Overcoming obstacles And illness
Overcoming Obstacles
What problem cannot be overcome
What benefit cannot accrue
Winter always turns into Spring
Even a tarnished
mirror will shine like a jewel if it is polished
Overcoming Obstacles
The fifth
volume of the Maka Shikan states:
"As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and
four devils emerge, vying with one another to interfere." It also states:
"A wild boar scraping a gold mountain only makes it glitter, rivers
flowing into an ocean increase its volume, fuel added to fire only makes it
burn higher, and the wind inflates the body of the gura." If, with the mind of the Buddha, one practices the
Lotus Sutra as the Buddha taught, in the right manner and at the right time, then
these seven obstacles and devils will confront him. Nichiren Daishonin
Your Creative Potential
Shifting
your internal reference point from an egocentric Being dependent upon the
positions and possessions one has accumulated, to a Being of conscious energy, woven
from the threads of the universal intelligence of the Mystic Law, has a
profound effect on your mind and body.
When you
become clear that the reason you want to live to a hundred years is so you can
express your full creative potential, you change your chemistry and physiology.
When you identify your unique talents and commit to using them in the service
of others, you strengthen your immune system. When you decide that exercising
regularly or preparing a balanced meal is an enjoyable experience, you improve
your circulatory health and lower your blood pressure. Your perceptions, interpretations,
and expectations influence every aspect of your mental and physical health.
Shifting your perspective and making new choices provide you with powerful
tools to change your life.
What problem cannot be overcome
The Sage and an Unenlightened Man :Nichiren Daishonin
If only you chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, then what offense could
fail to be eradicated? What blessing could fail to come? This is the truth, and
it is of great profundity. You should believe and accept it. (MW, 5-110)
Winter Always Turns to Spring :Nichiren Daishonin
Those
who believe in the Lotus Sutra are as if in winter, which never fails to turn
into spring. Never have I seen or heard of winter tuning into autumn. Nor have
I ever heard of any believer in the Lotus Sutra who remained a common mortal. A
passage from the sutra reads, "Among those who hear of this Law, there is
not one who shall not attain Buddhahood."
The Daishonin
consistently taught that chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo is the true path to attaining enlightenment in one's
present form (sokushin jobutsu) for all people living in the Latter
Day of the Law. So whether we're having fun, are happy, are sad or are troubled
and whenever we find ourselves dealing with a problem, we should earnestly
chant Daimoku as this always opens the way for us. It is the true path to
enlightenment in our present form.
(Daibyakuho, January 16, 1996
What benefit cannot accrue
Twenty-sixth
High Priest, Nichikan Shonin, wrote:
If
one believes in this Object of Worship and chants Daimoku there is no prayer
that will go unanswered, no sin that will go uneradicated, no fortune that will
fail to come and no truth that will fail to become evident.
["Exegesis
on the 'True Object of Worship'" (Kanjin no honzon-sho mondan);
"Essentials of the Fuji School" (Fuji
shugaku yoshu), p. 213]
This
guidance describes the vast benefits of chanting Daimoku with faith in the
Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary
Even a tarnished mirror will shine like a
jewel if it is polished
In
"On Attaining Buddhahood" the Daishonin also teaches us the importance
of chanting Daimoku every day by saying
Even
a tarnished mirror will shine like a jewel if it is polished. A mind which at
present is clouded by illusions originating from the innate darkness of life is
like a tarnished mirror, but once it is polished it will become clear, reflecting
the enlightenment of immutable truth. Arouse deep faith and polish your mirror
night and day. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.
(Gosho, p. 46)
Difficulties and adversities enable us to eradicate all the
slanders of the Law that we have committed in the past.
REFERENCE;Overcoming Severe
Difficulties, Obstacles, and Devils and Do not be
discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this
life" Nichiren Shoshu Overseas Bureau
1 By believing
in the power of the Mystic Law we can realise the principle of changing poison
into medicine.
2 Great
difficulties are challenges which foster faith and create commitment to this
profound practice.
In On the Buddha's Behaviour The Daishonin says
The
fifth volume of the Maka Shikan states: "As practice progresses and
understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge, vying with one
another to interfere." It also states: "A wild boar scraping a gold
mountain only makes it glitter, rivers flowing into an ocean increase its
volume, fuel added to fire only makes it burn higher, and the wind inflates the
body of the gura."
With deep
commitment anything is possible with this practice and all obstacles in terms of
illness, unhappiness, adversity, and material and emotional difficulties can be
overcome as remarkable changes occur in a person`s life enhancing and
empowering that person .
We have to
realise the profound compassion of the Buddha to realise the nexus and ground
of the Universe is based on Love.
Daishonin also teaches
In On the
Buddha's Behavior
In this age as well, it
is not one's friends but one's enemies who assist his progress. (MW, 1-l86;Shinpell,
P. 1063.
It
was the Daishonin`s experience that the severe persecutions he had experienced
in propagating this teaching had served to strengthen him and bring him to
Enlightenment as he overcame all antagonism and persecution even to the point
of overcoming what seemed like certain execution and death and also exile.
.In the Gosho The Drum at the Gate of
Thunder The Daishonin says
Not only will all offenses vanish, but they will become
sources of benefit. This is what changing poison into amrita means.
(MW, 5-288; Shinpen, p.
1290)
Earthly
desires will not simply remain earthly desires but they will be transformed
into enlightened life. The misfortunes of life will change into happiness as we
overcome each and every single problem!. The sufferings of life and death in
this lifetime will definitely lead to enlightenment. The merit of the
Daishonin's Buddhism lies in the fact that we can take this saha world ( this
World of suffering and delusion ), and this land in which we live with our own
families , and transform them into the land of eternal, tranquil light
Difficulties
are part of every day life. In Buddhism they become challenges to overcome.
What seems to some to be unavoidable or too difficult or extreme --something to
accept with equanimity--We overcome through our Buddhist Practice!!!
The Daishonin
teaches us
Kyo'o Gozen's misfortunes will change into fortune. Muster
your faith and pray to this Gohonzon. Then what is there that cannot be
achieved? You should believe the Lotus Sutra when it says, "This sutra
fulfills one's desires. It is the pond's cool, clear water that quenches thirst,
"6 and
"They will have peace and security in this life and good circumstances in
the next."7
When I am pardoned from exile to this province, I will hasten to Kamakura where we will
meet. If one considers the power of the Lotus Sutra, he will find perpetual
youth and eternal life before his eyes.
Shigo Kingo
was A samurai Warrior and a devoted follower of the Daishonin. Shigo Kingo`s
baby daughter was very ill and the Daishonin wrote this letter Reply
to Kyo-o to Shigo Kingo August 15, 1273,
In this letter he also says
Since I heard from you about Kyo'o Gozen, I have been
praying to the gods of the sun and moon for her every moment of the day. Always
cherish the Gohonzon which I sent some time ago for her protection.
From this
example the important thing is to chant copious Daimoku with heartfelt
sincerity
This world is
called the saha world, saha meaning endurance. This is why the Buddha [who
appears in this world] is also called Nonin, He Who Can Forbear.(MW, 5-3;
Shinpen, p. 264)
The challenge
is to overcome difficulties one by one until the Buddha state becomes paramount
in one`s life become a Buddha.
The Letter to the
Brothers says
You
must endure this trial and see for yourselves the blessings of the Lotus Sutra.
(MW, 1J39; Shinpen, p. 982
Have conviction that
those who embrace the Mystic Law will receive immense benefits and blessings in
accordance with their firmness of mind.
Through faith in the
Mystic Law, we can change poison into medicine:' achieve emancipation from
karma arising from earthly desires and transform fixed karma
Our goal is to
change all of our karma and eradicate all the slanders we have committed since
time without beginning
Nichikan
Shonin further states: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is the finest of all varieties of
medicine. (From Yakuo-bon Lecture on the Eradication of lllness, Research Text
10-628)
In other words, through
our faith, each of us can individually exceed the limitations of all
conventional and complimentary Medicine and through the battle against any
illness, we can grow as human beings overcome this illness and strive in body
and mind for a transformation in our personal lives. Herein lies the value of
our living Buddhism.
In the end
faith is a battle with oneself'. It is a battle with the shadow and limitations
within one's own mind. This is in the context of overcoming, transforming one`s
own self through compassion , strength and wisdom
One's weak self, one's
selfish self, one's lazy self, one's indecisive, vacillating self - what faith
means is to merge these kinds of' selves into the Greater Self of who you
really are!. The power is in the healing , the compassion, the love, the
challenge, the mastery , the focussing, the dream, the winning. The success, the
support and the Wisdom
Single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha" may be read
as follows single-mindedly observing the Buddha, concentrating one's mind on
seeing the Buddha, and when looking at one's own mind, perceiving that it is
the Buddha. Quote Reply to Gijobo
.
Furthermore, to save oneself from karmic illness owing to slander of the Lotus
Sutra or other heavy slanders, there is no path other than to return to the
Mystic Law and utilize the powerful, good medicine of the Mystic Law. The Law
is the supreme Physician just as the Buddha is .
This sutra is
the good medicine for the illnesses of the people of Jambudvipa ( the whole
World ). If a person with an illness is able to hear this sutra, the illness
shall thereby vanish, and he will neither grow old nor die. (Kaiketsu, p. 606)
The tenth chapter of the Nirvana
sutra teaches
A person who
has slandered this True Law must sincerely repent of his own accord.... One
will find no relief other than through this True Law. For this reason, one
should definitely return to the True Law. (Kokuyaku Nehan-bu, 1-223
The power of
Daimoku is enormous! We don't have to grieve about anything as we bring forth a
courageous, valiant spirit becoming people with a core of unbending steel as we
change the devil king into the shoten zenjin ( protective forces ) who protect
the Mystic Law. In the Bestowal of Prophecy (6th) chapter of the Lotus Sutra it
states
Although the devil and his followers will be there, they
will protect Buddhism.
(Kaiketsu, p. 295)
In the Reply
to Toki Ama the Daishonin says:
Your faith is like the waxing moon or the rising tide. Be
deeply convinced, then, that your illness cannot possibly persist and that your
life cannot fail to be extended! Take care or your self and do not burden your
mind with grief. (MW, 7-126; Shinpen, p. 955
REFERENCE;Overcoming Severe Difficulties,
Obstacles, and Devils and Do not be discouraged because
you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life" Nichiren
Shoshu Overseas Bureau
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