The following message by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada was translated from the May 2025 issue of the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal, Daibyakurenge.
One of the most defining hallmarks of Ikeda Sensei’s greatness is that, even as he served as a mentor to countless others, he continued to live his life wholeheartedly as a disciple.
There are those who forget the teachings of their mentor and eventually succumb to arrogance. Yet, even after becoming the third president of the Soka Gakkai, Sensei maintained an ongoing inner dialogue with his mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda. He lived each day with a spirit of continual growth and an enduring youthful spirit.
On May 3, a half-century ago, members of the young men’s and student divisions set up a group that Sensei named the Shin’ichi-kai (Shin’ichi Group). He taught us—his disciples of the Shin’ichi Group generation—that no matter what obstacles and devilish functions may arise in the future, it is the mission of disciples to protect their mentor. The true purpose of youthful disciples is to fulfill this mission.
In 1980, the year after he stepped down as president of the Soka Gakkai,[1] Sensei joined with comrades in the Kyushu, Kansai and Chubu regions to spearhead a bold counteroffensive against the forces that threatened the organization. On May 1, in Fukuoka, Kyushu, he passionately urged: “Never lower the banner of kosen-rufu in your hearts!” On May 3, in Osaka, he voiced his unwavering resolve: “Let’s keep writing new pages of history in our ever-victorious struggle and in life.” On May 9, in Aichi Prefecture, he proudly declared: “The Soka Gakkai will forever fight against evil!”
On May 3, he penned the following inscription on the title page of the manuscript for the fourth volume of his novel The Human Revolution:
This manuscript of The Human Revolution
tells the true story of my mentor Josei Toda’s
grand endeavor for kosen-rufu,
recorded accurately by
his disciple, Daisaku Ikeda.
Do not give credence to
any defamatory or scheming words.
I deeply inscribe the aforewritten for my disciples.
In this volume, a poignant scene unfolds in which Shin’ichi Yamamoto[2] presents the following poem to President Toda after his resignation as general director of the Soka Gakkai:
Still serving
an old
and mystic bond—
though others change,
I alter not.
On May 8, 2007, during his first visit to a training center in Saitama Prefecture, Sensei reflected on the time he and his mentor had tirelessly journeyed through the region in a determined effort to rescue Mr. Toda’s struggling businesses. The vow to protect one’s mentor—come what may—embodies the very spirit that ensures the Soka Gakkai’s everlasting development. It is the direct path to human revolution and the profound inner transformation of one’s state of life.
Protecting the mentor begins with the sincere action of cherishing one individual at a time—an example Ikeda Sensei himself consistently set through his own behavior. As Nichiren Daishonin writes, “Those who call themselves my disciples and practice the Lotus Sutra should all practice as I do” (“Four Bodhisattvas as the Object of Devotion,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 978). My fellow Soka Gakkai members who are directly connected to the Daishonin, now is the time to rise up with pride and confidence and advance in the spirit of the oneness of mentor and disciple!
On the cover—To commemorate May 3, 1960, the day Ikeda Sensei set forth into battle as the third Soka Gakkai President, he bought a reproduction of an oil painting by the German artist Hugo Schnars-Alquist (1855–1939), depicting a sailing ship riding over rough seas. Sensei recalled: “The painting perfectly embodied my spirit as I set out on my voyage for kosen-rufu at the age of 32. … I wish to pass on this fighting spirit of Soka Gakkai members—who are united by the bonds of mentor and disciple, and share the vow of Bodhisattvas of the Earth—to our trustworthy young successors who are resolutely facing the daunting challenges of our times” (May 3, 2020, World Tribune, p. 7).
May 3, 2025 World Tribune, p. 11
References
- On April 24, 1979, Ikeda Sensei stepped down as Soka Gakkai President to shield members from the perverse machinations of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood, which had colluded with corrupt former Soka Gakkai leaders to wrest control of the lay organization. ↩︎
- Ikeda Sensei appears in The New Human Revolution as Shin’ichi Yamamoto. ↩︎
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