The purpose of our lives, to the very last moment, is to achieve something of value. No lives are nobler than those of individuals dedicated to something they believe in and fighting for it wholeheartedly, who give their lives selflessly to their beliefs. When you reach old age, you know in your heart if you are satisfied with your life. No one else can know this or decide it for you. The greatest challenge we face in our rapidly aging society is whether we can say honestly at the end of our days that our lives were well spent.

A positive attitude gives us new energy: "The future awaits me. I have new goals, and I'm going to meet them!" By living each day to the fullest, we can bring our lives to a magnificent close like golden rays at sunset illuminating the sky in all directions.

- Daisaku Ikeda, Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, p. 42 -