31st January

THE high position of a king or general means nothing in the realm of death. The fate of one who ignores this truth and betrays the correct teaching of the Law because of an attachment to worldly desires is both incredibly pitiful and foolish. Nichiren Daishonin warned us to consider this carefully and have faith in the Mystic Law. No one can escape this strict Law of cause and effect.


THIS life is infinitely precious. Eternity is decided in this lifetime. True victory or defeat in life comes at the moment of death. Those who staunchly persevere in faith are eternal winners. This is the principle of attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime.


NOT advancing does not mean standing still. It is actually equivalent to moving backwards. In faith, there is no sense of "this is good enough". The arrogance in having this thought leads to laziness, and eventually to the cessation of one's practice.


KOSEN-RUFU is a supreme eternal task. It is a sublime undertaking to save mankind, and we are now building the foundation. The honour and fortune each of you gain by attending to this difficult task will shine throughout the three existences of your life. There is no happier or more honourable way to live.


REGARDLESS of the great pains which one may have taken for the sake of kosen-rufu over the course of many years, if at some point one abandons faith, everything that one has accomplished will in the end come to nothing. In effect, it is like multiplying 100 by a factor of zero.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

30th January

NICHIREN DAISHONIN's Buddhism is the Buddhism of "sowing"; its purpose is to plant the seed of enlightenment, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, in the lives of all people on earth. Herein lies the fundamental cause to create the foundation of lasting, indestructible happiness for all people.


WHILE sharing your life warmly with those around you, you must also protect others, and win their sincere trust and respect. It is the basis for leadership in this age of democracy.


FAITH is an incessant struggle against growing complacency. Nichiren Daishonin stated, "Strengthen your faith day by day and month after month. Should you slacken even a bit, demons will take advantage." (MW 1, p241) He also wrote, "Hold fast to your faith so that your wish will be fulfilled." (MW 1, p125)


FAITH is absolute confidence; it is to live vibrantly. A person of faith is someone who lives one's life with unflagging hope and courage to the very end; who spreads the Mystic Law and thoroughly savours the joy deriving from the Law, leading an existence in which all wishes are fulfilled.


SINCE we have been born on this planet, let us dedicate our lives to the highest Law and advance along the path of the highest good. Please know that all of your hard work for kosen-rufu will unquestionable benefit your communities and your families, and will come back to you exponentially in the form of boundless joy and happiness.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

29th January

AT its most fundamental essence, religion is commitment - commitment to saving people from suffering. True religion strives to instil that commitment in people's lives. Education, meanwhile, fosters people through widely accessible and universal knowledge. Without both religion and education, the correct path for humanity cannot be completed.


THE important thing is to have resolute faith, to have the courage not to fear anything. A strong person is happy. A weak person who is swayed by the slightest thing is miserable. A cowardly person who fails to fight back against evil cannot gain the great benefit of the Law.


HOPE is born of difficult struggles. It comes from the courage and passion to spare no effort. Passiveness and inertia are enemies of hope. To live one’s life passively and from force of habits is to allow oneself to drift towards unhappiness.


EVEN if you are in a quiet, unsung little corner of the world, you are advancing in your own way towards making your life a good one and the society in which you live a better place and you are sincerely praying and working for kosen-rufu. This is a practising Buddhist's purpose in life and this sincerity is what is most important.


ARROGANCE is a degradation of one's life while pride in the Lotus Sutra is an expression of one's seeking spirit.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

28th January

AS followers of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, we must propagate the correct teachings and meaning of Buddhism with composure and compassion, untouched by anger or animosity, no matter what difficulty, insult or calumny we may face. You should be convinced that only through your ceaseless effort of propagation will the world of Buddhahood, the life-condition of enlightenment, manifest itself within your life.


BUT phantom is a phantom. Reality is reality. You are you; nothing more, nothing less. Never forget that, or allow you to become too involved with superficial matters, and lose sight of the true meaning, the true purpose of life.


AS long as they have hope, people will develop. As long as they have hope, people will feel young and their lives will be enjoyable. They will also be healthy and have abundant wisdom. Because they are joyful, they will also be blessed with good fortune.


WHAT makes a person great? What makes someone noble? Greatness does not derive from popularity, status, fame or wealth. Those who uphold and spread the supreme Law are truly noble. Those who embrace the Mystic Law, and who work among the people and for the people, are truly respectworthy.


THE Mystic Law is not a mere phrase. It is not something that someone invented arbitrarily. It is the fundamental principle of peace that pervades the universe.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

27th January

NOW is the time for you to cultivate your mind through reading. That will decide everything. There is no limit to how far your potential will reach if the earth of your mind is cultivated and well nourished. Within each of you lies a vast field of infinite possibility and reading is the hoe which to till that boundless frontier.


LET'S ask ourselves this question, "What kind of person is truly great?" Nichiren Daishonin cited the words, "Since the Law is wonderful, the person is worthy of respect; since the person is worthy of respect, the land is sacred." (WND, p1,097) The person who upholds the supreme Law deserves supreme respect. This is true humanism. How respectworthy, then, are all of you who are striving so hard to spread the Mystic Law!


IT is impossible to achieve victory and glory without wisdom and strength. What matters in Buddhism is winning. It is the same with life. In fact, this applies to all things. Consequently we must win. Unless we emerge victorious, we cannot protect our friends; we cannot defend justice.


FINDING a teacher when you are young and receiving true guidance for life is the greatest glory of your youth. Once you have grasped this essential truth of life, you will not be distracted by vain trappings of wealth and fame, and you will not fear anything.


CONSCIENTIOUS performance in the work place leads to progress and prosperity; be it for the individual or group. In contrast, shoddy performance inevitably leads to failure.


A great revolution of character in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a society, and further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

26th January

CHANTING daimoku and doing shakubuku will set your life on an orbit of happiness which will last forever.


THE master's concern for his disciple is much more profound than the disciple may imagine. There is no greater misfortune for a disciple than to be unaware of this.


DAYS of stagnation produce a life of regression. With the passage of time, one who leads such a life is increasingly overcome by a sense of loneliness and regret. Faith lies precisely on constructing an existence in which you can find personal joy and satisfaction, and a state of life that affords you the hope and joy to live vigourously.


KOSEN-RUFU is a religious movement to illuminate the world with great wisdom just as the sun illuminates the earth. The idea is for each person to become a light of wisdom; when there are many such lights, the entire world will be illuminated. Kosen-rufu could be described as the grand "art" of revolutionising the inner state of one's life. In concrete terms, it comes down to the expansion of peace, culture and education.


THE only way to create a current of lasting peace is by forging heart-to-heart ties through wide ranging exchange relating to culture and education. The SGI is carrying out this grand experiment - testing and proving its validity - for the first time in the history of humankind. In our respective countries and communities, let us continue to sincerely and wholeheartedly contribute to grassroots diplomacy and peace-building in the 21st century.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

25th January

FOR what purpose should we cultivate wisdom? For what purpose is our faith? The answer is to win - to win in life, in society and as human beings; it is to win without fail so that we may secure happiness and create peace. People who have this are strong. People who have forgotten their purpose are weak.


NO one has only faults or only merits. We all have a mixture of both. Therefore, you should strive to develop and polish your positive attributes. As you do so, your shortcomings will fade until they are no longer apparent.


IT is indeed the case that "not to advance is to regress". Those who advance are filled with hope. Such people manifest courage. They live positive lives and know true fulfilment. Again, such people are able to produce meaningful results. It is for these reasons that they are happy.


BUDDHISM concerns itself primarily with victory or defeat. We must never allow ourselves to be defeated by obstructions on the road to kosen-rufu. Progress is made possible only by facing the tough reality of hardships and displaying proof of victory as Buddhists both in our personal lives and in society.


IN anything you do, you must have an objective or goal. No matter how seriously you may strive to achieve it, if you deviate from that course or give up your effort halfway before you achieve the goal, you will never make the exuberant feeling of accomplishment.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

24th January

IN any place, and at any time, voices chanting sincere daimoku with faith in the Gohonzon will be heard by the Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout time and space. Such voices will reverberate throughout the universe. Filled with a sense of pride, you should chant daimoku confident that the reverberations of your voice will carry as far as billions of light-years away. By cultivating faith of such great conviction you will be able to receive tremendous benefit.


FAITH enables us to transform not only our day to day problems but our lives at their very foundation. Through the Buddhist practice, we can develop a strong inner core and a solid and inexhaustible reservoir of good fortune.


IN any endeavour, whether the arts or sports or any other pursuits, the master-disciple relationships is both challenging and rewarding. In particular, how strict and yet compassionate the bond is between master and disciple in the practice of faith, which comprises the very fundamentals of life, and in the pursuit of the great goal of kosen-rufu.


NOTHING is more noble than a life dedicated to kosen-rufu. Such people are devoted not only to their own happiness but also that of others. They enjoy good health and a fulfilling life. They accumulate boundless good fortune and benefit. This is the ultimate way of life. And it is the absolute promise of Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.


ONE must not be so narrow-minded as to seek only to increase one's strength or exhibit one's capability. Doing so will obstruct the flow of kosen-rufu. The way to bring about a dynamic and powerful advances of kosen-rufu, like waves building upon waves lies in finding capable people, raising them and diverting them towards the goal of kosen-rufu.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

23rd January

THE Daishonin's Buddhism teaches us that the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo encompasses everything. For this reason, no matter what happens, we need simply continue chanting with confidence. Without being swayed in the least by untoward circumstances, let us continue proudly chanting resonant daimoku.


NO matter what anyone says, or even if, for instance we encounter from time to time unpleasant individuals along the way, we must not leave the SGI, because the correct practice of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism for the realisation of kosen-rufu is found only in the SGI.


EACH of you has a precious mission that only you can fulfill. Suffering people around the world are waiting for your brave endeavours. To neglect one's mission and seek only personal pleasure is a sign of selfishness. It is impossible for an egotistic, self-centred individual to truly love another person.


THE bond between parents and children is deep. But the bond that connects disciple with master is even stronger and deeper. The desire to seek a teacher is a lofty one, and the joy you experience when you find that teacher is enormous. Having a master is so important that it is said that you cannot trust a person who does not have a master.


THERE is no such thing as a life without trials and tribulations. A life without meeting obstacles is a weak one. One cannot depend on someone who has not had to overcome difficulties.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.

22nd January

SUCCESS can never be genuine unless it is based on the accumulation of steady and strenuous efforts, expended day by day and from moment to moment.


THE Mystic Law embraces the law of cause and effect, the absolute law that pervades all existence, both sentient and insentient. This is why our thoughts and actions, based on the Mystic Law, will not disappear without effects but will be registered in our lives, which are one with the great universe, and will shine for all eternity as infinite blessings and virtues.


A person who perseveres with genuine faith is able to accumulate genuine good fortune. Absolutely no one and nothing can destroy the happy state of life that we ourselves have constructed, or rob us of the blessings and virtues we have accumulated. On the contrary, every time we encounter a great persecution, we are able to open and cultivate a still more wonderful state of life.


THE richer our own hearts, our own humanity, the more we are able to recognise and value the humanity of others. Those who bully and belittle others only diminish their own humanity.


ALL of us in the SGI are “old friends of life”, “old friends across eternity”, precious beyond measure and linked by bonds from the ‘beginningless’ past. We have treasured this world of trust, friendship and fellowship. How sad and pitiful it is to betray and leave this beautiful realm! Those who abandon their faith travel on a course to tragic defeat in life.

NOTE: Visit http://nichirendaishoningosho.blogspot.com/ for Nichiren Daishonin's gosho, On Reprimanding Hachiman.