IF, in our greatest endeavour to promote this great people’s movement for kosen-rufu, you behave as if everything is a joke or strut about with self-centred arrogance, you will destroy the noble realm of Buddhism. If you forget the demanding practice of faith and just seek to enjoy an easy, indolent life, hellish suffering is bound to await you down the line. Nichiren Daishonin sternly warned us of this in his writings.
WE must not allow ourselves to become self-absorbed and insensitive to those around us. No one is an island. We live surrounded by our family, our friends and the rest of the world. We are all connected. The key is to display our individuality within that web of relationship. True individuality is not self-centred. It is a away of life, a way of being, that leads both ourselves and others in a positive direction on the most natural ways.
DAY in and day out, we are exerting ourselves for kosen-rufu. For this is what Nichiren Daishonin taught his followers to do. By ceaselessly pressing forward and taking courageous actions, we can cultivate the supreme state of life of Buddhahood. There is no greater happiness than attaining Buddhahood. No effort is more laden with value than our Buddhist practice. This is the teaching of the Daishonin. Benefit will well forth in our life only to the extent that we take joyful action, firm in this conviction.
DEATH – that is the great final accounting of each life. Fame, wealth, rank, learning – all are of no avail of themselves in the face of death. We shed such vain ornaments and, naked, fight the battle of life itself. It is a solemn moment when victory and defeat are impartially determined. If you win this battle, you are a true victor.
IF you do nothing but fret and sigh because of a setback on one front of life, this can end up bringing your whole life down in defeat. A defeat is the time to build up your energies; you must make defeat the stepping-off point for the victories that will follow.
NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, Persecution by Sword and Staff.
WE must not allow ourselves to become self-absorbed and insensitive to those around us. No one is an island. We live surrounded by our family, our friends and the rest of the world. We are all connected. The key is to display our individuality within that web of relationship. True individuality is not self-centred. It is a away of life, a way of being, that leads both ourselves and others in a positive direction on the most natural ways.
DAY in and day out, we are exerting ourselves for kosen-rufu. For this is what Nichiren Daishonin taught his followers to do. By ceaselessly pressing forward and taking courageous actions, we can cultivate the supreme state of life of Buddhahood. There is no greater happiness than attaining Buddhahood. No effort is more laden with value than our Buddhist practice. This is the teaching of the Daishonin. Benefit will well forth in our life only to the extent that we take joyful action, firm in this conviction.
DEATH – that is the great final accounting of each life. Fame, wealth, rank, learning – all are of no avail of themselves in the face of death. We shed such vain ornaments and, naked, fight the battle of life itself. It is a solemn moment when victory and defeat are impartially determined. If you win this battle, you are a true victor.
IF you do nothing but fret and sigh because of a setback on one front of life, this can end up bringing your whole life down in defeat. A defeat is the time to build up your energies; you must make defeat the stepping-off point for the victories that will follow.
NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, Persecution by Sword and Staff.
