CategoryTo My Friends

When we talk with someone, we aren’t speaking solely to the person before us. That person has a family, friends, and many young successors who will carry on their work. A beautiful dialogue in which there is a meeting of hearts is always the starting point for fresh future conversations, the first step to creating

The men’s division members are lions…My heroic friends! My noble comrades in the struggle for kosen-rufu! A decisive battle to usher in the dawn of the twenty-first century has already begun. At last, our time has come. If we do not rise to the challenge now, then when? From Men Shining With Youthful Brilliance, part

The greatest treasure we can leave for the future is capable successors. And it is those who discover and nurture individuals of promise who are themselves truly capable. Through this process of fostering others, we polish and develop ourselves. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, revised edition, pp. 403

Moreover, kosen-rufu is the challenge to transform the fundamental life state of society into that of Buddhahood. The key to this lies in increasing the number of those who share our noble aspirations. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 1, revised edition, p. 47

The happier we make others, the happier we are, and as long as a single miserable person exists, our own happiness cannot be complete. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, pp. 17

Through faith in the Mystic Law, we can develop the ability to change all that is negative in our lives into something positive. We can transform all problems into happiness, sufferings into joy, anxiety into hope, and worry into peace of mind. We will always be able to find a way forward. From The Wisdom

Everyone has a mission. We were born because we have a mission. That’s why we must live our lives and persevere through all. The Japanese word for mission means to “use one’s life.” For what purpose do we use our lives? For what purpose have we been born in this world, sent forth from the

We mustn’t avoid those who don’t seem to listen to us or who think differently from us. Part of our practice is learning to work harmoniously with such individuals and gain their understanding and support. This is how our movement as a whole advances and how we grow as individuals. We must strive to be

The resounding music of our women’s division members’ unceasing efforts fills the air day after day in every community and locale. Truly, they are the driving force of kosen-rufu, and no praise, no matter how eloquent, can fully do them justice. Every day, my wife and I pray earnestly and sincerely that all of these

Prayer produces a change within our hearts, within the depths of our lives. This profound, intangible inner change does not end with us alone [but inspires a similar change in others]. Likewise, when one community changes, it will not be limited to that community alone. Just as a single wave gives rise to countless others,

Ultimately, what matters is not worldly power or outward appearances. Rather, it is our efforts to treasure as we would ourselves those who are suffering and those who are making sincere efforts for kosen-rufu. We must never forget that to encourage and care for others in this way is the essence of genuine humanity. From

When we’re suffering, feeling sad, or experiencing hard times, we should take everything to the Gohonzon with an open heart, like a child who throws itself into its mother’s arms and clings to her. The Gohonzon will “listen” to everything. Let’s chant as if carrying on a conversation, confiding our innermost thoughts. From The Wisdom

The Daishonin writes, “A Buddha is looked up to as the Hero of the World” (WND-1, 835). A hero of the world is a person who is courageously engaged in the realities of life and society. A Buddha is one who intrepidly battles devilish functions and, manifesting the life force of the world of Buddhahood,

A powerful determination to transform even negative karma into mission can dramatically transform the real world. By changing our inner state of mind, we can change any suffering or hardship into a source of joy, regarding it as a means for forging and developing our lives. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part

In addition, when we struggle with and chant about how to share Buddhism with others and to realize our goals for kosen-rufu, we are already expressing the life state of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Through such efforts, therefore, we can overcome and solve our individual problems as well. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness

The crucial point is whether we have faith. We must never make light of the Daishonin’s assertion that “it is the heart that is important” (WND-1, 1000). What matters is not form or a person’s position or wealth. Those who have faith in their hearts are truly happy. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and

Let’s make our meetings everywhere enjoyable, relaxing, interesting, and meaningful, filled with bright smiles and laughter. The Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the universe are watching over these harmonious gatherings of children of the Buddha, the noblest assemblies in all the world. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, revised edition, p. 135

Life and Buddhist practice are like a marathon. You may at times run out front and at times fall behind. But what matters is the final moment at the finish line.The training you undergo in your youth is all for that final, true victory. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised

I always feel a rising excitement in my heart when the week for discussion meetings comes around each month. I envision the warm light glowing in the windows of meeting places throughout Japan… I wish that I could sit inconspicuously in the back of each room, wholeheartedly applauding and cheering on every speaker. From The

Nothing is ever wasted in our efforts for kosen-rufu. Abandoning our actions to share the Mystic Law because someone’s reaction disheartens us would be the very opposite of compassion. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, p. 243