Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 31 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, July 31, 2015

 

What is the secret to victory? Mr. Toda once described that in a certain sense life is a gamble. "If you are lucky, you will win," he said. "But if you are unlucky, then sometimes no matter how hard you try you lose. This is a hard fact." That is why, in addition to ability, good fortune is essential. The key to creating good fortune is found in faith and daimoku. I hope that you will all act in accord with the fundamental Law of Buddhism and lead victorious lives filled with unsurpassed good fortune.

 

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From The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Friday, July 31, 2015

 

Even a wise man cannot become a Buddha through the other sutras, but with the Lotus Sutra, even fools can plant the seeds that lead to Buddhahood. As the sutra passage I have quoted earlier puts it, "Although they do not seek emancipation, emancipation will come of itself."

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 283

The Opening of the Eyes

Written to Shijo Kingo in February 1272

 

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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, July 31, 2015

 

What is the purpose of life? It is happiness. But there are two kinds of happiness: relative and absolute. Relative happiness comes in a wide variety of forms. The purpose of Buddhism is to attain Buddhahood. In modern terms, this could be explained as realizing absolute happiness - a state of happiness that can never be destroyed or defeated.

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (04 September 1949) p.10

 

"What is today's task? To fulfill my mission for today. What is my mission for today? To struggle in my own circumstances. What is that struggle? To advance, to the limits of my strength.

...When we do our best today, the future sparkles, and flames of joy leap high."

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 30 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Thursday, July 30, 2015

 

Faith enables us to secure ultimate victory. It enables us to live with vigour and joy and to strive to improve ourselves - to become the very best people we can be. Moreover, faith enables us to walk through life with complete assurance and confidence, unafraid of anything.

 

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From The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Thursday, July 30, 2015

 

Our worldly misdeeds and evil karma may have piled up as high as  Mount   Sumeru , but when we take faith in this sutra, they will vanish like frost or dew under the sun of the Lotus Sutra.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1026

Letter to Niike

Written to Niike Saemon-no-jo in February 1280

 

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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Thursday, July 30, 2015

 

Religion must teach an "attitude to life." To live a life of true human dignity is certainly difficult. Life is change; it is continuous change. Nothing is constant. The four sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death are an eternal theme that no one can escape.

Amid harsh reality, people yearn from the depths of their beings to live with dignity and for their lives to have meaning, and they make efforts toward that end. The product of these human yearnings, these prayers, is religion. Religion was born from prayer. What is Nichiren's response to these prayers of human beings? What attitude toward life does he teach? The answer, in short, is the principle of attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime.

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (02 September 1949) p.10

 

Forge on courageously and boldly, because you are young.

Always grow.

Never forget to go beyond the limits.

Must take a good look at myself again today.

Am I lying to myself? Am I committing some offense? Have I true compassion or not?

My life until now has been like a play, a dream, already a thing of the past. Now is what counts. From this moment on. The future is my arena, a training ground where I can make up for my shortcomings.

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 29 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

 

The ultimate essence of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism lies in living on through to the very end, pressing ever forward, courageously taking on each new challenge we encounter and never giving up. Constructing eternal glory - the state of Buddhahood within our own lives is the purpose of our Buddhist practice in this lifetime. Hence the Daishonin's constant urging that we make tenacious efforts in the present.

 

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From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

 

Believe in the Gohonzon with all your heart, for it is the robe to protect you in the world after death. No wife would ever leave her husband unclothed, nor could any parents fail to feel compassion for their child shivering in the cold. Shakyamuni Buddha and the Lotus Sutra are like one's wife and parents. You have helped me and thereby saved me from disgrace in this life; in return, I will protect you from disgrace in the next. What one has done for another yesterday, will be done for oneself today.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 994

Letter to Jakunichi-bo

Written to Jakunichi-bo Niike on September 16, 1279

 

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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

 

Compassion is the very soul of Buddhism. To pray for others, making their problems and anguish our own; to embrace those who are suffering, becoming their greatest ally; to continue giving them our support and encouragement until they become truly happy - it is in such humanistic actions that Nichiren Buddhism lives and breathes.

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (02 September 1949) p.9/10

 

Youth! Squarely challenge your difficulties and advance. To live a great existence with belief in justice, for your country and for the happiness of humankind!

Don't ever be defeated by external pressure. Cherish hope and ambition in your heart.

History will definitely prove the righteousness of those who wield the sword of justice.

 

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 28 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

 

Life is a process of ongoing challenge. Those who lead lives of boundless challenge realize boundless growth. In a time of tumultuous change, what people need most is the vitality to challenge their circumstances and the wisdom to open the treasure-house of knowledge and to ceaselessly strive to create new value.

 

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From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

 

Since I have realized that only the Lotus Sutra teaches the attainment of Buddhahood by women, and that only the Lotus is the sutra of true requital for repaying the kindness of our mother, in order to repay my debt to my mother, I have vowed to enable all women to chant the daimoku of this sutra.

 

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 931

The Sutra of True Requital

Written to the lay nun Sennichi on July 28, 1278

 

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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

 

The Buddha's compassion is perfectly equal and impartial. The Buddha views all beings as his own children and strives to elevate them to attain his same enlightened state of life. It's not that there are no differences among people. Rather, it's that the Buddha, while fully recognizing people's differences, does not discriminate among them.

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (16 June 1949) p.9

 

Scolded by Mr. Toda. Agonizing. All my fault. Must reflect on myself. I believe in Mr Toda, and I'll strive till the bitter end. I've got to recognize my weak points and change them... otherwise I'll be miserable all my life.

Must advance again, with all my might.

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 26 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Sunday, July 26, 2015

 

 Faith is perseverance. The key to victory in any struggle in life is persistence. That is why Nichiren Daishonin stresses the importance of having faith that flows ceaselessly like water rather than faith that flames up briefly like fire. To advance continuously, it is important never to become exhausted. Carrying out activities until late at night does not equate with strong faith.

 

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 From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Sunday, July 26, 2015

 

 Faith in this sutra means that you will surely attain Buddhahood if you are true to the entirety of the Lotus Sutra, adhering exactly to its teachings without adding any of your own ideas or following the arbitrary interpretations of others.

 

 The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1030

Letter to Niike

Written to Niike Saemon-no-jo in February 1280

 

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 Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Sunday, July 26, 2015

 

 What does attaining Buddhahood mean for us? It does not mean that one day we suddenly turn into a Buddha or become magically enlightened. In a sense, attaining Buddhahood means that we have securely entered the path or orbit of Buddhahood inherent in the cosmos. Rather than a final static destination at which we arrive and remain, achieving enlightenment means firmly establishing the faith needed to keep advancing along the path of absolute happiness limitlessly, without end.

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (09 June 1949) p.8

 

Got home in the rain about 10:50. Soaking wet all the way. Thoroughly miserable. I feel lonely but can still weep tears of joy in hopes of a future dawn.

Supper tonight - a hunk of bread.

 

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Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 25 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Saturday, July 25, 2015

 

 Buddhism is, in a sense, an eternal struggle between the Buddha and demons; in other words, a contest between positive and negative forces. If we fail to be assailed by negative influences, we cannot be said to be truly practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. Buddhist practice lies in bravely facing and overcoming adversity.

 

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 From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Saturday, July 25, 2015

 

 A bird's egg contains nothing but liquid, yet by itself this develops into a beak, two eyes, and all the other parts, and the bird soars into the sky. We, too, are the eggs of ignorance, which are pitiful things, but when nurtured by the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which is like the warmth of the mother bird, we develop the beak of the thirty-two features and the feathers of the eighty characteristics and are free to soar into the skies of the true aspect of all phenomena and the reality of all things.

 

 The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1030

Letter to Niike

Written to Niike Saemon-no-jo in February 1280

 

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 Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Saturday, July 25, 2015

 

 Many people talk about peace, but few really do anything about it. Very few are willing to fight the battle to the end. Josei Toda instilled in me the hard and fast rule that, even if we stand alone, we must never give up but must see the struggle through to its conclusion.

The year before he died, he said something I have never forgotten for a minute: "If we don't fight, justice will be defeated. Because justice is on our side, we must not lose, we absolutely must win. That's why we fight. The lion is most lion like when he roars."

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (08 June 1949) p.8

 

Bought a pair of old shoes. Society holds too many contradictions. Some people are poor, though they live and work honestly. Others live by deceit and never lift a finger, but they lack of nothing. All kinds of people in the world.

Is the one who amasses material possessions the final winner in life?

Absurd! Must examine my own situation and then leap beyond, to show great proof in the future. Isn't that what faith teaches.

Youth, never be envious. Never lose heart.

 

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 24 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, July 24, 2015

 

 Our lives are our own. It is not for someone else to dictate to us how we should live them. All that awaits those who allow themselves to be continually swayed by what other people say or do is unhappiness. We simply need to have the self-belief to be able to say: "This is right. This is the path I will follow. I am content." Happiness is born from such inner fortitude. Moreover, those who earnestly devote themselves in accord with the Mystic Law cannot fail to realize lives of total fulfillment.

 

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 From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Friday, July 24, 2015

 

 The Great Teacher Nan-yueh has stated, "If one sees a foe of the Lotus Sutra and yet fails to censure him, one becomes a slanderer of the Law and will fall into the hell of incessant suffering." Even a man of great wisdom, if he sees such a person and fails to speak out, will fall into the depths of the hell of incessant suffering, and as long as that hell shall endure, he will never escape.

 

 The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1021

Letter to Akimoto

Written Akimoto Taro Hyo-no-jo on January 27, 1280

 

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 Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Friday, July 24, 2015

 

 The Argentine educator Almafuerte wrote: "To the weak, difficulty is a closed door. To the strong, however, it is a door waiting to be opened." Difficulties impede the progress of those who are weak. For the strong, however, they are an opportunity to open wide the doors to a bright future. Everything is determined by our attitude, by our resolve.

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (08 June 1949) p.8

 

I meet lots of artist and writers through my work, many of them considered to be masters. It's disappointing once I actually talk to them.

Those of character are the only great people in the world.

How many people in the arts today are truly worthy of respect?

Maybe artists have right to be eccentric, but how often they make me run after them, wasting such valuable time!

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 22 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

 

 Without practice or actual efforts, there is no bodhisattva. Action is the essence of a Buddha. A self-centered life lived solely in pursuit of one's own benefit and fortune is empty and base. A Bodhisattva of the Earth, in contrast, respects others and works for their happiness.

 

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 From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

 

 A good believer is one who does not depend upon persons of eminence nor despise those of humble station; who does not rely on the backing of superiors or look down on inferiors; who, not relying upon the opinions of others, upholds the Lotus Sutra among all the sutras. Such a person the Buddha has called the best of all people.

 

 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

 

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 Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

 

 Josei Toda always urged us to live our lives with courage and never be cowards. He said: "Those who can't do anything but live cowardly lives are like beasts. They are ignoble and unhappy. Those who live out their lives courageously, on the other hand, lead the noblest and most sublime existences, they are happy."

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (06 June 1949) p.6

 

We were warned by the chief accountant that we'd better start coming to work earlier to get everything set up. I feel sorry for the female clerks. The gulf between management and labor is glaringly obvious.

I wait for the day when employees at every company can work happily together in mutual trust. No, better not wait. We must create it ourselves with our own hands.

 

Sensei's Daily Encouragement - 21 July 2015 - Year of Dynamic Development in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen Rufu

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

 

 True and lasting happiness only and always comes from our own efforts, our own wisdom, our own good fortune. This is a fundamental truth. Faith is the key to strengthening our efforts, wisdom and good fortune; SGI activities are the key to strengthening ourselves.

 

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 From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

 

 What can we say, then, of persons who are devoting themselves to Buddhism? Surely they should not forget the debts of gratitude they owe to their parents, their teachers and their country. But if one intends to repay these great debts of gratitude, one can hope to do so only if one learns and masters Buddhism, becoming a person of wisdom.

 

 The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 690

On Repaying Debts of Gratitude

Written to Joken-bo and Gijo-bo on July 21, 1276

 

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 Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

 

 We can lose ourselves in romantic attachment, but the truth is, the euphoria is unlikely to last for long. Indeed, the likelihood of undergoing suffering and sadness only grows over time. As long as we remain unable to redress our own weaknesses, we will be miserable no matter where or to whom we may take flight. We can never become truly happy unless we ourselves undergo a personal transformation.

 

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Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (04 June 1949) p.6

 

Progress and revolution involve all forms of opposition. Those who overcome it are worthy to be called youth. Like seeds that endure through winter and sprout from the earth in spring.

... Reality is harsh. Youth is the time to advance, to grow, to battle against corruption. A youth is most worthy of respect when advancing earnestly toward a goal. But don't forget to smile. Be cheerful always.