When you feel not to chant Daimoku

There are times when we don’t feel like chanting, either because we are tired or stressed or for some other reason. I sometimes feel this way too, even when we are trying to achieve something. One of my friends whom I respect a lot, who has been chanting and acting for others for a very long time, said to me that he too at times cannot sit down in front of Gohonzon to chant.

We are all just humans and it is difficult for us to always keep our faith alive by ourselves, alone. It is this reason why there are organizations to help us learn together, encourage each other, and also chant Daimoku together.

This is why the notifications of “Prayed” on the Daimoku Pro App is also very helpful. When we don’t feel like chanting, if we receive notifications from others who have tapped “Prayed” on DAIMOKU PRO for us, it will maybe motivate us to chant and reignite our determination to chant.

Sometimes when you don’t feel like chanting, which is natural and happens to me as well, you can simply open DAIMOKU PRO and read others’ prayers, and feel others’ challenges. This will possibly make you think, “if this person who is challenging his/her karma can do it, so can I. I will make a new determination and try again.”, then start chanting. Sometimes seeing the list of “Currently Chanting Users” and imagining their backgrounds or their challenges can also give you the motivation to start chanting Daimoku again.

One of my thoughts for this app

While designing this App, I was also thinking about how to cheer and encourage someone who is not familiar with local districts.

A story like this occurred, when I was visiting some local district members as a local leader. There were some people whom we couldn’t meet due to some contingencies. But if there were some other ways we could encourage them even without them attending the meeting, it would have been very helpful, because although it is only temporary it was very powerful. But how and what was this thing that we could do for that person? This matter worried me a lot.

With this in mind, I developed DAIMOKU PRO which can be useful in this situation.

If someone is reluctant or cannot meet their local district people, they can start using the App to chant and say prayers, while also receiving DAIMOKU notifications from other SGI members who would encourage them. Also, receiving encouragement from similar people who cannot reach out to local districts will also boost their motivation and resolve to chant.

When I was in the future division

One of the sentences of Sensei that is in my mind always is “Even if you are an early quitter and quit within three days, if you keep trying and starting over again, and make a new determine 10 times, it would already be a whole month! The idea is to make determinations again and again even if you fail many times.”

This was a line that stuck with me strongly while developing this App. Sometimes I came very close to giving up developing this app. I had a lot of self-doubt, I hated myself because I felt I didn’t have skills, knowledge, or experience. But every time I would feel this way, I reminded myself of Sensei’s words, of the people around me who were helping me and my purpose for this app. My spirits would be lifted and I would make a new determination again and again and finally, this App was released.

There were many challenges that came after and there will be more that may come even now, but I will continue to improve this app to provide value to its users.

When we can determine

So how can I make a determination every time I don’t feel like chanting Daimoku? I look back at my own experiences for this.

There are so many things that make me want to go back to my determination. Some of these are my friends’ encouragement, their words saying “I am chanting Daimoku for you”, when I touched other’s hearts and prayed for their challenges, reading Taiken (experiences of this Nichiren-Buddhism), during dialogues with others when I am encouraging them, looking back at my past challenges and remembering my victories, reading Seikyo newspaper, and so on.

When I joined a company for work, for the first 2 years I couldn’t attend most of the local district meetings and felt apart from them. Then, because of a little suffering, I finally attended a local meeting.

At that meeting, I heard other’s Taiken, sang a song together, could feel others’ vitality which comes from Daimoku, and thought to myself “Hmmm, what am I doing without Daimoku? This is the time to make a strong determination again!!” It was the Vitality of others around me that really spoke to me and made me resolve to start again.

Of course, the BEST way for you to reach and gain from others’ vitality is face-to-face, but this is not the ONLY way. By reading Taiken, or Sensei’s dialogues online and by using the App and sharing your determinations, goals and vision, you can reach people’s hearts and encourage them too.

I hope that DAIMOKU PRO can promote innumerable determinations through its functions like “Currently Chanting User”, “Prayed”, and “Published Prayers”.