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Thought for the day

Victory

While I no longer practice Nichiren Buddhism – at least not within the SGI, the echos and reverberations of Ikeda still bounce around in my head from time to time. I guess that’s inevitable after seeing endless photos of him in various victory poses. Of course, that fact alone might encourage some to claim a small victory for Nichiren Buddhism, but then this isn’t the kind of Victory I am thinking about. So, anyway, I was lying in my bed this morning, my head swimming with man-flu (which, as we know, is the worst thing imaginable) and I tried to define Victory in my own words. I’m just making a note of it here.

The greatest personal victories are those that do not require the defeat or suffering of another

For example, fame is not a victory because it diminishes the importance of others. Personal wealth and material gain are not victories because they deprive others. Religious victory is an oxymoron of obscene proportions.

The only real victories in life are courage in the face of one’s challenges and encouraging others to overcome theirs