Ikeda Wisdom Academy Exam Workbook (Part 3 of 3)

Who can take the exam?
• All district through national youth leaders.

When is the exam? 
•The exam will be on Saturday, February 1, 2025. Registration for the exam opens on Monday, December 9, 2024. 

Where can the exam be taken?
• At local SGI-USA centers. More information will be forthcoming.

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 and all workbook questions can be accessed at: worldtribune.org/c/ikeda-wisdom-academy/

The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 3

Part One: ‘The Emergence of the Treasure Tower’ Chapter

39) What did Nichiren Daishonin establish based on the ceremony in the “Treasure Tower” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, and what does it enable us to perceive? (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 3, p. 4)

40) In “On the Treasure Tower,” Nichiren Daishonin writes: “In the Latter Day of the Law, _____________ It follows, therefore, that whether eminent or humble, high or low, those who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo are themselves the treasure tower and, likewise, are themselves the Thus Come One Many Treasures. No treasure tower exists other than Myoho-renge-kyo. Abutsu-bo is therefore the treasure tower itself, and the treasure tower is Abutsu-bo himself. No other knowledge is purposeful” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 299). (WLS-3, 12)

41) In the concept of “the fusion of reality and wisdom,” in essence, ______________________________________________. That is our “reality.” (WLS-3, 18)

42) In contrast to the nine easy acts—which include things like hurling Mount Sumeru to the measureless Buddha lands and walking across a burning prairie carrying a bundle of dry grass and not getting burned—what are the six difficult acts? (WLS-3, 49)

43) What point does the doctrine of the six difficult and nine easy acts teach? (WLS-3, 55)

44) What is the function of the devilish nature of power? On the other hand, what is the function of compassion? (WLS-3, 58)

Part Two: ‘Devadatta’ Chapter

45) If evil functions to reveal good, then evil in its entirety becomes good. This is truly the oneness of good and evil. But if evil is simply allowed to run its course, then it does not become good. Only when evil is __________________________________ does it become an entity of the oneness of good and evil. (WLS-3, 83)

46) Nichiren Daishonin writes: “_________________was the foremost good friend to the Thus Come One Shakyamuni. In this age as well, it is not one’s allies but one’s powerful ______________________ who assist one’s progress.” (“The Actions of the Votary of the Lotus Sutra,” WND-1, 770). (WLS-3, 84)

47) What three perspectives on good and evil are discussed in this chapter, and which is the Buddhist view? (WLS-3, 87–88)

48) From one standpoint, the discussion of the dragon girl in the “Devadatta” chapter is a tale about how arrogant men are defeated by women. It is also a grand declaration of what? (WLS-3, 93–94)

49) What two things does the “jewel worth as much as a major world system” that the dragon girl presents to the Buddha represent? (WLS-3, 98)

50) Regarding Devadatta and the dragon girl, they exemplify attaining Buddhahood in one’s present form, offering an image of the total human being attaining enlightenment. Devadatta represents the spiritual aspect and the dragon king’s daughter the physical aspect. In addition, what two Buddhist principles does Nichiren say they each represent? (WLS-3, 119)

Part Three: ‘Encouraging Devotion’ Chapter

51) At the start of “Encouraging Devotion,” the Lotus Sutra’s 13th chapter, Bodhisattva Medicine King and others vow to Shakyamuni Buddha to spread the Law after his passing despite the many difficulties this will entail.

a) They later say, “We care nothing for our bodies or lives but are anxious only for the unsurpassed way” (LSOC, 233). According to Nichiren Daishonin, what is meant by the “unsurpassed way”? (WLS-3, 146)

b) And connected to this, how does Sensei explain the “ultimate meaning of faith”? (WLS-3, 146)

52) In Sensei’s discussion about the struggle with the three powerful enemies, he contrasts the Lotus Sutra, a teaching of supreme respect for all people, with ideas that embody disrespect and seek to turn people into objects to be exploited. What does Sensei say practicing the Lotus Sutra means on the level of individuals and in terms of society? (WLS-3, 148)

Part Four: ‘Peaceful Practices’ Chapter

53) In “Peaceful Practices,” the Lotus Sutra’s 14th chapter, Shakyamuni responds to the question of how to teach and spread the Lotus Sutra in the evil age after his passing, explaining four peaceful practices: peaceful action, peaceful speech, peaceful thought and peaceful vow. The Daishonin designates these peaceful practices as shoju, a propagation method in which one gradually leads another to the supreme teaching without refuting their attachment to inferior teachings. Shakubuku, on the other hand, is the method of propagating Buddhism by refuting another’s attachment to heretical views and thus leading them to the correct Buddhist teaching. (WLS-3, 171)

a) In discussing which is to be used in the Latter Day of the Law, however, what does Nichiren say? (WLS-3, 172)

b) Related to this, what does Sensei say is “the major premise” of propagation in the Latter Day? And at times how might we carry out our propagation efforts? (WLS-3, 172)

54) In discussing this chapter of the Lotus Sutra, what does Sensei say “peaceful” of the “four peaceful ways of practice” fundamentally means in terms of practicing the Mystic Law? (WLS-3, 176)

Part Five: ‘Emerging from the Earth’ Chapter

55) “Emerging from the Earth,” the Lotus Sutra’s 15th chapter, is the beginning of the sutra’s latter half, or essential teaching. The transition from the theoretical teaching (first half of the Lotus Sutra) to the essential teaching represents a dramatic revolution. The emergence of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth in this chapter symbolizes the principle of overturning existing beliefs and convictions to open people’s eyes to the truth. What is this principle called? (WLS-3, 195–96)

56) The “Emerging from the Earth” chapter describes the Bodhisattvas of the Earth as being “
________________________________” (LSOC, 263). This means that rather than trying to escape reality, we choose to dwell in the “swamp” of society, yet remain untainted by worldly affairs and concerns, solidly focused on our fundamental mission to propagate Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. (WLS-3, 245)

57) In discussing that what is necessary to achieve Buddhahood and the struggle for kosen-rufu as a true Bodhisattva of the Earth, Ikeda Sensei highlights an essential passage from Nichiren’s writings, which states, “If you are ____________________________________________, you must be a Bodhisattva of the Earth” (WND-1, 385). (WLS-3, 253)

58) During his imprisonment, in March 1944, while chanting, studying and pondering the Lotus Sutra, Josei Toda had the profound realization that “Buddha is life itself.” Later that year in November, he had the instantaneous realization: “_____________________________________!” This marked the moment the Lotus Sutra was revived, and the sun of human revolution dawned on the modern age. (WLS-3, 254)

59) By struggling against difficulties we polish our clouded hearts, fuse with the eternal rhythm of the Mystic Law as Bodhisattvas of the Earth. What does Nichiren say about the “great bodhisattvas [who emerged from the earth]”? (WLS-3, 259)

From the January 2025 Living Buddhism