The Power Of: NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO

The phrase NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO is taken from the title of the greatest teaching of the first historically recorded Buddha, known as Siddhartha Gautama or Shakyamuni Buddha, who lived in India around 500 years before Christ was born. This teaching, called the Lotus Sutra, declares that all living beings, regardless of gender or intelligence (that means everyone – including you and me!), have the potential to attain Buddhahood. In the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha teaches that inside each one of us a universal truth known as the Buddha nature. Basing our lives on this Buddha nature enables us to enjoy absolute happiness and to act with boundless compassion. Such a state of happiness is called enlightenment. It’s simply waking up to the true nature of life, realising that all things are connected, and that there is such a close relationship between each of us and our surroundings that when we change ourselves, we change the world.

 

In the 13th Century, a Japanese priest called Nichiren (1222-1282) realised that the message of the Lotus Sutra was summed up by its title, NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO, which can be translated as the teaching of the lotus flower of the wonderful law. Nichiren declared that all of the benefits of the wisdom contained in the Lotus Sutra can be realized by chanting this title NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO. Since the time of Nichiren many, many millions of people have followed his advice, chanting NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO regularly as a means of improving their health, happiness, wisdom and compassion. The goal of chanting NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO is to manifest the enlightenment of the Buddha in our own lives. We can then realise our own creative potential as individuals and, in so doing, create thriving and peaceful families, work places and communities. Eventually this gradual transformation of individuals will create peace and prosperity in societies throughout the world.

 

Nam

Nam means devotion and respect. So, the whole phrase has the simple meaning of ‘devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra’.

Myoho

Myoho relates to Mystic Law, the essential Universal Law and its manifestations.There are two main relationships: one between life and death, and the other between our most enlightened, or Buddha, state and all our other nine conditions or states of life.

Renge

Renge literally means “lotus flower.” The reason why the lotus is such an important symbol of Buddhism is that it blooms and seeds at the same time. ‘Renge’ signifies the process of cause and effect at work deep within the life of each person.

 

Kyo

Kyo means sutra or teachings. It is the vibration of our voice which is so important in our Buddhist practice. ‘Kyo’ is the interconnectedness of all phenomena; and how our prayer or the sound of our chanting can affect people and situations out of our immediate sphere. This is why we do not chant in silence.

How do you chant? Don’t worry, it’s simple, really.

Try to find somewhere where you won’t be disturbed for a little while, or have to worry about disturbing others. Sit on an upright chair, facing a blank spot on a wall – so there are no distractions.. Keep your eyes open, and your back as straight as you can – but don’t be uncomfortable. Hold your hands together, so as to keep them still – you may wish to hold them as in prayer – again, don’t be uncomfortable. Set yourself a time for how long you will chant, and stick to it. Remember, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s 2 minutes, 10 or twenty, the point is to set a time and stick to it. Just be determined to keep chanting till the time is up – at first, you might find that this takes quite a lot of determination! Repeat the phrase NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO over and over rythmically, until the time limit you have set is up. For a guide to how to pronounce the words, click here. When you first begin to chant you will probably want to chant quite slowly but this will naturally speed up as you become more familiar with it. If you would like to hear what it sounds like when people are chanting a little faster click here for an audio file.

 

What should you think about when you chant?

There is no special recommendation – just whatever comes. Just keep steadily chanting, try not to get so lost in your thoughts that you stop! Before you begin to chant, you might like to take a moment to fix a thought in your mind – something you want to change or achieve. This can be anything you like, from the smallest to the biggest thing you can imagine. Often, when people start to chant, they want to set a specific goal, and see if chanting helps them achieve it – “I want to buy a new car by next Tuesday” – for example! Don’t be afraid to test the practice in this way – nothing says that your aims have to be “spiritual” or noble – just chant for whatever is important to you – to improve your material circumstances, your relationships, whatever. Don’t expect miracles overnight – a situation that’s taken years to build up might take a while to change. However, be prepared to be surprised by how quickly you can make a difference to some things! The whole point is to be guided by your own wisdom – right now you may not believe you have any, but chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo will help you realise that you do, and that you can trust the decisions you come to when chanting. To sum up: a number of possible subjects might act as the focus for your thoughts whilst chanting – a particular problem to be resolved; a difficult decision to make; or the best course of action to follow in a given situation. Likewise, you could be focused on emotional situations, and look for ways of coping with them; or thinking of the well- being of another individual. Or your thoughts might be on personal wishes and wants, goals or determinations.

How long you should chant for?

This is up to each person but as a guide people are often recommended to chant for about 15 minutes morning or evening (though of course you are free to chant less or more as you wish). It is however a good idea to try to get into a regular rhythm of chanting a little in the morning and evening rather than chanting a lot one day and none the next. Once again, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s 2 minutes, 10 or twenty, the point is to set a time limit and stick to it. Just keep on chanting till the time is up.

http://www.guernsey.net/~moorman/Daimoku.mp3

Worldwide weird: Dine in the treetops in Thailand…

For travellers looking to branch out, Thailand’s restaurant in the trees should fit the bill. My next holiday destination 😀 Plan urs too!!!

The Dining Pod is a restaurant in the Six Senses Soneva Kiri resort on the island of Koh Kood, allows a small number of hotel guests to eat at tree-level with views of the forest and the Gulf of Siam below. Up to four people can fit in the oval-shaped steel frame, which is covered in nest-like woven rattan and holds a small table and booth-like seating.

Guests enter the pod on the forest floor and a system of safety cords ratchets it up 16ft above ground. Then waiters travel by zip-line to deliver a fresh Thai meal (including fruits and vegetables grown from the resort’s organic garden). The food is served from a small platform adjacent to the pod.

For a more down-to-earth dining experience, Soneva Kiri offers a number of other food options, including restaurants with wood-fired and tandoor ovens featuring rotating local specialties, as well as a room dedicated entirely to Thai chocolate served a number of ways. Rooms for two start around a pricey 44,000 bhat a night, but since the resort is all-inclusive, eating at the Dining Pod does not cost extra, though advanced reservations are recommended.

JAIPUR WEDDING – PHOTOGRAPHY

When you think rajasthan, you think of the Thar desert, the beautifully dressed women, the colorful clothes, camels and horses painted in various colors, stories of prince and princess, of beautiful palaces, you think of a royal splendor and of course the rich food. A glimpse of this Jaipur wedding presented as an art of photography.

DIY Monster Heels With Electric Soles A La Nicki Minaj

I use to have this ex- boyfriend that would always say “I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you walk away” #LAME (notice I said EX-boyfriend). As lame as that line is, it actually a very valid observation for girl obsessed with fashion. When you first meet people you really want them to love your outfit, but think about it… wouldn’t it be nice to leave them with a fashion surprise when you walk away?

Christian Louboutin is the MASTER of this with his red soles. Since I’m Louboutin whore, I would NEVER suggest painting your soles red, but here’s a quick DIY (…and stylist) trick to adding a little pizaz to the bottom of your shoes…

This July my blog-sorority, Two Point Oh LA, partnered with The Sole Society and became the brands Fashion Insiders for the month. They were gracious enough to send me these fab cut out booties. Click here to check out The Society’s website and to join the club. They have loads of amazing shoes at amazing prices!

These booties are so cute as is, but I screwed on a few spikes to help channel my inner Nicki Minaj.

I added a neon pink duct tape to the bottom to really make them stand out. Duct tape now comes in a variety of different colors and even prints. Remember my color block belt (here)?  I used 3 different neon duct tape colors for that project. Pick your favorite color and go crazy!

Stylist Secret:  Sometimes when were using shoes at a photoshoot we’re not allowed to scuff up the bottoms of the shoes. To protect the shoes we add blue painters tape to the bottom so that the model can pose in the shoes with damaging them. We use painters tape because it’s easily removed and won’t mess up the shoe, duct tape is a lot more sterdy and will last longer.

EASY STEPS TO TRACK DOWN YOUR HANGERS FOR SHOES..

how simple is this…just get those hangers from any place..or any roadside shop would carry them. Get your tools and jus get this started by beautifying your customized shoe hangers..

CANDLES OF POSITIVITY

Plastic lamps: Lightning the candles of positivity

What could be better than turning plastic from being a ‘pirate’ in the environment to something ‘pleasant’ which could beautify our homes? Plastic bottles are non biodegradable and hence, cause a lot of harm to the environment we live in. Why not follow the beautiful principle of ‘reduce, recycle and reuse’ and make some productive use of plastic.

Environment friendly crystal lamp

We often decorate our homes with objects of crystals. But they are too expensive. Plastic bottles could serve similar purpose. Let us tell you the gimmicks of the game. What we are talking about now is ‘making an alternative crystal lamp – using plastic’. Let us see how we can make this glittering crystal lamp.

Procedure

The first step to make this alternative crystal lamp is to create a stand lamp of steel. This should actually form the base of the lamp you are trying to create. It is very important to keep in mind the dimensions if you want to make a good crystal lamp. The height should be about 120 cm, while the width and length of the body of the lamp should be 30 x 30 cm. We use welded steel to make this frame-work or alternatively use plastic wrap waste. After this, it is coated to avoid rusting. This step is followed by preparation of aqua bottles. On an average, 240 plastic bottles are required for creating this crystal lamp. You can easily get them from your scrap dealer or you might have saved them at home – so just have a peep in the godown before you move out – after all we are trying to create something ‘best’ out of the so-called ‘waste’. Make a small cut at the bottom of the bottles and then make the bottles hollow. Heat the bottles lightly to get a curve effect – avoid over heating or else it would cause pollution which would then again not serve our purpose. On the lamp frame that you had just created hang a plastic rope and attach all the aqua bottle molds that you just created. There should be two layers of this to get that glittery effect. Your alternative glittering lamp is ready. Now show off to others and feel good that you have done something for the environment.

Human resources

Minimal human resources are required to make this and, thus, you save a lot of money. The trash collector has the most important role to play here because all we need is trash bottles. Minimal use of technology is involved here. What you just need – is a little bit of perseverance and patience. And, of course, a great willingness to complete this project – which we are sure of because of your interest in reading this article.

Benefit

Following a market-based approach to solving social problems rather than a philanthropic approach is in trend these days. So, you need to find a market place to sell this product. Also, understand the customer’s requirement and try experimenting with this – may be different colored bottles and so on and this would help you fetch money. On the other hand, since a lot of rag pickers would be involved in collecting these bottles, they would in turn generate more income for themselves and also help in contributing to make this environment a plastic free zone.

IS ECO-FRIENDLY THE NEW FASHION?

   HOT STILETTOS UPCYCLED INTO ELEGANT FLOWER PLANTERS.                                 Fashion marrying sustainability isn’t something extraordinary; we have been seeing that for quite some time now. But, your hot heels nurturing nature is something we don’t get to see very often. Berkeley-based artist Rachel Mahlke gives new life to stylish stilettos by upcycling them into beautiful planters. She first removes the top of the shoe, then sands it, drills holes for drainage, and finally plants it with a variety of plants like fleshy aloe nobilis, dangerously sharp cactus called Astrophytum ornatum, pink thorny Tippy, spiky-headed haworthia plants and purple living rock succulents etc.The plants are fresh, healthy and gorgeous, thanks to the natural, organic fertilizers and soil that give them the essential nutrients. The stylish Stiletto planter is certainly a must-have piece.

NEW TWISTS AND TURNS…

Do these shoes really hurt???????? who cares..they are the new style and the new fashion that every girl would think of wearing it atleast once.Women’s willingness to tolerate discomfort, even pain, in the service of fashion is often chalked up to the desire to attract a mate or to rise a step in the social hierarchy. But today’s extreme fashions may have more to do with expressing power and control — control over one’s own body, and the power to use one’s body to draw the gaze of others..

WHY DO WE LOVE SHOES THAT HURT US..

I wish i had a pair of these too!!. Whether to wear on formal or casual, this time around, an artist brings to you stilettos made using Lego bricks. British artist Finn Stone has recently unveiled a pair of Lego-adorned stilettos at The Affordable Art Fair in London. Dubbed the “LEG-GO Stiletto”, these absolutely stunning heels would go with any thing you would love to wear!!!

COLOR TRENDS….

Re-arrange your wardrobe with a new addition of pastel and neutral shades of greens and mint this summer. Give a complete fresh look to yourself by toning down the colors of your clothes with minimal jewellery , a structured bag and stilettos to look CLASSY.