Challenging “Unbalanced Religious Archetypes”
Transforming Tendencies That Block Our Happiness World Tribune Sept 18, 2020 p. 11 Seeking salvation through an external, absolute being. Leaves people feeling powerless and condemned to suffer in their present life, giving rise to growing pessimism in society. The…
Faith
Each religion can be made a force for good or for evil by the people who practice it. A Buddha is not one who sits quietly in a remote world of enlightenment. A Buddha is one who never ceases to…
A Single Moment of Life
“Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is just such a ‘diligent’ practice.” This is a very profound statement. “Diligent” (or shojin in Japanese) here is composed of two Chinese characters. The Chinese character for sho means “pure” and refers to pure faith, while the character for jin means “ceaseless” and…
Two But Not Two
Oneness” and “connectedness” are themes that define Buddhism and Eastern thought for many Westerners.
Kill The Will To Kill
The following is an excerpt from “The Age of Soft Power,” SGI President Ikeda’s address on Sept. 26, 1991, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. The full text appears in My Dear Friends in America, second edition, pp. 122−31. One…
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Enlightenment
Buddhism regards all colors, all fragrances, all inanimate and living things—birds, beasts, humans, and flowers, every blade of grass and tree—all the varied and beautiful phenomena in the universe without exception, as manifestations of the Buddha nature. Words of Wisdom:…
Actual Proof In Buddhism
Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, declared: “In judging the relative merit of Buddhist doctrines, I, Nichiren, believe that the best standards are those of reason and documentary proof. And even more valuable than reason…
The Buddhist Teaching
The kalpa of decrease1 has its origin in the human heart. As the poisons of greed, anger, and foolishness gradually intensify, the life span of human beings gradually decreases and their stature diminishes. The world declines as a result of human delusion,…
The Great Vow for the Happiness of All Humanity
The Daishonin writes: “Each of you should summon up the courage of a lion king and never succumb to threats from anyone . . . Slanderers are like barking foxes, but Nichiren’s followers are like roaring lions” (“On Persecutions Befalling…
