HARMONY-April 2014

DEAR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF SGI,

One of the best things about this Buddhism is that initially, you don’t have to understand how it works in order for you to gain benefit. You just need to take the action to chant. It’s a bit like flicking a light switch to enjoy the effect of electricity. You don’t need to understand how it gets there to have light in your room.

And that’s a really good thing, because early on in my practice, all I cared about was chanting, doing activities and changing stuff in my own life, with no thought of others. A rather self-centered approach, which can happen when first beginning to chant.

Sure, I read the various publications, mostly to see if any of my photos were used, but I didn’t understand a lot of the Buddhist principles, some of the more complex, yet fundamental concepts of this Buddhism, nor ultimately, my life.

For that is what Buddhist practice is about, our life. How we can lead the most value creating and victorious life possible and help others to do the same. And only when we study and understand the inter-relatedness of all things, are we able to elevate our Buddhist practice to the next level.

This is why reading the various SGI publications is so crucial. It helps us understand the subtle yet complex workings of our life, our environment, and the universe.

This month we look at the principle of the Ten Factors. The Ten Factors is a very important concept that explains how we relate to everything around us. They, together with the Ten Worlds and the Three Realms, form part of the “3,000 realms in a single moment of life”, as was first explained by T’ien-t’ai.

How do we get to 3,000 you may ask? In a nutshell, it consists of the 10 worlds, which are mutually inclusive, from Hell to Buddhahood, and each contains the other – so 10 x 10 = 100. Then each of the 100 interact with the 10 factors at any given time – so 100 x 10 = 1,000. These 1,000 relate to the three realms we dwell in – our self, other beings and the environment – resulting in 1,000 x 3 = 3,000. For more details, see our special features and the graph on page 14.

Comprehending this important concept is key to our personal growth and the deepening of our faith. For understanding this allows us to understand our life, our environment and the world around us.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Harmony.

Skip Williams

Quotes of the Month:

“Prayer entails an intense challenge to believe in yourself and stop diminishing yourself. To belittle yourself is to disparage Buddhism and the Buddha within your life.”–www.ikedaquotes.org