27/8/15 12:06:00 pm: Kwee! Chang: "The power of one genuinely committed individual can surpass that of a force of one million"
I am Dhruva Das Munshi and have been practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism for around 9 years now.
I describe my life in two parts – one is pre-August 2006 era and the second part is post 17 December 2006.
What a turnaround it has been. Life was an equation I never understood. No matter what I did or tried, it continued going in one direction – down, down and down. The prime age of my life was virtually lost in wilderness of being repeatedly defeated by circumstances, situations and a factor called luck.
I was born with a silver spoon as my father was a senior government official and we got every comfort on a platter. I had my education in the best schools and colleges across the country.
Later on, I too joined the government on a good scale. The pinnacle of my service was when I became the youngest Personal Staff Officer of a former prime minister and perhaps those were the best days of my life. But, suddenly what happened to me I could not fathom yet – I resigned from the government and became jobless.
With no job, my wife was the sole bread earner. One could understand our financial condition, which was at an all time low. I tried my hands in many ventures but failed every time. I used to feel too ashamed to sit at home but I did not have any money to go out and attend interviews. I even thought of committing suicide.
In August 2006, one of my closest friends put in a lifetime's effort into persuading me to practice Nichiren Buddhism. After hours of discussion and arguments, she finally dropped a quiet bomb, saying, "Your life will change 180 degrees." For that I had no argument.
My first benefit was within a week. My wife who had been sick for more than six months was completely cured and resumed her job as a Nursing sister and the money problem was solved to a certain extent.
Within a month, I got a petty job which took wings and I became the Chief Operating Operator of a financial giant without any knowledge or experience. It became possible because I am a BSG MD and this gave me enough strength to do 3 days of work in 1 day CONTINUOUSLY and CONSTANTLY.
Sensei said that "charging forth with single minded purpose is the spirit of youth".
Within a year, I purchased a flat in a place like New Delhi and won the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini award, a coveted award for social work in 2009. I also won the Lal Bahadur Shastri award for my contribution to the media and was nominated for the Cambridge Year Book of Who's who for my services for the economically backward youth in 2010.
One of the most glorious achievements was that on 10 January 2008. I gave up my smoking and drinking habit of 35 years without any withdrawal symptoms. It was possible only due to my chanting, which gives me a lot of strength.
This attracted many of my friends. I introduced more than 50 of them to this wonderful practice and all of them have had wonderful experiences.
Then the whole roller coaster came to a halt and all the devils attacked from all sides in 2010.
Nichiren Daishonin told us "not to expect good times, but take the bad times for granted".
Moreover he said, "As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge in confusing form, vying with one another to interfere."
I lost my vision of left eye in February 2010. In June 2010, I was diagnosed with cancer. The attack was complete.
In the meantime, I was given leadership position and I exerted to my maximum to make my district the best district. I regularly chanted for hours together, read at least one gosho per day with a member and encouraged members to subscribe to Value Creation and study with me.
Not even a single day went without a home visit, which usually took place at 6:30 am due to uncertain evening timings. I never ever missed my gongyo and attended all meetings.
I expressed my deep gratitude to all my leaders for encouraging me.
I took up the challenge of cancer and took a VOW to prove the Law. I fought for exactly four years against cancer, chanting abundant daimoku, sometimes 8 to 10 hours per day for months together and on 25 July 2014, the doctors gave me a clean chit.
I AM FREE FROM CANCER.
I am absolutely free of the dreaded disease.
On 15 March 2015, I started a library of Gakkai and other books and it was inaugurated by our Area leader. This is just to encourage my members to study. The library is open on weekends.
I was praying for a kosen-rufu job for an engagement after my fitness to spend my time constructively and I got an offer with the help of a shoten zenjin. I got the exact profile I was praying for.
I joined my new assignment on 20 January 2015 as the Chief Executive Officer of a group of companies. It is a gift from Gohonzon for my services in Bangalore between October and December 2014, which is as follows:
On 23 October 2014, I had to go to Bangalore and during the flight, I prayed to get connected to a BSG member. My grandson helped me in getting connected to the Ram Murty Nagar district in Bangalore.
But my mission started on 28 October 2014. I received a call from one of my old shakubuku friends whose son was admitted in a renowned neuro-sciences hospital in Bangalore for acute depression and wanted me to chant for him.
On learning that I was in Bangalore, she requested me to visit the hospital to chant with her. I went to meet her the next day. After gongyo and daimoku, she invited the parents and guardians of other patients to talk to me and I explained the greatness of the Mystic Law to them.
Among them was a Brigadier, whose 18 years' old daughter was in a very bad condition. I impressed upon the parents and guardians that this low life condition can be transformed only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The son of my shakubuku friend was cured within a week and was discharged from the hospital.
Within this one week, I was introduced to many people for whom I regularly visited the hospital and encouraged the patients who were mostly in the age group of 18 to 25 years' old and their guardians.
During this period, I introduced three nurses and one doctor to this practice who acknowledged that whatever I was doing was incredible. Medical science had no answer to it. On most of the days I did 10 to 15 gongyos per day with those patients or with their attendants.
I am proud to report today that by merely chanting daimoku and doing gongyo, 20 patients were cured. All these youths along with their guardians and parents are practicing Nichiren Buddhim today.
Now, for the icing on the cake –
During one of my interactions with the daughter of the Brigadier, I told her that I would leave Bangalore on 29 December and that she must be cured before that and give me a farewell party. In the meantime, she started doing gongyo and daimoku.
I am proud to report that she has recovered fully and was discharged on 29 December, the day of my departure from Bangalore.
My joy knows no bounds. I felt happier than when I was declared free of cancer. I had no words to express my gratitude to the Gohonzon. It strengthens my conviction that all our prayers are answered.
Today I feel that the Gohonzon has extended my life span only to serve those youths. And as a reward for my service to those youngsters, Gohonzon presented me with my present job.
President Ikeda assures us that: "The power of one genuinely committed individual can surpass that of a force of one million".
Striving in rhythm of my mentor, I am determined to use my life to foster society's next generation of leaders, instilling them the hope and courage to become a force for change in their own lives. I am determined that every action I take on behalf of SGI, for my fellow members and Ikeda Sensei will be victorious no matter what.
I would leave no stone un-turned until victory is a reality.
NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO FOREVER!
27/8/15 12:10:44 pm: Kwee! Chang: The Physics of Chanting
by Emily Maroutian
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When I first heard about the SGI practice of chanting, "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo," I was skeptical and doubtful that it would actually "cause" anything to happen. After all, what could repeating a few words do anyway? However, I was open-minded enough to try it.
I sat on my bed, closed my eyes and began to chant. I chanted for about five minutes and I immediately began to feel my body vibrate from the sound my vocal cords were making. I experienced a tingling sensation in the palm of my hands and the rhythm of the chant made my body rock back and forth. My body's physical reaction to the chanting frightened me and so I stopped. Does this really work? I thought. But how can it?
Then it suddenly hit me! Physics!
Physics' current theory of everything, String Theory, dictates that the entire universe is made up of tiny vibrating strings. The underlining fundamental make-up of all things, including you and I, are minuscule invisible strings. Much like the strings on a guitar, they vibrate and play notes. Moreover, since sound is a vibration, not only is the entire universe vibrating but it is also playing a symphony.
So how does chanting work?
When an opera singer hits a high note, she can break glass from across the room without ever touching anything. In physics, this is called resonance. Her vocal note and the glass's vibrational note resonate and that causes the shattering effect.
You and I are constantly vibrating through our being.
We attract (law of attraction) into our lives whatever it is that harmonizes with our note (law of harmonic vibrations). This is why you can meet someone and feel as though you have known them forever; both of you are harmonizing. They resonate with you and you resonate with them.
We can also repel opposing vibrations (law of repulsion) and keep away situations and people that are vibrating on opposite levels. This is why people who have been in our lives for a long time can suddenly decide they want to move on. Our shift has repelled them because our vibrations don't harmonize.
If this is the case, then let them go and have faith that it's all for the best. If you are shifting positively and people are dropping out of your life, let them go. You can't hold back growth and transformation by holding onto someone who "needs" to leave. Holding on might require that you have to shift into a level that is unhealthy or negative. It may take time, but they will return once they can harmonize with you once again.
When we chant something as powerful and beneficial as "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo," we shift something within our being, which then alters what we attract into our lives. We alter the level in which we are vibrating on and that attracts a different level of people, things and situations.
In the same way, when we are depressed and carrying around self-pity, we vibrate on a level that attracts things that keep us feeling depressed. It also attracts more reasons, situations and issues that make us continue to pity ourselves. It is the Karma that we create and recreate over and over again.
If we were to chant, "I hate my life." repeatedly, we would attract and harmonize with people and situations that reinforce that statement. We also reinforce it with our thoughts, emotions and our whole being.
Our environment will support our being regardless of how positive or negative we are.
So we must not only chant "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo," but we must become it as well. Our being must vibrate on the level of "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo." Our lives must align with it in order for its true power to be unleashed in our lives and our environment.
Who we are is the biggest cause in our lives.
Anyone at anytime can change their note.
It begins with "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo."
When we shift, our environment shifts. Every member of SGI knows this through experience, now there is a physical explanation of how it works.
Resonance, String Theory and the laws of attraction and harmony are what come into play when we devote ourselves to the mystical law of cause and effect through sound and vibration. Nichiren understood this hundreds of years before science discovered it. Now I understand it as well. Through this understanding, we can have faith that when we chant we are aligning ourselves with the highest good in the universe.
My experience with chanting was very positive and life changing. Even though I chanted for only about five minutes, it only took a matter of four hours for my environment to respond to my request. After that experience, I began chanting everyday and continued to receive the same level of response from my environment.
We chant because it begins with our words and moves through our thoughts, feelings, actions and being. Then it resonates in our environment and then the world. But it begins within us. The more we gather and the more we chant, the more energy we feed into our goal of a peaceful loving world. So never forget fellow Buddhas that the universe is playing a beautiful symphony in which you and I are notes. And when we all gather, we make beautiful music together.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
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