The compassion and the wisdom of Buddhas.

Buddhas respect people's individuality, and desire that they may freely manifest their unique qualities. They are neither partial nor adverse toward people on account of their individual proclivities. Buddhas love, rejoice at and try to bring out each person's uniqueness; this is their compassion and their wisdom.

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 13/1

Why Daishonin summon up a mind of great compassion?

I view things through the Buddha eye, I see the living beings in the six paths, how poor and distressed they are, without merit or wisdom, how they enter the perilous road of birth and death, their sufferings continuing with never a break, how deeply they are attached to the five desires, like a yak enamored of its tail, blinding themselves with greed and infatuation, their vision so impaired they can see nothing. They do not seek the Buddha, with his great might, or the Law that can end their sufferings, but enter deeply into erroneous views, hoping to shed suffering through greater suffering. For the sake of these living beings I summon up a mind of great compassion. -The Lotus Sutra

Buddhism Day by Day
Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 15/10

What is compassion?

Wisdom, not might, is the most important thing. Wisdom and compassion are deeply connected. Giving earnest thought to others' welfare, asking ourselves what can we do to help—using our minds in this way is a sign of compassion.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 22/11

How to bring forth from within ourselves the "three bodies of the Buddha," which are truth, wisdom and compassion?

By wholeheartedly and directly meeting life's challenges, we bring forth from within ourselves the "three bodies of the Buddha," which are truth, wisdom and compassion. The light of this internal wisdom constantly encourages and guides us toward true and correct action.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 1/8

Compassion is in humanistic actions that Nichiren Buddhism lives and breathes.

Compassion is the very soul of Buddhism. To pray for others, making their problems and anguish our own; to embrace those who are suffering, becoming their greatest ally; to continue giving them our support and encouragement until they become truly happy—it is in such humanistic actions that Nichiren Buddhism lives and breathes.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 29*7

The Buddha knows no path of living apart from that of living with compassion

The Buddha keenly understands various sufferings as though his own children were experiencing them. Sorrow and empathy well from his life. A Buddha is a person of compassion. Josei Toda said: "Compassion is not a Buddhist austerity. It is something that should be expressed unconsciously and naturally in one's actions, and in the workings of one's heart. The Buddha knows no path of living apart from that of living with compassion."

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 22/6

It is important to develop your character to become a great river of compassion and wisdom, overflowing with boundless invincibility and passion

It is important to develop your character to be as powerful as a mighty river. Continue to advance bravely in the face of every challenge, paying no heed to the obstacles in your way. Become a great river of bottomless compassion and wisdom, overflowing with boundless invincibility and passion.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 30/3

The essence of Buddhism is compassion and/or courage

There was a word that second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda often stressed with the fervent wish to impart its importance to his successors. That word was courage. He once gave this clear-cut guidance: " The essence of Buddhism is compassion. We, too, need to have compassion but, being ordinary mortals, the reality is that it is quite difficult for us. Courage substitutes for compassion. I am speaking of the courage to save others from suffering. To practice Buddhism with courage translates into compassion."

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 11/2

Strive ever harder in faith, and never give in to conplacent

Strive ever harder in faith, and never give in to negligence. All the people appear to believe sincerely when they first embrace the Lotus Sutra, but as time passes, they tend to become less devout; they no longer revere nor make offerings to the priest, giving themselves up to arrogance and forming distorted views. This is most frightening. 25/11

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Letter to Niike
Written to Niike Saemon-no-jo in February 1280

The compassion of Shakyamuni

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. 7/11

Wisdom and Compassion

To possess both wisdom and compassion is the heart of our human revolution. If you have wisdom alone and lack compassion, it will be a cold, perverse wisdom. If you have compassion alone and lack wisdom, you cannot give happiness to others. You are even likely to lead them in the wrong direction, and you won't be able to achieve your own happiness. 20/4

Courage and compassion are inseparable

Without courage we cannot be compassionate. Courage and compassion are inseparable, like the two sides of a coin. Faith is the wellspring of courage. The Daishonin says, "Nichiren's disciples cannot accomplish anything if they are cowardly," (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 128). A cowardly person cannot realize victory in life. Unless we have the courage to really dedicate our lives to kosen-rufu, we cannot construct true happiness for ourselves and others. 23/2

Forgetfulness is bad

Remembering things about a person is an expression of compassion and concern. Forgetfulness shows a lack of compassion, a lack of responsibility. 13/2

Buddhism Day by Day

Open up your heart
The heart of one person moves another's. If one's own heart is closed, then the doors of other people's hearts will also shut tight. On the other hand, someone who makes all those around him or her into allies, bathing them in the sunlight of spring, will be treasured by all. 10/8


Faith and daily life, and faith and work are one
Faith and daily life, faith and work—these are not separate things. They are one and the same. To think of them as separate—that faith is faith, and work is work—is theoretical faith. Based on the recognition that work and faith are one and the same, we should put 100 percent of our energy into our jobs and 100 percent into our faith, too. When we resolve to do this, we enter the path of victory in life. Faith means to show irrefutable proof of victory amid the realities of society and in our own daily lives. 9/8


Uses of Religion
Depending on the use to which it is put, religion can be a demonic force. Religion should bring us together, but it is exploited by some to create greater schisms among us. Nothing could be more unfortunate. Religion must always be for the people. People do not exist for the sake of religion. This must be the fundamental guideline of religion in the twenty-first century. 8/8


Friend and sincerity
The people we are close to are important. We should treat them as our treasures. When dealing with others, we should always be sincere and polite. Nothing is stronger than sincerity. I have made many friends around the world and made them all with the same sincerity. A relationship built with sincerity will never be destroyed, but relationships build by means of tactics and scheming always collapse in the end. 7/8


Prayers and Vows in Nichiren Buddhism
Prayer in Nichiren Buddhism is fundamentally a vow. It is a pledge or commitment to follow a chosen course of action; it is a declaration to challenge a clear objective. As such, how could anything be more wonderful than the vow to realize our personal human revolution and actualize the goal of world peace? 6/8


Buddhist Optimism
Buddhist optimism is not the escapist optimism of those who throw up their hands and say, "Somehow or other things will work out." Rather it means clearly recognizing evil as evil and suffering as suffering and resolutely fighting to overcome it. It means believing in one's ability and strength to struggle against any evil or any obstacle. It is to possess a fighting optimism. 5/8


Rhythms of Life
In Buddhist terms, the great universe and the self—the great macrocosm and the microcosm—are one. Since the self and all phenomena are one, all things are interrelated. Termed dependent origination, this teaching explains that all things weave a single whole in which individuals live in relation to all others.
In other words, all beings and phenomena exist or occur because of their relationship with other beings and phenomena, and nothing in either the human or the nonhuman world exists in isolation. All things are mutually related to and interdependent with all other things. They all form a great cosmos maintaining the rhythms of life. 4/8


Power of faith and chanting Nam myoho renge kyo
Be resolved to summon forth the great power of faith, and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with the prayer that your faith will be steadfast and correct at the moment of death. Never seek any other way to inherit the ultimate Law of life and death, and manifest it in your life. Only then will you realize that earthly desires are enlightenment, and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. Even embracing the Lotus Sutra would be useless without the heritage of faith. -Nichiren 3/8


Why was Shakyamuni Buddha so respected?
Why was Shakyamuni Buddha so respected? One of the reasons was the power of his voice. His voice is recorded as "beautiful, sweet like honey, warm and graceful, resounding and clear." He is also described as an individual who "speaks brightly, remarks brightly, narrates gracefully, talks clearly, expresses himself eloquently to make himself understood."
Shakyamuni called to anybody who visited him, "Welcome, welcome." It is expounded that he associated with people with his friendliness, joy and gentleness. He always politely greeted any person he encountered. He never greeted them in an unfriendly manner. It is said that he first opened his mouth to speak to the other person so that he or she would have an easier time to open up to Shakyamuni. 2/8


Three Bodies of Buddha
By wholeheartedly and directly meeting life's challenges, we bring forth from within ourselves the "three bodies of the Buddha," which are truth, wisdom and compassion. The light of this internal wisdom constantly encourages and guides us toward true and correct action. 1/8

Courage and compassion in Buddhism

There was a word that second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda often stressed with the fervent wish to impart its importance to his successors. That word was courage. He once gave this clear-cut guidance. "The essence of Buddhism is compassion, We, too, need to have compassion but, being ordinary mortals, the reality is that it is quite difficult for us. Courage substitutes for compassion. I am speaking of the courage to save others from suffering. To practice Buddhism with courage translates into compassion."