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jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha's Blog

Supreme Invocation

Posted on Jun 20th, 2008 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha
L_706d256fdc4fec91c8ea783eafff4611
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

The invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo was established by Nichiren Daishonin on April 28, 1253. Having studied widely among all the Buddhist sutras, he had concluded that the Lotus Sutra contains the ultimate truth of Buddhism: that everyone without exception has the potential to attain Buddhahood. The title of the Lotus Sutra in its Japanese translation is Myoho-renge-kyo. But to Nichiren, Myoho-renge-kyo was far more than the title of a Buddhist text, it was the expression, in words, of the Law of life which all Buddhist teachings in one way or another seek to clarify. What follows is a brief and unavoidably limited explanation of some of the key concepts expressed by this phrase.

Nam

The word nam derives from Sanskrit. A close translation of its meaning is "to devote oneself." Nichiren established the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as a means to enable all people to put their lives in harmony or rhythm with the law of life, or Dharma. In the original Sanskrit, nam indicates the elements of action and attitude, and refers therefore to the correct action one needs to take and the attitude one needs to develop in order to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime.

Myoho

Myoho literally means the Mystic Law, and expresses the relationship between the life inherent in the universe and the many different ways this life expresses itself. Myo refers to the very essence of life, which is "invisible" and beyond intellectual understanding. This essence always expresses itself in a tangible form (ho) that can be apprehended by the senses. Phenomena (ho) are changeable, but pervading all such phenomena is a constant reality known as myo.

Renge

Renge means lotus flower. The lotus blooms and produces seeds at the same time, and thus represents the simultaneity of cause and effect. The circumstances and quality of our individual lives are determined by the causes and effects, both good and bad, that we accumulate (through our thoughts, words and actions) at each moment. This is called our "karma." The law of cause and effect explains that we each have personal responsibility for our own destiny. We create our destiny and we can change it. The most powerful cause we can make is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo; the effect of Buddhahood is simultaneously created in the depths of our life and will definitely manifest in time.

The lotus flower grows and blooms in a muddy pond, and yet remains pristine and free from any defilement, symbolizing the emergence of Buddhahood from within the life of an ordinary person.

Kyo

Kyo literally means sutra, the voice or teaching of a Buddha. In this sense, it also means sound, rhythm or vibration. Also, the Chinese character for kyo originally meant the warp in a piece of woven cloth, symbolizing the continuity of life throughout past, present and future. In a broad sense, kyo conveys the concept that all things in the universe are a manifestation of the Mystic Law.

Primary Practice

Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo--also known as "Daimoku"--is the primary practice of SGI members. Through this practice, one is able to reveal the state of Buddhahood in one's life, experienced as the natural development of joy, increased vitality, courage, wisdom and compassion.

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Please watch this video if you haven't yet had the chance!!!

Posted on May 1st, 2008 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha
070220costa_rica_mtg

I'd like to share an inspirational video with you.


It's a ten minute talk given by a professor named Randy Pausch who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only has a few months left to live. His talk is not about death however, it's about achieving your childhood dreams and how to live your life.


To watch the video please visit:


http://www.anthonyfernando.com/2008/04/29/the-last-lecture/ 


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School's out for 2007

Posted on Dec 15th, 2007 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha
Webbullshit_
Early, early in the morning now it is.

I have been blessed to have connected with Michelle earlier who is my 1,200th Zaadz friend. Some may say I do not need another friend - I do not agree. The energy one creates here is as unique as one's voice.

We each do our own special work on the planet, and limitations, boundaries and judgment are of no value...

Here's a cute and spicy (rated R) joke:

In a Chicago hospital, a gentleman had made several attempts to get
into the men's restroom, but it had always been occupied.

  A nurse noticed his predicament.

  Sir, she said ' You may use the ladies room if you promise not to
touch any of the buttons on the wall.'

  He did what he needed to, and as he sat there he noticed the buttons
he had promised not to touch.

  Each button was identified by letters: WW, WA , PP, and a red one
labelled ATR.

  Who would know if he touched them?

  He couldn't resist.. He pushed WW. Warm water was sprayed gently upon his bottom. What a nice feeling, he thought. Men's restrooms don't have nice things like this.

Anticipating greater pleasure, he pushed the WA button. Warm air replaced the warm water, gently drying his underside.

When this stopped, he pushed the PP button. A large powder puff caressed his bottom adding a fragile scent of spring flower to this unbelievable pleasure..

The ladies restroom was more than a restroom, it is tender loving pleasure.

When the powder puff completed its pleasure, he couldn't wait to push the ATR button which he knew would be supreme ecstasy.

Next thing he knew he opened his eyes, he was in a
hospital bed, and a nurse was staring down at him.

  'What happened?' he exclaimed. The last thing I remember was pushing
the ATR button.

  'The button ATR is an Automatic Tampon Remover. Your penis is under
your pillow.'

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It's what's in the heart that matters most

Posted on Nov 24th, 2007 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha
Photo-nichiren1
We may pray every day;
And yet it matters how,
What and where,
Our prayer is offered.

In other words,
What is your source and destination,
What the core desire within your heart.

Peace.
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Tagged with: prayer, heart, faith

A sound and its echo arise simultaneously

Posted on Nov 15th, 2007 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha

November 15

Daily Wisdom: From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

November 15"The benefit of all the other sutras is uncertain, because they teach that one must first make good causes and only then can one become a Buddha at some later time. With regard to the Lotus Sutra, when one's hand takes it up, that hand immediately attains Buddhahood, and when one's mouth chants it, that mouth is itself a Buddha, as, for example, the moon is reflected in the water the moment it appears from behind the eastern mountains, or as a sound and its echo arise simultaneously."

Reference:

WND Page 1099
Page 1099 Wu-lung and I-lung
Written to Ueno-ama Gozen on 15 November 1281 from Minobu

 

Book CoverThese excerpts are from "Daily Wisdom: From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin," a perpetual calendar of daily inspirational excerpts taken from the Gosho. This book is available for purchase at local SGI-USA Community Center bookstores and the online store.
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The voice carries out the work of the Buddha

Posted on Nov 14th, 2007 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha
  
    -- WORDS OF THE WEEK --

"The voice carries out the work of the Buddha"*

For the sake of everyone's advancement, it is vital that we express, without hesitation,
our positive and constructive opinions.  By frankly sharing our thoughts and wisely discussing with each other,  let's all advance together with the spirit of "Many in Body, One in  Mind"!

 * "Ongi kuden" - Gosho Zenshu, page 708, The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, page 4
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Live near Orlando, FL?

Posted on Oct 1st, 2007 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha
Orlando Community Center
Orlando Area Website
452 N. Semoran Blvd.
Orlando, Florida 32807
Voice: 407.482.3939 or 407.482.3969
Fax: 407.482.3965
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Tagged with: SGI, orlando, buddhism, peace, nichiren

Come to the Mountain of Peace!

Posted on Sep 23rd, 2007 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha

The Mountain of Peace


A Musical Exploring the Roots of Violence
and the Challenge of Peace

 

Sunday, September 30; 7pm


Lazzara Hall, Fine Arts Center, University of North Florida


OPENING EVENT of PEACE AWARENESS WEEK

 

THIS is a FREE EVENT open to all !!


Don't miss this entertaining and inspiring multi-media musical production,

featuring an intergenerational and intercultural cast of local singers, actors

and dancers from UNF and the surrounding Jacksonville community.

This is a community event you won't want to miss, so bring friends and family!


The Mountain of Peace"
is a full-length musical that conveys the story of five international

families living in various parts of the world, each of whom loses as loved one to the

ravages of war. These experiences lead the groups into seeking solutions at a peace

summit upon The Mountain of Peace. Through dance, song, and drama, they convey

their pain, their joys, and the difficult process of healing that leads to inner peace,

a prerequisite to outer peace.


The music of Frances Key and Cyrille Verdeaux powerfully enhances this dramatic and

inspiring story, as local singers and actors lend their talents to convey this vitally

important message to our community.

 

Songs and script written by Frances Key
Frances is a local songwriter, scriptwriter and teacher, founder of the Raymond and

Crystal Key Humanitarian Initiative and The International Peace Performers.

 

Directed by Jeremie Cook (Jeremie is an award-winning director and actor from Jacksonville)

Dance Choreography by Wendy Sugalski
(Wendy is a dance instructor at Let's Dance Studio and a graduate of Douglas Anderson

School of the Arts)


 For more info, see:

http://www.unf.edu/thefloridacenter/CTSymposium/peace_week.htm

VIDEO CLIPS of Select Songs in the Production:


They are Different
Oh Africa!
Flag of the Living Stars



For anyone living close to Northern Florida, this is a magnificent musical production; and admission IS FREE!!  Please consider rewarding yourself and viewing this important theatre event in the beautiful main concert hall on the UNF campus in Jacksonville, FL.


Below are the lyrics to a song ("As Above, So Below) from this musical that presents the central theme and thesis of the production: the inter-connectedness of all life (a very Buddhist concept, I might mention):


  As Above, So Below 


It's said to be a mystery,

But evidence abounds,

In ethereal and material,

All principles are found. 

Why wonder what's beyond- 

Life's mirrors tell the tale...

Upon the earth are manifest,

The very things we work with here! 

This connection gives direction,

To all who seek to know,

It's expansion that brings attraction,

Whether near, whether far,

Energy does flow. 

As above, so below,

As above, so below, 

(Child questions)  From them to us, from us to them?

(Answer)  There's no "us" and "them- we're One!

Some are the hands, some are the feet, some are the eyes and ears,

So does the work get done.  

As above, so below,

As above, so below. 

Inspiration brings new action,

Like atoms following the rule of eight,

Everybody's looking to unite with those, 

who stimulate their mind and souls,

To bond with those who generate the same (vibration) 

As above, so below,

As above, so below. 

We link, and link, and link, and link,

The spectrum do we cover,

Degreed awareness is what we are,

Building upon each other. 

As above, so below,

As above, so below. 

Wait a moment, let me see...

It's starting to be clear;

We're all reflections of each other,

So there is no there nor here, no here nor there? 

As above, so below,

As above, so below.

Exactly- see, it's not that strange!

Our thoughts like rivers flow,

We send out intentions through all dimensions,

And focus makes them grow.

Focus makes them grow!  

As above, so below, 

(Reflect, protect, direct, collect, connect!)

As above, so below,

(Contemplate, illuminate, elevate, initiate, radiate,

Incubate, reciprocate, In this way we all create!) 

As above, so below,

As above, so below.

As above, so below,

As above, so below. 

It's really simple, don't you see?

Love's the highest energy,

On Compassion wings it flies,

'Cross the veil of Space and Time. 

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SGI Recent Event

Posted on Sep 20th, 2007 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha
Peace 2007
|
 
September 9, 2007
SGI Events Commemorate Josei Toda's Antinuclear Delcaration
Danny Sze
070909x_ny_peaceforum.jpg
Panelists discuss strategies for mobilizing youth in New York  
SGI organizations around the world have been calling for nuclear abolition in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda's Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons which was delivered in front of 50,000 young people at the Mitsuzawa stadium in Yokohama, Japan, on September 8, 1957, marking the start of Soka Gakkai's activities to promote peace.

On September 8, 2007, in New York City, 200 people joined a Civil Society Forum, "Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: What Can Each Of Us Do?" at the Cooper Union, cosponsored by SGI, Global Action to Prevent War and the World Federation of United Nations Associations. The panel of young speakers from organizations working for nuclear disarmament was chaired by Kathleen Sullivan, disarmament education consultant to the United Nations.

In his message to the forum, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda stressed, "It was human beings who gave rise to nuclear weapons. It cannot therefore be beyond the power of human wisdom to eliminate them." He called for a wave of dialogue toward abolition led by young people. Panelists echoed the need to engage people at the grassroots more widely. [full message]

The new global SGI antinuclear exhibition, "From a Culture of Violence to a Culture of Peace: Transforming the Human Spirit" was also on display. It includes sections on "Arms-based Security vs. Human Security" and "Changing Our Worldview," and facts on global efforts to control and eliminate nuclear weapons.

070909x_nz_antinuc_exh.gpg.jpg 070909x_malay_antinuc_exh.jpg
Opening of the antinuclear exhibition at the New Zealand Parliament Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato Seri Syed Hamid bin Syed Jaafar Albar and his wife viewing the exhibition in Kuala Lumpur

The exhibition was first shown at the New Zealand Parliament's "Beehive" building in Wellington on August 9, hosted by SGI-New Zealand and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs with support from the Peace Foundation, the New Zealand United Nations Association, the New Zealand Council for International Development and the Wellington Interfaith Council. Dr Anwarul K. Chowdhury, until recently UN Under-Secretary General, and champion of a global culture of peace, spoke at the launch which was attended by several members of parliament.

Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dato Seri Syed Hamid bin Syed Jaafar Albar, opened the exhibition on September 2, at the Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM) Wisma Kebudayaan in Kuala Lumpur. The showing was cosponsored by SGM and Physicians for Peace and Social Responsibility (PPSR), an affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW).

World Youth Peace Declaration

Also on September 8, 300 youth members of SGI from 56 countries gathered for a peace conference in Yokohama where an SGI World Youth Peace Declaration was adopted. This includes a vow to work for nuclear disarmament and create a culture of peace as well as commitment to wide-ranging dialogue and cooperation with people of other faiths.

070909sgi_youth_peace_conf.jpg
SGI World Youth Peace Conference in Yokohama

070911wd_peace_forum.jpg
"Culture of Peace Forum for Mothers and Children" in Tokyo  
In Tokyo, the Soka Gakkai Women's Peace Committee hosted a "Culture of Peace Forum for Mothers and Children" on September 9 with 1,200 participants, from elementary school children to survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Japan Agnes Chan performed and told the audience about children at risk from depleted uranium in Iraq following her recent visit there.

SGI-Denmark hosted a youth meeting in Copenhagen on September 8 at which John Scales Avery, chair of the Danish Committee of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, stressed that the vast majority of the world's people have said "no" to nuclear weapons, and at SGI-UK's South London National Centre in Brixton, a multimedia exhibition "LIFE--truth, justice, dignity" calling for nuclear abolition was opened by Prof. Robert Hinde, chair of Pugwash UK.

[Adapted from an article in the October 2007 issue of the SGI Quarterly compiling various SGI reports and articles published in the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka Gakkai, Japan.]
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The highest offering to the Buddha

Posted on Sep 19th, 2007 by jaBuddha : Buddha Bear jaBuddha
I continue to offer prayers to the teacher, parent and sovereign of all living beings;
praying for your greatest happiness and good health.
  Peace.


THE HIGHEST offering to the Buddha is not to worship

     something reminiscent of the Buddha. Rather,

it is to inherent the Buddha's spirit. In other words, the

highest offering lies in struggling to manifest, as one's

own way of life, even a part of the spirit of the Buddha,

who upheld the philosophy that everyone is a Buddha

and tirelessly strove to save all from suffering.


Buddhism Day by Day, p. 297

-Daisaku Ikeda



The Essentials for Attaining Buddhahood


Is not the meaning of the sutra and the commentary that the way to Buddhahood lies within the two elements of reality and wisdom? Reality means the true nature of all phenomena, and wisdom means the illuminating and manifesting of this true nature. Thus when the riverbed of reality is infinitely broad and deep, the water of wisdom will flow ceaselessly. When this reality and wisdom are fused, one attains Buddhahood in one's present form.

The sutras expounded prior to the Lotus Sutra cannot lead to Buddhahood because they are provisional and expedient teachings that separate reality and wisdom. The Lotus Sutra, however, unites the two as a single entity. The sutra says that the Buddhas open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings, show it, cause them to awaken to it, and induce them to enter its path. By realizing this Buddha wisdom, one attains Buddhahood.


The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin - Page 746

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