Making Things Easier for Others
Founder Niwano told us, “To work is to make things easier for others.” This teaches us that by working for the happiness of others and doing all that we can for them, we achieve happiness for ourselves. These days there is an increasing number of young Japanese who do not find any joy or challenge, or any appeal in working, such as those that are known as “freeters” (who work only at part-time and temporary jobs) or as “NEETs” (those Not in Employment, Education, or Training).
Such a large-scale phenomenon was previously unheard of, but in Japan today with its materialistic and money-driven society, the feelings of satisfaction and achievement that are now important to human beings seem to be weakened.
The educator Yoshio Toi teaches us about the scholastic training that can nourish villages. What he means by this is the sort of academic ability that enables students to be meaningfully motivated to revive activities in the village or town where they were born. The aim of this is to help them grow up to be active, motivated people who will try to change their locality to a place of hope. With Tokyo and Osaka serving as models, urbanization is rapidly progressing throughout Japan. But if we take just a few steps away from the bustling city, and look more closely at a small town or village, we find an environment where the simple joys of being human can be experienced. We become aware of being caused to live thanks to the many blessings of nature and our ancestors. This leads us to be active with affection for the place where we have roots and become freely involved in our work. We can then find the true meaning of living through helping to revive and nourish the village or town.
Most important in this is that adults should make every genuine effort to help young people grow up to recognize their local roots, and that together they share an appreciation for the emotional content of daily life.

Exercising Our Unlimited Power
Every human being has a unique individual personality. Yet, when we look deeply into the source of our lives, we see that we and others are caused to live by the great Life-force, the eternal Buddha. In other words, as children of the Buddha, we are granted unlimited power by being born.
Once we realize this, the barrier between self and others disappears and we are one. We begin to recognize the great joy of exercising the power we have through our work or the duties we have been assigned.
The Japanese word jibun (self) combines the meanings of “a unique being” and “part of the whole.” It expresses the idea that each person is an individual member of the totality of human society.
By awakening to that “self,” we will transcend egotistical thinking and realize that working for the sake of others brings us true happiness.