KWOON - Threefold Lotus Martial Arts

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Letter on persecutions and commitment

January 20th, 2006

A life of true freedom is already within you. To connect with it, you need only breathe in meditation and repeat in a steady rhythm, as a galloping horse, the sounds of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo each morning and evening. In the morning, this ultimate of all mantras will align your life force with your innate enlightenment and provide strength and direction for your day. In the evening, it closes your human revolutions encountered throughout our exposure to myriad challenging forces and provides a return to our calm and enlightened state for much needed and deserved rest and restoration.

Add to this any opportunity throughout the day some of the stretches you already know, and I am certain you will be most productive.

I will share a story of my life with you to illustrate. I will be brief, as I would prefer to relate this story to you in person, but I will give you a good sense of it.

My girlfriend of four years had flipped out and kicked me out vowing to burn anything left in her home after 3 PM that day. After moving my stuff to a new apartment I barely got with my last pennies, she contacted the landlord and somehow convinced the landlord that the monies paid him for security and rent were all her money and she demanded AND RECEIVED all the monies from the landlord. Penniless, I was evicted from the apartment and left with an auto full of my stuff. I lost the car as well within two days, due to her claim that it was hers.... longer story. I ended up living in a 5 foot wide by 12-foot deep aisle between toilets and sewer pipes in my father's warehouse in Santa Ana. No heat, No air, Dust, rats, and a shabby cot. I found a job in Wilmington to work as a maintenance man from 5 AM to 3 PM. I used my father's old 1977 thunderbird to get to work. At the same time as this job came to me, an opportunity came to participate in a large international exhibit on humanity in education with the largest Buddhist organization in the US. I knew that the condition my life was in was due to my own past causes, and that my only hope to escape my desperate situation was to challenge myself profoundly. So I threw myself into this project.

I am leaving much out, but the over three months I spent working on this job and project meant that my schedule became as follows. Every weekday, I would rise at 3 AM, chant 30 minutes and do a full Gongyo (recitation of sutra), drive to Wilmington, take a shower at Wilmington facility and change clothes, drive up to Santa Monica to a large production warehouse where I worked alone most times until about 11 PM to 12 AM, drive home to Santa Ana, sleep 2 hours and start over.

I swear to you, this is an accurate recounting. Before the whole four month event was over, I had met a interviewee who was to take my place at the Wilmington job as I was being offered the management position. The new guy was in lots of personal troubles and it was affecting his work. He broke down on me and pleaded for guidance. I was a bit overwhelmed, as I never presumed that i had such skills. But I recognized that my life condition was so elevated by my dedication to my "practice" that I simply radiated confidence and security to others. When this man heard I was a Nichiren Buddhist he cried out loud and doubled his plea. I considered his circumstance and offered him words of encouragement and guidance at the same time as I told him he could not keep this job. Some of my guidance was surprisingly harsh sounding, even to me, but I trusted what my Buddha nature and life condition were telling me. With a sober and extremely grateful face, the young man thanked me, and pledged to follow his guidance. He confided in me that he had been a Nichiren Buddhist in the past but had gotten lazy and quit the practice. He recognized that his life had fallen into disrepair in the years following this decision.

As for me, there were numerous other experiences, I quit the job in Wilmington and started working at Canon. The exhibit won me many accolades and respect as well as many other benefits. I found a good deal on an industrial space (Conundrum Studios) and you may be able to take it from there.

I have had many other trials of course. But I hope that this small slice of my life will touch your heart in some way. Focus is indeed our greatest weakness. In these days of mankind, there is much delusion and polluted mind and thinking. Our protection is to remain steadfast in our determination for enlightenment, to avoid the poisons of society and remain in its favour. This can only be achieved should we keep our life condition as high as we are able.

I offer this to you with love and deepest respect for the challenges you face as well as with my complete confidence in your spiritual strength.

Visit soon, and until then, be well.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

PS If you find the time, please get a copy of "Quantum Life". It contains some history for your scholarship, but perhaps most important, the core of the Quantum Life unification of all world religion contained in the chapter "The Path". We will have much to dialogue.

BACKGROUND

This letter was written in response to a letter from James Todaro on his return from Central America:
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 10:25 PM
Subject: back in the states
Sifu,
I have returned. My thoughts go out to Rene and her speedy recovery. I only hope it serves to make you both stronger, as we all must endure times such as these in order to persevere and appreciate the spring when it comes. I must say that my trip on the whole was a worthwhile venture although I can't help but think I could have made better use of my time. I very much look forward to some personal time to spend in meditation and look for guidance on what direction I extend my energies. First and foremost I realize that in order to truly be free I must unfortunately go back to work and pay off the debt I have begun to accumulate. Once free of the bonds of my past I will truly be free to pursue the possibilities of the future. I fear however all the progress I have made in the last 6 months will be lost once I start to assimilate back into society. I need some sort of mantra or mind control technique to prevent myself from forgetting all I have learned. I need to be able to remain focused and aware. I would like to speak with you soon, please send me your contact number when you get a chance. I am at my sisters right now, helping her with her house, as she is getting ready to sell it. There is much we need to speak about. I hope this finds you well and strong.
Much love and respect, in this life and the next
James