Daisaku Ikeda, a Japanese Buddhist philosopher, educator, author, and supporter of nuclear disarmament, was born on January 2, 1928. He was the third president of the Soka Gakkai, the largest of Japan’s new religious movements, and later served in an honorary capacity. Ikeda is the founder of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the largest lay Buddhist organization in the world, which claims to have 12 million members worldwide, more than 1.5 million of whom, as of 2012, live outside of Japan.
51 Daisaku Ikeda Quotes
- “Effort and hard work construct the bridge that connects your dreams to reality.”
2. “You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves.”
3. “With love and patience, nothing is impossible.”
4. “A person, who no matter how desperate the situation, gives others hope, is a true leader.”
5. “it is impossible to build one’s own happiness on the unhappiness of others. This perspective is at the heart of Buddhist teachings.”
6. “There is no one as strong as a person whose heart is always filled with gratitude.”
7. “Hardships make us strong. Problems give birth to wisdom. Sorrows cultivate compassion. Those who have suffered the most will become the happiest.”
8. “The determination to win is the better part of winning.”
9. “Embrace your dreams and advance as far as they can take you.”
10. “I cannot say this too strongly: Do not compare yourselves to others. Be true to who you are, and continue to learn with all your might.”
Daisaku Ikeda Quotes On Hope
11. “Hope is life’s greatest treasure. If you have no hope, create some!”
12. “No matter what our personal circumstances may be, if we ourselves become a source of light, then there will be no darkness in the world.”
13. “Faith is to fear nothing, to stand unswayed, the power to surmount any obstacle.”
14. “If you become deadlocked,return to the prime point.”
15. “No one should be left to suffer alone.”
16. “Even if things don’t unfold the way you expected, don’t be disheartened or give up. One who continues to advance will win in the end.”
17. “The heart is what is important.” There is nothing more vulnerable, nothing more corruptible than the human mind; nor is there anything as powerful, steadfast and ennobling.”
18. “The gratification of desire is not happiness.”
19. “A person’s true nature is revealed at times of the greatest adversity.”
20. “It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.”
Daisaku Ikeda Quotes on Life
21. “Being sincere, dedicated and honest is the key. People of integrity triumph in the end.”
22. “Those who give up dreams, do injury to their own hearts and cannot possibly enjoy a profound sense of fulfillment in the end.”
23. “Genuine leadership is found in ceaseless efforts to foster young people, to pave the way forward for them.”
24. “it is impossible to build one’s own happiness on the unhappiness of others. This perspective is at the heart of Buddhist teachings.”
25. “Youthfulness is not determined by age. It is determined by one’s life force. One who possesses hope is forever young. One who continually advances is forever beautiful.”
26. “There are some among the so-called elite who are overbearing and arrogant. I want to foster leaders, not elitists.”
27. “What matters is the value we’ve created in our lives, the people we’ve made happy and how much we’ve grown as people.”
28. “Those who are aware of their mission are strong. Those who live for a mission are beautiful.”
29. “What may look like a small act of courage is courage nevertheless. The important thing is to be willing to take a step forward.”
30. “Hope is the sun. It is light. It is passion. It is the fundamental force for life’s blossoming.”
Daisaku Ikeda Quotes About Courage
31. “No matter how hopeless or bleak things appear, the moment always comes when suddenly our spirit revives, and hope is reborn. That is why we must never give up.”
32. “Life is painful. It has thorns, like the stem of a rose. Culture and art are the roses that bloom on the stem. The flower is yourself, your humanity. Art is the liberation of the humanity inside yourself.”
33. “All people have a natural desire to be needed, to have their importance to others tangibly confirmed.”
34. “Extreme poverty threatens people’s right to life itself and makes impossible the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms essential to a humane way of life.”
35. “A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation, and further, can even enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.”
36. “Rise to the challenges that life presents you. You can’t develop genuine character and ability by sidestepping adversity and struggle.”
37. “A healthy vision of the future is not possible without an accurate knowledge of the past.”
38. “If we look at the world with a love of life, the world will reveal its beauty to us.”
39. “Reading is a dialog with oneself; it is self-reflection, which cultivates profound humanity. Reading is therefore essential to our development.”
40. “Whatever the outcome may be, the important thing is to step forward on the path that you believe is right.”
Daisaku Ikeda Quotes on Happiness, peace and Courage
41. “The important thing is to take that first step. Bravely overcoming one small fear gives you the courage to take on the next.”
42. “Before comparing yourself with others, win the battle with yourself. Strive to be better today than yesterday, and better tomorrow than today.”
43. “Dialogue and education for peace can help free our hearts from the impulse toward intolerance and the rejection of others.”
44. “Courage and compassion are two sides of the same coin. Compassion without courage is not genuine. You may have a compassionate thought or impulse, but if you don’t do or say anything, it’s not real compassion.”
45. “A great revolution in just one single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a society and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind.”
46. “Human beings are inherently endowed with the power to bring out the best possible results from the worst possible circumstances.”
47. “It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.”
48. “Buhhdism is wisdom. As long as we have wisdom, we can put all things to the best use, we can turn everything in the direction of happiness.”
49. “The darker the night, the nearer the dawn. Victory in life is decided by that last concentrated burst of energy filled with the resolve to win.”
50. “Genuine happiness can only be achieved when we transform our way of life from the unthinking pursuit of pleasure to one committed to enriching our inner lives, when we focus on ‘being more’ rather than simply having more.”
51. “No one can live entirely on their own, nor can any country or society exist in isolation.”
Additional Read:
Daisaku Ikeda: A Biographical Sketch