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.

Stories of Hope

What is Happiness?

Happiness remains the most cherished yet elusive of all human desires. Ikeda asserts that life can be complete with or without the usual requisites of happiness—family, wealth and recognition. The key, he says, lies within. Read here ...

Stories of Hope

The Teachers of My Childhood

Even as the storms of war darkened his childhood, Ikeda recalls those who helped brighten his life by planting the seeds of hope and courage.

Stories of Hope

Cause and Effect

An explanation of the ultimately positive and hopeful perspective of Buddhism on how cause and effect operate in our lives throughout the cycles of birth and death. Read here ...