Thursday, November 24, 2016
Rosa Parks wrote in her book Quiet Strength: "I find that if I am thinking too much of my own problems and the fact that at times things are not just like I want them to be, I do not make any progress at all. But if I look around and see what I can do, and then I do it, I move on." Youth, and indeed life itself, flashes by in the blink of an eye. That is why it is important for you young people to ask yourselves what you can do for those who are suffering, what you can do to resolve the contradictions that plague society and to boldly take on these great challenges.
From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Thursday, November 24, 2016
A person of wisdom is one who, understanding the time, spreads the teachings of the Lotus Sutra accordingly; this is his most important task. If a person's throat is dry, what he needs is water; he has no use for bows and arrows, weapons and sticks. If a person is naked, he wants a suit of clothes but has no need for water. From one or two examples you can guess the principle that applies in general.
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 518
Letter to Horen
Written to Soya Kyoshin in April 1275
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Thursday, November 24, 2016
There is no one lonelier or more unhappy than a person who does not know the pure joy of creating a life for himself or herself. To be human is not merely to stand erect and manifest intelligence or knowledge. To be human in the full sense of the word is to lead a creative life. The struggle to create new life from within is a truly wonderful thing. There is found the brilliant wisdom that guides and directs the workings of reason; the light of insight that penetrates the farthest reaches of the universe; the undaunted will to see justice done that meets and challenges all the assaults of evil; the spirit of unbounded care that embraces all who suffer. When these are fused with that energy of compassion that pours forth from the deepest sources of cosmic life, an ecstatic rhythm arises to colour the lives of all people.
Excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (12 December 1956) p.310
Felt empty this morning. Today I must bid my father a final farewell. Will it be an eternal separation? Or, as the sutra phrase hoben gen nehan indicates, is death simply an expedient? This is a crucial point for one who studies Buddhism.
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