The key for a successful discussion meeting lies on the
prayers, the honesty and the thorough planning of those in
charge of the activity.I
Prayer is not something abstract. These days many people
consider that the intangible spheres of life are a product of their
imagination. However, if our outlook is nothing but materialistic,
our relationship with the world and with people will basically
remain subjected to the chaos of coincidences… Buddhism’s lucid
gaze discerns the Law of life underlying the apparent chaos, and
goes to identify it as the power which sustains and activates all of
the phenomena from deep down inside”.II
Fragments from the essay “Kosen-rufu Begins with the Discussion Meetings” (I) and from “On
Prayer”, lecture on the homonymous work by Nichiren Daishonin, (II) by Daisaku Ikeda.
S
tart with trong prayer
Concerning prayer, there are conspicuous prayer and
conspicuous response, conspicuous prayer and inconspicuous
response, inconspicuous prayer and inconspicuous response, and
inconspicuous prayer and conspicuous response. But the only
essential point is that, if you believe in this [Lotus] sutra, all your
desires will be fulfilled in both the present and the future.
From “Letter to the Lay Priest Domyo” (WND-1, 750).
ABOUT THE QUOTE: The passage is from the “Letter to the Lay Priest Domyo”, Nichiren Daishonin’s
reply to a previous letter in which this disciple asked him to pray for the recovery of his ill father. The
Daishonin answered “I will”, as well as “You must not doubt”.
Mary Carmen Martín
TO DISCUSS
La Orotava: With prayer as their starting point, the women and men who take part of this discussion
group –gathering at a vital land for Kosen-rufu–have faced and got over many obstacles and hindrances,
experiencing the truthfulness of the sentence “if you believe in this sutra, all of your wishes will come true,
whether in the present or future time”.
[email protected]
“
Nichiren Daishonin teaches that when we embrace the
Mystic Law, no prayer goes unanswered (cf. WND-1, 345).
There are two kinds of benefit in faith—conspicuous
benefit and inconspicuous benefit. The former refers
to clearly apparent benefit, while the latter refers to
the great benefit, though not immediately perceptible,
that steadily accumulates in our lives. There is not the
slightest doubt that we possess this all-important
inconspicuous benefit, which at a crucial moment
manifests as conspicuous benefit.
Let’s start with prayer, confident that all our desires
will be fulfilled in both the present and the future. The
formula for continuous victory is to keep chanting
tenaciously to the very end.
Translated from the January 23, 2015, issue of the Seikyo
Shimbun.
SOME KEY SUBJECTS
Prayer · Belief · Vow · Answer · Tenacity
”
THE ATTITUDE IN PRAYER
The daimoku that we chant as
Bodhisattvas of the Earth is a
prayer imbued by a profound vow.
It is not a plea or an entreaty. It is a
lion’s roar that reverberates in the
depths of our beings, enlightened
by our personal commitment, and
sets our minds into action towards
the fulfilment of the prayers, side
by side with the fundamental law
of the universe. No other force is
more powerful, nor more sublime.
A resonant daimoku allows us to
overcome sickness and enjoy a
long and healthy life. It offers us
the opportunity to turn karma into
mission and to establish a state of
limitless happiness that will last
eternally.
Based on the January 2015
Daibyaurenge editorial.