CategoryTo My Friends

Accordingly, defeat for a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism lies not in encountering difficulties but rather in not challenging them. Difficulties truly become our destiny only if we run away from them. We must fight as long as we live. We must live and struggle tenaciously to the end. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and

Those who strive to talk with even one more person are victors. Our victory is determined by how much energy we put into caring for and supporting others. Only by working together harmoniously with all kinds of people and inspiring them to move with us toward kosen-rufu, or world peace, can we ourselves be victorious.

We mustn’t avoid difficulties. We must win out over our problems and sufferings. It is up to us to create our own treasures through our own efforts. “I am happy. I have won!”—those who can create value in life so that they can say this with confidence are people who shine with true brilliance and

Changing the world starts by changing our fundamental state of mind. This is a key Buddhist principle. A powerful determination to transform even negative karma into mission can dramatically transform the real world. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, pp. 43-44

The Soka Gakkai organization is a crystallization of genuine democracy, handmade by the people, for the people. It is the only body carrying out the widespread propagation of Nichiren Buddhism, which places the highest value on the dignity of the human being. It is the sun of hope for all humanity. That is why President

Our health, courage, wisdom, joy, desire to improve, self-discipline, and so on, could all be said to depend on our life force. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo enables us to bring forth limitless life force. Those who base themselves on chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are therefore never deadlocked. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 1, revised edition,

When we talk with someone, we aren’t speaking solely to the person before us. That person has a family, friends, and many young successors who will carry on their work. A beautiful dialogue in which there is a meeting of hearts is always the starting point for fresh future conversations, the first step to creating

The men’s division members are lions…My heroic friends! My noble comrades in the struggle for kosen-rufu! A decisive battle to usher in the dawn of the twenty-first century has already begun. At last, our time has come. If we do not rise to the challenge now, then when? From Men Shining With Youthful Brilliance, part

The greatest treasure we can leave for the future is capable successors. And it is those who discover and nurture individuals of promise who are themselves truly capable. Through this process of fostering others, we polish and develop ourselves. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, revised edition, pp. 403

Moreover, kosen-rufu is the challenge to transform the fundamental life state of society into that of Buddhahood. The key to this lies in increasing the number of those who share our noble aspirations. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 1, revised edition, p. 47

The happier we make others, the happier we are, and as long as a single miserable person exists, our own happiness cannot be complete. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, pp. 17

Through faith in the Mystic Law, we can develop the ability to change all that is negative in our lives into something positive. We can transform all problems into happiness, sufferings into joy, anxiety into hope, and worry into peace of mind. We will always be able to find a way forward. From The Wisdom

Everyone has a mission. We were born because we have a mission. That’s why we must live our lives and persevere through all. The Japanese word for mission means to “use one’s life.” For what purpose do we use our lives? For what purpose have we been born in this world, sent forth from the

We mustn’t avoid those who don’t seem to listen to us or who think differently from us. Part of our practice is learning to work harmoniously with such individuals and gain their understanding and support. This is how our movement as a whole advances and how we grow as individuals. We must strive to be

The resounding music of our women’s division members’ unceasing efforts fills the air day after day in every community and locale. Truly, they are the driving force of kosen-rufu, and no praise, no matter how eloquent, can fully do them justice. Every day, my wife and I pray earnestly and sincerely that all of these

Prayer produces a change within our hearts, within the depths of our lives. This profound, intangible inner change does not end with us alone [but inspires a similar change in others]. Likewise, when one community changes, it will not be limited to that community alone. Just as a single wave gives rise to countless others,

Ultimately, what matters is not worldly power or outward appearances. Rather, it is our efforts to treasure as we would ourselves those who are suffering and those who are making sincere efforts for kosen-rufu. We must never forget that to encourage and care for others in this way is the essence of genuine humanity. From

When we’re suffering, feeling sad, or experiencing hard times, we should take everything to the Gohonzon with an open heart, like a child who throws itself into its mother’s arms and clings to her. The Gohonzon will “listen” to everything. Let’s chant as if carrying on a conversation, confiding our innermost thoughts. From The Wisdom

The Daishonin writes, “A Buddha is looked up to as the Hero of the World” (WND-1, 835). A hero of the world is a person who is courageously engaged in the realities of life and society. A Buddha is one who intrepidly battles devilish functions and, manifesting the life force of the world of Buddhahood,

A powerful determination to transform even negative karma into mission can dramatically transform the real world. By changing our inner state of mind, we can change any suffering or hardship into a source of joy, regarding it as a means for forging and developing our lives. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part