A Buddhist Podcast – An Introduction to the Juryo Chapter

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February 9th, 2009

Finally, we are back! We are so pleased to do this show tonight, so pleased to be able to share this with you! After 3 years we have decided to finish our lecture series on Gongyo! Tonights lecture is an introduction to the Juryo Chapter, the 16th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, known as the Lifespan Chapter! Some of the headings include:

  • Traveller
  • Where do we come from and where are we going?
  • How can life be eternal if we all die?
  • Overview of the Lotus Sutra
  • Eternity is an aspect of life
  • Do you ride the shopping trolley of life?
  • Mentor and Disciple
  • Nichiren the human being
  • White knuckle daimoku
  • Our lives are one with the universe
  • We are the Bodhisattvas of the Earth
  • Striving for self worth
  • Unprecedented Challenge

Music for tonights show comes from the great talent of Cat Malojian! These two lads from Northern Ireland make great music, and we love it. Tonight they play Who Knows? and Goodnight. If you like their music, pop over to ITunes and buy some!

Thank you for all your messages of support and encouragement, we hope you enjoy tonights show!

12 Comments »

  1. Hello Jason and Karen Jarrett!

    I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your efforts toward kosen rufu. You guys basically shakibukued me. If it wasn’t for you I may not be Buddhist at all. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am explaining the practice to my roommate and he brought up a question that I’m very interested in. He asked me why the gohonzon is so “busy” and I wasn’t sure what to tell him. He wanted to know why there isn’t just one symbol and what the writing on the scroll means.

    Could ya’ll please help?

    Oh, and I haven’t listened to this latest podcast yet but I really do get inspiration and reinvigoration from them. Your December or November podcast (can’t remember which) convinced me that the only way I will really get lasting benefit from this practice is to chant twice a day–in the morning and evening–with the firm believe that I am a Buddha too and have the capability to achieve ultimate happiness in my life and to encourage others to do the same as well.

    That decision came to me when I was really depressed and feeling defeated, having gotten my gohonzon in April of last year and not seeing the benefit I originally sought. But now, I really see an improvement in my life. I feel more at peace and willing and ready to accept my mission (whatever I decide it to be through chanting) without fear or reservation!

    Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jason and Karen Jarrett! 🙂

    Nam Myoho Renge Kyo,

    Gavin

    Comment by Gavin Handrup — February 10, 2009 @ 1:31 pm

  2. Greetings from Canadia. LOL.

    Awesome podcast. Such a powerful experience. It’s really mystic because I had a similar experience (getting roasted) quite recently, and it was really heartening to hear your story of victory. In my case, it made me more determined than ever, to bind my life to this practice and to get up again and stand up as a true disciple. I feel even more closer to President Ikeda, though I haven’t seen him since I was 4 years old. I’m determined not to let anything stop me from showing the greatness of this practice with my own life. It’s nice to see you two standing up too with such unshakeable faith and wisdom. Thanks for living such inspiring lives and for your efforts every month. I know you must spend many hours preparing.

    I really appreciate both your efforts and love listening to the podcast at all hours. Usually on the bus on my way to work. It supplements my study and peaks my interest to study harder.

    I hope your family is ok in the snow. We’ve already been hit with 140 cm here in Toronto. With more to come I’m sure. LOL.

    Keep on truckin’ and never let the naysayers stop your noble mission. Keep on blazing the trail. Your sense of initiative and commitment are amazing. I use your logan in my newsletter. You both touch the lives of many, many people. Never doubt that.

    *hugs*
    Marsh

    P.S. This link is for Gavin. An interactive map of the Gohonzon from SGI USA. You can roll over the different parts and learn about what it all means. Congrats on your journey and congrats in advance for your future victories. You’ve already won!
    http://www.sgi-usa.org/memberresources/resources/gohonzon/diagramofgohonzon.php

    Comment by Marcia — February 11, 2009 @ 6:49 am

  3. Thank you so much. This information is exactly what I need! 🙂

    Hugs,

    Gavin

    Comment by Gavin Handrup — February 11, 2009 @ 8:00 pm

  4. Thanks Mate,Its been so long since i last touched base,seems like ive been on a long journey and just got back,lifes like that some times.I really enjoyed your lecture, just like the old times but much MORE depth, same lovely WARMTH though.Big Hugs to you both. Pete

    Comment by Hornit — February 18, 2009 @ 10:19 pm

  5. Hi Jason and Karen, For newer listeners of your podcast, can we get a re-run of the hoben chapter series? maybe you can slip them in between episodes of the juryo chapter that you started now.

    To understand the Gongyo has been one of my determinations for the last one year, and this episode has helped add to my understanding. Thanks.

    Comment by Subhorup — February 19, 2009 @ 12:03 am

  6. The world is in chaos. Honorable dealing is deteriorating, good friends are few, truth is held in disrepute, good service is underpaid, poor service is over paid. Whole nations are committed to evil dealings: with one you fear insecurity, with another, inconsistency, with a third betrayal. This being what it is, let the bad faith of others serve not as an example, but a warning. The real danger of the situation lies in the unhinging of your own integrity: accepting less than your best, being overly tolerant of stupidity, forgiving incompetence, fraternizing with the non spiritual. The man of principle never forgets what he is, because he clearly sees what the others are. – Baltasar Gracian

    Thank you for sending energy into our hearts via your podcast. I feel safe in speaking for all your listeners when I say:
    You inspire individual actions which wake community and love within humanity.

    A very sincere,
    Patrick

    Comment by Patrick K Hendry — February 19, 2009 @ 5:01 am

  7. Dear Jason and Karen,

    I downloaded this back when it first came out, but then got distracted by an ongoing family crisis. Now that I’ve heard it (just today), I realize that the crisis might have been made a little easier to bear had I listened back on the ninth.

    The most helpful part to me wasn’t specifically about eternal life, but a supporting point. Of course, it’s reassuring to know that “eternity” is a boundless quality in every moment of our lives, whether we’re currently “roots” or “flowers.”

    But the most helpful points, given my current situation, was between 27:58 and 30:11, when you made very clear the difference between “clutching onto” our problems and sufferings, and “reveal[ing] our limitless selves, whose presence can change any situation for the better.”

    That sounds so logical, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. “Clutching onto” my child’s situation and trying like hell to change it feels exactly like holding onto HIM. That’s about as hardwired a maternal instinct as you could hope to find.

    Still, I also realize that I have a tendency in general to try, out of fear, to control everything. So my challenge is to battle that tendency; to “cast…off the parts of [me] that have always caused [me] to suffer.”

    So thanks for another heaping helping of reality. I’m just grateful you always serve it up with a big side order of hope.

    love,
    Vittoria

    p.s. Oh, about when you were told off: Like you, I don’t think it was a coincidence that your sense of self-worth and the “roasting” came within an hour of each other. But I wonder if some self-sabotage followed on the heels of this new “wonderful sensation” and drew this unpleasant experience out of the environment. Just a thought. In any case don’t give the incident any more of your precious energy. Save it for more podcasts! 🙂

    Comment by Vittoria — February 21, 2009 @ 5:21 am

  8. Hi Jason and Karen,
    I was so glad that you had finally recorded a new podcast. I am not always good about attending meetings in my area, Amsterdam, but whether I do or not, your podcasts still inspire me more than anything else.

    Comment by Deborah Carter — February 28, 2009 @ 5:58 pm

  9. Thank you so much for the Podcast on Chapter 16 of the LS.
    I make it a point to do morning and evening Gongyo, I chant daimoku, but I just feel like something is missing, like I am not getting it. I know how to chant NMRK but my question is while chanting what am I suppose to be thinking? Most of the time my minds wanders around about the many problems in my life, the health of my friends, desire to be happy and happiness for my friends and family as well. Please help me to understand.

    Comment by Cal Dickerson — March 3, 2009 @ 4:41 pm

  10. Hello! My troubles have doubled and my happieness has quadroupled. In one of your recent podcasts you said words to the effect of “Now, more than ever in these difficult times, people need/want to see a warm smiling face and a cheerful attitude” or something akin to that concept. Thank You for that. That simple sentance is powerful to me. Mindfull of the need to encourage those around me is bringing me blessings from angles, and in ways I never could have imagined . The good just keeps outweighing the bad 100 to 1, Thank You From Radford Virginina USA

    Comment by Robert Allen — March 10, 2009 @ 12:45 pm

  11. Your mind will always think while you chant, your first step is to stop thinking about your thinking. Your not getting it, because there is nothing to get. You already have it.

    Dan
    http://www.danosongs.com

    Comment by danosmusic — March 25, 2009 @ 2:56 am

  12. Thank you so much Jason and Karen:
    I feel no longer alone when I have you and your marvelous podcasts.
    It really helps me staying encouraged.
    I get so much out of it, that keeps me practicing.
    Love you both, stay tune.

    Berta, from El Salvador

    Comment by Berta Brass — May 25, 2009 @ 4:08 am

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