What is True Happiness? By Daisaku Ikeda

"What are the ingredients for happiness? 

This is one of life's fundamental questions. 

The most crucial determinant for happiness 
is our inner state of life.  

Those with an expansive 
inner state of being 
are happy. 

They live out their days with an open and confident spirit. 

People with a strong state of life are happy. They are not defeated by suffering and can calmly enjoy life as it unfolds. 

Those with a profound state of life are happy. Savoring the deep significance of life, they are able to create a record of meaningful and enduring value. 

People with a pure state of life are happy. They are always spreading refreshing joy to those around them. 

There are countless individuals who are blessed with wealth, social status, and other material advantages, but are unhappy. And such external circumstances are changeable and impermanent; no one knows how long they will last. 

But when you have established an unshakable inner state of happiness, no one can destroy it. Nothing can violate it. Creating this great life state is the aim of your Buddhist practice. The important thing is to never stray from the Gohonzon, to never stop advancing in faith. 

In the course of life, you are bound to face all kinds of difficulties. At times, you may become stuck. That is when you need to strengthen your faith and chant daimoku in earnest. Difficult as it might be, once you surmount the steep mountain of your karma, a new horizon will open wide before you. Buddhist practice is the repetition of this process. Eventually, you will reach a state of absolute happiness that will never be destroyed. 

Develop deep, strongly rooted faith. As long as a sapling has strong roots and receives enough sunshine and water, it will grow into a tall, sturdy tree, even if it is buffeted by the elements. The same is true of our Buddhist practice and our lives. 
I hope that all of you will be courageous individuals who cheerfully spread the great light of happiness throughout this troubled world, your lives serving as personal proof of the true greatness of Nichiren Buddhism. "

From the February 2015 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai's monthly study journal, as quoted in the May 2015 Living Buddhism.