Each New Year is a blessing for me. This past Thanksgiving marked my 16th year of being cancer free. In that period there were big obstacles and some sad times. There have been moments of exhilaration, fulfillment and wonders. And there was the mega dose of creativity that the universe bestowed upon me. As practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism can attest, prayer to the Gohonzon can transform all our troubles into reward and desires into enlightenment. We are the most fortunate beings in the world.
I have received many benefits as of late. Of all the qualities and treasures faith can bring forth, compassion and appreciation are the blessings that I value most. Life can be a beautiful experience, even when the wheel is traversing some serious karmic terrain. We are so blessed to have encountered the ultimate Buddha dharma of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. To paraphrase the Lotus Sutra, if one can uphold this sutra for even a short while, you will delight Shakyamuni and all other Buddhas. For those who have decided to practice on their own or those who have stopped, your cause, as the sutra says will still delight the Buddhas. Be assured that you are directly connected to the Law of the Universe and worthy of benefit and honor regardless of the path youve chosen.
I look forward to the New Year with deep gratitude. I owe my life and achievements to Nichiren Buddhism. This year, I will put the final flourishes on my new healing book, due out in the spring of 2005. My aim is to share daimoku and visualization with many people in need. I do this because its the fulfillment of a promise I made to the Gohonzon in 1987, immediately prior to my near-death experience. I vowed to spread Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to cure illness of the body, mind and spirit, throughout the world. Ive done this. But Im not done, my friends. The wonderful dream continues to unfold like the blooming Lotus.
2004 will be great in samsara. My next article will be about ESP you knew that, didnt you? Happy New Year
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ESP. I've been interested in this topic most of my life. My mother has told me several experiences about seeing the future in her dreams. One notable experience was during WWII in Japan.
One night she dreamt about fires raging in her home town. She was searching for two of her friends but could not find them. She could see her friends locations but could not move from her location. She then woke up and didn't think about it again until several days later when her town was bombed and fire was everywhere.
She then went to each of the locations and together they left the town and headed into the safty of the mountains. After all this, her friends asked her how she knew exactly where they were. She just told them that she dreamt about it.
She has had several dreams that came true thoughout her life. All of them have the same characteristic of vivid colors. She told me that the last dream like that she had was several years ago. It was about two uniformed men coming to her door to inform her that I had died in a crash. She says that she did not recognize the uniforms until she saw some airline pilots on TV. At that time she started chanting that she would never see these dreams again, and the dreams have stopped. (One note, she has always wondered why they would come to inform her and not my wife).
Funny thing, I use to enjoy flying. Now I chant a lot when I have to fly.