Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Sunday, September 1, 2013
A mother's beliefs have a powerful influence on her children. In the realm of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, too, the children of families where the mother's faith is strong invariably develop into admirable adults.
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Sunday, September 1, 2013
In kindling a fire, three things are needed: a good piece of steel, a good flint, and good tinder. The same is true of prayer. Three things are requireda good teacher, a good believer, and a good teachingbefore prayers can be effective and disasters banished from the land.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 880
How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra
Written to the lay nun Myoho in 1277
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Sunday, September 1, 2013
We must establish the correct standard of value upon the foundation of the dignity of life. Leaders of society, including politicians and schoolteachers, should teach children the distinction between good and evil and lead society in the direction of goodness. Today, however, the higher the status that people achieve, the more wrongdoings they tend to commit. Those in high status think only of their selfish interests while exploiting ordinary people. The "me first" attitude prevails. Looking at those adults, children cannot possibly grow up right. Such social trends, in a sense, are destroying our children. Adults must first reflect on their own way of life. Without self-reflection, adults are not qualified to scold children.
Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (04 October 1950) p.52
In society we find those who win and those who lose. Fortune and misfortune cannot be calculated. Even if we win, however, our elation will not last indefinitely. But a person of self-awakening, even if temporarily defeated, can go on to build a future vaster, broader, deeper and greater than that of the person who originally won. As long as we are not defeated fundamentally, we should continue to advance step by step, confident of our eventual victory.
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