Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Friday, April 27, 2012
Age is not an excuse for giving up. If you allow yourself to grow passive and draw back, it's a sign of personal defeat. There may be a retirement age at work, but there is no retirement age in life. How then could there be any "going into retirement" in the world of faith? The Buddhist Law is eternal, extending across the three existences of past, present and future, and one of the benefits of faith is perennial youth and eternal life.
From The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Friday, April 27, 2012
The five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, contain the benefit amassed through the countless practices and meritorious deeds of all Buddhas throughout the three existences. Then, how can these five characters not include the benefits obtained by observing all of the Buddhas' precepts?
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 481
The Teaching, Practice, and Proof
Written to Sammi-bo on March 21, 1275
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Friday, April 27, 2012
We all long for things of beauty - beauty of nature, of appearance, of life, a beautiful family and so on. But these cannot be gained if we are withdrawn and isolated, just looking at ourselves. We must create better relationships with other people and interact with our community and society with an open heart. We must be kind to nature. It is only through this process that we really grow and cultivate our own beauty.
Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (1955) p.222
A quiet day. Reflected, must sincerely consider my societal obligations and responsibilities without ever becoming arrogant.
From tomorrow, must further intensify my determination and deal with everything that arises. Inertia and construction; obligation and privilege; negative and positive. Also, discipline and self-indulgence; confidence and self-contempt. What fine qualities and superior points do great people hold in common? Ultimately, isn't it that they have successfully challenged and overcome their own weaknesses and persevered until they achieved their desired goals?
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