Chan Kai Wen Kevin
Future Division
To begin, I was someone who did not chant much, sometimes to the point where I didn’t even do gongyo. However, in 2018, I began to chant more hoping to do well for my Primary School Leaving Examination and get into my desired secondary school.
In the end, I managed to make it into my first choice of school through the Direct School Admission Programme. With this major hurdle cleared, I grew complacent and stopped chanting again.
However, one unfortunate event brought me back to daimoku. After months of battling cancer, my beloved grandfather passed away on April 11, 2021. He was someone I was really close to and I was devastated. Nevertheless, his death was a wake-up call for me. When he was alive, my grandpa was constantly worried about me as I tended to sleep late and did not take good care of my health. I made a determination to sleep early and chant again to develop a good rhythm of life and make him proud.
Around that time, my district Young Men Division leader approached me to share The New Human Revolution, Volume 30 “Vow” chapter with him at our monthly discussion meeting. It strengthened my determination to chant for the preparation and the actual presentation. Hence, I started chanting 20 minutes daily.
Prior to this I still remember telling my parents how I didn’t believe in the Gohonzon as I hadn’t experienced any actual proof, but this time I was determined to test the power of faith and I experienced my first actual proof. We received news that the National School Games would be cancelled due to Covid-19 and we were all very worried. Fortunately, tennis was one of the few sports that was allowed for competition. Throughout the competition, I chanted hard that we and get into the finals. Indeed, in the end, we got second place! This was a huge achievement for my school as we had not gotten such a result for more than a decade.
I also experienced actual proofs in my school work. All these experiences strengthened my conviction in faith. Towards 2030, I vow to continue chanting earnestly to battle my fundamental darkness of procrastination and addiction to computer games, and use the time spent on gaming to chant more daimoku instead.
Ikeda Sensei says: “To take the path of least resistance is human nature. Outstanding individuals didn’t become great overnight. They disciplined themselves to overcome their weaknesses, conquering apathy and inertia to become true victors in life. Those short on willpower or self-motivation should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with the conviction to become people of strong will, who can tackle any problem with real seriousness and determination.”
Through faith, I want to become a person of strong will, who can face up to any challenge. I also vow to expand my life to care for others by sharing Buddhism with my friends and those in need.
(Adapted from July 2021 issue of Creative Life)
