Quotes by Daisaku Ikeda

“Rise to the challenges that life presents you. You can't develop genuine character and ability by sidestepping adversity and struggle.”

“The determination to win is the better part of winning.”

“People can only live fully by helping others to live. When you give life to friends you truly live. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respec...”

“Strength is Happiness. Strength is itself victory. In weakness and cowardice there is no happiness. When you wage a struggle, you might win or you might lose. But regardless of the short-term outco...”

“Salute to the Smiling Faces of the 21st Century.”

“There are some among the so-called elite who are overbearing and arrogant. I want to foster leaders, not elitists.”

“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.”

“It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.”

“Ultimately, all human activities have as their goal the realization of happiness. Why, then, have we ended up producing the opposite result? Could the underlying cause be our failure to correctly u...”

“With love and patience, nothing is impossible.”

“People need to be made conscious of a very simple reality: we have no choice but to share this planet, this small blue sphere floating in the vast reaches of space, with all of our fellow 'passenge...”

“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 ...”

“Women are, in my view, natural peacemakers. As givers and nurturers of life, through their focus on human relationships and their engagement with the demanding work of raising children and protecti...”

“A commitment to human rights cannot be fostered simply through the transmission of knowledge. Action and experience play a crucial role in the learning process.”

“I firmly believe that the mission of religion in the 21st century must be to contribute concretely to the peaceful coexistence of humankind.”

“We are not merely passive pawns of historical forces nor are we victims of the past. We can shape and direct history.”

“I have for some time urged that a nuclear abolition summit to mark the effective end of the nuclear era be convened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 70th anniversary of the bombings of those cities...”

“A healthy vision of the future is not possible without an accurate knowledge of the past.”

“Leadership that exploits and sacrifices young people on the altar of its goals is nothing more than raw, demonic power. Genuine leadership is found in ceaseless efforts to foster young people, to p...”

“Where there is an absence of international political leadership, civil society should step in to fill the gap, providing the energy and vision needed to move the world in a new and better direction.”