Faith is the Key to Eternal Happiness

Daimoku is like light; as the Daishonin says, "a lantern lighting up a place that has been dark for a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand years." Similarly, the moment we offer prayers based on daimoku, the darkness in our lives vanishes. This is the principle of the simultaneity of cause and effect. At that very instant, in the depths of our lives our prayer has been answered. 

The inherent cause of a deep prayer simultaneously produces a latent effect. While it takes time for this effect to become manifest, in the depths of our lives our prayers are immediately realised. So at that moment light shines forth. The lotus (renge), in blooming and seeding at the same time, illustrates this principle of simultaneity of cause and effect. 

Therefore it is important that we offer prayers with great confidence. The powers of the Buddha and the Law are activated in direct proportion to the strenght of our faith and practice. Strong faith is like a high voltage - it turns on a brilliant light in our lives. 

Prayers are invisible, but if we pray steadfastly they will in time definitely effect clear results in our lives and surroundings. 

Excerpt from Gosho lecture by Dr Daisaku Ikeda on the Gosho 'The One Essential Phrase.'

How to Fulfil Your Wishes - A Special Way to Pray

Experience from the New Human Revolution Volume 22

A year earlier when Hasebe was visiting Japan, he conferred with Shin'ichi about whether he should try to buy a house in France. Smiling, Shin'ichi said: "That must mean that your paintings are selling well enough that you can afford a house."

"No," deferred Hasebe, "I'm just thinking about what I should be aiming for in the future."
Shin'ichi responded: "Instead of putting it off into the future, you should have the attitude that you're going to buy it right now. I think you should purchase a house. To be accepted by French society (which is where Hasebe now lived), it's important for you to have a house, put down roots in your community, and win people's trust. The thing to do is to firmly decide that you're going to buy a house and then chant hard to make that a reality. That said, if your only motivation is that you simply want a house, it might take a long time for your prayer to be answered."

Somewhat taken aback, Hasebe asked: "Is there a special way I should pray?"

"Yes," replied Shin'ichi. "You should make a pledge to carry out kosen-rufu for the sake of the happiness and prosperity of the people of France, and chant wholeheartedly for that. For example, you can pray, 'I will dedicate my life to achieving kosen-rufu in France. Therefore, I need a hhouse so that I may gain trust in the community and be able to provide members with a place to meet. Please give me a nice, big house for that purpose.'

"Daimoku based on a vow and wish to achieve kosen-rufu by showing people the way to attain absolute happiness is the same type of daimoku chanted by all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the Earth. When you pray like this, the Buddha nature within your own life will open up and raise your life-condition to such a degree that you can even move the universe. When that happens, you will be able to realise your wish to buy a house without fail.

'On the other hand, if you're just praying for a big, fancy house because you want one for yourself, your life-state won't expand much, and it may take a long time for you to see your wish fulfiled. For us, the foundation of prayer is always kosen-rufu. And daimoku that originates in the determination to contribute to kosen-rufu produces immeasurable and unlimited benefits.
Making a pledge for kosen-rufu leads to a fulfilment of all one's wishes

What to Think About When You Chant

Excerpt from 'The Buddha In Daily Life', by Richard Causton:

"People often worry about what they should be thinking about when they chant, but there are no hard and fast rules on this score. Generally it is a good idea when you begin each chanting session to try to concentrate on establishing a precise and clear rhythm and to listen to the sound of your daimoku. Then, quite naturally, any problems you may be facing, or your current preoccupations or desires, will probably come into your mind as prayers, to be bathed, as it were, in your own intuitive buddha wisdom. Gradually, as you repeat this process, you will find that the decisions you start to make (not while you are chanting, but in your daily life) will be based more and more ion this wisdom - an expression of your true self - and you will begin to orientate your life towards the kind of happy future you begin to realize could be yours...

..through chanting at times, you will be able to re-inspire yourself with courage and confidence to keep battling when things look black; at other times you will be able suddenly to see a solution in what seemed like a hopeless situation; or at times you may simply be able to keep fatigue at bay to finish an urgent task. In short, chanting Nam myo ho renge kyo to the Gohonzon is designed for any problem or circumstance, no matter how insignificant it might seem. Finally in the same way as when we began, we should listen to our voice chanting during the last few moments of our daimoku when, quite naturally, we scan feel joy rising up within us; indeed, ideally we should continue to chant until we feel this joy welling up from deep within our lives."