My First post. Who am I?

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Who am I?

Since I’m un-glam in this post’s videos, I wanted you to see what I look like .0005% of the time. This was in December at the sole dress up thing I attended last year. The only make up I’m wearing is lip color. After a lifetime of feeling naked without wearing concealer over the dark circles under my eyes that I inherited from my 96-year-old mother, for the past couple of years, I’ve been way past giving an f.

Where do I get — or want to get — my news and social media fix?

These are just a few of my sources. There are so many. What are some of yours?

News: Don Lemon (my go-to news source. Don rox.), Black Star Network - Curated by Roland S. Martin, Joy Reid, Zeteo - Founded by Mehdi Hasan, Al Jazeera

Social Media: Fanbase (Black-owned), Bluesky

Why I think it’s critical for black people to support black-owned.

Why I’m Substacking

Here I refer to Nichiren. He was the 13th-century Japanese monk who founded Nichiren Buddhism, the Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren propagated the practice of chanting the sutra’s title in Sanskrit (Nam) and Japanese — Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This translates as Devotion to the Wonderful Law of the Lotus Flower Teaching of the Buddha.

“For what reason was he named Never Disparaging? This monk, whatever persons he happened to meet, whether monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen, would bow in obeisance to all of them and speak words of praise, saying, ‘I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you will all practice the bodhisattva way and will then be able to attain buddhahood.’

This monk did not devote his time to reading or reciting the scriptures, but simply went about bowing to people.”

-The Buddha, Lotus Sutra Chapter 20 — “The Bodhisattva Never Disparaging”

My Dream About the Lotus Sutra

Shakyamuni — Sage of the Shakya Clan — is an honorific name for the historical Buddha who lived in India in 5 BCE. His given name was Siddhartha.

“My Lotus Sutra Dream,” April 22, 1977 — handwritten transcript pdf

Here are scenes and descriptions from my dream that correspond to what is in the Lotus Sutra. The links go to sutra text.

• White Car — great white ox cart that carries one to enlightenment. This is mentioned in the Parable of the Three Carts and the Burning House.

• Explosion — “the earth…trembled and split open”

• People rising from the ground — “Emerging from the Earth” chapter

• Building rising into the air and hovering there — “Emergence of the Treasure Tower” chapter

• “2,500 years” and a slide show of really bad things happening — the “age of fear and evil” in the “fifth five hundred year” (or “last five hundred year”) period after the Buddha’s passing

• The voice in my dream said those of us who didn’t die in the explosion would not die — “There is no ebb and flow of birth and death” — the Buddha

• Bus — The Buddha repeatedly likened the Lotus Sutra to a great vehicle that carries all who enter it to enlightenment.

• Writing down my dream — Multiple times, the Buddha told of the benefits of reading, writing (“copying”), and teaching the Lotus Sutra and praised those who do these things.
  

What’s Next

Going forward, in addition to posting about Buddhism, I’ll talk about whatever else I want in this space. Please join the conversation in comments and chats.

My very next post will include the video I recorded on November 12, 2020 that explains why our world is in its current state from the perspective of Nichiren’s writing “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land.”

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In my previous video, I said I’ll be on here daily. Oops. That’s an over-promise. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you’ll know when I’ve posted or am live so you can join the conversation. Scroll to the end for the subscription box.

And another thing…

I cannot stop listening to “Notice Me” by Quinn XCII . I’m on week four of Spotify repeat — it’s an ADHD thing. I also think it’s because I’m a survivor of childhood emotional neglect (CEN) — the invisible childhood traumatizer. Basically, my emotional state was invisible to my parents. But I’m not mad about it (anymore). They did their best. I’m certain their emotional states were invisible to their parents. As my therapist says, “When you know better, you do better.” They had no way of knowing better. As a parent, unfortunately for my children, I didn’t either. #breakingthecycle

Btw, I’m my mother’s namesake. She’s Mattie Mae (Causey) Perry, born and raised in Macon, Georgia. I’m Mattie LaVora, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.

Connect

lotussutrabuddhism@substack.com