Ikeda Sensei gave the following speech on Aug. 1, 2008, at the Soka Gakkai Youth Division Representatives Conference. This guidance first appeared in the Aug. 8, 2008, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. The first three parts appear in the March 7, 14 and 21, World Tribune, pp. 2–3.
Dr. Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace laureate with whom my wife and I enjoy a warm friendship, wrote: “Every person who has ever achieved anything has been knocked down many times. But all of them picked themselves up and kept going, and that is what I have always tried to do.”[1] Great individuals do not accept defeat. I hope you, my young friends, will be people who are never defeated. Please live with the resolve to brave difficult challenges, no matter how painful, and triumph in the end.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela, another Nobel laureate and an invincible champion of human rights, emerged victorious after spending 27 1/2 years in prison struggling against apartheid. I was humbled to learn, incidentally, that our meeting came about as a result of his having read an English translation of some of my essays while he was in prison.
A Shared Bond
August is the month in which second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda and I first met. Mr. Toda—who was imprisoned together with Tsunesaburo Makiguchi for their stance against Japan’s militarist government—was a man of dauntless purpose who refused to be defeated. He devotedly supported Mr. Makiguchi, the founding Soka Gakkai president, and accompanied him to prison, where his noble mentor died. When Mr. Toda was eventually released, he showed his immense respect for Mr. Makiguchi and expressed profound appreciation for him, saying, “In your vast and boundless compassion, you let me accompany you even to prison.”
When I learned of Mr. Toda’s words, I was deeply moved by the wonderful mentor-disciple bond that they shared, and I decided to give my all to struggling alongside Mr. Toda as his disciple. This history of mentor and disciple is the foundation of the history of the Soka Gakkai.
I would like to offer this poem to all members who are striving together with me:
Stand up
for what’s right,
for kosen-rufu,
and for your own happiness
and victory.
With a Profound Determination
Now, I’d like to share with you some passages that I wrote in my diary during the 1956 Osaka Campaign in Kansai. I was 28 years old at the time.
One entry dated Feb. 9, 1956, reads: “The fortress of Osaka is solidifying with each passing year. … This will also be Sensei’s [Mr. Toda’s] first major battle for Nichiren Buddhism. Must fight resolutely and repay my debt of gratitude. My determination is profound and vast.”[2] In a certain sense, that campaign in Kansai was the culmination of the struggles of my 20s.
On March 29, 1956, I wrote:
Will finally lead in earnest in this spring’s battle in Osaka.
Young revolutionaries of the Mystic Law! Astride white horses, advance at full speed! Transcending mountains, rivers and valleys. Like the Greek runner Milo!
Your mentor is resolutely watching over you![3]
‘Only Faith and Unity Lead to Victory’
When I heard about the difficulties that the leaders in Tokyo were having with their own campaign that year, I wrote in my diary on April 10, 1956: “They must not forget that only faith and unity will lead to victory. ‘Too many cooks. …’ Leaders! Understand Sensei’s intention! There is no other way to victory.”[4] Victory will elude those who lose sight of the path of mentor and disciple. Firmly recognizing the truth of this principle more than anyone, I pressed on ahead.
During the Osaka Campaign, I studied Nichiren Daishonin’s writing “The Unity of Husband and Wife” with the Kansai members. It reads in part: “If a commanding general is fainthearted, his soldiers will become cowards. If a bow is weak, the bowstring will be slack. If the wind is gentle, the waves will never rise high. This all accords with the principles of nature” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 464). It is just as Nichiren says.
Leadership in our movement for kosen-rufu is not about shouting orders and directives. That would be doing a great disservice to our members. To lead others, we must show our genuine sincerity and commitment—not only in our words but in what we actually do and achieve. “I’ll do it first. I’ll take full responsibility. So please join me!”—unless we have this spirit as leaders, we can’t expect anyone to follow us and rise into action. For leaders to content themselves with barking orders from above is disrespectful and a sign of their arrogance and conceit. Leaders of kosen-rufu must lead with sincerity and commitment. I would like you to engrave this in your hearts. Following this path sows the seeds for victory.
Courageous Faith Is the Ultimate Strategy
On April 11, 1956, I wrote in my diary:
How glorious to take flight under my mentor’s tutelage. Mine has been the most wonderful youth in all the world. I have no regrets. I am happy.
Pleased to see Osaka is decisively running ahead of the pack in propagation. A tide is rising in Kansai. Must continue to carefully and commendably lead the campaign.[5]
Kansai was winning with unbeatable momentum. One of the passages that we studied at that time reads:
Employ the strategy of the Lotus Sutra before any other. “All others who bear you enmity or malice will likewise be wiped out” [see The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 329].[6]These golden words will never prove false. The heart of strategy and swordsmanship derives from the Mystic Law. Have profound faith. A coward cannot have any of his prayers answered. (“The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra,” WND-1, 1001)
A battle cannot be won if we are cowardly. Courageous faith is the ultimate strategy.
Referring to those who abandoned their faith when they encountered the slightest degree of criticism or abuse, Mr. Toda said sternly: “We don’t need such spineless people in the Soka Gakkai. Cowards are just a hindrance.” He also said, “Members who genuinely share my spirit are those who live and die with the Soka Gakkai.”
It is the struggles of mentors and disciples, embodying this unwavering commitment, that have made the Soka Gakkai what it is today.
Be Dynamic Leaders of the People
The Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925), lamenting the corruption that was contributing to his country’s decline, declared: “We must hurry to remove this harmful influence.”[7] Mr. Toda shared the same view toward corruption, instructing us to be quick to spot it and stamp it out. He was adamant that we not delay in tackling it.
Similarly, it is crucial that we put a stop to attempts to obstruct the flow of kosen-rufu. We must be constantly alert and give no advantage to such negative forces. Allowing them to gain confidence and strength would only imperil the Soka Gakkai’s progress and development.
The Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi (also Ali Shir Nava’i; 1441–1501) aptly observed, “Those who spend their days casting nets of selfishness and greed will ultimately be caught in their own nets.”[8]
And Indian independence leader and champion of nonviolence Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) asserted, “Firmness and courage are qualities which are bound to leave their impress even upon the adversary.”[9] I hope you will be vibrant and dynamic leaders of the people. Live with confidence, dignity and unshakable commitment.
Advancing Joyfully
Allow me to share with you a few more passages from my youthful diary. On April 25, 1956, I wrote:
Received a report that Osaka Chapter grew by 9,002 households this month. An unprecedented result. … Will decisively challenge and surpass this target in May. The dream of 10,000 households [in a single month] is possible to attain. Like a rising tide, like raging waves, we save suffering people. Enjoy! Leap! Shout! Dance! Sing! Robust youth of the Mystic Law! Comrades in spirit![10]
I took action to realize Mr. Toda’s goal and proclaimed his ideals wherever I went. Because I devoted myself wholeheartedly as a disciple, all those who struggled alongside me also joyfully took action for kosen-rufu.
The Osaka Campaign was especially challenging. However, the Kansai members joined me valiantly in the struggle.
The golden rule for victory in life is the same in every age. I triumphed in struggles that everyone said could not be won. For the sake of kosen-rufu, I battled on to the very end. I achieved top results in propagation and every other endeavor I took on.
I am counting on the youth division. I want you, my bright young friends, to inherit and continue on this great path of mentor and disciple.
Thank you for listening so patiently to my speech today. I would also like to express my appreciation to all the event staff for their tireless behind-the-scenes support and to the women’s division for their strong prayers for the success of this training session. Thank you so much.
The long hot days of summer stretch on, so please take care of your health. Be well, and live victoriously!
April 4, 2025 World Tribune, pp. 2–3
References
- Wangari Muta Maathai, Unbowed: A Memoir (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), p. 164. ↩︎
- See A Youthful Diary, p. 289. ↩︎
- See Ibid., p. 293. ↩︎
- Ibid., p. 296. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- In the sutra, the sentence reads in the past tense. It was changed here to fit the context of this letter. ↩︎
- Translated from Japanese. Sun Yat-sen, Son Bun senshu (Selected Writings of Sun Yat-sen), translated by Shuichi Ito, et al., and compiled and edited by Yoshitsugu Ichiji and Ichiro Yamaguchi (Tokyo: Shakai Shiso-sha, 1987), vol. 2, p. 124. ↩︎
- Translated from Russian. ↩︎
- Mahatma Gandhi, The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1994), vol. 29 (November 1925–February 1926), pp. 233–34. ↩︎
- A Youthful Diary, p. 299. ↩︎
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