A Guide to the - Rissho Kosei-kai

The Key to a Radiant SmileYoung people today want to be better understood. Of course, this feeling is not limited to theyoung; the same strong desire is found in the heart of almost every human being. And yetdespite that heartfelt wish, young people are unwilling to disclose their true selves. Herein liesa great contradiction. Because they are not honest with themselves, they are not understood,and their own radiance does not shine forth.People often wonder why I am always smiling, and they ask me, "Is there some secret to it?" Iusually reply, "No, there's no secret. It's just that I always try to be myself. That's probably thereason why I always smile."People often try to make themselves look better than they really are, and by doing so theyoften make it hard on themselves. It is as if they are always standing on tiptoe. Though it ismore than enough just to plant both feet firmly on the ground, if one stretches and stands onthe toes, the feet will start to hurt, one totters, and one has to endure it all, so naturally itbecomes a torment. Of course, there are occasions when one needs to look one's best.However, the effort of always trying to overreach oneself makes one feel awkward andirritable. When one feels this way, simply telling oneself, "I am what I am," and just beingoneself produces relaxation and ease.Thanks to this practice, I have been able to spend my days with this sort of serenity. As I lookback, I see that I have always been myself and showed my feelings. To be sure, I have also runinto difficulties. There were some tough times, like the seven years I was constantly pawningmy formal kimono, redeeming it only to pawn it again. Yet even then I was wearing a smile, andfor as long as I can remember, people have been commenting about this habit. When I reflecton why I have been able to let people see just who I am, I can only conclude that it has beenbecause I believe that if only I entrust myself to the Buddha, everything will turn out all right.The strain of overreaching oneself not only is psychological, but also has economicmanifestations in daily life. For example, it would seem that many Japanese these days feel nogreat hesitation about borrowing money. On the contrary, to investors it appears entirelyreasonable to borrow capital at low interest to buy land or shares or make other investments.Even individuals, instead of paying off the home loans they already have, borrow more money,often through the use of credit cards, to buy cars or furniture or to pay for travel.Is there not a pitfall in feeling that borrowing money is a natural, even positive, sort ofbehavior? Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835‐‐1901), the noted writer and educator, and the founder ofKeio University in Tokyo, writes in his autobiography, "On the whole, aside from assassination,there is nothing in this world as frightening to me as borrowing money." According toFukuzawa's rationale, if one borrows money, it is only right to return it, so if it is an amount onecan return anyway, one should make up one's mind not to borrow, but to save until one has thesum in hand. Fukuzawa writes that he never borrowed money, even small amounts. He goes onto say, "In short, I am extremely timid when it comes to going into debt; I have not the least bitof courage. To have borrowed money and then have to worry about not being able to repay iton demand seems to me like being pursued by someone with a drawn sword." If people todaywere as fearful of debt as Fukuzawa, there would certainly be no suffering from onerousrepayment of bank loans or overused credit cards.In Japan there is a saying, "One cannot live seventy days, but one can live seventy years." If onemakes a serious mistake on the job, risks bankruptcy, or is burdened by a loan that isunpayable, one may feel unable to go on living. But the feeling lasts at most seventy days, andbefore one knows it, one somehow recovers. Before long, another crisis arises, and though one45