It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.
Daisaku IkedaRead
We are not merely passive pawns of historical forces; nor are we victims of the past. We can shape and direct history.
Interpretation
What this quote means
We have the power to influence our own history and not just be shaped by it.
This quote emphasizes human agency in the face of historical events, suggesting that individuals are not simply subjects of past conditions but active participants who can mold and navigate their futures. It empowers us to take responsibility for our actions and highlights the potential we have to change the course of our lives and history through our decisions.
Themes
AgencyHistoryChangeEmpowermentResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about personal development, this quote can inspire individuals to take charge of their lives.
More from Daisaku Ikeda
All quotes →There’s no need for us to be held back by the past or how things have been so far. The important thing is what seeds we are sowing now for the future.
Daisaku IkedaRead
True love should be transformative; a process that amplifies our capacity to cherish not just one person but all people. It can make us stronger, lift us higher and deepen us as individuals. Only to the extent that we polish ourselves now can we hope to develop wonderful bonds of the heart in the future.
Daisaku IkedaRead
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.
Daisaku IkedaRead
Just as a diamond can only be polished by another diamond, it is only through genuine, all-out engagement with others that people can polish their character, and help each other to reach greater heights.
Daisaku IkedaRead
Creating harmony amidst diversity is a fundamental issue of the twenty-first century. While celebrating the unique characteristics of different peoples and cultures, we have to create solidarity on the level of our common humanity, our common life. Without such solidarity, there will be no future for the human race. Diversity should not beget conflict in the world, but richness.
Daisaku IkedaRead
Similar quotes
There are some things about myself I can’t explain to anyone. There are some things I don’t understand at all. I can’t tell what I think about things or what I’m after. I don’t know what my strengths are or what I’m supposed to do about them. But if I start thinking about these things in too much detail the whole thing gets scary. And if I get scared I can only think about myself. I become really self-centered, and without meaning to, I hurt people. So I’m not such a wonderful human being.
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It was too much. The comfortable people made comfortable jokes about weather and things but I sat mostly silent saying a word or so when necessary a word or so trying to hide from them the fact that I was a fool and feeling terrible And I was numb, numb again, numb again again and again, numbness and pain swelling in me.
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Police departments are always a reflection of the society that they serve. Is there such a thing as 'police culture?' Absolutely. Is that culture isolated form the surrounding society? Absolutely not.
Don WinslowRead
Why is erasing desire seen as so important? If the subjugation of the self is the point of the self what's the point in having a self? It's like someone handing you a leaflet which says throw this leaflet away.
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What's the difference? How can people be so inconsistent? Why is it that free immigration was a good thing before 1914 and free immigration is a bad thing today? Well, there is a sense in which that answer is right. There's a sense in which free immigration, in the same sense as we had it before 1914 is not possible today. Why not?
Milton FriedmanRead
It will be remembered, that a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is solemnly enjoined by most of the state constitutions, and particularly by our own, as a necessary safeguard against the danger of degeneracy, to which republics are liable, as well as other governments, though in a less degree than others.
James MadisonRead