The following 8 questions are also answered with a simple "Yes/No."
(1) I am naturally grateful to everyone and everything bfore going to bed instead of recalling bad things, misfortune or failures which happened during the day. (TOL Vol. 8, p. 3)
(2) I cleanse my mind everyday like washing my physical body in the shower. (p. 4)
(3) Gratitude naturally wells up in me because I am good at seeing good points of others and trying to not see bad poins of others. (p. 6)
(4) God's world is infinite abundance, so I am peaceful even being unemployed with lack of saving. (p. 79)
(5) Whenever I hear negative news such as the finacial crisis in Greece, I feel that I want to help them to change the situation of that country's negative deficit to the positive. (p. 120)
(6) Since working for others is pure joy, I work for others to increase my spiritual joy. (p. 128)
(7) I don't think of my sickness and/or poverty or collapsing of my company. I also don't express these negative things verbally. (p. 131)
(8) My spouse and I are harmonious and I don't even have any arguments/fights with my family members. (p. 156)
How many "Nos" do you have? Please add "Yes" in the previous 13 questions and "No" from these 8 questions. Do you have more than 10 points? How about more than 5? These questions will tell you about your attitude which is positive or negative. If you have total point zero, your attitude is always positive and I would say that you completely trust in God. You must be very prousperous, enjoy your life and enjoy beling alive; you are the one that manifests the Seicho-No-Ie way of life.
These questions include pages so that you can refer to the pages of Truth of Life Vol.8 or Truth of Life magazines. For example, there is a question, "(10) It is nice to understand infinite abundane; however, it is better for me to have actual material wealh in this physical world. (p. 79)" It is explained in the TOL Vol. 8 as follows:
"Ways of obtaining temporary health and happiness, partial satisfaction, or some limited freedom may be found almost anywhere. Yet, it is possible to attain a state of health that is perfect and eternal as true existence, and to make ours into a state of freedom that is as universal and unrestrained as Truth itself. The only way to do this is to open the portals to the True-Image of life; that is, we must understand the True Image of existence and keep our thoughts focused continually on the True-Image World......When one grasps the heart of the matter, everything finds freedom. If one relies on some other method without grasping the heart of the matter, there may be some results, but all one gets are 'bits and pieces.'......So long as we look at the world through our five senses, or consciousness does not see true existnce. Instead, our consciousness becomes a victim of phenomena or temporal form. No matter how many seemingly true objects we may see through our five senses, all that we see are still things of the phenomenal world--the world of false, temporary appearances. However, when we turn our attention away from phenomena and quietly meditate on the True Image of existence, that is, the perfect thing-in-itself, which lies at the very heart of all people, things, and circumstances, our consciousness becomes intuitively aware of what is real." (pages 79-81)
Seeking the mateial results which are phenomena instead of grasping the core of the matter, i.e. True Image, is the same as getting only "bits and pieces." In other words we don't grasp the whole picture and everything doesn't go well. Those who answered this question "Yes" means that their minds have tendency to first seek phenomenal benefit or results.
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