Buddhist quotes - February

Keeping in line with the general topic of courage, here are two quotes from Letter to the Brothers.

[Y]ou must grit your teeth and never slacken in your faith. Be as fearless as Nichiren when he acted and spoke out before Hei no Saemon-no-jō. Although theirs was not the path to Buddhahood, the sons of Lord Wada and of the governor of Wakasa, as well as the warriors under Masakado and Sadatō, fought to the death to preserve their honor. Death comes to all, even should nothing untoward ever happen. Therefore, you must never be cowardly, or you will become the object of ridicule.

Hei no Saemon-no-jō was a powerful government official who persecuted Nichiren and attempted to have him killed. This resulted in the Tatsunokuchi persecution.

The second quote is about the attitude we should have in front of obstacles.

Whatever trouble occurs, regard it as no more than a dream, and think only of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren’s teaching was especially difficult to believe at first, but now that my prophecies have been fulfilled, those who slandered without reason have come to repent.

Happy Leap February everyone!

Buddhist quotes - January

After the assemblies mentioned in my latest experience, I wanted to do some more research on the parable of the Jewel in the Robe.
This is what is mentioned in the SGI Library:

parable of the jewel in the robe [衣裏珠の譬] (Jpn eriju-no-tatoe )Also, parable of the gem in the robe or parable of the jewel sewn in the poor man's robe. One of the seven parables in the Lotus Sutra. It is related in the "Five Hundred Disciples" (eighth) chapter by five hundred arhats to demonstrate their understanding of the one vehicle teaching. It tells of an impoverished man who goes to visit a close wealthy friend. Being treated to wine, he becomes drunk and falls asleep. The wealthy friend must go out on business, but before leaving, he sews a priceless jewel into the lining of his sleeping friend's robe. When the poor man awakens, he has no idea that he has been given the jewel. He then sets out on a journey. To provide himself with food and clothing, he searches with all his energy, encountering great hardship. Being always in want, he is content with whatever little he can obtain. Later he happens to meet his old friend, who is shocked at his poverty and shows him the jewel in the robe. The man realizes for the first time that he possesses a priceless jewel and is overjoyed. The five hundred arhats explain that, just as this man was ignorant of the treasure he possessed, so the Buddha's disciples were unaware that the Buddha had caused them to plant the seeds of an unsurpassed aspiration and were instead satisfied with provisional teachings and a small portion of nirvana.[quoted from here]

Buddhist quotes - December

Buddhist quotes are back!

Boy I've been terrible at keeping my blog up to date, and an experience soon to be published will probably explain why.

Now, for the December quote, I decided to do something slightly different.

Quote from New Human Revolution, volume 10

To quickly break the long silence in a very cheeky way, here is a quote from the New Human Revolution, Volume 10, page 72-3 of the New UK edition.

I had read the first four volumes ages ago in Italian, then again in English as part of my Taplow Dedicated Lilac training. In September, I decided to read one of these volumes a month until I finish them all.

Here it is. 

The Soka Gakkai spirit is having the courage to discard the shallow and seek the profound. It is selfless dedication to propagating the law even at the cost of one's life. It is to strive with unceasing devotion as taught in the lotus sutra. It is to exert oneself bravely and vigourously with passion and resolve. It is to possess the great power of perseverance that enables one to withstand any persecution with composure. It is to practice in accord with the buddha's teachings, working for Kosen Rufu just as the Daishonin instructs. It is the spirit of refuting the erroneous and revealing the true, giving no quarter to injustice. It is the path of the oneness of mentor and disciple, the very lineage of correct faith. It is the firm unity of many in body, one in mind. It is the spirit of showing others the same respect as one would a Buddha.

Buddhist quotes - November

Another month has gone. Today I went for a lilac activity at the Ikeda Peace Centre, where I knew I was going to be a team of one lilac.
I didn't mind it though. I am going through so much stuff at the moment, that having to sit in the Butsuma to chant for three solid hours was pretty much the one thing I needed.

I need to be kind to myself, I need to chant to fully appreciate myself, and I need to do it now.
It only took me about fifteen minutes of chanting to understand that the searing hot pain in my heart has very little to do with what happened to me in the past year, and everything to do with my karma. That one realisation made it all better, made me believe that I can transform it, because it is inside me, not outside.

It still hurts, like a pride of lions devouring me from the inside, but I can now see the contingency as a distraction from the real problem.

Buddhist quotes - October

Soooo, my journey to hell is coming real soon.

In the meantime, here is a little quote from The Opening of the Eyes Gosho.

I recently went through all my Buddhist books and wrote inside the front cover when I read them and, if applicable, as part of what study programme.

Lectures on the Opening of the Eyes is one of the books I am studying as part of my LIPC Dedicated Lilac training.

Last Committee meeting (a study/feedback meeting with all the team leaders), I was asked to feedback on Chapter 14 of this book.

This little quote stuck with me:

Buddhist quotes - September

This month's quote is very short, and comes from the Gosho The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra.
To give a little background, this Gosho was written in 1276 and addressed to the lay nun Kōnichi, a widow who lived in Awa, the Daishonin’s native province. Her son had earlier converted to the Daishonin’s teachings, and through him she herself became a convert. Some time after this, her son died. But she overcame her deep sorrow and remained a sincere believer in the Daishonin’s Buddhism to the end of her life.
Here is a very little quote:

Nothing is more joyful to me than to have been born in the Latter Day of the Law and to suffer persecution because I propagate the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo.

I really need to etch these words in my heart.
I have been to hell and back recently, and on top of that I have not been able to write literally anything as I am ridiculously busy with school and activities.

After a fairly long stay in the world of Hell, I am now much better and happier and am not staring at a black hole where my faith used to be. Also, which is completely unrelated, I am enjoying my dancing like never before.

I have several posts coming, mainly concerning my journey to Hell, the Grade 2 exam preparation, my Gratitude diary, my dancing and my recent redoubled efforts in studying the New Human Revolution.

But for now, bye September,  you have really tried me, and I have won.

Buddhist quotes - August

I just could not end the month of August without at least my quote post.
I have had a great Summer and I am looking forward to going back to work.

We just recently had our general Kayo Kai meeting, where the force of all my negativity slammed into me, leaving me in a sobbing pool of tears. Ah, well.

I am challenging the deepest of my deep-seated karma, my fundamental sense of worthlessness, which is at the core of my tendency to always experience bullying and aggressive behaviour in my environment. So, of course, the brown and sticky is hitting the fan. Hard.

One aspect of this karma is my pathological need for praise and external approval. I keep coming back to the Eight Winds Gosho for guidance and I try to read it with my life, even though sometimes it is really hard and painful.

Buddhist quotes - July

After the most stressful three weeks to date, I am finally on holiday and in the island of the three promontories. This, for me, is the land of endless sleep and lazy days, of sirocco and drinking books one after the other, and, incidentally, the land of absolutely crap internet connection.

Buddhist quotes - June

This month, I once again left my quote until quite late in the day.
I have been studying a lot, mostly "The opening of the eyes", but for some reason when I started thinking about a suitable quote for this month, I could only think about that Gosho where Nichiren tells Shijo Kingo not to wear fancy clothes (yes, really). Only I could not remember what Gosho it was.

So, a bit of Google-fu later, I found The Three Kinds of Treasure. And reread it.

In recent times, I am really striving to put Nichiren at the centre of my life, and to strengthen my bond with my Mentor in order to reach the heart of Nichiren. And I am discovering Nichiren as a truly incredible guy. The wonderful thing about him is that he was a real person. He didn't pretend to be perfect, and since we can study what he actually wrote to his disciples, we can see what his heart was like. I strongly recommend reading this Gosho right now. I had a really hard time not copying the whole thing in here as my June quote. I love how there is so much practical advice in it. For example:

Buddhist Quotes - May

This month's quote comes from the Gosho "The fourteen slanders". It was written near the end of 1276, in reply to the lay priest Matsuno Rokurō Saemon.

I am currently at home with the mother of all colds. I seriously just sneezed hard enough to make my whole bed tremble. I feel so fortunate that I have a job that allows me sick days and still pays me even if I am sneezing in bed. That might have something to do with the fact that teachers have to work even when they are ill. I have to set cover work and I still check my emails and do work related stuff in bed, but since I have a rule never to bring any work at home, I can't do any planning or marking, and it's ok.

I feel a bit guilty for not being there to teach my students, but then again the kids deserve the best teacher they can have, and at the moment I am not at my best by a long shot.

 

So, in my neverending boredness I was browsing Facebook and one of my Buddhist friends put this question up on a Buddhist page, about what slander actually is. I immediately thought about the 14 slanders, so I looked it up, and before linking it to her I re-read it, mostly out loud (my throat is in pretty bad shape, I can barely do gongyo).

There is something to be said about reading Gosho out loud. It's something one of my leaders encouraged me to do a few years back, so I tried. I would say it always gives me new insight into the Gosho, it makes me feel like I am reading it with my life, and also makes me feel closer to Nichiren. He was a pretty awesome guy, if you think about it. A far cry from the uber-calm buddhist monk of Hollywood, he was strong, feisty and could even come across as arrogant. He looked at the demons head on and never faltered, but also made sure to always show respect and gratitude to his disciples.

That Gosho is awesome, it's really difficult to choose a quote from it, so there:

Buddhist quotes - April

So, I am lying in bed after the most incredible month ever, and I want to quickly post my quote for April, just before the month will gloriously end.

I am dead tired and only have 32 minutes before midnight, so I will leave the account of this crazy April for another post.

In the meantime, here is a picture of a cat. Because, you know, cats.

I'm feeling a bit feminist (and cheeky) tonight, so here is my quote:

Since I have realized that only the Lotus Sutra teaches the attainment of Buddhahood by women, and that only the Lotus is the sutra of true requital for repaying the kindness of our mother, in order to repay my debt to my mother, I have vowed to enable all women to chant the daimoku of this sutra. (The Sutra of True Requital, WND, pp.930–931)

If you want to know more about the role of women in Nichiren Buddhism, please have a look at this post, where you will also find some further reading suggestions. (that was the cheeky bit, btw).

Adieu, month of April!

Buddhist quotes - March

Here is my quote for March.

 

The picture was taken by a good friend of mine and put on Facebook. What you see is a card that I made as a gift for the 16th of March celebration meeting in my HQ.

I chose a few different quotes, but all came from a Dedicated Lilac training I attended at the start of March.

This particular quote was mentioned by a senior WD leader during her lecture, and it immediately carved itself a safe place in my heart. When I was asked to create the gifts for the meeting, the first quote I thought about was this one. It took me longer to find the little shiny flower thingies than to think up the quotes. (I got the shiny stuff from here if anybody is interested, btw, it's sticky, too!)

Now, onto some background info: