An Experience by Charles Johnson

By Charles Johnson

In the year of 1963, I was nine years old. My mother got me a membership to Uncle Ray’s Scrapbook club. Each week in the Worcester Massachusetts Telegram, the local Newspaper, Uncle Ray would write articles about History, Science and the World around us. The very first article I that I pasted into my scrapbook was an article and a picture of Shakyamuni Buddha. My Mother told me about the Buddha’s compassion for everything of this world. I told my mother at that time, this is how I would live my life.

It was many years later that a friend helped me to re-awaken what had been buried in my heart for so many years and led me to receive Gohonzon in Boston, Massachusetts in September of 2006...

In 2007, I worked as a Television Production Instructor for the United States Army’s, 3rd Psychological Operations Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The work involved spending 2 weeks on Base and then 3 weeks off. The pay was phenomenal.

Then 2008 arrived and all the work dried up as all of my students were being deployed around the world. I had enough money for food and to pay my mortgage for 5 months and that was it. When you work as a contractor to the Military there is no unemployment. So, I started sending out resumes and looking for work online.

On top of being out of work with no income, in March of 2008, my best friend, my 17 year old cat, became gravely ill. I was faced with the hardest obstacle of my life as it was necessary for me and a veterinarian to ease his suffering and help him go home.
The road I was traveling had gotten very dark, but I managed to keep the light of hope and strength burning brightly by doing Gongyo twice a day and chanting continuously.

As the end of May rolled around, I had enough money for my June mortgage payment, leaving me with $35. dollars in my savings account.
I chanted with ever growing Faith and Determination, to find a job where my skill set would be highly sought after by a company whose product I could truly say I believed in. I wanted to be part of a team that made a positive difference in this world by bringing truth and not fantasy to people.

                                             ~FireFlyGal

By mid-June, I cut back to one meal a day. As I made a bowl of rice one evening, I placed a teaspoonful of uncooked rice in a small cup and set it in front of my Gohonzon as I started my evening prayers. I still have the same cup of rice on my altar today.


The very next day, I received a phone call from Discovery Communications. They said they had read my resume on line and asked if I could come to Silver Spring at their expense for an interview. During the third week of June I flew from Massachusetts to Silver Spring and met with 4 executives that showed me the Engineering facility and grilled me for several hours with technical questions.

I flew home the same day and felt that the interview went very well. The next day I received a call from Discovery with a job offer that exceeded my wildest dreams. The offer of course I accepted.

They immediately put me in touch with their relocation company which helped me put my house up for sale and they provided me with a $5000. check toward my initial moving expenses. A portion of this money enabled me to pay my July mortgage. Then to top it all, they said that they would pay for all of my moving costs. So, I drove on June 29 to my sister’s house in Centreville, Virginia. Bringing with me, my clothes, laptop, Gohonzon and Butsudan, and my books.

I started work on July 1, 2008 and stayed at my sister’s house for a little over a year. Each day I would take the Metro from Vienna to Silver Spring and back again in the evening. My commute of three hours a day could have been tedious, but during this time I was able to read both volumes of the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, The Lotus Sutra and the entire series of The Wisdom of The Lotus Sutra.

One day last June, I had gotten out of work around 4 PM, which I was thrilled at after working several 50 hour work weeks. I boarded the Metro at Silver Spring Station and headed for home.

I settled into a seat reading the last volume of Wisdom of The Lotus Sutra, and was deep in thought. Suddenly time seemed to slow down as I heard the horrible sound of metal smashing into metal. Our train had crashed head on into the rear of another train. There was a dead silence as we came to a stop. During the crash I felt a cushion around me and when we had stopped moving, I stood up, completely unharmed. I checked with the other passengers in the car and no one was injured. Myself and several other men made our way from the fourth and third cars and proceeded to the second and first car.

When we arrived at the front of the second car several men tried pulling down the ceiling that was blocking the door, Only to reveal a cross beam across the top of the door making it impossible to open . It seemed that we were purposely prevented access to the front car and prevented from witnessing the horror of 9 dead passengers. Again I felt the protective forces were guarding me and the others.

As the side doors opened, I helped men and women exit from the train and we all stood on the side of the tracks until the fire department cut throught the chain link fencing and we were able to move to a parking lot.

The injured were separated to one side and 11 of us that were not injured were told we could leave. So, we started walking toward the Fort Totten station, no one spoke. I called my brother-in-law to come and pick me up and finally arrived at the house around 9:00PM.
The next day I went back to work and received an email from the President of Discovery saying that he was happy that I was ok and if I needed anything at all, not to hesitate in contacting him.

The fact that I came through the crash totally unscathed can only be attributed to the protective forces of shoten zenjin.

In the The True Aspect of All Phenomena Nichiren Daishonin wrote:
“Be sure to strengthen your faith, and receive the protection of Shakyamuni Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions.”
[No.40, Page 386, col 2, paragraph 17,


During my lifes difficult times, a quote from President Ikeda encouraged and strengthened me:

“You must be strong. There is no hope of winning in this chaotic world if you are weak. No matter what others do or say, it is important to develop your ability and then put that ability to use. Strong Faith, of course, is the best means for drawing out ones inner strength. You each have a very important mission, and I hope you will awaken to and be proud of that mission.”

President Toda once said: “If you have a problem, just pray for the solution. Buddhism is an earnest struggle to win. I’ll stake my life on the fact that if you practice wholeheartedly, all of your prayers will be realized.”

This is what I have learned thus far in my life?
I have learned that there are always obstacles and difficulties in this life, but, how we deal with obstacles and difficulties can open the door to a world of opportunity. I have learned that when an obstacle presents itself to me, I will ask myself,
What cause did I make to create this obstacle?
What must I learn from this obstacle?
What is the best way to overcome this obstacle?
Once I have answered these questions, the possible emotional severity created by the obstacle diminishes and I can overcome the obstacle with Courage, Confidence, Compassion, Wisdom and Determination . All these qualities taught to us in our Practice of Nichiren’s Buddhism.
Thank you for letting me share my experience with you.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Polishing Ourselves to Deserve an Ideal Soul mate Part 1

One of the sharpest growing pains that most human beings have to experience is the process of finding an ideal soul mate. Quite a few have found it so heart-breaking and physically exhausting that they try anything they can think of to overcome such pain. In spite of their repeated attempts, they can do nothing to prevent it lingering throughout their lives.

How can one meet the right person at the right time and mutually fall in love and cherish each other? Not really knowing how to deal with all the complicated factors, criteria, and variables of finding the good match for two unique people, even through endless frustration and torment, and struggling through countless trials & errors, leaves most people still at a loss.

To successfully find an ideal soul mate appears to be a goal that is so arduous and hard to reach it seems that the lucky people are only few out of hundreds of thousands. But however scarce the chance, it is relatively bountiful compared to the probability of encountering and embracing the Lotus Sutra. Let’s listen to what Nichiren Daishonin says about this scarce possibility:

‘Thus, encountering this sutra is as rare as the blossoming of the udumbara flower, which occurs but once in three thousand years, or the one eyed turtle finding a floating piece of sandalwood, which happens only once in innumerable, boundless kalpas.’
__The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, WND p. 143

Lo and behold! We as practioners of Nicherin Buddhism who chant Nam Myoho Renge kyo, have already hit this ultimate jackpot.!!

Nichiren Daishonin thus continues:

“The eighth volume of the Lotus Sutra of the wonderful Law states that one who accepts and upholds the mere name of the Lotus Sutra will enjoy immeasurable good fortune”

There is no question that being practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, we inherit within our lives the immeasurable , all-encompassing good fortune. As long as we make the proper causes we will be able to manifest all the fortune and enjoy it. Thus, if we apply the strategy of the Lotus Sutra into scrupulously polishing our lives, we are preparing ourselves to claim the fortune that’s due to us. Among all those kinds of fortune of finding our ideal soul mate, despite the slim chances.

In the same letter , Nichiren Daishonin also points out :

‘When the Lotus Sutra was preached and the moon of the theoretical teaching came forth, first the bodhisattvas with their two good eyes gained enlightenment, and then the cross-eyed people of the two vehicles. Next the blind eyes of ordinary people were opened

Thus, with our eyes opened, the door of Buddha wisdom, the wisdom that is inherent in human life was also opened. In this case, what relationship dilemma is there that we cant find a solution for, and what maze-like love affair is there that we cant see the shortest way out of?

Buddhism teaches that all problems and their solutions come from within our own lives.
Therefore. If we have been experiencing difficulties in finding the ideal soul mate , we know that we ourselves are the ultimate sources for the answers on how to succeed in this goal.

The first thing we can do for our lives is to sculpt ourselves.

Our minimum goal is to make ourselves become lovable. The ultimate goal is to polish our lives so that we attract ideal candidates like magnets, for all kinds of premium prospects to entrust us with their hearts.

To reach those goals, before anything else, it is recommended that we launch a daimoku campaign to elevate our life state and let wisdom emerge. According to the principle of oneness of life and its environment, unless we lift ourselves from the level where we are at now, we will always be caught up in the same old troublesome environment and disturbing occurrences, which reflect our life state perfectly.

A snake mates with a snake while a human being marries another human being. A person whose basic life condition is in the World of Tranquility would not normally seek a close relationship with a person whose life state is constantly in the World of Animality or Hunger.

Regarding our ideal soul mate, we all have terms & conditions in mind. If we are humble & conservative, we would at least pursue people with a similar quality level as ourselves. Most of us tend to wish for someone who is or potentially will be loftier than us in character, ability, achievement or finance. As human beings , it is natural that we adore, cherish and admire people with higher qualities.

If we want to pursue someone of better traits as our life long companion, the surest way is to develop ourselves so that we live up to the same or higher criteria than that which we expect from our soul mate. Thus we wont be going after someone, stretching ourselves in vain trying to catch the unreachable. In other words, we had better fix & upgrade our whole being so that we deserve the love of our ideal soulmate. To reach this goal, human revolution is the 1st key.

Are we happy and healthy mentally and physically? Are we positive, confident, active and diligent? What is our strength and what have we achieved in life that deserves others respect, admiration and embracement? Are we putting forth enough effort to bring out our potential in order to advance? Are we changing our shortcomings into good virtues with which we can adorn our lives to make them shine even brighter? Are we the kind of delightful and amiable people that even we ourselves would appreciate and long to be with?

In his writing ‘Letter to the Brothers” Nichiren Daishonin gives a very vivid explanation of the close relationship between husband and wife:

“When a husband is happy, his wife will be fulfilled. If a husband is a thief, his wife will become one too. This is not a matter of this life alone. A husband and wife are as close as a form and shadow, flowers and fruit, or roots and leaves, in every existence of life, insects eat the trees they live in, and fish drink the water in which they swim. If grasses wither, orchids grieve, if pine trees flourish, cypresses rejoice.;
WND p.501

In other words, two people stay together, share their lives or experience their combined karma together but they don’t just get together randomly. They are together based on reasons. Those who have good karma can only share their fortune with people who have the same fortune to enjoy it. Those who have deep karma will only be together with someone whose destiny at least part of it, will be equally dark and heavy. A loving and caring man wont qualify to play the role of a husband in the life of a woman whose karma is to marry a very abusive man. Instead, he belongs to a woman who has the good karma of enjoying the sweet love of her man.

Therefore, if we are wise enough, before setting out in search of Mr. Right or Mrs. Right, we will eradicate bad karma, and create good karma first. In this way, we become persons of better fortune. It will save us from struggling through much unwanted and avoidable suffering.

Neetu Vaswani

Words Of Wisdom

1. No matter what happens, don’t betray your dreams.
2. No matter what happens, don’t become judgmental about yourself.
3. No matter what the situation in your life, you must turn it around.

Daisaku Ikeda

Karma and Buddha Nature

By Jeanny Chen

(This is a presentation delivered at the first SGIPy National WD and YWD Conference in October, 2002. My trip to Paraguay was approved and permitted by Sensei and the SGI-Japan Headquarters. During my six-day stay I dialogued with the SGIPy members, and had the most incredible experience in my 13 years of practice.)

How many of you know what Buddha nature is?

In order to help you understand this commonly-used term, instead of explaining the term itself, I am going to use an example to demonstrate the characteristics of Buddha nature. Hopefully, the illustration will paint a vivid picture that will allow you to grasp the concept and identify your own Buddha nature. When we understand what Buddha nature is and recognize that we have it within our lives, we can then employ it to work wonders for us. But before I elaborate on the characteristics of Buddha nature, I would like to talk about karma first. 

Understanding karma will help us understand Buddha nature. Karma Every person we encounter, everything that happens to us and the various conditions that surround our lives are the exact manifestations of our karma. Our parents, relatives, friends, co-workers, fellow SGI members, neighbors, ex boyfriends… etc. all play different roles in our lives or our karma. Where we were born, where we live, where we work and what incidents occurred at certain points in time are also the manifestation of our karma. Put it this way: our entire life story describes exactly what our karma is. Let me read what Nichiren Daishonin quotes from the Parinirvana Sutra in his writing “Letter From Sado”: "Good man, because people committed countless offenses and accumulated much evil karma in the past, they must expect to suffer retribution for everything they have done. They may be despised, cursed with an ugly appearance, be poorly clad and poorly fed, seek wealth in vain, be born to an impoverished and lowly family or one with erroneous views, or be persecuted by their sovereign. It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law that they can diminish in this lifetime their suffering and retribution." -- The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 304 

According to this writing, our bad karma was created by what we thought, said and did in the past. Thus, based on the law of simultaneity of cause and effect, we wrote the script of the drama of our own karma. And we will carry it with us lifetime after lifetime, unless we change it through our practice of the Mystic Law. The same writing makes it clear that we have done similar things to people in previous lives, so all the effects are coming back to us in this life. For example, people who are now being physically abused by their spouses must have been the abusers of their spouses or of other people in their previous lives. People who win the lottery this life must have rendered monetary contributions to others in their previous lives.

The Daishonin also says that the most serious cause that we have committed was our past slander of the Mystic Law. On the surface, we suffer because we were born in a poor country or family, born incapable or born physically handicapped… We live on one adversity after another. We can’t find our ideal soul mate. Our children bring us headaches and trouble. Most women never feel pretty enough or sexy enough…etc. Gentlemen don’t express much of their feelings. I don’t know if they are also troubled by such superficial matters as the color, the curve, the length and the thickness of their hair.

Anyways, there are simply hundreds of things that could make our lives so difficult! The true aspect of all those superficial phenomena, however, is that they are our very own karma. We need those people and that environment to play their respective roles in the drama of our lives in order to bring our karma into view. If our karma had not been played out, we would have been unable to change it. Even if we could switch the entire cast, the new players would still act according to what we wrote in the script of our karma.

Our lives would still be the same. For example, let’s say I have bad karma in marriage. I am married to Jose, who loves to flirt and fool around with other ladies. I am very upset about his conduct. Now, forget about Jose. Let another man Humberto be my husband. He would still behave exactly the same. Both of them have no other choice. Anyone who plays the role as my husband has to act according to the script I wrote for my own life. The script of my life says that I will marry a man who flirts with other ladies, no matter how charming I am. I am the director who directs my husband to behave that way. Let’s look at another example. Suppose I was born to a very poor family with 10 siblings. My parents were uneducated. They could barely make a living throughout their lives. Under such circumstances, they failed to provide a good shelter for their children. They were too busy and too worried to even show their love towards the children. This is how my childhood karma says I will live my childhood. I can only be born to this kind of couple, so that I will live my childhood in poverty and without love. Even if another couple became my parents, they would provide me with the same bad living conditions.

Likewise, if we have only good karma in our lives, the drama of our karma would need a cast that manages their lives nicely in order to provide us with happy and comfortable environments and lives. Of course, the people in our lives have their own karma. Only those whose karma is being poor can play the roles of the poor couple, as in our previous example. But they are not to blame for our lives and our destiny. We don’t even have to forgive them. We are totally responsible for whatever we have to go through. Because we accept responsibility for our own lives, we can freely turn it around without depending on other people’s changes or other people’s actions. And we don’t have to carry bitter feelings of being ill-fated, mistreated, and born lowly and trapped, because we asked for it in the first place, and now we can change our destiny by ourselves through practicing Nichiren Buddhism.

The second president of the SGI, Josei Toda, explains that we were all present at the Ceremony of the Air when Shakyamuni Buddha entrusted us, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, with spreading the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law. We were already Bodhisattvas at the time. We should be able to be born into good environments to enjoy happy lives. But, out of our compassion for all human beings, we voluntarily relinquished the reward due us and took that mission. We thus deliberately made bad causes and carried with us the bad karma to be born in the saha world, into an environment with the conditions that we chose of our own volition. Therefore, we were born with our respective karmas to suffer. That suffering becomes the impetus for us to seek out the solution. Under such circumstances, we were willing to embrace our suffering and practice the Mystic Law.

Thanks to Nichiren Daishonin, President Ikeda and the SGI organization, we have the Gohonzon and can follow the correct teaching. Through our diligent practice day in and day out, we polish our lives, activate our wisdom and strong life force from our innate Buddhahood. As a result, we can overcome our difficulties, change our karma, show actual proof, build credibility and deepen our faith. Thus, we become capable of proving the greatness of the Mystic Law and spreading it. Now it is clear why we say that our suffering is our mission. It is the noble mission we took on. It is also the purpose and meaning of our lives. In other words, we use our lives to suffer.

The ultimate purpose of our suffering is to spread the Mystic Law and bring happiness to others. How admirable! In this case, we know that suffering is not the major event of our lives. It is only the prerequisite of our noble mission. Once we realize the true reason behind our suffering, we are done with the suffering part. Then, we can claim to our Gohonzon and our own lives that from now on, we don’t have to suffer any more. We can move on to our main mission, spreading Nichiren Buddhism. With such a realization, we have mentally set ourselves free from our karma. Is my explanation about karma clear enough? Are you still being hypnotized by the words ‘true aspect’, ‘phenomena’ and ‘drama of our karma’? No? Great! So, if our husbands are not successful in their careers and don’t bring enough money home, from now on, are we going to blame them, complain to them, fight with them, bother them to death and leave no peace at home? Of course not! Instead, we should embrace the situation as our karma and take total responsibility. This way, with peace of mind we can focus on changing our karma. Then, we can discuss with our husbands their ideal career goals and chant for the goals as our own. If both partners practice this Buddhism, when the husband joins forces with the wife to chant and take action for those goals, the results will come faster and greater. However, since most husbands are the main income resource for the household, they are tied up with their current jobs. It is up to the wives to decide how much extra effort that they want to devote towards changing their family’s financial karma.

A married couple shares each other’s karma, good and bad. From now on you are the master of your karma instead of its slave. Congratulations! Your status has changed. Now, let’s get back to: Buddha Nature Nichiren Buddhism teaches that we all have Buddha nature inherent in our lives. Even if we cannot perceive it, at least with our common sense we can tell that it is good stuff. Since it is said that we already have ownership of it, it doesn’t hurt and doesn’t cost us a penny to bring some value out of it, right? We should at least give ourselves a chance to try it out. I have found out that Buddhahood is an incredible channel for us to use to communicate with another person without the person’s presence, contacting them through our minds when we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Many people encounter problems communicating with their loved ones, their associates at work or their fellow SGI members… etc. If we have found no other opportunity or possibility to smooth out our relationships with others, this is the ultimate way out! How do we communicate with another person’s Buddhahood?

Why open up Buddha nature? How does it work? Just like some people have active, positive and aggressive natures, and other people’s natures are negative, domineering, and abusive, Buddhas have their nature too. Among the characteristics of Buddha nature are wisdom, life force, compassion and happiness. 

Buddha’s immense wisdom sees the true aspect of all phenomena. People whose life state is in Buddhahood understand how karma functions in their lives. They are not deceived by the superficiality of any situation. In other words, they know that any situation happens to them because they themselves have made their karma that way. Their karma is the ‘real aspect’ or the ‘underlying truth’ of their suffering. With that wisdom, they know that they should work on changing their karma instead of focusing on suffering from the terrible things that happen to them. They certainly are wise enough to know how to communicate based on the truth, nothing but underlying truth. They know how to manage damage control, how to interact perfectly, and what to say to reach the win/win result. 

When people emerge their Buddha nature, their strong life force won’t be defeated by any circumstance. Again, because they understand karma, no matter how bad the situation, they have no worries and no negative concerns. Their wisdom gives them a clear mind about the truth of all problems they encounter. Also, they know how to eradicate their karma. Thus, they are strong, upbeat and courageous. When two such positive minds talk, their optimistic energy can only spark a constructive outcome. Compassion is the lifeblood and trademark of Buddhas. They respect and embrace all beings as they are and for what they are, regardless of their status. Thus, both ways of any communication are original, genuine and straightforward without being distorted, abated or blocked. Messages will be sent compassionately and humbly at one end. They will be warmly acknowledged, equally treated and thoughtfully responded to by the other person. How can anything not turn out to be harmonious and satisfactory this way?

With the wisdom to see the underlying truth of all phenomena, with the undefeatable life force to overcome any challenge and with the compassion to create nothing but good causes, Buddhas enjoy absolute happiness under all circumstances. They take everything as a blessing because they can always change poison into medicine. Nothing could ever upset or irritate them in such a high life condition. In other words, whatever you say is perfectly fine. Thus, is it a surprise that the dialogue between two forever-happy people comes to a happy ending? Prayers offered from the bottom of our hearts in the world of Buddha reach every corner, move the most obstinate and work wonders, be it a relationship, health, job hunting or promotion issue. It is the ultimate dialogue we conduct with Gohonzon, the universe, ourselves, family members, friends, co-workers, future employers, future soul mate, ex-husband, ex-girlfriend… etc. 

A heartbroken elderly mother had been mistreated by her son and daughter-in-law. She was devastated. She depended on their assistance in areas of her daily life. What she asked from them – especially from her son – was fair and clear communication. She was unable to get it. Her son only listened to his wife’s twisted, one-sided stories, putting her on the spot. After learning about dialogue in the world of Buddha, she engaged in a sincere daimoku campaign. She put all three of them in the world of Buddha. She apologized for the inconvenience she had placed on them. She appreciated their filial caring and prayed for the daughterin-law’s happiness. She specifically chanted for her son’s wisdom to see the truth. Within a week, her son’s attitude changed totally. Within one month, the daughterin-law became sweet and thoughtful. The elderly woman was overjoyed; she had found her happiness again. Throughout the episode, no outsider had to risk becoming entangled in their domestic affairs. Not a single person became offended. It was a seamless victory, achieved through heart-to-heart dialogue, via daimoku, at the state of Buddhahood.

Now, let’s check to see if we have the above mentioned characteristics of a Buddha within our lives. In “The Opening of the Eyes” (WND p 279) Nichiren Daishonin refers to what the Contemplation on the Mind Ground Sutra says: “If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they are manifested in the present. And if you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present.” This quote urges us to be wise in what we do now in order to live our ideal life in the future. It is based on this same teaching that Buddha wisdom can perceive past, present and future. Now that we understand karma, we already have the same wisdom to see the three existences of our lives too! In my humble opinion, as practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, once we understand the true aspect of karma, we have the wisdom and compassion to embrace all occurrences and all people that appear in our environment. We don’t need to place blame on other people anymore. Because we now know how to turn around our situation through this Buddhism, we are motivated to muster a strong life force with which to face our difficulties head on. 

Our wisdom is powerful only when accompanied by the correct action. Well, we understand karma. But how do we eradicate karma so that we can move on to a brand new life? We may work through two channels: through our Buddhist practice and through working in the real world. Let’s talk about eradicating karma through Buddhist practice:

1. We set goals of how we wish to change our karma and chant for the goals. If we suffer from financial karma, we set a goal to become rich! If we suffer from the karma of illness, we set a goal to become as strong as a bull! And if our relationship is a pain in the neck, we set a goal to become women of irresistible charisma, wisdom and virtue who could enjoy their sweetheart’s love more and more each day!

2. But besides chanting for the goal, we have to take action to make the goal come true. I set the goal for my husband to love me more and more each day over ten years ago. Since then he has been working very hard and non-stop to keep my goal a reality. It is the smartest goal I have ever set for my life. But, I don’t just chant and do nothing. I work hard to make myself deserve his infinite love.

3. We introduce this Buddhism to as many people as possible, to fulfill our mission. This way, we are showing that we have moved to our true mission and that we are too busy to suffer any more. Shakubuku is one of the most effective ways to eradicate karma and to bring us fortune.

4. We chant to eradicate our karma. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo puts us on the right track and in perfect rhythm with the universe. According to what the Daishonin writes in “On Prolonging One’s Life Span”: “Sincere repentance will eradiate even fixed karma, to say nothing of karma that is unfixed.” (WND p 954) I would like to use the person in the previous example, whose parents are very poor and has 10 siblings, as an example to illustrate how we can pray to eradicate karma:

1. I apologize to Gohonzon for my past slander of the Mystic Law, and now I am going to help spread and protect the Mystic Law.

2. I apologize to Gohonzon for the bad causes I have created in the past. I vow to Gohonzon that because now I practice this Buddhism, I will create only good causes, and no more bad causes.

3. I apologize to my parents that because of my bad karma, they had to suffer their lives in poverty and anxiety in order for me to experience my bad karma.

4. I appreciate my parents because they used their lives to suffer in order to manifest my bad karma. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to eradicate it. I also appreciate their tremendous hard work in raising my 10 siblings and praise all the good virtues they have.

5. I promise to Gohonzon and myself that I am going to practice this Buddhism very earnestly so that I can eradicate my bad karma. In this case, my parents and I will not have to suffer from poverty anymore.

6. I reassure Gohonzon that now that I am awakened to my true identity as a Bodhisattva of the Earth, I will definitely carry out my true mission to help others without having to use my own suffering as an impetus. In this case, I don’t have to suffer anymore. Now, let’s talk about eradicating karma through working in the real world: What we think, say and do becomes the substance of our life. If we keep on doing the same thing as before, our lives will be forever the same. In fact, our lives will get worse as we grow older. Therefore, if we want to live a different life, we have to do things differently, or do something extra. I personally really dislike suffering, therefore, if I have to choose, I will do both to change my life once and for all! When we chant for the goal to change our job karma, we mean to advance and increase our income. The Buddhist Gods will protect us and provide right opportunity. Our wisdom will emerge and we get better ideas with fulfill this goal. Our life force will be strong so that we can endure to breakthrough. in our job us with the which to the process.

Here comes the hard part. We are already tied up with everyday work. In order to do something extra, we might have to sacrifice our sleep and leisure time. Please don’t dislike me because I say this. Every move creates new causes in our lives. A good cause produces good effects; a bad cause, bad effects; no cause, no effects. Therefore, we have to be very diligent, active, earnest, positive and hard working. There’s no time to worry, to complain or to feel sad. For example, if we want to get out of poverty, we need to increase our skill in making money. We obtain more education or learn from all kinds of resources. We can work on more than one job. We spend more time on and work harder at our job to become more skillful and to get promotions. We also try to stop unnecessary spending. Of course we can set a goal to marry a millionaire. Then we will instantly become rich without going through all the effort! But the opportunity is limited to the single persons and maybe only for the pretty or handsome ones. Unless we have the penetrating ichinen to work persistently and make a change, we will soon go back to our routine before we see any change.

We have to plunge into an all-out effort to totally turn around our life. We should not give up and just run away from the problem. Otherwise, 10 years or 20 years from now, we will still be suffering from the same thing and living the same old sorrowful life. It might take five to ten years before we see the solid result. But, if we don’t ever do it, it will never happen, even after lifetimes. Our karma will stay with us forever. We get to make the decision. Do you feel restless and breathless after hearing all the heavy-duty words? Since I came a long way, this is a rare opportunity for me. I have to show off my ‘strength’. You may wonder where the way out is. As the practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, we have Gohonzon and infinite fortune. We know how to set goals and to chant for them. We have the protection, wisdom and life force to fight against vicious karma. Although the job market is so bad, there are still hundreds of thousands of jobs that need to be filled. Our determination is that as long as there is still one opportunity available, we should be the one who gets the job. That’s the best opportunity for us to show our strength as Buddhists. Yes, the economy is so bad. But there are plenty of people who are still doing very well financially. We should determine to be among those people who are successful and can show actual proof. This is the best opportunity for us to exert ourselves to prove the validity of this great Buddhism! The lives of the practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism withstand any hardship because the benefits of Gohonzon are expansive, infinite and know no bounds! Buddhism is to win or to lose.

This Buddhist practice is powerful but not magic. It can help manifest amazing results only when accompanied by our strong determination and untiring actions. There’s absolutely no shortcut. We have to take persistent and painstaking actions to make things happen. Even though there is the law of simultaneity of cause and effect, we cannot expect good effect to fall on us prior to making good cause. Cause must precede effect. If we are not happy with our country’s karma, the change starts from our personal karma. Each and every one of us can contribute to make a difference!