This section features Ikeda Sensei’s seminal guidance to the members of the United States. The following is an abridgement of his speech given at the Youth Division Training Session, held at Soka University Los Angeles in Calabasas, California, on February 19, 1990. The full speech can be found in My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, pp. 38–44.
Nichiren Buddhism teaches that our existence is identical to the universe as a whole, and the universe as a whole is identical to our existence. Each individual human life is a microcosm.
The practice of gongyo is a grand and noble rite to achieve the vital communication of the microcosm of each person’s existence with the universe, based on the Gohonzon. …
Nichiren Daishonin discovered and awoke to the great Law of all existence that underlies all the partial laws governing spiritual and physical phenomena, and it was he who revealed that Law to humanity as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This Mystic Law applies equally to the universe as a whole and to each individual human existence. The universe and the individual are one in this Mystic Law.
Under certain circumstances, an invisible law takes form as a visible existence. The individual human existence, for example, emerges out of its state of fusion with the rest of the universe by taking shape in the womb and being born into the world.
A ship can be regarded as a tangible representation of the law of buoyancy, just as an airplane represents the laws of aerodynamics, and a radio or television program represents the law of electromagnetic waves. All of these objects give shape to invisible laws.
The fundamental Law of the universe and individual existence is also invisible. The Daishonin inscribed the Gohonzon as a visual representation of that Mystic Law for the people of the world. The Lotus Sutra and other Buddhist scriptures are the instruction manuals for the Gohonzon.
Josei Toda, my teacher and the second Soka Gakkai president, explained the Gohonzon in an easily comprehensible way as a “machine to produce happiness.”
When we carry out gongyo and chant daimoku before the Gohonzon, our individual existence is perfectly harmonized with the universe. Both the universe and our individual existence are the concrete manifestations of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as is the Gohonzon. That is why when we do gongyo and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the Gohonzon, our existence and the universe mesh as perfectly as two gears and, with an initial creak, begin to work together. …
Gongyo is a practice that calls forth and activates the infinite power that the microcosm inherently possesses. It transforms your fate, breaks through any apparent dead end and converts sufferings into happiness. It creates a transformation, a revolution of the microcosm. It is a diagram in miniature of kosen-rufu in our lives.
The kosen-rufu that is our aim is a movement to transform the universe, the earth and human society into a world of peace, comfort and harmony in accord with the rhythm of the Mystic Law.
If you let an automobile or any other machine fall into disuse, it will rust and stop working correctly. You have to use it and maintain it regularly and properly. Why, the same thing is even true of the hair on our heads: if we don’t wash it regularly, we’ll get dandruff!
If we don’t do gongyo, the rhythm of our lives will be thrown off kilter, just as a machine that isn’t oiled will rust. Gongyo and chanting daimoku are like starting the automobile’s engine every day and driving in the direction of happiness and truth. By doing so day after day, you will gradually attain perfect unity with the universe and the Law. That state is the state of the Buddha.
Once that has happened, you can enjoy yourself with complete freedom for all eternity. Your existence will be a diamond that will never perish throughout the three existences.
To attain Buddhahood in this life, the Daishonin warns us with firm concern that we must never retreat in our practice. Even though we may experience a period of sadness or depression, the principle that earthly desires are enlightenment teaches us that great sufferings are bound to be transformed into equally great joy, progress and value. There is nothing to fear, since the Gohonzon possesses the infinite power of the Law and the Buddha.
We often say that strong faith, valiant and untiring practice, and courageous acts are important. This is an expression of the truth that without a strong will and courageous practice, it is impossible to achieve great things.
You cannot communicate with another unless you are clear and direct. If you lack the courage of your convictions and mumble vague things, you won’t make any impression on your listeners or strike a chord in their hearts. And of course you will not be able to move or convince them. To do that you need to be very determined and sure. …
To fly, a plane needs the extra push it gets by accelerating down a runway. To get good grades in school, you need the extra push of study before a test. Whatever you do, to achieve something better, to reach a higher level, you need a push. Buddhism teaches practice for oneself and practice for others. If either one is lacking, you cannot practice properly.
The Gohonzon is the concrete manifestation of the very existence of Nichiren Daishonin, who taught kosen-rufu. Because of that, if you only do gongyo and chant daimoku and don’t take any other action for the sake of kosen-rufu or improving your own life, the Gohonzon will not have its true, full effect.
If, however, you take actions to achieve kosen-rufu, they will serve as that extra push for your own life and help you leap to higher and higher states of mind in your gongyo and chanting as well. …
Action is the source of blessings and merits. In propagating the teachings, for example, whether the person you are presenting the teachings to arouses faith or not is their problem. The effects of our action of propagating will vary, depending on the person’s capacities and other conditions.
There is no need at all to rejoice or lament over each effect. You can be proud that you have practiced the truest, most wonderful Law of life in the universe to the best of your ability and go forward with your head held high. One who has acted for the sake of kosen-rufu is already a great victor in life. …
We are always setting out, full of hope, from today to the future, from this moment to eternal happiness. We are always young, always beginning. My message to you is that you must be absolutely certain of this and live your wonderful lives without regret, with joy and brightness, always moving forward.
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