by Adin Strauss, Naoko Leslie, Kevin Moncrief, Olivia Saito, Maya Gunaseharan and Ryo Kuroki
SGI-USA Leaders
“It is an illusion to think that the Soka Gakkai will remain just as it is now. Just wait and see the Gakkai in 10, 20 or 50 years—it will be unimaginable. Otherwise, there is no way we can save the nation, to say nothing of humanity. If we fail, the golden teachings of Nichiren Daishonin would be proved false. If the time is ripe, the Gakkai will never remain as it is.” (Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, The Human Revolution, p. 347)
We, the leaders of the SGI-USA, in the spirit of “from this moment on,”[1] make a fresh departure today, Oct. 2, 2020, with deepest appreciation to every person who has so selflessly dedicated themselves to our sacred cause up to this date.
With our sights firmly set on the date of Nov. 18, 2030, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Soka Gakkai, we are more determined than ever to create and re-create a Soka Nichiren Buddhist community in which the life of each precious member overflows with benefit, with joy and with conviction in our profound philosophy and practice.
Amid the many grave challenges our country is experiencing today, we take the deepest pride in the unique mission that our mentor, Ikeda Sensei, has entrusted us with—to be the model for worldwide kosen-rufu.
We affirm that the SGI-USA and its members will transform all karma into mission and all sorrow into joy, with the conviction that those who have suffered the most have the opportunity and the right to become the happiest.
And together, we determine to create:
• An America of Wisdom—in which each person recognizes and acts based on the understanding that our lives are profoundly and unchangeably bound together.
• An America of Courage—in which people neither fear nor deny difference but wholeheartedly embrace diversity in Nichiren’s eternal spirit of “cherry, plum, peach and damson.”
• An America of Compassion—in which each person not only empathizes with those who differ and live in places distant from us but boldly acts on that empathy by sharing our practice far and wide.
• An America of Capable People—in which each person possesses unshakable conviction in their own respectworthy, dignified and powerful Buddha nature within—with the Gohonzon, the writings of Nichiren and the guidance of our eternal mentor at our core.
• An America of Unity—in which we take as our prime point our identity and mission as Bodhisattvas of the Earth who will transcend all differences and advance eternally toward kosen-rufu, the profoundly significant goal that we share with our mentor.
Based on the foregoing, we set forth our shared goals for Nov. 18, 2030, as follows:
• A membership of 350,000 Bodhisattvas of the Earth in America
• 75,000 Future Division members under the age of 18
• 100,000 subscribers to our SGI-USA publications
• And for Nichiren Buddhism and the life-affirming philosophy and practice of Soka to become part of mainstream American culture
October 2, 2020
References
- “From this moment on” is a phrase often linked with the “mystic principle of the true cause.” The true cause for enlightenment is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the Law of life and the universe. Based on this fundamental Law, Buddhism emphasizes the present and future, teaching that, no matter the past, causes made now are what determine the future. ↩︎
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