My Religious Experience:

Seizures

As I was growing up, my mother instilled in me the teachings of Nichiren Shonin, I remember listening to my mother chant the Odaimoku and offer prayers for our ancestors. This environment and carrying omamori (amulet), has offered a sense of calm and clarity during the difficult periods in my life.

On the eve of July 3, 1999, I experienced an unexpected seizure while I was asleep in my sister's apartment room in Washington DC. I have no recollection of the seizure or the few moments afterwards, all that I can recall from the incident was a sense of shock and fear. When I awoke to find myself on a stretcher being wheeled by a paramedic, I was shocked, I was being put into the ambulance. My sister handed me my omamori. (In our panic our omamori's were the first things she grabbed.)

Laying there, I was stunned to learn what had occurred. This was the first time I had ever had a seizure or needed to be hospitalized. I was frightened and began to cry uncontrollably. I only stopped when I remembered the omamori in my hand. It was the omamori and the changing of "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" in my head that allowed me to become calm and gain some control. As I waited in the hospital I spoke to my mother in California and found out she and Kanai Sensei had been praying for me offered a sense of Assurance and comfort that lasted until I was discharged from the hospital.

When the seizure occurred, it proved to be a terrifying incident, more so I think for my sister than for myself. She would later tell me that she was on the verge of hysteria because she believed I would not regain consciousness. She found the only way to calm herself was by praying and chanting. By doing this she was able to gain control over her emotions and reach a point of calm.

The teachings of Nichiren Shonin and the physical presence of omamori, were extremely vital during and after my seizure. To chant "Namu Myoho Renge Kyo" and to hold the omamori proved to be helpful of my sister and myself.

By M. V.

Bulletin Lotus #31