CategoryIkeda Sensei

Originally published in the October 2022 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. Eight hundred years have passed since the birth of Nichiren Daishonin, who described himself as “the son of a commoner” and “the son of commoner parents.” The time has come for Nichiren Daishonin’s sunlike Buddhism of the people to dispel the darkness

Ikeda Sensei’s poem commemorates November 18, Soka Gakkai Founding Day. It was originally published in the February 2, 2001, World Tribune, pp. 4–5. The morning sun!O the morning sun shining in the eastern sky! The light illuminatingthe great stageof the 21st centurybeckons usto stride out exuberantlyinto the new age ahead of us. His gaze on

The following is an essay from Ikeda Sensei, originally published in the Sept. 29, 2022, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. I recall an evening not long after the Seikyo Shimbun had been founded, when I was busily preparing for Josei Toda’s upcoming inauguration as second Soka Gakkai president. A number of

The following essay was written by Ikeda Sensei as part of his series “The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin and the Mentor-Disciple Relationship,” originally published in the July 31, 2009, World Tribune. Part one appears in the Sept. 9, 2022, World Tribune.  Therefore, I say to you, my disciples, try practicing as the Lotus Sutra teaches,

The following excerpt is from one of Ikeda Sensei’s essays on the basics of Nichiren Buddhism Faith, Practice, and Study, p. 43. When we are in the depths of despair, reading Nichiren’s writings can make the sun of hope rise in our hearts. When we face an impasse, reading them can help us summon forth

The following excerpts are from Ikeda Sensei’s speech at a youth division leaders meeting held at the Soka International Friendship Hall in Tokyo on April 13, 1993. Video footage of the speech was broadcast during the most recent Soka Gakkai Headquarters leaders meeting on Aug. 27, 2022. This was translated from the Sept. 6, 2022,

Originally published in the September 2022 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. When I was young and battling illness, I was struck by a passage in Nichiren Daishonin’s writings: “Through illness, [the Buddha taught] the power [of Buddhism]” (“On Curing Karmic Disease,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 631). I realized that

Ikeda Sensei sent the following message to the 10th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting Toward Our Centennial, held on Aug. 27, 2022, at the Toda Memorial Auditorium in Sugamo, Tokyo. This message was originally published in the Aug. 28, 2022, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Twenty-five years ago, before an audience

The following essay was written by Ikeda Sensei as part of his series “The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin and the Mentor-Disciple Relationship.” It was originally published in the July 24, 2009, World Tribune. Therefore, I say to you, my disciples, try practicing as the Lotus Sutra teaches, exerting yourselves without begrudging your lives! (“The Selection

The following essay by Ikeda Sensei was translated from the Aug. 4, 2022, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. A statue depicting the French author Victor Hugo (1802–85) striding forward as he holds a book stands in the lobby of the main auditorium of Soka University, “a fortress for the peace of

Ikeda Sensei composed the following poems to commemorate Aug. 24, the 75th anniversary of the start of his Buddhist practice. They were translated from the Aug. 24, 2022, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. On my 75th anniversary of embracing faith, I dedicate to my mentor the honor of making the Mystic Law resound throughout the

Originally published in the August 2022 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. In the letter Nichiren Daishonin wrote to the lay nun Myoichi containing his famous words “Winter always turns to spring” (“Winter Always Turns to Spring,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 536), he expresses his appreciation for her sincere support

On July 22, 1951, right after the establishment of the young men’s and young women’s divisions, a profoundly significant special general meeting was held with the Soka Gakkai Kosen-rufu Gohonzon for the first time. Before this Gohonzon dedicated to the “Fulfillment of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu through the Compassionate Propagation of the Great Law,”

The Song of Human Victory

In [founding Soka Gakkai President Tsunesaburo] Makiguchi’s copy of the collected writings of Nichiren Daishonin, many passages in “The Opening of the Eyes” are underlined in red and the margins are filled with notes, such as “Propagation,” “Great vow” and “What is the mark of a genuine practitioner?” These notes reflect his solemn spirit to

The following essay by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the June 30, 2022, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Today, June 30, is the 65th anniversary of the student division, a proud gathering of young Bodhisattvas Universal Worthy—people of broad-ranging wisdom. This year is also the 60th anniversary of the start

Originally published in the July 2022 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. Dynamic progress in human revolution begins with the fierce courage to surmount hardships. Amid unrelenting persecution while in exile on Sado Island, Nichiren Daishonin called out to Shijo Kingo: “Bring forth the great power of faith, and be spoken of by all

The Song of Human Victory

The following encouragement from Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the July 2018 Living Buddhism, pp. 4–5. Part one appears in the May 20, 2022, World Tribune, p. 10. Interestingly, some plant seeds can remain viable for centuries or even millennia. In 1951, the year that my mentor, Josei Toda, was inaugurated as second Soka

The Lay Nun Myoshin