Undergraduate Research Conference 2025
The Undergraduate Research Conference is an annual event at BYU–Hawaii that showcases academic work by students from across campus. Interdisciplinary sessions throughout the day feature research paper presentations, research poster sessions, and creative projects including art, music, and writing. Participating in the conference is an excellent way for students to build their research and presentation skills and to professionalize as members of their respective disciplines.
2025Conference Theme: 『Perseverance is power -継続は力なり-』
This is a part of Yakou Sumioka’s book The Sandan no Uta [讃嘆の詩] (The Hymn of Life), which consists of two volumes based on the Shingon Buddhism Teaching. Yakou Sumioka, 住岡夜晃 (1895- 1949) was a religious leader of the Shingon-shu. It’s one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism
(Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shingon_Buddhism).
The following is an English translation of the entire passage [this is not an official translation] which includes the saying:
Be strong, young men.
Be strong like an ox, be strong like an elephant.
To be truly strong is to live one way.
Do not grieve over weakness of character.
Strength of character is not necessarily something to be proud of.
"Aspirations determine one's character. Perseverance is power."
True strength lies in adhering to righteous aspirations. Anger and physical force is something the weak resort to.
Those who succumb to the temptations of bad friends are an example of weakness.
Be strong, young men. Grow big.
『讃嘆の詩〈上巻〉若人よ一道にあれ』
https://koumyoudan.jp/sandannouta/
青年よ。強くなれ。
牛のごとく、象のごとく、強くなれ。真に強いとは、一道を生きぬくことである。
性格の弱さ悲しむなかれ。性格の強さ必ずしも誇るに足らず。
「念願は人格を決定す。継続は力なり。」
真の強さは正しい念願を貫くにある。怒って腕力をふるうがごときは弱者の至れるものである。
悪友の誘惑によって堕落するがごときは弱者の標本である。
青年よ強くなれ。大きくなれ。
Reflecting a Japanese psyche and cultural ethos. It represents the Japanese value of diligence and hard work. Once you set a goal you make continuous efforts until you achieve it. It sometimes might seem very trivial, and the progress may be hardly noticeable, but this is the only way to accomplish the goal. In Western culture, people with intelligence, creativity, and innovative ideas often achieve great success. In other words, one’s character or disposition determines, to a large part, one’s success in life. This proverb emphasizes the importance of setting a goal to which you can devote your entire life and continue to strive on the path. This is a fundamental idea or philosophy leading to the tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and swordsmanship.
There are other proverbs similar to this.
Ishi no ue nimo san-nen. (lit,. Three years on the stone: Perseverance prevails)
Chiri mo tsumore ba yama to naru. (lit., Accumulated dust becomes a mountain: Many little make a mickle) [Mickle apparently is a pile of dust]
Credits to Dr. Noriko Asato of Library & Information Science Program School of Communication & Information, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
https://urc.byuh.edu/