Lending a helping hand to friends who are facing the toughest trials is the trait of genuine friendship. 
-    Mr. Ikeda

Genuine friendship isn’t based on career, fortune, misfortune, social status, experience, ranking or situation. Genuine friendship rules out personal gain, attribution and preconditions. It is the mutual understanding and harmony among individuals of independent personality. It brings out the independence in a person and not loneliness where people could mutually appreciate the significance of each other’s existence. Hence, friendship is enabling each other to live a life of warmth, kindness and freedom.

Friendship is the purest, noblest and unadorned relationship; it is also the most romantic, purest, and heartwarming as well as the most enduring relationship there is. Without friendship, life is devoid of melodious tune likened to the stagnant water. Friendship is everywhere, it is encircling you wherever you go, accompanying you your whole life.

In order for human beings to survive, we must help each other, this is the true path. Regardless whether you lend a hand or were helped by others, nevertheless both parties will feel the joy in the course of action. Say for example, if your luggage is too heavy, helping each other to carry it would be much more of a relief and at ease. At the same time if we could let the joy lending a hand to be spread everyone everywhere, we will create a beautiful bond of friendship. Even though it isn’t us who is struggling with the baggage, but if we happen to see others carrying heavy luggage, we should immediately approach them and offer help.

Associating with good friends decides whether one would live a life of great good. A boat navigating the seas represents our life. If our friends are willing to paddle the boat together with us, the boat will then sail forward; on the contrary, if only one person is left paddling the boat, eventually the boat will be engulfed by the big waves. True friends will appear during those times when you needed help the most to help you and support you. True friendship grows even stronger after every waves and obstacles it encounters, forging an increasingly solid and profound friendship.

Our life is filled with ups and downs, our friends are the ones who could help us go through those times sharing our worries, dispelling our pains and sufferings and lending us their hand at all times. They are like the ladder to support you to ascend a height, your ointment when you are hurt, the bowl of water which satisfies your thirst, a skiff to cross the river. They can’t be purchased with money nor ordered to befriend you; friendship gained through sincerity is the most valuable and most genuine of all. Friendship established based on sincerity won’t be destroyed; whereas friendship built on tactics or schemes will eventually split up.

‘True friend’ and ‘genuine friendship’ is life’s foremost treasure. Friendship is irreplaceable and is far more priceless than any expensive ‘object’. We cannot live a life without friends or in solitary; cutting off friendship from one’s life is equivalent to dispelling the sun from the world.

Labels: e. Words of mentor