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Happy Gohonzon Birthday To Me!!!!

Hey fellow believers, today I celebrate 8 years of practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism as a Soka Gakkai Member! I can't believe how quick time has gone by since then! I remember how hopeless I was when I started, feeling like the best years of my life had gone by and that a career in music was beyond my reach. Now I play in four bands, have a great job a mile from home, a great apartment that lets me play drums and a brand new car, and I am getting established in the Chicago music scene and contributing to kosen-rufu through music and activities. I have conviction in my Buddha nature and the unlimited power of this Gohonzon, and I am so grateful to Sensei, the SGI-USA, especially the members of Lake Center and O'Hare District, and my fellow zenji shiki who have supported me through thick and thin. Especially to Marcus, my sponsor, and his wife Toshiko, who taought me all the basics, have been there from the beginning, and arranged for me to receive my Gohonzon eight years ago today! I'll never forget that day. Thank you all so much!!! And I look forward to making new friends and connections on this SGI Buddhism site as well, thank you Chris and Dan D!!! Oh, happy day. Everybody should have two birthdays! Let's tell everyone about how awesome this practice is, worldwide kosen-rufu is in our grasp!!!

Namaste, Peace and Hope for all,
Mark Lester

5 Comments

Comment by Dan (site assistant) on July 9, 2008 at 7:29pm: Happy Gohonzon Birthday, Mark!

Yeah the minute you kept showing up at district meetings in Lake Center, we plotted to get rid of you. Endless aimoku tosos at your house, dragging you to out-of-the-way places for home-v's, me enduring those long hours at IHOP getting you to talk about your problems so I could figure out ways to plot your demise while feeding you to make you obese and more depressed, and the training we put you through in youth div. activities like brass band & soka group in the midwest wintry blast in the parking lots and feeding you more MSG-laden high cholesterol food in Chinatown after activities.

Man, in the words of Jessie the Body Ventura you're like an Alabama tick that wouldn't budge! We tried dammit. But you just ended up getting happier & happier. What's wrong with you?!!! You just keep getting these benefits! And...and...hmmm...Oh yeahhhh....that's it! OK, pal. Time to pay the piper.

You owe me quite a few steak dinners for treating you to all those lunches & dinners we treated you to during those lean times. Yes, that's it. Also an airplane ticket to Japan to send me and Marcus to some obscure training meeting at Gakkai HQ. And the phone # of your most available female vocalist of the 3 or 4 music bands you've been performing with.

We'll get to you one way or another. And and and.... you know what a sick kidder I am. :-D For my small part in your life, I'm very proud of how you've turned out practicing with such courage & conviction.....wonder what went wrong....rats....

Your silly-ass friend & probably no-longer a confidante,

-Dan
(ha ha ha!)

Comment by Dan (site assistant) on July 9, 2008 at 7:33pm: almost forgot, buddy!

Comment by Bob Mann on July 9, 2008 at 11:12pm: Will it ever end? No, never.... Congrats, your humility and gratitude are showing! And, thats a good thing for sure.... Best to you always....

Comment by DaveC on July 26, 2008 at 8:04pm: Congratulations, Mark.

Comment by DaveC on July 26, 2008 at 8:07pm: Happy Birthday! Keep on showing actual proof!

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SGIBuddhism.org is a privately owned site run and funded by SGI Member, Chris Tinney.

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Peace,
Chris Tinney