Today I want to discuss the cluster of blessings brought by Myoho-renge-kyo and how they work in our lives. First we want to look at what causes suffering.
Suffering is caused by:
1. Earthly desires that give rise to suffering.
2. Negative karma
3. Ignorance which blinds us to what we are at our core.
4. The evils and impurities of this world
5. Delusions and worries
6. The illusions of birth and death
But Nichiren says,“ Suffer what there is to suffer. 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”
If we are suffering, why continue to chant? Lets look at why its so important we continue chanting no matter what happens.
Nichiren writes that ‘Bodhisattva Superior Practices received the water of wisdom of the Mystic Law from the Thus come One Shakyamuni, and causes it to flow into the wasteland of people’s lives in the evil world of the latter age.” WND 746.
In the Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life Daisaku Ikeda says that the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo embody a cluster of blessings brought by the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, disciples of the Buddha in his true identity. P.101 So what are these clusters of blessings and how do they work in our lives?
1. The Mystic Law has the power to burn away earthly desires that give rise to suffering by lessening our attachment to them. If you are firmly attached to something, then you suffer if you lose it. But if your attachment to it is loosened, and you can take it or leave it, then you do not suffer in the same way.
Often we are attached to physical belongings such as a home or property or something given to us. This can guarantee suffering as life always changes and nothing is forever. For example, a house might be destroyed through earth changes or fire, as is happening in Hawaii this week.
Lets take a relationship.You might be attached to having a relationship be a certain way. Being attached to a relationship being a certain way certainly can guarantee suffering. It doesn’t
allow for the other person to be who they are and will certainly give rise to conflict and to a difficult relationship at the very least.
As the practice reduces the identification with those things, we come to rely on them less and less. and come to identify with our core, the Mystic Law, more and more.
2.The Mystic Law can illuminate the darkness of ignorance in people’s lives. This ignorance obscures the most important thing to our happiness, that we are one with the Mystic Law at our core and so have the great power to create our lives as we wish them. Once aware we are one with the Mystic Law, then we understand that we are eternal. I will discuss this point later.
3. The Mystic Law can nurture all things with abundant life force, unperturbed by any obstacle. You have probably met someone more advanced in the practice who, when you talk about your concerns regarding an obstacle, smiles and says,“Congratulations, you have something to chant about.” That person knows that you will never be deadlocked by any obstacles if you sit down and chant with
determination about it.
4. The Mystic Law can dispel the clouds of karma, the negative karma we have brought with us into this life. This is the wonderful experience of being able to turn poison into medicine, rather than continuing to suffer from that negative karma our whole lives long. We see experience after experience where practitioners have turned their negative karma into something of value and turned their lives from suffering into joy.
5. The Mystic Law has the power to” sweep away all delusions and worries and establish a state of absolute freedom that is never deadlocked.” Over time we let go of our fears and worries as we test the practice over and over and come to rely on the rock of the Mystic Law.
6. The Mystic Law can eliminate the illusions of birth and death, which allows us to face both birth and death with joy and without dread. Once we understand that we are truly eternal, we KNOW that birth and death are different aspects of our eternal existence. As we practice we loosen our attachments to the earthy desires that make us want to live, and our attachment to our body. This attachment to the body can be very strong. When we feel that we are our bodies. then the fear of death arises strongly. This of course inevitably gives rise to suffering as no one escapes death.
Through practice, we come to know that we are not our bodies but rather a spiritual being who has borrowed this body for a while and will let it go. We loosen our attachment to our body, profoundly understanding that it is time limited and has an expiration date, but that we continue the cycle of birth and death for eternity.
With the great blessings that can come to us when we chant we can see why it important to continue chanting no matter what happens. You can turn negative circumstances around to become something positive and will come to change yourself so that all of life works better. Your awareness expands so you come to live the truth of life, that you are one with the Mystic Law and have absolutely nothing to fear. Most of all, you will be relieved of the fear of death as you come to know that you are eternal.
In summary:
We identified and discussed the cluster of blessings brought to people who chant Myoho-renge-kyo.
The Mystic Law has the power to burn away earthly desires that give rise to suffering.
The Mystic Law can illuminate the darkness of ignorance in people’s lives .
The Mystic Law can nurture all things with abundant life force, unperturbed by any obstacle.
The Mystic Law can dispel the clouds of our negative karma.
The Mystic Law has the power to sweep away all delusions and worries and establish a state of absolute freedom that is never deadlocked.
The Mystic Law can eliminate the illusions of birth and death.
Here is a reference for this topic. The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life SGI-USA
bookstore. They have it now.
Now I want to hear from you. Comments, likes, dislikes. Things you’d like to
hear about. I want to hear your opinions.
Thanks for listening.