QUESTION: When I face problems, running away sometimes seems like the easiest solution. Any advice?
Daisaku Ikeda: You can run away, of course. That freedom exists. But it is a very small, petty freedom. It only leads to a life of great hardship, a life in which you will be powerless, weak and completely frustrated.
Alongside this small freedom, however, exists a much greater freedom. The Japanese novelist Eiji Yoshikawa writes, "Great character is forged through hardship." Only by polishing yourself through repeated difficulties can you build a self that sparkles as brightly as a gem. When you have developed such a state of being, nothing will faze you. You will be free. You will be victorious. Hardships will even become enjoyable. Daring to take on tough challenges - that in itself is immense freedom.
Freedom is relative. You may run away from hard work and effort, declaring yourself a free spirit, but you cannot run away from yourself - from your own weaknesses, personality and destiny. It is like trying to run from your own shadow. It is even more impossible to escape from the sufferings of aging, sickness and death inherent in the human condition. The more you try to avoid hardships, the more doggedly they pursue you, like so many relentless hounds chasing at your heels. That's why it's important that you turn and face your troubles head-on. It is impossible to have absolutely everything go your way all the time. In fact, if it weren't for the various obstacles life presents us with, we probably wouldn't appreciate what it is to be free.
The springtime of our youth is meant to be lived with our faces turned toward the sun. As a season of growth, youth is a time of both great joy and great suffering. It is filled with problems and worries of all kinds. But rather than run away from them, the key is to keep seeking the sun, to keep moving in the direction of the sunlight, to challenge the pain and agony that are a part of growing up.
Never give in to defeat. For a seed to sprout, it must exert tremendous effort to break out of its hard outer covering. That sprout must then valiantly push its way up through a thick layer of soil to reach the blue sky above. The hardships you experience now will all contribute to your growth. Therefore, the important thing is to keep pressing forward no matter how tough or painful the going may get.
Youth is the time to develop a spirit of persistence. And those who keep striving for improvement remain youthful no matter what there age. Conversely, those who fail to do so, even if they are young in years, will be old and weak in spirit.
Life is a battle to win ultimate and unlimited freedom.
Daisaku Ikeda
(Excerpted from The Way of Youth)
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