Keep Going, Whatever Happens

Keep Going, Whatever Happens
ーThe Power of an Unshakable Mind

Some words give us the courage to keep going.

They help us rise again when life is difficult. When things are going well, they gently remind us to pause and reflect.

In Japanese, there is a word for the spiritual power within words: kotodama. Words that sustain us through life are worth keeping close to our hearts.

Recently published in Japan, Fudōshin no Nerikata, a lecture on cultivating an unshakable mind, explores the teachings of An Unshakable Mind. In this lecture, Master Ryuho Okawa highlights the following passage as the central message of the book:

“God or Buddha demands human beings to not become conceited in good times and to not fall into deep despair in times of misfortune. Rather, He expects us to keep making steady efforts in every situation.”

— An Unshakable Mind, p. 63

To keep making steady efforts—in both good times and bad.

These words are simple and clear. Yet putting them into practice is far from easy. Success can make us proud of our abilities. Failure can make us feel that all our efforts have been wasted. How can we regain our balance when our minds swing between these extremes?

An Unshakable Mind offers examples from the lives of great individuals.

Carlyle: Beginning Again After Losing His Manuscript

The book recounts an episode in the life of the British thinker Thomas Carlyle. He entrusted a manuscript to a friend, only for it to be mistakenly disposed of by someone working in the friend’s household.

Imagine losing the work you had spent so much time and effort creating. How would you feel?

Carlyle began writing again from the beginning. The completed work would eventually become a celebrated classic of history.

What moves us is the inner strength it takes to return to the task after such a loss.

Having created something once, we can trust that we have the ability to create again. This is the kind of conviction and perseverance we, too, can cultivate.

Edison: Starting Afresh from the Ashes

The book also shares an episode in which the inventor Thomas Edison’s laboratory was destroyed by fire. It describes his response as one of welcome for the opportunity to start again.

Instead of remaining bound to what he had lost, he looked toward what he could do next. His attitude expresses the power of an unshakable mind.

The more we achieve, the more afraid we may become of losing it. Yet even when our outward accomplishments disappear, the experience we have gained and our capacity for effort remain.

“I can always start again from zero.”

Such a conviction can help us find our next step, even in difficult circumstances.

Keep Making Steady Efforts, One Day at a Time

Master Okawa explains that he is deeply moved by the inner attitudes of these great individuals—even more than by their achievements.

An unshakable mind is something each of us can cultivate in everyday life.

When our work receives recognition, we can remain grateful to those around us and continue learning. When things do not turn out as we hoped, we can keep believing in our potential and attend to what we can do today.

These small, daily efforts gradually build a mind that remains steady through life’s changes.

May the words in the final chapter of An Unshakable Mind become a source of lasting strength in your own life.

In this week’s online seminar, “Keep Going, Whatever Happens — The Power of an Unshakable Mind,” we will explore these teachings and how to put them into practice.

We offer this seminar with the prayer that an unshakable mind will become your anchor through life’s storms—and the mast that supports your sails as you move forward again.