The end of the year is approaching, and a new year is about to begin! The following are excerpts from Ikeda Sensei’s guidance on the importance of setting goals and making determinations.
Set a Target—Then Go All In
Ikeda Sensei: An arrow will not hit the target unless we take proper aim. The same is true of chanting. Our prayers come to fruition when we set clear goals and strive earnestly and persistently to realize them. … Chant specifically about your goals for the coming day, and then do your best to act on those goals, striving wholeheartedly in a way that befits youth. (Stand Up for Hope and Respect, p. 7)
Faith Is Action, Not Fantasy
Sensei: It is also important that we establish clear and concrete goals for what we hope to achieve each day and then pray and challenge ourselves to achieve each of them. This earnest determination gives rise to wisdom and resourcefulness, thereby leading to success. In short, to win in life we need determination and prayer, effort and ingenuity. It is misguided to dream of getting rich quick, expecting to encounter a rare stroke of luck or some shrewd money-making scheme. That is not faith. It is mere fantasy. (The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, p. 192)
Bring Your Vision to Life
Sensei: Our resolve at each moment counts. It drives our hopes and prayers. One could say it reflects our subconscious. “What kind of future do I envision for myself? What kind of self am I trying to develop? What do I want to accomplish in my life?” Paint this vision of your life in your heart as specifically as possible. That painting becomes the design of your future. The power of the heart enables us to enact with our lives a wonderful masterpiece in accord with that design. This is the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. The more specific and detailed the blueprint we have in our hearts, the better. The point is to continue vividly painting in our hearts the target we have for ourselves; and to advance toward that goal single-mindedly. Then, at each instant, the reality of our lives will gradually approach the painting that is our aspiration. (Learning From the Gosho, reprint edition, p. 116)
Victory Begins With a Single Determination
Sensei: When we determine to give our all and to win in our goals and endeavors for kosen-rufu, that resolve becomes the cause for expanding our life state and bringing forth the power to achieve the impossible. It is because of such intense determination and drive that I, too, have won in every challenge I have taken on. (Making the Impossible Possible, p. 36)
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