The riverbanks are obstructions, but they are necessary for keeping the river on track and flowing steadily forward.

Daily Guidance Fri 05/25

For Today and Tomorrow Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda Friday, May 25, 2012 The heart is most important of all.  In his classic The Little Prince, the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery writes:  "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."  It is just as he says.  We cannot always tell whether something is genuine just with our eyes.  Only by looking with the heart can we discern the true essence.           Buddhism Day by Day Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda Friday, May 25, 2012 The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore compares the function of evil to the banks of a river. The riverbanks are obstructions, but they are necessary for keeping the river on track and flowing steadily forward. Without banks, the river would overflow, causing destruction instead of creating value.             Daily Wisdom From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Friday, May 25, 2012 If a spark as small as a bean is set to a single blade of grass in a spring field of a thousand square ri thick with grass, it becomes in an instant an immeasurable, boundless blaze.  Such is also the case with this robe [you have offered].  Though only one robe, it has been offered to the Buddhas of all the characters of the Lotus Sutra.  Be firmly convinced that the benefits from this will extend to your parents, your grandparents, nay, even to countless living beings, not to mention your own husband, whom you hold most dear. The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, page 533 The Offering of an Unlined Robe Written to the lady of Sajiki on May 25, 1275