I have an internal conflict: I need to fall apart and cry so that someone will hold me and love me. And I need to hold everything together with great strength and wisdom so that someone will respect and love me.
Crazy, isn't it?
Chanting now, I look at my gohonzon, the reflection of my life. I see the wave that is my smaller self. And I see the ocean that is the whole of life. That is me too.
Whatever my challenges are, however big my fear feels, I am bigger than that.
I chose this life, with these limitations and these expansive skills, in order to live out my eternal vow: to be awake and to compassionately awaken others.
An awakened life is sorrowful as we feel our pain and that of others. It is at the same time joyful, as we know the full potential of life.
I am big enough. This individual expression of life that is "me" is also still the whole.
Sometimes I just have to smack myself up side the head so I can wake up and remember.
Good morning sarah. Good morning SARAH.
Daisaku Ikeda says it like this:
"The Daishonin observes: 'Ultimately, all phenomena are contained within one's life, down to the last particle of dust. The nine mountains and the eight seas are encompassed in one's body, and the sun, moon, and myriad stars are found in one's life' (WND-1, 629).
"Our life at each moment encompasses all phenomena and is endowed with potential as vast as the universe. When we awaken to this fact, our life starts to open up to others, to society, and to the universe as a whole. Our efforts for kosen-rufu based on the great principle of the Mystic Law cause our body and mind to brim with the power of the universe. Our heart pulses with a timeless beat--the irrepressible desire to help our fellow human beings who are suffering and give them hope and courage.
"A Buddha is one who brings forth compassion, wisdom, and courage as boundless as the universe.
"No matter what challenges we may face, let us look up at the vast heavens above, take a deep breath, and continue to advance victoriously along the proud path of our respective missions."
SGI Newsletter No. 8130, OUR BRILLIANT PATH TO VICTORY, Gazing Up at the Eternal Sky--Part 2 [of 2], from the Aug. 22nd, 2010, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translated Dec. 16th, 2010
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