People do not grow when their environment is too comfortable, when they are not challenged.

It is in the midst of suffering and hardship that strength of character is formed. Daisaku Ikeda The deeper the dark, the closer the dawn. However profound the suffering that envelops you, never forget the inner spark of hope and courage. Never lose the capacity to wait with patient enduring. Daisaku Ikeda Don't Quit When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all uphill, when the funds are low and the debts are high, and you want to smile but you have to sigh, when care is pressing you down a bit - rest if you must, but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns. As everyone of us sometimes learns. And many a fellow turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow - you may succeed with another blow. Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man; Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor's cup; and he learned too late when the night came down, how close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out - the silver tint of the clouds of doubt, and when you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems afar; so stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - it's when things seem worst, you must not quit. Edgar A. Guest

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. Mahatma Ghandi If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done. Dale Carnegie We can let circumstances rule us, or we can take charge and rule our lives from within. Earl Nightingale The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Karen S. Magee Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, and most fools do. Benjamin Franklin The world reflects what you need to see, not only what you want to see. Anonymous

Courage, strength and wisdom well up in those who consciously take on everything as the protagonist and person responsible for achieving their goals. Unlimited wisdom and ardent resolve arise from a sense of responsibility. Daisaku Ikeda Those who lack courage run away from hardship, seeking only to live a life of ease and comfort. Thus one who lacks courage cannot help others. Daisaku Ikeda The courage not to bow to pressure, the courage to stand alone, the courage to maintain ones determination, the courage to look deep into ones heart and confront ones own cowardice and arrogance, the courage to challenge difficultiesthose who possess this kind of courage are true victors. Daisaku Ikeda If you summon your courage to challenge something, youll never be left with regret. How sad it is to spend your life wishing, If only Id had a little more courage. Whatever the outcome may be, the important thing is to step forward on the path that you believe is right. Daisaku Ikeda Don't doubt the Gohonzon, no matter what. As long as you keep practicing, you'll definitely reach enlightenment and enjoy absolute happiness. That's the Daishonin's teaching. I know how hard it is for you right now, but don't doubt. Hang on to your faith. That's what'll decide victory or defeat in your lives. Win or lose, it's all up to your practice. How about it? Can you carry on? Josei Toda (Human Revolution, Volume 1, page 152) To become caught up in immediate realities, and to fail to live and act on the basis of a more holistic view of things, is a myopic way of life. The opposite is a way of life in which one fails to see what is close at hand in proper focus; to declare impossible-to-realize ideals and put nothing into practice. A correctly focused way of life is one in which we embrace vast ideals and have a clearly defined sense of purpose while putting this into practice amidst our day-to-day realities. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi The basis of earning people's trust is to always keep your promises. If you keep promises, no matter what you may sacrifice, you will definitely gain trust. This is the crucial social skill for young people. If you cannot do something, you should clearly say so. But if you say you will do something, you must follow through. This is the basis of gaining trust. And it is something you can do without spending money. Josei Toda You can either tell yourself, 'It's too hard, I don't think I'll be able to do it,' or 'Yes, I can do this. Let me at it! Only a fine line separates the two. But I'll tell you one thing: if you work like crazy, you'll come to display capabilities that you never knew you had--potentials that you always possessed, but never tapped. Josei Toda True greatness means that, even if you forget what you've done for others, you never forget what others have done for you. It means always doing your utmost to repay debts of gratitude. Such people radiate integrity, depth of character, bigheartedness and charm. Josei Toda Don't be impatient. Since you have embraced the Gohonzon, your situation will definitely improve. There's no need to worry. Sure there will be hard times, times when you feel like crying. But as long as you have the Gohonzon, your life will become bright and joyful. Josei Toda Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men. Confucius Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. Mark Twain Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.

Maya Angelou I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson Mandela You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give. Eleanor Roosevelt Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. Dale Carnegie Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Albert Einstein A human being is a part of a whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Albert Einstein To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. Bertrand Russell You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome. Maya Angelou No man or woman is an island. To exist just for yourself is meaningless. You can achieve the most satisfaction when you feel related to some greater purpose in life, something greater than yourself. Dennis Waitley Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it. Winston Churchill Life is a constant battle against deadlock. As long as we are alive, as long as we continue challenging ourselves, we are bound to come up against difficult obstacles that need to be overcome. If life were all smooth sailing, if we never encountered setbacks, that in itself would be a sign of stagnation. Daisaku Ikeda Carry through with your faith in the Lotus Sutra. You cannot strike fire from flint if you stop halfway. Nichiren Daishonin "Earthly Desires Are Enlightenment" WND 1-35 P. 319 Life is limited; we must not begrudge it. What we should ultimately aspire to is the Buddha land. Nichiren Daishonin "Aspiration for the Buddha Land" WND 1-28, P. 214 Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbour doubts in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood. Do not have doubts simply because heaven does not lend you protection. Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life. Nichiren Daishonin "The Opening of the Eyes" WND 1-30, P. 283

Those who believe in the Lotus Sutra are as if in winter, but winter always turns to spring. Nichiren Daishonin "Winter Always Turns to Spring" WND 1-65, P. 536 It also states that, 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. Nichiren Daishonin "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" WND 1-1, P. 4 Nichiren Daishonin wrote: Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 681). Nothing surpasses the power of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Whatever happens, please regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, chant daimoku and advance without fear. Any difficulty, when viewed from the standpoint of faith, can be made into a cause for your own growth. You can break through every wall that stands before you, expand your state of life and accumulate good fortune. Daisaku Ikeda 2012 Message Commemorating 16th March, Kosen-Rufu Day The key is courage. It is courage, and, at the same time, the fundamental life force that wells forth in our lives when we summon up courage. More simply, it is the latent strength we possess within us. When we bravely struggle to protect the Law, the power of our courage dispels the mist of fundamental delusion that shrouds our hearts and allows the limitless power of the Law to flow from our lives. We reveal the life-state of Buddhahood that is one with the Mystic Law. Courage fuses our lives with the fundamental life force. It also translates into innate hope that is never defeated, no matter how bleak or desperate the situation; it is the power to live resolutely to the very end. When the shadows of death, destiny, persecution, adversity, illness, failure, or destruction loom near, people tend to succumb to fear, trepidation, cowardice, anguish, anxiety, doubt, and anger. It is the power of inner-generated hope that dispels such darkness. Daisaku Ikeda The World of Nichiren Daishonin Writings Volume 1, Chapter 8: The Heart of a Lion KingThe Courageous Roar of Mentor and Disciple. Attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime entails a fierce struggle to change our karma, as well as to overcome the various challenges posed to our practice by the three obstacles and four devils, and the three powerful enemies. The trials of winter are unavoidable if we with so soar into brilliant springtime based on faith. The way we attain Buddhahood is summed up in the words, Winter always turns to spring. His words are a mighty lions roar, proclaiming that his discipleswhose lives are dedicated to enabling others to awaken to and manifest the Buddhahood that inherently exists within themcannot fail to attain enlightenment