“Complete dedication to victory enables one to summon forth all kinds of ingenuity and creativity. When one is determined, the spring of wisdom will never dry up.” – Daisaku Ikeda
Wednesday Wisdom #5
Every Wednesday I post a killer quote to keep you at the top of your game!
742 years ago yesterday a significant event in not only the annals of Buddhist history, but in world history occurred. Although most of us know of the most famous Buddha Shakyamuni (aka Siddhartha Guatama) who lived in India 3,000 years ago and started the Buddhist philosophy, there were many Buddhas as Buddha simply means “awakened one.”
Of these Buddhas, a man named Nichiren Daishonin from Japan was of significant importance as he resurrected the teaching of the “Lotus Sutra”, Shakyamuni’s self proclaimed highest teaching, which taught that everyone, regardless of skin color, social standing or gender had the innate ability to become enlightened right now. This enlightenment would hold the potential for limitless courage, compassion and wisdom.
“On September 12, 1271, Nichiren Daishonin encountered what is called the Tatsunokuchi Persecution. From early in 1271 Japan had been suffering a drought, and the shogunate (military ruler appointed by the Emperor) ordered the priest Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji temple to pray for rain. Nichiren sent him a challenge, stating that if Ryokan’s prayers could produce rain in seven days he would become Ryokan’s disciple, but if Ryokan failed he should become Nichiren’s disciple. Ryokan accepted the challenge, but failed to produce rain even after fourteen days of prayer he offered with several hundreds of priests; instead, fierce gales arose.
Humiliated, Ryokan ignored his promise and began using his influence among the wives and widows of top shogunate officials to make accusations against Nichiren. As a result, Nichiren was summoned for interrogation by the deputy chief of the Office of Military and Police Affairs, Hei no Saemon, on the tenth day of the ninth month, 1271. Nichiren took the opportunity to remonstrate with Hei no Saemon, predicting the outbreak of internal strife and foreign invasion if the rulers punished him unlawfully.
On the twelfth day of the ninth month, two days later, Hei no Sae-mon and a group of roughly over 100 warriors rushed to Nichiren’s dwelling at Matsuba-gayatsu and arrested him. Around midnight, Nichiren was taken by Hei no Saemon’s men to the execution grounds on the desolate beach where criminals were executed called Tatsunokuchi, or Dragons Mouth.
As the party passed the shrine of the god Hachiman, Nichiren requested that he be given a moment. His request was granted, and he turned to address the deity of the shrine. Nichiren reprimanded Hachi-man for failing to protect him, saying that he was the votary of the Lotus Sutra, whom hachiman had vowed to protect in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha. He also sent a messenger to his loyal disciple, the samurai ShijoKingo, who, accompanied by his brothers, came rushing to his side; determined to die with him. When Shijo arrived he found Nichiren calmly arrayed on a straw mat, exposing his neck.
“Shijo Kingo, in tears, said, ‘“I cannot believe this is happening, these are your last moments.’ to which Nichiren replied his last words:
“How thoughtless you are! You should be delighted at this great fortune. What greater joy could there be?”
Looking around at the soldiers and directly into Hei no Saemon’s eyes, he slowly knelt. “Nam-myohorenge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo,” he intoned in a full, deep voice. He stretched his neck forth so the executioner would have a clear aim and said, “Go ahead, sir, I am ready to give my life for the Lotus Sutra!”
Then at the moment Nichiren was about to be beheaded and the axe man rose his axe, a luminous object (which historians believe to have been a large meteorite or comet fragment) shot across the sky. Nichiren later recounted in his letter to his followers:
“A brilliant orb as bright as the moon burst forth… shooting across the sky from southeast to northwest. It 
was shortly before dawn and still too dark to see anyone’s face, but the radiant object clearly illuminated everyone like bright moonlight. The executioner fell on his face, his eyes blinded. The soldiers were terrified and panic-stricken.”
Terrified, the soldiers fell to their knees and called off the execution. Nichiren was then placed in custody at the Echi (about twenty kilometers from Tatsunokuchi) residence of Homma Shigetsura, deputy constable of the island province of Sado, for about one month. On the tenth day of the tenth month, 1271, he was sent into exile on Sado. Reflecting on the event, he wrote in The Opening of the Eyes: “On the twelfth day of the ninth month of last year… this person named Nichiren was beheaded. It is his soul that has come to this island of Sado”
Triumphing over this extreme persecution, in which unscrupulous authorities attempted to behead him, the Daishonin discarded his transient status and revealed his true identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
“The Daishonin had dedicated his life to the teaching of the ultimate truth, and to world peace, the noblest aspiration there is. Nothing could impinge on his vast and brilliant state of life. Nothing could hold him back. Nothing could defeat him. In that state, ‘the greatest of all joys’ (OTT, 212) welled up limitlessly from deep within him. And he demonstrated with serenity, conviction, and bright assurance that the protective forces of the universe would unfailingly act to protect him in response to his unswerving commitment to fulfilling the vow of teaching and spreading the truth.
Lessons We Can Take Home
While most of us don’t have to worry about being beheaded for standing up for the truth, if we champion the cause of justice and truth we are guaranteed to one day find ourselves up against great adversaries and challenges. Paradoxically, these challenges become the fuel and the fire for building our character and climbing great mountains, which ultimately results in new growth, unbounded joy and fulfillment. Here are a few takeaways for me, but please feel free to comment below on your own lessons.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”
-Dale Carnegie
Wednesday Wisdom #4
Every Wednesday I post a killer quote to keep you at the top of your game!
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s. And guess what they might have planned for you? Not much.”
— Jim Rohn, Motivational Speaker
Wednesday Wisdom #4
Every Wednesday I post a killer quote to keep you at the top of your game!
First I’ll give Ziggy credit, he makes music to inspire people and he’s done an amazing job at that, spawning super simple feel good tunes like “true to myself” and “love is my religion.” The world could always use more positive inspirational music like Ziggys.
What was really striking to me this time was that this place was packed with probably 3,000 people who come to his concerts over and over, yet 75% of the time people weren’t even into the music, they were just talking to their friends bored and unmoved. For better or worse Ziggy Marley is really a pre-branded name transcended from an iconic father Bob Marley who pulls crowd numbers in large part from sheer name recognition.
While many are content with the really basic two or three chord progressions and choruses that never change more than three or four words long, as a musician for 17 years I have a different perspective with a seriously refined acoustical listening mechanism, otherwise known as “elephant ears” according to world class bass player Pancho Tomaselli. But these ears have studied masters like Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin and the like, who have won multiple Grammys and lifetime achievement awards and the result is high expectations for not only myself, but other musicians.
With the exception of the great company I was with, the entire concert seemed to lack energy, it was as if he was just doing his duty out of obligation. I couldn’t feel his soul come through and with the exception of the backup singer getting out and dancing one tune, the band never moved, never coalesced and did anything really cool. The highlights were of course Bob Marley songs, Could you Be Loved and Is This Love, where I closed my eyes and imagined I was listening to Bob live, which I never got to do before he died, but made it worth the drive, the $8 admission fee and dealing with the occasional drunk chick spilling beer. Maybe I have high expectations, but hey this is supposed to be the top professionals, give me a little more than I’d see at a local bar man. As I watch I can only determine to do better when my time comes.
Ziggy if you ever read this, I love you man, and thanks for the love, but step it up a little brother!
Please feel free to comment below on your experience or opinion.
lots of love, Chad
I was thinking recently about who I’d like to play with on stage if I could play with anyone who is currently out there touring. Interestingly enough the list boiled down to less than the five fingers of my left hand. Call me old school but I still prefer older more timeless artists like Bob, Stevie, Led Zeppelin and the Doobie Brothers. Some of my favorites are based purely on music and some a combination of music and reputation. So the next few posts will be dedicated to who I’d like to play with and why. Feel free to comment below with suggestions if I’m missing some other like-minded bands.
1) Ziggy Marley
First, I’m a huge Bob Marley fan and consider him one of my greatest influences second only to Stevie Wonder. But since I can’t play with Bob the second best option would be his eldest and in my opinion most talented son Ziggy Marley. Of course I would love to play locally here at Viejas with all my San Diego friends, but would also welcome a summer festival situation like Wanderlust or Bonnaroo.
Ziggy has been rocking the charts and the stages going back to the days before I ever picked up my first guitar with Conscious Party and recently with jams like True to Myself. While he’ll never replace the genius of his father, Ziggy still upholds many of the same values as his father and deserves a lot of respect. He’s also managed to carry on the “real music” vibe of Bob with a full band which includes female harmonies… rare in this day and age of digital impersonation.
As a baritone, there aren’t many people in general that I can do cover songs for, as the majority of male singers are tenors, but Ziggy’s song “True To Myself” seems to fit nicely at the top of my range. This song resonates with me as the lyrics are all about personal power and honoring who you really are. Here is a snippet of my band playing it last summer at the Wavehouse in San Diego.
Please feel free to comment below.
Lots of love, Chad
Well this definitely doesn’t happen every day, but when it does its one of the most incredible awe inspiring events we can witness and it happened to me the other day, not once, but twice! I don’t like to divulge much of my private life, but I think this lesson of persistence and surrender is so critical to life that I’m going to share with you today the gist of the story.
First Omen
I’m single, I’ve been holding out for the right gal and its been one of the most challenging hurdles of my life without a doubt. Everyone needs love and I’m no exception, but, like hiring someone on short-term notice to fill a critical position at work, just settling for someone to fulfill this need never ends up as the best long term solution. Values and beliefs must align enough to the point where you have a great life-time partner. Well I’m not going to name names or anything right now, but I wanted to share the power of intention with you.
Basically I’ve had my mind on someone, but I’m not sure if my timing is right. Anyway I’m in North Park killing time at a juice bar that I’ve never been to. Then, while I’m waiting for my juice… BAM, this gal just appeared out of nowhere (well out of my intentions). It wasn’t like I had to strain my eyes to find her either, she walked up and bam there she was. We were both surprised, it was clearly an omen. I mean come on… what are the chances of just running into someone you’re interested in a city of 3 million people. To me it was clearly an omen, but who knows what will happen, if anything. Instead of attaching myself to some desired outcome I’m simply appreciative of the opportunity to witness the magic of the universe. No matter what, each time I get a sign from the universe “an omen” I believe even more now that something great is going to happen and… that I have the power to create my destiny.
Second Omen
I’ve been struggling my ass off in music with 14 years of writing, study and production and 7 years of live performance. I’ve tried every freaking promotional strategy there is without having a label with millions of dollars behind me, but without real marketing dollars its simply been, or so it seems, a fruitless effort. No matter how good your product is, unless people know about it, its as good as dead. About 5 years ago my intern and I went and handed out sample CDs for my second CD “Reggae Rock Hop” at the Del Mar Fair after a couple reggae concerts like Ziggy Marley and one other I can’t even remember. People gobbled them up like candy, but I never got any real feedback at all.
That is until the other night. I went to the Belly Up for a party with a bunch of DJs. As I walked up to get in line several people called my name, mostly yoga students, but one guy looked at my t-shirt which said “Shaka Buku” my old stage moniker and said: “I know Shaka Buku, I got a CD of theirs at the Del Mar Fair and played it over and over and over until it died. I was blown away.. I thought, how many other people who got the CD were playing it over and over who we never capitalized on… was I one inch away from gold then gave up on Shaka Buku? After I let go of that scarce thought and stepped into abundance I realized that it worked and I could do it again under my new stage moniker with even better music. And once again I have more confidence that I’m on the right path. The universe has given me a signal…all systems are GO and the lights are GREEN. Take your music to the masses.
How? I’ve got something freaking amazing up my sleeve including a new kick ass album better than anything I’ve ever done and a record label … that I control. Stay tuned folks as life is about to get really exciting and I’d love to have you next to me on the journey.
Lots of Love, Chad
Please feel free to comment below… about your omens or other cool happenings in your life.
“Life is like a 10-speed bike. Most of us have gears we never use.” – Charles Schulz, Cartoonist
What Gears are you NOT using? How much further can you go?
Wednesday Wisdom #3
Every Wednesday I post a killer quote to keep you at the top of your game!
“Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.”
-Alexander Graham Bell
Wednesday Wisdom #2
Every Wednesday I post a killer quote to keep you at the top of your game!
A single arrow, shot by a great archer, will unerringly hit the mark. Similarly, a strong and deep prayer offered with unwavering concentration of mind, will move the entire universe.
Wednesday Wisdom #1
Every Wednesday I post a killer quote to keep you at the top of your game!