37 through 60 cover all twelve keys using 1-V1-11-V-111-b111-11-V-1 chord progressions. Section three, tracks 61 through 66 are complete worked out solos over the chord changes to the popular Jazz standards “Stella By Starlight”, “Take the A Train” and “There Will Never Be Another You.” There are two solos for each of these three examples, an easy version followed by a more difficult one. The first version being a prime example of how to approach medium swing Jazz and the second version covering the more complex and demanding style of Bebop Jazz with its faster tempos and more difficult melodic and harmonic note choices. Section four, tracks 67, 68 and 69 are repeated choruses of the chord progressions to the above mentioned songs for extended practice. Please refer to the end of the book for a selected discography of Mark's favorite Jazz albums featuring great soloists.

Exerpt from " Discussions on Youth-For the Leaders of the Future "

This took place between President Ikeda and Soka Gakkai youth leaders in Japan in the mid 1990's.
Question .When we recite the sutra twice daily, a strong life force comes welling forth. But why is this so ?.
President Ikeda " Reciting the sutra is a ceremony in which our lives commune with the universe. As we recite the sutra and chant Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo, through our faith in the Gohonzon, we vigorously infuse the microcosm of our individual existence with the life force of the macrocosm, of the entire universe. If we do this regularly each morning and evening,our life force--or engine--is strengthened. "

Can chanting "Nam myo ho renge kyo " really change your life.

The answer is that yes it can .There is a but ;--you will get what you chant for but it probably won't be exactly what you expected .Positive and negative are human constructs which the mystic law of cause and effect does not recognise.

President Ikeda's directive that it is time to pass on the torch to our SGI Youth group should be a wake up call to us to encourage all young people to find their spiritual path.

Quote from President Toda

" I am Josei Toda ! I am a Soka Gakkai member ! I don't care what anyone says I'm proud of what I am "

2011

It's a new year and time to apply some ,or as much as possible , of what we've learned as followers of Nichiren and the SGI..Personal responsibility is what I'm working on. Accepting my responsibility for my circumstances and changing those things that no longer work for me. I have a tendency to get sidetracked by what's going on in my own little world so I'll also be working on changing that so that I can be part of the bigger picture.If you haven't checked out this site yet I suggest you do today a buddhistpod cast