March, 2017

Some time ago I wrote an article on myself entitled “What I Am, as Viewed by Myself.” This was written from an objective viewpoint. Now, I am going to write about myself more subjectively—about my true feeling, just as it is. At present, I truly believe that I am perhaps the happiest person in the world, and my heart is filled with gratitude to God. What makes me feel this way? As members all know, I have been given an especially important mission by God and I am working hard day and night to fulfill it. They also know so well how many people are being helped through these efforts. There is a secret to my happiness which can easily be put into practice by anybody, even by those who do not have mission as special as mine. That is what I am going to write about. First, I would like to disclose the mental attitude I have always had within me. Since my early years, I have loved to make others happy—so much so that it has become almost my favorite pastime; my consciousness is always centered on the thought of how I can help others to become truly happy. Let me give you some examples of this. As soon as I get up in the morning my first concern is the state of the members of my household. If even one of them is not feeling quite up to par, I too become less than happy. In this area, I am the opposite of the average individual. In most Japanese homes, everyone is concerned about the condition of the head of the family before anyone else. Since I am quite the opposite, I feel strange and sometimes almost sorry for it. It is the hardest thing for me to hear anyone uttering abusive language, angry words, idle complaints or grumblings. It is also very hard for me to listen to repetitious words about the same old stories. I love just to be peaceful and happy. This is my true nature. I believe one of the things that helps me most in being able to enjoy the happiness I feel today is this mental attitude. For this reason I am always saying and writing, “Unless we make others happy, we ourselves can never become truly happy.”
I am sure that the greatest goal of our Work, the realization of paradise on earth, can be attained when this way of thinking has spread and is shared in the minds of all the people on earth. I am afraid this article may sound somewhat self admiring, but I write it in the hope it will be of some help to you.

August 30, 1949