Laugh away your illness! - What powerful words!....................... Reply to Kyoo - Transforming Misfortune into Fortune Tokaido Region WD Study Chief Kumiko Inatomi related her experience: I myself have been encouraged by this Gosho passage countless times, especially during my struggle against an illness that attacked me out of the blue. The name of the illness was Hodgkins disease (malignant lymphoma). That was the time when I was in the midst of fulfilling my responsibilities as the Women Division Chief of Yokohama Prefecture. Why? Why must it be cancer? Why? Why must it be me!? Questions like these coupled with the fear of death kept attacking me mercilessly. I was in complete agony. Only daimoku can save me now! I resolved but my prayers were filled with pessimism. I simply could not bring myself to be positive. In the midst of this inner struggle, I received a card from President Ikeda with words of encouragement written on it. It read: Boldly live out your life, Laughing away your illness, Winning over your illness, Proving yourself As th queen of longevity. Laugh away your illness! - What powerful words! How wonderful it is to have such a mentor in life! I Felt as if an electric current just flowed through my entire body, charging me up with courage and gratitude. From that day onwards, I immersed myself in daimoku, chanting five to six hours a day, as I took on the challenge to confront my illness. The challenges were immense, especially the torturing side effects of chemotherapy including the horrifying hair loss. But still, I persevere on. Even though Im so ill, Ive got a mentor who is cheering me on; who believes in me. Whats more, I still have this opportunity to chant daimoku like this. When this realisation dawned upon me, I was overwhelmed by profound emotions that surged forth from the depths of my life. Previously, I was fighting my illness on an equal footing. However, after this realisation, I could look upon my illness from an elevated life condition. As I continued chanting daimoku, I found myself released from the fear of death. Instead, I could even perceive death positively as something that will knock on everybodys door one day. This was a precious experience for me as I confronted death head on without battling an eye and changed my perspective of life and attitude in offering prayers on a fundamental level. Nichiren Daishonin stated, Nam-myoho-rengekyo is like the roar of a lion. What sickness can therefore be of an obstacle? (WND, p412) The Daishonin is encouraging me to roar like a lion by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! Also, in The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, he said, The word shi of the word shishi, or lion [which means teacher], is the Wonderful Law that is passed on by the teacher. The second shi [which means child] is the Wonderful Law as it is received by the disciples. The roar is the sound of the teacher and the disciples chanting in unison. (OTT, p111) Our prayers based n the spirit of the oneness of mentor and disciple will ensure the validity of the words what is there that cannot be achieved? I came to this realisation through my struggle against my sickness. It has been 11 years since I overcame cancer and I am indeed filled with gratitude that I have the opportunity to share my experience with fellow members who are challenging illnesses, to encourage them. President Ikeda said, The Soka Gakkai has always triumphed in every arena through the oneness of mentor and disciple. All progress starts with this spirit of unity. It is in this spirit that the key to victory and glory in all endeavours is found. A life dedicated to the path of mentor and disciple is one of unsurpassed joy. Cherishing this sense of gratitude to be able to wage a united struggle with our mentor, let us continue to strive cheerfully for the realisation of kosen-rufu.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 10:22:35 +0000
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