Today, is Thursday, January 1st, 2026, and I went to our New Year’s Day Gongyo this morning at the SGI-USA Buffalo Community Center. It was so nice to see my friends again. I had not seen them in almost three weeks. I was used to connecting with my Peace Bridge District at least once a week for our chanting sessions on Tuesday nights. I was happy to see my friend Carrie. We wished each other happy New Year and gave each other a hug. Then I saw Scott, Edward, and Susan, and I gave them hugs too. I welcomed Susan back to Buffalo because she had been away in Japan visiting with her mother. I sat down in the Gohonzon room and started to chant. Then my friend Jennifer came by and asked if she could sit next to me because my stuff was on the chair immediately to my right. I said, “Of course!” We wished each other a happy New Year and gave each other a hug. I asked Jennifer if we could get together to chant some time. She said yes and mentioned that we have our weekly Toso on Tuesday. That made me happy. We would be reunited with the rest of Peace Bridge District soon.
Over two weeks ago, I was struggling with COVID. It did really knock me down for a few days. Fortunately, I was eventually able to recover. However, because of my sickness I did miss out on a couple of things that were very important to me. I was unable to attend the Paranda Navideña at the Pucho Olivencia Community Center. I had been really looking forward to it and had invited several of my peers from our Spanish speaking group. I will attend next year. I am also looking forward to connecting with my fellow Spanish speakers and meeting at the café again to converse in Spanish. It’s been several weeks since we last met, and I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully, we can unite soon. I hope to practice Spanish again soon with my friend Carolina as well. We met at the Spanish Language Conference last September and have since become good friends. We have been supporting each other in our Spanish conversation, but with the onset of the holidays, we have both slacked off. I plan to restart our phone meetings this year. I still have about five months to go, until the Spanish Language Conference. I do still have hopes of becoming bilingual by then.
For the past few months, I have been chanting to love myself unconditionally. I was talking to a coworker, and she said that it took a lot of hard work on herself but that she had finally gotten there. She shared that she is also able to love others unconditionally. I responded, “That’s beautiful!” That is where I want to be, but I am not there yet. I think it is so hard for me the love myself because of the trauma I experienced as a child. I have not resolved this yet, but I am going to explore this in 2026. In the morning when I chant, I think to myself, “I am a Buddha and I love myself unconditionally.” I will keep chanting about this until my prayer is answered. When I am finally able to believe in my Buddhahood and have unconditional self-love for myself, this will free me up to love others and believe in their Buddha natures.
I am so appreciative of my friends Jennifer and Carrie. We have known each other a long time and they have always been very supportive of me. I believe in their Buddha natures. There’s no doubt that they are both Bodhisattvas. I just wish that I could see my own Buddha nature. This is so elusive for me. I have been having this struggle for over twenty years. However, I am confident that this will be the year that I change this.
One thing I can confidently say about myself, is that I do have very strong faith. I do believe in the mystic law of cause and effect—Nam Myoho Renge Kyo—and I also believe that we can tap into its limitless power when we sincerely chant in front of the Gohonzon. That’s another thing I am confident about. I know that I am sincere and have a seeking mind that desires to learn more about Buddhism. This year I will focus on studying more about Nichiren Buddhism. There are two wonderful benefits to study; one it deepens my faith and empowers me to overcome difficult situations when they arise and two it provides me with wisdom that I can then share with others.