Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Monday, July 7, 2014
Vital are wisdom, tenacity and self-expression, as well as the strong life force that makes these things possible. Buddhism is an earnest struggle to win. This is what the Daishonin teaches. A Buddhist, therefore, must not be defeated. I hope you will maintain an alert and winning spirit in your work and daily life, taking courageous action and showing triumphant actual proof time and again.
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Monday, July 7, 2014
Perhaps your deceased son has become a Buddha and, in order to guide his father and mother, has entered your hearts. The king Wonderful Adornment was an evil king. However, because his two sons, Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye, guided him to the way, he and his wife were both able to place their trust in the Lotus Sutra and become Buddhas. Mysteriously enough, your own circumstances are much the same.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1050
The Sons Pure Storehouse and Pure Eye
Recipient unknown; written on July 7, 1280
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Monday, July 7, 2014
Buddhism, which is founded on the law of cause and effect, stresses the concept of karma. This principle explains that life at each moment is subject to the cumulative effects of causes made in the past. What we do, what we say and what we think are all causes. And according to Buddhism, the moment we do something, say something or think something, an effect is registered in the depths of our being. Then, as our lives meet the right circumstances, the effect becomes apparent. Personality traits are strongly connected to our karma. The good news is that, unlike fate, our karma can be changed by causes we make from this moment forward. In fact, the practice of Buddhism is essentially the practice of continually changing our karma.
Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (02 May 1955) p.237
My health has been growing steadily worse. Feel my life gradually coming to an end. How sad. How vexing.
…
The sky is dark; my heart, too, is in the shadows. If my health deteriorates any more, I feel I am destined to fall into an abyss.
Entering a struggle with the devil of illness, a battle with the demon of death. The end equals a beginning. Must summon up my determination in faith like a raging blaze, and rely only on the Gohonzon.
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