Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism

Daily guidance Oct 7 What will the future be like? No one knows the answer to that question. All we know is that the effects that will appear in the future are all contained in the causes that are made in the present. The important thing, therefore, is that we stand up and take action to achieve great objectives without allowing ourselves to be distracted or discouraged by immediate difficulties. Gosho of the day It seems to me that on the path to attain Buddhahood it may invariably be when one has done something like lay down one’s life that one becomes a Buddha. I think that perhaps it is encountering such difficulties as have already been explained in the sutra—being cursed, vilified, attacked with swords and staves, shards and rubble, and banished again and again—that is reading the Lotus Sutra with one’s life. My faith springs up all the more, and I am confident about my next existence. Banishment to Sado (WND-1, 202)

I had such an enriching time last week practicing for and eventually performing at our Block Level Buddhism meeting in Harlem! I had not jammed with folks while playing my guitar in FOREVER! This is deepening my desire to be in a band so badly! 🎶💫 - Taavi, a brilliant music producer whose co- produced ASAP FERG’s latest album was on the keys. - David Meade, a brilliant drummer who also taught at NYU was on percussion. - I played lead guitar & sang + played rhythm during the chorus section. We played on top of a song called “Open your Eyes”, which is a Buddhist rap song composed by Taavi and Hunter (the rapper).

How did you get into this particular branch of Buddhism & how is it different to other branches?

I love my Buddhist practice to bits, and yet, I feel conflicted about one of its core pillars, which is “shakabuku”. Shakabukuing is the process of introducing others to the Buddhist practice, which we consider as a noble deed, for it is a way to empower those we care about with tools to transform their lives. I love to shakabuku people, i.e introduce them to the practice. Ever since moving to the US, it is rare for me to go to a Buddhist meeting alone. I almost always bring along folks with me. However, at times, I don’t like the way that shakabukuing is pushed by leadership and texts in faith as the way to change our own karma. It becomes an aggressive sales task at times, with targets for how many people we aim to introduce during a campaign or period of time. I like shakabukuing when it’s organic & comes from a place of genuine compassion, rather than with the energy of pushy sales tactics and conversions.

Last week we had a “Lotus Lounge” gathering for the Young Women’s Division (YWD). There were several leaders present in that meeting, as were guests (folks attending for the first time). I, as a practitioner (and newly appointed YWD leader) instinctively took over explaining the introductory concepts of Buddhism to new members as I noticed that they felt a bit lost. I impromptu led this concept & keyword introduction, by the end of which the guests felt grounded and like they knew what was going on. The rest of the room was stunned and impressed by how smoothly I did so. Several older members asked me how I was able to breakdown concepts so easily, as they found it hard to do so when they met non- practicing but curious folks. This was unexpected, but it came super naturally to me. I remember attending this meeting for the first time two years ago in the exact same house, when I was still relatively new to the city. I would speak & occupy space, but my confidence and judgement was nowhere near as strong as it is today. Back then, I would have never been able to just take over like this and answer questions for new members in the way that I did this time. My growth felt so visible to me. I am happy & proud of how far I have come in the way that I show up ☘️😇

I was appointed as the Young Women’s Division Vice District Leader this week! I also brought a friend to the meeting who I had met super randomly for the first time while walking on the street the day before- an incoming Ph.D student at my Alma Mater school Super excited to take on this role & support all the young women in my district. I shared some determinations when this was announced at the monthly discussion meeting: - Help young women around me with the deepest compassion & commitment, whether or not they’re Buddhist - invite more youth to our district, shakabuku (introduce them), have greater attendance at Tosos and discussion meetings - Home visit every member, truly get to know them & pray for their challenges to transform - Chant 2hrs everyday to transform all of my own challenges - Show actual proof of my practice through significant victories in dating, career & immigration, something I see all young women really struggle with around me, universally In pictures: a selfie of the folks in my district + the friend/ meeting guest reciting the prayer towards the end of the meeting

This past week has been filled with beautiful coincidences! Last Thursday, some of the biggest names in rap music, Asap Ferg & Denzel Curry were performing at Markus Garvey park in Harlem for FREE (unheard of) as part of a festival and one of the opening acts was a rapper called Hunter BDE (boddhisatva of the earth) whose part of my local Buddhist practice!! My recent music mentor who I met in my new Buddhism district in Harlem has a program that pushes rappers & music producers to release music more efficiently - he was present on stage with Hunter and his baby! How cool is it that the musicians from my Buddhist practice OPENED for such major hip hop stars! While I was hanging around at the festival, I met another member of my Buddhist practice who was an alum of my graduate school at as well. His child (who looked part Asian) was also present there. The next day, my local Buddhist leader was visiting me with 2 other members I didn’t know. One of them (Asian herself) came with her adorable Asian looking baby girl who I’d seen before in meetings. Turned out, she is the wife of this other Buddhist member from my school who I met at the concert! It felt like such a small world. More so, the other member who was visiting me who I didn’t know prior narrated a victory experience of a girl who happened to be someone I know well as she is from my city in India and went to grad school with me here! It was RAINING coincidences 🥰

In Buddhism, & Kabbalah too (as my fav speaker David Ghiyam says), I’ve heard that “everything can change in one single moment”. On the other hand, the popular adage is “Rome was not built in a day”. So which one is true? To believe things take time or that they don’t have to take so much time to manifest? I think: it depends on timing itself! Sometimes, the timing is so divine, & karmas so beautifully culminating, that everything does change in a single moment. However, at other times (& we have a deep knowing when), we instinctively know that it will take a looong time before things truly change. What do you think is true for you in this moment? That everything can change in a single moment, or that Rome was not built in a day, so it’ll take suuuuper long before anything truly changes in your life?

I am going to be leading introductions at the monthly Buddhist discussion meeting in my district tomorrow and performing my favorite SGI song “dare to believe” 💜🌟🙌 (I’ll be singing it & playing it on my guitar) https://youtu.be/gkloEa2382U?si=f_Tvwz61-aCVhTuf I couldn’t find the chords to this song online so I just figured them out by ear right now. Good start to the prep!

Daily Encouragement July 10 Humanism is not a special way of living; it’s the simple act of empathizing with others’ feelings—reaching out and encouraging those who are striving hard or suffering, and sharing the joys of those who are happy. —Daisaku Ikeda [The New Human Revolution, Vol. 26, “Banner of the Law” chapter]