10 Good Reasons to Chant Nam-myoho-renge-

kyo and the Lotus Sutra (the Practice of

Gongyo).
Use the Ulti mate Law of the Uni verse for Your Real Happi ness (a.k.a.,
Enli ghtenment or Buddhahood).

Get Ri d of Bad Karma and Bui ld Good Karma. Change Defeat i nto
Vi ctory; Loss i nto Gai n;

Poi son i nto Medi ci ne.Overcome Your Fears, Pai nful Memori es and
Phobi as.

Understand Your Li fe Condi ti on Wi th an Enli ghtened Mi nd.

Relate to People i n Your Envi ronment on the Hi ghest Level.Control the
Lower Four Worlds of Hell, Hunger, Domi nant/Submi ssi ve Atti tudes and
Anger.

Fi nd and Keep Actual Love.

Understand and Get What You Really Need for Your Happi ness. (What
Do I want out of li fe?)Increase the Span of Your Li fe;

Overcome the Sufferi ngs of Bi rth, Old Age, Si ckness, Death and Re-
bi rth.

10. Get Stuff You May Want, Includi ng Freedom, Wealth, Love, Fri ends,
Work Sati sfacti on and Joy By Buddhafyi ng Yourself.

1. Use the Ulti mate Law of the Uni verse for Your Real Happi ness
(a.k.a., Enli ghtenment or Buddhahood).

There i s an Ulti mate Law of the Uni verse and i t i s Nam-myo-ho-renge-
kyo. It exi sts i n everyone and everythi ng i n the Uni verse. It i s worki ng
whether we understand or acknowledge i t. You may beli eve i n God or
Good Works or Nothi ng. That' s fi ne. Just thank you for taki ng the ti me
to consi der the stuff on my websi te.

Let' s assume, for the moment, that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo i s the
Ulti mate Law of the Uni verse. As a natural law as opposed to a man-
made-law, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo must be based on cause and effect. In
fact, the meani ng i s Nam (devoti on to) Myoho (the wonderful law, whi ch
i s) Renge (cause and effect through) Kyo (sound, vi brati on, sutra). Thus,
Buddhi sm sai d that cause and effect was the cornerstone of uni versal
natural law thousands of years before Western sci ence.

Let' s take another natural law, THE LAW OF FAT. When people or
ani mals eat more (especi ally carbohydrates) than thei r bodi es need, fat
accumulates. Some fat i s necessary to sustai n li fe. Too much fat can
cause vari ous di seases, di ssati sfacti on wi th one' s appearance but also a
true determi nati on to be fi t.

The World Accordi ng to Bob:

I was once marri ed to a good cook. She had a deli ci ous meal, wi th ri ce,
wai ti ng for me when I came home from work. In a couple of years, I
gai ned 40 pounds, goi ng from 140 to 180. I told my wi fe of that era
that I wasn' t goi ng to eat the meals she prepared. Thi s and other
i ssues ended the marri age. After some starts and stops, I managed to
cut down on carbs and do resi stance exerci ses (Bowflex and push-ups).
I' m at 160 wi th a lot more muscle and only 5 pounds of flab. My wi fe
now, Jann (my 1968 college sweetheart) eats i n a healthy manner and
exerci ses. Nei ther of us pays homage to the di nner ri tual.

THE LAW OF FAT operates regardless of our beli ef or understandi ng.
Understandi ng i s one step i n li vi ng i n harmony wi th the LAW OF FAT.
But understandi ng wi thout acti on i s not that useful. Many people
(usually the young) can li ve i n harmony wi th the fat law wi th li ttle
understandi ng. Li vi ng i n harmony wi th the law of fat results i n better
fi tness. Li vi ng i n harmony wi th the Ulti mate Law of the Uni verse
results i n a better or even your best li fe.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo i s at the deepest part of your li fe already. To
make thi s law useful, you must take ACTION. The necessary ACTION i s
to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, usually out loud, whi le contemplati ng
your li fe i ncludi ng your needs, aspi rati ons, problems, desi res, mi stakes,
fami ly, fri ends, tormentors and dreams.

The World Accordi ng to Bob:

Si nce I don' t li ke unresolved problems, I chant fi rst about everythi ng
that i s botheri ng me. Then, I ask the questi on, what do I want out of
li fe? I seek to di scover what i t i s about myself that prevents me from
bei ng happi er, more successful, and less unwi se. I "send" Nam-myoho-
renge-kyo to those close to me, whether "li vi ng" or "dead." When I
arri ve at deep understandi ng that I need to change, accompli sh or do
somethi ng, i t becomes my "constant desi re." I chant about i t every day.
I have chanted about some thi ngs, everyday, for 20 or 30 years.

Havi ng taken the acti on necessary to use and develop the Ulti mate Law
of the Uni verse, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, wi thi n my own li fe for 38
years, I know the ten good reasons to chant are true for myself and
fellow Ni chi ren Buddhi sts. My understandi ng of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
comes from readi ng, di scussi on and personal experi ence. My personal
experi ences lead to my beli ef and understandi ng. Chant and have your
own experi ences. Share those experi ences wi th others. Study the
abundant and i nteresti ng Ni chi ren Buddhi st li terature.

You can' t attai n enli ghtenment wi thout helpi ng others to attai n
enli ghtenment.


2. Get Ri d of Bad Karma and Bui ld Good Karma. Change Defeat i nto
Vi ctory; Loss i nto Gai n; Poi son i nto Medi ci ne.


The only power you have that i s stronger than your own karma i s your
own Buddha nature or Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo i s
the ulti mate law of the uni verse and i s wi thi n you and all li fe i n the
uni versal envi ronment. "Karma" may be translated as "acti on." Karma i s
created by the "acti on" of your words, thoughts and deeds si nce ti me
wi thout begi nni ng. As such, your karma (and everyone' s karma) i s very
strong. Ni chi ren Buddhi sts perform Gongyo twi ce a day. Gongyo consi sts
of si tti ng before the Gohonzon (or just si tti ng i f you are on a road tri p
and don' t have an Omamori Gohonzon), reci ti ng parts of two chapters of
the Lotus Sutra, and chanti ng Nam-myoho-renge-kyo whi le
contemplati ng your desi res, problems, people and dreams.
GONGYO i s your ENLIGHTENED, BUDDHA ACTION that creates
ENLIGHTENED BUDDHA KARMA, because i t requi res your ENLIGHTENED
WORDS, THOUGHTS AND DEEDS.


By contrast, let' s create a person you don' t li ke. You thi nk "that guy' s
a real bi tch" (thoughts). One day you bump i nto each other and you
tell hi m "you' re a real bi tch" (words). A scuffle breaks out and you
bi tch-slap hi m (deeds). You have created karma i n your li fe that WILL
come out i n some manner. Perhaps you are arrested. People may see
you as a hothead or troublemaker. The guy you i nsulted beats you down
because you can' t actually fi ght very well. A year later a hi t-and-run
dri ver runs you over. Perhaps nothi ng happens i n thi s li feti me. You are
reborn on planet next and out of the blue someone calls you a bi tch
and bi tch-slaps you.

Why i s Changi ng My Karma Important to Me (and others)?

Your Karma determi nes what you thi nk, what you do, what you say,
what happens to you i n li fe. If you are ri ch or poor, good looki ng or
otherwi se, fat or slender, respected, despi sed or i gnored, able to use
your talents or conti nually frustrated, lucky or unlucky, i n love and
loved or i solated, able to get thi ngs done or accompli sh nothi ng much,
pretty healthy or si ck, self-centered or helpful to others DEPENDS
ONLY on YOUR OWN KARMA. Blami ng others or the envi ronment may be
justi fi ed but i s essenti ally useless.

Nothi ng can happen to you unless you have the karma for i t. Say you
want to be wealthy ri ght away.

The World Accordi ng to Bob:


I once asked the late, great Ted Osaki "I' ve been chanti ng to be a
mi lli onai re and I' m not. Why?" He sai d "maybe you don' t have the karma
for i t yet. When you conti nue your Buddhi st practi ce and develop
wi sdom and good fortune (good karma) you wi ll be a mi lli onai re
automati cally and happy i n other non-materi al ways." Mr. Osaki ' s words
were true. It took me 15 years to reach my i ni ti al goal and requi red
many changes i n my habi ts, thi nki ng, determi nati on and character. Of
course, all those i nternal changes greatly benefi ted every aspect of my
li fe. NOTE: As I am worki ng to change my karma, my li fe i s NOT sad
drudgery. Li fe i s and has been a pretty rewardi ng and exci ti ng
adventure.

As li vi ng bei ngs we wi ll suffer loss, defeat or have poi son i njected i nto
our li ves. Chanti ng i n the face of these events wi ll propel us to a
better li fe and better ci rcumstances. Ni chi ren Buddhi sm calls thi s
"Hendoku Iyaku."

The World Accordi ng to Bob:


One day, fi ve years ago, I was dri vi ng to the Burni ngman Arts Festi val
held each Labor Day at the Black Rock Desert. The day was clear and
sunny. The road was strai ght and well mai ntai ned. I was well rested. I
left the road and rolled over fi ve ti mes i n the desert at 70 m.p.h. My
Mi tsubi shi Montero was completely destroyed along wi th most of my
campi ng equi pment. I suffered cuts on the top of my head and near my
left eye and lots of sore muscles. I have li ttle or no memory of the
actual event. Naturally, goi ng to Burni ngman was out and a one-day
hospi tal stay was requi red.
Objecti vely, thi s event i s loss, defeat and poi son. Conti nui ng to chant
under these ci rcumstances was the key to betteri ng my li fe. Because of
the cut near my eye, I had to go to an Ophthalmologi st. He di scovered
a tear i n my reti na that had nothi ng to do wi th the acci dent. He sai d i t
had been developi ng for some ti me and would have lead to seri ous
problems. He fi xed i t wi th a laser. I found out that my wrecked SUV
was THE most unsafe car ever made. The i nsurance company pai d me
more that I had ori gi nally pai d for the car a year before. I now have a
Toyota Tundra, the safest truck ever made. I even di scovered that
Burni ngman had mi ni regi onal Burni ngman events 20 mi les from my house
i n Las Vegas. These have only 1, 000 half-naked hi ppi es rather that
40, 000. I get there i n 40 mi nutes i nstead of 10 hours.

From a Ni chi ren Buddhi st poi nt of vi ew, the acci dent i tself was my bad
karma comi ng out. I had i t comi ng. That i s called "Karmati c
retri buti on." I survi ved the vi olent wreck wi th mi nor, non-permanent
i njury. Thi s i s called "tenju kyoju" or the lesseni ng of Karmati c
retri buti on. The poli ce and rescue medi cs sai d that they were sure that
I had to be ei ther dead or crushed wi th seri ous i njuri es when they saw
the damage to my vehi cle. My car had to be cut apart i n order to get
me out. One of the offi cers sai d he was ready to speed di al ei ther the
coroner or fli ght for li fe. I asked the i nsurance guy i f my vehi cle could
be repai red. The adjuster laughed and sai d that he had never seen
more damage to a vehi cle i n twenty years of adjusti ng. Thi s i s called
protecti on from the Buddhi st Shoten Zenji n, forces i n the envi ronment
that serve to protect people who chant. The fact that I wasn' t ki lled
i s the benefi t of "extensi on of li fe." Ni chi ren sai d that hi s mother' s
li fe was extended 4 years because of hi s practi ce. Presi dent Ikeda sai d
that the great Spani sh dancer, Pasqual Oli vera, extended hi s li fe 30
years because of hi s practi ce.

3. Overcome Your Fears, Pai nful Memori es and Phobi as.

Where do our fears, pai nful memori es, phobi as li ve and why are they so
di ffi cult to overcome? Buddhi sm has the concept of the "ni ne
consci ousnesses" or "Ku-shi ki ." Here i s the di agram of the ni ne layers
of your human li fe:
1-5. Consci ousnesses:
1. Si ght
2. Heari ng
3. Smell
4. Taste
5. Touch
6. Mi nd Consci ousness
7. Subconsci ous
8. Karma Storage (Alaya)
9. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo or Your Buddha Nature or Your Enli ghtenment
or Your Permanent Source of Happi ness (Amala)
People Who Don' t Chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Can Only React to Thei r
Own Karma Storage.

Level 8 i s Karma Storage. All of your past causes and effects of all of
your words, thoughts and deeds from ti me wi thout begi nni ng are stored
as Karma i n Level 8. The content of Karma Storage determi nes the
worki ngs of all the other levels, except Level 9 (Buddhahood). Assume
you have low self-esteem karma. It i s stored i n Level 8 (Karma
Storage.) Let' s say i t wei ghts 100 tons and i s molten. Low self-esteem
karma constantly gushes up i nto Level 7 Subconsci ous. Now your
feeli ngs, dreams, values, urges and hopes are i nfused wi th low self-
esteem. Low self-esteem gushes i nto your Level 6 Mi nd Consci ousness.
Now many of your consci ous thoughts are of your low self-esteem. I' ll
never fi nd a good person i n my li fe. I' ll never be normal because my
uncle molested me as a chi ld. Thi ngs never work out. Eventually she
(he) wi ll abandon me. I' ll never lose thi s wei ght. I do all the work but
I' m never pi cked for that good job. I' ll always be broke. People
naturally di sli ke me because I' m... black, Hi spani c, Asi an, whi te bread,
female, male, young, old, uneducated, too educated, a jock, a nerd, too
smart, dumb, li beral, conservati ve. Levels 1-5 Senses transmi t data to
your other levels. These data are i nterpreted i n the li ght of your low
self-esteem. You see people at work laughi ng and talki ng. They never
i nclude you. Or maybe they' re talki ng bad about you.

Low Self-esteem Karma Produces More Low Self-esteem Karma. As a
reacti on to your low self-esteem vi si on of the world, your words,
thoughts and deeds make new low self-esteem karma. You stop tryi ng
to get fi t and become more flabby. Your dress becomes less careful.
You are angry at the world, yourself, and the envi ronment and let
people know i t. They shy away from you even more. You are jealous of
other' s good fortune and luck. Or you try to be super ni ce and people
take advantage of you. These new low self-esteem Karmati c events are
stored i n Level 8 Karma Storage.
Worki ng on thi s process are two other Buddhi st concepts. Shi ki -shi n-
funi i s the oneness of body and mi nd. Whatever i s really on your mi nd
or dwells i n your spi ri tual self i s automati cally and accurately shown i n
your body. Your faci al expressi on, posture, movements, physi cal
condi ti on and complexi on depi ct whatever i s happeni ng i n your mi nd.
Esho funi i s the oneness of you and your envi ronment. Whatever you
are i s reflected i n your envi ronment.

If you are depressed and glum, you look and act depressed and glum.
Your envi ronment reflects your depressi on and glumness. People avoi d
you or are uncomfortable. Your home may be dated and shabby. Your
car mi ght be out of repai r.
People whom Chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Revoluti oni ze Thei r Karma
Storage and Transform Thei r Subconsci ous, Consci ous, and World
Outlook.

Chanti ng Nam-myoho-renge-kyo acti vates Level 9 Consci ousness. The
9th Level of Consci ousness i s Nam-myoho-renge-kyo or your Buddhahood
or Enli ghtenment, the source of your happi ness. Level 9 cannot be
corrupted by your karma. It i s always pri sti ne, powerful and pure, li ke
gold or di amonds. When you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, i t surges up
from the deepest part of your li fe i nto your karma storage. It begi ns
to di lute your bad karma wi th happi ness and wi sdom (enli ghtenment)
and expel i t from your li fe.

Low self-esteem karma becomes less of an i nfluence. Di luted low self-
esteem karma sti ll has to be expelled from your li fe. However, i t comes
out i n a less stressful form that you can handle. (Tenju Kyoju or the
lesseni ng of Karmati c retri buti on.) The Karma attack i s much less but
sti ll negati ve. By conti nui ng to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo when the
di luted bad karma i s expelled, you can turn poi son i nto medi ci ne, loss
i nto gai n, defeat i nto vi ctory. (Hendoku Iyaku.)

Before chanti ng, your low self-esteem karma may have caused a ten-
day of funk. If chanti ng, i t mi ght be two days. Your conti nued chanti ng
lets you see that i t' s not so bad and you are tougher than you thi nk.

You wi ll know that your karma i s changi ng because the bad karma
events are less severe, last for shorter peri ods of ti me, and appear at
longer i ntervals.
Buddha wi sdom eventually wi ll cause you not to create new low self-
esteem karma. One day, the low self-esteem karma i s gone. However,
many people report that bad karma has one last flare up before
leavi ng. The bulb burns bri ghtest before i t goes out. That bad person
i n your li fe has a bi g screami ng sessi on before di sappeari ng. Nothi ng,
GOOD or BAD can happen to you unless you have the karma for i t.

4. Understand Your Li fe Condi ti on Wi th an Enli ghtened Mi nd


Ni chi ren encourages us to control our mi nds, rather than be controlled
by our mi nds. From our look at the worki ngs of the Ni ne
Consci ousnesses, the only thi ng you can have on your mi nd (Level 6)
comes from the Subconsci ous (Level 7) and Karma Storage (Level 8).
Si nce the great themes of your li fe are already stored there i n large
volume, your mi nd i s stuck thi nki ng what you have always thought.
Of course not all karma i s bad. Everyone has good karma. "Bad" and
"good" are what you li ke or di sli ke. If studyi ng and learni ng are easy
for you and you li ke that, that' s good karma. If people are attracted
to you physi cally and emoti onally, that' s good karma. If you are pretty
upbeat about li fe, i f you stay fi t, i f you accompli sh goals and don' t gi ve
up, i f you are able to earn a good li vi ng - that' s all good karma.
Even wi th an abundance of good karma, your mi nd i s sti ll stuck wi th
your own Karmati c li mi tati ons. I' m really a good nurse and know more
that the doctors i n some cases. I' m happy wi th my job and get a lot of
sati sfacti on from i t. I guess I' ll keep worki ng unti l I reti re i n 20
years. That' s not so bad. Your mi nd may have li mi tati ons as to what you
thi nk you can accompli sh i n thi s li feti me. Why not become a physi ci an' s
assi stant, a doctor or a professor i n a nursi ng school?

By chanti ng Nam-myoho-renge-kyo you acti vate the flow and i ncrease
the volume of the 9th Level of your consci ousness, your Buddha nature,
your enli ghtenment, your ri ver of pure di amond waters. Thi s
enli ghtenment puri fi es your karma and subconsci ous. When the
enli ghtenment hi ts your brai n, you have more Buddha wi sdom. The more
you chant the more wi sdom i s i n your thoughts, determi nati on and
spi ri t. It i s i mportant to chant wi th an open mi nd and be sensi ti ve to
the wi sdom that comes forth from your own li fe. You wi ll know when
the Buddha wi sdom i s i n your mi nd. Your beli efs wi ll change. Your
outlook wi ll i mprove. You wi ll have more strength and courage. You wi ll
develop more effecti ve ways of deali ng wi th problems. You wi ll beli eve
that your have the Buddha li fe i n your li fe.

The most unhappi ness comes from beli evi ng i n the wrong thi ngs,
i llusi ons. The bi ggest i llusi on i s not beli evi ng and understandi ng that
you, ri ght now, as you are, have the Buddha Enli ghtenment i n your li fe
and that chanti ng Nam-myoho-renge!kyo acti vates i t.



Eventually, beli efs turn i nto words and deeds. You beli eve, and then act
of a hot i nvestment ti p and i t goes south. Unhappi ness follows. You
beli eve that educati on i s not for you and don' t develop yourself whi le
young. At 40 you wi ll regret that you di dn' t do all you needed to do.
Eventually, your beli efs wi ll become karma. Therefore i t i s necessary to
understand and beli eve that you have Buddhahood i nsi de of you now.
Please, acti vate i t and develop i t.
5. Relate to People i n Your Envi ronment on the Hi ghest Level.
- back to top -
The natural tendency humans have i s to blame people and thi ngs i n
thei r envi ronment for negati ve events. However justi fi ed thi s may seem,
i f i t happens to you, your karma i s i nti mately i nvolved. Your karma
generates these events. Tryi ng to change the envi ronment i s useless
and frustrati ng. Say your boyfri end i s no good. Everyone agrees. By
every standard, he i s no good. He' s abusi ve, i rresponsi ble, and
unfai thful.
You deci de to change hi m by poi nti ng out hi s faults. Thi s probably
doesn' t work. In thi s hypotheti cal si tuati on, there are some
possi bi li ti es. Your karma quali ty i s certi fi ed Grade D. All of your
boyfri ends wi ll be Grade D. Suppose your naggi ng and forced counseli ng
gets hi m to see the errors of hi s ways, and he actually changes. He
becomes Grade B. If your Grade stays D, he wi ll leave you for a fellow
Grade B.
Or, all of your good works and efforts are short ci rcui ted by your
Three Poi sons: Greed, Anger and Stupi di ty. Relati onshi ps (and li ves) can
be rui ned by not overcomi ng the Three Poi sons ci rculati ng i n your vei ns.
Say you have a pretty good partner. He (or she) i s well li ked, has a
good job, and treats you well. However, your Greed causes you to thi nk
that maybe there' s someone better looki ng and more exci ti ng out here
for you. One day you have a li ttle di sagreement wi th your partner.
Anger causes you to say some hurtful thi ngs. Stupi di ty lures you i n the
di recti on of Mr. or Ms. No Good who just exploi ts you i n some manner.
All thi s doesn' t make you a bad person, just an angry, greedy and
stupi d one.

Some poi sons have an anti dote. The anti dote for Greed, Anger, and
Stupi di ty i s chanti ng Nam-myoho-renge-kyo wi th the determi nati on to
know yourself and to understand that gi vi ng i n to Greed, Anger and
Stupi di ty leads to unhappi ness and the nulli fi cati on of your good karma.
Thi s process i s somewhat automati c. But bei ng honest wi th yourself
really helps the process of bri ngi ng out your enli ghtenment. Thi s does
not mean bei ng relentlessly self-cri ti cal or advocate beati ng yourself
up.

If your rai se your li fe condi ti on through the practi ce of Buddhi sm to
grade B+ or A+, your envi ronment wi ll be B+ or A+, automati cally. Thus
you don' t have to change your no good husband, boss, gi rlfri end, father,
chi ldren, dog or cat. They wi ll change wi th respect to you or wi ll leave
your envi ronment.

6. Control the Lower Four Worlds of Hell, Hunger, Domi nant/Submi ssi ve
Atti tudes and Anger.
- back to top -
In Buddhi sm, li fe exi sts i n Ten Worlds. The hi ghest i s (10) Buddhahood,
or Enli ghtenment. Everythi ng di scussed so far about Nam-myoho-renge-
kyo appli es to thi s world. Next i s (9) Bodhi sattva or compassi on.
Actually helpi ng others to attai n happi ness or enli ghtenment for
themselves i s Bodhi sattva. Accompli shment through great concentrati on
i s (8) Reali zati on. Reali zati on has also been descri bed as understandi ng
the uni verse by looki ng wi thi n yourself. (7) Learni ng i s the condi ti on i n
whi ch you are gatheri ng knowledge and understandi ng of i tems you are
studyi ng, such as a book. It i s understandi ng the uni verse by looki ng at
thi ngs outsi de of yourself. Collecti vely, these are the Four Noble
Worlds.
(6) Heaven or Rapture i s a condi ti on of momentary joy. (5) Humani ty i s
just be lazy or i n neutral gear.

The Lower Four Worlds
They are (4) Anger, (3) Ani mali ty, a condi ti on of feari ng the more
powerful and preyi ng on the weaker, (2) Hunger, a strong unfulfi lled
desi re and (1) Hell, sufferi ng wi th no clear way out.

Each of the ten worlds contai ns all the other worlds. The ten worlds
are connected to all the cause and effect i n your li fe. Of course you
are i nseparable from your envi ronment.

Anyone i s capable of bei ng i n one of the lower four world. Usually some
outsi de sti mulus tri ggers thi s. Someone fli ps you off and you get angry.
A good-looki ng gi rl/boy or hamburger comes i nto vi ew and you get
hungry. Your boss threatens you because of some mi stake someone
made. You i n turn threaten the people who work for you. That' s
Ani mali ty. Your dog of 15 years di es. That' s Hell.
How chanti ng Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon controls the
Lower Four Worlds.
In the TV seri es South Park, the boys were upset because the Sparky
the dog was gay. Thei r answer was to yell at the dog, "Sparky don' t be
gay." In the human world, yelli ng don' t be angry, hungry or mi serable i s
the same thi ng as telli ng Sparky not to be gay. Self-control i s a fi ne
attri bute to have. Buddhi sm, however, i s far more than mere self-
control or posi ti ve thi nki ng.

Just as your i nteracti on wi th a sti mulant i n the outsi de world caused
one of the Lower Four Worlds to emerge, the i nteracti on of chanti ng to
the Gohonzon causes the world of Buddhahood to emerge from your li fe.
As Buddhahood becomes more the central world i n your li fe, all of the
lower four worlds recede. Even the world of hell i s replaced wi th an
understandi ng of the rebi rth of li fe. The TEN WORLDS wi ll always be
part of your li fe so don' t try to be goody-two-shoes. Hunger, for
example, can be a strong desi re to understand Buddhi sm.

7. Fi nd and Keep Actual Love.

As human bei ngs, we need true love. Someti mes when the vi ci ssi tudes of
li fe beat us down, we may gi ve up. I thi nk thi s i s a mi stake. Fi ndi ng
and keepi ng true love i nvolves both common sense and usi ng and
understandi ng the power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
COMMON SENSE


Buddhi sm and everyday li fe are not di fferent or separate. So there are
personal and soci al attri butes that are generally admi red or valued. To
the extent possi ble, you must develop and enhance these attri butes.
Fi tness: People, especi ally fi t people, are attracted to fi t people.
Money Responsi bi li ty: Bei ng i rresponsi ble wi th money greatly reduces
your attracti veness.
Style: Be cool. Bei ng cool doesn' t requi re spendi ng a lot of money. Bei ng
cool requi res an i nterest i n keepi ng i n harmony wi th a personal style of
dress and behavi or that i t consi dered and thoughtful. Bei ng cool i s not
haphazard. Bei ng cool i s not conformi ty but an expressi on of your i nner
self.

Seeki ng Improvement: The ki nds of people you want to meet are tryi ng
to i mprove themselves i n many di fferent ways. They read, travel (to
the extent they can), have i nterests, perhaps go to school, do outdoor
acti vi ti es or pai nt. Developi ng and i mprovi ng your ski ll, knowledge and
accompli shments i n your area of i nterest makes you more attracti ve.

Neatness: Even sloppy people (li ke me) li ke neat people.
Thi ngs You Must NOT Do: Become hysteri cal. Be an addi ct. Become a
drag by not doi ng your part. Make deci si ons for others. Make deci si ons
that i nvolve others wi thout a detai led di scussi on. Allow people to make
deci si ons for you. Assume people (or the Uni verse) owe you somethi ng
for somethi ng you di d. Lend or gi ve money to boyfri ends or gi rlfri ends
wi th the expectati on that i t wi ll be pai d back. Ignore sayi ng "please"
and "thank you." Be an i ngrate. Be puffed up or beat down. Note:
Almost all relati onshi p problems are caused by the unrestrai ned
expressi on of one or more of the lower four worlds: hell, hunger
Ani mali ty and anger.

Love and the power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.


"Kenzoku-myo" i s a deep mysti c connecti on wi th the Buddha si nce the
ti me wi thout begi nni ng. It also stands for the mysti c relati onshi p we
have had wi th speci fi c other people si nce the remotest past. Accordi ng
to Buddhi st thought, we have been together wi th certai n other people
i n many forms of relati onshi ps: fri end/fri end, husband/wi fe,
husband/daughter, mother/son, lover/lover, si ster/brother,
employee/boss, lord/vassal, etc. We have been both male and female.
At least some of your past relati onshi ps have been sati sfactory to a
hi gh degree. Thi s doesn' t mean you had an i nti mate relati onshi p.

Because you are one wi th your envi ronment and the Uni verse, i t i s
possi ble to connect wi th one or more of these pleasi ng relati onshi ps
from past exi stences. No matter where a sui table partner may be
physi cally, you can hook up.

But si nce you don' t know where or who they are, you have to use your
MYSTIC EMAIL. Thi s consi sts of chanti ng many Dai moku (Nam-myoho-
renge-kyo) i n order to connect wi th them and draw they closer. It' s as
si mple as that. If your brai n i s not enli ghtened, you may not thi nk
these i nvi si ble threads connect you wi th the Uni verse. They do. Try i t.

The world accordi ng to Bob.


When I was 20 and a juni or at the Uni versi ty of Illi noi s, Urbana, I
belonged to an anti -fraterni ty fraternal club called Praetori ans. Duri ng
regi strati on week of September, 1964, I went on a double date wi th a
Praetori an brother, Danny Dreyfus. Hi s date was Jann, a freshman,
from Bi rmi ngham, Alabama. My date was Kathy Mori mi tsu, a freshman
from Chi cago. I fell i n love wi th Jann at fi rst si ght.

However, my general i nsecuri ti es and my percepti on of her hi gh soci al
standi ng and our soci al-economi c di spari ti es made a move on my part
i mpossi ble. (Poor Asi an boy-ri ch Jewi sh gi rl.) As ti me went by, we had
talked casually from ti me to ti me on the quad or the uni on. Three and
a half years passed. Jann was a seni or and I was i n law school. We
fi nally went out. Love blossomed on the January frozen tundra. We
sent pretty much every day together for si x months. We went on a bus
caravan to Mi lwaukee to work for Gene McCarthy before the Wi sconsi n
Pri mary. On our way back, Johnson dropped out of the race.

Jann graduated and went to NYU. I stayed i n Champai gn fi ni shi ng my
law degree. I vi si ted her once i n NYC duri ng the summer.
Duri ng my last year of law school, I was depressed about a lot of
thi ngs, i ncludi ng mi ssi ng Jann. I di dn' t have any confi dence i n my abi li ty
to pass the bar exam, make a li vi ng, support a fami ly or survi ve for
very long i n the real world. I don' t know where my "beat-down" feeli ng
came from. Maybe i t was upbri ngi ng or brai n chemi stry i mbalance. My
oldest brother had become a full-blown paranoi d-schi zophreni c. I
thought I mi ght go mad.

On June, 19th I woke up early. I had a strong feeli ng I would meet
someone who would change my li fe. I never had thi s ki nd of feeli ng
before. I went to the student uni on and wai ted - for ei ght hours.
Fi nally, a wei rdly di verse group of people entered from the far end.
Young, old, black, whi te, Asi an, half Asi an, Hi spani c, male and female
were represented. They were talki ng to people and getti ng coffee. If
these were the people I was supposed to meet, I would let them come
to me. Fi nally one of them, Frank Ross, sat down and sai d, "would li ke
to go to a Buddhi st meeti ng?" I' ve been chanti ng every day si nce. One
of the many early benefi ts I recei ved was that I no longer felt
heartbroken and defeated wi th respect to Jann. I felt confi dent that
my love li fe wi ll work out fi ne. That feeli ng never left me, even i n the
dark days of di vorce from my fi rst wi fe.

I li ved and practi ced law and Buddhi sm i n Chi cago for ten years. Duri ng
that ti me Jann and I saw each other a few ti mes. The old feeli ng never
left. But I was too i nsecure about bei ng a success to take our
relati onshi p to the next step.

I moved to Vegas and we lost contact for 14 years. I got marri ed and
di vorced and played around. Somehow I di dn' t connect deeply wi th
women i n my close envi ronment. Chanti ng works. I sat i n front of the
Gohonzon and chanted lots and lots of Dai moku. After some ti me, I
reali zed that I was a di fferent person due to my Buddhi st practi ce. I
had been worki ng for the Ci ty of Las Vegas for ten years and had been
promoted twi ce. I had saved a lot (for me) of money. My fri end gave me
a ni ce townhouse for $1, 000 and taki ng over hi s mortgage. My career
was enjoyable and secure. I reali zed that i f I kept chanti ng about
"love" the answer would come from i nsi de and would connect me wi th
the world.

I began sendi ng Dai moku to every gi rl I ever li ked or loved starti ng
wi th grade school. It dawned on me that "back to the future" or "once
and future" mi ght be the way to go. In my head I went through my
past relati onshi ps. When I got to Jann, my chanti ng took on a musi cal
tone. She was: completely my type looks wi se; i ntelli gent; well read;
li beral; gentle; curi ous about li fe; NOT Domi neeri ng and Southern
cultured. Most of all, we had been completely and deeply i n love when
we were young.

I got her number from di rectory assi stance i n Atlanta. We talked and
i t was just li ke yesterday. She had never marri ed, had become a lawyer
and wanted to get together. We had a Vegas-Atlanta relati onshi p for a
year. 18 years ago, Jann moved to Vegas on a tri al basi s. I told her
that anyti me she wanted to get marri ed "just say the word." Jann
di dn' t say anythi ng about i t for 9 years. We have been marri ed for 9
years. Li fe i s good. Love i s real. Love counts.

8. Understand and Get What You Really Need for Your Happi ness.
(What Do I want out of li fe?)



When you are chanti ng, ask, twi ce a day, "What do I want out of li fe?"
The answer may change from day to day. But you wi ll get an answer.
Pursui ng the path to your happi ness requi res Buddha wi sdom. Si nce
Buddhi sm i s i ndi vi dual, your answer wi ll be i ndi vi dual. It may take ti me
for your Buddha wi sdom to hi t your brai n. Once you thi nk you have an
answer, keep aski ng.
Be honest wi th yourself. What are you really i nterested i n? What are
you good at or can become good at? By pursui ng the wrong path i n li fe
wastes a lot of ti me. A bad relati onshi p or unsui table job wi ll take at
least three years out of your hi de. We don' t have that many three-
year chunks to pi ddle away. Ti me i s li fe. Li fe i s ti me.

HOWEVER, DON' T GET ALL DEPRESSED BECAUSE YOU HAVE MADE
MISTAKES, taken the wrong path many ti mes, led others down the
wrong path, or have nothi ng but regrets so far. The Buddhi st spi ri t i s "
from now on." From now on appli es to your successes as well as
fai lures.

The proper practi ce of Ni chi ren Buddhi sm naturally leads you to an
understandi ng of the future as well as the past and present. Chanti ng
wi ll allow you to understand the future at the deepest part of your
li fe. Chanti ng saves ti me i n the long run.

The World Accordi ng to Bob:


I have made a lot mi stakes i n my li fe. Many of these mi stakes
happened after I became a Buddhi st. Each of these mi stakes mi ght have
been avoi ded. Chanti ng helped me to learn what I really wanted for my
happi ness. Once on the ri ght path, I felt good and determi ned and
actually succeeded. My fi rst job out of law school was as a Federal
Ci vi l Ri ghts Investi gator. I worked on housi ng di scri mi nati on cases. I
loved the people I worked wi th, got to travel, and had regular hours, a
good salary and benefi ts.
After passi ng the bar, I felt I had to work as a lawyer doi ng lawyer
work. I had a seri es of very good lawyer jobs but wasn' t very happy.
Although I made a lot of money, I was expected to work a crushi ng
amount of hours. The stuff I worked on was i nteresti ng, but after a
whi le became bori ng. My Lesson: worki ng i n the pri vate sector, as a
staff lawyer i s li fe doomed to i nsecuri ty and a low hourly wage. Your
pay di vi ded by the number of hours you have to work equals your
actual hourly wage. In my case i t was low, probably less than a
factory worker. My Lesson About Myself: I don' t mi nd worki ng hard as
long as I get pai d an agreed upon amount for every hour I work. About
si x years i n, I went on my own doi ng traffi c mi sdemeanor defense work
and real estate. I also became a real estate broker and Prudenti al
i nsurance agent. Bei ng my own boss I di d traffi c tri als at the gi ant
Chi cago Traffi c Court i n the morni ng, real estate closi ng i n the
afternoon and i nsurance at ni ght. I made a good li vi ng but deci ded I
hated Chi cago.

I don' t li ke bi g i nconveni ent ci ti es where you have to waste travel
ti me, pay for parki ng, pay through the nose for si mple restaurant food
and medi ocre entertai nment. I don' t li ke cold wi nters, humi d summers
and crowds. My Lesson About Myself: I won' t li ve where I don' t want to
li ve. It doesn' t get better and I may get to be too old to move.
Chanti ng about i t, I moved to Vegas when there were 300, 000 people
there. (Now there are 2 mi lli on). After some fi ts and starts, I really
chanted to fi nd out what I really wanted to do wi th my li fe. I deci ded
I was ki nda of lazy, i n that I wanted a li fe after work. Work was not
my li fe. I wanted fi nanci al and job securi ty, i n that i f I worked hard
wi th a good cooperati ve atti tude, I couldn' t be "let go" because
someone' s nephew needed my job. After chanti ng I deci ded that I was
happy worki ng for the Feds. I deci ded to get and got a job wi th Ci ty of
Las Vegas. I felt comfortable and secure. I became a success, bei ng
promoted four ti mes. I was acti ng assi stant ci ty manager, the 3rd
hi ghest ranki ng offi ci al. I saved or earned $40 mi lli on for the Ci ty
through negoti ati ng publi c/pri vate contracts. I chanted every day for
everyone I worked wi th for 20 years. I also taught avi ati on law at
Nelli s Ai r Force Base and became acti ve i n poli ti cs.

After an enjoyable career, I reti red at 56 after 20 years wi th a good
pensi on and substanti al savi ngs. Bei ng reti red, I travel, kayak, fi sh,
play gui tar and wri te songs, read, wri te, shoot competi ti on ri fle and
pi stol (placed 4th i n the VIMBAR world champi onshi ps), plunk at
archery (2x Ci ty champi on, 1x state champi on), take art classes at the
College of Southern Nevada and do poli ti cs (Obama captai n for Preci nct
#3391, 55 to 55 ti e wi th Hi lbi lly).
The move to Vegas was good for me. I never li ved more than 20 mi nutes
from work. 99% of the parki ng i s free and easy. The weather i s good
except for 2.5 summer months. You can eat li ke a pi g for not much
money. The world class outdoors i s close by. Of major i mportance,
there i s a vi brant Ni chi ren Buddhi st communi ty here. Chant to
understand what you need to be happy, and then do i t.

9. Increase the Span of Your Li fe; Overcome the Sufferi ngs of Bi rth,
Old Age, Si ckness, Death and Re-bi rth.



You are goi ng to di e. Death i s part of the great natural recycli ng
program. Before you di e you mi ght become old and si ck. Even i f we must
di e, li vi ng a full natural li fe i s desi reable.
The World Accordi ng to Bob:


After law school I stayed wi th my parents on the Southsi de of Chi cago
whi le worki ng downtown. One day, Mother deci ded she would move from
the house she had li ved i n for 20 years. I hurri edly rented an
apartment and spent the enti re weekend wi th my brothers movi ng my
mother to an apartment. Of course the move made no sense, was
i mpulsi ve, and unplanned.

Whi le stayi ng wi th my parents, I rode the same Illi noi s Central
commuter trai n to work downtown every workday. I always rode i n the
fi rst car because i t was closest to the exi t at the downtown stati on.

The move was fi ni shed at 4:00 am on Monday. I di dn' t even know how to
get to work. I arri ved very late and staggered to my desk. Everyone
was gi vi ng me a strange look. My boss fi nally approached me. I became
defensi ve explai ni ng the move and the fact that I put i n lots of extra
hours worki ng on our caseload.
He sai d, "We thought you were dead. The trai n you take everyday
rammed another trai n near the downtown stati on. 80 people were
ki lled." My li fe extended then and two other ti mes.

10. Get Stuff You May Want, Includi ng Freedom, Wealth, Love, Fri ends,
Work Sati sfacti on and Joy By Buddhafyi ng Yourself.


If you practi ce Buddhi sm from now and your last moment i n thi s li fe,
you wi ll have all the "stuff" li sted above and much more. You wi ll also
be a di fferent better person and enjoy li fe. That i s Buddhafyi ng
yourself. Earthly desi re ARE enli ghtenment. We burn the fi rewood of
earthly desi res to produce the fi re of enli ghtened wi sdom.
Many phi losophi es preach si n, self-deni al, fatali sm, or non-materi ali sm.
Ni chi ren Buddhi sm does not. You need to enjoy li fe and have all the
thi ngs and relati onshi ps you need to enjoy li fe. Ni chi ren Buddhi sm does
not have commandments except to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the
Gohonzon.

So chant and take acti on to get what you need to enjoy li fe. Keep i n
mi nd that you and the Uni verse are cause and effect. Whi le Buddhi sm
does not say, "don' t become a crack head, " bei ng a crack head causes
the effect of vi olence, poverty, and deni grati on.

The World Accordi ng to Bob:


Generally speaki ng, i t' s better to have money than not havi ng "enough"
money. When I started chanti ng I was broke and i n debt from goi ng to
college and law school (Uni versi ty of Illi noi s, Urbana). On day one, I
remember chanti ng for food and not to be evi cted from my hovel.
Wi thi n days I was flush wi th an emergency loan from the law school. I
di dn' t know thi s pot of i nterest free money even exi sted. A fri end
happened to menti on the loan fund i n passi ng.

It took me a number of years to learn that I had to save a good part
of what I earned i n order to be able to reti re early. I drove the same
4x4 Ni ssan truck for 15 years. Through savi ng i n deferred compensati on,
conservati ve i nvestments and a great government pensi on. I was able to
reti re at 56 years and 26 days. Thi s may seem very ordi nary. But my
li felong dream was to be able to li ve well and not have to work. You
are what you save, not what you earn. (Please see, my experi ence i n
the book The Buddha Next Door, Mi ddleway Press.) I enjoy li fe
everyday. Of course I also enjoyed li fe before I reti red. To certai n
extent freedom i nvolves money, but i t' s not only money. Health and
good relati onshi ps are necessary i ngredi ents. A strong self-i mage and
love are i mportant. After a few years of chanti ng, I found that I had
freedom. You can enhance your freedom to do and be whatever you
desi re. In my experi ence, i t i s i mportant to develop your Buddha wi sdom
to know what turns you on, exci tes you, and deeply i nterests you. What
do you yearn for? Chant about i t, please.


(I copi ed thi s from www.ameri cangongyo.org/ check i t out or go to
SGI.org)

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