And
there we go again, where is my benefit? Where is my new job? Why can’t I
overcome him/her? Why it happened with me, when I went out of my comfort zone
and gave so much? Why? Why and Why? I don’t see any drastic change and why
should I even practice, I am not convinced then how can I convince others.
If
you ask me why I practice, answer is I need it more than soka gakkai need one
extra member. I can’t live without it; I can’t breathe without Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
I can’t get through shit of my life without it. I am not into Buddhism but Buddhism
is in me. I am not practicing anymore to have benefits; I am practicing to believe
that I am a Buddha and to be that Buddha each day.
Question:
Why would I practice for being Buddha and not for benefits?
Answer:
Have you ever given a thought to the fact that we always think that if we got
the money, job, relationship, marriage or ideal weight then we will be happy? But
then we never reach those goals or even when we do after a lot of troubles or years,
we are still unhappy? Because the only answer to above question is we are
working against the law. If we are happy then we will naturally reach our goals
like “be a Buddha and benefits will come to you”.
Buddhist
view: When we going through the challenging phase in our life, it is hard to
keep ourselves grounded. We are humans and so we are impatient. We need results
in days or we are ready to blame the practice. Let’s look at it like this, practicing
Buddhism is like sitting in an airplane, going big and long distance or short
yet the lack of feeling the motion makes us grow impatient. We need to trust
that our practice is not different from sitting in the plane, feeling like
there is no movement; we are watching same cloud (problems) for hours and
hours. It doesn’t mean that we are not moving rather what we need to focus is
on the present things. Like during 12 hour flights I used to be impatient now I
take it calmly with enjoying the meal or watching movies or reading and taking
naps in between. It is like focusing on what can I do today to move one step
closer to my goal. Learn to embrace the journey, learn to apply the buddhist practice every day and turn that poison into medicine.
As Sensei said, “Someone who at first may seem to be a hopeless case can, by achieving major self-transformation through their Buddhist practice, become an inspiration to countless others. Also, times when you are suffering intensely, when you don’t know what to do or which way to turn, can become opportunities for making great strides in your human revolution. If you tend to be discouraged easily, just refresh your determination each time that happens. People who are resolved to see problems as opportunities and keep try again and again, forging ahead with unflagging optimism, will definitely succeed in their human revolution.”
Key
points:
1. Daimoku is source or base of
everything: Don’t forget Daimoku itself is not everything so if you say I do
chanting then why things are not happening. Back off, it is like having
electricity in house but you can’t turn on any appliance if you don’t switch
them on and work with them.
2. Practice is 24x7: Practice includes
daimoku, meetings and encouraging others but then it also includes you actions at
home, work and in surroundings. Remember our thoughts, deeds and actions which
meaning my way of thinking and then approaching things is my first base of
creating my new causes for karma.
3. Buddha receives benefits: More we
work on bringing out our Buddha nature and more we practice to maintain our
high life state; more will be benefits. High life state leads to wisdom with
right actions. Right actions leads to right causes and so we break the negative
karmic chain. So, we can say “Buddha only can receive benefits”.
Happy Chanting
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