I have shared this experience on the Beginners group page and thought I would share it here as well.

I was introduced to Buddhism this past June and received Gohonzon in July and have received incredible benefits. At the beginning I thought that I would chant "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" just to see if I would get results. I have had a mistrust towards religion and did not expect this practice to be any different. Needless to say I had very little faith and expected chanting to be a let-down. I was wrong, this was very different and very powerful. I need to give some history about myself in order for you to get the full impact of the benefit that I've received from this practice.

I was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS in 2001 with a CD4 (t-cell) count of 36 (normal is closer to a 1000). Your t-cell are the cells that fight off infection and disease in the body. The lower the count the more vulnerable you are to disease and infection that most people would be able to fight off. I was near death...but with the aid of modern medicine and pharmacology I slowly started to regain my health. My CD4 count started to rise and the HIV virus in my system was lowered. Needless to say I am very grateful for modern medicine, it saved my life but the side effects from the drugs were horrible (severe nausea, abdominal issues, extreme fatigue just to name a few) and these side effects never went away.

My health continued to improve until early 2008. I got a nasty case of pneumonia in February and then got a bad MRSA infection in April. My physician ordered new labs and the results were very discouraging. My CD4 count dropped from 700 down to 200 and my HIV viral load went from undetectable to over 80,000. My HIV medications had become resistant to the virus in my body. Through DNA testing of the virus in my body it was found that there was only one class of drugs that could possibly be effective in fighting off the virus in my body. The new drugs of course were much more toxic that the previous drugs that I was taking. I had learned to cope with the side-affects of my previous meds but was extremely apprehensive of starting a much more toxic regimen.

Now back to when I was introduced to “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” , it was three days prior to starting my new medication. I had only been chanting for three days, maybe 20 minutes a day, but when I started the new meds I had zero side-affects. This was the first time in over seven years that I had not dealt with horrible side-affects. I felt better than I have felt in years. I can’t describe in word how amazing this was for me. I have chanted morning and night ever since without fail and attend SGI events every chance I get. I now have true faith in this practice and the Gohonzon. I would not have continued to practice if it did not work.

Update…..I just had new labs drawn and my CD4 count went from 200 to 600 and my HIV viral load went from 80,000 to undetectable in less than six months. When I was first diagnosed, it took nearly 4 years for my CD4 count to rise 400 points but since I started practicing Nichiren Buddhism it took less than 6 months. Talk about turning poison into medicine. All I can say is that this practice works and I want to share it with as many people as I can. I have been given a new lease on live.

I hope this experience will be beneficial to others who are struggling with difficulties in their lives.