Here's another UFO hitting the finished object pile. It's the end of January and I have many of the Christmas 2010 preosents ready. Yahoo! I love this UFO method.
This is a lovely soft scarf (the kind that pokes thru itself) in yummy soft wool sock yarn from Knitpicks.com. Feather and fan stitch. The colorway is called something like hot chocolate and Oreos, if I am remembering right. No, I found the ball band (miracle). It's Smores. It's been discontinued now. I have one more skein, so I'm making something to go with it. I haven't decided just what yet.
I've been working on a Buddhist meeting, an SGI Women's Division Kick-Off Meeting. It was today and it went great.
Just in case you missed it, here's what I said for the welcoming words:
"I want to welcome all my beautiful Myoho Sisters to this meeting, the Central Area Women's Division kick-off meeting. We women rock! And especially I want to welcome our guests today. Thank you so much for coming and checking out this incredible practice. Give it a try, stick to the person who brought you, and soon you'll know why we are all grinning so much.
What are we kicking off today? The wonderful women-led 4-divisional district meetings for February, 2010. They're going to be great!
What are we kicking off today? The wonderful women-led 4-divisional district meetings for February, 2010. They're going to be great!
The February meetings are traditionally a great time for us to introduce so many of our friends to this wonderful practice, so I hope you brought your friends to this meeting. And I hope you are all chanting to be able to bring ALL your friends to the February district meeting, too, for this will guarantee their absolute happiness in life. The women's division have such tremendous power of faith and abundant joy that the meetings you are planning in your districts are sure to be rousing successes.
Chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo with conviction and joy, looking into the future with confidence, setting goals and reaching them and helping each other do this all along the way, this is a most wonderful way to live. This is what it means to live the vow we made as Boddhisattvas at the Ceremony in the Air, practicing together with our mentor, President Ikeda, creating the greatest possible benefit for ourselves and mankind in this precious lifetime.
This practice is the best medicine for whatever the karmic illnesses of mankind are. So let's share the wealth, and let everyone know about this wonderful practice of the Lotus Sutra, let's tell them about chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to the Gohonzon to make all our dreams come true and help others do the same. Nichiren Daishonin said in “Letter to Niike”, “When one encounters this sutra, one will overflow with happiness and shed tears of joy. “
I have a long list of things I am chanting for, do you? I hope so. I keep crossing things off the list as I accomplish them and I keep adding even more to it. The list just gets longer and longer. Isn't that how it's supposed to work? Chant, joy, benefit, appreciation, repeat. Chant, joy, benefit, appreciation, repeat. It works like the shampoo.
When I was a new member I had a very short list. I had lots of problems, but my natural nature was so negative, I could not imagine any of my issues being solvable by chanting, or by anything else for that matter. So I thought I had nothing much to chant for. My sponsor told me to make a list, but I could not think of a single thing to put on it. With time, as I chanted more I developed more and more hope and I thought, “Well, maybe that problem is something I could chant about. Gee, maybe this other one, too. Oh, how about this one...” As a result my list grew and grew and my benefits began to pile up like purple flowers drifting under a Jacaranda tree in the Spring. “U mandara ke”, like it says in the 16th chapter of the Sutra that we chant during Gongyo, right? The Boddhisattvas of the Earth receive benefits like abundant mandarava blossoms floating down onto their heads under the tree, right? Every time I see a blossoming Jacaranda tree with heaps of purple blossoms underneath it, I am reminded of this image Shakamuni chose in the Lotus Sutra to describe the tremendous benefit we derive from this practice. We don't have mandarava trees in San Diego, but we have Jacarandas.
When I was a new member I had a very short list. I had lots of problems, but my natural nature was so negative, I could not imagine any of my issues being solvable by chanting, or by anything else for that matter. So I thought I had nothing much to chant for. My sponsor told me to make a list, but I could not think of a single thing to put on it. With time, as I chanted more I developed more and more hope and I thought, “Well, maybe that problem is something I could chant about. Gee, maybe this other one, too. Oh, how about this one...” As a result my list grew and grew and my benefits began to pile up like purple flowers drifting under a Jacaranda tree in the Spring. “U mandara ke”, like it says in the 16th chapter of the Sutra that we chant during Gongyo, right? The Boddhisattvas of the Earth receive benefits like abundant mandarava blossoms floating down onto their heads under the tree, right? Every time I see a blossoming Jacaranda tree with heaps of purple blossoms underneath it, I am reminded of this image Shakamuni chose in the Lotus Sutra to describe the tremendous benefit we derive from this practice. We don't have mandarava trees in San Diego, but we have Jacarandas.
President Ikeda said in Words of the Week for this week of January 25, 2010, “The SGI is the hope for humanity. Let's continue to sow the seeds of peace of the Mystic Law for the sake of the future. The accumulation of steady efforts will cause the flowers of victory to bloom without fail.”
So get your lists fired up, girls, get your firey determination in gear, chant abundant, joyful Daimoku and give this upcoming February meeting your very best shot. Then, you'll be calling me, to tell me all about your great benefits. And we'll both be lovin' it. I hope you enjoy today's meeting!"
So get your lists fired up, girls, get your firey determination in gear, chant abundant, joyful Daimoku and give this upcoming February meeting your very best shot. Then, you'll be calling me, to tell me all about your great benefits. And we'll both be lovin' it. I hope you enjoy today's meeting!"
It was a great meeting. Everyone had such a great time. So, after a nice nap I was ready to take on my project of finishing up all the unfinished things, one at a time.
Lilo came in from her evening adventure in the cold and now she wants to play with me. She's getting feisty about it, since I am busy blogging. Good night , Lilo.
Good night, All.
Julie
- Location:home in San Diego
- Mood:
content - Music:the Salsa compilation from Brynna and Aolfredo's wedding
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