A paean to the human spirit, sung by the people, echoed high into the clear blue sky.
We have triumphed! We have achieved a firm and lasting victory!
As in a gripping drama, we have fought and striven with a passionate fighting spirit, for the sake of the great principles of truth and justice, for the smiles of our noble fellow members and comrades. We have weathered churning seas and raging storms. And we have defied and exposed every nefarious plot against us, one after another, so that we could see this brilliant day, this glorious dawn of the 68th anniversary of the Soka Gakkai’s founding.
Congratulations! Thank you!
Our resolute efforts to spread the Mystic Law across the globe, to 128 [now 192] countries and territories, will go down in history for all time. The benefit that accrues to this achievement is boundless and immeasurable. And how unstintingly Nichiren Daishonin would surely praise us!
The great Mahatma Gandhi once told his young grandson the following story:
One day on a beach before dawn, a man was picking up starfish that had been washed ashore and tossing them back into the sea. He knew that when the sun rose it would dry the starfish out and kill them.
A youth walked up to the man and asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to save these starfish.”
The beach was covered with starfish too many to count. The youth said in an exasperated tone: “There is no way you can save all of these starfish. It’s hopeless. Surely you must know that.”
But the man, picking up another starfish and tossing it back into the sea, replied in a quiet voice, “That may be true, but still, to this starfish it makes a great difference.”
Mahatma Gandhi used this story to teach his grandson that, if we can touch another person’s life and save that life, we can make a tremendous difference by that very action.
The history of our movement to propagate Nichiren Buddhism is a history of reaching out to others and cherishing the life of each individual. The Soka Gakkai is the only organization that is carrying out the spirit of that wonderful story of the starfish. Our movement focuses on the individual. It is a process of heart-to-heart communication where we share one another’s problems, inspire one another in our struggles and call forth the courage, wisdom and strength to survive all obstacles.
It is also a vigorous nonviolent struggle against external forces that threaten human dignity, such as violence and political and economic oppression, and an effort to build an age of human triumph. Such an effort demands an enormous amount of hard work and patience, however. In a sense, it is a momentous spiritual struggle to purge feelings of powerlessness and resignation that assign change to the realm of the impossible.
Yet our first Soka Gakkai president, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, as well as our second president, Josei Toda, set out fearlessly on that long, long journey.
Mr. Makiguchi once visited a famous scholar who was a good friend. At first, as they each spoke about their work, the conversation was quite warm and pleasant, but when Mr. Makiguchi began to talk about the Lotus Sutra and the greatness of Nichiren Buddhism, the scholar suddenly stood up and shouted: “Get out! Get out!” He pushed Mr. Makiguchi out the front door and slammed it shut behind him. Mr. Makiguchi said, regret in his voice: “This is how Japan’s top intellectuals behave. It’s symptomatic of the arrogance of people of the two vehicles [that is, learning and realization].”
Mr. Makiguchi never intended to use the authority or influence of intellectual or political leaders to spread Nichiren’s teachings. In his encounter with the scholar, his only intent was to communicate to a friend what he knew was the true way of human existence based on the true teaching of Buddhism. Mr. Makiguchi’s constant struggle was to carry that message to those who were suffering, to all humanity and to the very depths of each individual’s life—and that is the proud tradition of the Soka Gakkai.
Inheriting this spirit from Mr. Makiguchi, we have ushered in the dawn of an age of the victory of the people. Who has accomplished this enormous feat?
It is you—all of you—who have chanted and prayed for the happiness of your friends day and night, and worked hard to teach them about Buddhism and introduce them to the practice.
It is you, the inexpressibly noble members of our organization, who have continued to energetically promote the Soka Gakkai’s organ publications and proclaim the truth and justice of our movement.
It is you who have upheld the spirit of the Buddha, bravely encouraging your fellow members day after day out of selfless concern for their growth and development, while enduring the abuse and criticism of thoughtless and malicious individuals.
It is you who, as foremost champions of humanism and peace, have risen to realize these goals in every region, proudly showing the world the greatness of the SGI through your own dauntless examples.
With the deepest respect and appreciation, I crown every one of you who has carried out the compassionate actions of the Buddha a monarch of the people. I shake your hand firmly and declare: “Let us go forth! For the sake of our century, let us set forth again on the journey of kosen-rufu.”
July 12, 2024, World Tribune, pp. 2–3
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