firefly wrote:

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My prized possession is a journal that my grandmother made for me. it tells me all about her life growing up, her being married and having children. she included pictures of herself through the years. she also included several great recipes!

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That's a good one.  I have my grandmother's recipe for French Meatpie and I'll treasure that and give it to Kaisha when I get older.  It's like her secret recipe

WebGuy wrote:

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Another thing I have is a quilt made by my other (still living) grandmother. It is a jean quilt that is huge and warm. I've had it about 15 years. It is covered with things that she cut out that are representative of things that have happened in my life up to that point. It has things on it like tools, football, high school and college graduation, my wife's name, etc. on it. That could never be replaced. I could probably get a picture of that if you wanted to see it. :)

Its funny how things mean different things to us and how we treat them differently. My grandmother made my brother and I each one of those quilts. Mine is in our bedroom closet and neatly folded. We get it down and use it on really cold winter nights because it is incredibly warm and heavy. The last time I saw my brother's quilt, it was behind the seat of his old, dirty, greasy farm pickup. They threw it back there so they would have something warm to wrap up in at ball games, etc. Does mine mean more to me than his does to him? I don't know.

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garougal wrote:

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I thought about this a lot and found that, though I have a few meaningful things that I own, there are almost none that I could do without. It is the people in my life and the memories and experiences I collect that have the most meaning for me...which means my brain is my most prized possession, because it is the storehouse of everything that is me.

If I were told to pick one material possession, it would have to be my Gohonzon. It is spiritually significant to me and my receiving it marked a very important time of change in my life...a positive change that brings me great happiness and helps me keep motivated and inspired.

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darleneapd wrote:

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Okay, I told you I would do this assignment.  I have a stuffed dog that I sleep with nightly.  It was the last "material" thing my X husband gave to me before we split up after 11 years of marriage.  He gave it to me for Valentine's Day in 2001.  My mother had shattered her ankle in a fall, so I went to stay at her house to aid in her needs.  My mother lives alone and is also divorced.

My husband at the time was living in our condo with Kaisha, making sure she got up for school every day and had lunch or lunch money.  He was there for Kaisha since I couldn't be there then.  The one thing I do regret about our break up is that he was always there for Kaisha.  And he was a great father. 

In August of 2001, we split up, I found out that during the time of my staying w/ my mother while she had the broken ankle, he had an affair w/ a younger, coworker whom he worked with. 

I was devistated, but it was a deal breaker in my eyes, and even after 9-11, when he and I talked about getting back together, I could not take him back.  I thought that every time he went to work, he'd see her, and any feelings he had for this woman would always be in front of him.  So I filed for divorce.

Anyway, the dog, my stupid, stuffed dog.  It was what I slept with when I lived w/ my mother during her injury, and when I returned home, I continued to sleep with it, even when I was there w/ my "Husband" at the time.  I had gotten used to it next to me.  His gift for Valentine's day for me, ended up sharing a bed with us.  But when all the **** hit the fan, and I found out of the affair the dog still slept with me.

Now, after 6 years + this dog still sleeps by my side every night.  And my boyfriend had gotten used to it.  If I have to work late at night, and I come home long after my boyfriend is in bed, the dog is usually on the floor, on my side of the bed.  My boyfriend has threatened to throw it away when I am not home, but he knows how much I like having it in my bed next to me.

As far as the story behind this dog, my boyfriend really doesn't know why I have it or why I sleep with it every night, so it's our little secret.

And or course there is just a picture of Rex because he is also special to me, and he is definately a prized possession in my book..... thanks for letting me share this.  How well did I do LS???

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Jeremy Riggs wrote:

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JD The Jazz Doctor wrote:

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thanks g-gal and thanks riggs.

riggs, I imagine you must have similar pride with your Kindergarden Completion Certificate.

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Nah, I paid Russell Helminski to take the final exam for me

Worst $5 I ever spent.  The kid got 7 out of 10 wrong.  He couldn't even get naming the colors right

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allycat wrote:

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my prized possession is a Curious George stuffed animal, it was my security object as a child...I still have it. He is my buddy!

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Lady Strange wrote:

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garougal wrote:

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I thought about this a lot and found that, though I have a few meaningful things that I own, there are almost none that I could do without. It is the people in my life and the memories and experiences I collect that have the most meaning for me...which means my brain is my most prized possession, because it is the storehouse of everything that is me.

If I were told to pick one material possession, it would have to be my Gohonzon. It is spiritually significant to me and my receiving it marked a very important time of change in my life...a positive change that brings me great happiness and helps me keep motivated and inspired.

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Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know exactly what a Gohonzon is. Would you provide an explanation? And is this picture of yours?

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Lady Strange wrote:

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garougal wrote:

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That's cool JD! I can understand why it would be so valuable to you...the things you give up to get your degree! I admire your determination to make it happen.

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What she said!

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Jeremy Riggs wrote:

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I don't recall what thread I was talking about it in, but this seems like a good one to post it in.

A while ago I was talking about my favorite bear that survived for about 10 years or so before my Grandpa broke my heart and threw him out because he was too beat up.

We had covered him with bandages anytime a tear occured, and if I'm not mistaken he lost an eye and even had a burn mark (no idea how that happened).

I was looking through some old pictures and found one with him in it

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JD The Jazz Doctor wrote:

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I am guessing off of the internet...I could be wrong tho!

I'm pretty sure that the text down the middle translates as Nam Myo Renge Ko which is something like "Devotion to The Mystic Law of Cause and Effect". The rest of the text is the signature of the Buddha who wrote it and some other words or phrases from the Lotus Sutra...

I hope G Gal sees this, she'd be the one really in the know.

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Hey LS, I'm glad to answer any questions you might have to satisfy your curiosity...just let me know! The pic is from the internet, although all Gohonzons look pretty much the same as what you see in the image I published. JD's explanation is very accurate - well done! Nichiren buddhism is a form of Mahayana Buddhism, which Ruby's relion quiz covers very nicely in summation. The short and sweet - we don't pray to a deity because we don't have a deity...there's a mystic force that connects all things that is represented in the Gohonzon.

If you have more curiosity about what the Sanskrit symbols mean, I've got some links for you to explore.

This link explains what the different columns of characters translate to and gives a basic meaning: http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/Nichiren/Gohonzon/meaning.htm

This link explains a deeper level of the religious philosophies implied in the practice and its artifacts: http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/introtobuddhism.html

There's a lot of information but it is easy to sift through for the information you want. I hope this helps explain!