July 2019 Living Buddhism

This monthly encouragement by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda was originally published in the June 2019 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. It is 65 years since my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, visiting the ruins of Aoba Castle in the Tohoku city of Sendai, declared that we must make

Installment 2

The Mentor-Disciple Relationship and the Journey of Kosen-rufu

The Ikeda Wisdom Academy is an SGI-USA youth division movement to engage youth leaders in advanced study. This month, academy members will study chapter 1 of The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life: SGI President Ikeda’s Lecture Series. While the Ikeda Wisdom Academy is a youth leaders study program, all SGI-USA members are invited

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary “Great religion always gives birth to great culture” (The New Human Revolution, vol. 7, p. 1)—Shin’ichi Yamamoto believed that kosen-rufu is a movement to illuminate the hearts of humanity with the compassionate light of Buddhism and bring to blossom exquisite flowers of peace and culture. In 1962, Shin’ichi focused his efforts on cultivating

Chapter Summary On January 8, 1963, Shin’ichi embarked on his trip around the world to lay the groundwork for the future of worldwide kosen-rufu. His first stop was Hawaii, where he attended the Hawaii Conference, which doubled as the inaugural meeting of Hawaii Chapter. After urging the members to “unfurl the great banner of propagation

Chapter Summary Shin’ichi Yamamoto arrived in Paris on January 15, and, the next day, he attended the inaugural meeting of the Europe General Chapter and Paris Chapter. Representatives from the newly formed Germany Chapter also attended. Shin’ichi asserted that a sunny, early spring had come to Europe, saying, “Each of you is the sun, bringing

Chapter Summary On the night of January 23, heavy blizzards hit Niigata Prefecture, stalling 26 trains, six of which remained immobile until January 27. One of them was a chartered train carrying nine hundred Soka Gakkai members on their way home from a pilgrimage to the head temple. Their train was stuck at Miyauchi Station,

This installment, published in the April 17, 2019, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that SGI President Ikeda discussed in volume 7 of The New Human Revolution. Passage 1 “Even if you are not the Venerable Mahakashyapa, you should all perform a dance. Even if you are not Shariputra,

A: In these increasingly turbulent times, many people question how to live in the most meaningful way, and many are in search of a sound compass or philosophy to guide them. Buddhism teaches that happiness is not reliant on how much money we have, the academic degrees we obtain or any other external measures of

“I think it is a mistake to regard people as abstract groups, to identify them in terms of ethnicity, religion, nationality or class, rather than seeing them as individuals. Such thinking only divides people and will never bring about real dialogue or true friendship.” —SGI President Ikeda The ruins of Baalbek, situated 50 miles northeast

Part 3: Kosen-rufu and World Peace—The Flowering of a New Humanism

It must be ties of karma from the distant past that have destined you to become my disciple at a time like this. Shakyamuni and Many Treasures certainly realized this truth. The sutra’s statement, “Those persons who had heard the Law dwelled here and there in various Buddha lands, constantly reborn in company with their

For Our Wonderful New Members—Part 3 [42]