Warm Greetings from Connecticut

Warm…sounds kinda funny doesn't it? 

My family's newest friendship, recently established with another family on the other side of the Atlantic, has led us down the path of building a sometimes difficult, yet comfortable line of communications between one another from across the sea.  Regardless of the language barrier, we have, over the past seven months, successfully communicated with one another to the point that feelings are not just those of friends, but of family.  One of the earliest bridges we built was in the closing of each letter.  My wife chose the word 'warmly' as a kind way of finishing her notes with love.

The circumstances that brought upon this seemingly spontaneous and almost superficial friendship are not important to the story.  What instead is important is that through the practice of loving kindness, compassion and understanding, my family and another on the other side of the Atlantic ocean has grown together based soley through these acts of trust, compassion, and love.

Only through the wisdom gained by practicing Buddha Nature have my family and I learned to live our lives with this love and compassion that has brought us down this path we now live.  I can only hope that somehow, someway, people all over the planet can realize that their only true path to happiness lies in closing their minds to past misdeeds and mistakes and opening their hearts with love and compassion so that we can all peacefully co-exist with one another.

All of this is a strange introduction I know.  Yet I want each reader who happens upon this particular post to know that yes, Buddhism works, yes chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo has an effect on one's life, and yes, it is possible to be happy in the present day.  I'm still only a rookie in all of this, call me a complete loony, but I think it works!

I am not an SGI member yet and I have only been studying Buddhism for a tiny bit over two years, but we are all students.  There is no end to learning.  Wisdom is like the rings of a tree.  With each new ring, we grow stronger, happier, and more confident where we stand on this Earth.

Warmly :)

-cw