Moreover, the good fortune, benefit, and joy we gain through living in accord with the eternal Law [of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo] are not temporary. In the same way that trees steadily add growth rings with each passing year, our lives accumulate good fortune that will endure throughout the three existences of past, present, and future. From The … …
In Europe, there is an old saying: “A joyful heart is good medicine.” The German philosopher Immanuel Kant also noted that laughter has a positive effect on our health, functioning like a physician. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 1, revised edition, p. 295
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate Albert Schweitzer is reported to have said: “I have no intention of dying so long as I can do things. And if I do things, there is no need to die. So, I will live a long, long time.” He in fact lived to the age of ninety. From The … …
Only with all-out effort, with the determination to create something from nothing, can we understand genuine faith. The intense, arduous struggle of creating value—turning loss into benefit, evil into good, baseness into beauty—is the Soka Gakkai spirit and the essence of our practice of Nichiren Buddhism. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part … …
Shakyamuni’s attainment of enlightenment under the bodhi tree in ancient India and Nichiren Daishonin’s act of casting off his transient status and revealing his true identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law at the time of the Tatsunokuchi Persecution are both expressions of the highest state of humanity. Neither Shakyamuni nor … …
Shakyamuni’s attainment of enlightenment under the bodhi tree in ancient India and Nichiren Daishonin’s act of casting off his transient status and revealing his true identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law at the time of the Tatsunokuchi Persecution are both expressions of the highest state of humanity. Neither Shakyamuni nor … …
Please magnificently adorn this precious life with beautiful faith and beautiful friendship. Live out your days spreading the sublime diamond-like light of life far and wide and demonstrating the truth of the teachings and principles of Nichiren Buddhism. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 1, revised edition, p. 186
How others view us is not important. Temporary successes or failures also do not matter. What counts is whether our faces shine with happy smiles at the very end of our lives. If we can look back and say: “My life was victorious. It was enjoyable. I have no regrets,” then we are victors. From … …
Exerting ourselves in the practice of gongyo each day amounts to what we might call a “spiritual workout.” It purifies our lives, gets our “motors” running, and sets us on the right track. It gets our bodies and our minds moving and sets a good rhythm for the day. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness … …
Toda realized that the devilish nature inherent in life underlies nuclear weapons, and he keenly sensed that the only way to vanquish it was through the power of the Buddha nature. Since human beings created nuclear weapons, they are also capable of eliminating them. Toda was convinced that the existence of the Buddha nature within … …