BF4T 1105-1106 can be found at: http://www.sgi-usa.org/encouragement/

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Saturday, November 7, 2009

Throughout his life, Shakyamuni encouraged people with his clear, sonorous voice. A Buddhist text describes how Shakyamuni warmheartedly welcomed everyone he met, expressing his joy at seeing them. He showed affection, joy and gentleness in all his interactions. He greeted everyone with courtesy and respect. He never scowled or grimaced. And to put others at ease and encourage them to speak up, Shakyamuni would always break the ice by initiating the conversation. It was the power of Shakyamuni’s eloquence and sincerity that made it possible for Buddhism to gain wide acceptance among the people of his time.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Saturday, November 7, 2009 (Buddhism Day by Day)

True ease and comfort are not found in a quiet, uneventful life. This may sound paradoxical, but hardships bring about ease and comfort. For only by establishing strong individual lives capable of boldly challenging difficult obstacles can we find true “peace and security in this lifetime,” as the Lotus Sutra says.

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Saturday, November 7, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

I knew from the outset that, if I set aside my fears and declared things exactly as they are, I would be sentenced to death. And even if I should escape the death penalty, I would surely be condemned to exile. So great is the debt of gratitude I owe the Buddha, however, that I have not let others intimidate me, but have spoken out.

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 529
Letter to the Lay Priest Ichinosawa
Written to the wife of the lay priest Ichinosawa on May 8, 1275

For the 1102 Buddhist Food 4 Thought, check out: http://www.sgi-usa.org/encouragement/

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Buddhism places the highest value on human rights and seeks to ensure that human rights are respected. In caring for just one person, one tries to thoroughly protect and do everything he can for that person. One who respects and embraces the children of the Buddha in this way is a truly capable person and a true leader.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 (Buddhism Day by Day)

The Lotus Sutra is a scripture to be practiced. Its teachings are meant to be put into action. Our faith and study of Buddhist doctrine are enhanced and given life through actual practice. Nichiren Buddhism is not a teaching of quiet contemplation and meditation; it is a teaching of action. Failing to translate the teachings of Buddhism into action is to go against Buddhism‚’s fundamental spirit.

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

Your boils have resulted from only one offense?Slandering the correct teaching. The Mystic Law you now embrace surpasses the moon-loving meditation. How could your boils possibly not be healed and your life span not extended?

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 634
On Curing Karmic Disease
Written to the lay priest Ota Jomyo on November 3, 1275

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Daishonin has taught us that through gongyo and chanting daimoku we can reach an elevated state in which, while engaged in our daily lives, we travel throughout the entire universe. When you worship the Gohonzon, the door to your microcosm is opened to the entire universe, the macrocosm, and you experience a great, boundless joy, as if you were looking out over the entire cosmos. You feel great satisfaction and rejoicing, a great wisdom, as if you held the entire universe in your palm.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Sunday, November 1, 2009 (Buddhism Day by Day)

Buddhism is not a religion that closes its eyes to people‚’s suffering; it is a teaching that opens people‚’s eyes. Therefore, Buddhism is the path that enables people to become happy. To turn away our eyes from the contradictions of society and rid ourselves of all worldly thoughts is not the way of Buddhist practice. The true spirit of mediation lies in manifesting our innate wisdom in society and resolutely struggling for the happiness of ourselves and others, and to construct a better society.

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Sunday, November 1, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

It must be ties of karma from the distant past that have destined you to become my disciple at a time like this. Shakyamuni and Many Treasures certainly realized this truth. The sutra’s statement, “Those persons who had heard the Law dwelled here and there in various Buddha lands, constantly reborn in company with their teachers,” cannot be false in any way.

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 217
The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life
Written to Sairen-bo Nichijo on February 11, 1272

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Saturday, October 31, 2009

It is only natural that sometimes we fall sick. But we must see that sickness as a sickness that originally exists in life, based on the principle of the Mystic Law. In other words, there is no reason to allow yourself to be controlled by illness, for it to fill your life with suffering and distress. From the standpoint of eternal life through the three existences, your fundamentally happy self is incontrovertibly established.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Saturday, October 31, 2009 (Buddhism Day by Day)

Death does not discriminate; it strips of us everything. Fame, wealth and power are all useless in the unadorned reality of the final moments of life. When the time comes, we will have only ourselves to rely on. This is a solemn confrontation that we must face armed only with our raw humanity, the actual record of what we have done, how we have chosen to live our lives, asking, “Have I lived true to myself? What have I contributed to the world? What are my satisfactions or regrets?”

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Saturday, October 31, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

Question: Is it possible, without understanding the meaning of the Lotus Sutra, but merely by chanting the five or seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo once a day, once a month, or simply once a year, once a decade, or once in a lifetime, to avoid being drawn into trivial or serious acts of evil, to escape falling into the four evil paths, and instead to eventually reach the stage of non-regression? Answer: Yes, it is.

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 141
The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra
Recipient unknown; written on January 6, 1266

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Friday, October 30, 2009

The Gohonzon is the concrete manifestation of the very existence of Nichiren Daishonin, who taught kosen-rufu. Because of that, if you only practice gongyo and chant daimoku and don’t take any other action for the sake of kosen-rufu or improving your own life, the Gohonzon will not have its true, full effect. If, however, you take actions to achieve kosen-rufu, they will serve as that extra push for your own life and help you leap to higher and higher states of mind in your gongyo and chanting as well.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Friday, October 30, 2009 (Buddhism Day by Day)

If you allow the passing of time to let you forget the lofty vows of your youth, you stand to block the source of your own boundless good fortune and sever the roots of limitless prosperity for your family and loved ones as well. Please never let this happen. Only by remaining steadfast to the vows we have made in our youth can we shine as true victors in life.

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Friday, October 30, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

Shakyamuni’s practices and the virtues he consequently attained are all contained within the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo. If we believe in these five characters, we will naturally be granted the same benefits as he was.

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 365
The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period af the Thus Come One’s Passing
Written to Toki Jonin on April 25, 1273

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Thursday, October 29, 2009

Gongyo is a practice that calls forth and activates the infinite power that the microcosm inherently possesses. It transforms your fate, breaks through any apparent dead ends and converts sufferings into happiness. It creates a transformation, a revolution of the microcosm. It is a diagram in miniature of kosen-rufu in our lives.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Thursday, October 29, 2009 ( Buddhism Day by Day)

As you meet various trials and difficulties, thus polishing all the many facets of the jewel which is life, you will learn to walk that supreme pathway of humanity. Of this, I am confident, and I am confident too that those who embrace life‚’s native creativity now stand and will continue to stand in the vanguard of history. Bringing the creativity of life to its fullest flowering is the work of human revolution. Carrying out this kind of human revolution is your mission now as it will be throughout your lives.

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Thursday, October 29, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

If a boat is handled by an unskilled steersman, it may capsize and drown everyone aboard. Likewise, though someone may have great physical strength, if he lacks a resolute spirit, even his many abilities will be of no use.

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 614
The Supremacy of the Law
Written to Oto and her mother, Nichimyo, on August 4, 1275

10/24-10/27 Buddhist Food 4 Thought can be found at: http://www.sgi-usa.org/encouragement/

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

It may seem perfectly all right to put ourselves and our own wishes first, to simply follow the dictates of our emotions and cravings, but the truth is that there is nothing more unreliable than our own mind. Life doesn’t always go like clockwork and things will not necessarily turn out as we hope or plan. Consequently, Nichiren Daishonin frequently stressed: You should become the master of your mind, not let your mind master you. We mustn’t allow ourselves to be ruled by a self-centered mind. Rather, we have to discipline our mind and gain mastery over it. This is the Daishonin’s strict admonition.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 (Buddhism Day by Day)

Shakyamuni Buddha explained the fundamental spirit of Buddhism as a sense of individual responsibility. “You are your only master. Who else? Subdue yourself and discover your master.” In other words, we must each take responsibility for our own self-discipline and for cultivating meaningful lives.

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

Showing profound compassion for those unable to comprehend the gem of the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, the Buddha wrapped it within the five characters [of Myoho-renge-kyo], with which he then adorned the necks of the ignorant people of the latter age.

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 376
The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind Established in the Fifth Five-Hundred-Year Period after the Thus Come One’s Passing
Written to Toki Jonin on April 25, 1273

The Buddhist Food for Thought for 10/19-10/22 can be found at: http://www.sgi-usa.org/encouragement/

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 1000
The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra
Written to Shijo Kingo on October 23, 1279

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Sunday, October 18, 2009

A victor is one whose life shines with faith. Emerson, one of the favorite writers of my youth, once said, “That which befits us…is cheerfulness and courage, and the endeavor to realize our aspirations.” To advance toward our dreams cheerfully, to courageously work toward achieving them-this is what gives sublime meaning and value to our lives.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Sunday, October 18, 2009 (Buddhism Day by Day)

Such things as money, fame, and material possessions offer a fleeting satisfaction, something that can be called relative happiness. However, when we transform our lives internally, when we develop within ourselves a brilliant inner palace, then we can be said to have established absolute happiness. If we develop a state of mind as vast and resplendent as a magnificent palace, then nothing-no matter where we go or what we may encounter in life-can undermine or destroy our happiness.

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Sunday, October 18, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

Without exception, all these Buddhas, bodhisattvas, great sages, and, in general, all the various beings of the two worlds and the eight groups who appear in the “Introduction” chapter of the Lotus Sutra dwell in the Gohonzon. Illuminated by light of the five characters of the Mystic Law, they display the dignified attributes they inherently possess. This is the object of devotion.

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 832
The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon
Written to Nichinyo on August 23, 1277