Develop a strong self with confidence and poise to face whatever vicissitudes you may encounter

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.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 20/11

How to overcome difficulities in life?

Whether we regard difficulties in life as misfortunes or whether we view them as good fortune depends entirely on how much we have forged our inner determination. It all depends on our attitude or inner state of life. With a dauntless spirit, we can lead a cheerful and thoroughly enjoyable life. We can develop a "self" of such fortitude that we can look forward to life's trials and tribulations with a sense of profound elation and joy: "Come on obstacles! I've been expecting you! This is the chance that I've been waiting for!"

Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda 27/10

Struggling against great difficulty enables us to develop ourselves tremendously and manifest those abilities lying dormant within us

Life is full of unexpected suffering. Even so, as Eleanor Roosevelt said: "If you can live through that [a difficult situation] you can live through anything. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." That's exactly right. Struggling against great difficulty enables us to develop ourselves tremendously. We can call forth and manifest those abilities lying dormant within us. Difficulty can be a source of dynamic growth and positive progress.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 22/3

In the Buddhist sense, being "at ease" does not mean freedom from difficulties; it means having the strength to meet and overcome any problem

According to Buddhism, health is not a condition in which we merely escape negative influences. It is a highly positive, active state in which we hold ourselves responsible for such influences, in which we face and try to solve various problems—not just our own but others' problems, too. The word disease implies a lack of ease, which conversely implies that health is a state of comfort. In the Buddhist sense, however, being "at ease" does not mean freedom from difficulties; it means having the strength to meet and overcome any problem.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda 24/2

To accept is easy; to continue is difficult

A passage from the Lotus Sutra reads that it is "the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand." Many hear about and accept this sutra, but when great obstacles arise, just as they were told would happen, few remember it and bear it firmly in mind. To accept is easy; to continue is difficult. But Buddhahood lies in continuing faith.

The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
The Difficulty of Sustaining Faith
Written to Shijo Kingo on March 6, 1275