CategoryBuddhist Study

The following was published in the December 2021 Living Buddhism, pp. 26–27. The Three Great Secret Laws represent core principles of Nichiren Daishonin’s teaching. They are: 1) the object of devotion of the essential teaching, 2) the daimoku of the essential teaching and 3) the sanctuary of the essential teaching. Here, “essential teaching” refers to

Buddhism’s ultimate goal has always been to enable people to attain Buddhahood, or enlightenment. Early Buddhists believed, however, that achieving this highest state of life required carrying out incredible efforts over countless lifetimes. The Lotus Sutra expounds a radically different perspective, teaching that rather than a destination to be reached sometime in the future, Buddhahood

The following excerpts are from the introduction to Ikeda Sensei’s series SGI President Ikeda’s Lecture Series: The Opening of the Eyes, pp. 3–9. The central theme of Nichiren Daishonin’s lengthy two-part treatise, “The Opening of the Eyes,” can indeed be summed up in the short phrase opening the eyes. While the Daishonin’s original text of

The following is excerpted from On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: SGI President Ikeda’s Lecture Series, pp. 31–33 Practicing Nichiren Buddhism means not being swayed this way and that; it means constructing a self that is solid and resolute like towering Mount Fuji. But if we neglect this task and focus our energies somewhere else,

If a spark as small as a bean is set to a single blade of grass in a spring field of a thousand square ri thick with grass, it becomes in an instant an immeasurable, boundless blaze. Such is also the case with this robe. Though only one robe, it has been offered to the

Concept #20: Oneness of Mentor and Disciple

Concept #19: Oneness of Life and Its Environment

Concept #18: Oneness of Good and Evil

Concept #17: Oneness of Body and Mind

Concept #16: Oneness

Our behavior makes all the difference. What effectively conveys the greatness and power of our Buddhist teaching and practice is nothing but our respectful, humanistic actions. As Nichiren Daishonin states: “The purpose of the appearance in this world of Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his behavior as a human being” (“The Three

Concept #15: Faith Equals Daily Life

Concept #14: Many in Body, One in Mind

Concept #13: The Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life

Concept #12: The Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds

Scientific studies suggest that certain basic attitudes can greatly enhance our quality of life. One confirms what we may have long suspected: Having a sense of purpose can improve our health, even prolong our lives. A reason for living, it seems, can help us go on living. While purposes come in many shapes and sizes,

Concept #11: Changing Karma

Concept #10: Casting Off the Transient and Revealing the True

Concept #9: The Fusion of Reality and Wisdom

After World War II, agricultural land reforms had stripped the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood of most of the farmland it once owned, leaving it on the verge of financial collapse. In November 1950, a local mayor prompted the priesthood to make their head temple, Taiseki-ji, a tourist site to generate revenue. Second Soka Gakkai President Josei