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Here is a comment on home and family from an interview with Mr. Ikeda:
The japanese word for family consists of the Chinese characters for house and garden. The house represents the physical dimension of food, clothing and shelter. The garden represents the spiritual dimension. These two aspects make up a family.
"With the high price of real estate, most people can't afford much of a physical garden. However, if one's internal garden- that is to say, the heart - is filled with blossoming flowers and the chirping of birds and insects that changes with the seasons, then that contributes to a happy household. The soil from which this garden grows is the expansive feeling of love.
"Of course, extreme poverty is a tragedy. Ultimately, though,happiness is unrelated to whether one has money. What is happiness? What is unhappiness? Happiness cannot be bought in a department store. But anyone with a heart can have a wonderful 'garden of happiness."
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One's thoughtfulness and personal appearance are important every day. I believe that this extends to cosmetics. Even if a woman stays at home, I think she should get into the habit of attending to her personal appearance the first thing in the morning, including putting on her makeup.
There is a phrase in a Buddshist text that goes, "as a woman refuses to part with her mirror" (WND-I,1036).
Women should never part with their sense of compsure. We need to take time to stop and converse with the flower, listen to beautiful music and sign with appreciation at the sigt of a beautiful painting.
The japanese word for family consists of the Chinese characters for house and garden. The house represents the physical dimension of food, clothing and shelter. The garden represents the spiritual dimension. These two aspects make up a family.
"With the high price of real estate, most people can't afford much of a physical garden. However, if one's internal garden- that is to say, the heart - is filled with blossoming flowers and the chirping of birds and insects that changes with the seasons, then that contributes to a happy household. The soil from which this garden grows is the expansive feeling of love.
"Of course, extreme poverty is a tragedy. Ultimately, though,happiness is unrelated to whether one has money. What is happiness? What is unhappiness? Happiness cannot be bought in a department store. But anyone with a heart can have a wonderful 'garden of happiness."
_________________________________________________________________________________
One's thoughtfulness and personal appearance are important every day. I believe that this extends to cosmetics. Even if a woman stays at home, I think she should get into the habit of attending to her personal appearance the first thing in the morning, including putting on her makeup.
There is a phrase in a Buddshist text that goes, "as a woman refuses to part with her mirror" (WND-I,1036).
Women should never part with their sense of compsure. We need to take time to stop and converse with the flower, listen to beautiful music and sign with appreciation at the sigt of a beautiful painting.
Last edited by Maorin on Fri Nov 12, 2010 10:03 pm; edited 1 time in total