How to be yourself when you’re put in a box

Buddhability

Today’s episode is about the power of believing in yourself, even if the people around you don’t.

Having the courage to pursue the life you want isn’t easy, and it’s especially hard when the people around you put you in a box, or limit what they believe you can do. But Buddhism teaches us how to live a life of unlimited courage.

Our guest is Jenny Ye, of Michigan who started her practice of SGI Nichiren Buddhism as a teenager in South Korea.

After being given little choice about her career options because of her gender, she decided to chant to transform her relationship with her family and believe in her own dreams.

Today, she shares that journey and how, after conquering her fears back home, she was able to navigate entering a male-dominated industry in the United States, where she faced similar disbelief. Still, she won over it all.

CHEAT SHEET

2:07 Why Jenny started chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo

4:08 How she knew chanting worked

5:13 How her relationship with her father changed

10:40 What it took to begin a new career-path on her own terms

17:35 How she dealt with feeling like an outsider in the U.S.

19:55 How she learned to believe in herself

24:20 Her favorite Buddhist concept about individuality

28:37 Her dream for the future

30:37 How her dad feels about her Buddhist practice now

33:32 Advice for anyone who feels limited by their environment or circumstances