Gosho: Happiness in this World
“Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to
enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life and continue chanting
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens. Then you will experience boundless
joy from the Law.”
In this passage, “Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what
there is to enjoy” pertains to the realm of relative happiness. while “joy
derived from the law” means the happiness which is absolute. Joys and sorrows
are part of living. There will always be both good times and bad. We should not
allow ourselves to be swept off course by either sufferings or pleasure, for
example, by abandoning ourselves to doubt and despair in times of trouble or
growing heedless and complacent when things are going well. Rather, just as
Nichiren Daishonin teaches, let’s “continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no
matter what happens”.
When good things happen, let’s chant daimoku in
appreciation. When trouble comes, let’s chant daimoku to change poison into
medicine. If you can use everything that happens to you, pains and pleasures
both, to strengthen your bond with the Gohonzon, you can purify and elevate
your life-condition, gradually establishing Buddhahood as your basic tendency. As
you do so, you will begin to experience an indescribable happiness that is
independent of circumstances – the “boundless joy from the Law.”
Source: George M Williams, Vice President SGI
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