Paul Monaco .com

What a wonderful weekend this turned out be with yet another example of how the Mystic Law really works for me. Let me back track a bit a bit, as I haven’t been keeping up with my blog as well as I should. I have been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes for a few years now. It was well under control with oral medication and diet. But a year ago, when I quit smoking I started to gain weight which is partially to blame on my lower pulse rate from quitting but also very much because I’ve started eating like the pig that I am!

So, after about a year of perfect lab results I get a call from my doctor telling me my A1C level is out of whack.

Of course I quickly add a note to my daimoku chart where I keep a list of all the things I wish to chant for as well as keep track of how much chanting I do. I’ve been really neglegent in actually logging my daimoku but I do often look at it prior to my sessions and it does act as an excellent reminder.

So as I chant for the ambition to get out more, exercise and eat properly I find out about the exhibit coexistence that will be in Hartford, Connecticut. What better way to get out into the fresh air, do a little walking and reflect upon cultural diversity, tolerance and world peace? So today I venture out to the city (now you real city folks, stop laughing.. I know Hartford is far from a big city!)… And I find the exhibit.. everywhere… and I mean everywhere. It sprawled around a very large block with a lot of nothing in between pieces. I drove around several times, trying to find a spot that I was comfortable leaving my car at but was unsuccessful. I quickly realized that this was the type of exhibit that would most be enjoyed by those who are actually a part of the city.. eating.. working and playing on a daily basis. Perhaps if I didn’t go alone I would have been more bold but not today.

As you can probably read into that last paragraph I can be easily intimidated by the unknown and walking into unfamiliar environments. During today’s morning gongyo I did take advantage of daimoku to build up the gumption to go and I was really close to simply forgetting the whole idea. But I knew that I needed to just dive into this little challenge and see where it takes me. So… ready to leave the city I key into my GPS for directions to one of my favorite little diners that I haven’t been to in a long time, Mickey’s Oceanic Grill. As luck would have it, they weren’t open. So…..

It’s still early enough where I don’t really need to eat lunch yet, and still in need of some exercise I wander around the corner to the Great River Park where I very pleasantly suprised! It’s been years since I’ve been here and really didn’t expect much more then a little public boat launch area. I ended up walking for about 2-hours up and down the Connecticut river shooting pictures and just enjoying the mild pre-summer day!

So, a quick summary…

1) I overcame my mild fear of venturing alone into the city.

2) I saved myself the calories of a roadside diner meal since they were closed and was redirected to a park where…

3) I ended up walking much farther then I had originally intended and

4) re-inspired myself creatively by giving me a new photographic subject which…

5) I will return to continuing to satisfy my creative need and refueling my motivation to exercise in a fresh new environment to explore.

and… hidden benefit

6) There is a pedestrian bridge that links East Hartford and Hartford. As I increase my walk I’ll also be venturing into the city a bit without the worry of where to park my car.

Perhaps even more experiences lay ahead!

I know prior to attending my first meeting I was very apprehensive and though I’ve read up it, never knew what to expect. This short 2-minute clip is a great little summary of our daily gongyo practice.

I was given the opportunity to give my experience during our March Kosen Rufu Gonyo and since then, been meaning to post it here. Finally after someone bugged me a bit more, here I am posting it.

Honestly after hearing so many fantastic experiences, I really didn’t think mine was all that remarkable. However, several people disagreed with me.

Actually I was just really nervous about getting up here and trying to find a way out of it!

My journey actually began prior to learning about this Buddhism.

I was caregiver to my wife who was fighting an uphill battle with Hepatitis-C. As her health deteriorated, the amount of care I needed to provide went up exponentially. Managing her medications, logging her vitals, getting her and the wheelchair in and out of the car for doctor appointments. Not to mention all the usual red tape associated with the hospitals, insurance carriers and social security. Oh.. and I had to hold onto my job at the same time.

Almost a year ago today, she lost her battle.

Now my life was empty. There was no purpose, no reason. I woke up and went to work. That’s it.

My house became a mess… I didn’t clean… I didn’t have to.

Nobody relied on me, what I did just didn’t matter and I became very depressed.

Realizing I was in trouble I decided I needed a hobby. Just to do something.

Having been a DJ in my younger days I opened an Internet radio station.

Turned out to be not so good of an idea.. That led to hanging out in bars, meeting some of the independent artists I would play. They’d all buy me drinks… then they’d learn of my story… they bought me more drinks.

The drinking was quickly getting out of control.

Then I heard a song called “Mirror”. I didn’t know it at the time but it was about this Buddhism. I just thought it was this great little upbeat tune. I started playing the song on the air and eventually met the singer/songwriter Vittoria Conn, who explained to me what the song was really about, and how chanting to the Gohonzon was like looking into your mirror.

She gave me a copy of The Winning Life and I began chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. We quickly became very good friends and chanted together when we could.

One day she was invited to Kosen Rufu Gongyo at the Hudson Valley Activity Center to perform her song, and she invited me to see her performance which would also be my first time experiencing daimoku in a large group.

That day had a profound impact on me. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it was but from that moment on I knew that this practice is the correct way for me.

That very same day I kicked my 2-pack a day smoking habit, cold turkey. Whenever I felt like I wanted a cigarette… Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

Now people are always asking me “How’d you quit”… I just hand them a shakubuku card.

Mind you at this point I still hadn’t received my Gohonzon yet… which I did receive in November.

Shortly after receiving my Gohonzon, I quit drinking as well.

What’s really amazing is at work, everyone is noticing all these changes in me. Whether it’s the smoking, drinking or just my attitude… they all want to know how I did it. I’ve been telling so many people that I even heard someone chanting at a jammed copy machine trying to make it work!

I found this wonderful Daimoku chart (in PDF form) on the SGI’s MySpace Page.

Reverse engineering that link, reveals quite the talented artist.

I’ve been meaning to post a picture of my altar for the longest time, but my camera phone just didn’t do a good job at all. So now that I have a real digital camera, here it is.

It’s a very basic set-up, but I’m proud of it. I spend many hours here.