NOW

Never Give up on Your Dreams

Linda Johnson’s speech by Mark A. Grasso (2001) 

This is a brief summary of a speech by Linda Johnson. She is an SGI-USA leader in California and presented this speech to the SQl-USA Arts Division on 29-may-2001. In addition to taking responsibility for several thousand SQl-USA members in Southern California, Linda Johnson is also a practicing criminal lawyer. She supervises nine other lawyers and carries her own case load.

In her talk, she shares her insights regarding the Buddhist principle of’esho funi’, ‘the inseparability of living beings and their environment’, and how to put this principle into practice in order to fulfill one’s dreams.

To state her main point; we practice this Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin in order to fulfill all of our dreams in life. In the process of fulfilling our dreams by practicing Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we will have the opportunity to encourage others by sharing our own experiences. We might consider our experiences to be ‘living’ Buddhist ‘parables’ that we use to share Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism with others.

In this sense, pursuing our dreams by using Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is ‘jigyo’, or ‘practice for ourselves’ and using our experiences to encourage others is ‘keta’, or ‘practice for others’. Using our experiences to encourage others, gives tremendous power to our own prayers and creates even greater joy and satisfaction in our life.

Whereas most of us see a clear separation between ourselves and our environment [social, natural, etc.], the principle of ‘esho funi’ states that, in fact, there is no separation whatsoever. What we do, the actions that we take with our thoughts, words and deeds, is always reflected in our surroundings.

Often when we chant daimoku and make effort for some goal, it seems like we draw opposition from our surroundings. It is normal to take this negative reaction as a ‘sign’ or an indication that we cannot achieve our goal.

However, as she points out, according to ‘esho funi’, our surroundings are the reflection of our ‘true heart’, our true conviction, not the cause of it. And, if our true heart is, “I cannot do it”, our surroundings are equally going to agree.

Using the principle of ‘esho funi’ means that we recognize that our environment is only and always the reflection of our own true life-state. From that perspective, our environment is showing us exactly the parts of our life that cause us to give up, to give up on ourselves.

Supported by this insight, we return to the Gohonzon and our Buddhist faith, practice and study [‘shin, gyo, gaku’] to challenge our own inherent doubt and replace it with true, unshakeable confidence.

Striving for a dream always means encountering our own ‘doubting’ selves. However, challenging our inherent weakness and pursuing our dream is exactly the action that develops true confidence.

Because we are Buddhas, we inherently possess every resource necessary to achieve our dreams. There is no one any better than we are. Neither is there anyone who is any less than we are. And by striving for our own dream using, as Nichiren Daishonin says, “the mighty sword of the Lotus Sutra”, the Gohonzon, we gain the experience to fullfill our dreams and encourage others.

Thoughts concerning this speech by Mark A. Grasso: We validate the power of our prayer whenever we pull obstacles from our environment in precise opposition to our goal. Everyone can have a dream. However, reaching that dream necessarily means developing one’s capacity to embrace that dream with one’s whole heart, with one’s whole confidence.

Developing the capacity to embrace one’s dream wholeheartedly, comes from the struggle against opposition. In other words, in order to have a dream, we must be equally prepared to face the challenge of fulfilling that dream.

This is where, I believe, most of us hesitate. To paraphrase Nichiren Daishonin: “It is only lack of courage that has prevented us from achieving Buddhahood until now.” What is required, is the courage to overcome our own ‘cowardly’ nature and make the determination to indeed, call forth the opposition that will train us in order to fulfill our goal.

At the level of a Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin declared that unless he could call forth the “Three Powerful Enemies” [as described in the Lotus Sutra who persecute the ‘votary of the Lotus Sutra’], then he was not the true ‘votary of the Lotus Sutra’. First and foremost, Nichiren Daishonin based himself upon the standard of actual proof.

One’s powerful prayer, based on ‘Myoho’, will always call forth opposition as well as support and power in order to fulfill one’s dreams. However, our fundamental posture in prayer or ‘ichinen’ [‘determination’] is important. In “The Opening of the Eyes (II)” Gosho, after raising the question about his apparent lack of protection by the ‘heavenly deities’ who promised in the Lotus Sutra to protect the ‘votary of the Lotus Sutra’, 

Nichiren Daishonin declared:

"This I will state: Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions assail me. Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law. Here I will make a great vow. Though I may be offered the rulership of Japan if I would only abandon the Lotus Sutra, accept the teachings of the Meditation Sutra, and look forward to rebirth in the Pure Land, though I might be told that my mother and father will have their heads cut off if I do not recite the Nembutsu -- whatever obstacles I might encounter, so long as persons of wisdom do not prove my teachings false, I will never yield! All other troubles are no more to me than dust before the wind. I will be the pillar of Japan. I will be the eyes of Japan. I will be the great ship of Japan. This is my vow, and I will never forsake it!” [The Opening of the Eyes (II), WND, p. 280, written in March 1272 from exile on Sado Island] 

No matter what our dream, the determination to achieve it is in no way different from this.He further stated to Shijo Kingo and his wife and to their infant daughter, Kyo’o: “The mighty sword of the Lotus Sutra [Gohonzon] must be wielded by one courageous in faith. Then one will be as strong as a demon armed with an iron staff.” [Reply to Kyo’o, WND, p. 4121

I believe this expresses a fundamental point of guidance in the Daishonin’s Buddhism for putting faith into practice to fulfill our dreams.

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1.02.28

Ichinen

David Bloomfield discusses the meaning of this vital concept
from UKE January 1998 

                                                      by Bonita

We sometimes hear of people accomplishing superhuman feats in the face of extreme adversity: a mother lifting the impossible weight of a truck that threatens to crush her offspring; a crippled dancer who, advised by medical experts that she will never walk again, goes on to prove that she can; a prisoner of war who, against all the odds, survives his torturous ordeals to escape. These people have incredible determination. In Buddhist terms, the actions of these people are a manifestation of their strong ichinen.

The renowned Buddhist scholar and priest T'ien-t'ai (538-97) used this term in his analysis of life, based on the Lotus Sutra. His theory, known as ichinen sanzen, outlines the enormous scope of expression which life is able to manifest from moment to moment. Ichinen (one mind or life-moment) refers to the entity of life, and sanzen (three thousand) to the various aspects that this entity expresses. Together they mean the totality of life in a single moment.

What we do, what we think and the way we behave, are all manifestations of our ichinen. it is the motivating force which permeates every aspect of our existence, even beyond our conscious thoughts. Most importantly, this theory signifies that all people have the potential to reveal Buddhahood.

By inscribing the Gohonzon, Nichiren Daishonin established the means whereby anyone can actually realize Buddhahood in their daily lives. Through the fusion of our lives with the Gohonzon in our daily practice, and our determination to realize our goals, we are able to achieve what we had previously thought unachievable. Like the engines and rudder of a powerful ship on the high seas, our strong ichinen faultlessly guides us to our destination. If our ichinen is weak however, we drift aimlessly, and inevitably succumb to the raging torrents of our own negativity.

Second Soka Gakkai President, Josei Toda, explained that ichinen has six meanings.
Firstly, he said, ichinen is revealed in thoughts, appearance and behaviour, thus encompassing the oneness of body and mind (shiki shin funi).

Secondly, ichinen comprises both positive and negative tendencies. Our lives can be directed towards happiness and fulfillment, or suffering and destruction. Take, for example, the continuing conflict over Northern Ireland. A positive approach to its resolution is taken by those prepared to enter into dialogue based on respect, with the objective of securing lasting peace through peaceful means. On the other hand, terrorists, who are prepared to destroy lives, including perhaps even their own, reveal their ichinen in a negative way. However, with a change of heart, even such negative intentions can be instantly transformed and start to create value. Equally, we can devote ourselves to creating value and helping others, only to give in to our negativity at the crucial moment when our positive intentions are undermined.

Thirdly, our ichinen expresses the oneness of self and environment (esho funi). Whatever our life-state, it pervades the entire universe and affects everything:
…"if the minds of the people are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds" (MW-1, p. 4).

Fourthly, the simultaneity of cause and effect (inga guji) is contained within our ichinen. In a single moment our ichinen is revealed in each cause we make (through thought, word and deed) the effect being created simultaneously, simply waiting for the right circumstances to appear. The moment our ichinen changes, our situation changes, even though it may not be apparent immediately. The act of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon contains both cause, faith in the Gohonzon, and effect, revealing our Buddhahood.

The above four meanings of ichinen deal with life's reality at each moment from a general point of view. Whether people practise Buddhism or not, their ichinen encompasses every aspect of their existence. The fifth and sixth meanings deal specifically with those who practise to the Gohonzon. In theory everyone possesses Buddhahood but in reality, few can actually reveal it unless they chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the Gohonzon.

This is the fifth meaning of ichinen, as outlined by Josei Toda. Through faith in the Gohonzon, we can activate our Buddha nature and the power of the Law, and live, moment by moment, in the highest possible life condition.

Finally, ichinen encompasses the Oneness of the Person and the Law, which is inscribed in the centre of the Gohonzon as 'Nam-myoho-renge-kyo Nichiren'. The Gohonzon embodies ichinen sanzen as a concrete reality. We reveal Buddhahood through the fusion of our enlightened life with the Law of the universe.

"Even our eternal journey through time is included in this single moment of life. An individual's daimoku and determination in faith at this moment form causes that will later become manifest, based on the principle of the simultaneity of cause and effect. For this reason, your ichinen at this very moment is the most important issue in the Daishonin's Buddhism". (Daisaku Ikeda, Daily Guidance, Vol. 3, p. 235).