Sensei's Daily Encouragement - August 27 2022 - The year of Youth and Dynamic Progress



            

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
August 27, 2022

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.
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From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
August 27, 2022

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
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Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
August 27, 2022

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.
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Daisaku Ikeda - A Youthful Diary (07 January 1955) p.214

The annual children's group meeting…
Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. President Toda gave strict guidance to one couple who was late. Feel that this was only proper. Pained when I think of those who couldn't attend. Whenever people are enjoying themselves, others are definitely sad or lonely. Want never to forget this throughout my life. Want to be a man of fairness, that is, an ally to those who work behind the scenes, to those who are lonely, who are suffering.
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