Turning Poison Into Medicine
You have a Buddha nature. It has been there the whole time, buried under cultural norms and teachings that told you to look up and wait instead of looking in and acting. When something painful happens, Americans ask what they did to deserve it. Behind that thinking is an imaginary courtroom, an imaginary judge weighing our behavior and handing down rewards and punishments. Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism has no such courtroom. There is no punishment, because there is no judge. There is cause and effect. Every thought, word, and action plants a cause, and effects appear when conditions ripen. Your suffering is not a sentence handed to you. It is a result from seeds you planted.
This is the best news you will ever hear. If hardship is an effect, you are free right now to make a new cause. Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism calls this hendoku iyaku, turning poison into medicine. Where the illness or the loss becomes the very thing that deepens your life in a way ease never could. Stop asking what you did to deserve this. Ask what cause you will make now.
The six sense organs form the window that allows information to enter one’s body; if this window is clouded, the correct information cannot be taken in. However, if your six sense organs are pure and not clouded, one can correctly recognize and evaluate external phenomena. From this, the correct way of thinking and action are born (excerpted from The Doctrines and Practice of Nichiren Shoshu, p.252).
Visit Myosenji Buddhist Temple SUNDAY August 30, 2026 at 2pm for our next Introductory lecture with our Chief Priest, Rev Sakabe on Buddhism’s Core Beliefs & Practice. He will explain how Buddhist practice lets you abandon your delusions, change your karma and become happy to help others to do the same. Register Today https://nstmyosenji.org .
**Please note ALL times are Eastern Standard Time (ET). Also, we do not record live streams for future viewing. We do hold our Introductory meetings monthly so if you miss one of the lectures you can attend next month.