Hiee everyone
Today's topic was not chosen from my Instagram but it was chosen by me and my family. I want to take 5 mins to talk to you guys about SGI. Now you must be wondering .... What is SGI. Is it a person or a thing ?. Well I'll tell you a little about it today . So , SGI is a network of worldwide Buddhist people that promotes peace, education and culture through personal transformation and social contribution. It's full form is soka gakkai International which is a Japanese term for value-creation society. My family and I discovered this group after we moved back to India from the UK . And a disclaimer, I will be making another episode on that . But back to the topic . So my mom has a friend who is one of our neighbours and she chants for her wellbeing and for world peace. My mom was introduced to this group by her and she started to chant every day. It is actually quite helpful in relieving stress, anxiety and depression . Now you may be thinking about why I'm talking about this in the first episode of my podcast . Well, it's because I actually believe in chanting too . Well the reason for that is because, my mom had health issues a few years ago and it put pressure on our entire family. And I was just about 9 years old so I didn't really know what was going on. After I came back to India I noticed that my mom had started to believe in this practice and she tried to influence me. It took at least 3-4 months for her to convince me to start chanting for a few minutes everyday . She started to chant for my pimples to go away. And yes I know it's kind of weird but I have insecurities too just like many of you out there. So I began chanting like 4 months ago and I have been better than ever . I feel more positive and relaxed than before. The extent to which we can benefit from chanting depends on how much sincere efforts we make when we practice. So one needs to chant earnestly with unwavering faith and conviction. Now you have to keep in mind that this chanting that I'm taking about is not a religion, you don't need to stop believing in Christianity or Hinduism or whatever religion you follow . It is just a faith that you practice everyday . As we all know, our lives are created from what we do, how we live everyday . For that reason, we should strive to live each day as to continually improve ourselves. The driving force for this is chanting daimoku . When we chant daimoku, our problems and sufferings all turn into energy for our happiness. The result is increased life force, wisdom, compassion and good fortune to face the challenges Infront of us . Through chanting, studying Buddhist philosophy and taking action each day for the well being of ourselves and others, we can establish a state of profound happiness and make each moment of our lives joyful and meaningful while contributing to our families, communities and society .Nichiren Daishonin , the 13th century priest stated that everything depends on what is in our hearts. Heartfelt prayers will definitely be answered. With the recent coronavirus pandemic , almost everyone is going through tough times . Nichiren's teachings state that we must never give in to hardships. In times of trial, one must learn to endure whatever may come and thereby strengthen and improve oneself. The invincible power of the mystic law manifests itself through courageous faith . It opens the path to victory with powerful prayer and the indomitable spirit to never be defeated. I really hope you liked today's podcast because I very much did. If you want to know more about this philosophy I would recommend sending me a DM on my Instagram @muskaan.ghosh or if you want to add my Snapchat which is muskaan07070. Or maybe if your parents would like to know more about this practice then I can provide them my mothers phone number . This is all for today's podcast. Hope you liked listening to me .I hope you have an amazing day bieee!l
