I lost my job today...

bcol01
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I lost my job today...

Post by bcol01 »

I chanted that I wouldn't but I did. I've been out quite a bit so it's my own fault but. I guess I was just hoping that my chanting would work and that they'd listen to my plea to keep my job.
In his writing, Hokkemongu (Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra), The Great Master Nichiren said, “If the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra wholeheartedly devote their life to the Lotus Sutra and practice according to its golden words, it is certainly needless to say that not only in the next life, but also in this lifetime they will overcome severe difficulty, prolong their life, receive the great, good fortune of unsurpassed enlightenment, and accomplish the great vow of the widespread, propagation of True Buddhism.”
jkarlins
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by jkarlins »

I lost my job recently too. It stinks. Best wishes to you.

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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Virgo »

Best wishes with finding something new. I am sure it will work out.

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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by KristenM »

bcol01 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 2:56 am I chanted that I wouldn't but I did. I've been out quite a bit so it's my own fault but. I guess I was just hoping that my chanting would work and that they'd listen to my plea to keep my job.
Have you missed work due to depression, social anxiety issues or something like that? Take this time as an opportunity to evaluate what you want to do with your life and make necessary changes. My job is very high stress and people go on leave and quit all the time. As much as I get overwhelmed, I appreciate having a job, even if it does drive me crazy. But I've been there, pretty sure we all have.
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by illarraza »

bcol01 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 2:56 am I chanted that I wouldn't but I did. I've been out quite a bit so it's my own fault but. I guess I was just hoping that my chanting would work and that they'd listen to my plea to keep my job.
Maintain your faith in the Lotus Sutra and you will land a job ten times that which you lost.

Nichiren teaches:

"It is the same with Nichiren’s disciples and lay supporters. The Lotus Sutra reads, “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?”16 It also reads, “It will face much hostility in the world and be difficult to believe.” The Nirvana Sutra states, “By suffering an untimely death, rebuke, curses or humiliation, beatings with a whip or rod, imprisonment, starvation, adversity, or other minor hardships in this lifetime, one can avoid falling into hell.” The Parinirvāna Sutra says: “They may be poorly clad and poorly fed, seek wealth in vain, be born to an impoverished and lowly family or one with erroneous views, or be persecuted by their sovereign. They may be subjected to various other sufferings and retributions. It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law that they can diminish in this lifetime their suffering and retribution.” -- Letter to the Brothers

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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Queequeg »

bcol01 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 2:56 am I chanted that I wouldn't but I did. I've been out quite a bit so it's my own fault but. I guess I was just hoping that my chanting would work and that they'd listen to my plea to keep my job.
Sorry to hear this. Job loss is stressful. I hope that you are coping well.

This was not a direct function of your practice, or rather failure of your practice. There is no Buddhist prayer that could nullify the consequences of being late or not making it to work too many times. Was there a substantial, 'good' reason you were missing work? If so, that issue might be the priority.

The cultivation of practice does lend itself to concatenating positive effects. However, I can safely predict, if you are chronically unreliable, that will likely be an impediment to job prospects no matter what else you do.

But that is not what you want to hear today.

The sun will rise again and you will have another chance. There is no other viable option than getting back up and learning from this. You now are a wiser person by degrees. Now you have a chance to apply that wisdom.

And NMRK is an unsurpassed path to applying wisdom. You have a wonderful jewel. Don't be discouraged. Be bold.

Metta.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Motova »

TharpaChodron wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 3:22 am
bcol01 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 2:56 am I chanted that I wouldn't but I did. I've been out quite a bit so it's my own fault but. I guess I was just hoping that my chanting would work and that they'd listen to my plea to keep my job.
Have you missed work due to depression, social anxiety issues or something like that? Take this time as an opportunity to evaluate what you want to do with your life and make necessary changes. My job is very high stress and people go on leave and quit all the time. As much as I get overwhelmed, I appreciate having a job, even if it does drive me crazy. But I've been there, pretty sure we all have.
:good: :bow: :namaste:
To become a rain man one must master the ten virtues and sciences.
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by bcol01 »

Well actually, I haven't been practicing consistently. In fact, i've struggled immensely with doubt. It was only until I realized my job was in jeopardy that I started chanting again. Nevertheless, I do need to work on my laziness. It ultimately cost me a good job. :thinking:







Queequeg wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 5:24 am
bcol01 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 2:56 am I chanted that I wouldn't but I did. I've been out quite a bit so it's my own fault but. I guess I was just hoping that my chanting would work and that they'd listen to my plea to keep my job.
Sorry to hear this. Job loss is stressful. I hope that you are coping well.

This was not a direct function of your practice, or rather failure of your practice. There is no Buddhist prayer that could nullify the consequences of being late or not making it to work too many times. Was there a substantial, 'good' reason you were missing work? If so, that issue might be the priority.

The cultivation of practice does lend itself to concatenating positive effects. However, I can safely predict, if you are chronically unreliable, that will likely be an impediment to job prospects no matter what else you do.

But that is not what you want to hear today.

The sun will rise again and you will have another chance. There is no other viable option than getting back up and learning from this. You now are a wiser person by degrees. Now you have a chance to apply that wisdom.

And NMRK is an unsurpassed path to applying wisdom. You have a wonderful jewel. Don't be discouraged. Be bold.

Metta.
In his writing, Hokkemongu (Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra), The Great Master Nichiren said, “If the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra wholeheartedly devote their life to the Lotus Sutra and practice according to its golden words, it is certainly needless to say that not only in the next life, but also in this lifetime they will overcome severe difficulty, prolong their life, receive the great, good fortune of unsurpassed enlightenment, and accomplish the great vow of the widespread, propagation of True Buddhism.”
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Minobu
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Minobu »

bcol01 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 7:15 pm Well actually, I haven't been practicing consistently. In fact, i've struggled immensely with doubt. It was only until I realized my job was in jeopardy that I started chanting again. Nevertheless, I do need to work on my laziness. It ultimately cost me a good job. :thinking:







Queequeg wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 5:24 am
bcol01 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 2:56 am I chanted that I wouldn't but I did. I've been out quite a bit so it's my own fault but. I guess I was just hoping that my chanting would work and that they'd listen to my plea to keep my job.
Sorry to hear this. Job loss is stressful. I hope that you are coping well.

This was not a direct function of your practice, or rather failure of your practice. There is no Buddhist prayer that could nullify the consequences of being late or not making it to work too many times. Was there a substantial, 'good' reason you were missing work? If so, that issue might be the priority.

The cultivation of practice does lend itself to concatenating positive effects. However, I can safely predict, if you are chronically unreliable, that will likely be an impediment to job prospects no matter what else you do.

But that is not what you want to hear today.

The sun will rise again and you will have another chance. There is no other viable option than getting back up and learning from this. You now are a wiser person by degrees. Now you have a chance to apply that wisdom.

And NMRK is an unsurpassed path to applying wisdom. You have a wonderful jewel. Don't be discouraged. Be bold.

Metta.
These daily occurrences are just a reflection of ourselves.
Buddhism , this Buddhism anyway , is about taking responsibility for our selves.
We are sentients caught in Samsara and the law of cause and effect.

20 years from now this day will be like yesterday's dew.

But unless we fundamentally grow , add to our merit, and understanding, through the daily practice we shall stagnate..

We have the teaching, we have the muddy swamp , and we have the good friends like Buddhas and gods, and all sorts of beings right there when we chant WITH Gohonzon.. All of which affect us...just like hanging out with a bunch of morons...they rub off on you...hang with jocks, they rub off on you, hang with nerds....

When we chant we hang with a select group of sentients and Buddha.

We slowly see this more and more, and to use the word mother nature..that's as close in western thinking as Buddha nature is..
all of the nature is imbued with Buddha..your daily life is imbued and you live in it..

but how it unfolds for you...is up to you..

it's good you talk of your life here...others have their way of giving you advice as they see it...
it's all good...cause it is the Nichiren section !
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Queequeg
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Queequeg »

bcol01 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 7:15 pm Well actually, I haven't been practicing consistently. In fact, i've struggled immensely with doubt. It was only until I realized my job was in jeopardy that I started chanting again. Nevertheless, I do need to work on my laziness. It ultimately cost me a good job. :thinking:
No atheists in foxholes, they say. :shrug:

So you were under the gun at work, and looked for divine intervention... yeah, doesn't work that way.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Minobu
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Minobu »

Queequeg wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 8:39 pm

So you were under the gun at work, and looked for divine intervention... yeah, doesn't work that way.
isn't the teaching and the practice divine intervention..in the sense that the practice works and the teaching of it comes from the divine..

it's all up to us...and everything is in us and of us ...but the divine left the teaching...

and is the teaching blessed...
Is Lotus Buddhism imbued with the Buddha's power?
i think so...
asking ...just asking and crying...if it worked everyone who has ever cried would be rich and filled with every whim...

see where i am going with this?

it's not so much finding the perfect job or what ever motivates you to chant when desperate...it's the journey that developes you...evolves you...what ever the thing needed ...thats just a convenient thing to reach you...and have you try to do something ...

i'm talking grunt work here...
this aspect of Buddhism for the living...


it all helps to develop other areas of our being...seems weird but chanting for health or wealth or what ever ...actually reaches the core...it's a diversionary tactic...you turn to Daimoku ...for some ignorant samsaric desire...and you end up with Tathagatagarbha ...
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Mantrik »

If your actions led to dismissal, perhaps it is simply a matter that your karma (actions) resulted in appropriate consequences. Maybe it will now lead you to new and exciting things.:)

However, employers use the threat of dismissal as a weapon. I once spent 10 years on constant notice of redundancy, so if they needed to get rid of you they could, instantly.
I was dismissed twice (forced resignation to save money) from two organisations I had kept afloat for years. I'm delighted to say both went bust a couple of years after they got rid of me...........so I reckon karmic consequences work out pretty well. :)

In the end I managed to retire early (aged 48) and live very comfortably so I say 'f*** em' ......... it will all work out in the end, . :)

As it was put in that Buddhist pome 'Desiderata':
''And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.''
http://www.khyung.com ཁྲོཾ

Om Thathpurushaya Vidhmahe
Suvarna Pakshaya Dheemahe
Thanno Garuda Prachodayath

Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ (मिच्छामि दुक्कडम्)
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Minobu »

Mantrik wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:39 pm

As it was put in that Buddhist poem 'Desiderata':
''And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.''
This reminds me that when i say "chant for ...."
i take for granted that people don't actually chant for anything whilst chanting..

a whole other thread eh....

but it's like what ever motivates you" to do the practice" and whilst doing it you put aside your trials and tribulations and sort of say

"Ok this time is set aside for practice...i will try to focus..."

then it's back to the daily grind of samsaric weirdness...lol...


nice stuff , never knew the poem was Buddhist.

beautiful words...
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Mantrik
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Mantrik »

Minobu wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:46 pm
Mantrik wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:39 pm

As it was put in that Buddhist poem 'Desiderata':
''And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.''
This reminds me that when i say "chant for ...."
i take for granted that people don't actually chant for anything whilst chanting..

a whole other thread eh....

but it's like what ever motivates you" to do the practice" and whilst doing it you put aside your trials and tribulations and sort of say

"Ok this time is set aside for practice...i will try to focus..."

then it's back to the daily grind of samsaric weirdness...lol...


nice stuff , never knew the poem was Buddhist.

beautiful words...
It isn't Buddhist per se but I thought it expressed similar ideas. :)

http://www.khyung.com ཁྲོཾ

Om Thathpurushaya Vidhmahe
Suvarna Pakshaya Dheemahe
Thanno Garuda Prachodayath

Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ (मिच्छामि दुक्कडम्)
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Queequeg »

Minobu wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:11 pm
isn't the teaching and the practice divine intervention..in the sense that the practice works and the teaching of it comes from the divine..

it's all up to us...and everything is in us and of us ...but the divine left the teaching...

and is the teaching blessed...
Is Lotus Buddhism imbued with the Buddha's power?
i think so...
asking ...just asking and crying...if it worked everyone who has ever cried would be rich and filled with every whim...

see where i am going with this?

it's not so much finding the perfect job or what ever motivates you to chant when desperate...it's the journey that developes you...evolves you...what ever the thing needed ...thats just a convenient thing to reach you...and have you try to do something ...

i'm talking grunt work here...
this aspect of Buddhism for the living...


it all helps to develop other areas of our being...seems weird but chanting for health or wealth or what ever ...actually reaches the core...it's a diversionary tactic...you turn to Daimoku ...for some ignorant samsaric desire...and you end up with Tathagatagarbha ...
Yep.

As a personal trainer friend of mine says, "Be ready, so you don't have to get ready!" In my experience, Buddhist practice requires consistency to have effect. There might be some Eureka! moment here and there, but I find the real effects come from sustained daily practice. It requires determination, and optimism, curiosity, discriminative consideration (in some modes of practice), decisiveness, kindness, cheerfulness, empathy, and the like. These are the same sorts of qualities that would make one find success in life in general.

When I was in SGI and I'd here people's "experiences", sometimes there was the miraculous story about recovering from cancer, or some other amazing turn of events so that things worked out - but in each of those cases, the person's overall practice had a certain momentum, and if you thought about the circumstances, it was clear that these events broke the person's way because they were in a position for those opportunities, and had the disposition to take advantage of them.

There are always opportunities around. Often, though, the variable is our own disposition that determines whether those opportunities become something more than possibilities. When you are always ready for the opportunity, you are able to seize them. Louis Pasteur said fortune favors the prepared. Buddhist practice keeps you prepared.

Some people have never had a day of discipline in their whole life. They start chanting regularly, for whatever - a new car, a lover - and all of a sudden there is discipline and consistency. Consistency builds momentum, momentum has all sorts of concatenating effects.

But this is the side effect of Buddhist practice. Not the goal.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Lindama »

I haven't read all the responses of these good folks, I have no doubt there is wisdom here. Yet, I still wonder if you find them helpful. mostly, it's a hard thing to lose a job no matter what. It's not helpful to blame yourself or to turn yourself into a self-improvement project. sometimes, we have to take the ride.

many of us have "good jobs" that drain the life out of us, I'm speaking for myself here ... is there a part of you that did not want to continue no matter what the financial consequences? can you recognize that there may be another opportunity to do things differently. It may look chaotic for some time, there are no easy answers. After all the psychology and practice, I fell apart for some time.... but, my cat needed to be fed and I didn't know the end of the story. I did what I had to, to survive... got jobs that were hard. My friends couldn't bear to watch, it stirred up too much in them. Before all that, I had a marriage, a house and a career... how lucky to lose it! so I say now! Whatever your situation, I hope you see this as a second chance. My job now is talking to parents of young children with reading problems... parents say they are lazy... that is just not true! Kids (and us adults) are disengaged when the life is being sucked out of us. Now, as adults, I hope we find what brings us into a different aliveness... it's not easy. it may take time, don't stop here. You will find a new maturity that won't rely on chants and prayers .... and a way to connect with chants and prayers where we are all brothers and sisters.

best wishes
linda
bcol01 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 7:15 pm Well actually, I haven't been practicing consistently. In fact, i've struggled immensely with doubt. It was only until I realized my job was in jeopardy that I started chanting again. Nevertheless, I do need to work on my laziness. It ultimately cost me a good job. :thinking:
Not last night,
not this morning,
melon flowers bloomed.
~ Bassho
jkarlins
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by jkarlins »

yes, good post

Jake
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Minobu
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Minobu »

Lindama wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 7:12 am Now, as adults, I hope we find what brings us into a different aliveness... it's not easy. it may take time, don't stop here. You will find a new maturity that won't rely on chants and prayers .... and a way to connect with chants and prayers where we are all brothers and sisters.

best wishes
linda
Actually as a Nichiren Buddhist we totally rely on our chants as a way of life.
it's not some kumbaya sing along to connect to brothers and sister...although it does do that far more deeper than the kumbaya crowd would imagine.

your tale of woe and hardship does not seem to be completely and utterly focused on a buddhist practice.

this is so far from what we do as Nichiren buddhist and actually we try to show this a futile attempt at striving for some samsaric utopian life.

the middle way...
we do our practice, live in the real world as some would call it, and develop our being towards total Buddhahood.

And yet we are Bodhisattvas, pledged to work with Samsaric beings .

It's uncanny but one does get what one needs to live and grow the practice to it's end means.
Everything is a learning experience and a development experience of the highest nature and goal of Buddhahood for oneself and others.

I don't see your paradigm as having anything even close to what it is to take up Buddhist practice towards Buddhahood for oneself and others.

once you downgrade it to ;
You will find a new maturity that won't rely on chants and prayers ..
you are talking about something other than Buddhist practice.


.
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Minobu
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Minobu »

jkarlins wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:30 am yes, good post

Jake
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Re: I lost my job today...

Post by Lindama »

well, the fact is, jobs can be lost chanting or not chanting. Things happen. Life happens. I mean no offense to Buddhism.
Not last night,
not this morning,
melon flowers bloomed.
~ Bassho
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