288 Quotes by Daisaku Ikeda

Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind.

If we are to put the era of nuclear terror behind us, we must struggle against the real 'enemy.' That enemy is not nuclear weapons per se, nor is it the states that possess or develop them. The real enemy that we must confront is the ways of thinking that justify nuclear weapons; the readiness to annihilate others when they are seen as a threat or as a hindrance to the realization of our objectives.

It is precisely when we have suffered defeat that we can determine to win and open the path to future victory.

It is important that we have the inner richness to be able to look up at the stars or the moon and compose a poem once in a while. When we open wide our minds and fix our gaze on the universe, we fix our gaze on our own life.

True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances.

Dig beneath your feet, there you will find a spring. The place where you are now is crucial. Never try to avoid that which you must do.

The profound unity of subjective existence and objective environment leads naturally to the idea that the life-force of one human being can affect other living beings and even the fundamental being of humankind as a whole. Furthermore, the minds of humankind fuse into one and exert a continuous influence, both physical and spiritual, on other living beings and on the whole of nature.

Just as cherry, plum, peach and damson blossoms all possess their own unique qualities, each person is unique. We cannot become someone else. The important thing is that we live true to ourselves and cause the great flower of our lives to blossom.

Let us join our efforts toward building the unshakable foundations for a culture of peace.