It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.
Daisaku IkedaRead
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.
Interpretation
Creative expressions like poems and songs resonate universally, connecting people across cultures and eras.
This quote reflects on the profound power of artistic expression, particularly in the form of poems and songs. Such creations, when born from genuine emotion, can bridge boundaries of nationality and time, allowing them to touch the hearts of many, regardless of their background. This speaks to the idea that art has a unique ability to unify humanity and evoke shared feelings, making its impact timeless and universally relatable.
In practice
In a graduation speech to inspire students about the universal nature of creativity and expression.
It is much more valuable to look for the strength in others. You can gain nothing by criticizing their imperfections.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When asked, 'How do you write?' I invariably answer, 'one word at a time.'
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium, and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.
It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well painted. This is the essence of academicism.
My work on titles was a marvelous opportunity to learn about filmmaking. I think I touched on just about every aspect of the process, both creative and technical. And I worked with many wonderful people.
Luxury is not a necessity to me, but beautiful and good things are.
His outflung hands traced over the threads of his rug, passed loop by loop through some patient woman's hands. Or maybe she hadn't been patient. Maybe she'd been tired, or irritated, or distracted, or hungry, or angry. Maybe she had been dying. But her hands had kept moving, all the same.
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