In this essay, Ikeda Sensei writes of the importance of promoting friendship in our communities. It was translated from the Sept. 20, 2009, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun.
Dedicating my life
to the eternally flowing
great river [of kosen-rufu],
I enjoy an unsurpassed mission
and boundless benefit.
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) wrote to the effect: “Winding are the paths followed by great rivers and great men, but this does not turn them from their goal.”[1] How true this is. Great rivers flow steadily onward, nourishing the land as they wind their way through mountain valleys and green fields. Emerging from its source, a river grows as countless tributaries merge, but no matter how many twists and turns it takes along its journey, it never loses sight of its final destination, the sea.
Nichiren Daishonin writes, “Water flows unceasingly day and night, never stopping for a moment.”[2] Likewise, there is no pause in the flow of our efforts to spread the Mystic Law. We are determined to forge ahead with undaunted fortitude toward our fundamental goal of realizing peace and happiness for all people. This is the mission of Soka and the shared vow of mentor and disciple.
In the Lotus Sutra, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth are described as “clever at difficult questions and answers, their minds knowing no fear” (see The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 263). Afraid to interact with others, people often put up barriers in their hearts. But the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, with their wholehearted belief in the supremely noble Buddha nature inherent in each person’s life, courageously surmount all such barriers and engage others in dialogue. We of the SGI, as the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, reach out to all people, without fear or discrimination. In accord with the sutra’s teaching, we have forged ahead undefeated by raging storms and crashing breakers of adversity. We have striven with complete dedication and conviction for the sake of the dignity of human life, the happiness of the people and world peace.
Knowing this, many friends around the world assure us of their unwavering support and trust, and cheer us on in a show of solidarity. Their friendship and support are a constant source of immense courage, inspiring us afresh in our commitment to realizing peace. Let’s keep fostering solid ties of friendship and trust! In order to do so, we each must first grow into a person who can be a friend and support to those in their immediate environment.
Mothers
shine like the sun
in their communities.
Peace is the universal wish of humankind. Where is the key to peace, however, to be found? The American peace scholar Elise Boulding once said to me: “Peace is not only about taking action in times of danger; it is also about assisting one another in daily life. The family and local community are key starting points.”[3] Peace, in other words, is not some distant dream but a reality that starts where we are right now. Boulding said she always made a point of getting to know her neighbors, because when people know one another, they are more likely to help and assist one another. This is where peace begins.
Many might find it bothersome to get to know their neighbors, or the thought of doing so just never even occurs to them. How admirable, therefore, is our behavior as human beings in that we care about our neighbors and strive to make our community an oasis of friendship and trust.
American steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) wrote in praise of his mother, a Scottish immigrant who made a difference in her community: “My mother was a busy woman, but all her work did not prevent her neighbors from soon recognizing her as a wise and kindly woman whom they could call upon for counsel or help in times of trouble. … She towered among her neighbors wherever she went.”[4] This also perfectly describes the women’s division members, mothers of Soka, who are beloved by all.
The Lotus Sutra praises the Bodhisattvas of the Earth as “a treasure among persons” (LSOC, 262). The mission of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth is to bring people together and shine as treasures of the local community and society at large.
Now, based on my own experience and the experiences of members who have made exemplary contributions to the promotion of friendship in their communities, I would like to share three key points in this endeavor.
The first point is prayer for the security and prosperity of the community.
In “Life Span,” the 16th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, that we recite each day during gongyo, we find the passage, “This, my land, remains safe and tranquil” (LSOC, 272). It is crucial for the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra to chant and take action to ensure that the region where they live and carry out their mission is safe and peaceful, and that their neighbors and fellow residents are protected.
Many people are concerned about the fact that neighborhood and community ties have weakened in recent years. In his treatise “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” the Daishonin writes, “If you care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land, should you not?” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 24). “The four quarters of the land” refers to the area in the four compass directions; it includes our local community and extends to include the entire world. Accordingly, “order and tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land” means a safe and secure environment in our community and, on a larger scale, world peace.
When we value our relations with our neighbors and pray for their health and happiness, we set the stage for genuine communication that allows us to open our hearts to one another. When we offer deep prayer for the prosperity and welfare of our community, it will lead to our own happiness—or to use Nichiren’s words, our own “personal security”—returning to us as benefit in our own life. This is an unerring principle.
The deliverers of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, are truly models for all in this respect. Inheriting the Daishonin’s spirit to bring peace to the land by spreading the correct teaching of the Mystic Law, they travel all over their neighborhoods on their daily delivery rounds and promote our movement for kosen-rufu.
By supporting and protecting
my community,
I walk the path of happiness.
This is a poem that I once presented to these noble uncrowned heroes.
Every day, my wife and I pray for the security of the countries and regions in which all of our noble members live. Whenever we are driving through Shinjuku and nearby neighborhoods such as Shibuya, Minato or Chiyoda wards, we pray for the welfare of all the residents.
The second point for promoting friendship in the community is courteous and considerate action.
Clarifying the fundamental spirit of a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren writes:
The heart of the practice of the Lotus Sutra is found in the “Never Disparaging” chapter. What does Bodhisattva Never Disparaging’s profound respect for people signify? The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behavior as a human being. … The wise may be called human, but the thoughtless are no more than animals. (“The Three Kinds of Treasure,” WND-1, 852)
It is important that we continuously strive to foster trust and widen our circle of friendship through wise words and actions while bringing happiness to bloom in our own lives as well as in the lives of those around us.
In the summer of 1952, my wife and I moved from our former residence in Mita, in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, to the Shuzanso Apartments in Sanno, Ota Ward. When we moved in, we went around to all our new neighbors and introduced ourselves. Greeting them politely, I handed them my business card. Whenever I met any of them on the street, I always said hello and tried to have a friendly exchange.
Members often visited our home late in the evening. Though we asked everyone—particularly the youth division members who tended to get rather boisterous in large numbers—to be as quiet as possible, there were nevertheless occasions when our neighbors no doubt found us rather noisy.
Whenever that happened, the next day my wife would visit the neighbors and apologize for the disturbance. Her sincerity put our neighbors at ease and promoted understanding. Having been brought up in a home where Soka Gakkai meetings were held on a regular basis, my wife learned from an early age how to welcome members warmly and the importance of being courteous and considerate to the neighbors and nurturing friendly relations with them.
The key is to always remain open and receptive, and interact with one’s neighbors in a very easy and natural way. Fostering friendly relations in the community becomes a foundation of happiness and peace that enables us to transform the place we live into a Land of Tranquil Light.
I would like to express my appreciation once again to all our dedicated members who open their homes for local discussion meetings and other events. These homes are noble centers for spreading the Mystic Law. They are places where members gather to advance in their Buddhist practice to attain enlightenment in this lifetime. They are bases in our endeavor to realize peace and prosperity in our communities by promoting the humanistic principles of Nichiren Buddhism. As such, the families who make their homes available to members are certain to receive immeasurable good fortune and benefit.
I hope everyone will show their utmost appreciation to such members and treat their homes with consideration, taking great care not to cause any trouble for these members and their families or for their neighbors.
Across the three existences,
the lives of you and your family
will be filled with boundless benefit
as Buddhas who take action
for kosen-rufu.
To be continued in an upcoming issue.
October 18, 2024, World Tribune, pp. 2–3
References
- Translated from German. Friedrich Nietzsche, “Bruchstücke zu den Dionysos-Dithyramben” (Fragments to the Dionysian Dithyrambs), in Nietzsches Werke (The Works of Nietzsche) (Salzburg: Das Bergland-Buch Verlag, 1952), vol. 1, p. 288. ↩︎
- This passage is from “Oko kikigaki” (The Recorded Lectures), not included in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vols. 1 or 2, but in Gosho zenshu, new edition, p. 1173 [Gosho zenshu, p. 841]. ↩︎
- Elise Boulding and Daisaku Ikeda, Into Full Flower: Making Peace Culture Happen (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dialogue Path Press, 2010), p. 7. ↩︎
- Andrew Carnegie, Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1920), p. 31. ↩︎
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