Nichiren, a 13th century Buddhist reformer, based his teachings on the Lotus Sutra and its core message of the dignity of all life. According to this sutra, all people possess and can manifest the Buddha nature--an unlimited, inherent life state of freedom which enables them to create value out of any situation."
The three obstacles and four devils is a literal translation of the Japanese term sansho shima. This is a traditional classification of the types of difficulties and obstacles we encounter when we practice Buddhism.
Today my father called and told me he thought he might have had a stroke. He was at the dentist this morning, and while the dentist was poking around his mouth he asked my father if he felt discomfort. My dad replied no, and the dentist sensed something was wrong and brought a doctor into the office. My mother and he are going to the hospital in the morning, but so far the diagnosis is not a stroke, but Bells Palsy. He said he can not shut his eye on one side, nor can he chew. It is thankfully a temporary condition brought on by stress that attacks the nerves of the face. He will recover within a few weeks or months. My roommate Brando is a gracious and excellent source of knowledge that she has gained in nursing school. After we all spoke with her several times tonight, we feel like we can sleep knowing that he will recover quickly and fully.
This brings me to the sansho shimas. When you are on the correct path, making good decisions, making good causes, working on your happiness and the happiness of others, obstacles will arise in your path to challenge you; to try to frighten and discourage you. You have a choice: to be defeated or to fight.
Bring it on, I've made my choice.
Posted by Amy
1 comment:
I have been recommending a book called "My Stroke of Insight - a Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor and also a TEDTalk Dr. Taylor gave on the TED dot com site. And you don't have to take my word for it - Dr. Taylor was named Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, the New York Times wrote about her and her book is a NYTimes Bestseller), and Oprah did not 4 interviews with her.
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