What is a passage from Nichiren Daishonin or the three presidents that encourages you through difficulty?
Leng Kiat: Well, let me think. We used to have these calendars and they are very good. There are quotes on each month. You see, these were from 2010, 2011 and 2012 and so on. Some I have given to others as the words behind each month can encourage the person. I am always reminded myself of this quote (of which I'm paraphrasing):
"Courageous dialogue which is actually really good in the sense that it does not imply confrontation and aggression. It means to open one’s heart by courageously challenging our own fears, prejudices, and limitation."
A simple dialogue when expressing our belief in another’s potential can change the course of a life. Not only those we are trying to inspire get affected, we are able to transform the course of our life to one of creating even more value. You see, all of these quotes are good (encouraging) and here is another one (that I'm paraphrasing)!
"If you summon your courage to challenge something you will never be left to regret. How sad it is to spend your life with shame, thinking if only I had a little more courage. Whatever the outcome may be the important thing is to step forwards on a path that you believe is right."
I don’t have a favourite quote as I find ALL the things that they (Nichiren Daishonin and the three Presidents) said are so good! They told us that chanting gives us strength and life force. To me, (to my understanding), chanting is like life force, not to be defeated by your own negativity.
What do you think was your prime point of faith, and how have you maintained you seeking spirit to continue to encourage members?
Leng Kiat: When my husband was alive, there were a lot of actual proof that helped me to become such a strong practising member. When he was so sick, I felt like there was a lot of protection from the environment (shoten zenjin) that came to our aid. These experience were very important to ground me.
My husband had this condition called myocarditis. He was in and out of hospital for a very long time. At that time, we were fortunate to have known a lady whose partner is a doctor from England. He was interested in my husband’s case and he found it interesting that my husband was still alive with all of his co-morbidities. He helped my husband to prolong his life and treated his condition while we were in Malaysia. We also went to England for his treatment. At that time, we were hoping that his health problems could be resolved or that he could be put on the list to get his heart replaced. However, the specialist told us that his condition was far too advanced and they could not do anything for him. On top of that, his heart had a leaky valve.
While all of these things happened, we were fortunate to have known the head nurse from the hospital who was from Kuching as well. At the same time, the minister of Kuching was at the same hospital having heart surgery too. Because I was the headmaster of an International School back in Kuching, he felt proud of knowing me and gave my husband his sarong as a token of encouragement. As the specialist said that they could not do anything for my husband, the head nurse rallied for us and asked the specialist to do their best to prolong my husband’s life. Thanks to her, my husband regained his health and we were able to go back to Malaysia after months of staying in England. It was a shame I did not have her contact anymore. If it was not for her, my husband would not have survived to come back to Malaysia with me.
What would you like to share with the youth who are going to shoulder the future of kosen-rufu?
Leng Kiat: I feel that everyone, not only the youth, they themselves have to have the belief that this practice has strength and gives you life force. This practice is not like others, as I put it here (in her gongyo book): “it gives you the strength to not be defeated by your own negativity.” That to me is the most important belief I have for this practice. This practice helps us to get rid of your negativity. For example, when you think you are not able to pass this exam, but with faith, you chanted about it, and you find that you are able to answer the questions and passed with flying colours which you can’t believe yourself. This is why it is important to chant and have belief in your practice.
Our negativities sometimes may tell us that we are not good enough in certain areas, but through chanting, we can get rid of the negativity and let our potential shine. Through chanting, a lot of things can be changed in your life and make you a better person and have a more rewarding life. For example, you might have things that you are having which you won’t dream of having. After graduating from university, you decided to stay back (in Australia) and you found yourself a job. As you know, there are so many others who are struggling but you got what you want. How mysterious! You always have to chant to get wisdom to do your work. You cannot take things for granted and start to neglect your chanting, you might lose what you already have. What you don’t realise is that chanting is the one thing that gives you wisdom to do your work and to do it well too.