A Byrd's Eye View

Enter With A Prayer

In the introduction to his amazing book “Modern Buddhist Healing,” Charles Atkins, our own Fraught With Peril blogger (“Phantom City”) writes:

“In order for chanting and visualization to work, you do not need to understand Buddhism or alternative medicine any more than you need to understand the complexities of engine design in order to drive a car. Prayer and meditation are elegantly simple in nature, and are absolutely free. Prayer is our direct communication link to the absolute reality of life and the universe. The essence of Buddhist healing is simple enough for a child to master in a few moment and profound enough to humble a skilled physician….To extend my own life, I tapped into that utterly impervious aspect of consciousness free from the agonies of fear, pain, or death. All may enter with a prayer; no one is denied access.”

“All may enter with a prayer.”

Is that beautiful, or what?

Charles is talking about the method he used to heal himself from cancer and that he now generously and compassionate shares with others through his writing. But I believe his approach is right-on for ANYTHING – not just healing from disease or pain. Chanting and prayer can work without us even understanding how. Without us even knowing what Nichiren intended. Without an SGI meeting, without a Gohonzon, without a single grain of Buddhist wisdom.

In fact, maybe chanting works even better without us analyzing and dissecting and getting bogged down in 101 mind-numbing dharmic details. I have a feeling it would for me.

When I first started chanting with the SGI, I was just happy to be chanting. I didn’t have my Gohonzon right away, so I usually chanted while in the bathtub, focusing on the silver faucet. My life began to fall into place in a way I’d never known before. I felt like I was “in the flow,” tapped into the rhythm of my life and the universe in a wonderful new way. (Maybe it had something to do with the bathtub?)

Maybe I should have left it at that. Just chanting in the bathroom. Or while out walking. Or even later on, in front of the Gohonzon, blissfully practicing with an open “Beginner’s Mind” that didn’t know enough to create doubts and mental barriers.

But noooooo. Us Jews, even us Bu-Jus, are notorius questioners. We even answer questions with a question. And so I had to start digging. “What about this Buddhism?” “Does this jive with what I’ve learned in the past?” “How come they don’t mention the Four Nobel Truths?” “Is it really kosher to use a practice based on non-attachment to score a deal on a pair of purple Ugg boots?”

Maybe all the questions would have been okay but one thing got lost in the process:

I stopped chanting. Or at least greatly reduced its frequency. Not that my life stopped working. Not that the flow dried up. I believe there are other ways to keep the faucet open. But there’s something about daimoku that works faster for me.

Maybe “faster” isn’t the best description. But when I chant, even just a few times on a walk, things seem to click into place. Mainly things having to do with people and relationships. Especially people who are also chanting daimoku. “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” is like a magnet that pulls us together. “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” is like a shot of caffeine out into the universe. Gets the energy going like nothing else.

And so, I am now going to try it again with that “Beginner’s Mind.” Before chanting, I will thank my brain for her concern, and then kindly request that she take a little vacation. I will turn off the judgements, the chatter, the mental blabber. And just go for it.

If it works, it works. Does it matter why? Does it matter how? (Oh oh, there I go with the questions again.)

I plan to send a copy of "Modern Buddhist Healing" to everyone I know who is facing a physical challenge, even those who are not Buddhist and who would not read or be interested in anything having to do with Buddhism. That’s the beauty of this book, and that’s the magic of daimoku too. Whether we’re Buddhists or Jews or Catholics or Christians or Muslims or agnostics or atheists or anything else, we all have that safe, precious, point of light within us, and we can use the technique Charles teaches to reach it.

As Charles says, “All may enter with a prayer.” What could be more universal and cost effective than that?

Thank you, Charles, for writing your books and connecting... Thank you to everyone on this website for being here and giving me the best education I've ever received on things that really matter... thank you to everyone who reads and comments (or reads and doesn't comment). All this dharmic energy and support is deeply appreciated and has opened up my life in ways I never imagined. Hope it's doing the same for you!

Posted by at May 14, 2005 03:03 PM