Buddhism
101: The way to
enlightenment
We
practice to invoke our innate Buddha nature. The core of our practice is to
chant the daimoku (Title of the Lotus Sutra) "Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo" (Devotion
to the Lotus Sutra). Here we give a brief outline of Buddhism in fundamental
and the essence of our daimoku.
Buddhism
- the religion of life
The
existence of life is the most wonderful miracle in the universe. Indeed, the
universe itself is a complete entity of life. Buddhism is the religion of life.
Derived from that is the belief of EQUALITY and ETERNITY OF LIVES of all living
beings.
Everyone
possess Buddha Nature from life within
The
deepest conviction of Buddhist practice is
to realize the existence of Buddha nature in our
lives - the
potential to profound character and eternal happiness. Once
we're awakened of our miraculous existence, we also realized that other people
possesses the same potentialas us. Everyone is a
unique and special existence, and are equally worthy of respect.
The
realization of the innate Buddha nature dispels the fundamental weakness of
human beings to seek something mystic outside our lives. We ourselves possess
the potential for infinite grow and to challenge the most adverse circumstances
to achieve happiness. The key is to
bring out Buddha nature by challenging our own internal weaknesses.
Eternity
of lives and the correct view of cause and effect
Life
is eternal. When manifested, it is the state of living; Death is a transition
state for the next life.
Eternity
means there is some sort of continuation of causes and it subsequent
manifestation. Cause and effect is central to the true aspect of
all phenomenon. The present state of our life is the consequence of
all OUR own past actions.
Since
the future is not deterministic, how much we are binded by our past negative
causes rely on how hard we steer our lives to the positive way. The core of
Buddhist view of cause and effect is that we can create our future by fully
exert the infinite potential of our lives.
Live the present moment with our full life force.
Human
Revolution / Self transformation
To
achieve happiness one should fight with his own bad nature of life to achieve a
character that's strong enough to help and encourage people of his own
surrounding. This is a battle against oneself, or a revolution of one's own,
known as the human revolution. The aggregation of each individual human
revolution can eventually lead to a world of peace, joy and love.
Our
battle of human revolution is to against the three poisons within in our lives
Greed,
Arrogance, Ignorance
As
a simple rule, the following elements fuel the challenge over our weaknesses :
Conviction,
Courage, Compassion, Seeking spirit, Wisdom and Hope
Concrete
way to happiness is through :
Faith, Practice and Study
Chanting
Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo
All
the above teaching originates from the Lotus Sutra, the original teaching of
Shakyamuni as recorded by his disciples. In 13th century, Nichiren Daishonin in
Japan revealed that by persistent and sincere daily chanting of the phrase
"Nam Myo Ho
Renge Kyo",
which is the seven Chinese Characters meaning "Devotion to the Mystic Law of
Lotus Sutra", is the most effective way that one can concentrate his mind to
fully devote oneself into the sutra's teaching and attain Buddhahood through
daily practice.
The
following summarizes the correct attitude of chanting :
We
should chant with a deep and powerful resolve - not mindless, unfocused
prayer.It also means we must have the courage to challenge all our deepest
fears and insecurities, which inevitably arise when we decide to tackle a goal.
The
Daishonin remind us : "A sword is useless in the hands of a coward. The mighty
sword of the Lotus Sutra must be wielded by one courageous in faith. Muster
your faith and pray to this Gohonzon. then what is there that cannot be
achieved ?"
To
know more about Buddhism, please visit the following site:
http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/index.html
buddhism1.html
The
whole volume of Gosho (The writing of Nichiren Daishonin) is available at :
http://www.gosho.net
For
in-depth discussion on the Lotus Sutra :
Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra
Click
here for a powerpoint slide show on general buddhism
and
here for another powerpoint
