Daisaku Ikeda famous quotes

What may look like a small act of courage is courage nevertheless. The important thing is to be willing to take a step forward.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Important #Looks #May

An attitude of compassion does not mean looking down on someone, pitying them in their misery. Compassion is based on respect. We discuss life as equals, learn from each other and strive together to improve our lives.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Attitude #Mean #Compassion

What matters is the value we’ve created in our lives, the people we’ve made happy and how much we’ve grown as people.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#What Matters #People #Made

I cannot say this too strongly: Do not compare yourselves to others. Be true to who you are, and continue to learn with all your might.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Might #Compare #Being True

Freedom doesn't mean the absence of all restrictions. It means possessing unshakable conviction in the face of any obstacle.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Mean #Insperational #Faces

People who are rooted in the here and now, who are not defeated by their limitations, who don’t compare themselves to others, who confidently advance along their chosen path-such people are happy, such people are truly great.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#People #Path #Defeated

Envying another's beauty will diminish your own. But when you praise beauty in others your own beauty deepens.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Attitude #Praise

True love should be transformative; a process that amplifies our capacity to cherish not just one person but all people. It can make us stronger, lift us higher and deepen us as individuals. Only to the extent that we polish ourselves now can we hope to develop wonderful bonds of the heart in the future.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Heart #People #Stronger

The human spirit is as expansive as the cosmos. This is why it is so tragic to belittle yourself or to question your worth. No matter what happens, continue to push back the boundaries of your inner life. The confidence to prevail over any problem, the strength to overcome adversity and unbounded hope — all reside within you.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Adversity #Overcoming #Cosmos

With love and patience, nothing is impossible.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Love #Patience #Not Giving Up

All right, let's get to work again!-This is the spirit of people of genuine substance. Those who avoid hard work or neglect the things they have to do, who just while away their time, eating, sleeping, playing, watching television-such individuals will never experience true happiness, satisfaction or joy.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Sleep #Hard Work #People

If we look at the world with a love of life, the world will reveal its beauty to us.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Beauty #Love Life #Looks

Adversity gives birth to greatness. The greater the challenges and difficulties we face, the greater the opportunity we have to grow and develop as people. A life without adversity, a life of ease and comfort, produces nothing and leaves us with nothing. This is one of the indisputable facts of life.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Adversity #Opportunity #Greatness

Rather than becoming discouraged, know that encountering a wall is proof of the progress that you have made so far.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Wall #Progress #Becoming

To be fearless no matter what happens-that is the root of true happiness. To move forward resolutely regardless of what lies in store-that is the spirit, the resolve, that leads to human victory.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Lying #Moving #Roots

Living here on Earth, we breathe the rhythms of a universe that extends infinitely above us. When resonant harmonies arise between this vast outer cosmos and the inner human cosmos, poetry is born.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Cosmos #Earth #Breathe

Prayer is the way to destroy all fear. It is the way to banish sorrow, the way to light a torch of hope. It is the revolution that rewrites the scenario of our destiny.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Prayer #Destiny #Light

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. To turn even sorrow into a source of creativity - this is the way of life of a Buddhist
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Buddhist #Mean #Creativity

Let us give something to each person we meet: joy, courage, hope, assurance, or philosophy, wisdom, a vision for the future. Let us always give something.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Inspirational #Philosophy #Giving

Keep moving forward, even one or two steps, in your own way. Those who live out their lives to the fullest, unperturbed by the noisy clamor around them, are the true winners.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Moving #Two #Way

The power of growth, of improvement, the power to overcome all stagnation and break through every obstacle and transform a barren wasteland into a verdant field - that unstoppable power of hope resides right within your own heart. It wells up from the rich earth of your innermost being when you face the future without doubt or fear: "I can do more. I can grow. I can become a bigger and better human being."
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Heart #Hopeful #Doubt

While it is important to win, it’s even more important to remain undefeated no matter what happens.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Winning #Important #Matter

Humanity has experienced many revolutionary changes over the course of history: revolutions in agriculture, in science, industrial production, as well as numerous political revolutions. But these have all been limited to the external aspects of our individual and collective lives.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Agriculture #Political #Humanity

It is crucial that we develop real awareness of ourselves as citizens of Earth, linked by mutual and indissoluble bonds. When we clearly recognize this reality and ground ourselves in it, we are compelled to take a strict accounting of our way of life.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Real #Citizens #Earth

Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Creativity #Mean #Doorways

Ultimately, all human activities have as their goal the realization of happiness. Why, then, have we ended up producing the opposite result? Could the underlying cause be our failure to correctly understand the true nature of happiness?
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Opposites #Goal #Realization

Even if things don't unfold the way you expected, don't be disheartened or give up. One who continues to advance will win in the end.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Inspirational #Peace #Giving Up

A truley heroic way of life lies in squarely confronting and courageously overcoming the pounding vicissitudes that life always throws in our paths
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Lying #Hero #Overcoming

No matter how complex global problems may seem, it is we ourselves who have given rise to them. They cannot be beyond our power to resolve
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Future #Vision #May

Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Peace #Advancement #Starting

Increase your joy by doing the good you wish to have done to you.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Joy #Wish #Done

No matter how hopeless or bleak things appear, the moment always comes when suddenly our spirit revives, and hope is reborn. That is why we must never give up.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Giving Up #Matter #Spirit

You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life. This is not an easy struggle. Indeed, it may be the most difficult task in the world, for opening the door to your own life is, in the end, more difficult than opening the doors to the mysteries of the universe.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Giving Up #Struggle #Creativity

We are responsible for our own destiny. What matters is how we improve ourselves from this moment forward.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Destiny #What Matters #Moments

In most cases, our so-called limitations are nothing more than our own decision to limit ourselves.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Decision #Limits #Cases

A genuinely happy person is one who has rendered others happy.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Happy Person #Persons

I firmly believe that the mission of religion in the 21st century must be to contribute concretely to the peaceful coexistence of humankind.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Believe #Peaceful #Century

The determination to win is the better part of winning.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Determination #Winning

Dialogue and education for peace can help free our hearts from the impulse toward intolerance and the rejection of others.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Heart #Rejection #Helping

Dialogue starts from the courageous willingness to know and be known by others. It is the painstaking and persistent effort to remove all obstacles that obscure our common humanity.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Effort #Humanity #Common

When human beings live together, conflict is inevitable. War is not.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#War #Together #Conflict

Rather than turning away from the staggering scale and depth of misery caused by war, we must strive to develop our capacity to empathize and feel the sufferings of others.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#War #Suffering #Depth

It is natural for us, as human beings, to look forward. Our eyes naturally look ahead. In this sense, we are made for moving toward a goal.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Moving #Eye #Goal

Bravely overcoming one small fear gives you the courage to take on the next.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Giving #Fearless #Overcoming

There are no greater treasures than the highest human qualities such as compassion, courage and hope. Not even tragic accident or disaster can destroy such treasures of the heart.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Courage #Heart #Compassion

You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Giving Up #Creativity #Mean

Why doesn't constant trampling defeat the dandelion? The key to its strength is its long and sturdy root, which extends deep into the earth. The same priciple applies to people. The true victors in life are those who, enduring repeated challenges and setbacks, have sent the roots of their being to such a depth that nothing can shake them.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Keys #Roots #Long

What is defeat in life? It is not merely making a mistake; defeat means giving up on yourself in the midst of difficulty. What is true success in life? True success means winning in your battle with yourself. Those who persist in the pursuit of their dreams, no matter what the hurdles, are winners in life, for they have won over their weaknesses.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Dream #Giving Up #Mistake

It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Imperfection #Criticism #Gains

Life can unfold unlimitedly as long as we have a heart of appreciation and an undefeated mind.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Appreciation #Heart #Long

Hardships make us strong. Problems give birth to wisdom. Sorrows cultivate compassion. Those who have suffered the most will become the happiest.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Strong #Compassion #Giving

When we change, the world changes. The key to all change is in our inner transformation- a change of our hearts and minds. This is human revolution. We all have the power to change. When we realize this truth, we can bring forth that power anywhere, anytime, and in any situation.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Heart #Keys #Mind

A Great Work of Art is one that truly moves and inspires you. You yourself must be moved. Don't look at art with others' eyes. Don't listen to music with others' ears. You must react to art with your own feelings, your own heart and mind.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Art #Moving #Eye

Never be shaken, no matter what happens or what others may say. Never be flustered; never lose confidence. This is the way we should strive to live our lives. Being able to do so is a sign of genuine character.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Character #May #Matter

A healthy vision of the future is not possible without an accurate knowledge of the past.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Past #Healthy #Vision

A truly beautiful person is one who is good at discovering beauty.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Beautiful #Beautiful Person #Discovering

Being sincere, dedicated and honest is the key. People of integrity triumph in the end.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Integrity #Keys #People

True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Strong #Mean #Trying

People who cease to grow can't inspire others. Leadership begins with challenging oneself.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#People #Challenges #Inspire

In life when we feel we have reached a limit, that is when the true battle begins. Just when you despair and think it is impossible to go any further, will you become apathetic, or will you say it's not over and stand up with an unyielding spirit? The battle is decided by this single determination.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Determination #Thinking #Despair

The place where you are now is vital. The path toward victory opens from where you stand.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Victory #Path #Where You Are

There is no one as strong as a person whose heart is always filled with gratitude.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Gratitude #Strong #Attitude

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

#Life #Single #Peace

A person, who no matter how desperate the situation, gives others hope, is a true leader.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Leadership #Hope #Giving

The person who lives life fully, glowing with life’s energy, is the person who lives a successful life.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Successful #Glowing #Energy

Self-centered anger generates evil, but wrath at social injustice becomes the driving force for reform. Strong language that censures and combats a great evil often awakens adverse reactions from society, but this must not intimidate those who believe they are right. A lion is a lion because he roars.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Strong #Believe #Self

Everything begins with the resolve to take the first step. From that action, wisdom arises and change begins. Without action, nothing changes.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Happy Life #Firsts #Steps

It is precisely when we have suffered defeat that we can determine to win and open the path to future victory.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Winning #Victory #Path

Sometimes we complain without thinking much of it, but the frightening thing about complaining is that every time we do, a cloud descends over our heart, and our hope, appreciation and joy gradually wane.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Appreciation #Attitude #Heart

Before comparing yourself with others, win the battle with yourself. Strive to be better today than yesterday, and better tomorrow than today.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Attitude #Winning #Yesterday

it is impossible to build one's own happiness on the unhappiness of others. This perspective is at the heart of Buddhist teachings.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Karma #Peace #Buddhist

The misfortune of others is our misfortune. Our happiness is the happiness of others. To see ourselves in others and feel an inner oneness and sense of unity with them represents a fundamental revolution in the way we view and live our lives. Therefore, discriminating against another person is the same as discriminating against oneself. When we hurt another, we are hurting ourselves. And when we respect others, we respect and elevate our own lives as well.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Hurt #Views #Oneness

Many things happen in life. There are joyous days and times of suffering. Sometimes unpleasant things occur. But that's what makes life so interesting. The dramas we encounter are part and parcel of being human. If we experienced no change or drama in our lives, if nothing unexpected ever happened, we would merely be like automatons, our lives unbearably monotonous and dull. Therefore, please develop a strong self so that you can enact the drama of your life with confidence and poise in the face of whatever vicissitudes you may encounter.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Strong #Drama #Self

Life isn't always smooth. If it were, we would never grow & develop as human beings. If we succeed, we are envied; if we fail, we are ridiculed & attacked. Sadly, this is how people are. Unexpected grief & suffering may lie ahead of you. But it is precisely when you encounter such trying times that you must not be defeated. NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER RETREAT!
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Giving Up #Lying #Grief

Our voice resonates with life. Because this is so, it can touch the lives of others. The caring and compassion imbued in your voice finds passage to the listener's soul, striking his or her heart and causing it to sing out; the human voice summons something profound from deep within, and can even compel a person into action.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Heart #Caring #Compassion

So long as human history continues, we will face the perennial challenge of realizing, maintaining and strengthening peace through dialogue, of making dialogue the sure and certain path to peace. We must uphold and proclaim this conviction without cease, whatever coldly knowing smiles or cynical critiques may greet us.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Knowing #Long #Cynical

People can only live fully by helping others to live. When you give life to friends you truly live. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respecting natural life can humanity continue to exist.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Helping Others #People #Giving

Faith is to fear nothing, to stand unswayed, the power to surmount any obstacle.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Obstacles #Fear Nothing

Courage and compassion are two sides of the same coin. Compassion without courage is not genuine. You may have a compassionate thought or impulse, but if you don’t do or say anything, it’s not real compassion.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Real #Compassion #Two

To communicate the truths of history is an act of hope for the future.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Hope For The Future #Communicate

The greatest tragedy in life is not to die, it is to live as if dead, to let the life within us wither. Toward what goal or achievement are we striving in life? This is the important question to ask ourselves.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Goal #Achievement #Tragedy

Leave behind the passive dreaming of a rose-tinted future. The energy of happiness exists in living today with roots sunk firmly in reality's soil.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Karma #Dream #Peace

How aware are we of our own inner life, our spirituality-something so intangible yet so priceless? How much effort do we make to perceive that which is not obvious, which can neither be seen nor heard? I believe the exploration and enrichment of the human spirit is what determines our very humanity. Such enrichment provides an inner compass that can lead civilizations to greatness.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Karma #Believe #Greatness

The institutions of human society treat us as parts of a machine. They assign us ranks and place considerable pressure upon us to fulfill defined roles. We need something to help us restore our lost and distorted humanity. Each of us has feelings that have been suppressed and have built up inside. There is a voiceless cry resting in the depths of our souls, waiting for expression. Art gives the soul's feelings voice and form.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Art #Peace #Expression

Life is painful. It has thorns, like the stem of a rose. Culture and art are the roses that bloom on the stem. The flower is yourself, your humanity. Art is the liberation of the humanity inside yourself.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Karma #Art #Peace

The heart is what is important." There is nothing more vulnerable, nothing more corruptible than the human mind; nor is there anything as powerful, steadfast and ennobling.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Powerful #Heart #Mind

Reality is harsh. It can be cruel and ugly. Yet no matter how much we grieve over our environment and circumstances nothing will change. What is important is not to be defeated, to forge ahead bravely. If we do this, a path will open before us.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Reality #Grieving #Important

A person's true nature is revealed at times of the greatest adversity.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Adversity #Persons

Rise to the challenges that life presents you. You can't develop genuine character and ability by sidestepping adversity and struggle.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Struggle #Character #Adversity

Let us join our efforts toward building the unshakable foundations for a culture of peace.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Teamwork #Effort #Foundation

Culture is an elevated expression of the inner voice which the different peoples of the Earth have heard in the depths of their being, a voice which conveys the vibrant compassion and wisdom of the cosmic life. For different cultures to engage in interaction is to catalyze each other's souls and foster mutual understanding.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Karma #Peace #Compassion

What our world most requires now is the kind of education that foster love for humankind, that develops character-that provides an intellectual basis for realization of peace and empowers learners to contribute to and improve society.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Character #Our World #Empowering

No matter how healthy, intelligent or affluent we may be, if our minds are weak, then our happiness will also be frail and brittle. Our minds of faith, moreover, enable us to bring out the full potential in all things and situations, so it is crucial that we strive to forge our minds of faith.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Intelligent #Healthy #Mind

It's important to resolve to yourself, 'I will absolutely win!' Then this firm commitment will serve as the wellspring of great wisdom and courage that surges forth from within.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Commitment #Winning #Important

We can bring brilliant flowers of victory to bloom in our lives when we weather the hardships of winter and emerge triumphant based on our practice of the Mystic Law. The key to victories lies in how hard we struggle when we are in winter, how wisely we use this time and how meaningful we live each day confident that spring will definitely come.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Meaningful #Spring #Lying

What we need most is to restore and revive our humanity. We must create a society where people can live with dignity, a society where people can live in peace and happiness. People are tired of games played for power and profit. People are tired of hatred and conflict. They want to live with more wisdom and confidence, and in peace. It may seem like a long and distant path, but I am convinced that the 21st century must see a movement to sow the seeds of peace, happiness and trust in every person's heart. The seeds of a truly humane way of life. I am convinced this is the only path.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Tired #Heart #Games

Only when we connect to nature, engaged with nature, are we truly alive and vigorous. To really be alive, one must be under the sun, the moon, the shining stars and surrounded by the beautiful greenery and pure waters of the natural world.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Beautiful #Nature #Stars

While conservatism and self-protection might be likened to winter, night, and death, the spirit of pioneering and attempting to realize ideals evokes images of spring, morning, and birth.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Morning #Spring #Winter

The course of our lives is determined by how we react--what we decide and what we do--at the darkest of times. The nature of that response determines a person's true worth and greatness.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Greatness #Determined #Life Is

We have both a weak self and a strong self; the two are completely different. If we allow our weak side to dominate, we will be defeated. The thought ,"I am still young and have a lot of time, so I can relax and take life easy" is a function of our own weakness.
-- Daisaku Ikeda

#Strong #Self #Two