Faced with stress, too many people feel they have nowhere to turn to, that they don't have access to the kind of friendships or communities where they can easily and openly share their problems and worries.
Daisaku IkedaNo matter what our personal circumstances may be, if we ourselves become a source of light, then there will be no darkness in the world.
Daisaku IkedaWe are not merely passive pawns of historical forces; nor are we victims of the past. We can shape and direct history.
Daisaku IkedaBuddhism holds that everything is in constant flux. Thus the question is whether we are to accept change passively and be swept away by it or whether we are to take the lead and create positive changes on our own initiative. 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