Highlights of the October 2024 Study Material

Key Concept

Cultivating Our Identity as Bodhisattvas of the Earth

In 1943, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda was imprisoned for his opposition to the Japanese militarist government during World War II. During his imprisonment, Mr. Toda continued to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and sought to understand the essence of the Lotus Sutra. 

After deeply studying passages from the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra—the opening sutra of the Lotus Sutra—about the nature of the Buddha, he came to the realization that the Buddha is life itself. As he continued his pursuit to understand the Lotus Sutra, he came to the profound realization that he was a Bodhisattva of the Earth. Ikeda Sensei says:

Just as the saying “Start digging right where you are, for there lies the source!” implies, when we dig into the inner reaches of our own being, the common foundation of life that all people share comes into view. This foundation is none other than the eternal life of the universe. President Toda became enlightened not only to the wellspring at the core of his own being, but also to the foundation of life that all people share. He realized that, as he put it, “in essence, all people are in fact Bodhisattvas of the Earth.” (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 3, p. 266)

Mr. Toda’s realization that he was a Bodhisattva of the Earth became the basis of understanding from which he developed the Soka Gakkai post-World War II. This awareness puts into perspective the true nature of discrimination and egoism and offers a solution. 

In 1992, protests erupted in Los Angeles over the verdict in the Rodney King case. Deeply pained by this, Ikeda Sensei in January 1993 presented his poem “The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land” to the members of Los Angeles and the SGI-USA, encouraging each individual to awaken to their identity as a Bodhisattva of the Earth. Sensei writes:

As each group seeks their
separate roots and origins, 
society fractures along a thousand fissure lines.

When neighbors distance themselves
from neighbors, continue your uncompromising quest
for your truer roots
in the deepest regions of your life. 

Seek out the primordial “roots” of humankind.
Then you will without fail discover 
the stately expanse of Jiyu
unfolding in the depths of your life.

Here is the home, the dwelling place
to which humankind traces
its original existence—
beyond all borders,
beyond all differences of gender and race.

Here is a world offering true proof
of our humanity.

If one reaches back to these fundamental roots,
all become friends and comrades.
To realize this is to “emerge from the earth.”
(My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, p. 214–15)

In addition, Sensei says:

Today we need a transformation in how society views the human being. When people’s view of the human being changes, everything will change. “You must not yoke yourself to nationality or to ethnicity. You must not think of yourself as powerless or as ‘no more than a collection of matter.’ You must not regard yourself as a slave to your genes. Fundamentally, you have limitless and immense potential. Fundamentally, the human being is one with the universe! Such is the immense power of one person!” This is the message of the Lotus Sutra. (WLS-3, 270)

—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department

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Wisdom into Action

A Positive Feedback Loop

Demetrius Brady
Memphis, Tenn.

Q: How does participating in Ikeda Wisdom Academy impact your daily life?

Study is such a key pillar of our Buddhist practice. Ikeda Wisdom Academy meetings are spaces where my fellow youth leaders and I can meet up and discuss Ikeda Sensei’s guidance. What I find fascinating is how people understand and apply the study material. Hearing my peers’ thoughts on it helps me soak up the message.

A big challenge I see nowadays is self-centeredness, especially for the young men around me. The message I get out of the material is that my true mission as a Bodhisattva of the Earth is to help others, and to do that, I also have to achieve my own happiness. But the key to that—as I remember talking about in one conversation—lies in the true essence of why we do shakubuku. It’s not about the numbers; it’s about wanting people to be absolutely happy, about getting out of self-centeredness.

For me, the reason why I’m studying in the Ikeda Wisdom Academy is not to gain all this knowledge but to become a better vehicle of Buddhism. I want to practice this teaching in reality, not just through reading—there are a lot of people I want to help. That’s why dialogue, especially one-to-one, is so important. The academy meetings help me practice that, especially when I learn new concepts.

Work can get intense, and sometimes it feels overwhelming. Studying helps me know why I’m here. Sure, I make a living, but the real substance, the real purpose, is to help others. That same fundamental vow is the basis for my conduct with co-workers, customers and at SGI activities alike. I always strive to be a vibrant soul. And as an artist, I write and rap, too. A personal goal of mine is to reach more people locally through my music by the year’s end. Putting daimoku first, I’m striving to help people in my community and support at least five young men in my chapter stand up!

From the October 2024 Living Buddhism