Soka Buddhist Altar Store Manager Live No. 62: The Buddhist Altar Koku-Zushi where the Nambutsu is chanted: Now available in an upgraded version!

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Koku Zushi: Urban Style Version 2: Two new colors are now available

November 28, 2024: The workshop that produces the altars said they wanted to bring us a new piece today! Miraculously, they delivered it in the afternoon of the "Soka Gakkai Spiritual Independence Day." The result was wonderful! I was moved, grateful, and delighted.

Every day is fulfilling and I feel a sense of accomplishment. What is the reason for this?

We started with the Daimoku, then recited the Gosho with our family, and on November 28th, the Soka Gakkai Spiritual Independence Day, my wife and I started the challenge of reciting the New Human Revolution. This has allowed us to continue with the Daimoku foundation, the Gosho foundation, and the guidance of Ikeda Sensei as our core.

Reflecting on my attitude towards faith up until now has become a drama of revival!

I think it's important to look back on life sometimes.
Are your prayers answered through this devotion?
Are you praying a vow?

Have you ever suddenly started to wonder if you yourself are just "thinking" to do something?
First of all, are daimoku even being mentioned? I'm not good at daimoku!
Do they study the Gosho? They do if they are in charge of Gosho lectures or for teaching examinations, but isn’t the reality that they don’t study the basics?
Are you learning from the guidance of President Ikeda? I started thinking about reading The New Human Revolution, but I put it off just before flying out of Hawaii.

Do you actually believe in it?

First of all, do I have "faith" as a member of the Soka Gakkai? Maybe I think I have faith, and because I participate in organizational activities, I mistakenly think I have faith?

Faith is about learning the study of faith, the fundamentals of the Daimoku, the fundamentals of the Gosho, and the teachings of President Ikeda, and changing one's life's destiny. So what exactly is "faith"? When we think about it, isn't it "chanting the Daimoku and practicing until your prayers are answered? "
Even though I am practicing Buddhism, I found myself casually saying things I like, dislike, and am not good at.

You may notice it, but if you do notice it, it is important to reflect on it and correct your mistakes. If you notice it but don't correct it, or if you resolve to try hard but don't continue, then at that point you have strayed from the path of faith and the reality is that you are not facing your destiny and karma.

Regardless of this faith, there is value in chanting the daimoku and achieving human revolution.

If you want to bring about human revolution, you need to have faith in earnest.

Everyone has a limited lifespan, and no one can live forever. Sometimes we lose faith in ourselves and give up on ourselves.
What is the purpose of my life? Am I needed by others? Do I have confidence in myself?

That's why, in order to face your own life, you should chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo to the Gohonzon!
I experienced that it is important to decide for myself to chant the daimoku and to continue doing so every day as a Buddhist practice.

What I thought about, as someone who is not good at coming up with titles

I'm not good at chanting the daimoku, and although I can do it occasionally at meetings, when I return home and there is a large Buddhist altar and the Gohonzon, I am not chanting the daimoku.

Even if they hold a position or sell Soka Buddhist altars, they are not linked to the daimoku.
As a result, one's work and financial fate are always on the edge and one cannot make a revolution.

No matter how hard I try at work, the results are not improving, but rather moving towards an increasingly harsh reality.
So what is the effort that is lacking? No matter how much I think about it, nothing comes to mind, nothing comes to mind, I go round in circles in my head, but after thinking it through, I finally come up with the answer: "That!" It's the "topic"!

Now the only thing left is for me to come up with a theme? That's the only thing I can think of. If I can come up with a theme, I'm sure I'll see a different view!
With this in mind, I decided to chant the daimoku.
And then you decide to do it, but after five minutes you feel dizzy and start to wonder if maybe you should read a management book.
Since there was no one in my industry to look up to, I read a lot of books by successful people.

In the end, even though I chant the daimoku, my feelings are still wavering.Why can't I chant the daimoku when reality is so harsh?
There, the life of an ordinary person (who says things will work out somehow) still dominates his emotions.

I realized that I should make my own altar that would raise the Daimoku!

To begin with, the large altar I use was manufactured by a manufacturer, and I thought, "This is a good one!" I didn't think, "This altar will help me recite the daimoku!" I realize now how foolish I was to not realize the ignorance of the principal while "selling Soka altars."

This Buddhism teaches that cause and effect occur simultaneously, that the original cause and effect are one, and that one's own single thought is important, and that everything is determined by that single thought.
Some may think that since the principal image is the same, the Buddhist altar is irrelevant. People have different opinions, and of course that is fine.

The most important thing is for you to raise your own daimoku.

I would like to experience how much human revolution a person who was not good at chanting the daimoku can achieve if he or she starts chanting the daimoku.
I have never actually thought that my job in the Soka Buddhist altar business is just to sell them, make a profit, and make business successful; in fact, I don't think I'm cut out for business at all.
Of course, if you work hard and make money, and the results are good, there's no reason to complain.

I have worked as a retailer specializing in Soka Buddhist altars for the majority of my life (43 years), and as we enter this era of global kosen-rufu, it would be one thing if things were going well and Buddhist altars were selling like hot cakes, but the reality is that the entire industry is seeing a decline in both sales and profits, and the number of retail stores is rapidly decreasing, like a light hanging in the wind!

How can we judge this reality with faith?
Since it's not selling, will they change to another job?
Should I try to do related work and increase my sales?

I truly believe that this work is my mission.
It is a Soka Buddhist altar that spreads the Gohonzon and the daimoku throughout the world in order to spread Buddhism worldwide.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that all I had to do was create an altar where the daimoku could be chanted!

Creating a Buddhist altar with a chanting function that combines the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin with modern technology

Nichiren Daishonin's Gohonzon is modeled on the Lotus Sutra's Koku-e ceremony, and is a mandala of ten world characters with Namu Myoho Renge Kyo as its theme. So I researched and learned about the Koku-e ceremony, and then I wondered how to design the space of the altar where the Gohonzon will be enshrined, and what kind of lighting should we use? I gathered various information to turn my fantasy into reality, and finally I worked with a Buddhist altar manufacturing workshop that is affiliated with our shop and has strong faith. I consulted with them about the ultimate goal of Soka Buddhist altars, "an altar that chants the daimoku," and about the design, equipment, materials, and colors. They said that if we wanted to create an original altar with such passion, we would work hard to make it happen.

I, who have never made a Buddhist altar before, am going to make one! Isn't this truly human revolution?
Doesn't building a Buddhist altar to chant the daimoku indicate faith?
When the Kuku Zushi is completed, we will be able to provide Soka Gakkai members all over the world with a Buddhist altar where they can chant the daimoku. That is my mission.

No one had ever thought of this before. The invention of a Buddhist altar that chants the sutra!

It is not an idea that if you make a large and magnificent altar, you can sell it at a high price, but rather that if you mass-produce altars in other countries, you can reduce costs and sell them cheaply.

Creating a Buddhist altar that will encourage people to chant the daimoku

This was the ultimate method devised by a man who was not good at chanting the daimoku, and after putting it into practice, the man was able to chant the daimoku 10,000 times every day.

I was able to experience the basics of faith through the merit of chanting the daimoku.
1. My vitality has become stronger, so I no longer get depressed over small things.
2. My vitality has increased, and my desire to take on new challenges in life has become stronger.
3. We now discuss everything as a couple, respect each other, and enjoy each other's lives.
4. I have come to truly appreciate the kindness of others and am now able to live with gratitude.
5. I have developed the faith (the ability to believe in myself completely) to be able to chant the daimoku to this extent.

I have experienced that faith is ultimately the source of vitality that allows one to believe in the Buddha realm within oneself, unleash one's greatest life force, and live one's life the way one wants to.

Together with the chanting of the Daimoku in the Void Shrine, I will continue to live out my mission.

Faith is a life that is ever evolving.
It can inspire human life, fulfill one's desires, and create a life in which all living beings can enjoy life.

People are influenced by their environment.
By creating an environment in which I could chant the daimoku in the "Kuku Zushi," I was able to chant the daimoku, perform devotions with my family, and even read the Gosho. By my wife and I working together to practice the "New Human Revolution Reading," we were able to bring our family back on the path of fundamental faith.

I have found myself grateful to be able to live every day for kosen-rufu, to be able to interact with people, and to be able to look for and carry out ways in which I can contribute to others.
Isn't this what kosen-rufu is all about?
If we can make each and every event in our lives fulfilling and grateful, then surely we can live a life of joy?

With the chanting of the Daimoku in the Void Shrine, I will continue to live my life to the fullest and fulfill my mission!