"A truley heroic way of life lies in squarely confronting and courageously overcoming the pounding vicissitudes that life always throws in our paths"

"The place where you are now is vital. The path toward victory opens from where you stand."

"Knowledge itself is a neutral tool that can be used for good or evil. Wisdom, in contrast, always directs us toward happiness. The task of education must be to stimulate and unleash the wisdom that lies dormant in the lives of all young people. This is not a forced process, like pressing something into a preformed mold, but rather drawing out the potential which exists within."

"While conservatism and self-protection might be likened to winter, night, and death, the spirit of pioneering and attempting to realize ideals evokes images of spring, morning, and birth."

"Life can unfold unlimitedly as long as we have a heart of appreciation and an undefeated mind."

"What we need most is to restore and revive our humanity. We must create a society where people can live with dignity, a society where people can live in peace and happiness. People are tired of games played for power and profit. People are tired of hatred and conflict. They want to live with more wisdom and confidence, and in peace. It may seem like a long and distant path, but I am convinced that the 21st century must see a movement to sow the seeds of peace, happiness and trust in every person's heart. The seeds of a truly humane way of life. I am convinced this is the only path."

"True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances."

"In most cases, our so-called limitations are nothing more than our own decision to limit ourselves."

"Faith and daily life, faith and work-these are not separate things. They are one and the same. To think of them as separate-that faith is faith, and work is work-is theoretical faith. Based on the recognition that work and faith are one and the same, we should put one hundred percent of our energy into our jobs and one hundred percent into our faith, too. When we resolve to do this, we enter the path of victory in life. Faith means to show irrefutable proof of victory amid the realities of society and in our own daily lives."

"What is defeat in life? It is not merely making a mistake; defeat means giving up on yourself in the midst of difficulty. What is true success in life? True success means winning in your battle with yourself. Those who persist in the pursuit of their dreams, no matter what the hurdles, are winners in life, for they have won over their weaknesses."

"Everything begins with the resolve to take the first step. From that action, wisdom arises and change begins. Without action, nothing changes."

"What matters is the value we’ve created in our lives, the people we’ve made happy and how much we’ve grown as people."

"Let us give something to each person we meet: joy, courage, hope, assurance, or philosophy, wisdom, a vision for the future. Let us always give something."

"All right, let's get to work again!-This is the spirit of people of genuine substance. Those who avoid hard work or neglect the things they have to do, who just while away their time, eating, sleeping, playing, watching television-such individuals will never experience true happiness, satisfaction or joy."

"There are no greater treasures than the highest human qualities such as compassion, courage and hope. Not even tragic accident or disaster can destroy such treasures of the heart."

"Japan learned from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the tragedy wrought by nuclear weapons must never be repeated and that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist."

"We are not merely passive pawns of historical forces; nor are we victims of the past. We can shape and direct history."

"So long as nuclear weapons continue to exist, so will the temptation to threaten others with overwhelming military force."

"Women are, in my view, natural peacemakers. As givers and nurturers of life, through their focus on human relationships and their engagement with the demanding work of raising children and protecting family life, they develop a deep sense of empathy that cuts through to underlying human realities."

"Genuine happiness can only be achieved when we transform our way of life from the unthinking pursuit of pleasure to one committed to enriching our inner lives, when we focus on 'being more' rather than simply having more."

"The reactions of the human heart are not mechanical and predictable but infinitely subtle and delicate."

"A healthy vision of the future is not possible without an accurate knowledge of the past."

"When one takes action for others, one's own suffering is transformed into the energy that can keep one moving forward; a light of hope illuminating a new tomorrow for oneself and others is kindled."

"The crucial thing is to arouse the awareness that as a matter of human conscience we can never permit the people of any country to fall victim to nuclear weapons, and for each individual to express their refusal to continue living in the shadow of the threat they pose."

"In the past, human society provided encouragement and opportunity for people to extend support to each other, especially in highly stressful situations."

"It is natural for us, as human beings, to look forward. Our eyes naturally look ahead. In this sense, we are made for moving toward a goal."

"The eyes of a poet discover in each person a unique and irreplaceable humanity. While arrogant intellect seeks to control and manipulate the world, the poetic spirit bows with reverence before its mysteries."

"To communicate the truths of history is an act of hope for the future."

"A commitment to human rights cannot be fostered simply through the transmission of knowledge. Action and experience play a crucial role in the learning process."

"Leadership that exploits and sacrifices young people on the altar of its goals is nothing more than raw, demonic power. Genuine leadership is found in ceaseless efforts to foster young people, to pave the way forward for them."

"All people have a natural desire to be needed, to have their importance to others tangibly confirmed."

"The effects of human rights education can be dramatic in awakening people to the value and power of their own lives, as shown in the following stories."

"Leave behind the passive dreaming of a rose-tinted future. The energy of happiness exists in living today with roots sunk firmly in reality's soil."

"Where there is an absence of international political leadership, civil society should step in to fill the gap, providing the energy and vision needed to move the world in a new and better direction."

"Divorced from the cosmos, from nature, from society and from each other, we have become fractured and fragmented."

"Poems and songs penned as an unstoppable outpouring of the heart take on a life of their own. They transcend the limits of nationality and time as they pass from person to person, from one heart to another."

"Having lived through the transition from totalitarianism, I am acutely mindful of the need to never take for granted the basic freedoms of thought, expression and belief that democracy brings."

"But I think we need to remember that democracy everywhere is by its nature incomplete, a work in progress."

"The idea of interdependence is central to Buddhism, which holds that all things come into being through the mutual interactions of various causes and conditions."

"The wisdom and experience of older people is a resource of inestimable worth. Recognizing and treasuring the contributions of older people is essential to the long-term flourishing of any society."

"A genuinely happy person is one who has rendered others happy."

"No one is born hating others."

"I have for some time urged that a nuclear abolition summit to mark the effective end of the nuclear era be convened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 70th anniversary of the bombings of those cities, with the participation of national leaders and representatives of global civil society."

"I firmly believe that the mission of religion in the 21st century must be to contribute concretely to the peaceful coexistence of humankind."

"History is filled with tragic examples of wars that result from diplomatic impasse. Whether in our local communities or in international relations, the skillful use of our communicative capacities to negotiate and resolve differences is the first evidence of human wisdom."

"It is only through such real-life daily struggles and challenges that a genuine sensitivity to human rights can be inculcated. This is a truth that is not limited to school education: it applies to all of us."

"Human rights will be a powerful force for the transformation of reality when they are not simply understood as externally defined norms of behavior but are lived as the spontaneous manifestation of internalized values."

"But I believe we must not allow feelings of defeat to take root in our hearts."

"No one should be left to suffer alone."

"We must take steps to prevent further nuclear weapons development or modernization."