Happiness & Joy
A peaceful life does not mean a life free of toil and suffering, rather it means living without being swayed no matter what happens. This is a state of true peace and happiness.
[The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra]
A smile is not only the result of happiness but can also be the cause of happiness.
[Words of Encouragement for Women—365 Days (tentative trans.)]
Activity is another name for happiness. Give free, unfettered play to your unique talents, live with the full radiance of your being. This is what it means to be truly alive.
[Discussions on Youth]
As long as we are alive we will experience sufferings. But that does not mean we have to be unhappy. Unhappiness comes from allowing ourselves to be controlled by life’s ups and downs—from feeling defeated, from losing hope, losing courage, losing the will to advance.
[The New Human Revolution, Vol. 18, “Moving Forward” chapter]
As we work for the greater good, we build happiness for ourselves and others. The more we do for other people, the more the path of our own happiness will open up. In realizing this, we discover a sense of gratitude in being able to help them.
[Discussion series, “Daily Discourses,” Seikyo Shimbun, Dec. 24, 1994]
By helping other people become happy, we too become happy. . . . How can those suffering in the depths of hell, who have lost the will to live, get back on their feet? Merely thinking about our own problems often causes us to fall even deeper into despair. But, by offering a hand to someone who is also suffering, we ourselves regain the will to live. Taking action out of concern for others enables us to heal our own lives.
[The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra]
From the Buddhist perspective, it is impossible to build personal happiness on the sufferings of others.
[Lecture at Harvard University, Cambridge, USA, Sep. 26, 1991]
Genuine happiness is found in courage. Courage is the gateway to happiness.
[Ikeda Daisaku Zenshu (The Complete Works of Daisaku Ikeda), Vol. 136]
Happiness does not exist as an isolated quality, nor does it conform to a single fixed pattern. Happiness is something that breathes and lives in the relationships between people.
[Ikeda Daisaku Zenshu (The Complete Works of Daisaku Ikeda), Vol. 20]
Happiness doesn’t exist on the far side of distant mountains. It is within you, yourself. Not you, however, sitting in idle passivity. It is to be found in the vibrant dynamism of your own life as you struggle to challenge and overcome one obstacle after another, as you clamber up a perilous ridge in pursuit of that which lies beyond.
[Ikeda Daisaku Zenshu (The Complete Works of Daisaku Ikeda), Vol. 18]
Happiness is not something far away. It is to be found neither in fame nor in popularity. When you live with integrity, your heart begins to fill with a happiness as vast as the universe. It’s about being true to yourself and starting from where you are. From there your happiness will expand and grow limitlessly.
[Long Poem, “Young Maidens’ Garden of Peace and Castle of Happiness,” Seikyo Shimbun, Mar. 5, 2008]
Happiness lies within your own life, within a single moment. You yourself are the most noble and precious. There is no need to envy others or long for distant things.
[Speech at Youth Division General Meeting, Tokyo, Dec. 13, 1992]
Just as a tree that lived a thousand years lasts another thousand years after it has been cut, happiness will continue and endure to the extent that we have suffered to attain it.
[Speech at Hokkaido General Meeting, Sapporo, Jul. 8, 1990]
No one chooses to worry or suffer. But does the mere absence of hardships or problems equal happiness? No, the true essence of happiness is inner fulfillment. And genuine fulfillment is attained in the process of confronting difficulties, persevering through them, and emerging victorious. Everyone has experienced, to a greater or lesser degree, the joy this process brings. Even airplanes gain the lift they need to fly by facing strong headwinds. The fierce winds of hardship we face in our youth are what give our lives the power to soar into the future.
[Interview series, “To My Young Friends—Leaders of a New Age,” Seikyo Shimbun, Feb.15, 2012]
Many think that happiness is taking it easy, never working hard, and enjoying wealth and social status, recognition and success, without any special effort. Some flatter and cozy up to the rich and powerful in hopes of achieving these things. Others adopt a policy of expedience and will do anything to get ahead. Still others envy and resent those who have established themselves in the world and scheme to bring about the downfall of those whom they perceive to be more successful than they are. All of these patterns of behavior are based on the delusion that happiness resides in the external world, outside of us.
[The New Human Revolution, Vol. 24, “Vigilant Safeguarding” chapter]
No one lives a life free of hardship. Unless we take action, happiness will never come. Reality is, by nature, harsh. That’s why we must not be swayed by it, but instead choose to face it squarely, using such struggles to strengthen our lives.
[Words of Encouragement for Women—365 Days (tentative trans.)]
Our personality doesn’t determine our happiness or unhappiness, rather it is the substance of how we’ve lived our lives that decides.
[Discussions on Youth]
Poverty is nothing to be ashamed of. What's disgraceful is to have an impoverished heart or to live dishonestly. Being born in a stately mansion is no guarantee of happiness, any more than being born in a run-down home dooms one to misery.
[Discussions on Youth]
Relative happiness is happiness that depends on things outside ourselves, such as affluence or social standing. While the happiness such things bring us is certainly real, it shatters easily when external conditions alter. 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 difficulties, and where just being alive is a source of great joy.
[Words of Encouragement for Women—365 Days (tentative trans.)]
Suffering is the mother of realization; worries and failures, so long as we are not defeated by them . . . become the raw material with which to construct lasting happiness.
[Lectures on the “Expedient Means” and “Life Span” Chapters of the Lotus Sutra]
The exclusive pursuit of one’s own interests cannot bring true happiness. It is in striving for the sake of others that the great path to genuine happiness is opened.
[The New Human Revolution, Vol. 20, “Bridge Building” chapter]
The gratification of desires is not happiness. . . . 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.
[Essay, “Transforming our way of living,” in Embracing the Future]
The truth is that devoting ourselves to others’ happiness is actually a necessary condition for becoming genuinely happy ourselves.
[The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra]
True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances.
[The New Human Revolution, Vol. 19, “Rainbow of Hope” chapter]
What is true victory in life? What is the meaning of true happiness? Who is truly great? The answer to such questions is determined not by superficial criteria such as fame, status and wealth, but by the inner reality of one’s heart.
[Speech at Women’s Division Leaders Meeting, Tokyo, Apr. 12, 1990]
When seen from the perspective of life’s true value, whether a person is rich or poor is a marginal issue at best. The truly impoverished are those who are wealthier than others who take themselves too seriously and look down upon the less affluent.
[Ikeda Daisaku Zenshu (The Complete Works of Daisaku Ikeda), Vol. 64]
When we draw strength from within, our outlook undergoes a dramatic transformation; everything around us looks completely different. To be strong―that is the key to happiness.
[Speech at Young Women’s and Women’s Division Joint Conference, Tokyo, Feb. 14, 2006]
Where is happiness to be found? How can we become happy? . . . Happiness is not a question of how you look to others. Rather it is a matter of what you yourself feel inside; it is a deep answering response in your life.
[Speech at SGI General Meeting, Miami, USA, Jun. 23, 1996 ]
Where is happiness to be found? Not in a life of complete calm and serenity, free of storms and tempests. True happiness exists amidst struggles and unceasing advance.
[Speech at National Representatives Conference, Tokyo, Feb. 23, 2006]
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