Thursday, April 12th, 2012
-- TO MY FRIENDS --
A positive and correct understanding of our activities for kosen-rufu
comes about by our constant effort to be courteous and dignified in our actions.
The swiftness with which we respond to a situation
is inevitably the deciding factor.
Let's all take on the full responsibility of Ambassador of Soka
and in a way that people will say "That is what Soka is all about!
That is what makes Soka so respect-worthy!"
Thursday, April 12th, 2012
--- DAILY GOSHO ---
"If a person cannot manage to cross a moat ten feet wide, how can he cross one that is a hundred or two hundred feet?"
(The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. , page 766)
Selection source: Teachings of Buddhism, Seikyo Shimbun, April 12th, 2012
Friday, April 13th, 2012
---- DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT ----
"The Daishonin discusses 'treating one's friends with courtesy' (WND-2, 636). He says: 'Although one may encounter them ten or twenty times in the course of a single day, one greets them courteously as though they had travelled a thousand or two thousand miles to see one, never showing them indifference' (WND-2, 636).
"This resonates with the spirit of discussion meetings and other SGI activities. If someone rushes in late, we should greet them warmly and thank them for making the effort to attend in spite of their busy schedule. The SGI must always be a realm of warmth and reassurance.
"Courtesy doesn't mean empty formality. It's our sincerity that counts, our respect for the other person, which manifests in our voice, our expression, and our actions.
"'The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behaviour as a human being' (WND-1, 852), asserts the Daishonin. It would be no exaggeration to say, therefore, that the aim of Buddhism is to teach us the highest path of human behaviour, which is exemplified by the practice of respecting others demonstrated by Bodhisattva Never Disparaging[1] in the Lotus Sutra.
"Referring to the passage from the Lotus Sutra, 'If you see a person who accepts and upholds this sutra, you should rise and greet him from afar, showing him the same respect you would a Buddha' (LSOC28, 365 [LS28, 324]), the Daishonin describes it as 'the foremost point [Shakyamuni] wished to convey to us' (OTT, 192).
"Underlying the teaching of treating one's friends with courtesy is the importance of respect for all people."
SGI Newsletter No. 8487, Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin: The Teachings for Victory, [36] "The Four Virtues and the Four Debts of Gratitude." Youth, Become Champions of Humanism Who Shine with the Supreme Philosophy of the Mystic Law!, from the January 2012 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated April 6th, 2012.
[1] Bodhisattva Never Disparaging: A bodhisattva described in the "Bodhisattva Never Disparaging" (20th) chapter of the Lotus Sutra. This bodhisattva, Shakyamuni in a previous lifetime, would bow respectfully to the four kinds of believers—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—greeting them with the words: "I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you will all practice the bodhisattva way and will then be able to attain Buddhahood" (LSOC20, 308 [LS20, 266–67]). However, he was attacked by arrogant people, who beat him with sticks and staves and threw stones at him. The sutra explains that his practice of respecting others' Buddha nature became the cause for him to attain Buddhahood.
* The Japanese kanji for To My Friends is available by clicking on
Seikyo Shimbun's web-site address at
http://www.seikyoonline.jp/news/index.html
--- WAGATOMO NI OKURU ---
KOFU NO GAIKOSEN WA
KANJIYOKU TEINEI NI.
JINSOKU NA TAIYO GA KIMETE DA.
[SASUGA] TO IWARERU
SOKA NO ZENKEN TAISHI TARE!
-- KYO NO GOSHO --
"ICHIJO NO HORI O KOENU MONO JUJO NIJUJO NO HORI O KOU BEKIKA"
(Gosho Zenshu, page 912)
------------------------------------
If you have a friend(s) who would like to get To My Friends directly get them to send an E-mail to the following address and just simply write - "subscribe"
: SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk
from there on it is all automatic!
ALSO if you want to introduce a friend to the SGI but just don't know where to start, share with them the following address and they can read and watch some very well put together explanations about the SGI. Check it out yourself!
http://www.sgi.org/
To unsubscribe from this group, but PLEASE let us know if there is anything we can do to improve, send an email to:
SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-unsubscribe@egroups.com
To modify your subscription from receiving daily to picking up as you wish go to http://www.egroups.com/mygroups
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-digest@yahoogroups.co.uk
SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.co.uk
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms.html
No comments:
Post a Comment