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Daisaku Ikeda
January 1st 2024

If the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds. It is the same with a Buddha and an ordinary being. While deluded, one is called an ordinary being, but when enlightened, one is called a Buddha. This is similar to a tarnished mirror that will shine like a jewel when polished.

-Nichiren

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Daisaku Ikeda
December 31st 2023

Buddhism enables us to tap from within the depths of our beings the greatest courage and strongest life force there is. Buddhas are not destined for unhappiness or defeat. Those who practice Buddhism can definitely transform all adversity into something positive, irrespective of the troubled time in which they live, their personal circumstances or the hardships that befall them.

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Daisaku Ikeda
December 30th 2023

Defeat for a Buddhist lies not in encountering difficulties but rather in not challenging them. Difficulties only truly become our destiny if we run away from them. We must fight as long as we live.