On the subject of joy, the Daishonin says, "'Joy' means delight one shares with others"; and "'Joy' is to share wisdom and compassion with others" (GZ,761). The key point is that joy is something we share with others. To be concerned only with one's own happiness is egoism. To claim you care only about the happiness of others is hypocrisy. Genuine happiness is becoming happy together with others.
President Toda said: "Just becoming happy oneself--there's nothing difficult to that. It's easy. Helping others become happy is the foundation of our faith." The earlier passage by the Daishonin plainly states that such happiness is gained by sharing wisdom and compassion, sharing the life of the Buddha. To have wisdom but lack compassion is to lead a closed and constricted life. That is not true wisdom. To possess compassion but lack wisdom and be foolish is to be of no help to anyone, including oneself. One who cannot help another does not know compassion at all.
(The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, Vol. 5, page 37)
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