How to become Men/Women of Unlimited Self Esteem
By Danny Nagashima, SGI General Director (USA)
You can analyze your situation all you want. You have to get to the root of why “I don’t believe in the greatness of my life”. You have to grab it by the roots and yank it out of your life. The answer is probably so simple, but we tend to over-analyze, it gets complicated and the solution seems far away. Your mission as a Buddhist is to become happy – not to master suffering. We have the negative and positive sides of us – one says, “who are you kidding”, the other, “you can do it”. You have to fight to not to give in to your negativity. This is not about being a writer, an artist, an actor, etc. It is about becoming the man or woman that you always wanted to become, a man or woman who really values his/her life.
The obstacles you face are the answer to your prayer.
Those feelings of self-doubt, those feelings that “I am a failure” – those are the feelings that I have to face and to address. How you feel about yourself, that feeling of self-loathing, of not being good enough, of being a sham. Those are the feelings you have to face. Your talent is not being questioned; it is about how you feel about yourself. That is the karma. You have to value your own life, to appreciate that it has nothing to do with anybody else validating you. Follow your heart; follow your Buddhahood and the effect from that, the benefit from that will be massive.
You need to follow your heart, truly treasure your life. When Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the Gohonzon, he was already chanting daimoku out of the greatness of his life, his Buddhahood, his enlightened state; he inscribed the Gohonzon for all humanity so that everyone could relieve his or her suffering. When you sit in front of the Gohonzon and chant, you have to have the most reverence for your life, the same as the Daishonin’s; therefore your life deserves that kind of reverence.
If you chant for two weeks to really be a person of unlimited self-esteem and to really, truly appreciate your life including your flaws, your accomplishments, your defeats and your losses, your victories, all that you have created and to truly appreciate your talent as XYZ for two weeks, everything will change.
Forget about the past garbage. Put it away. That will only make you feel impotent. From today on, really chant about being that man/woman of unlimited self-esteem. Really appreciate everything about your life; all the things that make you incredibly unique and wonderful. All your sufferings, problems, heartaches, will be the stuff you need, in order to share your experience, to encourage and to inspire others. Focus on really, truly awakening to your greatness. This is the opportunity (sufferings, obstacles, lack of self-esteem) you needed to go through in order to become outrageously successful – so you can fulfil your dream. If you focus on this – really valuing your life now, then everything will fall into place in a much bigger way. This is something no one can give you; the universe is showing you what you need to tackle. When you first chant this way, a lot of garbage may come out of your life, a lot of negativity, awful feelings may surface. We always bring into our lives what matches our life condition. So chant to feel incredible joy about your worth and you will feel and know self worth and greatness.
You not being able to do whatever you determine is a manifestation deep down of your feeling of fear, that you are not good enough, that you do not have it in you. You must get yourself to a place where there is the greatness of your life, then everything will be transformed. We have to believe in our Buddhahood. When we face the Gohonzon, we should say, “I am going to praise my wonderful life”. It is important to awaken to your own greatness. Your life is the Gohonzon. Now is the time for you to start over.
When you pray to a deity, your prayer becomes passive. Our voice is the Mystic Law. This law is not outside of you. When you get a benefit, it was you who created it. You must awaken to your greatness, appreciate and value your own life. It is no different to the enlightened life of Nichiren Daishonin, embodied in the Gohonzon.
Just as a beautiful piece of art elicits a response, or a great book touches your life in a certain way, we must elicit the Buddha nature from our own lives. It is right here, and the Gohonzon is the perfect vehicle to bring out that strength, joy and vibrant life condition; then you take that to the world and change the environment. We are not necessarily chanting for the house, the car, the job, the relationship, but we are chanting to elevate our life condition to attract that happiness. The results that we see in our lives are a reflection of our life condition. Every day as you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo consciously call forth your Buddhahood to manifest itself consistently. Chant to rise above your basic tendency of disbelief, or continually thinking that you are a common mortal who does not deserve good fortune in this life. Do not negate your life when you sit in front of the Gohonzon. Do not beg. Do not scream. Do not berate the Gohonzon. Believe in the greatness of your life; manifest the extraordinary side of you. The Gohonzon is the tool we need to bring out our Buddhahood. My life is the Gohonzon. Do not slander your life. The doubt is necessary to prove to myself that “I am a Buddha. I will fulfil every one of my dreams for myself”. We already possess something incredible – our Buddha nature, the Gohonzon. But we do not believe that the good fortune, the “million dollars” is truly mine. I will not be able to get it, or to enjoy it. Trust that the Gohonzon, your prayer, is the absolute means for you to transform your life. Trust and faith are the key words.
Chant with the expectation that every one of your wildest dreams will be fulfilled beyond your wildest imagination. Chant to believe in your Buddhahood. Trust in the greatness of your life. In “On Attaining Buddhahood”, Nichiren Daishonin made a primary point: to free ourselves from the suffering of birth and death which we have endured in lifetime after lifetime, and to attain absolute happiness, we need to awaken to the mystic truth that has always been within our lives. That truth is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. That truth is “I am a Buddha”. Trust that you have everything you need for your happiness.
TEN POINTS TO BECOME A PERSON OF UNLIMITED SELF-ESTEEM
1. Chant to become a person of unlimited self-esteem
2. Chant to awaken to your own greatness
3. Chant to appreciate your life, including flaws, accomplishments, defeats, losses, and victories and truly appreciate all that makes you a unique and wonderful person
4. Chant to make the impossible possible
5. Chant to consistently manifest your Buddha nature and rise above your basic tendencies and overcome your inherent negativities in your life
6. Believe that you are a Buddha and create all the benefits for yourself
7. Believe you are the Gohonzon
8. Trust that in the Gohonzon, you have the means to fulfill each and every desire to become extraordinarily happy
9. Chant to display your Buddhahood and to bring forth that strength, joy, vibrant life condition
10 And then take it to the world and change the environment
Who did he plagiarize it from?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPIMHsdwVKE
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, please clarify.
ReplyDeleteHI JJ. Please watch The Secret and compare it with Nagashima's guidance.
ReplyDeleteLol, Dnny didn't plagarize anything from The Secret. A collection of minutely similar thoughts does dot equate to plagiarism. Another SGI basher.. We of the Soka Gakkai International are a value creating society. We strive for peace in our daily lives despite all the criticism we sometimes receive from people who were never true practitioners of the Lotus Sutra.
ReplyDeleteI agree, click bait. sad. smear campaign. wow.
DeleteWhat do you mean Xoxo? Care to explain. It would be easy to just censure you but I want to see from where you are coming and to whom you are speaking
DeleteDanny*
ReplyDeleteHi Zo. I see you are a zealous believer in Ikedaism.
ReplyDeleteI have been calling for a formal debate with the SGI for more than 16 years. I will give you a platform to debate the teachings with me for one hundred days which I will post for all to see.
I have contacted SGI-Japan and SGI-USA, and made my debate proposals well known. I have received letters from both Al Albergate and Greg Martin and they have refused to take me up on my proposals. The following are the topics I proposed for the debate:
1). The identity and significance of the Original Eternal Buddha
2.) The nature of the Master/Disciple relationship in Nichiren Buddhism
3.) The significance of the Gohonzon
4.) The significance of the Lotus Sutra (Myoho renge kyo).
5.) The true meaning of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra.
6.) The true meaning of the Nichiren Faith
7.) Shakabuku versus Shoju in the Degenerate Age
Nichiren Daishonin writes:
"The Lotus Sutra states, “Medicine King, now I say to you, I have preached various sutras, and among those sutras the Lotus is the foremost!” Here the Buddha is referring to all the teachings that he has expounded and stating that among these the Lotus ranks in first place. The Buddha’s preaching and the writings of the Great Teacher Kobo are as much at variance with each other as are fire and water. We should investigate and clarify this matter."
The SGI's teachings are as much at variance with the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin as Kobo's. Their delusion is denying the importance of a correct faith and correct doctrine.
ReplyDeleteIkedaism? Pleaseee. President Ikeda is our mentor. President Ikeda is no different than any of us in the sense of our faith. Ikeda has met with many world leaders I'm sure you know he was friends with Mandela and many others. This practice has changed me and millions of people's lives. We are not a perfectionist organization. Nothing is perfect. Ikeda has written nuclear disarmament proposals to the UN for over 20 years. Formulated, meticulous plans and visions on how to successfully filter out nukes. This man is brilliant. His literature is brilliant. We are all brilliantly radiant through this practice of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. You can chastise all you want but this faith has transformed my life, family and friends' lives. There us a reason ultimately to why we have 40 million plus members in 192 countries and rising.. It's because this practice truly works.. That is the fundamental core of NMRK. ACTUAL PROOF.
Well here I agree with the other guy, Ikeda has made it all about him. its' so so so annoying. Why haven't we heard from other leaders in the US, like Danny Nagamuchi, ? Soon as they get some traction he mutes their voice , can't wait for the next phase of SGI more Nicheron Buddhism and less History of the SGI that does not celebrate all the wonderfule leaders that built the damn thing under those three guys, can we give other people credit that built the US. cause if you don't let the US have its own identity with its own mentors, you will lose the grasp of American followers. And growth will stagnate, push Nicheron not Ikeda, and you will see an overall spike in growth help people undetstand the principles and apply them to their life hold gosho lectures more often at the center and allow the leaders to get some light. -
DeleteXoxo... What use a false mentor who doesn't practice as Nichiren Daishonin teaches? What use a false mentor whose faith differs from the faith taught by the Master Nichiren? Why dont you become the type of mentor who walks in the Daishonins shoes?
Delete40,000,000 plus members? I suggest you get off of my site. You are too ignorant and unlearned to play here. The Muslims have 1.5 billion members and the Christians even more. Ikeda is a cockroach compared to Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin. Ikeda never once in all his proposals raised the lion's roar. Read the Rissho Ankoku Ron sonny boy and get back to me.
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Rogow, You are not a Buddhist, if you are (???), then, indeed, you should be reproached by your teachers! You sir are behaving like an arrogant cad. I also would like to note that I use the word "sir" with you sparingly. I am not a member of SGI: any person who truly believes in any of the numerous Buddhist schools/practices is taught not to speak such offensive talk as you have here. You are no better than those that you criticize and disparage, and you appear not to be a good example of a Buddhist. From reading your banter and your negative criticism you, in fact, appear to be worse than those whom you insult. Your attitude and demeanor are a turn off to anyone wishing to become a Buddhist. I am a long practicing Buddhist and your rhetoric is a turnoff. Your discourse sounds the same as any other evangelical hypocrite proselytizing and proclaiming that their teaching is 100% correct whilst everyone else is 100% false. Shame on you for your non-Buddhist attitude and demeanor. Stop discouraging people from seeking the way.
ReplyDeleteYou sir couldn't withstand for a day the trials and tribulations that Nichiren and his disciples have withstood for many decades. You have no idea the proper attitude for a Buddhist, particularly, a votary of the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra teaches:
ReplyDeleteAlso, Sariputra,
(1) to the proud, arrogant,
(2) lazy, and indolent,
(3) to those who reckon in terms of "I",
Do not preach this scripture.
(4) To the ordinary fellow of shallow perception,
(5) Profoundly addicted to the five desires,
(6) Hearing yet unable to understand,
Also, do not preach.
(7) If a man not believing,
(8) Maligns this scripture
Then he cuts off all Worldly Buddha-seeds.
(9) Or, again, he may with contorted face,
(10) Harbor doubts and uncertainties.
You are now to hear me tell
Of that man's retribution for his sins:
Whether the Buddha be in the world,
Or whether it be after his passage into extinction,
(11) There shall be those who malign
Such scriptures as this one
And who, seeing that there are readers and reciters,
And copiers, and keepers of this scripture,
(12) Shall, in disparagement, deprecation, (13) Hatred,
And envy of them,
(14) Harbor grudges against them,
The retribution for these men's sins
You are now to hear:
These men, at life's end,
Shall enter the Avici Hell.
To loudly proclaim the Lotus Sutra and therefore to close the door to the Avici hell for countless beings over countless lifetimes is the practice of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra. The benefit is unimaginable. Now go away sonny becuse you have absolutely nothing to offer the people of Mappo steeped in the Three Poisons.