Finding My Purpose through Changing My Karma
By Jarett Burke
Young Men’s District Leader
East Wind District, Halifax
I grew up in small town Cape Breton, in a large, close, and loving family. Despite this, underlying addiction issues in my family led to periods of instability, and I often felt anxious. When I was 13 years old, my doctor prescribed medication for my anxiety. This drug relieved my worries, so it was continually prescribed, and I never gave it a second thought.
In my twenties, I moved to the big city of Toronto, having just received an esteemed scholarship to film school. On the surface, I was doing extraordinarily well: I was fit and healthy and on an adventure. The truth was that I had low self-esteem and was full of doubts, and my family’s decline into addiction filled me with panic and dread.
After arriving in Toronto, my health rapidly failed. I experienced deep physical and mental pain for which doctors could not give any answers. After receiving my master’s degree, I returned to my hometown where my health continued to deteriorate until I spent most days in bed.
I felt completely defeated, and I suffered in silence this way for many years until I met a doctor who told me that the drug prescribed to me for 17 years was actually a tranquillizer, extremely dangerous for long-term use, and highly addictive. Shocked, I knew I had to withdraw from it or I would never be healthy again.
Tapering off the drug was a brutal ten-month process, resulting in excruciating side effects—both physical and mental—and I was left completely bedbound at the end of the process. Medical experts diagnosed me with a toxic brain injury caused by long-term substance damage, and they said that the science to treat such an injury was at least 50 years away. I was devastated.
Seeking answers, I reached out to a watchdog website and submitted a history of my misdiagnosis and maltreatment. It was published and, mystically, I received a message from Hanako, a British woman who shared a similar experience of medical malpractice. We talked regularly, and eventually she shared that her Buddhist practice had allowed her to fully overcome the effects of her illness. I wanted to know more, so she sent me books on SGI Buddhism and I read them quickly. Although I could barely sit up, I started to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.[i]
One of the books Hanako sent was A Youthful Diary: One man’s journey from the beginning of faith to worldwide leadership for peace, about SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s early years in the practice. He too had suffered from illness, and he was told that he would not live a long life. I related deeply to his struggles and his determination to win no matter what. If he could persevere day by day and live a long healthy life, then I could too.
Nichiren Daishonin writes:
Illness gives rise to the resolve to attain the way. ("The Good Medicine for All Ills," WND-1, 937)
In the years when I struggled alone with my illness, I always thought there must be a bigger purpose for me to have this devastating condition. It felt unfair and it did not make sense, but it also inspired within me a deep desire to help others. With Nichiren Daishonin’s powerful words and practice, and the example of my mentor Daisaku Ikeda, I began the fight to reclaim my life so that I may one day help others suffering from similar circumstances.
This vow gave my life meaning again, and I knew that by turning my sickness into victory, I could really make a difference in the world. I determined that no matter how I felt, I would chant and study each day. If I had terrible symptoms one day and could not practise, I redetermined again the next day. As stated in The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings:
Morning after morning we rise up with the Buddha, evening after evening we lie down with the Buddha.[ii]
After a few months of practising, I received the Gohonzon[iii] in November 2017, and I jumped into district activities. As Nichiren Daishonin says:
Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study. Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself; you must also teach others. ("The True Aspect of All Phenomena," WND-1, 386)
My environment began to shift positively, and I started to feel hope for the first time. I never thought I would work again and believed that I would live in debt and poverty for the rest of my life. But thanks to my efforts in this practice, the impossible became possible, and I was able to do small amounts of work from home. I also developed a better relationship with my family; Hanako and I had become a couple; I had a healthy community around me; and once again, I looked forward to a brighter future.
Jarett and Hanako in a park in Central London
Inspired by Ikeda Sensei and Hanako, I decided to put my practice first each day, and I continued to see benefits. I was soon offered, and accepted, a second remote job, and both employers gave me more responsibility. Hanako and I moved into a wonderful apartment. I also found out that I had celiac disease—a condition that had worsened the pre-existing brain and central nervous system injuries.
Despite all the positive changes in my life, the treatment for the long-term effects of celiac damage exacerbated all of my neurological symptoms, and I doubted that I could ever be healthy again. However, thanks to a strong and supportive SGI community by my side, I persevered and harnessed the mentor and disciple relationship in my own life. When I was stuck, I took action based on what Ikeda Sensei would do if he was in my place.
By following Sensei’s example, I continued to take action, despite living in chronic pain and exhaustion, and I was shocked to see my situation transform yet again. First, the Government of Canada changed their student loan relief program for people with severe disabilities, and I became eligible to have my student loans relieved. An incorrect overpayment against me was also overturned. Next, I paid off my credit card from what little money I had made from remote work. For the first time in my life, I was totally debt- free!
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and massive layoffs ensued, instead of losing my job, my employer offered me a higher salary! Grateful for this, I determined to work full-time, and to break through my financial karma once and for all. In the pandemic, however, we were no longer able to hold SGI activities in person. I missed this support, and I hit a wall. I sought guidance from Tony Meers, then-general director of SGI Canada. He encouraged me to consider hosting meetings online, and he told me that streaming technology allowed him to attend even more meetings throughout Canada compared to what he could before.
I decided that it was up to me to make this happen. I started weekly chanting sessions online for my district, despite continued physical pain and longer work hours. Amazingly, six months later, my employer offered me full-time remote work with a flexible schedule. So I had a better position, and I was making more money than I had ever made. I had broken through my financial karma!
Through the power of the Gohonzon, I have proven to myself that I can dramatically transform impossible situations and setbacks into powerful opportunities for my growth. I have developed true happiness and confidence for the first time in my life, and I know I am on the right path for my human revolution.[iv] My next goal is to become completely healthy. As long as I continue to follow Ikeda Sensei’s guidance, I know that I will win:
When your determination changes, everything will begin to move in the direction you desire. The moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and fibre in your being will immediately orient itself toward your success. On the other hand, if you think,"This is never going to work out”, then at that instant every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight. [v]
The path toward total recovery from illness is clear. I am more determined than ever to show actual proof of victory through this practice by regaining my health fully. I will not be defeated, and I will never give up.
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1 Nam-myoho-renge-kyo: The fundamental Law of the universe expounded in Nichiren Buddhism; it expresses the true aspect of life. Chanting it allows people to directly tap their enlightened nature and is the primary practice of SGI members. Although the deepest meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is revealed only through its practice, the literal meaning is Nam (devotion), the action of practising Buddhism; myoho (Mystic Law), the essential Law of the universe and its phenomenal manifestations; renge (lotus), the simultaneity of cause and effect; kyo (Buddha’s teaching), all phenomena.
2 The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Chapter Ten: The Teacher of the Law, Sixteen Important Points, p. 83.
3 The object of devotion in Nichiren Buddhism, the embodiment of the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, expressing the life state of Buddhahood, inherent in all people. “Go” means “worthy of honour” and “honzon” means “object of fundamental respect.”
4 Human revolution: Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda used the term human revolution to describe the process of attaining Buddhahood, a self-transformation achieved through Nichiren Buddhist practice within the SGI. This transformation involves breaking through the shackles of our ego-centred “lesser selves” and revealing our “greater selves,” wherein we experience deep compassion and joyfully take action for the sake of others, and ultimately, all humanity.