Like the Waterfall

I would like to share another poem by my mentor:

Like the waterfall, fierce

Like the waterfall, unflagging

Like the waterfall, unfearing

Like the waterfall, merrily

Like the waterfall, proudly—

A man should have the bearing of a king!

~ Daisaku Ikeda

To date (31 July 2007), he had been nominated for 232 honorary doctorate of which 215 had been conferred. He has 530 honorary citizenship, conducted 1600 dialogues with intellectuals, scholars and political leaders, of which 50 of those dialogues had been published. His collected works numbered 101 volumes and had been a bestseller for 19 consecutive years.

A truly remarkable and unprecedented achievement!

I am truly proud to acknowledge this man as my mentor.

DAIMOKU

The girlfriend gave me a new set of crystal prayer beads last night (or her daddy rather, =p ). I am determined to use it to begin another personal Daimoku campaign.

Sharing a poem about DAIMOKU by my mentor – Daisaku Ikeda:

If you underestimate the power of Daimoku,
And use another strategy;
You will lose in the end.

You can accumulate good fortune only when
You fight for Kosen-Rufu without begrudging your life.
Unless your prayers are united,
The fight for Kosen-Rufu cannot gain momentum.

No matter what anybody says, or does,
Nothing can defeat the power of Daimoku.
But without action, you cannot call it faith.

The Gohonzon can penetrate through everything.
The word “faith” is very mystic
And once you become serious, you can gain
One thousand times or ten thousand times more benefits.

When you chant abundant Daimoku,
You have the power to open the heaviest iron door
That stands in your ways; that is,
You can overcome the most massive obstacles in your life.

You can definitely change your negative karma.
The world of “faith” is the place where many of us,
Chant powerful Daimoku in unity,
Thus create the power like the huge force of the wind.

There is nothing but the Daimoku.
Daimoku determines everything.
Daimoku has more power than one million guidances
Or one million books of philosophy.

Chant abundant Daimoku and pray to the Gohonzon.
Ask the Gohonzon for whatever you need.
Everything will come true as you wished
And the path of Kosen-Rufu will open up in front of you.

Everything depends on how much Daimoku you chant.
When you chant a lot of Daimoku,
Your work will become fulfilling.

There may be many nights when tears will not stop flowing
There may also be many times when you are terribly hurt.
At such times, my heart will open to you.
I am always here to listen to you,
I, too, will share your tears with you.

You don’t need to tell me anything.
If you care happy, I can just tell by looking at your face.
Just tell me about the problems and pains that you have,
I will carry half of your heavy burden,
And walk together with you.

Take Responsibiliy For Our Lives

Teaching can really be a thankless job sometimes. In our contemporary schooling system, out of 10 students, there may be only 1 who appreciated your efforts. It is truly important to hold on that the thought of that one.

The celebration of the YMD formation took place today. 835 YMD representatives gathered at Senja Soka Centre today. Incidentally, my new car plate number is 835. Does this signify a new beginning for me? To live as a true YMD!

From the time we were born, we were taught reliance. As a baby, we depend heavily on our parents. Then as we grow older, we seek constant approval of our friends. Advancing into adulthood, the views of our spouses take precedence. And for some people, the concept of being responsible is so foreign that they attribute everything to the divine and seek approval from god all the time. In the process, many people fail to learn how to take responsibility for their lives.

All of us heard the golden advice of taking charge of our own lives before. But in reality, when we meet with a difficulty, we look to our parents, or bosses, or friends, or husbands and wives for help. We blame the clients, the partners, the system or even the government. Basically we are conditioned from young to identify where the fault lies when something goes wrong. And mostly, we are never at fault. Why? Everything we do, we subconsciously seek approval for them. We did that since we were children!

But the problem is, when we blame our situations on our environment, we are giving up the power to correct the problem. Only when we decided that we are the problem can we take an active step to improve the situation. But then again, admitting that we are the problem is a serious stab in the ego. It means we lose the “approval” of our conduct we are trying to obtain from everyone.

Hence, to take responsibility for our lives is one of the most fearful things. It takes tremendous courage. That is why many people are frightened when others have high expectations of them. They simply do not believe in their innate potential to excel and do not want to take responsibility for that weakness.

How I applause the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin who taught clearly that once we take responsibility for our lives, we are bound to be able to change it for the better. It is a wonderful philosophy! Yet I can perfectly understand why many people are resistant to it out of the fear of taking this responsibility. I pray for courage.

Oneness of Man and Environment

The SSA 40th Anniversary Meeting at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 7th July went well. I represented SD in the March Past and was duly reminded of the significance of the institution.

Work is piling up since I school reopened after the midyear holidays. In fact, it had gotten so hectic that I admitted being slightly overwhelmed. I find my life-force slipping away and even missed a couple of meetings I really did want to attend on hindsight.

Then last Friday, during the MOE ExcelFest, my new car of barely a week old earned a dent at the carpark. That jotted me. Based on the principle of the ONENESS OF MAN AND ENVIRONMENT, it was clear as day that my life-condition is way too low and unacceptable for a Boddhisattva of the Earth. Once awaken to that, I immediately sms-ed the girlfriend that I needed to increase my daimoku. She readily supported.

I am grateful.

And I started today, going for the weekly Sunday morning Gongyo sessions and then the bimonthly evening Gongyo sessions. It was truly revitalizing. I feel ready to march forth again.

I just re-read “The Buddha, Geoff and Me” over the weekend. An amazing book! I loved it.