Soka Gakkai Activities Are for Our Own Benefit

The World Tribune is publishing Ikeda Sensei’s encouragement every month for the SGI-USA women’s division’s America Victory Daimoku Group and Sophia Group meetings. The following excerpt is from The New Human Revolution, vol. 26, pp. 371–72.

The aim of our Buddhist practice—our chanting and our activities to share Buddhism with others—is to transform our karma and become happy. Soka Gakkai activities are actually for our own benefit. There is no suffering that cannot be overcome through our efforts to chant and teach others about Buddhism. Josei Toda was unequivocal on this point.

That’s why I stressed that each member should use this [propagation] campaign to make a breakthrough in their personal problems, to show actual proof of benefit and of changing their karma. More than anything, it was my wish that all the chapter members become happy. Or, rather, as chapter advisor, I felt responsible to ensure that they could. 

The members all firmly resolved to transform their karma, roused their fighting spirit and started to make great efforts. They actively challenged themselves in chanting and talking to others about Nichiren’s teachings. As a result, the number of people they encouraged to join the Soka Gakkai grew day by day at an astonishing pace. 

Then, one after another, members began experiencing results such as overcoming illnesses or finally finding a job after being unemployed. At every discussion meeting, many members shared experiences of such benefit. On hearing their stories, the number of people who were inspired to join the Soka Gakkai or existing members who were roused to make greater efforts to share Buddhism with others just continued to grow.