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Lessons

Decide to Win

A person climbing in the mountains
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Nichiren Daishonin tells [his disciple] Yasaburo, “You must simply make up your mind” (“Reply to Yasaburo,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 829). Once we decide to take on a challenge, we must approach it with the determination to win. When facing an opponent, it is easy to be defeated by our own weakness of spirit. The first step is to overcome the negative workings within. But at the same time, courage is different from recklessness. True courage is facing reality head-on. That’s the way to see clearly what needs to be done.

This excerpt is from one of Ikeda Sensei’s lectures in “The Buddhism of the Sun: Illuminating the World” series, which can be found in the March 2017 Living Buddhism, p. 49.

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