The Twenty-First Century ~ The Century of Life

Lenticular clouds over Mt. Hood 

on Tuesday of this week.

In Conversations with Youth, Daisaku Ikeda writes of his hopes for this century. On Page 375 he addresses us all:

"This is your time. 

The future is in your hands. 

I hope you will make the twenty-first century wonderful. 

Please make it a century 

in which the life of each individual is cherished 

and respected to the utmost.

A Century 

without discrimination, 

without bullying, 

war 

or murder. 

A Century in which 

no child cries from hunger, 

in which no mothers or children 

take their own lives in despair. 

A Century without environmental destruction.

A Century free of academic elitism, greed and materialism. 

A Century in which 

human rights are upheld as the most precious of treasures. 

A Century of true democracy, 

in which people hold corrupt political leaders to account.

A Century in which 

the people exercise sound judgement 

and pay no heed to misinformation spread in the media. 

I hope you will make it a Century in which each of your precious dreams comes true and your unique individuality blossoms to the fullest. 

To realize these goals, 

it is vital that each of you achieve victory, 

that each of you 

grow into people of philosophy and compassion, 

into people who possess both real ability 

and the sincerity to understand others' hearts. 

Your victory will be the victory of the twenty-first century. 

You are our only hope.