Courageously Reaching Out to Others in Dialogue (Part 1)

In a letter to the lay nun Myoho, the Daishonin writes:

When with our mouths we chant the Mystic Law [Nam-myoho-renge-kyo], our Buddha nature, being summoned, will invariably emerge. The Buddha nature of [the heavenly deities] Brahma and Shakra, being called, will protect us, and the Buddha nature of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas [throughout the universe], being summoned, will rejoice. (“Those Initially Aspiring to the Way,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 887)

There is no more powerful sound than the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. No force can obstruct the advance of our movement as we chant and spread the Mystic Law, cheerfully reaching out to others in dialogue based on the shared commitment of mentor and disciple.

The opening section of “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” one of the core texts of Nichiren Buddhism, also contains an invitation to engage in dialogue: “Let us discuss the question at length” (WND-1, 7).

With dedication and commitment, the Soka Gakkai has faithfully followed the great path of dialogue set forth by Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin.

In his writings, Nichiren frequently quotes the following passage from the Lotus Sutra:

If one of these good men or good women in the time after I have passed into extinction is able to secretly expound the Lotus Sutra to one person, even one phrase of it, then you should know that he or she is the envoy of the thus come one. He has been dispatched by the thus come one and carries out the thus come one’s work. (LSOC, 200)

Today, it is the members of the Soka Gakkai who are dedicating their lives to this noble work of the Buddha. Day after day, motivated by their wish to widely spread the philosophy and ideals of Nichiren Buddhism and realize a peaceful and prosperous society, they courageously engage one individual after another in heart-to-heart dialogue.

Be fearless,
be unafraid
and leave behind
a brilliant legacy of Soka
for all eternity.

At a headquarters leaders meeting held at the Toshima Civic Center (in Toshima Ward, Tokyo) in June 1957, my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, opened the floor for questions. Immediately, several hands shot up. Mr. Toda didn’t just talk at people; he valued open and forthright dialogue.

On that occasion, one leader asked a question about discussion meetings. Commenting on the small attendance of the unit-level discussion meetings (present-day block discussion meetings), he said he would like to hold meetings on a larger level so that there would be more participants and the meetings would be more energetic. Mr. Toda replied that the leader was welcome to do so, but that alone wouldn’t suffice. He went on to explain the importance of small gatherings where people are able to talk to one another face-to-face and shared his memories of some of the discussion meetings he had attended in the organization’s early days. He talked about going to a small meeting place on the second story of a building in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, with a perilously slanted floor. He also recalled attending a discussion meeting in Adachi Ward, Tokyo. In those days, there was little public transportation in that part of the city, so a member gave him a ride home in his truck.

Recounting these adventures with smiles and boisterous laughter, he added with great conviction: “Sometimes only a few members attended these discussion meetings. But that’s how today’s Soka Gakkai was built! Speaking openly and honestly with others and sharing what’s in our heart—these are the principles from which the Soka Gakkai originated and the driving force behind its growth.”

Actually, on that day of the headquarters leaders meeting, I had to make a rushed trip to Yubari in Hokkaido (the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands). At the time, I was working furiously to assist our members there, who were the targets of unjust discrimination in what is known as the Yubari Coal Miners Union Incident.^[1] At the instructions of my mentor, I had leapt into the fray, engaging the local citizens in dialogue and setting the record straight. As a result, we won a victory for our movement.

Sincerely engaging others
in heart-to-heart dialogue,
I behold
a rainbow of friendship
smiling down from the heavens.

People tend to focus more on large meetings and grand events. But the main concern of Buddhism is always the human revolution of a single individual. A single individual initiating an earnest struggle for kosen-rufu can create dynamic and all-encompassing change. That is why it is so important to encourage and support those striving on the front lines, no matter how inconspicuous their efforts might seem.

The closer the distance between people, the faster waves of sympathy, joy and courage can spread and touch their hearts. To advance kosen-rufu, it is vital that we meet and talk to people. The Daishonin writes to his disciples: “Without actually meeting you it is hard to say all that I wish” (“A Harsh Winter Deep in the Mountains,” WND-2, 807), and “I will speak in more detail when we meet” (“No Safety in the Threefold World,” WND-1, 892). He clearly valued the importance of meeting and talking to people in person.

Perhaps because of this, he also showed the deepest consideration not just to the person whom he was addressing but to others in their lives—their family members back home and the other followers living in the same area whom he was unable to meet. Such thoughtfulness is a true expression of Buddhist humanism.

Therefore, Nichiren also writes with great compassion to the lay nun Sennichi, who had sent her husband Abutsu-bo to visit him [at Minobu from Sado Island]: “Merely seeing each other’s face would in itself be insignificant. It is the heart that is important” (“The Drum at the Gate of Thunder,” WND-1, 949). No barriers divide hearts that are united by mutual understanding. Though they may be separated by physical distance, they remain together. This is the profound spirit of the shared struggle of mentor and disciple.

The memories of your efforts
to reach out to others in dialogue
in this lifetime
will shine as your benefit
throughout the three existences.

During the 1956 Osaka Campaign, in which we made unprecedented strides in our movement for kosen-rufu, I actively went out and spoke with small groups of members. Of course, focusing on smaller groups increased the number of places I needed to go in order to encourage everyone, but it meant I was able to visit more neighborhoods and communities.

One morning, I went to the Sakai area of Osaka. When I got off the Nankai Main Line at Sakai Station, a rosy-cheeked young man was waiting for me with a bicycle. Sakai had several railway lines running north and south through the area—the Nankai Main Line, the Hankai Line, the Nankai Koya Line and the Hanwa Line—but to travel east and west, a bicycle was more convenient.

I mounted the bicycle that the young man had readied for me and, guided by several local young men’s division and women’s division members, I pedaled with them through the narrow streets and alleyways. “Here we are!” “This is the house!” the women’s division members would call out as we neared our destinations. I could clearly see that they loved their community and knew it like the back of their hands. Action—action is what counts.

Even today, it is our women’s division members—especially the key leaders at each local level of the organization—who know their neighborhoods and communities the best. Their prayers and actions have made the Soka Gakkai the strong organization it is today. My gratitude to them is unbounded.

Chanting daimoku earnestly in my heart, I made my way among the ordinary people whom I love so dearly. I wanted to meet and talk with as many people as I possibly could, not missing a single opportunity to do so. I not only wanted to encourage my fellow members with my whole being, but also forge new ties with those I was meeting for the first time. It was these heart-to-heart bonds that built our invincible Ever-Victorious Kansai.

The great physicist Albert Einstein (1879–1955) declared: “Only understanding for our neighbors, justice in our dealings and willingness to help our fellow [human beings] can give human society permanence and assure security for the individual.”^[2] Let us therefore continue forward, deepening our friendships and courageously reaching out to others in dialogue.

December 13, 2024, World Tribune, pp. 2–3