From Pure Faith to a Prosperous Life
In this Life Experience Story, we feature the experience of a woman who once was in a financially desperate situation, but, through faith, was able to draw the power of wealth to herself. From her story, we hope that you can find new ways to invite more prosperity into your own lives too.
Feeling Pitiful and Small
Two years ago, I was at the lowest point in my life. I dreaded my job in sales and was depressed all the time. To add to my woes, my husband’s business failed and we subsequently sank into huge debt. Though he eventually found a new job, our combined income was not enough to reduce the debt that we owed. We were increasingly hard-pressed to make a living.
Prior to these events, we had joined Happy Science, but with not even enough money for everyday things, our livelihood was noticeably pitiful. Still, bone-weary as I was, I stopped by Osaka Shoshinkan on my way home from work to pray over and over again, “Even though we’re struggling to make a living, please help me find a way to be useful to Buddha.”
My Last Hope
One misfortune followed another and, amidst these troubles, my mother passed away. From the sorrow and misery at feeling so helpless, I lost the will to do anything. I frequently called in sick as my health began to deteriorate. The worst came when my husband quit the job he finally got.
Now, it was only my meager monthly salary that made up our insufficient income. The atmosphere in the house was strained and tensions were quick to flare from the anxiety and stress over our dire financial situation.
“What do you think you’re going to do without any income?”
“I’m doing my best, too!”
My husband and I were constantly fighting, sometimes even lashing out against our adolescent daughter.
The stress from my job and home life continued to levy its toll: I now had developed a menopausal disorder; my physical and psychological fatigues were at their limits. I was consumed with despair. I even considered quitting my job, and even quitting it all.
“I really can’t go on. I know we will be without any income whatsoever, but I cannot continue with this any longer…”
It was at that time when my good friend from Happy Science came to me and asked if I would like to come with her to a temple located in Akita. I felt like everything in my life was beyond my control. The one and only thing I had left which I could depend on was my faith.
Koan on ‘Pure Faith’
It had been years since I last took a seminar at a temple. To be honest, I always felt that life was unfair. Why did I have to keep suffering so much hardship when I’m always working and trying so hard?
This time, however, on the second morning of meditation, a strange feeling suddenly struck my heart.
“There, in the deepest part of my soul, is a direct connection, a pipeline, to the fundamental, pure Buddha, and infinite light flows through this connection. This pipeline is what faith is after all!”
This profound and deep realization about the real meaning of faith was so great that it blew me away, and any thoughts about our debt or the difficulties I was having at work. Faith is not something we hold on to, so that we can receive benefits or because it will help us. I could see that now, because the knowledge of my connection with Buddha alone was enough to fill me with utter and complete happiness. I now realized that despite proclaiming that ‘I believe,’ I was actually unhappy because I only thought about whether I had money or not.
My life, my family, and all the hardships are only trials. Everything has already been given to me by Buddha - this faith is salvation itself. The fear that had engulfed my heart suddenly lost its grip and faded away.
“I’m going to leave everything to Buddha because I have complete trust and faith in Him. There is nothing to fear since I have already been given this happiness that is faith.”
A few days after coming home with my mind content and at peace, my husband found a job.
Be Cheerful, Positive, and Keep your Chin Up
This incident deepened my faith even more. Seeking further growth, I decided to take a special seminar on The Law of Exorcism and The Ritual Prayer for Enhancing Family Luck at Chugoku Shoshinkan. Given our financial situation, it was difficult to come up with even the travel expenses. However, I was entirely calm and confident as I thought, “There is no reason for me to be consumed by money now; I will accept whatever happens to me as I shall leave it all to faith. I leave it all to Buddha.”
The seminar at Chugoku Shoshinkan taught me the importance of living positively and of setting my own goals. I used to be overly sensitive and easily troubled by what others did or said to me, but I learned that was because I did not have clear objectives for myself.
The sadness that had weighed so heavily on my heart now looked insignificantly small before Buddha. During The Ritual Prayer for Enhancing Family Luck I made my vow: “I will be more prosperous so that I will be able to help and be useful to many people, and I will, some day in the future, surely make countless contributions to others.”
A Miracle at Work
When I went back to work feeling fully refreshed, the sales job that I used to dread was no longer a hardship. I wanted to make my customers happy. Setting goals to that end and accomplishing them one by one was actually fun. Once I had set my goal, I knew what I needed to do, so what others might say or think no longer bothered me.
Things became much brighter at home as well. I stopped blaming my husband and even if we had an argument, we both stopped holding it against each other. The home environment became more and more peaceful.
Then, one week after my trip to Chugoku Shoshinkan, a complete miracle happened to me. I, who before this had had no real success, received a huge order from a company I had gotten to know. The contracted amount was for over three hundred million yen ($3.6 million). With that order I jumped to first place in sales at our company. My salary that month multiplied by ten times more than ever before. Our company is incentive-based, so jealousy of another’s success is always a ready possibility. However, because the record for the entire department was so greatly improved, my colleagues were not bitter at all but congratulatory to me and thanked me for the work I had done.
I was stunned by this sudden economic prosperity. I take this experience to be a message from Buddha who had heard my vow and was encouraging me to continue to make good on my vow. The desire to live up to His expectations filled me with even more energy to continue. After that day, I started to receive group and even executive contracts; the scale of my work made a drastic change and my base salary steadily improved – the amount doubling and tripling.
Creating More Prosperous People
Looking back, I think my hardships were a whetstone for me to achieve real happiness. It was challenging me: “Will I believe in Buddha even in the midst of adversity? Will I still have the determination to fulfill my mission?” When there was nothing I could do on my own, I accepted everything and believed in Lord El Cantare from the bottom of my heart. I could do this because of the support from my friends at Happy Science.
My goal now is to tell others of the bond that each and every person has with Buddha, God; our Lord. I will continue to strongly convey to all who will listen that anyone can become wealthy and grow prosperous through faith. Currently, I am studying to become a general consultant. I want to be a consultant to many people and help the realization of a prosperous life for every person. I truly believe we can create a soc iety filled with prosperous and happy people.
By Mieko