What a day! From 11 AM to 1:30 PM, I was nestled in the energy of fellow YWD and WD members. We sang Happy, we watched a film called Mothers Are The Sun, and were refreshed with reminders about courage, faith, and consistency with practicing this Buddhism. It was wonderful, and spoke directly to yours truly. Meetings at the SGI Center are always wonderful, and this one was no different. Joining all my "sisters" in the auditorium was marvelous.
I did my best to take a few notes on the meeting, absorbing wisdom and experiences from other women in the room. Soon as one of the experiences from a WD member spoke of a lack of ease, something hit me in my system. It isn't easy, and getting onto the path is harder than it seems. However, the great rewards from having faith and walking that path are tremendous. Dig these notes.
Our hostesses for the event were Kimberly Herman and Yoko Ambuloo. Their opening notes were simple:
- It's all about chanting/prayer
- Shakubuku starts with courage
- The Women's Division are the "Suns" of the community.
- We celebrate the division's founding day on June 10th. This year will be the 63rd year.
The first experience of the meeting was from a woman who was going through emotional and physical hardship after ending a long-term relationship. She ended up having to take medicine for a thyroid condition that had harsh side effects. She entered a "why me" frame of mind, but quickly gathered her determination and courage, and began to chant for 3 to 4 hours daily, fighting against the hardship of Graves' Disease, and her ongoing issues with family life.
She told the women at the meeting that she reminded herself daily to change her karma. After a couple doctor visits, was able to report that her symptoms were subsiding. From this experience we learned one simple thing--"chant if it's a done deal"--chant that it will happen in the direction of success, not failure. When we chant but have doubt, the doubts manifest. When we chant in faith, what's on the inside is mirrored in the environment. Her final reflection--"chanting turns poison into medicine".
The next experience came from Lena Grambling from Lakeview Dist. Her experience started out with a fairytale marriage that unfortunately took a turn for the worse as her ex-husband's character changed. Once he got a job at a bar, he began drinking and becoming abusive. Ms. Grambling ended their marriage and took her children with her to start over.
20 years later, she received her Gohonzon. She noticed a shift in her life, even finding it in her heart to house her ex-husband as he transitioned to a new house. When she saw him again, his health was deteriorating. Much later, he ended up losing that same house. Again, she reached into her heart (and wallet) to help him keep his home. Her deed inspired others to help clean and repair her ex-husband's home, which had fallen into a state of great chaos and disrepair.
As of today, she has found harmony within her family. Her ex-husband lives with their daughter, who is a nurse. She is able to care for her father. Her other daughter was able to attend a private school on a full scholarship.
The final experience came from Lisa Young of Chicago South. In her experience, she discussed the testing of her faith when her husband fell ill with extreme dizzy spells. It started off as light dizziness, but grew to be such an issue that he had to step down from his job as a policeman, temporarily. After being checked in the ER, he was told to see a neurological specialist. The specialist revealed that he'd suffered a small aneurysm.
As new scans were being released, Lisa's husband was suffering greatly. She felt as if she were going to break down, but did not want to do so in front of her husband, or their children. Her husband needed to undergo a procedure requiring a dye to be injected from head to groin, which was obviously invasive. Opposed to the treatment, Lisa's husband was unsure. The couple decided to chant for seven hours for faith and courage.
Guidance from one of Lisa's leaders expressed that this happening was no coincidence, since Lisa is a psychologist and is also a researcher in this territory. However, this was not just for her. It was also so she would be able to help others, based on her experience. Instead of maintaining a cerebral tactic, Lisa then decided to seek the Lotus Sutra for further guidance. Once the procedure was completed, the doctors came back with puzzled looks on their faces--her husband's aneurysm was G O N E.
In this process, the karma of her family had been changed. What was most important was Lisa's faith. Although she had fear, was very aware of it as well...she did not let it defeat her. When it comes to the SGI family, we must remember this--we are a gathering of lion-hearted individuals full of strength and resolve to come together and make a greater difference.
Then, it was time to hear words of encouragement from Ms. Barb Jenkins. First and foremost, she was sick! She did not think she would be able to make this meeting, and had created a speech for us in her stead. How wonderful she was able to overcome her doubt and sickness to share her wonderful message! Here are some highlights from her speech:
- This Buddhism can change your life--but how, if you can't see it? You don't need to see it in order to transform it. Chant until you get to the bottom of it.
- What does "no matter what" mean? What does it mean when we are shaken and our faith is shaken? It means not giving up and falling for the deception of troubles. "No matter what" means nothing stops you from moving forward. Pushing forward creates the shift of the positive.
- Deadlock exists inside. Do not let it defeat you! Barb felt defeated and was gonna lose because of her sickness, but "it is the heart that matters". We must fight the deadlock furiously with capabilities untapped.
- Never decide something is impossible with the power of the universe inherent in your life. Break through the walls of self imposed limitations. Lack of belief can permeate all we do and say. The paradigm isn't who we are, but who we believe we are.
- Make "power of the universe..." the base of your prayer. Tap into your life and Buddhahood to create a karmic shift, digging deeper than the mind to solve or resolve problems, working on karma and change on the inside. Environment mirrors what you work on inside yourself. Recognize devilish functions for what they are. Train your life not to let these functions get to you and deadlock you.
- You are the playwright and actor in your own victory. The script in your head is important. Write the one you wanna see and make it your reality.
Great words of encouragement that touched down on a lot of areas. We also watched a movie to understand more about the work of President Ikeda's wife, Mrs. Kaneko Ikeda, and Women's Division Foundation Day. It was a wonderful DVD full of wonderful scenes with Sensei and Mrs. Ikeda going around the world and around Japan to speak to various Women's Divisions. YWD were called onstage to sing Forever Sensei (with yours truly getting into a serious groove, lol!!) and then sansho to end the meeting. After all was said and done, all the WD and YWD went outside for a commemorative picture. What a day!