A small shift in your heart can change everything

Importance of transforming resentment into compassion, complaints into gratitude.

Sensei says "Appreciation and gratitude increase good fortune. Complaint and negativity erase it."

I encountered a wonderful experience in the Value Creation magazine of a woman who was "working v hard" and doing everything right, BUT was resenting doing so immensely. She was angry that her work was not being acknowledged and appreciated by the people around her. She kind of reminded me of a bird who charges ahead with all her might but bumps into a window each time. :(

It just hit home because I have closely seen people who have technically worked hard in terms of doing their duties, crazy hours of daimoku, and umpteen Gakkai activities. They have got a lot to show for it ofcourse. However, due to some stubborn cause, the relationships in their lives remain unchanged, while the bulk of the work continues to come to them, with no appreciation and people around them making their life only tougher and not easier. While this stubborn cause could very well be karma or mission, it could also have a lot to do with their attitude which had more than a whiff of resentment/arrogance/anger.

To transform the tendency to be resentful appears to be very important. otherwise, we too could practice all our lives looking the wrong way.

Pray

1. to have compassion. This is key. When you bow to the image in the mirror. the image bows back to you. If you hate others, they too will revile you and detest you. You could be doing all the right things, but if your heart is not in the right place, people will respond to that negativity. Pray to transform all resentment into compassion. This is concomitant with Sensei's guidance to pray that all positive, protective forces may enter your life and the lives of those around you as well all members.

2. to have Gratitude. When you have gratitude for the things you have, and express gratitude frequently to those who support your life, your good fortune increases manifold.

The importance of life force

Sensei says, "If you possess strong life force and abundant wisdom, it is possible to enjoy the challenge of overcoming life's hardships much in the same way that waves make surfing exhilarating and steep mountains give mountaineering its appeal. Because the Mystic Law is the source of the life force and wisdom for overcoming life's difficulties, the Daishonin states that there is no greater happiness than chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."
Thoughts - If one were to silently contemplate the meaning of the word 'life force,' it may sink in slowly how important this attribute is to our happiness. Life force means the force that gives life its vitality and strength. It may also mean health, both physical and mental. When health is not good, life appears meaningless. Food loses its taste, work loses meaning and recreational activities become passive and tiresome. If mentally one does not feel up to the mark, one feels fatigued, uninspired to do anything, from mundane chores to a once - favorite activity.
Thus it is imperative that we activity chant to have great health and life force. Also for wisdom and compassion. Wisdom again can solve a lot many problems that one faces - it allows us to smile, think on our feet, take decisions that are best for our ultimate happiness. Compassion allows us to be kind to ourselves and others and moreover, to chant for people's happiness.

Become Big-Hearted!

"What does it mean to have a big heart? It is how much you are able to care for another person and how much you are able to extend your concern to those around you. The more deeply you chant for your friends and others, the bigger your heart becomes."
-Daisaku Ikeda

Value Creation, May 2014

How to have a Big Heart

No matter how confining your circumstances may seem, you can have a big heart that nothing can bind or shackle. At the same time, when you go out into a vast, unknown world, your mind can soar boundlessly without constraint.

The mind is always free and unfettered; it has limitless power. Faith in the Mystic Law draws out that great power. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo lets us reveal our best possible self. The reason we practise Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is to unlock our potential, infinitely vaster than the sea or the sky. 

My young friends, become world leads with big hearts! Become experts in the art of happiness who can embrace others warmly with a rich spirit!

Value Creation, May 2014

Self-Absorbed, Are we?

WE must not allow ourselves to become self-absorbed and insensitive to those around us. No one is an island. We live surrounded by our family, our friends and the rest of the world. We are all connected. The key is to display our individuality within that web of relationship. True individuality is not self-centred. It is a away of life, a way of being, that leads both ourselves and others in a positive direction on the most natural ways.

- Dr Daisaku Ikeda

Respond Immediately

THERE are members and friends who are suffering. We need to reach out to them with words of support and encouragement. It is important to respond immediately to the issues before us. Remaining silent is foolish, lacking in compassion, and leads to defeat.
- Daisaku Ikeda