An email from Ms Sandra Liew:
Prayer
Mr. Kawai's guidance in faith, conveyed by Mr. Noro, based on President Ikeda's guidance.
We practice this faith not for mere exertion, that is, not for the sake of practice, but for change and progress and as quickly as possible.
Members may say, I'm doing many SGI activities, but so what? The real question is how much have I changed my life, my environment, and my livelihood? How much benefit have I received? There are many members who are doing lots of daimoku, but there is no change in their lives.
Something is wrong. Buddhism is not the Law of Cause and Effect in Action. It is the Law of cause and effect in ichinen (determined prayer). For example, faith is not "feeling refreshed" after prayers and activities. Faith exists for us to change our lives.
When we wish to travel somewhere, first we decide on the destination, then we plan on the action (route/ mode of transport) and then we travel and reach that destination. Faith is the same.
In faith, we must first have
1. clear targets
2. prayer
3. action
It is important to pray strongly and then take action and we will see the results without fail. It is important to determine to change. That is to pray "I want to change", and then take necessary action.
It is absolutely no use to ask the Gohonzon, "What should I do?" There will be no answer. YOU must decide what you want to accomplish, not the Gohonzon. Once we decide / determine on some goal, there may seem no solution. But that is precisely why we pray.
If it were possible, we would not need the Gohonzon. If there is a way out, then there really is no need to chant. But we pray to change the impossible to possible. Do not engage in "what shall I do..." daimoku, that is, while chanting to think of strategies / look for options in your mind.
There is absolutely no need to think of methodology, because there is no way out! We should simply pray like this "I want to accomplish this. I will accomplish this."
If, while chanting, we think that our desires are unattainable / impossible, then that is the prayer that will be reflected onto the universe. And that is exactly the answer we will get back from the gohonzon... impossible/no solution.
We must pray with 100% confidence in the Gohonzon. I believe in the Gohonzon, my prayer will definitely be answered, just as the Gosho states "no prayer to the Gohonzon will go unanswered". This is the Buddhist formula, which is 100% correct.
It is our doubts that get in the way. While chanting, we always try to find ways out of our problem. Therefore, our ichinen is not directed towards the Gohonzon, but directed elsewhere. Thus it follows, that there is no real joy in daimoku and activities.
We just keep doing what were told to do.
There was a young lady (student division) who wanted to go to USA from Japan to study. It was impossible, as she had no money etc. So she prayed, not chanted, but deeply prayed "I want to go to USA to study - I will go" One year later, she reported positive results.
There had seemed no solution, but a "bridge" was formed through her sincere daimoku. This is the Mystic Law. It is beyond our understanding, which is why it is called Mystic. So there is no need to think, just trust and pray...
There was a WD who came for guidance. Her husband had terminal cancer and doctors said he would not live longer than 3 months. Her question was "can he be cured?" The answer was "I don't know".
The leader went on to say that President Toda's guidance was that when we determine that the only one thing we can trust is the gohonzon, then the body begins to recover from sickness.
This means to cure ones own illness by oneself, through faith. The human body is capable of producing 700 types of medicines. But when our life force is weak, then nothing is produced. When our life philosophy is polluted by slander, and impurities then our life cannot produce its healing power.
Buddhism is great. Our life is great! It is supreme. It is Divine. It is the life of the Buddha. So through faith we can always manifest this supreme state of the Buddha, this power of the Gohonzon.
People call Buddhism great, but actually it teaches us that our own lives are great. With determination, great life force and wisdom can be manifested from our lives and bodies to overcome sickness which is one's negative karma -the source of which is slander.
So the real question is not whether the illness is curable, rather, the question is whether i can determine it is curable. The woman told her husband about this guidance and together both corrected their ichinen and prayed and he was cured.
A Woman's Division leader in Japan could not walk due to pain in her legs caused by rheumatism. She was asked "do you think that your disease can be cured?"
She replied "No!"
"So then that is your desire. Your state of mind and that is why the answer from the Gohonzon is - - no cure!" replied the senior leader. The leader continued by saying that if the medical doctor has given up, if he says there is no cure for your condition, then that is the time to summon up your determination to change the impossible to possible.
The very next day, the woman called the leader to report that when she determined, the pain disappeared from her legs and 2 weeks later she was completely cured. Her suffering had been caused by her thinking that it was impossible to be cured, that she would have to live with this life condition.
But the moment she determined (ichinen) to overcome through faith in the gohonzon, the power of the mystic law was manifested through her life.
There are 3 kinds of directions:
1. Forward "Gear". Forward Gear practice consists of: having a clear and specified target and determination to accomplish it through prayer and action, for example: I want a white cat. She must be of Persian species, 3 yrs old, with blue eyes, female.
And I want her in 2 weeks. I will get it. In other words, doing a lot of activities and daimoku with no targets and clear goals is no use, as it will not produce any changes in your life.
2. Neutral "Gear" Neutral Gear Practice is chanting out of duty, with no joy. A habitual practice. E.g.: I am a leader, I have responsibilities, so I'm doing activities. But there is no effect. Its like the car analogy... the engine is full and ready to go... but nothing happens.
3. Reverse "Gear" Reverse Gear Practice is when the more activities and daimoku one is doing, one is still going backwards, rather than forward in one's life. In other words, one may be making a lot of seemingly good causes, but one is also complaining. There is slander and grudges against others. Or one might be Complaining about ones' own situation on not seeing immediate results. This is dangerous practice.
Just like in automatic transmission car, there is very little difference between Forward and Reverse Gears, from outward appearance it is difficult to tell where one's ichinen is. But one's life will ultimately clearly manifest it.
Slander
Even if you commit slander without realizing it, it is still slander. One should never criticize leaders. Right or wrong, one should not complain at all. Instead, one can chant for them to grow and one will benefit from that too. Similarly, never do "onshitsu" in your family.
That is do not complain, criticize or carry a negative feeling towards husband /wife, children or parents. This is your karma. You chose your spouse / partner / children.
Chant for their growth.
Further, do not depend / rely on others. Do not complain that they don't do this or that. Criticism will bring no benefit. But it will certainly bring negative effects.
In conclusion
We must eradicate the following types of prayer:
1. Out of habit or ritual (that is without any target or determination)
2. Out of delusion (that is while chanting, trying to find solutions to your problems)
3. Out of disbelief (that is thinking that this is impossible and will not happen / change)
Instead, pray with your entire heart, your entire being that I am going to build a bridge towards my happiness and those of others by myself, by using the Supreme wisdom of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.
One needs to have the experience of benefits / breakthroughs, so as to encourage others. "I have so many benefits through this practice... what about you?" Especially, senior members must receive many benefits. Buddhism is reason. Otherwise what is the use of practicing this faith? If they don't witness changes/ benefits then their faith has become habitual.
Experiences
There was a Men's Division Chapter Chief in Japan, which had a small trading company, which was almost bankrupt. The sales had dropped by half. At that time he prayed deeply that the sales should climb to $3 million. And it became so. The next year, his target was $5 million and the year later $7million. So it is important to determine first, then chant.
An owner of a barber-shop reported drop of sales due to lack of customers. He was advised to determine and pray concretely and in specific detail e.g. exact number of customers for haircuts, for blow dry etc. - detailed prayer, with a deadline.
One member prayed to sell his car. He did, but with no profit at all. Because he did not pray for it.
One woman had severe economic / financial problems. She prayed 3 hours daily in the morning - I want this amount of benefit today. I need it. And she received it.
We need to experience benefits through faith and prayer to show power of Gohonzon and encourage others. President Toda and President Ikeda said there are 10 reasons why no change or benefits occur in senior leaders' lives, even though they have been practicing for a long time.
1. Unclear determination
2. No concrete targets in faith
3. Doing regular Gongyo but no concrete prayer
4. Passive gongyo and activities from a sense of obligation
5. A complaining and begrudging attitude about faith
6. Seeking spirit for senior leaders/ guidance has become weaker
7. Not working hard in office or home
8. Depressed because of various sufferings in life
9. Weak of sense of mission for Kosen Rufu
10. Sense of responsibility as leader is weaker
Even if one of the above is missing, then faith has become habitual and there is no benefit. We must have dreams, which lead to hope and finally become reality when we chant! Therefore, we must have big dreams!
Experience
The President of a Fisheries Co was very concerned about the drop in catch of fish as it was affecting his sales, so he went for guidance. The leader asked him
"You say that you can't get lots of salmon fish. Does this mean that there is no salmon or are you unable to catch them?"
"I can't get any," he replied.
"Why can't you call them to your net? Did you pray like that?" The leader encouraged.
"No I didn't".
"There is no natural boundary in the ocean. So why don't you pray like that?"
The leader encouraged. So he did. His catch went up from 20 fish to 300 in one day. His company went from deficit to surplus. This is no miracle. This is the Law. This is reason.
What is amazing is when you don't get benefits even though you do chant.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Victor Leong amazing benefits
http://www.facebook.com/groups/26651546284/
I am in the accounting profession and like other profession face up and downs in my career too. When I was at a lost as to what I should do with all the unhappiness in my daily existence, my sister asked senior Soka leader
Mr. Michael Tan to talk to me sometime in 2002.
He sat down with me for 4 straight hours at a coffee shop near my house and told me about his life experience. He also spent a lot of effort explaining his Buddhist practice and how he overcame his life struggles in the past 20 years of his practice. He told me to chant NAM MYOHO RENGE GYO and visit the Buddhist Kaikan.
I asked Michael if I need to pay money to visit the Kaikan and he told me it is free. Michael also took pains to explain Buddhist concepts to me and told me I can read up about Buddhist practice through SOKA publications
Creative Life and SSA Times. He also told me that the Soka practice has spread to almost 200 countries in the world. Although I am not totally convinced then, I can see that Mr Michael Tan was sincere in wanting me to improve my life condition and overcome my struggles.
After my first meeting with Mr Michael Tan, I decided to take up practice and started to chant daimoku. I also learnt Gongyo easily and started to visit Buddhist Kaikan for meetings and funeral rites. I also received Gohonzon in October 2002.
However, my life did not improve dramatically at the start. I quit my job in 2004 after facing some difficulties with colleagues. I then sold books on the street and went cold calling, facing frequent rejections. I then joined the teaching profession for one year in 2005 but found that it is really not my cup of tea.
I then joined a small local trading company in Sin Ming as an accountant. With the switch from my previous job to teaching and accounting position, I face a steep pay cut. However, recalling the years of struggle, I was not really poor and I still managed to put food on the table.
Sometime in early 2006, I was in working as an accountant one day when I received an overseas call out of the blue to meet the CEO of an airline company for an interview. I have sent my resume out some months back and forgotten about it.
I decided to go for the interview with the Sri Lankan CEO at the Singapore Office at United Square. After the interview with the CEO, I forgot about it and was again absorbed into my accounting work. One month later, I received another overseas call from the Papua New Guinea Airline company to go to Sydney for an interview with the board directors two days later, which means I have to fly the next day.
As I was too absorbed with my work, I told the person that I am not free. Two days later, the same overseas caller called me and asked me to fly to Papua New Guinea to meet the Board of directors. I agreed and flew over. When I arrived in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea, I was checked into a hotel near to the Airline office, in which I have been staying till to-date.
I met the board directors on the following Monday and the interview went through smoothly. I flew back Singapore on the same day and again almost forgot the whole event when the Sri Lankan CEO called me another month later to offer me an expatriate position with housing and car provided.
The pay offered was better than all the Singapore jobs that I held. I decided to take up the offer and another three months later, I resigned from my Singapore accountant job and left for Port Moresby. When I arrived, I am pleasantly surprised to be placed into a two bed room hotel residential unit facing the airport.
I do not need to pay for the rental, electricity and water bills. I was also given a car and free petrol to move around. Six months later, my wife and three daughters then 7, 11 and 12 years old left Singapore to join me in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in Jan 2007.
I also brought my Gohonzon to Port Moresby and continued to chant, i.e. I continued my practice even after I left Singapore. Practising without the monthly SOKA support is no fun. I have no Chapter or Zone meetings, no funeral wakes, no discussion meetings to attend.
I only have Creative Life and SSA Times to refer to. Even so, sometimes Chanting can be monotonous. But I persisted with my Buddhist practice.
My three daughters applied for leave from Singapore School (Kuo Chuan Presbytarian) since Jan 2007 and continued to study in International Schools in Papua New Guinea. The school fees for the International Schools in Papua New Guinea is more expensive than Singapore university tuition fees.
I am indeed blessed to have the school fees for my three daughters being paid by my company. Although my daughters studied full time in Papua New Guinea, they set aside time every night to cover their Singapore school work on their own.
As I work for the National Airline of Papua New Guinea, my children can fly back to Singapore during Papua New Guinea school holidays to attend Singapore school. My three daughters Leong Jia Min, Leong Jia Qin and Leong Jia Yun Fiona attended a total of 4 years of full time international school in Papua New Guinea.
It is indeed a fortune that the three girls cleared their Singapore Primary School Leaving Examination without much fuss and went on to be awarded a position in Kuo Chuan Presbytarian school in Singapore. Jia Min, the eldest girl, who is 17 years old this year in 2012, became the top student in Port Moresby International School for 2 consecutive years in 2009 and 2010, even after she jumped one grade from grade 7 to grade 9 in 2009.
In 2010, Jia Min scored all “As” in IGCSE (International) exams in Port Moresby. My three daughters and my wife Jennifer then left Papua New Guinea in Jan 2011 so that my eldest daughter can prepare for her GCE O levels at the end of the year.
From Jan 2011 onwards, my wife and daughters were back in Singapore while I continue to remain in Port Moresby. In Jan 2012, Jia Min received her O level results, scoring 8 straight As (4A1s and 4 A2s). Jia Min’s GCE O level results is remarkable, considering the fact that she was away from Singapore for 4 years, and she missed 3 years of Secondary school in Singapore.
My youngest daughter Fiona, also scored well enough in her PSLE results to get into Ang Mo Kio Secondary School in 2012. My second daughter, Jia Qin did well enough to become the top student in Port Moresby International School in 2010 (Grade 9). After Jia Qin returned Singapore in 2011, Jia Qin also did well enough to be among the top few in her class in Kuo Chuan Secondary School in Sec 3, even though she was also away for 4 years.
While my three daughters became Soka Future Division members and participated in Chingay parade in 2012, my wife Jennifer is now busy with the her Sunshine aunty role. My three daughters also chant regularly everyday and strongly feel that chanting help them overcome problems in their school work.
For my case, my work in the National Airlines of Papua New Guinea, as usual, went through ups and downs. Despite the difficulties, my contract with the Airline was renewed for another 3 years from 2009 as the Board of directors were very happy with my work. In the past 5 years, my family and I visited Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and lately Tokyo.
My expatriate contract enabled me to fly with the National Airline of Papua New Guinea on a very low cost basis. As such, my family and I can fly back and forth from Papua New Guinea and Singapore every two to three months.
In the latest trip to Tokyo, I did not have to pay for my family and my air tickets. We visited Toda Sensei Kaikan in Shinjuku and got a warm reception from the Japanese leaders. We also visited Min On Cultural Centre and listened to Piano recital by a very sweet young Japanese lady. We then went to visit Soka bookstore further down the street before ending up at the Shinjuku Kaikan and did evening Gongyo there.
Although we did not understand the Japanese lecture, we could feel the sincerity as the Japanese members laughed as the speech went on. Although I wanted to bring my children to Tokyo Disneyland, they told me they would rather visit Soka University, which is a good one hour away by train from Shinjuku, Tokyo. We visited Soka University a day before we left Tokyo and we were glad the weather was perfect.
We walked around the huge campus compound and my daughters were impressed with the facilities. The scenery was great and we all love it. At the Soka University exchange program centre, we met a Singaporean Nanyang Technological University exchange program student, who advised us on enrolment into Soka University.
Owing to language barrier, my daughters will have to study Japanese full time for another year before they can be enrolled into Singapore University and as such, will need to give a serious thought to Soka University program in the near future.
I must say that life is full of twist and turns and many people suffer untold misery. For me, I received many good benefits during my 10 years of Soka Buddhist practice. The biggest benefit is actually not the material possessions that I acquired over these past 10 years of consistent practice.
It is crucial that my family members are healthy and my children studied well. For myself, the biggest benefit I got these past 10 years is to be able to wake up every morning and find peace with yourself internally and with universe.
I had strived to improve my human relations skills through human revolution and must say I can still improve further. I must thank senior leader Mr Michael Tan who introduced me to my Soka Buddhist practice.
I would also like to thank Mr Phua Thye Juat, Serangoon South Man Division Leader, who has not stop encouraging me all these years through my practice. I would also like to thank Soka International President Ikeda Sensei who provided us with the opportunity to practise Buddhism.
Also I would like to thank all Singapore Soka leaders who has guided Singapore Soka to what it is today. I will continue to practise Soka Buddhism and find opportunity to share my experience with others so that they can benefit from good fortunes too.
Victor Leong
I am in the accounting profession and like other profession face up and downs in my career too. When I was at a lost as to what I should do with all the unhappiness in my daily existence, my sister asked senior Soka leader
Mr. Michael Tan to talk to me sometime in 2002.
He sat down with me for 4 straight hours at a coffee shop near my house and told me about his life experience. He also spent a lot of effort explaining his Buddhist practice and how he overcame his life struggles in the past 20 years of his practice. He told me to chant NAM MYOHO RENGE GYO and visit the Buddhist Kaikan.
I asked Michael if I need to pay money to visit the Kaikan and he told me it is free. Michael also took pains to explain Buddhist concepts to me and told me I can read up about Buddhist practice through SOKA publications
Creative Life and SSA Times. He also told me that the Soka practice has spread to almost 200 countries in the world. Although I am not totally convinced then, I can see that Mr Michael Tan was sincere in wanting me to improve my life condition and overcome my struggles.
After my first meeting with Mr Michael Tan, I decided to take up practice and started to chant daimoku. I also learnt Gongyo easily and started to visit Buddhist Kaikan for meetings and funeral rites. I also received Gohonzon in October 2002.
However, my life did not improve dramatically at the start. I quit my job in 2004 after facing some difficulties with colleagues. I then sold books on the street and went cold calling, facing frequent rejections. I then joined the teaching profession for one year in 2005 but found that it is really not my cup of tea.
I then joined a small local trading company in Sin Ming as an accountant. With the switch from my previous job to teaching and accounting position, I face a steep pay cut. However, recalling the years of struggle, I was not really poor and I still managed to put food on the table.
Sometime in early 2006, I was in working as an accountant one day when I received an overseas call out of the blue to meet the CEO of an airline company for an interview. I have sent my resume out some months back and forgotten about it.
I decided to go for the interview with the Sri Lankan CEO at the Singapore Office at United Square. After the interview with the CEO, I forgot about it and was again absorbed into my accounting work. One month later, I received another overseas call from the Papua New Guinea Airline company to go to Sydney for an interview with the board directors two days later, which means I have to fly the next day.
As I was too absorbed with my work, I told the person that I am not free. Two days later, the same overseas caller called me and asked me to fly to Papua New Guinea to meet the Board of directors. I agreed and flew over. When I arrived in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea, I was checked into a hotel near to the Airline office, in which I have been staying till to-date.
I met the board directors on the following Monday and the interview went through smoothly. I flew back Singapore on the same day and again almost forgot the whole event when the Sri Lankan CEO called me another month later to offer me an expatriate position with housing and car provided.
The pay offered was better than all the Singapore jobs that I held. I decided to take up the offer and another three months later, I resigned from my Singapore accountant job and left for Port Moresby. When I arrived, I am pleasantly surprised to be placed into a two bed room hotel residential unit facing the airport.
I do not need to pay for the rental, electricity and water bills. I was also given a car and free petrol to move around. Six months later, my wife and three daughters then 7, 11 and 12 years old left Singapore to join me in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in Jan 2007.
I also brought my Gohonzon to Port Moresby and continued to chant, i.e. I continued my practice even after I left Singapore. Practising without the monthly SOKA support is no fun. I have no Chapter or Zone meetings, no funeral wakes, no discussion meetings to attend.
I only have Creative Life and SSA Times to refer to. Even so, sometimes Chanting can be monotonous. But I persisted with my Buddhist practice.
My three daughters applied for leave from Singapore School (Kuo Chuan Presbytarian) since Jan 2007 and continued to study in International Schools in Papua New Guinea. The school fees for the International Schools in Papua New Guinea is more expensive than Singapore university tuition fees.
I am indeed blessed to have the school fees for my three daughters being paid by my company. Although my daughters studied full time in Papua New Guinea, they set aside time every night to cover their Singapore school work on their own.
As I work for the National Airline of Papua New Guinea, my children can fly back to Singapore during Papua New Guinea school holidays to attend Singapore school. My three daughters Leong Jia Min, Leong Jia Qin and Leong Jia Yun Fiona attended a total of 4 years of full time international school in Papua New Guinea.
It is indeed a fortune that the three girls cleared their Singapore Primary School Leaving Examination without much fuss and went on to be awarded a position in Kuo Chuan Presbytarian school in Singapore. Jia Min, the eldest girl, who is 17 years old this year in 2012, became the top student in Port Moresby International School for 2 consecutive years in 2009 and 2010, even after she jumped one grade from grade 7 to grade 9 in 2009.
In 2010, Jia Min scored all “As” in IGCSE (International) exams in Port Moresby. My three daughters and my wife Jennifer then left Papua New Guinea in Jan 2011 so that my eldest daughter can prepare for her GCE O levels at the end of the year.
From Jan 2011 onwards, my wife and daughters were back in Singapore while I continue to remain in Port Moresby. In Jan 2012, Jia Min received her O level results, scoring 8 straight As (4A1s and 4 A2s). Jia Min’s GCE O level results is remarkable, considering the fact that she was away from Singapore for 4 years, and she missed 3 years of Secondary school in Singapore.
My youngest daughter Fiona, also scored well enough in her PSLE results to get into Ang Mo Kio Secondary School in 2012. My second daughter, Jia Qin did well enough to become the top student in Port Moresby International School in 2010 (Grade 9). After Jia Qin returned Singapore in 2011, Jia Qin also did well enough to be among the top few in her class in Kuo Chuan Secondary School in Sec 3, even though she was also away for 4 years.
While my three daughters became Soka Future Division members and participated in Chingay parade in 2012, my wife Jennifer is now busy with the her Sunshine aunty role. My three daughters also chant regularly everyday and strongly feel that chanting help them overcome problems in their school work.
For my case, my work in the National Airlines of Papua New Guinea, as usual, went through ups and downs. Despite the difficulties, my contract with the Airline was renewed for another 3 years from 2009 as the Board of directors were very happy with my work. In the past 5 years, my family and I visited Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and lately Tokyo.
My expatriate contract enabled me to fly with the National Airline of Papua New Guinea on a very low cost basis. As such, my family and I can fly back and forth from Papua New Guinea and Singapore every two to three months.
In the latest trip to Tokyo, I did not have to pay for my family and my air tickets. We visited Toda Sensei Kaikan in Shinjuku and got a warm reception from the Japanese leaders. We also visited Min On Cultural Centre and listened to Piano recital by a very sweet young Japanese lady. We then went to visit Soka bookstore further down the street before ending up at the Shinjuku Kaikan and did evening Gongyo there.
Although we did not understand the Japanese lecture, we could feel the sincerity as the Japanese members laughed as the speech went on. Although I wanted to bring my children to Tokyo Disneyland, they told me they would rather visit Soka University, which is a good one hour away by train from Shinjuku, Tokyo. We visited Soka University a day before we left Tokyo and we were glad the weather was perfect.
We walked around the huge campus compound and my daughters were impressed with the facilities. The scenery was great and we all love it. At the Soka University exchange program centre, we met a Singaporean Nanyang Technological University exchange program student, who advised us on enrolment into Soka University.
Owing to language barrier, my daughters will have to study Japanese full time for another year before they can be enrolled into Singapore University and as such, will need to give a serious thought to Soka University program in the near future.
I must say that life is full of twist and turns and many people suffer untold misery. For me, I received many good benefits during my 10 years of Soka Buddhist practice. The biggest benefit is actually not the material possessions that I acquired over these past 10 years of consistent practice.
It is crucial that my family members are healthy and my children studied well. For myself, the biggest benefit I got these past 10 years is to be able to wake up every morning and find peace with yourself internally and with universe.
I had strived to improve my human relations skills through human revolution and must say I can still improve further. I must thank senior leader Mr Michael Tan who introduced me to my Soka Buddhist practice.
I would also like to thank Mr Phua Thye Juat, Serangoon South Man Division Leader, who has not stop encouraging me all these years through my practice. I would also like to thank Soka International President Ikeda Sensei who provided us with the opportunity to practise Buddhism.
Also I would like to thank all Singapore Soka leaders who has guided Singapore Soka to what it is today. I will continue to practise Soka Buddhism and find opportunity to share my experience with others so that they can benefit from good fortunes too.
Victor Leong
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Deepening Conviction
http://www.sgi.org/about-us/members-stories.html
by Shikha Singh
Shikha Singh (right) and her familyWhen I encountered Buddhism, I was a 26 year-old young mother with two children. My main concern was my husband's job. He was grossly underpaid despite his good professional education, and I had to struggle to make his salary last the entire month.
I was introduced to this faith by one of my friends who was always smiling with a cheerful face, and she explained the life philosophy of SGI very convincingly. Her spirit to encourage me and my husband was very inspiring, and in 1994 we joined the SGI.
One of the first changes that I noticed was a sense of fulfillment in daily life. The determination to win in our daily battles also emerged. After witnessing my change into a more vibrant person, my husband and children also joined the SGI.
Initially I had no idea of what it meant to have a mentor in my life. With a great desire to understand the deep significance of the mentor and disciple relationship, I studied SGI President Daisaku Ikeda's guidance and read Nichiren's writings seriously.
In April 2009, I attended an SGI training course in Japan where I finally got to meet Mr. Ikeda. It was a most memorable moment. After returning to India, I poured my heart and soul into SGI activities by keeping Mr. Ikeda as a role model.
I began feeling a deep sense of gratitude towards my family members. I started looking at my children with a lot of respect as individuals of infinite potential. I also began viewing things from a larger perspective--from the eternity of life.
Meanwhile, my husband continued his struggle on the job front. Despite his best efforts and sincerity, he lost his job. Initially he was dejected and angry at the injustice done to him. At these times we studied Nichiren's writings together. Through reading Nichiren's letters to his follower Shijo Kingo, my husband realized that he was very much like Shijo Kingo in some ways--tremendously passionate, very responsible, short tempered and lacking in wisdom to deal with human politics at the work place. He was inspired to change his circumstances through deepening his understanding of Buddhism and faith.
He was able to find a new job, and struggled to win trust in the workplace by applying Mr. Ikeda's guidance of doing the work of three at your place of work.
I also read Nichiren's writing titled "The Bow and Arrow" in which it states, "It is the power of the bow that determines the flight of the arrow . . . and the strength of the wife that guides the actions of her husband." I considered my husband's problems as my karma or shared responsibility and challenged to do my best in faith and practice. At the time, my husband and I visited many SGI members together in an effort to encourage them, despite our own struggles.
Eventually, my husband was recognized for his passion and hard work and was made the managing director in India of a large software company in 2001. Since then he has been in leading roles as managing director of several companies. This month, my husband has been appointed as the managing director in India of a US-based global enterprise operating in 120 countries with annual turnover of US$600million. Within Bharat (India) Soka Gakkai (BSG), he has also been working hard to care for fellow members and contribute to our movement for peace.
In 2001 when we moved to Mumbai, the number of members here was 800.This year, we have a membership of more than 9,000, quite dramatic growth. I have also introduced over 30 friends to this practice. All these achievements are due entirely to the efforts of our fellow BSG members.
As a disciple of Mr. Ikeda, I have great conviction to "Never be defeated!" I pledge to dedicate my life for the sake of happiness of others and for kosen-rufu--world peace through individual happiness--together with my family and fellow members.
Deepening Conviction
by Shikha Singh
India
Shikha Singh (right) and her familyI was introduced to this faith by one of my friends who was always smiling with a cheerful face, and she explained the life philosophy of SGI very convincingly. Her spirit to encourage me and my husband was very inspiring, and in 1994 we joined the SGI.
One of the first changes that I noticed was a sense of fulfillment in daily life. The determination to win in our daily battles also emerged. After witnessing my change into a more vibrant person, my husband and children also joined the SGI.
Initially I had no idea of what it meant to have a mentor in my life. With a great desire to understand the deep significance of the mentor and disciple relationship, I studied SGI President Daisaku Ikeda's guidance and read Nichiren's writings seriously.
In April 2009, I attended an SGI training course in Japan where I finally got to meet Mr. Ikeda. It was a most memorable moment. After returning to India, I poured my heart and soul into SGI activities by keeping Mr. Ikeda as a role model.
I began feeling a deep sense of gratitude towards my family members. I started looking at my children with a lot of respect as individuals of infinite potential. I also began viewing things from a larger perspective--from the eternity of life.
Meanwhile, my husband continued his struggle on the job front. Despite his best efforts and sincerity, he lost his job. Initially he was dejected and angry at the injustice done to him. At these times we studied Nichiren's writings together. Through reading Nichiren's letters to his follower Shijo Kingo, my husband realized that he was very much like Shijo Kingo in some ways--tremendously passionate, very responsible, short tempered and lacking in wisdom to deal with human politics at the work place. He was inspired to change his circumstances through deepening his understanding of Buddhism and faith.
He was able to find a new job, and struggled to win trust in the workplace by applying Mr. Ikeda's guidance of doing the work of three at your place of work.
I also read Nichiren's writing titled "The Bow and Arrow" in which it states, "It is the power of the bow that determines the flight of the arrow . . . and the strength of the wife that guides the actions of her husband." I considered my husband's problems as my karma or shared responsibility and challenged to do my best in faith and practice. At the time, my husband and I visited many SGI members together in an effort to encourage them, despite our own struggles.
Eventually, my husband was recognized for his passion and hard work and was made the managing director in India of a large software company in 2001. Since then he has been in leading roles as managing director of several companies. This month, my husband has been appointed as the managing director in India of a US-based global enterprise operating in 120 countries with annual turnover of US$600million. Within Bharat (India) Soka Gakkai (BSG), he has also been working hard to care for fellow members and contribute to our movement for peace.
In 2001 when we moved to Mumbai, the number of members here was 800.This year, we have a membership of more than 9,000, quite dramatic growth. I have also introduced over 30 friends to this practice. All these achievements are due entirely to the efforts of our fellow BSG members.
As a disciple of Mr. Ikeda, I have great conviction to "Never be defeated!" I pledge to dedicate my life for the sake of happiness of others and for kosen-rufu--world peace through individual happiness--together with my family and fellow members.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Changing My Family Karma
http://chantforabetterlife.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/changing-my-family-karma/
Through strong faith in Nichiren Buddhism, Zalde Gallardo, a member from the Philippines, found the answer to a number of questions he had about life and succeeded in changing his family’s life. Influenced by his mother, Angelina, and following her lead to take up faith, chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and participating wholeheartedly in Gakkai and kosen-rufu activities, Zalde was able to achieve successful results in his study, overcome the poverty he and his family were facing and recovered from an illness. In addition, he and his family also succeeded in encouraging his father, who opposed their practice, to take up faith in Nichiren Buddhism, thus achieving their family kosen-rufu. Zalde hopes that the experience he and his family went through can inspire others to take faith in the Mystic Law and become truly happy despite all the problems in life.
My name is Zalde Gallardo from SGI-Philippines and this is my experience in faith:
“Why some people were born in so much poverty, with an ugly appearance and with low intelligence to match? On the other hand, why some people were so privileged who were born not only rich but with beauty and talent as well and high level of intelligence? If we are all created by a benevolent God, why the discrepancy among people are so extreme?”
These are the questions that I sought for an answer since my early childhood. I grew up in one of the slums in Manila, capital city of the Philippines. My parents were both from the provinces who escaped the poverty in their own families and went to the city in search of a “greener pasture”.
Since both of them are uneducated and not familiar with the city, they ended up working for a rich Chinese-Filipino family as housemaid and family driver respectively. There, they met, fell in love and finally got married.
As they could no longer stay together in the house of their employer when they got married, they settled down in a rented room located beside a filthy creek inhabited by squatters in the city who, like them, tried their luck in Manila.
There, all of their four children were born. We were so poor that sometimes we have to skip meals or subsist on rice porridge or rice and dried fish everyday just to keep us alive. All of us children were of course undernourished and most of the time wanting from a comfortable living environment.
The creek beside our “house” is so filthy due to garbage thrown by the residents and it also served as our comfort room since we didn’t have a toilet. To make the situation even worst, my mother developed a heart condition where it enlarged beyond its normal size causing so much discomfort for her as she became weak and couldn’t sleep well lying down as she felt that she’s drowning.
Despite our situation, my mother didn’t complain. Like a majority of Filipinos, she’s also a devout Catholic who regularly goes to church and pray the rosary every day. In fact, I became a religious boy myself and was even trained as an altar boy when I was eight years old. I regularly received lectures from the Bible and instructed to be prayerful as much as I could.
I even dreamt of becoming a Catholic priest when I grow up. But since the abovementioned questions linger on my mind, I asked our parish priest for an answer. He said that we cannot question God because he is God and we are mere common mortals. I just have to continue to be faithful and my rewards will be in “heaven”.
In short, I was not convinced but nonetheless don’t want to end up in “hell” after I die if I continue questioning my faith.
Then, in 1977, when I was 10 years old, our house was demolished by the government to give way for the flood control project of the city. I came home from school with our house being stripped off of its roof and walls. And since it’s just made up of wood and almost already dilapidated to start with, it took the demolition team no time at all to tear it down completely.
I couldn’t forget that day when I saw my mother quietly packing our things with tears in her eyes and telling us to take whatever useful possessions were left for us.
My father looked for a place where we could move to and make a new start. Fortunately, he has relatives living in the outskirt of Manila who upon hearing our situation took pity on us and find a place where we can stay.
Although the house where we transferred was not so different from the one we used to live, we were grateful because it’s not beside a dirty creek and there’s no possibility that we will be booted out like animals once again.
Despite our traumatic experience, our family continued to live as normal as possible. My father gave up his job as a family driver since the place where we transferred was far away from his employer. He became a cab (taxi) driver.
To help my father earn additional income, my mother started peddling vegetables and fish in the neighborhood with a friend who invested a small capital for such a business. They went from door to door early in the morning each day to sell.
One of their regular customers happens to be an SGI Women Division (WD) member and told them about a “prayer” that will surely attract customers and will make them (my mother and her friend) happy. Of course, what will make them happy is to attract customers and have all of their merchandise sold!
She wrote down in a piece of cigarette foil the word – Nam-myoho-renge-kyo – and instructed my mother and her friend to recite it over and over again. She promised that they will experience good results if they do that morning and evening. Thinking that it’s a magic word, they tried chanting and see what will happen.
And as if by luck, they had better sales everyday and they go home earlier than before since they sold out everything early and some customers were still asking for more.
They were thrilled by this newfound “prayer” and became interested to find out what this is all about. When they returned to the lady who introduced the chant to them, she invited them to attend a discussion meeting to be held in her house that evening. In that meeting, they learned that the chant is actually a Nichiren Buddhist chant and they also heard testimonials of its efficacy from the members who attended.
At first, my mother and her friend were reluctant to continue chanting but they were challenged by the WD member who introduced it to them by saying that if they want to change their destiny and become truly happy, then they should try this Nichiren Buddhism and continue chanting.
At that time, my mother’s friend was experiencing a difficult relationship with her husband’s relatives, which affected their family, and my mother was suffering from a heart disease and we were in dire poverty. So, they decided to give it a try and thought that if it won’t work, then, they can just quit the practice altogether.
We were surprised to see one day that instead of the Catholic prayer of the rosary that my mother used to do everyday, she’s now repeating a strange word over and over while kneel sitting with her palms pressed together.
It made us even more confused when some members came over and enshrined a scroll of paper in a wooden box which my mother asked my father to make. Thinking that it would be a medicine cabinet or something, he obliged; only to be dismayed when he found out what it was really for.
However, my mother was undaunted and seriously put this Buddhism to test through chanting and attending discussion meetings. She felt something real about this chant because whenever she chants, she becomes energized and the feeling of weakness disappears.
She can now sleep lying down without difficulty in breathing, which for sometime had been her major problem. And within three months of continuous practice of this faith, she regained her health and X-ray tests showed that her heart returned to its normal size.
That was her first major benefit from her practice and convinced her all the more that this philosophy is true. Meanwhile, my mother’s friend also experienced great benefit with her family encouraging each one of them to continue the practice with members in the SGI-Philippines.
Soon, my mother also encouraged me to chant and brought me to a meeting so that I can hear something about Buddhism directly from leaders and long time members. At that meeting, I asked the same questions (which are at the beginning of this testimonial) that have been bothering me for a long time.
There, I heard about the theory of Karma, the Buddhist principle of cause and effect and the Eternity of Life. The one who answered my questions reiterated that based on the Buddhist law of cause and effect, everything happens for a reason and everyone’s condition in life differs from one another due to individual karma each of us had created from our previous lives; that you should not blame a God or your parents or anybody for your circumstances because you, yourself, had created either positive or negative causes that made you who you are and the situations you are now in.
But since you cannot go back to your past lives, it’s important that you create value or good causes in the present so you can change your destiny and truly become happy. That made sense to me.
In fact, that was the answer that I’ve been long searching for! It gave me hope and courage to go on living because now I have the opportunity to change my destiny as well as my family!
I was 11 years old at that time but I made up my mind to try this Buddhism with the hope that our family’s situation will turn for the better. Together with my mother, I started chanting and involved myself with SGI activities such as zadankais (discussion meetings) and daimoku toso (chanting sessions) in our area.
We became the butt of joke in our neighborhood. Many thought that my mother became insane because of too much poverty that we were suffering from. They said that perhaps because we lacked food to eat most of the time, and my mother became lunatic and entered a religion, which might be of the “devil”.
My father also didn’t approve of my mother’s conversion to Buddhism. He said that he will respect my mother’s decision to change religion but he will never follow suit. His relatives in a way also tried to persuade my father to talk to my mother to return to being a Catholic.
But my mother became persistent with her new faith. She said that, through chanting, she found hope and courage to overcome her problems. She never felt as much happiness inside of her now that she’s chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
She told me that those people who were trying to dissuade her from this practice didn’t genuinely care for our family’s happiness and only say nasty things because they didn’t know anything about Buddhism. With that conviction, she continued chanting and attending SGI activities.
Because of my mother’s influence, I chanted for me to be able to go to high school since we couldn’t afford the tuition fee. During that time, only the elementary education was offered for free by public schools in the Philippines but not tuition fees for secondary level.
I’m the second child, and my older brother who is less than two years older than me, could barely make it to high school because of our financial condition. So, that’s the first thing that I chanted for, to be able to attend high school despite our situation.
My mother encouraged me to chant at least 30 minutes everyday to make my dreams come true. I even learned to do gongyo ahead of her since she had difficulty in pronouncing the words. I also encouraged my other siblings to chant and pray to the Gohonzon everyday.
Because of this, I received my first big benefit, as I was able to enter high school for free. I was able to top the entrance examination given to freshmen students which I really didn’t expect. I was just an average student back in my elementary years and was very shy.
Due to lack of food and school materials like books and notebooks, I couldn’t really concentrate on my studies. Most of the time, my siblings and I were discouraged to go to school because we didn’t have proper school uniforms or school supplies required by our teachers.
Seldom would I’ve eaten breakfast before going to school since we didn’t have any. I was very skinny and suffered from chronic colds. Thus, it was no wonder that my school performance was not that impressive. But I know that I could do better if given the opportunity.
That opportunity came when I started practicing this Buddhism. As I have topped the entrance examination in high school, I was given academic scholarship that allowed me to study in high school for free.
Because of the discipline and confidence I developed through participating in SGI activities such as the drum and bugle corps and culture festivals, I was able to maintain my scholarship all throughout my years in secondary level, became active in school activities, and graduated at the top of my class.
I attribute this achievement to my faith in the Gohonzon and my conviction that through chanting, I will change my destiny.
Because of that benefit of graduating as the class valedictorian in high school, I was able to enter college, once again, as an academic scholar. I never thought that I could finish high school much more enter a university!
But things that I prayed for are now coming true!
I was so elated by these benefits and continued participating in SGI activities as much as I could to show my appreciation to the Gohonzon. We were on our fifth year of practice and our family’s fortune was turning for the better.
My father was able to work in the Middle East as a truck driver which was actually a benefit that my mother chanted for. But since a lot of Filipinos were able to go to the Middle East to work during that time, my father didn’t consider that as a benefit of our faith.
I thought that since my mother, my other siblings and myself were sincerely practicing this faith, everything will be fine. Until one morning, I woke up coughing out blood! I was horrified!
I thought that the simple cough and colds that I was chronically suffering from was nothing to worry about. But I was wrong. It turned out that I was in moderately advance stage of pulmonary tuberculosis and I should take time out from school and recuperate by taking a combination of anti-TB drugs.
I was devastated because I was only 17 then and there were so many things in mind to accomplish. I turned to the Gohonzon and chanted even though I have no voice at that time.
I recall, based on our study of Ikeda sensei’s novel “The Human Revolution”, that sensei himself also suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and was told that he won’t reach the age of 30 because of his afflictions. However, due to his strong faith in the Gohonzon and rock- solid determination, he was able to overcome that illness and became the SGI President.
That gave me the inspiration to use my faith to defeat this obstacle. I clinged on to the Gosho passage that says, “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion, what sickness can therefore be an obstacle?”
With that conviction in mind, I chanted for seven hours a day while I took a leave of absence from the university. I took the doctor’s prescriptions and stayed at home for a while. In two weeks’ time, I was able to go back to school but under medication and continued my SGI activities.
My doctor assured me that as long as I was on medication, chances that I could infect other people was minimal. I just had to be careful with my personal hygiene, cover my mouth when coughing, and separate my eating utensils from the rest of my family.
With that, I continued with my studies and my other activities as if I was not sick. After six months of intensive treatment, and lots of daimoku chanting, I was able to overcome my disease. I believe that it’s the power of prayer that made my recuperation really fast. Once again, I was really full of appreciation for this benefit.
I finished college with a degree in Medical Technology at the Far Eastern University in Manila, with honors (Cum Laude), among almost 300 graduates. This was my most cherished dream, to have a college diploma, which has been the main reason why I started practicing.
At last, I was able to achieve what seems to be impossible when I was just a small kid! Now, I can proudly say that chanting really works! That this faith can really change anyone’s bad karma!
My benefits were far more than what I expected.
After, graduating from college, I took the licensure exams for Medical Technologists so I could practice my profession. I once again used my faith and the discipline I gained from this practice and applied myself in studying to pass the exams. Among the almost 2,000 examinees, I landed sixth place overall and number one from my university. Indeed, with faith nothing is impossible!
However, despite my achievements in school, I found out that finding a job where I could use what I learned from the university was really difficult. I was offered a teaching job from my own college but the salary was not enough to cover my daily expenses.
I have a younger sister whom I promised to help to go to college. Although my father was still working abroad, he was also having problems with his employers and had to transfer from one company to another. As a result, he irregularly sent money to our family which made it difficult for my other younger siblings to go to college as well.
By using once again the power of the Law, I chanted and chanted to have a job that would provide my family financial stability so that I could send my youngest sister to college.
I gave up my teaching job in the university and became involved in the pharmaceutical industry as a Medical Representative wherein we represented our company and visited target doctors to convince them to use our brand of medicine on their patients.
It was a tough job with so much pressure because it was sales related. But I enjoyed talking to doctors, convincing them, giving them information about our products and I loved the challenges that went with it.
I tried to introduce some of these doctors who became my friends to Nichiren Buddhism and SGI. The salary was good enough to support my family and send my sister to a university. And for the next 20 years, I was with the industry acting in different capacity from a medical representative to a sales manager.
I also considered those as benefits since I was, indeed, able to send my sister to college where she graduated as a Physical Therapist. She now lives in New Zealand together with her husband and two children.
I also chanted for my partner in life and for kosen-rufu. I believed that, through the workings of the Mystic Law, that my schoolmate in high school (who became my wife) and I were able to see each other again after several years on a commuter bus.
I had just attended an Young Men Division (YMD) discussion meeting in our Culture Center and on my way home, we chanced upon each other on the bus. After some asking “how’s life going on” kind of questions, we decided to meet again for some more catchup.
We became really good friends and after some time fell in love with each other. At first we never talked about our respective religions. She knew that I’m a practicing Buddhist and she respects my belief.
However, I chanted and prayed to the Gohonzon that she would be able to see the greatness of this faith so she can also become truly happy. She would ask me to join her to attend Catholic mass on Sundays, which I did for quite sometime. Then, I invited her to attend one of our SGI-meetings.
On the first meeting she attended, she noticed a familiar face in front of the members and told me that she thought she knew that lady sitting in front. As she was an SGI leader, I told her the name of that woman. She said that she was not sure because she looks like the lady who was their leader in their parish church when she was a kid. She said that that woman was a devout Catholic and couldn’t be the same person sitting in front of that SGI meeting.
Then, after the activity, we went to that SGI-WD leader so I could introduce my then-girl friend of one year to her. To my surprise, my girlfriend realized that she was the same lady who used to be their prayer leader and a very devout Catholic at that.
Because of that meeting, my then-girlfriend became intrigued about this Buddhism and started to read publications and asked questions to me and to other leaders about this faith. Eventually, she came to her own decision to practice and become a member of SGI. And before we finally got married, she’s already an active Young Women Division (YWD) member who chants daimoku and attends meetings together with me. That was a truly great benefit for me which I really chanted for!
My father, perhaps because of the actual proof that our family is showing, became less critical of our faith. However, he was caught in the middle of the Middle East crisis in 1990 and experienced the terror of war when the Iraqi soldiers conquered Kuwait where he was working.
For almost a year, we lost any form of contact with him and we didn’t know if he was still alive or not. Through all this uncertain times, my family and I only relied on our faith to the Gohonzon that somehow, our father would return home alive.
And that was what exactly happened!
He was repatriated back to the Philippines after the Americans and the Allied Forces were able to free Kuwait from Iraq. Although we were happy to see him back, my father was disillusioned and disappointed when he returned home.
He felt that all those years that he spent working away from his family were useless after all because all of his savings were taken away by the Iraqi soldiers and he went back home penniless just like before.
Despite our encouragement, he indulged himself in self-pity and most of the time quiet and sad. He blamed the Iraqis for his misfortune. He blamed himself for not putting his savings in the bank. He blamed my mother for not saving enough.
Through all these, we chanted for his happiness and the wisdom to realize that material things or money should not be the basis for his and our family’s happiness. For sometime, my father questioned why those things happened to him despite the fact he has been kind and fair to everybody and he believed in God with all his heart.
Then, on New Year’s Eve in 1998, almost 20 years after my mother and I started to practice, my father finally chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo on his own. That was another great benefit that we received from this practice. Finally, we were able to achieve our family kosen-rufu!
Now, my father is an active leader of the Men Division (MD) in our chapter who treats the members like his own children.
After more than 30 years of practicing Nichiren Buddhism, I can truly say that my family and I were really able to change our karma. My wife and I are now living in our own modest house together with our two kids, a son and a daughter, which is definitely a far cry from the house where I grew up.
I am now an entrepreneur who owns a small school supply shop and convenient store. My children will not be lacked of school supplies anymore and children can buy from our store on a discount because I wouldn’t like to see them refusing to go to school because their parents can’t afford to buy the things they need for school.
Not only did we conquer poverty and hopelessness, we are able to live our lives with a noble purpose and share the happiness of practicing this faith to other people who at one time in their lives also suffering from the same difficulties that we had.
I am forever grateful to my mother who has always been strong in her beliefs and encouraged all of her children to chant and practice sincerely.
On 15 February 2010, my mother, Angelina Gallardo, peacefully passed away in her sleep at the age of 65 after succumbing from stroke. She had several episodes of stroke in the past and we attributed the prolongation of her life (since her first attack in 1998) to her strong faith in the Gohonzon. And to my father, who despite his initial antagonistic view toward our practice became the reason why we developed our human revolution.
Maraming salamat po, Nanay at Tatay! (Thank you very much, Mom and Dad!)
I will forever cherish the Mystic Law and the Gohonzon and promise to share this Nichiren Buddhism to as many people as possible through words of encouragement and actual proof.
No matter what happens in my life, whether good or bad, I always apply the Gosho passage: “Suffer what there is to suffer, and enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo no matter what happens.”
Through strong faith in Nichiren Buddhism, Zalde Gallardo, a member from the Philippines, found the answer to a number of questions he had about life and succeeded in changing his family’s life. Influenced by his mother, Angelina, and following her lead to take up faith, chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and participating wholeheartedly in Gakkai and kosen-rufu activities, Zalde was able to achieve successful results in his study, overcome the poverty he and his family were facing and recovered from an illness. In addition, he and his family also succeeded in encouraging his father, who opposed their practice, to take up faith in Nichiren Buddhism, thus achieving their family kosen-rufu. Zalde hopes that the experience he and his family went through can inspire others to take faith in the Mystic Law and become truly happy despite all the problems in life.
My name is Zalde Gallardo from SGI-Philippines and this is my experience in faith:
“Why some people were born in so much poverty, with an ugly appearance and with low intelligence to match? On the other hand, why some people were so privileged who were born not only rich but with beauty and talent as well and high level of intelligence? If we are all created by a benevolent God, why the discrepancy among people are so extreme?”
These are the questions that I sought for an answer since my early childhood. I grew up in one of the slums in Manila, capital city of the Philippines. My parents were both from the provinces who escaped the poverty in their own families and went to the city in search of a “greener pasture”.
Since both of them are uneducated and not familiar with the city, they ended up working for a rich Chinese-Filipino family as housemaid and family driver respectively. There, they met, fell in love and finally got married.
As they could no longer stay together in the house of their employer when they got married, they settled down in a rented room located beside a filthy creek inhabited by squatters in the city who, like them, tried their luck in Manila.
There, all of their four children were born. We were so poor that sometimes we have to skip meals or subsist on rice porridge or rice and dried fish everyday just to keep us alive. All of us children were of course undernourished and most of the time wanting from a comfortable living environment.
The creek beside our “house” is so filthy due to garbage thrown by the residents and it also served as our comfort room since we didn’t have a toilet. To make the situation even worst, my mother developed a heart condition where it enlarged beyond its normal size causing so much discomfort for her as she became weak and couldn’t sleep well lying down as she felt that she’s drowning.
Despite our situation, my mother didn’t complain. Like a majority of Filipinos, she’s also a devout Catholic who regularly goes to church and pray the rosary every day. In fact, I became a religious boy myself and was even trained as an altar boy when I was eight years old. I regularly received lectures from the Bible and instructed to be prayerful as much as I could.
I even dreamt of becoming a Catholic priest when I grow up. But since the abovementioned questions linger on my mind, I asked our parish priest for an answer. He said that we cannot question God because he is God and we are mere common mortals. I just have to continue to be faithful and my rewards will be in “heaven”.
In short, I was not convinced but nonetheless don’t want to end up in “hell” after I die if I continue questioning my faith.
Then, in 1977, when I was 10 years old, our house was demolished by the government to give way for the flood control project of the city. I came home from school with our house being stripped off of its roof and walls. And since it’s just made up of wood and almost already dilapidated to start with, it took the demolition team no time at all to tear it down completely.
I couldn’t forget that day when I saw my mother quietly packing our things with tears in her eyes and telling us to take whatever useful possessions were left for us.
My father looked for a place where we could move to and make a new start. Fortunately, he has relatives living in the outskirt of Manila who upon hearing our situation took pity on us and find a place where we can stay.
Although the house where we transferred was not so different from the one we used to live, we were grateful because it’s not beside a dirty creek and there’s no possibility that we will be booted out like animals once again.
Despite our traumatic experience, our family continued to live as normal as possible. My father gave up his job as a family driver since the place where we transferred was far away from his employer. He became a cab (taxi) driver.
To help my father earn additional income, my mother started peddling vegetables and fish in the neighborhood with a friend who invested a small capital for such a business. They went from door to door early in the morning each day to sell.
One of their regular customers happens to be an SGI Women Division (WD) member and told them about a “prayer” that will surely attract customers and will make them (my mother and her friend) happy. Of course, what will make them happy is to attract customers and have all of their merchandise sold!
She wrote down in a piece of cigarette foil the word – Nam-myoho-renge-kyo – and instructed my mother and her friend to recite it over and over again. She promised that they will experience good results if they do that morning and evening. Thinking that it’s a magic word, they tried chanting and see what will happen.
And as if by luck, they had better sales everyday and they go home earlier than before since they sold out everything early and some customers were still asking for more.
They were thrilled by this newfound “prayer” and became interested to find out what this is all about. When they returned to the lady who introduced the chant to them, she invited them to attend a discussion meeting to be held in her house that evening. In that meeting, they learned that the chant is actually a Nichiren Buddhist chant and they also heard testimonials of its efficacy from the members who attended.
At first, my mother and her friend were reluctant to continue chanting but they were challenged by the WD member who introduced it to them by saying that if they want to change their destiny and become truly happy, then they should try this Nichiren Buddhism and continue chanting.
At that time, my mother’s friend was experiencing a difficult relationship with her husband’s relatives, which affected their family, and my mother was suffering from a heart disease and we were in dire poverty. So, they decided to give it a try and thought that if it won’t work, then, they can just quit the practice altogether.
We were surprised to see one day that instead of the Catholic prayer of the rosary that my mother used to do everyday, she’s now repeating a strange word over and over while kneel sitting with her palms pressed together.
It made us even more confused when some members came over and enshrined a scroll of paper in a wooden box which my mother asked my father to make. Thinking that it would be a medicine cabinet or something, he obliged; only to be dismayed when he found out what it was really for.
However, my mother was undaunted and seriously put this Buddhism to test through chanting and attending discussion meetings. She felt something real about this chant because whenever she chants, she becomes energized and the feeling of weakness disappears.
She can now sleep lying down without difficulty in breathing, which for sometime had been her major problem. And within three months of continuous practice of this faith, she regained her health and X-ray tests showed that her heart returned to its normal size.
That was her first major benefit from her practice and convinced her all the more that this philosophy is true. Meanwhile, my mother’s friend also experienced great benefit with her family encouraging each one of them to continue the practice with members in the SGI-Philippines.
Soon, my mother also encouraged me to chant and brought me to a meeting so that I can hear something about Buddhism directly from leaders and long time members. At that meeting, I asked the same questions (which are at the beginning of this testimonial) that have been bothering me for a long time.
There, I heard about the theory of Karma, the Buddhist principle of cause and effect and the Eternity of Life. The one who answered my questions reiterated that based on the Buddhist law of cause and effect, everything happens for a reason and everyone’s condition in life differs from one another due to individual karma each of us had created from our previous lives; that you should not blame a God or your parents or anybody for your circumstances because you, yourself, had created either positive or negative causes that made you who you are and the situations you are now in.
But since you cannot go back to your past lives, it’s important that you create value or good causes in the present so you can change your destiny and truly become happy. That made sense to me.
In fact, that was the answer that I’ve been long searching for! It gave me hope and courage to go on living because now I have the opportunity to change my destiny as well as my family!
I was 11 years old at that time but I made up my mind to try this Buddhism with the hope that our family’s situation will turn for the better. Together with my mother, I started chanting and involved myself with SGI activities such as zadankais (discussion meetings) and daimoku toso (chanting sessions) in our area.
We became the butt of joke in our neighborhood. Many thought that my mother became insane because of too much poverty that we were suffering from. They said that perhaps because we lacked food to eat most of the time, and my mother became lunatic and entered a religion, which might be of the “devil”.
My father also didn’t approve of my mother’s conversion to Buddhism. He said that he will respect my mother’s decision to change religion but he will never follow suit. His relatives in a way also tried to persuade my father to talk to my mother to return to being a Catholic.
But my mother became persistent with her new faith. She said that, through chanting, she found hope and courage to overcome her problems. She never felt as much happiness inside of her now that she’s chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
She told me that those people who were trying to dissuade her from this practice didn’t genuinely care for our family’s happiness and only say nasty things because they didn’t know anything about Buddhism. With that conviction, she continued chanting and attending SGI activities.
Because of my mother’s influence, I chanted for me to be able to go to high school since we couldn’t afford the tuition fee. During that time, only the elementary education was offered for free by public schools in the Philippines but not tuition fees for secondary level.
I’m the second child, and my older brother who is less than two years older than me, could barely make it to high school because of our financial condition. So, that’s the first thing that I chanted for, to be able to attend high school despite our situation.
My mother encouraged me to chant at least 30 minutes everyday to make my dreams come true. I even learned to do gongyo ahead of her since she had difficulty in pronouncing the words. I also encouraged my other siblings to chant and pray to the Gohonzon everyday.
Because of this, I received my first big benefit, as I was able to enter high school for free. I was able to top the entrance examination given to freshmen students which I really didn’t expect. I was just an average student back in my elementary years and was very shy.
Due to lack of food and school materials like books and notebooks, I couldn’t really concentrate on my studies. Most of the time, my siblings and I were discouraged to go to school because we didn’t have proper school uniforms or school supplies required by our teachers.
Seldom would I’ve eaten breakfast before going to school since we didn’t have any. I was very skinny and suffered from chronic colds. Thus, it was no wonder that my school performance was not that impressive. But I know that I could do better if given the opportunity.
That opportunity came when I started practicing this Buddhism. As I have topped the entrance examination in high school, I was given academic scholarship that allowed me to study in high school for free.
Because of the discipline and confidence I developed through participating in SGI activities such as the drum and bugle corps and culture festivals, I was able to maintain my scholarship all throughout my years in secondary level, became active in school activities, and graduated at the top of my class.
I attribute this achievement to my faith in the Gohonzon and my conviction that through chanting, I will change my destiny.
Because of that benefit of graduating as the class valedictorian in high school, I was able to enter college, once again, as an academic scholar. I never thought that I could finish high school much more enter a university!
But things that I prayed for are now coming true!
I was so elated by these benefits and continued participating in SGI activities as much as I could to show my appreciation to the Gohonzon. We were on our fifth year of practice and our family’s fortune was turning for the better.
My father was able to work in the Middle East as a truck driver which was actually a benefit that my mother chanted for. But since a lot of Filipinos were able to go to the Middle East to work during that time, my father didn’t consider that as a benefit of our faith.
I thought that since my mother, my other siblings and myself were sincerely practicing this faith, everything will be fine. Until one morning, I woke up coughing out blood! I was horrified!
I thought that the simple cough and colds that I was chronically suffering from was nothing to worry about. But I was wrong. It turned out that I was in moderately advance stage of pulmonary tuberculosis and I should take time out from school and recuperate by taking a combination of anti-TB drugs.
I was devastated because I was only 17 then and there were so many things in mind to accomplish. I turned to the Gohonzon and chanted even though I have no voice at that time.
I recall, based on our study of Ikeda sensei’s novel “The Human Revolution”, that sensei himself also suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and was told that he won’t reach the age of 30 because of his afflictions. However, due to his strong faith in the Gohonzon and rock- solid determination, he was able to overcome that illness and became the SGI President.
That gave me the inspiration to use my faith to defeat this obstacle. I clinged on to the Gosho passage that says, “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is like the roar of a lion, what sickness can therefore be an obstacle?”
With that conviction in mind, I chanted for seven hours a day while I took a leave of absence from the university. I took the doctor’s prescriptions and stayed at home for a while. In two weeks’ time, I was able to go back to school but under medication and continued my SGI activities.
My doctor assured me that as long as I was on medication, chances that I could infect other people was minimal. I just had to be careful with my personal hygiene, cover my mouth when coughing, and separate my eating utensils from the rest of my family.
With that, I continued with my studies and my other activities as if I was not sick. After six months of intensive treatment, and lots of daimoku chanting, I was able to overcome my disease. I believe that it’s the power of prayer that made my recuperation really fast. Once again, I was really full of appreciation for this benefit.
I finished college with a degree in Medical Technology at the Far Eastern University in Manila, with honors (Cum Laude), among almost 300 graduates. This was my most cherished dream, to have a college diploma, which has been the main reason why I started practicing.
At last, I was able to achieve what seems to be impossible when I was just a small kid! Now, I can proudly say that chanting really works! That this faith can really change anyone’s bad karma!
My benefits were far more than what I expected.
After, graduating from college, I took the licensure exams for Medical Technologists so I could practice my profession. I once again used my faith and the discipline I gained from this practice and applied myself in studying to pass the exams. Among the almost 2,000 examinees, I landed sixth place overall and number one from my university. Indeed, with faith nothing is impossible!
However, despite my achievements in school, I found out that finding a job where I could use what I learned from the university was really difficult. I was offered a teaching job from my own college but the salary was not enough to cover my daily expenses.
I have a younger sister whom I promised to help to go to college. Although my father was still working abroad, he was also having problems with his employers and had to transfer from one company to another. As a result, he irregularly sent money to our family which made it difficult for my other younger siblings to go to college as well.
By using once again the power of the Law, I chanted and chanted to have a job that would provide my family financial stability so that I could send my youngest sister to college.
I gave up my teaching job in the university and became involved in the pharmaceutical industry as a Medical Representative wherein we represented our company and visited target doctors to convince them to use our brand of medicine on their patients.
It was a tough job with so much pressure because it was sales related. But I enjoyed talking to doctors, convincing them, giving them information about our products and I loved the challenges that went with it.
I tried to introduce some of these doctors who became my friends to Nichiren Buddhism and SGI. The salary was good enough to support my family and send my sister to a university. And for the next 20 years, I was with the industry acting in different capacity from a medical representative to a sales manager.
I also considered those as benefits since I was, indeed, able to send my sister to college where she graduated as a Physical Therapist. She now lives in New Zealand together with her husband and two children.
I also chanted for my partner in life and for kosen-rufu. I believed that, through the workings of the Mystic Law, that my schoolmate in high school (who became my wife) and I were able to see each other again after several years on a commuter bus.
I had just attended an Young Men Division (YMD) discussion meeting in our Culture Center and on my way home, we chanced upon each other on the bus. After some asking “how’s life going on” kind of questions, we decided to meet again for some more catchup.
We became really good friends and after some time fell in love with each other. At first we never talked about our respective religions. She knew that I’m a practicing Buddhist and she respects my belief.
However, I chanted and prayed to the Gohonzon that she would be able to see the greatness of this faith so she can also become truly happy. She would ask me to join her to attend Catholic mass on Sundays, which I did for quite sometime. Then, I invited her to attend one of our SGI-meetings.
On the first meeting she attended, she noticed a familiar face in front of the members and told me that she thought she knew that lady sitting in front. As she was an SGI leader, I told her the name of that woman. She said that she was not sure because she looks like the lady who was their leader in their parish church when she was a kid. She said that that woman was a devout Catholic and couldn’t be the same person sitting in front of that SGI meeting.
Then, after the activity, we went to that SGI-WD leader so I could introduce my then-girl friend of one year to her. To my surprise, my girlfriend realized that she was the same lady who used to be their prayer leader and a very devout Catholic at that.
Because of that meeting, my then-girlfriend became intrigued about this Buddhism and started to read publications and asked questions to me and to other leaders about this faith. Eventually, she came to her own decision to practice and become a member of SGI. And before we finally got married, she’s already an active Young Women Division (YWD) member who chants daimoku and attends meetings together with me. That was a truly great benefit for me which I really chanted for!
My father, perhaps because of the actual proof that our family is showing, became less critical of our faith. However, he was caught in the middle of the Middle East crisis in 1990 and experienced the terror of war when the Iraqi soldiers conquered Kuwait where he was working.
For almost a year, we lost any form of contact with him and we didn’t know if he was still alive or not. Through all this uncertain times, my family and I only relied on our faith to the Gohonzon that somehow, our father would return home alive.
And that was what exactly happened!
He was repatriated back to the Philippines after the Americans and the Allied Forces were able to free Kuwait from Iraq. Although we were happy to see him back, my father was disillusioned and disappointed when he returned home.
He felt that all those years that he spent working away from his family were useless after all because all of his savings were taken away by the Iraqi soldiers and he went back home penniless just like before.
Despite our encouragement, he indulged himself in self-pity and most of the time quiet and sad. He blamed the Iraqis for his misfortune. He blamed himself for not putting his savings in the bank. He blamed my mother for not saving enough.
Through all these, we chanted for his happiness and the wisdom to realize that material things or money should not be the basis for his and our family’s happiness. For sometime, my father questioned why those things happened to him despite the fact he has been kind and fair to everybody and he believed in God with all his heart.
Then, on New Year’s Eve in 1998, almost 20 years after my mother and I started to practice, my father finally chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo on his own. That was another great benefit that we received from this practice. Finally, we were able to achieve our family kosen-rufu!
Now, my father is an active leader of the Men Division (MD) in our chapter who treats the members like his own children.
After more than 30 years of practicing Nichiren Buddhism, I can truly say that my family and I were really able to change our karma. My wife and I are now living in our own modest house together with our two kids, a son and a daughter, which is definitely a far cry from the house where I grew up.
I am now an entrepreneur who owns a small school supply shop and convenient store. My children will not be lacked of school supplies anymore and children can buy from our store on a discount because I wouldn’t like to see them refusing to go to school because their parents can’t afford to buy the things they need for school.
Not only did we conquer poverty and hopelessness, we are able to live our lives with a noble purpose and share the happiness of practicing this faith to other people who at one time in their lives also suffering from the same difficulties that we had.
I am forever grateful to my mother who has always been strong in her beliefs and encouraged all of her children to chant and practice sincerely.
On 15 February 2010, my mother, Angelina Gallardo, peacefully passed away in her sleep at the age of 65 after succumbing from stroke. She had several episodes of stroke in the past and we attributed the prolongation of her life (since her first attack in 1998) to her strong faith in the Gohonzon. And to my father, who despite his initial antagonistic view toward our practice became the reason why we developed our human revolution.
Maraming salamat po, Nanay at Tatay! (Thank you very much, Mom and Dad!)
I will forever cherish the Mystic Law and the Gohonzon and promise to share this Nichiren Buddhism to as many people as possible through words of encouragement and actual proof.
No matter what happens in my life, whether good or bad, I always apply the Gosho passage: “Suffer what there is to suffer, and enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo no matter what happens.”
Saturday, July 2, 2011
The amazing car saleman
http://chantforabetterlife.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/with-absolute-faith-gohonzon-would-give-us-the-best-arrangements-in-life/
Chanting abundant daimoku to the Gohonzon enables us to have the Buddha wisdom to find solutions to the problems we face and open the path to achieve our dreams. Tan Kian Ann, a YMD from Singapore did not have the required knowledge and experience to pursue the dream career he wants. However, through his faith, he eventually succeeds.
Good morning. My name is Kian Ann. I am from Singapore Soka Association (SSA), a YMD from Eunos Central Chapter, District 1.
I would like to share my testimonial on my career. Hope it can inspire our members.
I took up faith in Nichiren Daishonin’s buddhism in 2007. Since then, I had received many benefits in my career, which span over 3 years.
Since young, I had always loves sports cars like Porsche, Ferrari etc. I get excited and happy whenever I see these cars on the road. I dreamt to be a salesperson for such sports cars when I grow up.
After spending 10 years in the police force, I decided to venture into the car sales industry. I want to realise my dream.
However, there were 2 challenges in hand.
First, I do not have the sales experience and knowledge on cars. Second, I am the breadwinner in the family. I need a stable income to support my family.
The income from car sales is dependent on the sales I made every month. This means that I would not have a stable income to support my family. I chanted for the wisdom and courage to pursue my dream.
I went for several interviews but was unsuccessful. I was rejected due to my lack of sales experience and knowledge on cars. I chanted wholeheartedly to realise this dream and to get into a company where I can grow and learn.
I was fortunate to be selected by a company in which the boss decided to ‘try’ me.
I joined the company in June 2008. In the first 3 months, I struggled to equip myself with good knowledge on cars. I read magazines, journals, etc., till late every night to prepare myself better.
However, in Sep 2008, the world was hit by a financial crisis. This crisis had badly affected many industries worldwide, including the car sales industry.
My family and friends were saddened that I joined the industry at the wrong time. I only had 4 sales for the first 6 months.
The sales income was not enough for me to support my family. I had to dig into my personal savings to support my family.
I was worried the crisis would prolong and affect my sales. I chanted lots of daimoku and engaged myself in all Gakkai activities despite the worries I had.
The Daishonin said: “Winter always turn to spring. Never, from ancient times on, has anyone heard or seen of winter turning back to autumn. Nor have we ever heard of a believer in the Lotus Sutra who turned into an ordinary person.”
In fact, this crisis produces opportunities. As the crisis prolonged, the price of Continental cars (German and Italian, etc.) fell drastically. The drastic fall in price became an opportunity for many to buy Continental cars.
The sales of Continental cars grew. I sold 24 Continental cars to date. These sales range from between S$150,000 to S$500,000.
They include sports car brands like Audi, BMW, Porsche and Maserati. My best deal was a Maserati worth almost half a million dollars.
This was the biggest deal any salesperson in the company had closed. I was surprised that a newbie like me would be able to achieve such fantastic results in 3 years. This career had unleashed my potential in sales. I was also able to build trust and good relationships with my valued clients.
In addition, I was able to afford to take over a van from my relative and used it for kosen-rufu. My income was sufficient to pay for the expenses in using the van without digging into my personal savings.
From this experience, I would say that we must have absolute faith in Daishonin’s Buddhism. With absolute faith, Gohonzon would give us the best arrangements in life. No second best, but the BEST!
Thank you.
Chanting abundant daimoku to the Gohonzon enables us to have the Buddha wisdom to find solutions to the problems we face and open the path to achieve our dreams. Tan Kian Ann, a YMD from Singapore did not have the required knowledge and experience to pursue the dream career he wants. However, through his faith, he eventually succeeds.
Good morning. My name is Kian Ann. I am from Singapore Soka Association (SSA), a YMD from Eunos Central Chapter, District 1.
I would like to share my testimonial on my career. Hope it can inspire our members.
I took up faith in Nichiren Daishonin’s buddhism in 2007. Since then, I had received many benefits in my career, which span over 3 years.
Since young, I had always loves sports cars like Porsche, Ferrari etc. I get excited and happy whenever I see these cars on the road. I dreamt to be a salesperson for such sports cars when I grow up.
After spending 10 years in the police force, I decided to venture into the car sales industry. I want to realise my dream.
However, there were 2 challenges in hand.
First, I do not have the sales experience and knowledge on cars. Second, I am the breadwinner in the family. I need a stable income to support my family.
The income from car sales is dependent on the sales I made every month. This means that I would not have a stable income to support my family. I chanted for the wisdom and courage to pursue my dream.
I went for several interviews but was unsuccessful. I was rejected due to my lack of sales experience and knowledge on cars. I chanted wholeheartedly to realise this dream and to get into a company where I can grow and learn.
I was fortunate to be selected by a company in which the boss decided to ‘try’ me.
I joined the company in June 2008. In the first 3 months, I struggled to equip myself with good knowledge on cars. I read magazines, journals, etc., till late every night to prepare myself better.
However, in Sep 2008, the world was hit by a financial crisis. This crisis had badly affected many industries worldwide, including the car sales industry.
My family and friends were saddened that I joined the industry at the wrong time. I only had 4 sales for the first 6 months.
The sales income was not enough for me to support my family. I had to dig into my personal savings to support my family.
I was worried the crisis would prolong and affect my sales. I chanted lots of daimoku and engaged myself in all Gakkai activities despite the worries I had.
The Daishonin said: “Winter always turn to spring. Never, from ancient times on, has anyone heard or seen of winter turning back to autumn. Nor have we ever heard of a believer in the Lotus Sutra who turned into an ordinary person.”
In fact, this crisis produces opportunities. As the crisis prolonged, the price of Continental cars (German and Italian, etc.) fell drastically. The drastic fall in price became an opportunity for many to buy Continental cars.
The sales of Continental cars grew. I sold 24 Continental cars to date. These sales range from between S$150,000 to S$500,000.
They include sports car brands like Audi, BMW, Porsche and Maserati. My best deal was a Maserati worth almost half a million dollars.
This was the biggest deal any salesperson in the company had closed. I was surprised that a newbie like me would be able to achieve such fantastic results in 3 years. This career had unleashed my potential in sales. I was also able to build trust and good relationships with my valued clients.
In addition, I was able to afford to take over a van from my relative and used it for kosen-rufu. My income was sufficient to pay for the expenses in using the van without digging into my personal savings.
From this experience, I would say that we must have absolute faith in Daishonin’s Buddhism. With absolute faith, Gohonzon would give us the best arrangements in life. No second best, but the BEST!
Thank you.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Amazing testimonial
The Greater South Asia Conference
My name is Devi Ghosh I started practicing Nichiren Buddhism in India in Dec 2005. When I joined I was obsessed with my glamorous but stressful job as Brand Manager of Bulgari and Ferragamo perfumes India . For this reason my husband and I had to live separately in different countries for 2 years pursuing our careers.
One day my business associate gave me some Buddhist books to read. I dumped those into the garbage. One Saturday morning, 8 months later, I woke up in a depression. I called, drove an hour to her home to learn how to chant, and in a few days my home had a constant stream of people I had never seen or met coming to chant with me. I was never alone again.
In August 2006 August, I decided that my family is equally if not more important than my career and I moved to the US with my husband. I received the Gohonzon in September and set about getting a job and kick start my career in US. With my global company experience I knew it would be a cake walk. My confidence was to the extent of being faulty. I expected an equivalent position to the one I left in India . I thought they will come knocking and roll out the red carpet. I was in for a rude awakening…….
I made a list of goals, started chanting an hour everyday and sent out about 5-10 resumes a day. The recruiting companies showed excitement in my resume. In 9 months, I interviewed with 6 companies. With each, I went through 3-4 rounds. With one, I had 7 rounds, including one with a psychoanalyst to see if was a "right fit!" Each time I felt, this is it. But no offer. Not one. I received e-mails noting my global experience, my energy, my vibrant personality, and then thanking me for my time. The reasons – I was overqualified and I had no American experience. How could both be listed as problems!!!
At one point it was humiliating to take an English writing test to prove that I could read, write and speak or to hear that I did not fit the profile of the low energy candidate they were seeking!!!!!!! My pride, my self-esteem took a beating. Our marriage began feeling the strain. Despite his unending support, my husband felt guilty that because of him I ruined my career.
Why was my chanting not working? I listened to all encouragement with a closed mind. Ya, ya, ya. I know all, I would think to myself. Last year when I got a call to attend GSA, I offered many reasons why I could not come. Many conversations and calls later, I was pulled into the excitement. I came with the expectation that this would be my biggest cause to generate the fortune I needed to crack my job karma and I loved every moment of it. On my return, I came down from my high horse and started sending out 10-15 resumes a day. I modified scaled back- on-experience resumes and started applying for entry-level positions. Outcome- not even a single interview only rejects.
Two months later, I took a job as a Sales Associate at clothing store at $10.00 per hour. I sold clothes, cleaned windows, mopped floors, and emptied the garbage cart. In the spirit of taking action to match my prayer, I also took a web developer course hoping that some kind of certification in US would open doors for me. I was the oldest in the class, with no background in graphic design and MAC computer scared me to death! I was going to school after 20 yrs. So I chanted 2 hours a day to overcome my fear and just to understand and grasp what my professor is saying and poured all my passion into learning-working 12 hours a day and asking lots of questions. I was 3rd in my class of 25.
Still no job, and then I just stopped applying. I finally succumbed to the seduction of the Devil of the Sixth Heaven. I gave up. "Destiny cannot be changed, deal with it" I told myself. I need to accept my situation and move on. Still hungry for a challenge, in December last year I walked into the showroom of a small cosmetic company and came out with a very small job. I thought, finally some American experience, however small it is….it's still a job!
Going on for 4 months, on the day my first shakubuku received her Gohonzon, next day my company declared bankruptcy and I lost my job. Doubt came gushing back. On the day I made the highest possible cause in faith! The wonderful part of this SGI is that while you can throw a tantrum you are not allowed to give up. Rather, you are encouraged to do more, like I was asked by my seniors in faith to accept group leadership. Are these people crazy? I thought. I did strategies to avoid but I couldn't and finally accepted kicking and screaming. I feel grateful that because of this I was able to look beyond myself as I started doing home visits for members. One day a family friend told me of a job for an entry-level web developer. I interviewed, was offered the position, and then the offer was revoked due to lack of funds. Instead they asked me to design their new website from home as a consultant. Desperate for any experience, I accepted. With 90% of the work done after, they called and said they had dropped the project. I was shocked, stunned. I was not paid a dime.
It was as the Gosho says: "Constantly dwelling in hell, strolling in it as though it were a garden." (Letter to Brothers, WND pg. 494). Rejected, dejected, battered, I thought of returning my Gohonzon. I thought my husband who is not yet a member is right; this practice was for spiritual upliftment, not for tangible results. Al Bailey came to our district discussion meeting as leader's guest in July. Raising this point with Al Bailey, I was expecting him to share some quotes from President Ikeda and the Gosho, instead he said: "I have a secret recipe that bakes a fabulous cake. If you miss even one step, don't blame the recipe. Chant 2-3 hours a day, study, apply for jobs in a way you have never done before, and share this Buddhism with one person everyday. Do this for 100 days. If you do not have a job by then, I will return my Gohonzon." And then he left.
Struck by what Al Bailey said, I decided to bake my cake. The first 3 steps – chant, study and apply I could do. And I strategized that I am not going to do the last step. How was I supposed to talk with someone everyday when I did not even leave house for more than 2 days a week. My cake would be chocolate instead of vanilla, I justified to myself.
I would follow the first 3 steps. Then I got the call for attending GSA 2008. "What GSA?" I said. "I am not even sure if I want to practice." I was quoted the Gosho by my seniors in faith: "It is like the case of a person who falls to the ground, but who then pushes himself up from the ground and rises to his feet again." (Proof of the Lotus Sutra WND Pg 1108) and encouraged to use my setbacks as the support to stand up yet again. Give it one last serious 500% effort.
The next day, August 8th, my 2 hours of chanting were about finding a person who was really seeking this Gohonzon. I also decided for an insane job profile for myself after 100 days. I wanted it all….web design, advertising, PR everything.
On Day 1, I sent two e-mails to 2 friends telling them about the practice. No response. Day 2, i sent two more email to two different friends in India . One wrote back, she would check us out on the web! Day 3, I chanted to meet someone. I did not get a chance to go out that day but in the evening got invited to a last-minute dinner at a friend's house. There she asked me to explain the practice to her and 3 of her guests. Four in 1 day!!!!!! I became a little more confident and bought the Nam -myoho-renge- kyo card's and kept them in my purse. For the next few days, each day I made an effort to go out and surprisingly each day I met people who would engage me in conversation for no reason and ended up giving each of them a card.
I introduced my Indian grocer, the owner of my favorite Chinese restaurant. Suddenly I was surrounded by people wanting to talk with me. Of course, I would end up talking with them about Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and giving them my new "business" card. I was experiencing a never before magic. My daimoku started sounding different.
I was a little overwhelmed thinking something is different, something is not usual. I increased to 3 hours and started waking up at 5.00 am something I have never done my entire life. I realized that I was no longer chanting for a job but simply to meet people who needed this practice. My situation was the same, but something changed inside. I felt light, I felt hope, I felt my heart expanding. I felt my shoulders were light.
It was a feeling that's beyond explanation. Then I started doing something I had never done in my job search before. Following-up and taking serious action. Nobody told me to do this, it just came from within. I began to track down names and specific email ID's of HR managers rather than post my resume online or send them to a generic email address. Then I would make phone calls to confirm my resume was received. Each day I spent 3 hours doing this. Strange things began to happen. People started calling me back and asking questions. Online postings, which were earlier a black hole, even from there I was getting calls. This movement was scary and made me nervous. Is this is what they talk about ? I thought. After less than a week, I was called for an interview, then a second round and third led to an offer. During the last interview, the conversation somehow turned to the Dalai Lama, then Richard Gere and Buddhism. I shakubukued the Vice President and her Assistant. Rather than the usual thank you note after an interview, I e-mailed them the audio of chanting. They are now attending regular meetings, are connected to the districts.
Just as I was about to accept the offer, my husband did some online search and found that the company was in a lot of legal trouble. I did not flip. No fear. No complaint. No why me? Just what should I do next? Also, I got involved in GSA FNCC promotion, continued wholeheartedly visiting new members home in my group and of course, continued to do shakubuku everyday. At the Loft, where I worked part, I introduced 7 people. One has become the member already and 3 others are attending meetings.
A campaign I started with such skepticism was taking on a magnitude of gigantic proportions!!! In search of my insanely hopeful dream job - a combination of web development, interactive marketing, brand management, advertising, and public relations – I came across a junior level position. I called up and left a message for the hiring manager.
I called back next day again. When I called the 3rd time she told me she had not received my resume. So I faxed it and called back yet again to check if she had received it. She told me then that she was only interviewing people who were following-up and with my 4 calls, she definitely wanted to meet me. The conversation turned into a telephone interview right then. Towards the end, she explained that since theirs was a search firm, managers worked on very high commission. Without hesitation I said, then maybe this job is not for me. I told her that I could not work at a place where my time is not valued and effort not respected. Commission must come with a base salary, I told her. She invited me for an inperson interview the next day.
The interview was 3 hours long. I have never had someone go through my resume line by line and ask details in 12 years of working. She read between the lines, dug out the information that cannot be mentioned in a 3 page resume. I honestly and fearlessly told her of my two jobs. I did not hold back anything. Finally said, "I won't hire you for this job that you have applied for because this is too junior a position for your kind of experience. Instead, I will hire you to run another division of the Company and build it up from scratch. We will give you a separate office, your hire your own team, and you run the business independently." I was dumbstruck. "We launched a career portal in December last year and have interviewed many people in these last 8 months. We didn't find the right person with right experience, right attitude, right energy level. You experience shows that you have the ability to learn something new and make it work. You are kind of person who will figure out a solution to a problem. We would be fortunate to have you on board." By that time my ears turned red, I felt nauseous. Could this be happening to me? Did I really hear her say all this? Someone could finally see that my work was worthy of respect!
After two more interviews they told me my job profile – it had everything I had wanted on my dream job list. And of all things on this planet – I will be managing a career portal! Does it get more mystic than this? How many despairing people can I give hope to? How will I use each negative experience in my job search to make this the best job portal ever? I started my job on September 2nd. I am feeling overwhelmed with the trust being placed in me. My husband is now saying that daimoku has the capacity to vibrate atoms and molecules in the universe. It is day 20 and I have done 26 shakubuku. 12 people have attended various meetings. Because of this GSA campaign I was able to crack and shatter the wall of my karma. My cake is baking.
From just looking at the batter, I know it will be more moist, more luscious, more sinful, more delectable. I called Al and shared my break-through with him. My 100 day campaign will not end with 100! I have discovered a freedom, a confidence, and a purpose in life that indescribable. Every suffering of the last two years has taken on a golden hue. As Sensei says "Soka Gakkai is an organization of lions". It is my promise to sensei that, I will "castoff my transient and reveal my true identity" as a votary of the Lotus Sutra and disciple of Daisaku Ikeda.
Thank you, Sensei!!
My name is Devi Ghosh I started practicing Nichiren Buddhism in India in Dec 2005. When I joined I was obsessed with my glamorous but stressful job as Brand Manager of Bulgari and Ferragamo perfumes India . For this reason my husband and I had to live separately in different countries for 2 years pursuing our careers.
One day my business associate gave me some Buddhist books to read. I dumped those into the garbage. One Saturday morning, 8 months later, I woke up in a depression. I called, drove an hour to her home to learn how to chant, and in a few days my home had a constant stream of people I had never seen or met coming to chant with me. I was never alone again.
In August 2006 August, I decided that my family is equally if not more important than my career and I moved to the US with my husband. I received the Gohonzon in September and set about getting a job and kick start my career in US. With my global company experience I knew it would be a cake walk. My confidence was to the extent of being faulty. I expected an equivalent position to the one I left in India . I thought they will come knocking and roll out the red carpet. I was in for a rude awakening…….
I made a list of goals, started chanting an hour everyday and sent out about 5-10 resumes a day. The recruiting companies showed excitement in my resume. In 9 months, I interviewed with 6 companies. With each, I went through 3-4 rounds. With one, I had 7 rounds, including one with a psychoanalyst to see if was a "right fit!" Each time I felt, this is it. But no offer. Not one. I received e-mails noting my global experience, my energy, my vibrant personality, and then thanking me for my time. The reasons – I was overqualified and I had no American experience. How could both be listed as problems!!!
At one point it was humiliating to take an English writing test to prove that I could read, write and speak or to hear that I did not fit the profile of the low energy candidate they were seeking!!!!!!! My pride, my self-esteem took a beating. Our marriage began feeling the strain. Despite his unending support, my husband felt guilty that because of him I ruined my career.
Why was my chanting not working? I listened to all encouragement with a closed mind. Ya, ya, ya. I know all, I would think to myself. Last year when I got a call to attend GSA, I offered many reasons why I could not come. Many conversations and calls later, I was pulled into the excitement. I came with the expectation that this would be my biggest cause to generate the fortune I needed to crack my job karma and I loved every moment of it. On my return, I came down from my high horse and started sending out 10-15 resumes a day. I modified scaled back- on-experience resumes and started applying for entry-level positions. Outcome- not even a single interview only rejects.
Two months later, I took a job as a Sales Associate at clothing store at $10.00 per hour. I sold clothes, cleaned windows, mopped floors, and emptied the garbage cart. In the spirit of taking action to match my prayer, I also took a web developer course hoping that some kind of certification in US would open doors for me. I was the oldest in the class, with no background in graphic design and MAC computer scared me to death! I was going to school after 20 yrs. So I chanted 2 hours a day to overcome my fear and just to understand and grasp what my professor is saying and poured all my passion into learning-working 12 hours a day and asking lots of questions. I was 3rd in my class of 25.
Still no job, and then I just stopped applying. I finally succumbed to the seduction of the Devil of the Sixth Heaven. I gave up. "Destiny cannot be changed, deal with it" I told myself. I need to accept my situation and move on. Still hungry for a challenge, in December last year I walked into the showroom of a small cosmetic company and came out with a very small job. I thought, finally some American experience, however small it is….it's still a job!
Going on for 4 months, on the day my first shakubuku received her Gohonzon, next day my company declared bankruptcy and I lost my job. Doubt came gushing back. On the day I made the highest possible cause in faith! The wonderful part of this SGI is that while you can throw a tantrum you are not allowed to give up. Rather, you are encouraged to do more, like I was asked by my seniors in faith to accept group leadership. Are these people crazy? I thought. I did strategies to avoid but I couldn't and finally accepted kicking and screaming. I feel grateful that because of this I was able to look beyond myself as I started doing home visits for members. One day a family friend told me of a job for an entry-level web developer. I interviewed, was offered the position, and then the offer was revoked due to lack of funds. Instead they asked me to design their new website from home as a consultant. Desperate for any experience, I accepted. With 90% of the work done after, they called and said they had dropped the project. I was shocked, stunned. I was not paid a dime.
It was as the Gosho says: "Constantly dwelling in hell, strolling in it as though it were a garden." (Letter to Brothers, WND pg. 494). Rejected, dejected, battered, I thought of returning my Gohonzon. I thought my husband who is not yet a member is right; this practice was for spiritual upliftment, not for tangible results. Al Bailey came to our district discussion meeting as leader's guest in July. Raising this point with Al Bailey, I was expecting him to share some quotes from President Ikeda and the Gosho, instead he said: "I have a secret recipe that bakes a fabulous cake. If you miss even one step, don't blame the recipe. Chant 2-3 hours a day, study, apply for jobs in a way you have never done before, and share this Buddhism with one person everyday. Do this for 100 days. If you do not have a job by then, I will return my Gohonzon." And then he left.
Struck by what Al Bailey said, I decided to bake my cake. The first 3 steps – chant, study and apply I could do. And I strategized that I am not going to do the last step. How was I supposed to talk with someone everyday when I did not even leave house for more than 2 days a week. My cake would be chocolate instead of vanilla, I justified to myself.
I would follow the first 3 steps. Then I got the call for attending GSA 2008. "What GSA?" I said. "I am not even sure if I want to practice." I was quoted the Gosho by my seniors in faith: "It is like the case of a person who falls to the ground, but who then pushes himself up from the ground and rises to his feet again." (Proof of the Lotus Sutra WND Pg 1108) and encouraged to use my setbacks as the support to stand up yet again. Give it one last serious 500% effort.
The next day, August 8th, my 2 hours of chanting were about finding a person who was really seeking this Gohonzon. I also decided for an insane job profile for myself after 100 days. I wanted it all….web design, advertising, PR everything.
On Day 1, I sent two e-mails to 2 friends telling them about the practice. No response. Day 2, i sent two more email to two different friends in India . One wrote back, she would check us out on the web! Day 3, I chanted to meet someone. I did not get a chance to go out that day but in the evening got invited to a last-minute dinner at a friend's house. There she asked me to explain the practice to her and 3 of her guests. Four in 1 day!!!!!! I became a little more confident and bought the Nam -myoho-renge- kyo card's and kept them in my purse. For the next few days, each day I made an effort to go out and surprisingly each day I met people who would engage me in conversation for no reason and ended up giving each of them a card.
I introduced my Indian grocer, the owner of my favorite Chinese restaurant. Suddenly I was surrounded by people wanting to talk with me. Of course, I would end up talking with them about Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and giving them my new "business" card. I was experiencing a never before magic. My daimoku started sounding different.
I was a little overwhelmed thinking something is different, something is not usual. I increased to 3 hours and started waking up at 5.00 am something I have never done my entire life. I realized that I was no longer chanting for a job but simply to meet people who needed this practice. My situation was the same, but something changed inside. I felt light, I felt hope, I felt my heart expanding. I felt my shoulders were light.
It was a feeling that's beyond explanation. Then I started doing something I had never done in my job search before. Following-up and taking serious action. Nobody told me to do this, it just came from within. I began to track down names and specific email ID's of HR managers rather than post my resume online or send them to a generic email address. Then I would make phone calls to confirm my resume was received. Each day I spent 3 hours doing this. Strange things began to happen. People started calling me back and asking questions. Online postings, which were earlier a black hole, even from there I was getting calls. This movement was scary and made me nervous. Is this is what they talk about ? I thought. After less than a week, I was called for an interview, then a second round and third led to an offer. During the last interview, the conversation somehow turned to the Dalai Lama, then Richard Gere and Buddhism. I shakubukued the Vice President and her Assistant. Rather than the usual thank you note after an interview, I e-mailed them the audio of chanting. They are now attending regular meetings, are connected to the districts.
Just as I was about to accept the offer, my husband did some online search and found that the company was in a lot of legal trouble. I did not flip. No fear. No complaint. No why me? Just what should I do next? Also, I got involved in GSA FNCC promotion, continued wholeheartedly visiting new members home in my group and of course, continued to do shakubuku everyday. At the Loft, where I worked part, I introduced 7 people. One has become the member already and 3 others are attending meetings.
A campaign I started with such skepticism was taking on a magnitude of gigantic proportions!!! In search of my insanely hopeful dream job - a combination of web development, interactive marketing, brand management, advertising, and public relations – I came across a junior level position. I called up and left a message for the hiring manager.
I called back next day again. When I called the 3rd time she told me she had not received my resume. So I faxed it and called back yet again to check if she had received it. She told me then that she was only interviewing people who were following-up and with my 4 calls, she definitely wanted to meet me. The conversation turned into a telephone interview right then. Towards the end, she explained that since theirs was a search firm, managers worked on very high commission. Without hesitation I said, then maybe this job is not for me. I told her that I could not work at a place where my time is not valued and effort not respected. Commission must come with a base salary, I told her. She invited me for an inperson interview the next day.
The interview was 3 hours long. I have never had someone go through my resume line by line and ask details in 12 years of working. She read between the lines, dug out the information that cannot be mentioned in a 3 page resume. I honestly and fearlessly told her of my two jobs. I did not hold back anything. Finally said, "I won't hire you for this job that you have applied for because this is too junior a position for your kind of experience. Instead, I will hire you to run another division of the Company and build it up from scratch. We will give you a separate office, your hire your own team, and you run the business independently." I was dumbstruck. "We launched a career portal in December last year and have interviewed many people in these last 8 months. We didn't find the right person with right experience, right attitude, right energy level. You experience shows that you have the ability to learn something new and make it work. You are kind of person who will figure out a solution to a problem. We would be fortunate to have you on board." By that time my ears turned red, I felt nauseous. Could this be happening to me? Did I really hear her say all this? Someone could finally see that my work was worthy of respect!
After two more interviews they told me my job profile – it had everything I had wanted on my dream job list. And of all things on this planet – I will be managing a career portal! Does it get more mystic than this? How many despairing people can I give hope to? How will I use each negative experience in my job search to make this the best job portal ever? I started my job on September 2nd. I am feeling overwhelmed with the trust being placed in me. My husband is now saying that daimoku has the capacity to vibrate atoms and molecules in the universe. It is day 20 and I have done 26 shakubuku. 12 people have attended various meetings. Because of this GSA campaign I was able to crack and shatter the wall of my karma. My cake is baking.
From just looking at the batter, I know it will be more moist, more luscious, more sinful, more delectable. I called Al and shared my break-through with him. My 100 day campaign will not end with 100! I have discovered a freedom, a confidence, and a purpose in life that indescribable. Every suffering of the last two years has taken on a golden hue. As Sensei says "Soka Gakkai is an organization of lions". It is my promise to sensei that, I will "castoff my transient and reveal my true identity" as a votary of the Lotus Sutra and disciple of Daisaku Ikeda.
Thank you, Sensei!!
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