The Secret to Happiness and Overcoming Depression and Anxiety Through Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism

Modern Method of Coping With Depression Through The Power of Chanting

Depression, anxiety, self-doubt, and emptiness are just a few feelings when one is facing financial hardship during a tight economy. Any of these feelings can arise from life events such as death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, grave illness of loved ones, etc. It always seems that after overcoming one hurdle, another major hurdle pops up. Many families, even ours, are fairing much worse economically than a few years ago. How did I overcome the stress and anxiety during hard times? Although I am a voracious reader of self-help books, I have kept close to my religion Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism for strength and confidence to overcome my hardships. The core philosophy behind Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is that each person already possesses unlimited potential within us. By chanting, each of us brings out and elevate our life condition. Easing the suffering of depression cannot be more timely during October, National Depression Awareness Month.

 

Nichiren Daishonin Discovered Unlocking One's Potential...

Through Chanting "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo."

 

Chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo polishes our lives at the deepest level.

 

 

 I also recommend watching a 20-minute full length movie called "Our Shared Humanity"

Optimistic Thinking Through Chanting "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo"

Depression has a wide spectrum. Lee Wolfson, a psychologist at Western Psychiatric Clinic and Institute (WPIC), a division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. and a practitioner of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism with SGI since 1972 wrote a World Tribune article which was published on February 9, 2001. In his article, Lee reviewed a book by Martin Seligman, Ph.D., called "What You Can Change and What You Can't whose compelling argument is that mild depression is caused by pessimistic habits of thinking. Pessimists falsely believe that the causes of failure and rejections are permanent and pervasive while an optimistic person's thinking is a powerful antidote to pessimism and depression. A power method of optimistic thinking can be found in Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism and chanting "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo."

Background of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama, known more popularly as Shakyamuni Buddha, lived twenty-five hundred years ago in India where he was awakened to a path of enlightment or Buddhahood. He believed and taught that all people have the ability to attain this state of enlightment through his teaching in Lotus Sutra. A 13th Century Buddhist reformed monk in the 13th Century found that path to enlightment is everywhere through the practice of chanting "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo" confidently , awakening the Buddha nature innate in all of us, dispelling delusion and moving forth everyone's inherent strength, wisdom, and compassion. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, an educator, founded Soka Gakkai in 1930, as he was searching for a humane system of education. He and his disciple Josei Todai were imprisoned for refusing to compromise their religious beliefs in the face of pressure from Japan's militarist government. Now under the third president of Soka Gakkai, President Ikeda, Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is now in 192 countries and territories with 12 million practitoners.

 

Daisaku Ikeda

Soka Gakkai's Third President

In 1975, President Ikeda established Soka Gakka International and took Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism globally. Under his leadership, Soka Gakkai International is now in 192 countries and terrorities, with Nichiren Buddhism being practiced by more than 12 million people.

 

Experiencing Both The Positive And Negative Experiences In Our Lives

Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism teaches us how to make the best of everything-positive and negative-and take control of our lives. The way we react to external situations and circumstances is a reflection of our inner state of life. If we are in a state of anger, for example, we will form angry thoughts, emotions, appearances, and influence. An angry person see the world and believes that there are reasons to be angry. However, each person experiences moment to moment, day to day, differently, even when going through the same situation. The way we relate to our environment depends on how we have lived our lives, thus coloring how we react, either positively or negatively. Therefore, the best way to deal with external situations, however, unexpected or however seemingly uncontrollable, is through an elevation of our life conditions.

 

 

 

Elevating Our Life Condition

The way to elevate our life condition is to chant "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo" and unleash our inner strength, thereby allowing one to find wisdom, courage, and energy to find the right action and improve our interaction with the world around us. By chanting, one can break thorough darkness and bring forth our Buddhahood. This struggle with our fundamental darkness or ignorance is why we chant "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo." To learn more about Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, go to http://www.sgi-usa.org or contact me directly. As a educated person who kept my mind open and kept questioning the practice, I have embraced this SGI Buddhism whole-heartedly, and in return, it has completely changed my life.

 

 

 

 

Nam

Nam means devotion and respect. So, the whole phrase has the simple meaning of 'devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra'.

Myoho

Myoho relates to Mystic Law, the essential Universal Law and its manifestations.There are two main relationships: one between life and death, and the other between our most enlightened, or Buddha, state and all our other nine conditions or states of life.
 

Renge

Renge literally means "lotus flower." The reason why the lotus is such an important symbol of Buddhism is that it blooms and seeds at the same time. 'Renge' signifies the process of cause and effect at work deep within the life of each person.

Kyo

Kyo means sutra or teachings. It is the vibration of our voice which is so important in our Buddhist practice. 'Kyo' is the interconnectedness of all phenomena; and how our prayer or the sound of our chanting can affect people and situations out of our immediate sphere. This is why we do not chant in silence.

Peace

 

 

 

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Nichiren Daishonin Buddhsim Slow Gongyo Chant With Words