A NonBuddhist Life

Q: Do you ever wonder where you would be if you had not begun practicing Nichiren Buddhism?
A:  I don't need to wonder.  I have a good clue where I would be and it is horrible.  Without Buddhism, I would have resumed my comfort eating habits whenever I felt lonely and depressed. I would still be a Music Major, and a miserable and disappointed one at that.  See, in Atlanta, there are a lot of musical acts seeking to get a record deal.  Now, I would have, in time, gotten a deal, and probably would have become a famous musical act.  But I would have been a very lonely old man.  When I watch biographies on several famous acts like Janis Joplin, Judy Garland, Cass Elliott, David Ruffin, and how portions of their life mirror my own, and also, the proclivity for addiction runs in my family, I know that I would have turned to drugs.  Of course not heroin because I'm scared of needles. Not cocaine because I have a fear of strokes and brain hemorrhages.  Nothing smoked because I value my ability to breathe.  But definitely alcohol and pills.  Without Nichiren Buddhism and nam myoho renge kyo, all of my fears of failure, all of my insecurities, and my pain would have caught up with me and I would have died a forlorn soul.

Chanting for Other People's Happiness=Changing Poison Into Medicine

This is a silly question, but has someone ever hurt you in your life?  If so, is the pain of the slight still fresh in your mind?  Well, I can relate.  I have been carrying around years of pain from people who hurt my feelings in one way or another.  This year, my friend and fellow Bodhisattva of the Earth Heather Brewer suggested that I chant for the happiness of someone who had hurt me.  I had started, but had stopped because the change was not coming as fast as I wanted it to come.  Then on November 24, 2015, I had decided to chant to change myself so that my life, family harmony, and  finances would improve.  I found myself sharing my Buddhist practice with more people around me, even my own family.  Also, I began to chant for other people's happiness again.  Then a few days ago, another friend and fellow Bodhisattva of the Earth Patricia assured me that chanting for people's happiness alleviates people's pain.  So today, I was chanting for the happiness of someone who had hurt me 4 years ago and I had a moment of enlightenment or aha moment.  Chanting for the happiness of those who hurt you is an example of changing poison into medicine. You are in essence taking all of those negative emotions of sadness, anger, acrimony, and hatred and turning them into impetuses for your growth and happiness.  Instead of hurting you and causing you to suffer, these negative emotions benefit you.   So for all those who were hurt by someone, let's chant nam myoho renge kyo for that individual's happiness for at least one minute a day.