I used to try to make potato chips at home for my partner. Time after time I tried and they just never came out anything like the chips you could get in the bag. The bag chip was his favorite kind, but I tried none-the-less.

At one time I worked right next to a deli and the guy who owned it made his own chips every day. So I asked him what the secret was to making chips. He told me it was the soaking in water. You have to soak them in water to remove all the starch from the slices. Who would have thought? I had tried adjusting the thickness of the slice, the oil, the heat, the pan, all kinds of things I tried. I never knew soaking in water that was the key ingredient. …

Chanting Odaimoku is so simple. It is like soaking the potatoes in water to remove the starch. We need to soak our lives in the Odaimoku of the Lotus Sutra to remove the things that hold us back from enlightenment.