Many babies, children or toddlers have enjoyed the firm support of their educators. One remarkable example of this include Ms. Ndapewa and her Companions in the Babies and Todds DayCare.
As some parents abandon their children in the face of life’s difficulties, Ms. Ndapewa and her colleagues from the Babies are Todds DayCare refuses to leave the children
What is called faith is nothing unusual. Faith means putting one’s trust in life’s ups and down. Faith is another word for embracing life. It is equal to giving birth to a child and nurturing him to become a treasure to society.
Ms.Ndapewa
This seed of faith, trusting in the ups and down of life is invisible to our eyes but once i sowed it into children I was able to protect them every day. As days pass, these children sprout and become like small trees and, as it grows, their branches of behaviour, psychology, physical, health and social emotions are developed then they will finally bear fruits.
However, my colleagues and I didn’t enjoy this process happily everyday. There were times that we faced difficult challenges, but since we have the precious seed of faith planted in our mind, we applied wisdom to pull up the weeds. That is the only way we become happy.
TSASI
Indeed, you have presented the attitude we should have toward faith which must be maintained everyday. The level of our enthusiasm in the things we do is the evidence that will bolster the unwavering confidence in the children to advance and manifest trust in their relationship with us.
Ms.Ndapewa
Valuing children, and treasuring your relationship with them are the vital requirements for creating an environment where children can truly enjoy their lives.
As a women, I see it as your natural duty to nurture children and fight for their happiness.
You are like Nichiren Daishonin who is full of compassion, and in one of his writings, he said: ” Since we owe a debt of gratitude to all living beings, we should pray for all of them to attain Buddhahood.
Ms.Ndapewa
What is Buddhahood?
TSASI
‘Buddhahood’ means being enlightened to this” (The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, p. 126). So, attaining Buddhahood means opening and revealing the Buddha nature that we already possess. We need not go somewhere special to do this.
The purpose of Buddhist faith and practice is to achieve the life state of a Buddha. By chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon with faith and striving to carry out practice for oneself and for others, anyone can achieve the state of Buddhahood or enlightenment in this lifetime. Nichiren Buddhism calls this important principle “attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime.”
“It like the situation when one faces a mirror and makes a bow of respect: the image in the mirror likewise makes the same bow of expressing respect to oneself.”
Believing in the potential of these children, we respect and treasure them from the bottom of our hearts.
When we treat children in this manner, their Buddha nature on the fundamental level, bows in return.
Broadly speaking, the heart of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism is the conviction that we each have within the power to overcome any problem that comes our way.
This ability is called the “Buddha nature” and looks like courage, wisdom, and compassion in our daily life.
That is why Babies and Todds, we interact in a truly sincere manner with the children, the children, more often than not, come to respect and value our character as well. This is so the more true. We will continue to devote ourselves more purposefully to these children for the next years to come.
Thank you TSASI.
