Happy Fourth...

To Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY AMERICA !!! Since this is a day of celebrating independence and freedom in what was, the most powerful country in the world, I have high hopes for the future of America under President Obama's administration. Why you ask? Because President Obama understands that in order to transform America, the leader in charge must base everything on serving the people. Every political leader should make the people their primary concern, however many nations around the world that claim to do this - don't. What a lot of the world does not realize, is that there is no disconnect between the condition of the lives of the people and the condition of the land in which they live. I just read a great article in Living Buddhism that I find pertains to changing the conditions America is facing today. What I love about this philosophy and the writings of Nichiren Diashonin, is that it relates to any time, past, present and future. Many Buddhist traditions believed in a "pure land" that is somewhere separate from this "impure world". There is no such thing as a separate paradise, we need to create our own paradise here on Earth. What is so great to understand is that Nichiren points out that if there was a profound transformation within the life of each person, it would undoubtedly bring about a transformation of society or the land. A quick excerpt from the article that really struck me...

"To turn one's eyes from the problems of society and the world and remained concerned only with spiritual or religious matters may seem like a holy way to live, but Mahayana Buddhism admonished against such an approach to religion as self-serving...Today, the SGI, based solidly on the principles and spirit of Nichiren Buddhism, is actively working to promote peace, cultural exchange, educational progress and respect for human rights, while contributing to solving the serious problems facing the world." (Living Buddhism, Jul-Aug 2009)

I am so proud to be working so hard on transforming my own life and helping others do the same. We can transform this country, and the world one person at a time. Have a safe and happy weekend everyone!