Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Monday, August 18, 2014
Buddhism is action. One meaning of kyo of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is action. Without action, we cannot say that we are practicing Nam-myoho-renge-kyo; it would merely remain a concept. Only through action are we able to truly gain the great benefit of the Mystic Law.
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Monday, August 18, 2014
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 flavor, 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
Monday, August 18, 2014
Perhaps the chief purpose of a philosophy or religion is to help us understand the meaning of death and why we are alive. Without understanding where we have come from and where we are going, we cannot establish our own sense of identity to the fullest. Aging and its symptoms can, if nothing else, prompt us to seek rejuvenation. Ultimately, that rejuvenation can be found not in forestalling symptoms but in embracing a larger understanding of our own lives, which Buddhism elucidates.
Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (10 January 1956) p.285
Suffering mentally and physically. Perhaps I am the best physician when it comes to my own life. Because I am young, my heart burns with ambition. I am also unyielding, like a great boulder. On the other hand, my state of life is free and expansive, soaring into the sky like a great bird. I also possess the mind of a naturalist, who wishes to escape from society's harsh realities. I know the futility of seeking worldly fame and fortune and understand what it means to "perceive things exactly as they are." Complex – the psyche of youth.
No comments:
Post a Comment