It’s nice to get letters from readers of this column, even when the response is not as positive as it could be. Contrary to what a reader recently accused me of, I don’t say things just to ‘provoke a reaction’, as he felt obliged to write his thoughts to me about the intentions of Archbishop Peter Akinole’s attempts to split the African Church from the Rest of the World over the issue of homosexuality. I thought long and hard about whether I should write about a subject that still upsets many Nigerians. In the end I wrote about it because I thought it was right that Nigerians are aware of this big difference in attitude between Nigeria and the developed world.

In the liberal, secular nations, personal choice issues such as homosexuality and sex before marriage are almost universally accepted. Even if a lifestyle is not approved of by an individual, the right to live according to one’s own conscience is strongly upheld by all.  Nigerians have the right to know that that is how we think in the north.

For us it is part of the whole human rights thing and ‘rights of the individual’ thing. In the UK in particular, laws against discrimination are enforced fairly rigidly, and any kind of attack or slight against a gay person, a physically handicapped person or a person of a different race or religion will be taken seriously both by the police and by employers.  Even children can’t be bossed around by strangers. Sometimes this goes a bit far. The other day I was cycling down the canal path when a little boy accompanied by his mother, also on a bike, wobbled about unsure which side to go past me on. As I went by him i called out ‘It’s best if you pull onto the left hand side’. His mother yelled furiously after me,

‘You mind your own f*&^%$£ business you f*&^%$£ cow!’ which I thought was a bit over the top in the circumstances. It reminded me of teaching in English schools.

I found it quite sad last week when I came back to teach in school here to hear the children swearing at their teacher.

‘We don’t want to learn’ they say. Because their parents have bought them the latest blackberry phone, iPod and Wii computer games, they see no reason to work hard for themselves.

Democratically mature countries seem to have a disrespect for authority. Even more, a distrust of those in authority. When Priests have been led into the courts in droves for child abuse, our Prime Minister has lied in the House of Commons about Sadam’s weapons of mass destruction, and where the banks with our mortgages collapse, how are we to trust them? Gordon Brown at the moment can’t put a foot right. Whenever he speaks in his own defence, his audience just laugh mockingly. Nothing he says will sound credible, because we can’t tell lies from truth now.

So while I can understand the children for not trusting what their teachers say to them, I feel sorry for them. Human society progresses only by each generation being able to assimilate just that little bit more each time, and this is achieved by listening to those who have gone before. If children won’t listen to their teachers, they won’t be able to learn. Of course this is how the governments want it, only the most liberal of nations, maybe Sweden or somewhere, would want its young people to genuinely be able to work out what’s going on.

Nigerians I guess can see how, when something is handed to you on a plate, it can be taken for granted. The positive side to it is that when many children in the UK don’t take advantage of their opportunities, it is more worthwhile for Nigerians to persist in becoming qualified as much as they can, despite the hardships. If Nigerians can rid themselves of the reputation they have in England for dishonesty and scams, they will be recognised for the hard-working people the majority are, and will become a sought after workforce in an under populated Europe, for those Nigerians who want a spell abroad.

While every Nigerian is aware of the importance of education, as yet the government has not managed to ensure even Primary education for every child, and huge investment in public education is still needed. Even then, teachers will have to be better trained, and this is going take a generation at best. The same problem occurs in Nigeria as in the UK, if the government can’t be bothered to fund education properly, how can we trust them?

Nigerians have picked up on the idea that their politicians and business leaders may not be entirely honest in their dealings.  If you want to join with us in distrusting our leaders, why not take up the correlative? The good side of this mainly negative trend? The idea that everyone is equal and has the right to be themselves. We need  unity among ourselves to keep a beady eye on authorities, secular or otherwise to get through this.

864 words

30 September 2008

©Jill Rees

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Prayer

Mr. Kawai’s guidance in faith, conveyed by Mr. Noro, based on President Ikeda’s guidance.

We practice this faith not for mere exertion, that is, not for the sake of practice, but for change and progress and as quickly as possible.

Members may say, I’m doing many SGI activities, but so what? The real question is how much have I changed my life, my environment, and my livelihood? How much benefit have I received? There are many members who are doing lots of daimoku, but there is no change in their lives. Something is wrong. Buddhism is not the Law of Cause and Effect in Action. It is the Law of cause and effect in ichinen (determined prayer). For example, faith is not “feeling refreshed” after prayers and activities. Faith exists for us to change our lives. When we wish to travel somewhere, first we decide on the destination, then we plan on the action (route/ mode of transport) and then we travel and reach that destination. Faith is the same.

In faith, we must first have

1. clear targets
2. prayer
3. action

It is important to pray strongly and then take action and we will see the results without fail. It is important to determine to change. That is to pray “I want to change”, and then take necessary action. It is absolutely no use to ask the Gohonzon, “What should I do?” There will be no answer. YOU must decide what you want to accomplish, not the Gohonzon. Once we decide / determine on some goal, there may seem no solution. But that is precisely why we pray. If it were possible, we would not need the Gohonzon. If there is a way out, then there really is no need to chant. But we pray to change the impossible to possible. Do not engage in “what shall I do…” daimoku, that is, while chanting to think of strategies / look for options in your mind. There is absolutely no need to think of methodology, because there is no way out! We should simply pray like this “I want to accomplish this. I will accomplish this.”

If, while chanting, we think that our desires are unattainable / impossible, then that is the prayer that will be reflected onto the universe. And that is exactly the answer we will get back from the gohonzon… impossible/no solution.

We must pray with 100% confidence in the Gohonzon. I believe in the Gohonzon, my prayer will definitely be answered, just as the Gosho states “no prayer to the Gohonzon will go unanswered”. This is the Buddhist formula, which is 100% correct. It is our doubts that get in the way. While chanting, we always try to find ways out of our problem. Therefore, our ichinen is not directed towards the Gohonzon, but directed elsewhere. Thus it follows, that there is no real joy in daimoku and activities. We just keep doing what were told to do.

There was a young lady (student division) who wanted to go to USA from Japan to study. It was impossible, as she had no money etc. So she prayed, not chanted, but deeply prayed “I want to go to USA to study - I will go” One year later, she reported positive results. There had seemed no solution, but a “bridge” was formed through her sincere daimoku. This is the Mystic Law. It is beyond our understanding, which is why it is called Mystic. So there is no need to think, just trust and pray…

There was a WD who came for guidance. Her husband had terminal cancer and doctors said he would not live longer than 3 months. Her question was “can he be cured?” The answer was “I don’t know”. The leader went on to say that President Toda’s guidance was that when we determine that the only one thing we can trust is the gohonzon, then the body begins to recover from sickness.

This means to cure ones own illness by oneself, through faith. The human body is capable of producing 700 types of medicines. But when our life force is weak, then nothing is produced. When our life philosophy is polluted by slander, and impurities then our life cannot produce its healing power. Buddhism is great. Our life is great! It is supreme. It is Divine. It is the life of the Buddha. So through faith we can always manifest this supreme state of the Buddha, this power of the Gohonzon.

People call Buddhism great, but actually it teaches us that our own lives are great. With determination, great life force and wisdom can be manifested from our lives and bodies to overcome sickness which is one’s negative karma -the source of which is slander. So the real question is not whether the illness is curable, rather, the question is whether i can determine it is curable. The woman told her husband about this guidance and together both corrected their ichinen and prayed and he was cured.

A Woman’s Division leader in Japan could not walk due to pain in her legs caused by rheumatism. She was asked “do you think that your disease can be cured?”
She replied “No!”
“So then that is your desire. Your state of mind and that is why the answer from the Gohonzon is - - no cure!” replied the senior leader. The leader continued by saying that if the medical doctor has given up, if he says there is no cure for your condition, then that is the time to summon up your determination to change the impossible to possible. The very next day, the woman called the leader to report that when she determined, the pain disappeared from her legs and 2 weeks later she was completely cured. Her suffering had been caused by her thinking that it was impossible to be cured, that she would have to live with this life condition. But the moment she determined (ichinen) to overcome through faith in the gohonzon, the power of the mystic law was manifested through her life.

There are 3 kinds of directions:

1. Forward “Gear”. Forward Gear practice consists of: having a clear and specified target and determination to accomplish it through prayer and action, for example: I want a white cat. She must be of Persian species, 3 yrs old, with blue eyes, female. And I want her in 2 weeks. I will get it. In other words, doing a lot of activities and daimoku with no targets and clear goals is no use, as it will not produce any changes in your life.
2. Neutral “Gear” Neutral Gear Practice is chanting out of duty, with no joy. A habitual practice. E.g.: I am a leader, I have responsibilities, so I’m doing activities. But there is no effect. Its like the car analogy… the engine is full and ready to go… but nothing happens.
3. Reverse “Gear” Reverse Gear Practice is when the more activities and daimoku one is doing, one is still going backwards, rather than forward in one’s life. In other words, one may be making a lot of seemingly good causes, but one is also complaining. There is slander and grudges against others. Or one might be Complaining about ones’ own situation on not seeing immediate results. This is dangerous practice.

Just like in automatic transmission car, there is very little difference between Forward and Reverse Gears, from outward appearance it is difficult to tell where one’s ichinen is. But one’s life will ultimately clearly manifest it.

Slander

Even if you commit slander without realizing it, it is still slander. One should never criticize leaders. Right or wrong, one should not complain at all. Instead, one can chant for them to grow and one will benefit from that too. Similarly, never do “onshitsu” in your family. That is do not complain, criticize or carry a negative feeling towards husband /wife, children or parents. This is your karma. You chose your spouse / partner / children.
Chant for their growth.
Further, do not depend / rely on others. Do not complain that they don’t do this or that. Criticism will bring no benefit. But it will certainly bring negative effects.

In conclusion

We must eradicate the following types of prayer:

1. Out of habit or ritual (that is without any target or determination)
2. Out of delusion (that is while chanting, trying to find solutions to your problems)
3. Out of disbelief (that is thinking that this is impossible and will not happen / change)

Instead, pray with your entire heart, your entire being that I am going to build a bridge towards my happiness and those of others by myself, by using the Supreme wisdom of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. One needs to have the experience of benefits / breakthroughs, so as to encourage others. “I have so many benefits through this practice… what about you?” Especially, senior members must receive many benefits. Buddhism is reason. Otherwise what is the use of practicing this faith? If they don’t witness changes/ benefits then their faith has become habitual.

Experiences

There was a Men’s Division Chapter Chief in Japan, which had a small trading company, which was almost bankrupt. The sales had dropped by half. At that time he prayed deeply that the sales should climb to $3 million. And it became so. The next year, his target was $5 million and the year later $7million. So it is important to determine first, then chant.

An owner of a barber-shop reported drop of sales due to lack of customers. He was advised to determine and pray concretely and in specific detail e.g. exact number of customers for haircuts, for blow dry etc. - detailed prayer, with a deadline.

One member prayed to sell his car. He did, but with no profit at all. Because he did not pray for it.

One woman had severe economic / financial problems. She prayed 3 hours daily in the morning - I want this amount of benefit today. I need it. And she received it.

We need to experience benefits through faith and prayer to show power of Gohonzon and encourage others. President Toda and President Ikeda said there are 10 reasons why no change or benefits occur in senior leaders’ lives, even though they have been practicing for a long time.

1. Unclear determination
2. No concrete targets in faith
3. Doing regular Gongyo but no concrete prayer
4. Passive gongyo and activities from a sense of obligation
5. A complaining and begrudging attitude about faith
6. Seeking spirit for senior leaders/ guidance has become weaker
7. Not working hard in office or home
8. Depressed because of various sufferings in life
9. Weak of sense of mission for Kosen Rufu
10. Sense of responsibility as leader is weaker

Even if one of the above is missing, then faith has become habitual and there is no benefit. We must have dreams, which lead to hope and finally become reality when we chant! Therefore, we must have big dreams!

Experience

The President of a Fisheries Co was very concerned about the drop in catch of fish as it was affecting his sales, so he went for guidance. The leader asked him
“You say that you can’t get lots of salmon fish. Does this mean that there is no salmon or are you unable to catch them?”
“I can’t get any, he replied.
“Why can’t you call them to your net? Did you pray like that?” The leader encouraged.
“No I didn’t”.
“There is no natural boundary in the ocean. So why don’t you pray like that?”
The leader encouraged. So he did. His catch went up from 20 fish to 300 in one day. His company went from deficit to surplus. This is no miracle. This is the Law. This is reason.

What is amazing is when you don’t get benefits even though you do chant.

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This guidance has been circulating for some time, and has been said to be based on Mr. Kawai’s guidance in faith, conveyed by Mr. Noro, based on President Ikeda’s guidance. In fact SGI doesn’t officially recognise this guidance. It may be that someone took notes at a meeting and sent this round. 

However this guidance is so helpful, and is in line with the Buddhism of the SGI members, that I am leaving it here for thie time being, in the hope that it may help others as it has done me.

This is with the proviso that it should not be construed as official SGI material, and that it is not sourced.

If anyone knows the source of this material, please get in touch. If anyone thinks I have made the wrong decision and that  it should be removed, also get in touch.  Thanks.

Prayer

We practice this faith not for mere exertion, that is, not for the sake of practice, but for change and progress and as quickly as possible. Members may say, I’m doing many SGI activities, but so what? The real question is how much have I changed my life, my environment, and my livelihood? How much benefit have I received? There are many members who are doing lots of daimoku, but there is no change in their lives. Something is wrong. Buddhism is not the Law of Cause and Effect in Action. It is the Law of cause and effect in ichinen (determined prayer). For example, faith is not "feeling refreshed" after prayers and activities. Faith exists for us to change our lives. When we wish to travel somewhere, first we decide on the destination, then we plan on the action (route/ mode of transport) and then we travel and reach that destination. Faith is the same. In faith, we must first have

1. clear targets
2. prayer
3. action

It is important to pray strongly and then take action and we will see the results without fail. It is important to determine to change. That is to pray "I want to change", and then take necessary action. It is absolutely no use to ask the Gohonzon, "What should I do?" There will be no answer. YOU must decide what you want to accomplish, not the Gohonzon. Once we decide / determine on some goal, there may seem no solution. But that is precisely why we pray. If it were possible, we would not need the Gohonzon. If there is a way out, then there really is no need to chant. But we pray to change the impossible to possible. Do not engage in "what shall I do…" daimoku, that is, while chanting to think of strategies / look for options in your mind. There is absolutely no need to think of methodology, because there is no way out! We should simply pray like this "I want to accomplish this. I will accomplish this." If, while chanting, we think that our desires are unattainable / impossible, then that is the prayer that will be reflected onto the universe. And that is exactly the answer we will get back from the gohonzon… impossible/no solution. We must pray with 100% confidence in the Gohonzon. I believe in the Gohonzon, my prayer will definitely be answered, just as the Gosho states "no prayer to the Gohonzon will go unanswered". This is the Buddhist formula, which is 100% correct. It is our doubts that get in the way. While chanting, we always try to find ways out of our problem. Therefore, our ichinen is not directed towards the Gohonzon, but directed elsewhere. Thus it follows, that there is no real joy in daimoku and activities. We just keep doing what were told to do. There was a young lady (student division) who wanted to go to USA from Japan to study. It was impossible, as she had no money etc. So she prayed, not chanted, but deeply prayed "I want to go to USA to study - I will go" One year later, she reported positive results. There had seemed no solution, but a "bridge" was formed through her sincere daimoku. This is the Mystic Law. It is beyond our understanding, which is why it is called Mystic. So there is no need to think, just trust and pray… There was a WD who came for guidance. Her husband had terminal cancer and doctors said he would not live longer than 3 months. Her question was "can he be cured?" The answer was "I don’t know". The leader went on to say that President Toda’s guidance was that when we determine that the only one thing we can trust is the gohonzon, then the body begins to recover from sickness. This means to cure ones own illness by oneself, through faith. The human body is capable of producing 700 types of medicines. But when our life force is weak, then nothing is produced. When our life philosophy is polluted by slander, and impurities then our life cannot produce its healing power. Buddhism is great. Our life is great! It is supreme. It is Divine. It is the life of the Buddha. So through faith we can always manifest this supreme state of the Buddha, this power of the Gohonzon. People call Buddhism great, but actually it teaches us that our own lives are great. With determination, great life force and wisdom can be manifested from our lives and bodies to overcome sickness which is one’s negative karma -the source of which is slander. So the real question is not whether the illness is curable, rather, the question is whether i can determine it is curable. The woman told her husband about this guidance and together both corrected their ichinen and prayed and he was cured. A Woman’s Division leader in Japan could not walk due to pain in her legs caused by rheumatism. She was asked "do you think that your disease can be cured?” She replied "No!" "So then that is your desire. Your state of mind and that is why the answer from the Gohonzon is - - no cure!" replied the senior leader. The leader continued by saying that if the medical doctor has given up, if he says there is no cure for your condition, then that is the time to summon up your determination to change the impossible to possible. The very next day, the woman called the leader to report that when she determined, the pain disappeared from her legs and 2 weeks later she was completely cured. Her suffering had been caused by her thinking that it was impossible to be cured, that she would have to live with this life condition. But the moment she determined (ichinen) to overcome through faith in the gohonzon, the power of the mystic law was manifested through her life. There are 3 kinds of directions:

1. Forward "Gear". Forward Gear practice consists of: having a clear and specified target and determination to accomplish it through prayer and action, for example: I want a white cat. She must be of Persian species, 3 yrs old, with blue eyes, female. And I want her in 2 weeks. I will get it. In other words, doing a lot of activities and daimoku with no targets and clear goals is no use, as it will not produce any changes in your life.
2. Neutral "Gear" Neutral Gear Practice is chanting out of duty, with no joy. A habitual practice. E.g.: I am a leader, I have responsibilities, so I’m doing activities. But there is no effect. Its like the car analogy… the engine is full and ready to go… but nothing happens.
3. Reverse "Gear" Reverse Gear Practice is when the more activities and daimoku one is doing, one is still going backwards, rather than forward in one’s life. In other words, one may be making a lot of seemingly good causes, but one is also complaining. There is slander and grudges against others. Or one might be Complaining about ones’ own situation on not seeing immediate results. This is dangerous practice.

Just like in automatic transmission car, there is very little difference between Forward and Reverse Gears, from outward appearance it is difficult to tell where one’s ichinen is. But one’s life will ultimately clearly manifest it.

Slander

Even if you commit slander without realizing it, it is still slander. One should never criticize leaders. Right or wrong, one should not complain at all. Instead, one can chant for them to grow and one will benefit from that too. Similarly, never do "onshitsu" in your family. That is do not complain, criticize or carry a negative feeling towards husband /wife, children or parents. This is your karma. You chose your spouse / partner / children. Chant for their growth. Further, do not depend / rely on others. Do not complain that they don’t do this or that. Criticism will bring no benefit. But it will certainly bring negative effects.

In conclusion

We must eradicate the following types of prayer:

1. Out of habit or ritual (that is without any target or determination)
2. Out of delusion (that is while chanting, trying to find solutions to your problems)
3. Out of disbelief (that is thinking that this is impossible and will not happen / change)

Instead, pray with your entire heart, your entire being that I am going to build a bridge towards my happiness and those of others by myself, by using the Supreme wisdom of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. One needs to have the experience of benefits / breakthroughs, so as to encourage others. "I have so many benefits through this practice… what about you?" Especially, senior members must receive many benefits. Buddhism is reason. Otherwise what is the use of practicing this faith? If they don’t witness changes/ benefits then their faith has become habitual.

Experiences

There was a Men’s Division Chapter Chief in Japan, which had a small trading company, which was almost bankrupt. The sales had dropped by half. At that time he prayed deeply that the sales should climb to $3 million. And it became so. The next year, his target was $5 million and the year later $7million. So it is important to determine first, then chant. An owner of a barber-shop reported drop of sales due to lack of customers. He was advised to determine and pray concretely and in specific detail e.g. exact number of customers for haircuts, for blow dry etc. - detailed prayer, with a deadline. One member prayed to sell his car. He did, but with no profit at all. Because he did not pray for it. One woman had severe economic / financial problems. She prayed 3 hours daily in the morning - I want this amount of benefit today. I need it. And she received it. We need to experience benefits through faith and prayer to show power of Gohonzon and encourage others. President Toda and President Ikeda said there are 10 reasons why no change or benefits occur in senior leaders’ lives, even though they have been practicing for a long time.

1. Unclear determination
2. No concrete targets in faith
3. Doing regular Gongyo but no concrete prayer
4. Passive gongyo and activities from a sense of obligation
5. A complaining and begrudging attitude about faith
6. Seeking spirit for senior leaders/ guidance has become weaker
7. Not working hard in office or home
8. Depressed because of various sufferings in life
9. Weak of sense of mission for Kosen Rufu
10. Sense of responsibility as leader is weaker

Even if one of the above is missing, then faith has become habitual and there is no benefit. We must have dreams, which lead to hope and finally become reality when we chant! Therefore, we must have big dreams!

Experience

The President of a Fisheries Co was very concerned about the drop in catch of fish as it was affecting his sales, so he went for guidance. The leader asked him "You say that you can’t get lots of salmon fish. Does this mean that there is no salmon or are you unable to catch them?" "I can’t get any, he replied. "Why can’t you call them to your net? Did you pray like that?” The leader encouraged. “No I didn’t". "There is no natural boundary in the ocean. So why don’t you pray like that?" The leader encouraged. So he did. His catch went up from 20 fish to 300 in one day. His company went from deficit to surplus. This is no miracle. This is the Law. This is reason. What is amazing is when you don’t get benefits even though you do chant.

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It’s nice to know that Fascism is alive and well in Austria as well as in Italy. If a real country like Germany followed suit we might actually take it seriously. However (and I do love you) let’s be honest, these two minor European players are hardly known for their political maturity.

In the case of Austria, it’s nice to see that, in response to Josef Fritzl’s claim that he inhumanly locked up and raped his daughter for 24 years was because of his Nazi upbringing, the voters vote in Nazis. Good to see they are still supporting their community. At least the parts who are able to see daylight still, as there are reckoned to be many more lost children in the country.

This article sheds light on why the police can’t be bothered to apply the law, unless it accords with pure-race principles, such as ‘knocking off people of inferior races in police custody’. Life is especially dangerous for Nigerians. Unfortunately, Austria is unable to cope without masses of immigrants as, like many other Europeans, they are dying out as their birth rate drops, and their population has no intention of doing the dirty work in this perfect nation.They also have a problem with professional people such as doctors and dentists since they killed all the Jews (except Hitler) and most Austrians pop over into Hungary for dental treatment nowadays. It takes a long time to recover your country from acts of Fascism, which is one reason to avoid them.

No, for other races, women, the mentally ill, disabled people, non-Catholics (this differs a bit from Hitler, as he also got rid of Catholics), these people are not well protected in Austria. You have been warned.

Here’s a pretty Austrian song to accompany the tragedy of yet more Vienna Blood.

watch?v=OMrwcix41sY&feature=related

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In a recent poll of at least one American, Obama finally crept ahead with a 9 point lead. Incredibly, following the complete melt-down of everything Americans have ever believed in and the adoption of the Communist economical model by George Bush, Obama STILL was until now on equal pegging with the crazyman McCain and his evil shadow, ‘Nutter’ Palin. This can only be explained by the current preference for cartoon characters over real people in the American Hinterland.

The difference between this poll and previous ones is that the pollsters explained to punters that the McCain team are not actually those freebie model things you get with a Big Mac Meal. While Americans had been happy to choose little plastic toys over Obama until recently, the main swing has gone to my dog, George.

George loves people, and can be completely trusted with any kind of economical system, as long as he has regular walks and ‘Wagg’ dogfood in his bowl. He holds childcare in high priority, and holds credence with the protection of property, barking at intruders. His coat ensures that he is ‘Warm in the winter, cool in summer’, which has been judged to be the best system for economies needing stability, and known in Blairist terms as ‘The Middle Way’, not to be confused with ‘The Canal Path’.

Look at

Twee dog pages

Washington Post

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Yep, the French Energy company EDF (Engulfing Death in Flames) which is basically FANTASTIC (Ending Deemed  Fantastic) has agreed to help us with our nuclear industry, which we are unfortunately incapable of running ourselves since the Conservatives total annihilation of engineering and all associated socially necessary training and education schemes (AND THEY SAY THEY’RE WORTH VOTING FOR?  NO!!!!!!)

The basic fact is that the Conservatives wasted all the oil in the North Sea and destroyed other areas of energy supply in the UK in order to crush working people here, the Welsh (yeh I know but they deserve it) and the Scottish National Parrrrrrty (Ha got yer own back now brothers in arms - well parliament) and support Apartheid South Africa and the suppression of all darker complexions. As well as destroying our formerly close relationship with Russia, then the USSR, in order to kowtow to the Americans under Ronald Reagan (the mentally unstable former bad B actor NOT Ronald MacDonald, although they are similar in many ways)(we used to get 2 movies at the pictures when they were still called films and Ronald Reagan was in the first one).

Anyway the upshot is that because of the Conservatives (WHO MUST NEVER BE ALLOWED BACK IN POWER WHAT ARE YOU MAD?!) the UK has no energy supplies and Russia is taking the piss, so we have to either develop economical sustainable energy supply systems, which would be more or less free, or beg the French formerly nationalised energy company to take over our nation.

In the face of profit, success and autonomy for all eternity, the Government has obviously chosen the latter, because it has friends who are involved in the company and the sustainable people are long haired bicycle riding hippies.

The good news is, EDF (Everso enDearingly Friendly) are a FANTASTIC company with a GREAT safety record and many many decades of experience behind them, as France has been energy-independent for ages. So it’ll be fine then.

Especially as everyone in the UK who hopes to work in these lucrative power stations has studied French to a high level in school, as the French engineers have done English and German. Otherwise your job prospects may be a bit limited English guys.

Get to that evening class now, and ensure your local school is teaching your children European languages, whether they like it or not, because this will continue. ESPECIALLY IF THE TORIES GET IN WHEN ALL REMAINING INDUSTRIES WILL BE DESTROYED.

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Recently I found myself embroiled in an argument with a businessman from Lagos about agriculture in Africa. Bizarrely, although the argument was very passionate, we both were arguing the same point of view, although not only did he know much more about it than me, he also had more ‘right’ to speak about it, as he is Nigerian, and himself personally involved. The argument was saying that Africa ought to be a major food producer in the world, and that many acres in Africa are just wasted when they could be made productive.

No way would I encourage any violent sabotage of oil pipes of course, although when polluters bribe the population with wealth and jobs, as they do in the UK, it is one thing; but when the jobs and wealth go to investors one can only term ‘imperialists’, while the crude oil leaks across the fields and streams of poor people’s countryside, disabling their ability to be self-sufficient, one can only feel sympathetic. But today we aren’t talking about the injustice surrounding Nigeria’s oil production for a change, we’re talking about land far from the Delta State.

‘Everywhere I go,’ said my friend, ‘I see fields that are lying fallow, nobody using them. All over Nigeria are these stretches of wilderness, waiting to feed us.’

One of the most surprising things about Africa when I first came was that Africans prefer to eat meat with every meal. In Europe, we like to have a bun or a small bowl of muesli for breakfast. When my host Yussouf saw this he was horrified, and, thinking he would be seen as a poor host (especially as his wife was largely invisible in the kitchen, but enough about his problems!), he rushed out to the market to get some meat for grill.  To this day, he fails to believe that we like vegetarian meals, and suspects that we are intimating that he is too poor to feed us properly. No, Africans like meat.

‘We can’t really get the food like in Africa,’ moped the waiter at the Africa Restaurant in Bristol, England, ‘Because we can’t get high enough quality meat here’. The quality of meat is much better in Africa, than our fatty gristly stuff.

We like all the other African stuff too, couscous, Atlantic fish, exotic fruit like Papaya and so on.  Though we clearly source it in Africa, the image of Africa that it is full of starving children and famine prevails. This is because northern white men are stupid.

‘Here is a papaya,’ I say patiently, ‘Where does it come from?’

‘Africa.’

‘Correct, so what do Africans eat?’

‘Rice from American aid packages.’

‘No, now I’m going to start again, let’s take it more slowly this time….’

During my childhood, another African state in chaos, Uganda, expelled its most successful citizens, the Sikhs of Indian origin, and we agreed to take them in the UK. Since then, Uganda has spent long decades in the doldrums and finally scratched its way back into relatively high functioning. It is now one of Africa’s agricultural miracles. With two seasons for growth, large rainfall and rich soils, millions of small farmers have worked hard to develop their production of cash crops.  Fish, rice, vanilla, sunflower seeds, roses and potatoes are all blooming.   Ugandan farm output has increased nearly 50 percent during the past decade. Having died off since the sixties, when Africa became isolationist after liberation of so many former colonies, exports are once again beginning to build.

West African countries, such as Liberia, have decided to limit exports because of increased costs to farmers, and this closing down of markets can only destabilise African trade. Having finally got an advantage, Africa needs to hold on to it. What could really help would be a strong African Union, a bit like the European Union. African countries doesn’t seem to keep in touch with each other as much as they should, if they want to ward off the twin evils of European monetary strength and American loathing of all that is not actually America.

As well as providing the cash incentives, as Uganda has done, for small local people to grow crops, the nations need to invest in distribution. This would have the dual benefit of dealing with rural poverty as well as increasing national exports.  Mali is an example of a country which is building roads, has an understanding of national infrastructure, and is concentrating on trucks and transport as much as production. President Toure denies his is a poor country - if it is well-run, and the people eat and are educated, a country is not poor, he claims. It is the producer of the world’s best cotton, for example. Mali and Niger have recently started a programme, helped out by the Islamic Development Bank, to build dams along the Niger to grow food in previously droughted and impoverished areas bordering on the Sahara desert.

This is when a government cares about its people, of course. Other countries not very far from here are more interested in using the Aid programmes to look after the people, such as they do, and pocketing any investment money whenever they can.

One thing you can trust African countries to do is to blow everything by the leaders’ love of gain and their self-interest. Africa, with its land, its rain, its sun, its oil, its seas, its population explosion, its fruit and vegetables, should always have been ‘paved with gold’ as Timbuktu once was. Ironically, the obstacle to exports at the moment is not the climate, nor is it Africa’s varied bugs, blown around unpredictably by the Saharan winds.  The problem is the increase in oil prices which farmers need for their farm vehicles and machinery. A simple way to maintain advances in agriculture would be for government to buffer the farmers from these price hikes, which Nigeria, as a major oil producer, should have no trouble in doing.

Of course we don’t really need government to be doing something positive. In Kibera, Uganda, former inmates of prisons who couldn’t get work started digging out old slum areas and turning it all into organic farmland. They enlisted the help of Green Dreams, a pioneer company who support organic farming. Casting aside the broken bottles, tin cans, abandoned tyres, animal bones and ‘flying toilets’ littering the grounds, the young men purified the soil of zinc by planting sunflowers, which absorb the poisonous metal. They quickly established a local customer base in the slums, and are now a teaching farm for other potential organic farmers. None of the lads intends returning to prison! For a family or group of families, a tiny plot of earth can be used to grow some favourite things, with just a little watering, getting the kids to learn about the beauty of growing things.

‘Who is going to change this thing?’ said the businessman. Who indeed?

1,160 words

©Jill Rees

23 September 2008

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The idea behind buddhist practise is to take control of our own life and beome strong enough to find our path in life and become happy through the practise of chanting. That’s why Howard was generous in spirit to sing us his song at a study lecture he gave, in a beautiful ending to the evening. You can listen to his new record here but the quality is not so good, so you’ll have to go out and buy it!

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There are two basic kinds of Buddhism, Hinayana and Mahayana. After the Buddha Shakyamuni’s passing, some of his teaching merged with Hindu and spread south through India and into Sri Lanka. In the 19^th century, this was the Buddhism which came to the UK through Alan Bennett, who entered a monastery in Sri Lanka in 1899 and provided some of the first reliable information to the West about this mainly oriental religion. Hinayana Buddhism is based on avoidance of the Four Sufferings of Birth, Sickness, Old Age and Death, which are common to all human beings. This is how Buddhism got the reputation in the UK for being a passive, retreating religion.

Mahayana Buddhism is now more popular, and includes Tibetan Buddhism and the Japanese sects. Mahayana spread through China and along the Silk Route, influencing what became Islam and, some say, radical Jews  through the Zoroastrian sects of Afghanistan.  Mahayana Buddhism is based on the development of the individual through their interaction within society, and is considered more practicable for the present day.

According to Nichiren Daishonin, the 13^th century Japanese Priest, ‘those who believe in the Hinayana teachings and declare them to be the true doctrine, failing to understand the Mahayana teachings, are slandering the Law…and will, when his life comes to an end, enter the Avichi Hell.’ (p194, Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume II, 2006 Soka Gakkai). This is because the Hinayana teachings deny people the opportunity to interact with others, and in so doing, show their ‘behaviour as a human being‘ (Lotus Sutra, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging Chapter), which is at the heart of the Buddhist idea of enlightenment.

Of all Mahayana teachings, the teaching of Nichiren Daishonin is a modernisation and a clarification of the teaching as it spread through China into Japan, passing through the interpretations of Tien Tai and Dengyo, both considered to be exceptional Buddhist scholars and practitioners.  What the above chapter of the Lotus Sutra, considered to contain the essence of Buddhism, shows is that everyone possesses the capacity for enlightenment, or Buddhahood.

The Lotus Sutra is the lecture Buddha gave late in life, claiming that it should be considered his ultimate teaching. It includes people previously thought to be unable to attain enlightenment, such as women, intellectuals, animals and children, in particular in the story of the Dragon King’s Daughter. Mocked by Shakyamuni’s followers for being a child of only 8 years, a little girl and a dragon, she boldly declared, ‘Not only will I attain Buddhahood, but I will do it right now in front of you’ and she did, ending once and for all the exclusion of these groups. In particular, this is important for women, as currently the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) is the only Buddhist group which accords equality to its women members.

Holding to the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings, such as the Garland or Nirvana Sutra, therefore, is a refusal to acknowledge and understand that the Buddha nature is within all human beings and this, says Nichiren, is also ‘slander of the Law’. What he means by this is that without seeing the truth that everyone is of equal importance, it is impossible to respect other human beings and therefore one is unable to attain enlightenment. If we are serious about Buddhism therefore, we must take the Lotus Sutra as the principal teaching.

Buddhism relies on the concept and the practise of handing down the correct teaching from Master to Disciple. Without this direct lineage, the confusing ideas springing from the intellect, known as the states of life of Learning and Realisation and once considered one of the states barring people from attaining enlightenment, tend to twist the teachings and cannot be trusted on their own. A Master, someone who himself has learned the true and correct teaching from another as great as himself, has a pure understanding of what is really meant by ‘attaining enlightenment’ and ‘revealing one’s Buddha nature from within’. He or she is able to reveal their Buddha nature, and explain clearly how to practise Buddhism in such a way that the Disciple too can attain that lofty state of mind. It is not supernatural, and it is not an mystery, but it is myrstic and it is important. One of the things a Buddhist needs to do is to find their own Master to learn about Buddhism from.

After Nichiren died, the correct Mahayana teaching came through the Nichiren Shoshu Priesthood by way of his direct disciple Nikko Shonin, and the teaching has managed to fight off various attackers, such as the militaristic Emperor of the 1930s Japanese dictatorship, to now be in possession of  the current teacher of the Lotus School, Daisaku Ikeda. Neither an intellectual or an academic scholar, nor a priest, Daisaku Ikeda has lived his life in exact accordance with the Lotus Sutra, the Mystic Law and the teachings of Nichiren, and is considered now to be the best teacher alive to understand Buddhism. Living as he does in the modern world, he is a perfect teacher for us as we attempt to do the same.

There are many Buddhist sects, and even in Nichiren’s day, it was hard to realise which one would be the true one. Now this is easier, in that we have available the complete Writings of Nichiren, and we can study this ourselves because of Soka Gakkai’s kind publishing of the texts. There is absolutely no need to take this as gospel from me, this would be actively discouraged by Daisaku Ikeda. Instead, it is a good idea to try out the practise to see if it works for you, and to study alongside others in a Gakkai group. Interested individuals can get in touch with the official centres of Soka Gakkai International in each individual country to be introduced to local members who will help, teach and support. Try

Sgi-uk.org or

Sgi.usa.org for starters.

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My Daddy is as tall as a tree and the neighbours say he is as strong as an ox. I was always proud to be his little girl, and even after my two sisters Emma and Janey were born, he told me I was still his precious treasure. He used to sit me on his knee and tell bedtime stories, after my sisters had been put to bed. His stories are amazing. Teddy bears come to life and do daredevil feats, swinging from the lights and saving little girls from panthers with prowling eyes and giant bats that fly in through the open windows.

We always had the windows open at night, even when the snow almost came over the window sills in the middle of winter and the temperature was below freezing. We weren’t cold, because the house walls were warm from the embers of the fire in the living room, and we snuggled under our quilts made of duck feathers! Sometimes I imagined my mother running after the ducks as they skidded across the ice, trying to trap them with her broom to stuff our duvets! My mother could do anything. She told me off when I was naughty, or didn’t help look after my sisters, but she always smiled at me secretly from the kitchen. When I remember her I imagine she winks at me, but I can’t remember her really doing that. The morning we woke and Daddy told us she had left was the worst day of my life. Why would she leave us?

Soon though, Margit came to live with us, and she was just as kind, although quieter than Mother. My brother Thomas came along soon after, and gave us more work. He was so funny, I would do anything for him. He is the one I miss the most, because I used to tell him the stories Daddy had told me, and he laughed and screamed in all the right places.

We live on a hill, and in the winter we would ski to school. Daddy picked us up in the afternoon, so we didn’t have to lug the skis back up the hill again. Even when I was lonely, the mountains arched over like great white angels, keeping me company. With the thaw in February, the tiny white petals of the Edelweiss peeping through the melting snow made your heart sing out with joy. After trudging through ever darkening snow in your heavy boots all winter, to be able to skip along the tinkling pavements in the spring was wonderful, and all the women cleaning their steps would cry out,

‘Good morning, Julie! How is the baby?’ they were always asking how is the baby, because Thomas had asthma, which means he found it troublesome to breathe and so, if he wasn’t with me, it meant he was ill again and had to stay at home.

I knew everyone at school, they were mostly my cousins. Apart from Mr Fenester, the retired piano tuner with the long beard who was very strange and we had to avoid him, no-one ever left the town nor came to live from elsewhere. Except Mother of course, who ran off for no good reason.  Although I sometimes overheard people say my Daddy was a cuckold, Daddy said that the one thing he was not, was that. I imagine it means he shouted at Mother and drove her away, but nothing could be further from the truth. Mother never did anything to upset him or spoke against him. Margit argues with him more than Mother ever did, and he doesn’t even shout at her. He just walks outside and gets on with his project in the shed.

The whole town laughs about Daddy’s project. There is a lot of banging, and a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with wheelbarrows full of dirt, but Daddy always said it would a wonderful workshop when it was finished. Sometimes Daddy gets the lodger, Harry, to help him with it. I never used to know Harry very well. He is a tall bent over man, younger than Daddy but somehow weak. He never smiles, which is why I never liked him. He also always gave me funny looks, as if he didn’t like me, especially when Daddy cuddled me on his knee. I think he was jealous. But Daddy said he was an OK bloke and they had the same ideas, and he was happy to do the dirty work. Margit used to say he wasn’t all there, and we should pity him, and anyway at least he paid the rent on time, unlike some of them.

While sometimes the lodgers didn’t pay all they owed us, Daddy never insisted they paid or got the police, despite Margit trying to make him. He didn’t want them snooping around. Another thing Daddy hates as well as the police is the taxman, and he says things used to be better when the parasitic scum weren’t in the country.

A strange thing happened. I would have gone to Margit straight away if I’d known what it was, but I thought I was dying and a bat had bitten me on the leg - I was half asleep! I woke up suddenly with my legs covered in blood. Daddy was quite calm, which helped. He hesitated for a moment then called Margit. It was she who cleaned me up and said I am a woman now. Then she cried.

The other time she cries is on Sunday when she has come back from the Church. Margit goes every week. Daddy won’t go or let her take us as he says they are hypocritical scum. Margit told me she goes there to pray to God. When I asked her what she prayed for, she glanced at the door and said almost inaudibly,

‘I pray to live’, which I thought was kind of cool, to pray for your whole life.

I don’t understand why Daddy wanted me to stop going to school, but he told Margit that he was going to send me off to join Mother. I wish he had! I didn’t even know he knew where Mother was, but I wish she would come and see me sometimes. Margit gave him a suspicious kind of look when he said that. Maybe she thought he was still in love with Mother and might change them round again, but I don’t think that will ever happen. Daddy never says anything nice about Mother, even though she was really the most lovely person.

On the Saturday, Daddy said his workshop was finished more or less, and he would be putting in some tools and a few odds and ends. The van came last Sunday morning, driven by Harry of course, who looked at me in an even weirder way than normal, and all day stuff got taken into the shed. It was truly amazing that so much stuff could fit in there. I didn’t see what it all was, because we were banned from watching, but I’m sure I caught sight of a sofa hidden under a sort of carpet! Finally Daddy collapsed in his chair and called for a beer for him and Harry. Harry kept laughing and looking at me, until Daddy gave me a kiss and told me to go off to bed now.

It was Sunday when Margit was in Church that Daddy said we had to go now and to pack some things. I thought we are going to see Mother and was delirious with anticipation to see her again. But it was not to be. Imagine my surprise when, instead of going to the car, Daddy took me out to his workshop and opened a huge iron door that just looked like wooden slats on the outside. It was amazing inside the door! There were stairs leading down down, a long long way down, then another iron door which rung out from the outside but on the inside was lined with thick cloth so that it made no noise when you bang it. I know, because I have spent a lot of time since trying to bang it and make noise so Mrs Hersel can hear me.  But you can’t make any noise. Inside this door, which Daddy opened with lots of keys he carried on a big bunch that hung from his pocket, was a thin corridor with one electric light, and then it opened onto three rooms. One was a miniature bathroom and toilet, all made up and decorated, and even with a towel and soap. The second was a tiny padded cupboard which Daddy said would be where he would shut me in if I were naughty and didn’t co-operate. The third room opened up into a lounge and the sofa was like a bed.

Daddy said I have to live here now and that I won’t get to see Thomas again. There is a TV and when it shows the skiing I can see my beloved mountains, and there is a channel dedicated to beautiful Austria for tourists, so I can even look at the mountains and fields in summer when there is no snow. There is a lake that I think I have been to with Mother. The children’s programmes are fun, but I feel lonely on my own. Although i can see the mountains it isn’t the same as being outside with my friends breathing the crisp air that tastes like vanilla ice-cream on my lips.

After a couple of days when I’d got used to it a bit, Daddy said I had to do something for him because of the blood thing. He had something bothering him and I had to lick it better. There was a drink in it and it didn’t taste nice but Daddy made me drink it anyway. The worse thing was when Harry came through the corridor and he had the same thing going on between his legs and I had to help him as well. It was bad because he smelled disgusting and also because I didn’t like him and he wasn’t my Daddy, but Daddy said we had to help him because he had done a lot of work on the new apartments. That means he built this place where I live now. Daddy calls it the apartments, but it’s more like a cave in a way. Daddy goes away and only comes back when he has his trouble.

This morning something really bad happened. Daddy said the thing was really bothering him and I had to help him out some more. He really hurt me this time and I thought I was going to die. Since then I have been on my own and there I almost wish I could die. And it strikes me that maybe mother didn’t run off, because she never went against him. And when I think like this I think there is only one way to see Mother again, but I wish I could be sure.

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