The Power of ‘Thank You’

In October 2025, the SGI-USA women and young women launched the dialogue initiative “Peace in Miniature: One Is the Mother of Ten Thousand,” which invites each of us to engage in transformative one-to-one dialogues with our friends, neighbors and one another, with the conviction that each one represents peace itself.

At your monthly America Victory Daimoku Group and Sophia Group meetings, please feel free to use the following guidance from Ikeda Sensei about the transformative power of gratitude.

“Thank you” is a miraculous expression. We feel good when we say it, and we feel good when we hear it. Every day, from morning to night, I continually say “Thank you.” When I visit other countries, it is the one expression I always learn and use, whether it is “Thank you,” “Merci,” “Danke,” “Gracias,” “Spasibo” or “Xie-xie.” I express my thanks with deep sincerity, looking the other person in the eye as I speak.

When we speak or hear the words thank you, the armor falls from our hearts, and we communicate on the deepest level. “Thank you” is the essence of nonviolence. It contains respect for the other person, humility and a profound affirmation of life. It possesses a positive, upbeat optimism. It has strength. A person who can sincerely say thank you has a healthy, vital spirit; and each time we say it our hearts sparkle and our life force rises up powerfully from the depths of our being.

I was deeply moved by Dr. [Salvador] Santiago-Negrón’s profound gratitude for his mentor, Dr. [Carlos] Albizu. Being grateful for the support so many others have given us—that awareness, that feeling, that joy—will bring us even greater happiness. In addition to being grateful because we are happy, the feeling of gratitude itself actually brings us happiness. Prayers with a spirit of gratitude, too, harmonize most effectively with the rhythm of the universe and turn our lives in a positive direction.