CategoryTo My Friends

I believe that any revolution that is genuine—that truly serves the needs of the people—will also clearly manifest itself in the family. Such a family-based revolution is the most fundamental and lasting kind of revolution; it will create an enduring groundswell and become the tide of the times that no one can hold back. From

Valuing each individual—this is an unbroken tradition of the Soka Gakkai. We focus on one suffering person, wholeheartedly engage them in dialogue, and do everything we can to encourage them. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, revised edition, p. 95

In Europe, there is an old saying: “A joyful heart is good medicine.” The German philosopher Immanuel Kant also noted that laughter has a positive effect on our health, functioning like a physician. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 1, revised edition, p. 295

In life and in the struggle for kosen-rufu, all our sufferings and earthly desires are fuel for our enlightenment. The tougher the challenges we face, the greater the joy and benefit and the higher the life condition we will ultimately savor. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, revised edition, p. 199

As we do our best for the welfare of others, we break out of our narrow lesser self that is focused only on personal concerns and gradually expand and elevate our life state. The commitment to others’ well-being is what propels us to transform our life state and carry out our human revolution. From The

Soka Gakkai discussion meetings are oases where ordinary people gather; they reverberate with a spirit of fresh resolve and gratitude, where suffering is transformed into courage, and exhaustion into a satisfying sense of fulfillment. These small gatherings are microcosms of human harmony. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, revised edition, pp.

Discussion meetings are a great river, of which all our other activities are tributaries. Our activities to promote friendship and understanding, as well as the different kinds of meetings we hold, all merge into the great river of discussion meetings and flow toward the vast ocean of an age of the people. From The Wisdom

Mr. Toda sternly observed that the sense of happiness we feel in the final years of our life is what counts. It’s got nothing to do with how well things go in your youth. Similarly, no matter how many times you fail at something when you’re young, there’s plenty of time to recover and get

The power of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is unfathomable. The “light” of the daimoku we chant reaches every corner of the universe, illuminating even those agonizing in the hell of incessant suffering after death and enabling them to attain Buddhahood directly, says the Daishonin. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 1, revised edition, p.

If we just carry out activities routinely, without that special focus, we won’t be able to raise capable people. We need to consciously chant and take action toward that goal. We cannot build a full-fledged golden tower of capable individuals by simply going through the motions. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part

Optimists are strong. They see the positive in everything and decide to make it a reality for all to see. I hope you will live with optimism, remaining undefeated by whatever happens in life, transforming hardship into joy, and laughing off adversity like the famous comic actor Charlie Chaplin. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness

When we cannot say thank you, our personal growth has stopped. When we are growing, we can see how wonderful others are too. When we stop growing, all we see are other people’s faults. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, p. 67

Treasuring each day of our lives, aware how precious it is, is a way of living that accords with the true spirit of Buddhism. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, p. 164

Buddhism is a struggle to be victorious. Human revolution is achieved by accomplishing one victory after another. A winning life is a life of human revolution. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, p. 13

The Daishonin writes, “If Nichiren’s compassion is truly great and encompassing, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will spread for ten thousand years and more, for all eternity” (WND-1, 736). He is indicating that the flow of kosen-rufu—of widespread propagation—goes on endlessly, never ceasing. Kosen-rufu is not the end point of the flow; it is the flow itself, the vibrant

The inner source of eternal, indestructible, absolute happiness is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which shines in the depths of your being. True happiness lies in tapping this source as you strive to cultivate your own life, which is still a work in progress. This is the essence of Buddhism. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part

Who, then, is the correct teacher we should seek? It is the person who chants and spreads the Mystic Law with selfless dedication while battling the three powerful enemies of Buddhism. Correct teachers of the Law can be identified by whether they have encountered hardships and opposition just like those described in the Lotus Sutra.

It is in our behavior as human beings that the teachings of Buddhism come alive and actual proof of our Buddhist practice is revealed. Our courteous, humane conduct can be said to be an expression of correct faith. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, p. 101

The Mystic Law is the eternal and indestructible Law governing all things in the universe. As people who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo based on faith in the Mystic Law and are committed to realizing kosen-rufu, our lives, too, are eternal and indestructible, diamond-like and imperishable. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 1, revised edition,

We cannot change our life state through science, politics, or economics—it can be done only through practicing the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism. And we have the great good fortune to have encountered this Buddhism in the present existence. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, p. 24