06. When you can't chant Daimoku
I think there are times. At least I do. Even if I’m trying my best to do my best for something, I may feel like I’m just not feeling it today, or I may feel a bit tired.
One of my senpai whom I respect is a person who is really doing things for everyone in the community, and I always feel that he is amazing. He also said that there are times when he can’t chant Daimoku.
I think that’s why there are organizations, where we can share challenges and situations, and encourage each other, because I knew it would be difficult to continue to carry out my determination alone.
When I am unable to chant Daimoku, if I receive a Daimoku of encouragement from someone through a notification, maybe it will inspire me to make up my mind again.
If there are times when you can’t chant Daimoku, that’s normal (at least for me, an ordinary person), and when I feel like it, you can open this app, look at the public prayer items, and start chant Daimoku if you feel that someone is challenging, even if only a little.
If possible, you look at the people who are currently chanting users and imagine their backgrounds, and if you feel that everyone is challenging themselves in some way, and you feel that you should try your best, then you should start again.
One of the thoughts behind the application
How else can I encourage people who don’t fit in with the organization? These are some of the thoughts that went into the conception of this app.
This was back when I used to go around visiting homes as a district director. After all, there are people I can’t meet. There are people who cannot be reached. Even if they are unable to attend various meetings due to their circumstances, if they can be reached by phone, etc., they can encourage each other to get along.
So how can we encourage those who cannot meet and cannot be contacted? I was worried about this point.
Perhaps this application could help.
If someone who was sick of the organization and had cut off contact with people in the community, if for some reason they started this app, they might receive encouraging offers from various people, that person might be encouraged.
People that we have not been able to connect with, people that we have not been able to pick up on in the district. Maybe there is a comrade online who is in a similar situation, and that person’s words of encouragement might reach them.
When I was in the Future Division
One thing that has stayed with me from my mentor’s words. That is that even if you are a 3-day monk, if you do it 10 times, you have done it for a month. Indeed!
Perhaps the important thing is to be determined. Even if you fail along the way, you must resolve to do it again and again.
I myself almost gave up several times while developing this application. I was disgusted by my lack of knowledge, skills, and experience. But each time, I remembered my mentor’s words, remembered the people involved, remembered my desire to deliver the app, and renewed my resolve to start over again, and somehow I managed to release it.
After that, I continued to face a series of challenges. I will continue to make improvements so that I can deliver as much value as possible to everyone who uses the app.
When you can make a decision
So how many times have you been unable to chant Daimoku, and when were you able to start chanting Daimoku again? I thought about the situation at that time.
It was, after all, when I received encouragement from senior members of the community, when they told me they were chanting Daimoku for me, when I heard about their experiences and challenges at meetings, when I had a dialogue with someone, when I encouraged someone, when I looked back on my own past efforts and remembered my thoughts at that time, when I read the newspaper, when I read encouragement in the four seasons, and many other times.
When I was 1~2 years into my working life, it was not easy to attend meetings, etc. I had a hard time when I was away from activities, so I tried to attend meetings. This was when I was nearly inactive (I barely attended the monthly broadcasting).
When I attended the meeting, listened to the resolutions, sang the songs together, and felt the energy of the members, I felt what I had done. I felt that I had no choice but to stand up again with this faith.
I think it is when you are touched by someone’s life force that you can make up your mind, and I am sure that face-to-face is the best way to do that, but of course there are times when you can make up your mind by reading the newspaper or reading the words of the mentor or experience on the Internet. So I think it would be nice to have some encouragement on the app.
Through features such as “Currently Chanting Users”, “Prayed” and “Public Prayer Items”, I would like to make the app such that I can encourage the resolution with users as many times as possible, even if only a little.