Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 30 April 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

 

Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) of  Chile , was well respected as a humanistic educator. Indicative of the great spirit of compassion and caring with which she interacted with her students is her "Teacher's Prayer": "Let me be more mother than the mother herself in my love and defense of the child who is not flesh of my flesh. Help me to make one of my children my most perfect poem and leave within him or her my most melodious melody from that day when my own lips no longer sing." With this same spirit, let us care for and nurture young people.

 

---

 

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

 

You are indeed an unusual woman since you asked me to explain the effects of various degrees of slander. You are every bit as praiseworthy as the dragon king's daughter when she said, "I unfold the doctrines of the great vehicle to rescue living beings from suffering." The Lotus Sutra reads, "If one can ask about its meaning, that will be difficult indeed." There are very few people who inquire about the meaning of the Lotus Sutra.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 626

The Embankments of Faith

Written to the lay nun Sennichi on September 3, 1275

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

 

Nichiren wrote that wrath can be either good or bad. Self-centered anger generates evil, but wrath at social injustice becomes the driving force for reform. Strong language that censures and combats a great evil often awakens adverse reactions from society, but this must not intimidate those who believe they are right. A lion is a lion because he roars.

 

---

 

Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (22 June 1954) p.181

 

I sometimes feel indignant over the rapidly changing nature of people's minds.  Ultimately, the important thing is that I, myself, live on strongly.  Must stride on, boldly and freely, across the land.

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 29 April 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

 

What is success in life? Who are the truly successful? There are famous and powerful people who become pitiful figures in their old age. There are people who die alone, feeling empty and desolate inside. Just what is success? The English thinker Walter Pater (1839-94) wrote: "To burn always with this hard, gemlike flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life." The person who lives life fully, glowing with life's energy, is the person who lives a successful life.

 

---

 

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

 

Little streams come together to form the great ocean, and tiny particles of dust accumulate to form  Mount   Sumeru  . When I, Nichiren, first took faith in the Lotus Sutra, I was like a single drop of water or a single particle of dust in all the country of  Japan  . But later, when two people, three people, ten people, and eventually a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, and a million people come to recite the Lotus Sutra and transmit it to others, then they will form a  Mount   Sumeru  of perfect enlightenment, an ocean of great nirvana.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 579

The Selection of the Time

Written to Yui in 1275

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

 

Our efforts for the sake of dialogue, in order to be worthy of the term dialogue, must be carried through to the end. To refuse peaceful exchange and choose force is to compromise and give in to human weakness; it is to admit the defeat of the human spirit. Socrates encourages his youthful disciples to train and strengthen themselves spiritually, to maintain hope and self-control, to advance courageously, choosing virtue over material wealth, truth over fame.

 

---

 

Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (22 June 1954) p.181

 

There are days when the sun shines and others when it remains hidden.  There are days my faith is dynamic and others when it seems somehow weak.  Is it fitting to compare the two?  What great effort is required to continue throughout life with faith like flowing water.  My deepest respect goes to those who have assiduously persevered in their faith for ten or twenty years, though they may be aged or living a mundane life.

  

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 28 April 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Monday, April 28, 2014

 

How incredible it is to chant this wonderful daimoku each day! Nichiren Daishonin writes, "There is no greater happiness for human beings than chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. The sutra [Lotus Sutra] says, The people there [in my land] are happy and at ease.

 

Events

1253 Nichiren Daishonin chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the first time.

---

 

From The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Monday, April 28, 2014

 

The greater the hardships befalling him, the greater the delight he feels, because of his strong faith. Doesn't a fire burn more briskly when logs are added? All rivers flow into the sea, but does the sea turn back their waters? The currents of hardship pour into the sea of the Lotus Sutra and rush against its votary. The river is not rejected by the ocean; nor does the votary reject suffering. Were it not for the flowing rivers, there would be no sea. Likewise, without tribulation there would be no votary of the Lotus Sutra.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 33

A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering

Written to Shiji Shiro on April 28, 1261

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Monday, April 28, 2014

 

When deluded, one is called an ordinary being, but when enlightened, one is called a Buddha. This is similar to a tarnished mirror that will shine like a jewel when polished. A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality. Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo -Nichiren

---

 

Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (17 June 1954) p.179

 

Talked over various matters for about an hour with Senior Director M.

At 7:00, a unit chiefs meeting was held for Bunkyo chapter at the headquarters.

 

Shared my thoughts on the following topics:

 

1. The meaning of faith as freedom from doubt.

2. Doing our best in our present positions.

3. Never being passive; instead taking the initiative in faith activities.

 

A bright, pleasant meeting.  Faith, study, work - these I must repeat throughout my entire life.

---

 

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 27 April 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Sunday, April 27, 2014

 

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

Sunday, April 27, 2014

 

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

Sunday, April 27, 2014

 

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 (16 June 1954) p.178

 

Nothing is more beautiful or worthy of respect than the human mind.  But, on the other hand, nothing can be so ugly.  However much our technological society has progressed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this truth about the human mind never changes.  This is because the principle 'three thousand realms in a single moment of life' illustrates the essence of life.

First, I must firmly establish this as my perspective on life.  Then, I must perform a dance on the grand stage of kosen-rufu.  Will overcome the storms of my youth.

 

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 26 April 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Saturday, April 26, 2014

 

What matters is winning in the end, the wins and losses along the way are of secondary significance. It's final victory in life that counts and that is the reason for our Buddhist practice. No matter how powerful or famous or privileged a person might be, Nichiren Daishonin says, from a Buddhist point of view it is all nothing more than a dream, an illusory pleasure; true happiness can only be attained by revealing the state of Buddhahood within our own life.

 

---

 

From The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Saturday, April 26, 2014

 

There are two types of illness: minor and serious. Early treatment by a skilled physician can cure even serious illnesses, not to mention minor ones. Karma also may be divided into two categories: fixed and unfixed. Sincere repentance will eradicate even fixed karma, to say nothing of karma that is unfixed.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 954

On Prolonging One's Life Span

Written to the lay nun Myojo in 1279

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Saturday, April 26, 2014

 

As globalization proceeds, we enter an age in which everybody's actions strongly influence everybody else. When we realize this, we can then alter our mindset and strive to build a global society of mutual coexistence and mutual prosperity. This will be done by going beyond devotion to the interests of the nation-state and devoting ourselves to the interests of all humanity. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The key to the solution is the imagination to care for others. It is the empathizing heart or what Buddhists refer to when they talk about mercy.

 

---

 

Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (16 June 1954) p.178

 

Though we use the term members to describe our comrades in faith, when compared to the members of a labor union, of the communist or socialist parties, or even of conservative political groups, how much more profound, powerful and praiseworthy are the bonds we share - bonds of unity without prejudice or class distinction.

 

---

 

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 25 April 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, April 25, 2014

 

 Adversity gives birth to greatness. The greater the challenges and difficulties we face, the greater opportunity we have to grow and develop as people. A life without adversity, a life of ease and comfort, produces nothing and leaves us with nothing. This is one of the indisputable facts of life.

 

---

 

From The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Friday, April 25, 2014

 

 Buddhahood is the most difficult to demonstrate. But since you possess the other nine worlds, you should believe that you have Buddhahood as well. Do not permit yourself to have doubts. Expounding on the human world, the Lotus Sutra says, "The Buddhas wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings." . . . That ordinary people born in the latter age can believe in the Lotus Sutra is due to the fact that the world of Buddhahood is present in the human world.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 358

The Object of Devotion for Observing the mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period after the Thus Come One's Passing

Written to Toki Jonin on April 25, 1273

 

---

 

 Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, April 25, 2014

 

 If you think about it, although we may not be destined to die five minutes from now, we are all, without exception, going to die at some point. We can count on it 100 percent. There is nothing surer than this. Victor Hugo says, "We are all under sentence of death, but with a sort of indefinite reprieve." Ideally, we should live every minute of our lives valuably, as if it were the last moment of our lives. Those who live aimlessly are left with a sense of emptiness at the end of their lives, but those who live all-out, striving right to the end, will die peacefully. Leonardo da Vinci says, "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death." One aware that death could come at any time will live each day to the fullest.

 

---

 

Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (15 June 1954) p.177

 

Periodically, ideals and reality mix and my mind becomes very complex.  There are times I want to blame others, while overlooking my own faults. Must not forget to self-reflect and consider my own shortcomings.

 

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 24 April 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Thursday, April 24, 2014

 

When youth are awakened to a sense of mission, their power is limitless. Ultimately, we have to entrust our hopes and visions for the future to the youth. This is a golden rule. Youth is pure. Youth will rise up to fulfill their ideals without calculation or self-interest. The fundamental spirit of a leader must be to reach out to such young people, work with them and bring out their capabilities and direct their youthful energies in a positive direction.

 

---

 

From The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Thursday, April 24, 2014

 

What matters most is that we honour the Buddha's words. As a rule, people in the world value what is distant and despise what is near, but this is the conduct of the ignorant. Even the distant should be repudiated if it is wrong, while what is near should not be discarded if it accords with the truth. Even though people may revere [their predecessors' doctrines], if those doctrines are in error, how can we employ them today?"

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 155

Reply to Hoshina Goro Taro

Written to Hoshina Boro Taro on December 5, 1267

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Thursday, April 24, 2014

 

The Buddhas, the World-Honoured Ones, wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings, to allow them to attain purity. That is why they appear in the world. They wish to show the Buddha wisdom to living beings, and therefore they appear in the world. They wish to cause living beings to awaken to the Buddha wisdom, and therefore they appear in the world. They wish to induce living beings to enter the path of Buddha wisdom, and therefore they appear in the world. -The Lotus Sutra.

 

---

 

Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (10 June 1954) p.176

 

Ten years from now, I think the Gakkai will be playing an important role at the core of society; active in the fields of politics, economics, culture and education. Now is the time to encourage youth division members to study earnestly, specializing in one of these specific fields. To this end, I must master many things myself.

The leaders should have the ability and power. They should never be sly or conniving. Without earnest study, they are not qualified to be leaders. As part of my responsibility, I will study, little by little. Reason and passion – intellect and conviction.

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 23 April 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

 

Our fellow members are all family with whom we are linked by deep bonds. If we support and protect this family, they will act as protective forces in our environment, supporting and keeping us from harm in lifetime after lifetime. This is a profound principle of Buddhism.

 

---

 

From The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

 

As I have often mentioned before, it is said that, where there is unseen virtue, there will be visible reward. Your fellow samurai all slandered you to your lord, and he also has wondered if it was true, but because you have for some years now honestly maintained a strong desire for your lord's welfare in his next life, you received a blessing like this. This is just the beginning, be confident that the great reward also is sure to come.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 907

Unseen Virtue and Visible Reward

Written to Shijo Kingo on April 23, 1278

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

 

When we are aware that each moment of each day, each gesture and step we take, is truly mystical and full of wonder, we will live our lives with greater thought and care. We will also have greater respect and appreciation for the lives of others.

 

---

 

Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (08 June 1954) p.175

 

Feel especially tormented and lonesome tonight. Now, with no close friend or assistant, I feel as if my energy is waning, moment by moment. Tears flow in torrents. I do not want to die now. I am only twenty-six. It would be too miserable to die now without fully understanding the depth of my life, without having made any great contribution to humankind or society, or without repaying my debt of gratitude to my mentor.