Ikeda Wisdom Academy Exam Workbook (Part 1 of 3)

Where can I find the exam material?
• The exam is based on The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vols. 1–3

These books can be purchased at your local SGI-USA bookstore or online at: bookstore.sgi-usa.org. Monthly highlights of the material can be accessed at: worldtribune.org/c/ikeda-wisdom-academy/

---

The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1

Part One: Prologue 

1) Ikeda Sensei contrasts the sense of powerlessness that many people feel in the world today with the Lotus Sutra’s philosophy. What is this philosophy, and what does it teach us? (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1, pp. 6–7)

2) While in prison, Josei Toda poured his entire life into studying the Lotus Sutra. Sensei said: “Mr. Toda’s enlightenment should be remembered as the moment that clearly revealed the Soka Gakkai as the true heir to Nichiren Buddhism. That was the starting point of all our propagation activities and our development today, and I firmly believe it was an epoch-making event in the history of Buddhism. Mr. Toda revived Buddhism in contemporary times and made it accessible to all.” In studying the Lotus Sutra, what vital point did Mr. Toda finally perceive?  (WLS-1, 21–23)

3) What did the truth to which Mr. Toda became enlightened do for people today, and what is our mission as disciples? (WLS-1, 21)

4) The teachings of Buddhism were expounded for the happiness of all people; there is no discrimination based on sex, priestly or lay status, race, academic achievement, social position, power or wealth. Why, in fact, was Buddhism expounded? (WLS-1, 43)

Part Two: ‘Introduction’ Chapter 

5) Nichiren Daishonin says: “The words ‘This is what’ indicate the substance of the doctrine heard from the Buddha. ‘I heard’ indicates a person who is capable of upholding that doctrine” (The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, p. 9). 

In his discussion about “This is what I heard,” Sensei says: “‘The substance of a doctrine,’ ‘the heart or core of all phenomena,’ is the Buddha’s wisdom itself, which pulsates through all twenty-eight chapters of the sutra. That wisdom is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. ‘This is what I heard’—in other words, having heard that wisdom just as it is—refers to faith and the way of mentor and disciple. Only through the disciples’ faith in the mentor can they enter the world of the Buddha’s wisdom” (WLS-1, 72). From this perspective, in terms of the Lotus Sutra, what does “This is what I heard” mean? (WLS-1, 72–73)

6) After the Buddha Sun Moon Bright’s passing, Bodhisattva Wonderfully Bright preached the Lotus Sutra in the same way his mentor did as an expression of “this is what I heard.”

Sensei explains, “The Buddha’s passing was a turning point at which Bodhisattva Wonderfully Bright was transformed from a disciple who sought to be led to enlightenment into a disciple who led others to enlightenment.” Where does the heart of “This is what I heard” exist? (WLS-1, 75)

7) Please briefly describe the three assemblies in two places. (WLS-1, 92)

8) The three assemblies in two places parallel the movement from reality prior to enlightenment to the state of enlightenment and then to reality after enlightenment. How can we “immediately become a part of the assembly in the air” in our daily lives? (WLS-1, 96)

9) The three assemblies in two places expresses the totality of the Buddha’s enlightenment and can also be seen in the term “Thus Come One,” one of the ten honorable titles of the Buddha. How does Sensei describe a Buddha or Thus Come One? (WLS-1, 102)

Part Three: ‘Expedient Means’ Chapter:

10) Because the Buddha is filled with the desire to save others, he agonizes over how to achieve this. Such compassion gives rise to wisdom. This is the power of expedient means and the art of human education. In a certain sense, then, based on the power of expedient means, how could we describe a Buddha? (WLS-1, 120) 

11) Viewed through the perspective of expedient means, our experiences shine as the secret and wonderful expedient. What did President Toda often say about this? (WLS-1, 130)

12) How does Sensei describe the Soka Gakkai from the perspective of education? (WLS-1, 133)

13) The Lotus Sutra states: “Shariputra, the Thus Come Ones have only the single Buddha vehicle that they employ in order to preach the Law to living beings. They do not have any other vehicle, a second one or a third one” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 64). In Buddhism, the Buddha’s teachings are likened to “vehicles” because they convey people to a higher state of being. In the Lotus Sutra, the “three vehicles” refer to: a) _________________________________________, b) ______________________________________ and c) ____________________________________. 

In addition, the “one vehicle” means “the one and only teaching.” Since the Buddha expounds his teaching solely so that all people may attain Buddhahood, it is also called the d)____________________________________________________. (WLS-1, 140)

14) In relation to the Ten Worlds, what was made possible for the first time by the Lotus Sutra? And what is this principle called? (WLS-1, 148)

15) What engendered a fundamental transformation in the way of life of the disciple based on the principle of the replacement of the three vehicles with the one vehicle? (WLS-1, 157)

16) All living beings can become Buddhas once they awaken to the true reality of their own lives. Ignorance or awareness of this truth is the only difference between a Buddha and persons of the nine worlds. What is this “true reality of their own lives”? (WLS-1, 172)

17) The Gohonzon is the Gohonzon of the true aspect of all phenomena, a mirror in which the true aspect of all phenomena of all living beings is reflected. What happens when we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the Gohonzon? (WLS-1, 181)

18) The true aspect of all phenomena, it must be remembered, is, after all, the ultimate truth viewed by the Buddha. It is different from the reality that deluded, unenlightened, ordinary beings see. That is why each person must continually strive to approach the realization of the ultimate truth. This is what our Buddhist practice is all about. How do we go about doing this? (WLS-1, 184–85)

19) In discussing the ever-changing nature of all phenomena and the Middle Way, Josei Toda said that “the appearance and nature of all things, in their moment-by-moment existence are ________________________.” A single moment contains all life from the infinite past as well as all life into the infinite future. “This single instant of life,” he said “contains __________________________________________________________________.” (WLS-1, 199)

20) In response to the Lotus Sutra passage, “For the sake of these living beings I summon up a mind of great compassion” (LSOC, 76), what does Sensei say about compassion? (WLS-1, 210) 

21) Nichiren writes, “[The Lotus Sutra] is like the water of the great ocean, a single drop of which contains water from all the countless streams and rivers” (WND-1, 69). Citing this passage, Sensei says, “The whole is included in the parts.” How does this apply to each individual? (WLS-1, 211)

From the November 2024 Living Buddhism