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YWednesday, April 02, 2008

None are more admirable than one who summons courage
(The guidance are given by General Director Ong Bon Chai on March 16,2008)

As Buddhists we are inclined to think of compassion as the most important virtue, whereas courage is mostly associated with heroes and soldiers. President Toda explains that while Buddhism teaches compassion,it is really about the courage. This is because acting with courage is the way to manifest true compassion. He said,"courage and compassion are two sides of the same coin".
Take for example,when we see someone is about to commit evil,do we have the courage and compassion to stop him? If someone,whether a friend,relative or member was about to do wrong,do u have the courage to discourage or reprimand him? If someone tries to harass people, would u have the courage to stop him? If u are not sure until now,u should bring forth the courage to do what is right from now on.
We can clearly see that compassion without action to back it up is not genuine compassion. Though we may have a compassionate thought or impulse but if we do not do or say anything,it is not real compassion at all. We can also say that the lack of courage means a lack of compassion.
President Ikeda further clarifies, "none are more admirable than those who can summon courage at a crucial moment. Courage is the very essence of Buddhism and of genuine humanity". This means that when we fail to admonish people who are taking mistaken actions at crucial times, we are in fact allowing them to commit more wrong-doings.
President Ikeda is calling out to everyone of them saying," courage is the driving force for victory". He declares," a truly happy person os one who remains undefeated,no matter what happens". He explains,"unless we win over ourselves,over our own weaknesses,we won't be able to open the way to true happiness".
President Ikeda also declares,"kosen-rufu moves forward through winning. Winning makes our Buddhahood shine forth from within". He also urges the youths,"let's all win. To win it is crucial to chant daimoku and forge inner strength".
Since we mentioned about heroes today,let me share with u what President Ikeda shared about the great Chinese military strategist ZhuGe Liang.
When we talk about other people,sometimes we can't really relate to the message and we fail to feel its impact on us. So today let us assume we are all ZhuGe Liang, and this is what we should beb saying to others, albeit,to ourselves.
1."Though u may be treated with deference,never become conceited"
This means when we are accorded with some position or status, we must never become conceited or arrogant.
2."Though u may be entrusted with authority,never become dictatorial"
Power corrupts. The higher our position,the lower we must bend down and bow in respect to others.
3."Never try to hide the help u receive from others"
This means we must never forget the contribution of others. We must not conceal the credit of others and take these credits as our own. To think of it,it is actually quite shameful if we do that.
4."Do not fear being relieved from your position"
In other words don't be unsettled by or be afraid of changes in our roles and position in the organisation. In our organisation of faith,we should be aware that the time will come when our juniors will succeed us and taking over the position we are in now. In this regard, we must keep on fostering capable individuals by providing them the opportunity to prove themselves.
Finally this is what ZhuGe Liang said, or what we should be saying or doing all the time. "the way of leadership is to listen to the opinions of many others. Listen carefully to the views and information offered to u. Make the eyes of others your eyes,and their ears your ears... Respecting the opinions of others is the way to become a person of wisdom". And he warned,"if u fail to do so,people will stop giving u sound advise. As a result, wicked people will proliferate and the realm will suffer".
ZhuGe LIang also declared,"the arrogant dig their own graves,and the high handed plant the seeds of their own destruction".Let's keep all these advise to heart and practise it in our daily endeavour for the sake of kosen-rufu and as exemplary desciples of SGI President Ikeda. =)

theEnd=)

3:42 PM