Lola getting some love. (Photo by Jamie)

Buddhism: The darker the Night, the Closer the Dawn

The first thing is pray. From the moment we begin to pray, things start moving. The darker the night, the closer the dawn. From the moment we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with a deep and powerful resolve, the sun begins to rise in our hearts. Hope — prayers is the sun of hope. To chant each time we face a problem, overcoming it and elevating our life conditions as a result — this is the path of “changing earthly desires into enlightenment,” taught Nichiren Buddhism.

(Credit Daisaku Ikeda for the philosophy)