Step 1. I admit that I have become powerless over the daimoku - hopelessly
addicted to its gentle drone.
(We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become
unmanageable.)
Step 2: I came to believe that the power of the Buddha Dharma could
restore sanity.
(We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us
to sanity.)
Step 3: I made a decision to seek the Buddha Dharma, to go beyond my previous
understanding.
(We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of
God, as we understand him.)
Step 4: I made a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself.
(We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.)
Step 5: I admit to the Gohonzon, to myself and to another human being the
exact nature of my wrongs.
(We admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact
nature of our wrongs.)
Step 6: I am ready to do the necessary work to remove these defects of
character.
(We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.)
Step 7: I humbly offer zange to the Gohonzon, apologizing for my negative
thoughts, words and deeds.
(We humbly asked Him to remove these shortcomings.)
Step 8: I made a list of all the persons I have harmed in my pursuit of
the One True Teaching, and became willing to make amends to them.
(We made a list of all the persons we had harmed, and became willing to
make amends to them all.)
Step 9: I made direct amends to such people wherever possible.
(We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to
do so would injure them or others.)
Step 10: I continue to reflect upon myself and when I am wrong, admit it
promptly.
(We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it.)
Step 11: I continue to meditate upon True Reality, praying for compassion
and wisdom.
(We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact
with God as we understand him, praying only for knowledge of his will and
the power to carry that out.)
Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, I
try to keep in mind the Buddha's constant thought, "How shall I cause all
living beings to enter into the unsurpassed Way and quickly become Buddhas?"*
(Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried
to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all
our affairs.)
Sources:
The original 12 steps in parenthesis are from
Rational.org.
*The Lotus Sutra, chapter 16.
|
