Taichiro’s story
I started practicing Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo in 2011.
I was born in Saga prefecture in southern Japan.
When I was a teenager, I had a debut in a rock band that was formed by my friends and my brother.
At that time, there was a “Band” boom in Japan that made a positive impact on us. Our concert tickets were hard to get and we rose to stardom!
We performed live concerts 8 months out of the year. We had many TV and radio interviews.
Every day had been busy but we were thrilled with our success!
But this didn’t last long.
There had been a fatal accident during one of the concerts that another band from our label performed. The result of the trial caused our agency to pay a large amount of compensation. Our entire earnings went to the payments.
But this wasn’t enough to cover it.
When our president couldn’t pay the salary and studio fee, he had disappeared. Our agency was shut down.
We had continued playing together while working part time jobs, wishing to restart our careers.
One day my co-worker offered me cold medicine when I was sick. After a while I couldn’t stop taking it. I became addicted. Because it had interfered with my daily life, it was impossible to continue playing with the band.
I flew to Okinawa (about 400 miles south of Japan) for rehabilitation. After several years, I successfully became drug free!
There was a president of a construction company that happened to be at our facility. He said “Why don’t you work for me? The housing is provided and if you have an address you could apply for welfare.”
I am getting a job and a place to live at the same time? I accepted his offer.
My excitement was short-lived. The work was extreme hard labor, and there were no days off. I had passed out many times on site and was hospitalized for a long time.
The employee housing turned out to be a labor camp, and the room was divided with thin plywood. There was no privacy. I never received the promised welfare or salary. Instead I was given a $10.00 allowance per week. I was living like a slave.
Every time I tried to protest to the the president, he threatened me by saying “Who would hire someone like you? Do you want to go back to rehab?”
I had been brainwashed by him.
One day I was telling myself that this is the only place for me. I will stay here forever. I should be grateful to the president for hiring me.
Then there was an incident that occurred. One of my fellow roommates had set fire to the president’s house and attempted murder-suicide. The president’s house burned to the ground.
Since that day, I started thinking that I would be the next one to commit suicide. I had been in a Jigoku (Hell) state.
Then I was introduced to Nichiren Daishonin’s Buppo by Kensho-kai which helped me to understand the relationship between our lives and the universe.
By chanting Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, we connect to it. I became energetic. I started feeling doubtful about my situation, and finally found out that my president was running a “Poverty business” (a business to make profits by using weak people; i.e. homeless, welfare recipients, etc.)
With the advice of my mentor from Kensho-kai, I confronted the president and told him that his business is illegal. I told him to change how he treated his employees.
Surprisingly he became a coward and the unpaid money was given to me!
I thought I would end my life in this place, but after 6 months I was able to quit! I thank Nichiren Daishonin and realized the force of the universe is powerful!
Luckily I was able to find an apartment that offered cheaper rent than the original listed price. I went for an interview at a ramen noodle restaurant near my apartment and got hired!
Right now I am in charge of the kitchen and the servers. What amazed me is that I originally liked cooking. This was my dream job! Without me, the restaurant couldn’t run smoothly.
One day when the restaurant owner saw my work, he was impressed. He spoke with the manager and gave me a big raise on the spot!
The owner is very nice to me and he cares about me. When he found out that my motorcycle was broken, he replaced it with a brand new one!
I realized the difference between how I have been treated before Buppo and after.
Reciting Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo improved my situation greatly.
Then my wish for a reunion with the band came true!
I was contacted by an agency and they wanted the original members to perform on stage. My old job would have never given me permission to go to this event, but my current job was so happy for me and encouraged me to go!
The band members are now living in different places and have jobs.
One day we coordinated our schedules and got together for the first time in 14 years to perform!
It had been a long time for us. Our performance was not 100%, but all of us were happy. I never forgot the excitement of that day.
At the dinner following the performance, I was told that they thought there wouldn’t be another chance for our reunion. They didn’t think I was still alive.
I noticed that most of the crowd at the concert were calling my name. I felt so lucky that everyone was happy about our comeback.
I am grateful for this event and wanted to tell my story to the band members.
Kudoku (Good luck) hadn’t stopped!
The song I composed had been covered by a famous female group! I am receiving songwriter royalties! I could not believe this. It is an honor that more people are able to listen to our song!
This blew my mind. Great things were happening.
Since all the members would be 50 years old, we decided to commemorate with a Five-O ceremony. Our live concert had been scheduled for May, 2016 at Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka!
I still cannot believe this. I did not expect this to happen!
I cannot thank you enough Nichiren Daishonin.
Looking back on my life, I tried so many times to escape from my problems, but instead I faced my Karma. After I started Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, little by little my worries disappeared.
I appreciate Asai sensei (Kensho-kai president) for teaching us that Nichiren Daishonin is the root of the millions of Buddhas in the universe.
The Daishounin left The Kaidan no Dai Gohonzon (Nichiren Daishonin’s soul written in ink) for all of us to reach unbreakable happiness (Jobutsu).
By reciting Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, we connect with the Daishonin and are protected by the force of universe.
Thank you!
Taichiro
from Kensho shinbun (newspaper), April 25th 2015
Unbreakable Happiness 