Summary of guidance from Amy Shur, Culture Dept.Leader, New York City.

The guidance from Danny Nagashima about becoming a person of unlimited self-esteem is the best medicine. When I chanted that way, everything in my life changed! You can analyze your situation all you want, but you still have to get to the root of why “ I don’t believe in the greatness and chant to appreciate and value your own life. The answer is so often simple, but since we over analyze, it gets complicated and the solution  seems farther away. When I followed Danny;s guidance, it was unbelievable what I felt inside! I realized that our mission as Buddhists is to be Happy, not to master suffering! We have a negative part of us, and positive part of us. There is a part of us that believe we can achieve our goals and become happy, and there is a part of us that says, “ Whom are you kidding”? We have to fight to not give in our negativity. This is not just about achieving one particular goal, but becoming the person you always wanted to become, a person who really values their life! This is an amazing opportunity. The obstacles we face are the answers to our prayers. Those feeling of self-doubt we feel, like being a scam artist or a failure are the feelings that we have to face. Your talent is not really questioned. Rather, it how you feel about yourself that is the karma we have to deal with. We have to value our own life. Appreciating our own life has nothing to do with someone else validating us. When I began to follow my heart and my Buddhahood, the effects and benefits from that were MASSIVE! You need to follow your heart and truly treasure your life. When you sit in front of the Gohonzon to chant, you must have the utmost reverence for your life! The Gohonzon is the embodiment of our enlightened life. Our lives deserve that kind of reverence. When Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the Dai Gohonzon, he was already chanting Nam – Kyo. Thus, out of the greatness of his own wisdom, he was able to inscribe the Dai Gohonzon for all humanity so we would be able to relieve our suffering!If you chant Nam – Kyo for TWO weeks, to really become a person of unlimited self-esteem, and to really and TRULY appreciate your life, including your flaws, accomplishments, defeats, losses, victories and what you have created, and just truly APPRECIATE YOURSELF AS A PERSON FOR  TWO WEEKS…..EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE! FORGET about all the past “garbage,” it will only make you feel impotent. Put it away. From today on, really chant to become a person of unlimited self-esteem. Appreciate everything about your life! All the things about you that make you incredibly unique and wonderful! Remember that all that stuff, even the heartaches, will be the stuff you will be able to use to inspire other people. This is the stuff you’ll need in order to share your experience, so really and truly focus on awakening to your greatness! This is the opportunity you needed to go through so that you can become outrageously successful and fulfill your dream! If you focus on this, really valuing your life now, then everything will fall into place in a much bigger way.

 

You will feel and know your self worth and self respect. It’s something that no one can give you. Theuniverse is showing you what you need to tackle. When you first chant this way, a lot of “garbage” may come out of your life. A lot of negativity and awful feelings may surface. Let it pass through you like the flu and transform the darkness. See the enlightened side of your fear. We always bring things into our lives that match our life condition. Chant to feel incredible joy about your worth! Not being able to achieve a particular goal is a manifestation of our feeling that we are good enough to do it, if we can get ourselves to a place where we can absolutely see the miracle and the greatness of our own lives, everything in our lives will completely transform! We have to believe in our own Buddha nature. When we face the Gohonzon, we should say “I am going to praise my own wonderful life”! It is important to awaken to our own greatness. Now is the time for you to start over. Your life is the Gohonzon. When you pray to a deity, your prayer becomes passive. Our lives are the mystic law. You must appreciate and value your own life. The Gohonzon is not outside you. When you receive a benefit, it was you who created it. You must awaken to and believe in the greatness of your own life.The Gohonzon is the  manifestations of Nichiren Daishonin’s enlightened life. Just as a beautiful piece of art elicits a response, or a great book touches your life in a certain way, we must elicit the Buddha nature from our own lives. It is right there. The Gohonzon is the perfect vehicle to bring out our greatess potential. When you display your Buddhahood, you bring out that strength, joy and vibrant life condition. Then, you  take that to the world and change the environment. We are not necessarily chanting for the house, the car or the relationship. But, we are chanting to elevate our life condition to attract that happiness! The results we see in our lives are a reflection of our life condition. Everyday we must chant to manifest our Buddha nature consistently and to rise above our basic tendency. (I think mine is anger) Chant with the expectation: “I WILL MANIFEST MY BUDDHAHOOD!” That is exactly what will arise. I create my own fortune. I am a Buddha and I will manifest it everyday. I have to believe that I deserve boundless happiness. The Buddha is who I truly am! Everyday I must manifest my Buddhahood and rise above the belief that I am a mere common mortal who does not deserve fortune in my life. Manifest the extraordinary side of you. Believe in the greatness of your own life. Don’t negate your life when you are in front of the Gohonzon. Don’t beg, scream or berate the Gohonzon. The Gohonzon is the tool we need to bring our Buddhahood. My life is the Gohonzon. Don’t slander your life. The doubt is necessary to prove to myself that I am the Buddha. I will fulfill every one of my dreams, for we already possess something incredible that is our Buddha nature and the Gohonzon. But we don’t believe it. I have everything I need to get out of poverty and to transform my life. But if I don’t believe that the “billion dollars” is mine, I won’t be able to enjoy it. It is time to CASH THE CHECK. Trust that the Gohonzon is the absolute means for you to transform your life! Trust is the key word. Chant with the expectation that everyone of your wildest dreams will be fulfilled beyond your wildest imagination! Chant to believe in your Buddhahood. Trust in the greatness of your life. In the Gohso, “ On Attaining Buddhahood,” Nichiren Daishonin makes the primary point. To free ourselves from the sufferings of birth and death we have endured in lifetime after lifetime, and to attain absolute happiness, we must awaken to the mystic truth that has always been within our lives. That truth is Nam – Kyo. That truth is that I am a BUDDHA! Trust the power of your Daimoku. Your life will be HUGE! Put your life first. In front of the Gohonzon, it is all about your life. Trust your life. Trust that the billion-dollar check that you are afraid to cash out really does exist. Trust that you have EVERYTHING that you need for your happiness and it is in the Gohonzon When you look at the Gohonzon, know that you have exactly what you need to fulfill every prayer and become wildly and extraordinarily happy!