Daily Encouragement - 13 July 2011

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda Wednesday, July 13, 2011    The glory we enjoy in a dream vanishes without a trace when we awaken. When an illusion disappears, nothing is left of its joy except a sense of emptiness, like that which one feels when finally sobering from a state of drunkenness. The joy of Buddhahood, however, is profound, indestructible and everlasting.        From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Wednesday, July 13, 2011   The Venerable Maudgalyayana put his faith in the Lotus Sutra, which is the greatest good there is, and thus not only did he himself attain Buddhahood, but his father and mother did so as well. And, amazing as it may seem, all the fathers and mothers of the preceding seven generations and the seven generations that followed, indeed, of countless lifetimes before and after, were able to become Buddhas.   The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 820 On Offerings for Deceased Ancestors Written to Jibu-bo Nichii's grandmother on July 13, 1279       Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda Wednesday, July 13, 2011   People shouldn't hesitate to exert their all, in a way true to themselves. How can you possibly ever know how far or fast you can go if you've never run all-out? To give up even before you've tried is actually arrogance - an affront to the wondrous power of life within you and disrespectful to yourself. It is cowardly.       Sensei on Life & Death - Words of Wisdom   From the standpoint of eternity, there is hardly any difference between a "long" and a "short" life. Therefore, it's not whether one's life is long or short, but how one lives that is important. It is what we accomplish, the degree to which we develop our state of life, the number of people we help become happy--that is what matters.