gratitude - 2015

gratitude is SO amazing! I just read a short piece that says it actually changes our physical health for the better. 

and, it is easy. I don't have to work hard to be grateful for family. this year I am especially grateful, and also aware of the many overlapping circles of family ties I am so fortunate to be a part of. 

we celebrated our gratitude and tom's 72nd birthday last sunday. I thought of many big table celebrations at mom and dad's, and we moved the dining room table into the living room so we could all sit around it. me and tom, his children david and danielle and their partners amy and andrew, and my children alex and wilson with their loved ones camille and jed, and our housemate chuck too.  it was a beautiful time of too much food, fun, laughter, relationship building and appreciation. 

today will be a quiet day, ‎off to a late start. lots of chanting nam myoho renge kyo -- with gratitude for life itself and all the ways we each develop strength in our lives and happiness in the midst of whatever comes. and then later we are going to work together on the cars. yes, I am even grateful for that -- I am still able to learn new things and be the hands that use tom's knowledge as we work together. 

I am grateful for each of you, and for the amazing ways we continue to be able to share together. and I am grateful for family members that are more distant now, for many and various reasons. 

so, however you choose to celebrate thanksgiving today, and whatever foods you eat or activities you choose, and whatever family or friends you are able to join together with, celebrate with love, and know I am sending smiles your way!

one's mind is vast, boundless and dynamic

" (the Lotus Sutra) is the teaching that the moon itself is mind, and the flower itself is mind. you should realize from‎ this that polished rice is not polished rice; it is life itself." 

--from the writings of nichiren daishonin

"the daishonin saw the life state of buddhahood in the natural form of all things, just as they are. ‎.... a buddha is a person undefeated by the difficult challenges of the real world, who is fully engaged in the responsibilities of daily life and who shines as the most human of human beings." -- daisaku ikeda

‎when I am able to see to the heart/mind of all beings and entities, and see the heart/mind of the buddha beating there, then my life is one with all life. when I know my life is one with all, it changes my perspective. challenges become opportunities to help all attain the way, for all of us together to feel the joy of all joys. the grass where I walk and the sky full of rain and the person right in front of me seeming to block my way -- all are hearts beating together, waking up to our vast and unlimited potential. 

all phenomena are contained in my innermost mind, and my innermost mind pervades all phenomena. 

I am breathless! I am the most human of human beings. 

the dance!

"We have been born into this world as Bodhisattvas of the Earth to take our place on the stage of our respective missions and there perform the joyous dance of fulfilling our vow for kosen-rufu. Not even the most terrible injustice or calamity can discourage or intimidate us.  

"We powerfully chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the 'greatest of all joys' (OTT, 212), infusing our lives with a vibrant energy that virtually compels us to leap up and dance. We challenge ourselves to confront and battle obstacles, do our utmost to transform great evil or disaster into great good, and spread the supreme teaching of the Mystic Law.‎"        -- daisaku ikeda

‎let the dancing commence! 

doing our utmost to confront evil and injustice we will joyfully transform our world into its full potential!

care to join me in the dance?

the unsurpassed way

"‎once the sun rises in our lives, we can illuminate everything."

this is mujo do, the unsurpassed way. it requires yumyo shojin, bravely and vigorously exerting oneself. 

joyfully wake up, put on my boots, use my faith to navigate, and continue the climb. 

with a stout heart‎, bravely and vigorously exert myself in the unsurpassed way. 

this is the greatest of all joys!

yumyo shojin -- words for the day

yumyo shojin -- bravely and vigorously exert oneself!

 

summon our faith. summon our life force. continue without falling back. and go ahead and feel some untrammelled joy in the midst of the hard effort.

come what may. the purpose of our lives is happiness. as a whole entity, knowing our true aspect, parts of a wonderful shining whole. 

 

boy this last period of time has been difficult. I am grabbing a breath of fresh air before I start the next climb. I bought the movie "wild", so I could remind myself to just put my boots on and climb and feel the joy of inner strength that develops as we meet impossible challenges.

coming with me?

Isshin yok ken butsu

"single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha"

from the Lotus Sutra:

"When living beings have become truly faithful,

honest and upright, gentle in intent,

single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha,

not hesitating even if ‎it costs them their lives,

then I and the assembly of monks

appear together on Holy Eagle Peak.

At that time I tell the living beings

that I am always here, never entering extinction." 

if I want to know truth, no holds barred, to see what is, no matter what, it requires single-minded desire and a faithful and upright heart and action. no hesitation. 

that is what I want. it is not a path for the faint of heart. and yet the joy is limitless, even in the midst of the challenges. 

as I learn what it means to be "gentle in intent", I am going to attempt to move my comments regarding this single-minded desire to my blog, so folks can choose whether to read them or not. I am feeling like facebook is not the best place to dialogue about these strong beliefs and my life changing philosophy. so I will post the links to my blog on facebook when I write. and you, gentle reader, can choose. 

I look forward to more conversations, in a less public forum.

on easter, and every day....

I am amazed that never measuring up doesn't result in darkness for my friends who put their faith in the easter story. for me, being accepted only as a result of a blood sacrifice is incomprehensible. 

does God not see God in me unless I am covered in the blood?

I work to be grateful that others are willing to keep sharing their beliefs and how those beliefs affect their lives. I open my heart and my ears to truly hear.

where I am, is in a deep knowing that I am indeed good. I am part of the whole. the good and the evil, the suffering and the joy, the winter and the spring. I am filled with joy.

on easter, and on every day, I ‎rejoice. 

rejoice with me!

a clear mirror, reflecting my life

‎today I am studying the "mirror guidance" again. 

I think I may have been missing the point for a while. here is what I saw today. 

one quote from this teaching is: "In short, the environment that you find yourself in, whether favorable or not, is the product of your own life."

this can feel punitive. or like I need to be searching for what the hell is wrong with me that I have manifested this particular environment. 

here is a different perspective:  as I observe a reflection of the depths of my life, looking into a clear mirror (chanting nam myoho renge kyo in front of the Gohonzon is my‎ practice) I see my life and the universe exactly as it is, perceiving that buddhahood is a part of the true aspect of my life and all life. 

when my perspective changes, when I see the true nature of  life, starting with mine, I see others and my environment differently too. 

so, what appeared before as ugliness, challenge and impossible circumstances, when seen in a clear mirror can be reflected as the mud that will bring forth the beautiful lotus,  ‎the opportunity that will build strength in my life enabling me to climb mountains to new vistas, the field of actions that will make the seemingly impossible possible. 

"once the sun rises in our lives, we can illuminate everything"

see what is. 

celebrate it.

"vital being/good health"

Marinoff: Perhaps true good health consists in our ability to maintain serenity and manifest ‎beneficence, even when obliged to endure afflictions of various kinds, be they medical, emotional, or social. .....perhaps true good health consists in one's ability to, in the Buddhist sense, 'make good causes' in any set of circumstances, no matter how dire.  

Ikeda:  ‎....Who is it who must do this (make good causes)? Each of us, ourselves. We need to tap the strength that is inherently ours, the inner potential that is ours, the power of life that is ours. To me, this is where....philosophy and religion come into play in a major way. 

Ikeda:.... in most cases, our so-called limitations are nothing more than our own decision to limit ourselves. 

Marinoff:   (this) suggests that true good health must take into account not only infirmity and incapacity, injury and injustice, but also the extent to which a return to optimal functionality or vital being requires the removal of self-imposed impediments.

Marinoff:  If the nature of healing is that which restores vitality, then we must allow for the existence of a vital force that uniquely animates living beings.

Ikeda: ....Nichiren Buddhism defines life's highest attributes in terms of the three meanings of myo (the mystic or wondrous): 'to open,' 'to be fully endowed,' and 'to revive'. 'To open' means unfolding the limitless possibilities of life. 'To be fully endowed' refers to the unifying and integrating function of life, harmonizing all things through wisdom and compassion. 'To revive' means restoring what has been damaged or lost and enabling those things to manifest their strengths. Releasing these energies located in the depths of our beings provides the source of power we need to lead creative lives."

‎above quoted from THE INNER PHILOSOPHER by Lou Marinoff and Daisaku Ikeda, p 76-80.

for me, the above leads to some questions that would be great to dialogue on, were we to find ourselves sitting around chatting on a winter night in front of a warm fire. 

how does my personal philosophy enable the kind of good health or vitality that these two philosophers describe?

what limitations do I impose on myself, and why?

do I really believe it is possible to be serene and beneficent, wise and compassionate, in the midst of any and all circumstances I find myself in?

how does the community I choose to spend time with support me in my ‎healing? and how do I support my community?

do I have all I need within, or is a source outside myself necessary to live in this intentional way of health?

let's find ways to touch on these supremely important philosophical/religious questions as we engage with people daily. it is as we open our eyes to the possibilities inherent in each situation in which we find ourselves that we can begin to ‎"revive", to develop good health, and to heal the world in which we live. indeed, we can know the universe within and without, and shine like suns.