The following is a summary of Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada’s speech at the Fourth Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting Toward Our Centennial at the Tokyo Toda Memorial Auditorium in Sugamo, Tokyo, on Sept. 7, 2024. It was translated from the Sept. 14, 2024 issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun.
Congratulations on this Fourth Headquarters Leaders Meeting! Also in attendance today are 141 members from 12 countries and territories. Let’s extend a warm welcome and thank everyone for making the long trip to join us on this occasion.
I would like to express my deep appreciation to all those who are taking part in the Soka Gakkai’s annual Kosen-rufu Fund [contribution activity] this year end.
Discussing The Human Revolution, The New Human Revolution and other works, Ikeda Sensei once remarked:
Composing daily installments of a serialized work is very demanding. There have been times when I was too tired to lift my pen to write and I had to dictate the day’s installment to my wife. As husband and wife, we have persevered behind the scenes in this struggle of the pen. If Josei Toda were still alive, I know he would have praised us for our efforts.
All the proceeds from the books I have written have been offered as a contribution to kosen-rufu and for educational projects. My wife firmly concurs that this is the right thing to do, saying she is sure Soka Gakkai presidents Josei Toda and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi would have been pleased by my decision, as of course are all the Soka Gakkai members. Although this is a private matter, I wanted to share this for the sake of our leaders in the future.
The Soka Gakkai today was built through Sensei’s all-out efforts and is an organization in perfect accord with the Buddha’s intent. Inheriting this spirit and devoting ourselves just as tirelessly to protect and promote the development of the Soka Gakkai is the way of disciples who feel deep gratitude and seek to repay it.
Let us reach out and speak with warm care and sincerity to one individual after another.
The Aug. 21 edition of the Seikyo Shimbun carried an article about the moving relationship between the eminent postwar critic and journalist Daizo Kusayanagi (1924–2002) and Sensei. In one exchange, Sensei quoted Nichiren Daishonin, who said, “I, Nichiren, do not cry, but my tears flow ceaselessly” (“The True Aspect of All Phenomena,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 386). These words encapsulate his feelings as a leader. In a magazine article Mr. Kusayanagi wrote about Sensei, he cited that passage and stated: “These words embody the virtue of kindness. The Chinese character for ‘kindness’ is composed of an element meaning ‘person’ and an element meaning ‘concern.’ Kindness is the ability to regard the pain and sadness of others as one’s own.”[1]
As the Daishonin puts it, “The varied sufferings that all living beings undergo—all these are Nichiren’s own sufferings” (The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, p. 138). Mr. Toda once said that the essence of politics boils down to the spirit embodied in these words.
Indeed, empathy, or regarding the suffering of others as one’s own, is the starting point in the effort to establish the correct teaching for the peace of the land, and spreading this spirit is the very essence of kosen-rufu.
As we approach the first anniversary of Sensei’s passing on Nov. 15 and the anniversary of the establishment of the Soka Gakkai on Nov. 18, let us mark both occasions by achieving a resounding victory of the people for the sake of world peace and the happiness of humanity.
October 11, 2024, World Tribune, p. 11
References
- Translated from Japanese. Daizo Kusayanagi, “Ikeda Daisaku: Gendai seinen o sasaeru nijunin” (Daisaku Ikeda: 20 Individuals Championing Today’s Youth), Toki (Epoch), December 1968, p. 69. ↩︎
You are reading {{ meterCount }} of {{ meterMax }} free premium articles