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.
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:
This is the third installment of a series dedicated to the study exams.
As for anything in Buddhism, preparing the exam is turning into a great faith - and life - experience.
So, after Section A1 and Section A2, here is section B.
Section B of the exam is based on a Gosho called The Hero of the World. It is Gosho n.102 in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, (pp 835-841). It was written in 1277 and is one of many Gosho addressed to Shijo Kingo.
Before moving onto the exam paper, allow me to say a thing or two about Shijo Kingo.
