Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 31 August 2012 - The Year of Developing a Youthful SGI

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, August 31, 2012

 

As long as we pray earnestly and sincerely with all our being, if we have strong and genuine faith, even though results may not be immediately visible, they will definitely manifest without fail in generations of our children and our children's children. I would like all of you to have absolute confidence in this.

 

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From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Friday, August 31, 2012

 

Believers in the Lotus Sutra should fear those who attempt to obstruct their practice more than they fear bandits, burglars, night raiders, tigers, wolves, or lions even more than invasion now by the Mongols.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 495

Letter to the Brothers

Written to Ikegami Muneaka and Ikegami Muneaga on April 16, 1275

 

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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, August 31, 2012

 

Overcoming the four sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death is not just a matter of theory. We mustn't move away from the issues of how we can lead healthy, fulfilling and long lives, and how we can die without suffering. Buddhism teaches the wisdom that enables us to do this.

 

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Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (1957) p.355

 

Felt chest pains this morning.  Woke up early.  At 5:00, my wife said.  Went back to sleep.  Worked on my article without eating.  Felt nauseated, perhaps from smoking too much. 

 

Lately, have been thinking about how I will live the next fifty or so years of my life.  The difficulty of living vibrantly and energetically, day after day and month after month. 

 

Worked on the continuation of my article until after 2:00.  My wife said she doesn't fee well.  Worried.

 

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Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 30 August 2012 - The Year of Developing a Youthful SGI

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Thursday, August 30, 2012

 

The Daishonin states, "The voice does the Buddha's work" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 708). To chant the Mystic Law is to praise the Gohonzon. Hearing the sound of our daimoku, the heavenly deities will be set into motion and work to protect us. A weak and unclear voice will not move the heavenly deities. That is why it is important for us to chant daimoku with voices that are clear, strong and brimming with joy.

 

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From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Thursday, August 30, 2012

 

Misfortune comes from one's mouth and ruins one, but fortune comes from one's heart and makes one worthy of respect.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1137

New Year's Gosho

Written to the wife of Omosu on January 5, year unknown

 

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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Thursday, August 30, 2012

 

Buddhism stresses the interconnectedness of all life. It is only the limited capacity of our senses that causes us to place so much stock in the separation between "them" and "us." Because of this interconnectedness, by using violence, you not only injure or destroy the other person but also yourself. Those who use violence and devalue others' lives actually devalue and ruin their own lives.

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Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (1957) p.354

 

Home close to 1:00 a.m.  Hiromasa** and Shirohisa sleeping soundly.  How will they grow up?  What will they be like in ten or twenty years?  Who can tell?  Only the Gohonzon knows.

 

The "Life Span" chapter reads:

 

In order to save living beings,

as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana

but in truth I do not pass into extinction.

I am always here, preaching the Law.*

- (LS16, 229)

 

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*I do shujō ko.  Hōben gen nehan.  Ni jitsu fu metsu-do.  Jō Jū shi seppō.

 

**(Book: 'My Path of Youth' by Hiromasa Ikeda, the eldest son of SGI President Daisaku Ikeda)

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Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 29 August 2012 - The Year of Developing a Youthful SGI

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

 

Worldly success and good circumstances based on luck can easily crumble. They are as transient as an illusion. But the state of Buddhahood, once attained, can never be destroyed, not for all eternity. We will enjoy an existence overflowing with good fortune and immense joy in lifetime after lifetime.

 

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From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

 

[As a youth] he received great wisdom from the living Bodhisattva Space Treasury. He prayed to the bodhisattva to become the wisest person in Japan. The bodhisattva must have taken pity on him, for he presented him with a great jewel as brilliant as the morning star, which Nichiren tucked away in his right sleeve. Thereafter, on perusing the entire body of sutras, he was able to discern in essence the relative worth of the eight schools as well as of all the scriptures.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 650

Letter to the Priests of Seicho-ji

Written to the priests of Seicho-ji temple on January 11, 1276

 

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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

 

Though one might point at the earth and miss it, though one might bind up the sky, though the tides might cease to ebb and flow and the sun rise in the west, it could never come about that the prayers of the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra would go unanswered -Nichiren

 

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Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (1957)

 

Sensei's health is poor.  I, too, am in poor shape, both physically and spiritually.  When will I enjoy the fresh breezes of spring? 

 

In the evening, a YWD unit chiefs meeting and interviews for YMD leaders.  Want to spend my life living and fighting beside the youth.  In this life, I will follow a golden path.  Together with seeking, creative and pure young people.

 

Practice.  Study.

 

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Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 28 August 2012 - The Year of Developing a Youthful SGI

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

 

Success is not a matter of accumulating more of this or that, it is not measured in quantity. It means changing the quality of your life. Wealth, power, fame and knowledge alone cannot make you happy, no matter how much of these you acquire. Nor can you take them with you when you die. But by improving the quality of your life you will at last approach true happiness.

 

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From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

 

Everyone in Japan, from the sovereign on down to the common people, without exception has tried to do me harm, but I have survived until this day. You should realize that this is because, although I am alone, I have firm faith.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 614

The Supremacy of the Law

Written to Oto and her mother, Nichimyo, on August 4, 1275

 

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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

 

Anger is fundamentally an arrogant state of life. People in the state of anger are attached to the illusory assumption that they are better than others and direct their energy toward sustaining and enhancing this image. To ensure that others think of them in similarly glowing terms, they can never reveal their true feelings. Instead, they act obsequiously while a burning desire to surpass all others is their exclusive focus. With their inner feelings and their outward appearance out of accord, they don't speak from the heart. Buddhism teaches that the heart is most important. Of two people making comparable efforts, the results will differ greatly if one person is motivated by a value that transcends the self-good, beauty, the well-being of others - while the other is motivated by ego.

 

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Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (1957)

 

To the headquarters at 5:00.  Missed Sensei.  Truly miserable.  To Katsushika block in the evening.  Made rounds to two meeting places.

Guidance devoid of life force does not move people.  Guidance in faith has nothing to do with intellectual knowledge or learning.  The state of one's life; the dynamism of one's life – this is fundamental.  Must care for my health, as my mission grows heavier and heavier.

 

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Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 27 August 2012 - The Year of Developing a Youthful SGI

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda Monday, August 27, 2012   The important thing is to keep working for kosen-rufu to the very end. On any journey, we cannot hope to reach our destination if we stop halfway. Likewise, if despite our good fortune in meeting and embarking on the unsurpassed way of Buddhism, we stop halfway, all the efforts we have made thus far will have been in vain, we will not be able to attain Buddhahood.   Events 1260 Matsubagayatsu Persecution. Incited by priests, Pure Land believers descend on the Daishonin's hermitage at Matsubagayatsu,Japan, to kill him. He is forced to flee for his life.     From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Monday, August 27, 2012   Mugwort that grows in the midst of hemp or a snake inside a tube [will as a matter of course become straight], and those who associate with people of good character will consequently become upright in heart, deed and word. The Lotus Sutra exerts a similar influence. The Buddha will look upon one who simply puts faith in this sutra as a good person.   The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1128 The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings Recipient and date unknown     Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda Monday, August 27, 2012   When we create or appreciate art, we set free the spirit trapped within. That is why art arouses such joy. Art - whether skillfully executed or not - is the emotion, the pleasure of expressing life as it is. Those who see art are moved by its passion and strength, its intensity and beauty. That is why it is impossible to separate life from art. Political and economic developments may seem to dominate the news, but culture and education are the forces that actually shape an age, since they transform the human heart.     Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (1957)   Missed gongyo in the morning.  Very tired.  Could not meet with Sensei.  Was told he was resting all day in conference room #1.  He seems to be growing weaker.  Such desolation, sadness. Feel a tautness in my heart when I think of the Soka Gakkai's future.  Above all, must enable the Gakkai to develop.  Must forge ahead, placing faith first and foremost.  Strong faith and the power of practice.

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 26 August 2012 - The Year of Developing a Youthful SGI

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda Sunday, August 26, 2012   We accumulate great good fortune through our earnest prayers, devotion and efforts for the sake of Buddhism, kosen-rufu and humankind. Prayer without action is not the way of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism.     From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Sunday, August 26, 2012   It is easy to sustain our concern for someone who is before our very eyes, but quite a different thing when that person is far away, even though in our heart we may not forget him. Nevertheless, in the five years . . . that have already passed since I came to live here in the mountains, you have sent your husband from the province of Sado to visit me three times. How great is your sincerity! It is firmer than the great earth, deeper than the great sea!   The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 933 The Sutra of True Requital Written to the lay nun Sennichi on July 28, 1278   Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda Sunday, August 26, 2012   There is no trace of coercion or concern for appearances in Nichiren's behaviour. He looked on those who were suffering, those who were bravely fighting alongside him, as if they were himself in the same situations. He prized each and every one of them. He encouraged them and sympathized with them, and we must never forget that the true essence of humanity is to be found in this. When we observe Nichiren's actions, we are deeply struck by the conviction that this is the way a Buddhist must live.     Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (1957) p.352   To spend my life with the greatest leader in the world, talk with him and live alongside him, makes me the happiest person in the world.    Met T. in the train.  Sensei said, "Introduce us!" then assuredly said: "If you are an expert on roads, then focusing on roads in Japan alone is still thinking too small.  Please link together as one the roads of the Orient – Korea, China and India."  T. Said, I will rely on you for the realm of the metaphysical, but I will attend to the concrete realities myself," to which Sensei replied, "Yes, but one can only begin to accomplish things in the physical realm when firmly grounded in the metaphysical."

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 25 August 2012 - The Year of Developing a Youthful SGI

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda Saturday, August 25, 2012   Life flashes by in an instant. By devoting our lives to Buddhism, we will live a life of complete fulfillment. We are selling ourselves short if we fail to attain such a wonderful state of life.     From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Saturday, August 25, 2012   This Gohonzon is the essence of the Lotus Sutra and the eye of all the scriptures. It is like the sun and moon in the heavens, a great ruler on earth, the heart in a human being, the wish-granting jewel among treasures and the pillar of a house. When we have this mandala with us, it is a rule that all Buddhas and gods will gather round and watch over us, protecting us like a shadow day and night, just as warriors guard their ruler, as parents love their children, as fish rely on water, as trees and plants crave rain, or as birds depend on trees.   The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 624 On Upholding Faith in the Gohonzon Written to the lay nun Myoshin on August 25, 1275     Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda Saturday, August 25, 2012   One of the fascinating things about human beings is this: Believe for long enough that you are not as smart as others and this will actually lead to intellectual ineptitude. But, confronted with the same doubts, if you choose to believe that your mind is merely dormant for now, lacking in exercise, once you begin to train it, there are no bounds to what you can achieve.     Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (1957) p.351   Overdoing it everyday.  To gain abundant life force, morning and evening gongyo and chanting daimoku are basic.  Is my personal faith powerful enough to encompass both practice for oneself and for others?  Afraid that it is not. … Sensei returned to Tokyo on an afternoon flight.  He looks very fatigued.  Day by day, the Gakkai is entering an important period of rapid growth.  No one realizes this.  They are all too carefree.   Many gossip or denounce me behind my back.  Nevertheless, I have my own convictions and standards. This cannot be helped.  In the future, the truth will become apparent.

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 24 August 2012 - The Year of Developing a Youthful SGI

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda Friday, August 24, 2012   Advancement - Nichiren Daishonin teaches the spirit that "not to advance is to retreat." The point is to continue forging ahead despite any storms or hardships that may arise, to be fearless and advance like a lion.   Events SGI-USA Men's Division Day 1947 Daisaku Ikeda joins the Soka Gakkai at age 19     From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Friday, August 24, 2012   People have varied tastes. Some prefer good and some prefer evil. There are many kinds of people. But though they differ from one another in such ways, once they enter into the Lotus Sutra, they all become like a single person in body and a single person in mind. This is just like the myriad different rivers that, when they flow into the ocean, all take on a uniformly salty flavour, or like the many kinds of birds that, when they approach Mount Sumeru, all assume the same [golden] hue.   The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1042 The Treasure of a Filial Child Written to the lay nun Sennichi on July 2, 1280     Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda Friday, August 24, 2012   It has been said that aging gracefully is more difficult than dying, but as long as we have a forward-looking, positive attitude, a spirit to take on challenges, we will gain depth in our lives.     Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary p. 350   Arrived at Tokyo Station at 7:30 in the morning.  Taking the night train is certainly exhausting.  Went with M. and N. for a morning bath at Tokyo Hot Springs, then had breakfast.  My exhaustion eventually caught up with me and became a problem.  Wanted to sleep. … Today again, my wife came with Shirohisa to greet me in the evening.  Grateful. …. To become healthy, it is most important that I get enough sleep.  Had better get to sleep early tonight.