HOBEN (EXPEDIENT MEANS) AND JURYO CHAPTERS (LIFE SPAN OF THE THUS COME ONE) OF THE LOTUS SUTRA [40]

[40] SUN OF ETERNAL JOY, ARISE ABOVE THE SEA OF SUFFERING

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The Solemn Assembly on Eagle Peak Has Not Yet Disbanded

• The Daishonin interprets “single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha” as meaning: “to see one’s own mind is to see the Buddha.”
• When we chant Daimoku to the Gohonzon, we are taking our places at the solemn ceremony of the assembly at Eagle Peak.
• The SGI is a gathering of Bodhisattvas of the Earth who, just as in the ceremony on Eagle Peak, have appeared in order to lead all people of the Latter Day to enlightenment and so fulfil their eternal vow.

Ga ji go shujo. Jo zai shi fu-metsu. I ho-ben-rikko. Gen u metsu fumetsu. Yo-koku u shuko. Kugyo shingyo sha. Gab u o hi chu. I setsu mujo ho. Nyoto fu mon shi. Tan ni ga metsu-do. Ga ken sho shuko. Motsu-zai o kukai. Ko fu I gen shin. Ryo go sho katsugo. In go shin renbo. Nai shutsu I seppo.

At that time I tell the living beings that I am always here, never entering extinction, but that because of the power of an expedient means at times I appear to be extinct, at other times not, and that if there are living beings in other lands who are reverent and sincere in their wish to believe, then among them too I will preach the unsurpassed Law. But you have not heard of this, so you suppose that I enter extinction. When I look at living beings. I see them drowned in a sea of suffering; therefore I do not show myself, causing them to thirst for me. Then when their minds are filled with yearning, at last I appear and preach the Law for them.

The Buddha Is Like A Sun Among The People

• The Buddha, likewise, is always present in the world. “I am always here, never entering extinction” – this describes the true aspect of the Buddha’s life. But if the Buddha were to remain constantly at people’s sides, they would become utterly dependent on him. And so, to cause his disciples to become self-reliant, Shakyamuni, employing the “power of an expedient means,” “at times appears to be extinct, at other times not.” That is, he gives the appearance of sometimes dying, sometimes living.
• The Buddha appears and expounds the unsurpassed Law where there are people who sincerely believe in him – wherever they may be. In terms of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, the Buddha who is always here in the world and never enters extinction is the Gohonzon, or the Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo Thus Come One.

HOBEN (EXPEDIENT MEANS) AND JURYO CHAPTERS (LIFE SPAN OF THE THUS COME ONE) OF THE LOTUS SUTRA [39]

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[39] A SEEKING ATTITUDE MAKES OUR LIVES SHINE

Shu ken ga metsu-do. Ko kuyo shari. Gen kai e renbo. Ni sho katsu-go shin. Shujo ki shin buku. Shichi-jiki I nyunan. Isshin yokken butsu. Fu ji shaku shinmyo. Jig a gyu shuso. Ku shutsu ryojusen.

When the multitude see that I have passed into extinction, far and wide they offer alms to my relics. All harbour thoughts of yearning and in their minds thirst to gaze at me. When living beings have become truly faithful, honest and upright, gentle in intent, single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha, not hesitating even if it costs them their lives, then I and the assembly of monks appear together on Holy Eagle Peak.

• Gongyo, in the morning and evening, is a ceremony fusing the microcosm of our own lives in choral melody with the macrocosm of the universe.

The Spirit Of Yearning For The Buddha

• From the Buddha’s perspective, nirvana is an expedient means. In truth, the Buddha is always at our sides. People have a hard time grasping this truth. But when the Buddha dies, they develop a seeking spirit for – they year for and thirst to gaze upon – the Buddha.
• The relationship between a Buddha and his disciples is not limited to a single lifetime. Fundamentally, the mentor-disciple relationship is maintained eternally over the three existences of past, present and future.
• The highest offering to the Buddha is not to worship something reminiscent of the Buddha. Rather, it is to inherit the Buddha’s spirit. In other words, the highest offering lies in struggling to manifest – as one’s own spirit.
• The most miserable person deserves to become the happiest. This is Buddhism. This is the Daishonin’s spirit.
• Faith is to maintain a seeking mind toward – and not to forget – the Gohonzon, no matter what our circumstances. When we seek the Buddha with an honest and pure spirit – like that of a child in search of his or her mother calling “Mommy!” or a mother embracing her child – a place of indestructible happiness arises in our hearts.

The Object of Worship

• When we worship the Gohonzon – even though we may not be aware of it – the Gohonzon appears within us.
• Everyone, without exception, possesses in their hearts the supreme hidden treasure of Buddhahood.
• The basis for attaining enlightenment is a sincere seeking mind and an earnest practice.

 

HOBEN (EXPEDIENT MEANS) AND JURYO CHAPTERS (LIFE SPAN OF THE THUS COME ONE) OF THE LOTUS SUTRA [38]

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STRONG ARE THOSE WHO CONTINUALLY BASE THEMSELVES ON THE GOHONZON 

I do shujo ko. Hoben gen nehan. Ni jitsu fu mitsu-do. Jo jus hi seppo. Ga jo ju o shi. I sho jin-zu-riki Ryo tendo shujo. Sui gon ni fu ken.

In order to save living beings, as an expedient means I appear to enter nirvana but in truth I do not pass into extinction. I am always here, preaching the Law. I am always here, but through my transcendental powers I make it so that living beings in their befuddlement do not see me even when close by.

‘As an Expedient Means I appear To Enter Nirvana’

• Why does a Buddha, whose life is eternal, pass into extinction?
  • He does so as an expedient means “in order to save living beings.”
• The perfect wisdom is an original attribute of our lives. We are eternally endowed with the Buddha’s three enlightened properties. Those who have forgotten this original self are, as the sutra says, “befuddled.”

The Buddha Is Like A Concerned Parent Watching Over His Children

• To the Buddha, “living beings in their befuddlement” are like children who have not yet reached the age of discernment.
• Mischievous children may resent and feel constrained by a parent who constantly watches over them. But if the parent momentarily disappears from the child’s sight, the child cries out for and tries to find him or her. Similarly, only when the Buddha passes into extinction can befuddled people truly appreciate their fortune in having encountered the Buddha.
• Befuddled people cannot even see the Buddha existing in their own hearts. For this reason Nichiren Daishonin inscribed the life of the Buddha – his own identity – in the form of the Gohonzon. And this Gohonzon serves as a irror for us to see the Gohonzon existing within ourselves.
• President Toda often compared death to sleep. When we have been awake for a long time, we tire and go to sleep. And when we wake up for a sound sleep, our vitality is restored. After we have been alive for a long time, we grow weary and die. And then we set out on a new life with a fresh spirit. Hence, death is a period of “recharging” for our next existence.

EXAMPLE OF HOW NOT TO BE

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This text was posted on The Power of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo Facebook Page.

When Sensei went to President Toda for his guidance, he was completely frustrated by the behavior of some leaders in the organization. President Toda was very strict with Sensei and told him that he needed to take the responsibility to create the kind of organization he wanted it to be. And then he said that; “Every pain, every hurt, every frustration you ever feel on account of another human being should be engraved in your heart. Never ever forget them. Then make sure you never, ever do the same to a single human being. We all want to grow and be happy and creative, but the point we most often miss, is that some people’s mission in our life is to teach us how to be a better human being through their negative example of how not to be. They are as powerful a teacher of how not to be, as the person who is the greatest example of how to be.” The issue here is; do we get the lesson or do we instead turn around and do the same thing to other people that we accuse others of doing to us?

He didn’t stop there, President Toda went on to say that we must understand that the reason we are here in this moment, in this lifetime, experiencing this problem, in this environment, with these people is because it is our mission, and our mission alone, to find the solution to the problem. The solution to the problem is never, ever waiting to see if the other person will change. Every time we wait for the other person to change we have missed our opportunity to do human revolution, to change and therefore to become happier. I too had to see the cause and effect connection with and within my life and my environment. There was a causal reason that my leader was in my life pulling out all my judgmental negativity. And so then, I started chanting with this thought: THIS IS MY MISSION, I HAVE TO FIND THE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM.

It was clear that waiting for her to change was not the answer, it had been two years, so I was sure about it. I sincerely started chanting for the wisdom to see what it was that I needed to do to change this. And it put me on a journey towards serious self-reflection. What I saw was this: That even though I do my best, I’m not always proud of myself every day when I return home, in terms of the way I handle certain situations in my life. I also had to realize that although I had been doing my best but for two years, I had not been able to win over my judgmental self and my negativity towards this woman. When I could, I asked myself; “what makes me think that I have the right to hold another human being to certain standards?” I started to see that what I was observing in her was nothing other than a human being who, just like me, was battling with her own weaknesses, and again who, just like me had not yet been able to win over them because it is a process that takes time and it has to begin with self realisation, human revolution, challenge and change.

The moment I understood that.., really understood, not intellectually, but with my life,… a prayer came out of my life that I had never prayed before. That prayer was this… I decided that I would take total responsibility for her to have a victory over her weakness, and it meant that I was going to start sending daimoku to her life with the determination that through my daimoku alone, I was going to start battling that negativity in her. That weakness in her that I was judging so unmercifully, I was going to send daimoku to and I was going to battle within her life with my daimoku. With the determination that through my daimoku alone I would ensure that she had a breakthrough in her life. The minute I was able to chant that way, my relationship with her life changed just like that. What I realize now, is it was not her that had to change, it was me.

I chanted myself from a person of judgment, to a person of compassion for another human being’s life. When I judged her, that became my prayer and my expectation towards her, and she was my big movie screen that was projected back to me exactly what I expected of her. When I was able to take the responsibility to help her have a victory over her weakness, I found that I could have true compassion for her. My prayer and expectation towards her life became profoundly different because I had connected to another part of her life. I was able to open up to her for the first time. I then discovered that this type of sincere and deep prayer is a prayer that will allow us to speed up our human revolution and become strong powerful assets for Kosen Rufu. What I came to understand is that because there is no separation between myself and my environment, the weakness that we all experience in other people – carry the best possible messages for us to change.

By Linda Johnson, SGI-USA WD Leader

The Art of listening with the eyes of a Buddha – Excerpt

HOBEN (EXPEDIENT MEANS) AND JURYO CHAPTERS (LIFE SPAN OF THE THUS COME ONE) OF THE LOTUS SUTRA [37]

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[37] WE CAN ATTAIN THE BUDDHA’S VAST STATE OF LIFE 

Jig a toku burrai. Sho kyo sho kosshu. Muryo hyaku sen man. Oku sai asogi. Jo seppo kyoke. Mushu oku shujo. Ryo nyu o butsu-do. Nirai muryo ko.

Since I attained Buddhahood the number of kalpas that have passed is an immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions, trillions, asamkhyas. Constantly I have preached the Law, teaching, converting countless millions of living beings, causing them to enter the Buddha way, all this for immeasurable kalpas.

The Buddha Eternally Endowed With The Ten Worlds

• The Buddha who attained enlightenment in the remote past dd not “become” a Buddha by having eradicated the nine worlds, but simultaneously possesses both the nine worlds and the world of Buddhahood.
  • This is termed “eternally endowed” means originally or inherently possessing.
• Ji toku = self attained
• Ga burrai = “I, the Buddha, come”
  • “I” indicates the Dharma body or property of the Law; “Buddha” the bliss body or property of wisdom; and “come” the manifested body or property of action.
  • These stand for the Buddha’s three bodies or enlightened properties.
• Therefore, jiga toku burrai means to attain, on one’s own, the three enlightened properties.
• The Buddha is a state of life we achieve from within; that Buddha exists inherently within our own life.
  • The Buddha is someone who is awakened to him/herself.
• The Three Bodies represent the inherent power in one’s life to enjoy one’s existence to the fullest and lead others to happiness through the Mystic Law. The Three Bodies are:
  • The Dharma body or property of the Law is the Mystic Law itself, the eternal and unchanging truth.
  • The bliss body is the Buddha’s property of wisdom to awaken to the Mystic Law.
  • The manifested body indicates the Buddha’s actions to lead people to enlightenment.
    • Fundamentally, such actions arise from the Buddha’s compassion.
  • Ultimately, Buddhahood is attained on one’s own, not through someone else. It is something we achieve through our own efforts. Through faith in the Mystic Law, we can definitely manifest the great state of absolute freedom of the eternal and undying self.

Notes from Q & A with Linda Johnson

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This text was posted on The Power of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo Facebook Page.

SGI-USA Women’s Division Leader-2002

QUESTION – After chanting for so many years how do you have a vibrant practice versus a “maintenance” practice?

RESPONSE – I have now been practicing for twenty six years. To some people in this room I am still a baby in this practice.

Freshness comes from the spirit to challenge ourselves to grow meaningfully. Pres. Ikeda has urged us to “find the one thing that seems the most impossible” and then throw ourselves into our practice and absolutely achieve victory. When you do this you see the rest of your life open.

Confidence is an effect not the cause. You get confidence following your action/victory from challenging the impossible.

Pres. Ikeda says that you cannot live life doing only what is easy for us. We must challenge to do that which we least want to do — if not we will be a slave to our own fundamental darkness.

Practice does not get easier the longer you practice but each year if more fulfilling. It is not easier because we are polishing our lives. As we get older we get past the easy stuff land down to core issues of our lives. Unless we break through in our lives we won’t be able to move forward.

Pres. Ikeda says there is a fundamental evil, which is the source of all our suffering. It is a negative belief system about ourselves. We must discover this, face this and win over this evil.

Why is this so difficult? Because it is scary. Here is what I found out about my negative belief system. My mom was great. My dad was a total alcoholic. As a child, I was neglected by my dad. He didn’t call. He didn’t send birthday presents. I internalized that this neglect was my fault – something was wrong with me that my dad didn’t want me or love me. This negative belief system has effected my entire life especially my relationships with men. This negative belief system then transformed into, I was not worthy to have what I want.

It seems an eternity ago but it was just last month that I was asked to go for training for zone women’s leaders in Japan. I had been fighting to get this meeting. Most of the women zone leaders are not staff such as the men’s zone leaders. These women are working, raising families, giving their all for Kosen Rufu. They give so much that they need more nourishment for themselves. Women are the glue of the organization.

Pres. Ikeda said yes to the meeting. I scheduled in the date. At the last moment the date was changed. The new date was schedule for the same day as the last day of mandatory supervisor training for my job. An SGI person told me, “Oh, well, you were in Japan recently. Don’t feel bad. You can go again another time.”

I felt so discouraged. No one could encourage me. I was having a pity party for one. What I had to do was to own my own reaction. I had to chant to see what this had to do with the other parts of my life. I needed to see the interconnectedness with myself as a child and my belief of my unworthiness.

For the first time, on that day I GOT BUDDHISM. I GOT ESHO FUNI. Our life is a visible manifestation of our mind. The environment mirrors back. I wasn’t worthy of what I wanted.

When we separate the environment from ourselves we are dis-empowered. But I empower my life when I work on what’s making me unhappy and chant and take full responsibility. I chanted “I must take full responsibility to change belief systems in my life.” I have to battle with this whenever it raises it’s ugly head and then use it positively to develop myself.

So since I had never really asked anything special from my job I decided that I needed to ask now. I explained the change in dates for the Japan trip and I was told there was no problem, to go with the rescheduled date.

When we are in a “maintenance” practice we are not challenging ourselves. In life there is no neutral. We are either going forward or backward. We need to constantly have new goals to revitalize our practice. We have to ask are we running away from the painful reality of our own lives.

 

HOBEN (EXPEDIENT MEANS) AND JURYO CHAPTERS (LIFE SPAN OF THE THUS COME ONE) OF THE LOTUS SUTRA [36]

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[36] THE ‘JIGAGE’ IS A SONG IN PRAISE OF THE ‘GREATER SELF’

What is the ‘Jigage’?

• Jigage in short means “verse.”
• The jigage was born of the Buddha’s determined spirit to somehow convey, and enable all people to understand, this teaching.

The ‘Jigage’ Is directed toward the Future, toward Humankind.

• The jigage explains that whenever people seek the Buddha, the Buddha appears in the world, and the land where the Buddha appears becomes a Buddha land of peace and tranquillity.

The ‘Jigage’ Represents Oneself

• In the “Record of Orally Transmitted Teachings,” Nichiren Diashonin says: “The ji (self) of jig a toku burrai (since I attained Buddhahood) represents the beginning, while shin (body) of soku joju busshin (quickly acquire the body of a Buddha) represents the end. In other words, the jigage from beginning to end elucidates the self (because ji plus shin form the word oneself).
• The Jigage elucidates the vast and eternal state of life of indestructible happiness that is free of all hindrance and, moreover, exists forever, freely and joyously acting throughout the universe.
• Jigage is a poem that praises the “greater self” and sings of the totally free state of life of this self.
• President Toda always encouraged people to “live your own life,” to “live true to yourself.”
  • Whether you suffer from poverty or failure in business, or you are miserable because of marital discord, or you get injured falling over a charcoal brazier, ultimately all such sufferings are your own life. They are manifestations of the living phenomenon that is your self. When we view things in this way, we see that all occurrences in our daily existence are changes in our lives. The important thing, therefore, is to try to cause more positive changes and ceaselessly make efforts to secure happiness.
  • To live based on other people or circumstances, always thinking, “Things would be fine if that person would only do such-and-such,” or “If the world were only like this then I could be happy,” is a mistake, is it not?
  • No matter where we go, we can never escape from one self. Happiness and misery, everything in life, is contained in the single word one self. Ultimately, victory or defeat in life comes down to a matter of disciplining and dignifying this inescapable thing that is self.

Karmic Disposition

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Q U E S T I O N
What do we mean by Karmic disposition? How should we look at life in view of this?

A N S W E R
Our karma is made by no one but ourselves; it is something we have created in our past lives. Our karma is formed through the accumulation of three types of action – our deeds, words and thoughts – that is, what we have done, what we have said, what we have thought and felt.

For example, acts such as deceiving others, causing unhappiness or taking others’ lives create negative karma.

After we die, our lives merge into the vast whole, the life of the universe. Death, President Toda said, is like going to sleep at night, while embarking on the next life is like waking up refreshed from sleep to begin a new day. Life is like a continuous cycle of sleeping and waking.

The most important point here is that our karma does not vanish after we die; it continues on into the next life. It’s like when we borrow money from someone one day: the debt remains when we wake up the next morning. Similarly, the sufferings of this life will continue in the next. If we die writhing in unbearable pain and agony in this lifetime, we will be born having to bear the same agony in the next. Death offers no escape from our karma. Therefore, committing suicide offers no release from suffering.

If on the other hand, we attain a secure state of happiness and end our days savoring profound joy, we will be born amid good circumstances in the next life and move towards a happy existence.

Source: The New Human Revolution, Volume 3, Chapter 1, Westward Transmission, Page 57-58, By SGI President Daisaku Ikeda.

 

HOBEN (EXPEDIENT MEANS) AND JURYO CHAPTERS (LIFE SPAN OF THE THUS COME ONE) OF THE LOTUS SUTRA [16]

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[16] A GRAND EPIC OF THE ETERNITY OF LIFE

The Status of The ‘Life Span’ Chapter

• The Life Span chapter explains the eternity of life.
  • Nyorai = Thus Come One
  • Nyorai Juryo = fathom the span of life.
• An expedient, as we have already learned, is a means that the Buddha employs to guide people. While the life of the Buddha is in fact eternal, the Buddha appears in a transitory form and then “enters extinction” as a means to develop people’s seeking spirit.

Who Will Spread This Teaching In the Latter Day of the Law?

• Understanding life’s eternity fills people with joy from the depths of their being. This joy is the power of the Mystic Law that can dispel any siffering, no matter how deep-seated.
• NMRK is the great beneficial medicine that can fundamentally save all people of the Latter Day whoare steeped in the sufferings of life and death.
  • The “protagonists” of the Lotus Sutra who will teach and sprea the great beneficial medicine of NMRK among the people of the Latter Day are none other than the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
• NMRK is the law of life.
• The Daishonin says, “Faith means accepting and upholding this essential law. Faith is the sharp sword with which to subdue fundamental darkness.”

The Practice of The Bodhisattvas of the Earth In the Modern Age

• The Bodhisattvas of the Earth are bodhisattvas from the “world of truth” who have appeared in thissaha world. This is, they are courageous people arising from the great law of the universe, fromNam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, who have jubilantly appeared among the people. Therefore, they are never deadlocked. They canlimitlessly drawforth fundamental life force and wisdom from the world of the Mystic Law, and they can spread the Mystic Law and endure great persecution in the polluted world of the Latter Day.
  • All those who spread Buddhism in the defiled world of the Latter Day as Nichiren Daishonin taught are, without exception, Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
  • In this day and age, it is the members of the SGI who perfectly match the sutras description of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
    • The Bodhisattvas of the Earth are described as “firm in their intent and thought.” That is, they are people of firm determination who, once set on a course of action, follow through; they are people of persistence.
    • Bodhisattvas of the Earth are clever at conducting dialogue. They have wisdom from having lived at the very forefront of society.
    • The Bodhisattvas of the Earth have a life/heart that shines. Their lives overflow with human magnetism that powerfully draws people to you. No one can fail to be convinced of the greatness of this Buddhism when they see such rich human virtue. They respect people from the bottom of their heart.
    • Bodhisattvas of the Earth are treasures of the community, of the nation and of the earth.

What is the Saha World?

• The Saha World is a world, which is full of suffering. The Sanskrit term saha means endurance, indicating where people must endure suffering stemming from the three poisons and other desires.

 

What is Happiness?

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What is the purpose of life? It is to become happy. Whatever country or society people live in, they all have the same deep desire: to become happy.

Yet, there are few ideals as difficult to grasp as that of happiness. In our daily life we constantly experience happiness and unhappiness, but we are still quite ignorant as to what happiness really is.

A young friend of mine once spent a long time trying to work out what happiness was, particularly happiness for women. When she first thought about happiness she saw it as a matter of becoming financially secure or getting married. (The view in Japanese society then was that happiness for a woman was only to be found in marriage.) But looking at friends who were married, she realized that marriage didn’t necessarily guarantee happiness.

She saw couples who had been passionately in love suffering from discord soon after their wedding. She saw women who had married men with money or status but who fought constantly with their husbands.

Gradually, she realized that the secret of happiness lay in building a strong inner self that no trial or hardship could ruin. She saw that happiness for anyone — man or woman — does not come simply from having a formal education, from wealth or from marriage. It begins with having the strength to confront and conquer one’s own weaknesses. Only then does it become possible to lead a truly happy life and enjoy a successful marriage.

She finally told me, “Now I can say with confidence that happiness doesn’t exist in the past or in the future. It only exists within our state of life right now, here in the present, as we face the challenges of daily life.”

I agree entirely. You yourself know best whether you are feeling joy or struggling with suffering. These things are not known to other people. Even a man who has great wealth, social recognition and many awards may still be shadowed by indescribable suffering deep in his heart. On the other hand, an elderly woman who is not fortunate financially, leading a simple life alone, may feel the sun of joy and happiness rising in her heart each day.

Happiness is not a life without problems, but rather the strength to overcome the problems that come our way. There is no such thing as a problem-free life; difficulties are unavoidable. But how we experience and react to our problems depends on us. Buddhism teaches that we are each responsible for our own happiness or unhappiness. Our vitality — the amount of energy or “life-force” we have — is in fact the single most important factor in determining whether or not we are happy.

True happiness is to be found within, in the state of our hearts. It does not exist on the far side of some distant mountains. It is within you, yourself. However much you try, you can never run away from yourself. And if you are weak, suffering will follow you wherever you go. You will never find happiness if you don’t challenge your weaknesses and change yourself from within.

Happiness is to be found in the dynamism and energy of your own life as you struggle to overcome one obstacle after another. This is why I believe that a person who is active and free from fear is truly happy.

The challenges we face in life can be compared to a tall mountain, rising before a mountain climber. For someone who has not trained properly, whose muscles and reflexes are weak and slow, every inch of the climb will be filled with terror and pain. The exact same climb, however, will be a thrilling journey for someone who is prepared, whose legs and arms have been strengthened by constant training. With each step forward and up, beautiful new views will come into sight.

My teacher used to talk about two kinds of happiness — “relative” and “absolute” happiness. Relative happiness is happiness that depends on things outside ourselves: friends and family, surroundings, the size of our home or family income.

This is what we feel when a desire is fulfilled, or something we have longed for is obtained. While the happiness such things bring us is certainly real, the fact is that none of this lasts forever. Things change. People change. This kind of happiness shatters easily when external conditions alter.

Relative happiness is also based on comparison with others. We may feel this kind of happiness at having a newer or bigger home than the neighbors. But that feeling turns to misery the moment they start making new additions to theirs!

Absolute happiness, on the other hand, is something we must find within. It means establishing a state of life in which we are never defeated by trials and where just being alive is a source of great joy. This persists no matter what we might be lacking, or what might happen around us. A deep sense of joy is something which can only exist in the innermost reaches of our life, and which cannot be destroyed by any external forces. It is eternal and inexhaustible.

This kind of satisfaction is to be found in consistent and repeated effort, so that we can say, “Today, again, I did my very best. Today, again, I have no regrets. Today, again, I won.” The accumulated result of such efforts is a life of great victory.

What we should compare is not ourselves against others. We should compare who we are today against who we were yesterday, who we are today against who we will be tomorrow. While this may seem simple and obvious, true happiness is found in a life of constant advancement. And the same worries that could have made us miserable can actually be a source of growth when we approach them with courage and wisdom.

One friend whose dramatic life proved this was Natalia Satz, who founded the first children’s theater in Moscow. In the 1930s, she and her husband were marked by Soviet Union’s secret police. Even though they were guilty of no crime, her husband was arrested and executed and she was sent to a prison camp in the frozen depths of Siberia.

After she recovered from the initial shock, she started looking at her situation, not with despair, but for opportunity. She realized that many of her fellow prisoners had special skills and talents. She began organizing a “university,” encouraging the prisoners to share their knowledge. “You. You are a scientist. Teach us about science. You are an artist. Talk to us about art.”

In this way, the boredom and terror of the prison camp were transformed into the joy of learning and teaching. Eventually, Mrs. Satz even made use of her own unique talents to organize a theater group. She survived the five-year prison sentence, and dedicated the rest of her long life to creating children’s theater. When we met for the first time in Moscow in 1981, she was already in her 80s. She was as radiant and buoyant as a young girl. Her smile was the smile of someone who has triumphed over the hardships of life. Hers is the kind of spirit I had in mind when I wrote the following poem on “Happiness”:

A person with a vast heart is happy.
Such a person lives each day with a broad and embracing spirit.
A person with a strong will is happy.
Such a person can confidently enjoy life, never defeated by suffering.
A person with a profound spirit is happy.
Such a person can savor life’s depths
while creating meaning and value that will last for eternity.
A person with a pure mind is happy.
Such a person is always surrounded by refreshing breezes of joy.

By Daisaku Ikeda