CategoryDaily Life

Ikeda Sensei’s guidance on being sincere and showering our children with love. It can be found in Happy Parents, Happy Kids, pp. 5–8. The Lotus Sutra relates the story of the dragon king’s daughter, or dragon girl, who attained Buddhahood at only eight years of age. Nichiren says, “As for the dragon girl, her father

In the spring of 1992, the world’s eyes were on Los Angeles, as the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked massive social unrest and a national debate about police brutality, racial discrimination and economic disparity. In six days of intense rioting, more than 60 people were killed and 2,300 injured in Los Angeles, with

The Soka Gakkai recently launched “Transforming Human History,” a campaign to encourage engagement and inspire confidence that change is possible. It covers three areas that will determine the future for life on our planet: nuclear weapons abolition, education for all and climate action. These issues are the focus of Ikeda Sensei’s 2022 peace proposal.  The

The following is Ikeda Sensei’s guidance from The New Human Revolution, vol. 11,revised edition, pp. 107–08. 1) Chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo “Chanting transforms suffering into joy and joy into supreme joy. This is why it is important to single-mindedly chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo no matter what, whether we are happy or sad, in good times or in bad. This

Not all prayers are answered right away. And while we may find ourselves momentarily discouraged, Ikeda Sensei reminds us in part 1 of this feature (see Nov. 18, 2022, World Tribune, pp. 6–7) that as long as we persevere, our prayers will be answered in a form greater than we expected. He also tells us

The following is based on Ikeda Sensei’s 1996 lecture at Teachers College, Columbia University, titled “Thoughts on Education for Global Citizenship” and his 2013 peace proposal. Sensei outlines the essential elements of global citizenship and guidelines for constructing a civilization founded upon respect for the dignity of life. 1) Wisdom • To perceive the interconnectedness

In the mid-15th century, Cape Bojador remained the southernmost point that Portuguese explorers were willing to voyage. What lay beyond the cape was the province of superstition: boiling waters, sea monsters, the end of the earth. Such were the tales that seafarers coined the waters the Sea of Darkness, the point of no return. Prince

Ikeda Sensei talks about the role parents play in building a harmonious family. This guidance can be found in Happy Parents, Happy Kids, pp. 97–99.  These days we see so many cases of children who run away from home or become delinquent. Often, quarrels between parents seem to be a contributing factor. One thing I

Nichiren Daishonin asserts: Though one might point at the earth and miss it, though one might bind up the sky, though the tides might cease to ebb and flow and the sun rise in the west, it could never come about that the prayers of the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra would go unanswered. So

Adapted from Ikeda Sensei’s guidance in The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, pp. 282–85 1) Buddhist study helps us deepen our faith Buddhist study is a beacon illuminating the path of faith. Even the complex workings of negative forces that arise to assail us are clearly revealed for what they

Ikeda Sensei: Just praising the Mystic Law to others is itself splendid propagation. Whether others decide to take faith is a separate issue. By simply talking to people about the Mystic Law, we receive benefit without fail.  It is the same with sports or playing the piano in that by making continuous effort, one’s ability

Ikeda Sensei talks about the role parents play in guiding their children to take faith. This guidance can be found in The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 6, pp. 200–02. How do we encourage our children to take faith in Buddhism? The most important thing is to help them learn to respect and love

To do anything that would … deprive [young people] of their vigor is equivalent to casting one’s treasures into the sea. —Ikeda Sensei In October 1990, Nelson Mandela traveled to Japan the same year he was released from prison. He had been paying close attention to Daisaku Ikeda, whose works he had read in confinement.

The Soka Gakkai recently launched “Transforming Human History,” a campaign to encourage engagement and inspire confidence that change is possible. It covers three areas that will determine the future for life on our planet: nuclear weapons abolition, education for all and climate action. These issues are the focus of Ikeda Sensei’s 2022 peace proposal. The

In volume 25 of The New Human Revolution, a group leader offers a newly appointed unit leader four points on sharing Buddhism.  1) Prayer  “To be successful in sharing this Buddhism with others, the first thing we need to do is chant sincerely that the other person will become happy without fail.” (p. 232) 2)

In volume 25 of  The New Human Revolution, Ikeda Sensei, who appears in the novel as Shin’ichi Yamamoto, speaks to members about the importance of taking care of one’s health.  Shin’ichi Yamamoto emphasized that the journey to achieving kosen-rufu is long, so it’s important to take care of one’s health and lead a life in

Eat a balanced diet. Get ample sleep. Foster healthy social relationships. These are well-known pillars for leading a healthy life. Despite our best efforts, though, we can still experience illness, even the life-threatening variety, which begs the question: What is true health, and how do we achieve it? From a Buddhist perspective, health goes beyond

Ikeda Sensei has spoken with and offered advice to parents and children around the world about creating harmonious families. In Happy Parents Happy Kids, we take a look at his encouragement on family and parenting (pp. 75–77). Respect your children’s creativity. Children’s vision is directed toward the future, because it is filled with possibilities. Parents

Buddhism offers deep insights into the nature of our lives and society, as well as how we can transform and improve both. The Lotus Sutra, for instance, describes people of this age as being “arrogant and puffed up with self-importance, fawning and devious, insincere in mind” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras,

Since I started practicing at age 19, I have shared Nichiren Buddhism with many people in my life, from family members and friends to neighbors and acquaintances. Some were responsive and some were not. One person actually returned all the letters I had written to him about Buddhism. There were times when I wondered why