“What Is Your Dream?”

Effort is what determines whether or not your dreams come true. There are times, however, when social conditions are so bad that you cannot realize your dreams. Or there may be karmic elements, things you cannot see that still prevent you from achieving your goals.

Though not all your dreams may come true, I hope that you will still always live with some dream in your heart. This is what youth is all about. And having dreams is the sign of a person who will continue to grow throughout life. Any dream is fine. Please possess your own dream, one that matches your unique character.

My dream is to realize the dream of Mr. Toda. He is my mentor, a fact that will absolutely never change. The Buddhist Law is not a manmade thing, something that can be either proven or denied by reasoning alone. It is an absolute law, the unchanging law of the universe, something as inevitable as the rising of the sun and moon, the coming of day and night.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the essence of that universal law. The entire universe moves in the rhythm of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. My mentor and I are linked together by the rhythm of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. And that is why I must realize his dream and ideals, why I must keep exerting myself.

Unless your dream is something that will truly contribute to your growth and self-improvement, it can end up simply being selfish and egoistic, an empty wish. A noble dream encompasses happiness, truth, altruism and peace. It is, in fact, in the pursuit of these goals—happiness, truth, altruism and peace—that we formulate dreams of genuine value and meaning.