Since the Soka Gakkai’s founding on Nov. 18, 1930, what has kept the founding spirit alive from one person to another, from one generation to the next?
The legacy of our movement lives on in the mentors and disciples of Soka, the myriad ordinary people who, with courage and self-reliance, have risen up to transform the destiny of their lives, families and communities in the most difficult times and places.
In writing of the Soka Gakkai’s founding month, Ikeda Sensei emphasized that Nov. 18 is neither a time to reflect on the past nor “a page in some dusty old chronicle” (see Nov. 1, 2024, World Tribune, p. 2). Rather, it lives on in the present. Our victories right now assure that our movement will endure 100 years hence. In a 2003 essay, Sensei writes:
This November, please write an unprecedented page of history in your lives. Please make it a month of rebirth, of breaking out of your shell—a month in which you crash through your self-imposed limitations and bravely set forth with a stand-alone spirit. (Nov. 1, 2024, World Tribune, p. 2)
As we mark the first anniversary of Ikeda Sensei’s passing, on Nov. 15, 2023, the World Tribune looked back at this year’s issues to gather seven iconic pieces of his guidance on crashing through our self-imposed limitations.
1) The source of great transformation is found in a radical deepening of our prayer.
When our fundamental mindset changes, we ourselves change. And when we change, the environment and the world change, too.
The source of this great transformation is found nowhere but in a radical deepening of our own prayer to the Gohonzon. Prayer to the Gohonzon is completely different from that found in a dependent, supplicant faith; we do not weakly and passively beg someone for salvation or assistance. Prayer in Nichiren Buddhism is fundamentally a vow. It is a pledge or commitment to follow a chosen course of action; it is a declaration to challenge a clear objective. As such, how could anything be more wonderful than the vow to realize our personal human revolution and actualize kosen-rufu with its goal of world peace? (Oct. 4, 2024, World Tribune, p. 3)
2) When we pledge to achieve kosen-rufu, our prayer is that of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
When we pray, it’s important to have a firm conviction that all our prayers will be answered and to pray with intensity. Mentors and disciples, Bodhisattvas of the Earth striving together for kosen-rufu, unite their hearts in prayer, so their prayers are certain to come true. When we truly pledge to achieve kosen-rufu as we chant, then our prayer is a prayer of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. At that moment, our lives open and expand to that of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Such prayers have the power to set the heavenly deities and the Buddhas, the entire universe, into action, and they will protect us and our families, while also answering our personal prayers. As such, praying for kosen-rufu is the direct path to expanding our own life state and realizing our personal prayers. (July 5, 2024, World Tribune, p. 6)
3) When we read Nichiren Daishonin’s writings, we come into direct contact with his towering life state.
We can always correctly perceive the essence of life illuminated by the unparalleled mirror of Nichiren Daishonin’s writings. With a sound view of life, human existence, society and the universe, we can survey everything clearly and without distortion. Wielding the “sharp sword” of faith, we can sever ties with all negative influences and advance without confusion or doubt along the correct path of eternity, happiness, true self and purity.
When we read his writings, we can come into direct contact with the towering life state of Nichiren Daishonin himself. We can break out of our small, constricting shell and open a vast, expansive state of life. Like the sun from time without beginning, the light emitted from the magnificent life of the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law completely bathes our entire beings. …
When we read Nichiren’s writings aloud in the course of efforts for kosen-rufu, the lion’s roar of his golden words resonates with power and passion in our lives, and the enormous power of the Buddha wells up from our inner depths. (April 12, 2024, World Tribune, p. 7)
4) When we advance in unity with our fellow members, we can climb the summit of our own human revolution.
Buddhism is harmony, solidarity, the unity of many in body, one in mind. Everyone is a supremely worthy Buddha, a Bodhisattva of the Earth with a profound mission. That is why a spirit of mutual respect and of friendly support and assistance is so important. If we have this spirit, we are guaranteed to triumph both in life and in kosen-rufu. We will be absolutely unbeatable. …
Unity is strength. Unity is right. Unity is beautiful. Unity is enjoyable. Solid unity for kosen-rufu is always accompanied by the development of a more expansive state of life by each individual. This is because when we align our spirit with the advance of kosen-rufu, we can break through the shell of our own selfish ego. When we have the spirit to advance together with the Soka Gakkai, together with our fellow members, together on the path of mentor and disciple dedicated to the cause of justice, we can climb the summit of our own great human revolution. (June 21, 2024, World Tribune, p. 3)
5) Sharing Buddhism helps us break down the icy walls of ignorance in our own lives and transform our karma.
Sharing Buddhism is not about debating or defeating others in argument. It is encouraging and urging another person to awaken to the fact that we are all supremely respectworthy beings who possess the Buddha nature. This is precisely what Bodhisattva Never Disparaging did. It is also a struggle to break down the icy walls of darkness or ignorance in our own lives, which take the form of apathy, passivity and other negative emotions.
When we talk with others about Buddhism, we are actually grappling with our own ignorance and earthly desires. That’s why it gives us the strength to surmount our own problems, enabling us to solidly transform our state of life and change our karma. (July 5, 2024, World Tribune, p. 6)
6) It’s important to build a strong self that can face any challenge with optimism and joy.
The realities that await us in the 21st century are not all bright and positive. There will be countries and communities that face various hardships, trials and tumults. As practitioners of the Mystic Law, however, let us each build a strong self so that, no matter what times may lie ahead, we can live with buoyant optimism and joy.
I also hope you will work together to make your communities and your countries places where people can lead happy, fulfilled lives.
That is the reason we are striving for kosen-rufu. There is no higher path or nobler way of life than one dedicated to kosen-rufu. (Aug. 2, 2024, World Tribune, p. 9)
7) Courage is the most important quality for becoming happy.
Nothing is more powerful than the great vow we make to realize kosen-rufu, to share the Mystic Law with others and to attain Buddhahood ourselves and help others do the same. The benevolent forces of the universe protect those who strive to achieve this great vow. Because of our commitment to this vow, the Soka Gakkai has grown into the global movement that it has. …
The great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–81) encouraged a young person: “In view of your persistence, something definitely will become of you. … Who doesn’t have failures? And would a life in which everything was smooth be worth anything? More courage and sense of self—that’s what you need.”
Courage—this is the most important quality for all of us, especially for the youth. (March 15, 2024, World Tribune, p. 3)
November 15, 2024, World Tribune, pp. 6–7
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