Gosho: Earthly Desires are Enlightenment
“Carry through with your faith in the Lotus Sutra. You cannot strike fire from flint if you stop halfway. Bring forth the great power of faith..”
I would like to pay special attention to the words, “Bring forth the great power of faith...”. This concept is very important. Faith is actually a power, a very real power. In fact, it is the most fundamental power of the universe. It can move anything. But to strengthen our faith to this extent takes effort. Whenever a crisis or challenge arises, we should gear ourselves to meet it by chanting abundant daimoku, praying from the very depths of our life. In this way, we are certain to win, demonstrating both to ourselves and to those around us how fruitful and effective efforts based upon faith really are.
Another essential point is “Carry through with your faith in the Lotus Sutra.” This passage teaches us the importance of maintaining our faith under any circumstances, until the last moment of life. Periods of intense suffering or hardship are often the times when people tend most to be swayed by doubt and abandon their faith. Yet once we are resolved to “carry through with our faith in the Lotus Sutra,” intense suffering or hardship can provide us with a perfect opportunity to change our destiny. All we have to do is use it to get closer to the Gohonzon. Then we can not only resolve the problem at hand but further elevate our state of life.
Source: George M Williams, Vice President SGI
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