Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 31 August 2014 - Year of Opening a New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Sunday, August 31, 2014

 

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.

 

---

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Sunday, August 31, 2014

 

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

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Sunday, August 31, 2014

 

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.

 

---

 

Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (22 April 1956) p.298

 

Today I thought I would like to spend my entire life as a youth in my twenties. Reflected on the principle that 'Buddhahood is inherent in the nine worlds.'

 

Many obstacles and fierce storms lie ahead. But the genuine glory is the glory we gain in winning over these, is it not?

 

---

 

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

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Saturday, August 30, 2014

 

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.

 

---

 

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Saturday, August 30, 2014

 

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

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Saturday, August 30, 2014

 

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.

 

---

 

Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (10 April 1956) p.295/6

 

Human society is complex. At times, I become disgusted with society. Arrogance, power, scheming… Fortune, sincerity, conviction… A baffling mixture of realities. Youth is painful. Heard the Tokyo-area members are facing a difficult struggle in the House of Councillors election campaign. They must not forget that only faith and unity will lead to victory. "Too many cooks…" Leaders! Understand Sensei's intention! There is no other way to victory.

 

---

 

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

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, August 29, 2014

 

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.

 

---

 

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Friday, August 29, 2014

 

[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

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, August 29, 2014

 

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

 

---

 

Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (9 April 1956) p.295

 

Spent the morning discussing various plans with the Culture Department chief. He is young. I, too, am young. We each have strong opinions. Reflect. We must excuse each other's intrinsic arrogance.

 

Left for home on the Dove at 12:30 from Umeda Station. Couldn't read during the eight-hour train ride. Regret I wasted the time. Must quit smoking if I want to improve my health.

 

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

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Thursday, August 28, 2014

 

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.

 

---

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Thursday, August 28, 2014

 

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

 

---

 

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Thursday, August 28, 2014

 

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.

 

---

 

Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (25 March 1956) p.290

 

Discussed propagation for about an hour.

Finally, Sensei said, in essence, that shakubuku means to live with the great conviction that we ourselves are entities of Myoho-renge-kyo.

We carry out the gentle practice of Shoju based on the spirit of Shakubuku. In other words, shakubuku naturally includes the practice of shoju. In terms of 'offerings of wealth' and 'offering of the Law', true shakubuku corresponds to an offering of the Law.

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

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

 

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

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

 

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

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

 

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.

 

---

 

Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (09 February 1956) p.289

 

Gave personal guidance at the headquarters in the afternoon. Right before my eyes, I can see people's suffering caused by the poison of misleading religions. True Buddhism versus misguided teachings. Though religions may appear similar on the surface, why can't people understand the fundamental differences in religion lie in whether they lead us to happiness or suffering, to good or evil? Poured all my energy into personal guidance

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

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

 

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

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

 

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

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

 

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.

 

---

 

Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (09 February 1956) p.289

 

Nothing is as unpredictable as destiny, the path that lies ahead. No one can know the future. Have recently come to understand faith as something ultimately, absolutely essential.

…

The fortress of  Osaka  is solidifying with each passing year. In July, I will wage the maiden battle to fuse Buddhism with society. This will also be Sensei's first major battle for the Daishonin's Buddhism. Must fight resolutely and repay my debt of gratitude. My determination is profound and vast.

 

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

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Monday, August 25, 2014

 

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

Monday, August 25, 2014

 

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

Monday, August 25, 2014

 

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.

 

---

Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (07 February 1956) p.289

 

The "Life Span" chapter of the Lotus Sutra reads:

 

Abandoning restraint, they give themselves up to the five desires

and fall into the evil paths of existence.

Always I am aware of which living beings

practice the way, and which do not,

and in response to their needs for salvation

I preach various doctrines for them.

At all times I think to myself:

How can I cause living beings

to gain entry into the unsurpassed way

and quickly acquire the body of a Buddha? – (LS16, 231-32)

 

A lonely day.