SGI President Ikeda sent the following message to participants of New Year’s gongyo meetings held on Jan. 1 at Soka Gakkai centers throughout Japan. The message originally appeared in the Jan. 4 issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper. A New Year’s message to SGI members around the world was printed in the Jan. 1 World Tribune.
Happy New Year to you all! We have started off another year of limitless hope, with the sun and based on the Mystic Law, the ultimate forward-moving rhythm of the universe. Let’s celebrate together with our fellow Bodhisattvas of the Earth throughout Japan and the world!
In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Nichiren Daishonin states: “Great joy [is what] one experiences when one understands for the first time that one’s mind [or life] from the very beginning has been a Buddha. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the greatest of all joys” (see pp. 211–12).
The supreme state of Buddhahood exists nowhere but within our own lives. Could there possibly be any greater joy, then, than awakening to this fact, helping others do the same, and freely exercising our wisdom and abilities based on that state of life? Living each day filled with the “greatest of all joys,” sharing that joy with those around us, and further striving to awaken the Buddha nature of all humankind—this is the essence of our movement for kosen-rufu.
Our societies and the world are waiting for the advancement of Soka humanism and for our capable people who champion peace, culture and education. So, in the coming year:
Let’s overcome all hardships and perform a dance of joy at the progress we are making in our human revolution.
Let’s treasure each person and expand a network of joy where everyone shines their brightest in their own unique way.
Let’s sing a song of great joy at working to realize genuine peace and happiness for all in the place we have chosen to fulfill our vow for kosen-rufu.
Above all, let’s do so together in a bright, positive spirit of harmony and friendship.
My wife, Kaneko, and I are chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo strongly for each of you, who is infinitely precious, praying with all our hearts for your health, long life, good fortune and security.
As Nichiren reminds us: “If you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present”[1] (“The Opening of the Eyes,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 279).
Keeping our focus firmly on this important decade that holds the key to peace and prosperity for our planet, let us bravely make the causes for great victory in kosen-rufu and in our lives. WT
Celebrating the Start of a New Year
SGI President Ikeda composed the following poems to celebrate the start of the New Year.
Advancing for the sake of the eternal future
with disciples destined to grow
“bluer than the indigo”—
what joy it is to pass on
the shared courage of Soka mentors!
White lilies of Soka,
confidently spreading
the lofty fragrance of peace,
create an age where the hearts of all
are filled with great joy.
May our capable youth,
like a galaxy of stars
filling the heavens,
guide the times
with the Soka light of wisdom!
From the Jan. 1 issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper
Advancing together
with the sun,
the diverse unity of Soka
shines like a rainbow
reaching into the skies of victory.
You all have a mission.
You are all supremely noble
human flowers.
In the precious lands where you dwell,
create an infinite blossoming of benefit.
May your lives bloom
as beautiful flowers of Myoho-renge—
lotuses of the Mystic Law—
triumphing over all obstacles and
illuminating this dark age!
From the Jan. 4 issue of the Seikyo Shimbun,
the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper
References
- Words from the Contemplation of the Mind-Ground Sutra. ↩︎
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