'Just as a spring breeze awakens tender new shoots of green, sincere encouragement can thaw a frozen heart and instil courage. It is the most powerful means to rejuvenate the human spirit.' 

These and other words of encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda

'Thank you' is a miraculous expression. We feel good when we say it, and we feel good when we hear it. When we speak or hear the words thank you, the armour falls from our hearts and we communicate on the deepest level.

In Japan, the mountain potatoes known as taros are rough and dirty when harvested, but when they are placed in a basin of running water together and rolled against each other, the skin peels away, leaving the potatoes shining clean and ready for cooking. Similarly, the only way for us to hone and polish our character is through our interactions with others.

Genuine sincerity opens people's hearts, while manipulation causes them to close.

A Buddhist scripture states that 'the voice does the Buddha's work'. The voice has the power to convey one's compassion for another. No matter how much you care, the sentiment alone will not communicate itself. When your feelings are conveyed in words, your voice will have the immense power to move another person's heart.

The heart of one person moves another's ... If one's own heart is closed, then the doors of other people's hearts will also shut tight. On the other hand, someone who makes all those around him or her into allies, bathing them in the sunlight of spring,  will be treasured by all.

It is much more valuable to look for the strengths in others - you gain nothing by criticising people's imperfections.

To commiserate with, to feel pity for, another falls short of genuine compassion. Understanding is key. People manage to draw the strength to carry on simply knowing that there is someone out there that understands them unconditionally.

You cannot judge the quality of another's friendship by superficial appearances, especially when things are going smoothly. It is only when we have experienced the worst, most crushing of times—when we have plumbed the depths of life—that we can experience the joys of genuine friendship. Only a man of principle, a woman of resolve—a person who stays true to their chosen path—can be a trusted and true friend, and have real friends in turn.

People who come to your aid in a time of personal crisis are people of genuine compassion and courage. More often than not, people will try to act as though nothing is wrong. Others are either afraid or refuse to get involved, and quietly drift away.

Our voice resonates with life. Because this is so, it can touch the lives of others. The caring and compassion imbued in your voice finds passage to the listener's soul, striking his or her heart and causing it to sing out; the human voice summons something profound from deep within, and can even compel a person into action.