It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.
Daisaku IkedaRead
It is crucial that we develop real awareness of ourselves as citizens of Earth, linked by mutual and indissoluble bonds. When we clearly recognize this reality and ground ourselves in it, we are compelled to take a strict accounting of our way of life.
Interpretation
We must understand our interconnectedness as global citizens to reflect on our lifestyles responsibly.
Daisaku Ikeda emphasizes the importance of recognizing our shared existence on Earth, highlighting that this awareness fosters a sense of responsibility towards our actions and their impact on the planet and each other. By acknowledging our mutual connections, we are encouraged to evaluate our habits and choices in a way that promotes sustainability and empathy, thus enhancing our collective well-being.
In practice
In a speech at an environmental conference, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for collective action.
It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.
There’s no need for us to be held back by the past or how things have been so far. The important thing is what seeds we are sowing now for the future.
True love should be transformative; a process that amplifies our capacity to cherish not just one person but all people. It can make us stronger, lift us higher and deepen us as individuals. Only to the extent that we polish ourselves now can we hope to develop wonderful bonds of the heart in the future.
Let us give something to each person we meet: joy, courage, hope, assurance, or philosophy, wisdom, a vision for the future. Let us always give something.
Just as a diamond can only be polished by another diamond, it is only through genuine, all-out engagement with others that people can polish their character, and help each other to reach greater heights.
Creating harmony amidst diversity is a fundamental issue of the twenty-first century. While celebrating the unique characteristics of different peoples and cultures, we have to create solidarity on the level of our common humanity, our common life. Without such solidarity, there will be no future for the human race. Diversity should not beget conflict in the world, but richness.
Men have feverishly conceived a heaven only to find it insipid, and a hell to find it ridiculous.
We would like otherworldly visitations to come as distinct voices with clear instructions, but they may only give small signs in dreams, or as sudden hunches and insights that cannot be denied. They feel more as if they emerge from inside and steer you from within like an inner guardian angel. . . . And, most amazing, it has never forgotten you, although you may have spent most of your life ignoring it.
Why do we cling to bigotry? Because bigotry, plainly, is convenient. It is a near-effortless way to both elevate one's stature and make a pity grab in this culture of victims that we have become.
The only thing grief has taught me is to know how shallow it is.
Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth. _x000D_ It is thy desire in us that desireth. _x000D_ It is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days which are thine also. _x000D_ We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us: _x000D_ Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all.
King of the animals — as thou hast described him — I should rather say king of the beasts, thou being the greatest — because thou hast spared slaying them, in order that they may give thee their children for the benefit of the gullet, of which thou hast attempted to make a sepulchre for all animals; and I would say still more, if it were allowed me to speak the entire truth.
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