spiritual nourishment
- Youth Are the Future!
- Prospect of a World Without Nuclear Weapons
- The Vital Importance of Human Revolution
- Cherry, Plum, Peace and Damson. We Are All Unique!
(Guidance given at a divisional representatives conference held at the Soka Culture Center in Shinanomachi, Tokyo, on July 20, 2005)
“The Soka Gakkai will build its castle from talented and able people!” This was President Toda’s eternal guidance. In April 1954, I accompanied President Toda to the ruins of Sendai’s Aoba Castle. In those days, I was always at Mr. Toda’s side. I listened intently to everything he said, engraving each word in the depths of my being. I was always thinking about how I could make his ideas and plans a reality, how I could advance in complete unity with him. In my youth, this was my deepest concern and my most heartfelt prayer as I earnestly blazed the trail of my personal mission.
I’d now like to talk a bit about the origins of Keio University Hospital, located in Shinanomachi, near the Soka Gakkai Headquarters. The hospital can be traced back to the mentor-disciple relationship between prominent educator, writer, and advocate of Western thought Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835–1901) and the renowned bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato (1852–1931). Kitasato looked up to Fukuzawa as a mentor and a father.
When Fukuzawa died in February 1901, Kitasato wrote a funeral address that contained these words: “I remain vividly aware of Mr. Fukuzawa’s remarkable achievements, and his teachings will forever be etched in my heart. Though I am neither clever nor talented, I intend to diligently strive to repay my debt of gratitude to him even a little by protecting his legacy and embodying his beliefs in my own life.”
Fukuzawa, of course, was the founder of Keio University. When Kitasato returned from his studies in Germany and established the first Japanese institute for the research of infectious diseases, Fukuzawa supported him at every step, calling the younger man “a national treasure”. Kitasato, in turn, was resolved to repay his debt of gratitude to his mentor. It was in this spirit that Kitasato immediately rose to the challenge when asked to aid in the establishment of a medical school at Keio University more than a decade after Fukuzawa’s death.
Kitasato participated in the medical school’s creation from the planning stages, enthusiastically taking part in every relevant detail, including the selection of the faculty, the construction of the campus, and the design of the curriculum. The medical school opened its doors to students in 1917, and in 1920, Keio University Hospital was established. Kitasato served as the first dean of the medical school as well as the hospital director. He built the foundation for both facilities and, even after stepping down from his posts, remained an advisor to the medical school to the end of his days. He did all of this out of gratitude to his mentor, refusing to accept any salary or compensation for his services.
Nothing is more beautiful than a life dedicated to the path of mentor and disciple. Such a life shines with ever greater brilliance as time passes.
Triumph through the Oneness of Mentor and Disciple
The mentor-disciple spirit lies at the very heart of Buddhism. Nikko Shonin, Nichiren Daishonin’s direct disciple, wrote about his own disciple and successor Nichimoku Shonin in his “Articles to Be Observed after Nikko’s Death”: “From the time Nichimoku met Nikko and took faith in the Lotus Sutra at the age of 15 until the present, at the advanced age of 73, he has not deviated from the teachings in the slightest.” Nichimoku Shonin followed the path of mentor and disciple unswervingly for 58 years.
The Daishonin writes:
Snow is the ultimate in whiteness; no dyeing will make it any other color. Lacquer is the ultimate in blackness; it will never become white. The human heart, however, is very changeable. It can be dyed by either good or evil.
Those persons who are imbued with the evil and erroneous teachings of the True Word (Shingon), Zen, Pure Land (Nembutsu), and similar schools will invariably fall into hell; those who are imbued with the Lotus Sutra [the Gohonzon] will invariably become Buddhas. (Gosho Zenshu, 1474)
Nothing is more inconstant than the human heart. We mustn’t allow our hearts to be influenced by “bad friends” who will cause us to suffer. That is why the Daishonin teaches us to uphold faith that is as “unchanging as snow or lacquer” (Gosho Zenshu, 1474). We mustn’t be lax or careless. Good fortune and benefit shine eternally in a life that is dedicated to kosen-rufu.
The SGI has always triumphed in every arena through the oneness of mentor and disciple. All progress starts with this spirit of unity. It is in this spirit that the key to victory and glory in all endeavors is found.
Foster the Future Division
I would like to express my profound gratitude to everyone who is devoting their time to fostering our young people during this hot summer. The growth of the future division will determine the Gakkai’s future. As Japan faces a rapidly aging population and a declining birthrate, each individual child becomes all the more important. We need to cherish and value each child to the utmost.
The only way to build a sound foundation for a peaceful future is to raise each young successor into a person with the capability of a thousand. That is why I have given my heart and soul to education and why I have devoted myself earnestly to fostering the future division members.
I call on all the admirable members of the 21st Century Mission Group (dedicated to raising the future division) to do their very best for these young people, the treasures of the Soka Gakkai and suns of hope for the world.
The Harder We Strive, the More We Will Gain
The future rests in the hands of youth. I am praying sincerely for the health, victory, and active endeavors of all our young people. I wish for them to be successful and to become fine human beings who can inspire others to join them in working for happiness and peace. If capable young people of this sort increase in number, kosen-rufu is bound to expand even further.
President Toda, declaring that the age of youth had arrived and that he was entrusting everything to young people, passed the baton to us, his successors in the youth division. In the same spirit, I wish to entrust the SGI in its entirety to the youth division members of today.
Each of us is a warrior for kosen-rufu. If all we do is find fault and complain without taking any action, we will end up with a life full of regrets. The harder we strive, the more we will gain. This is how the realm of faith operates. If we’re going to challenge, we might as well enact an exciting and glorious drama and adorn our lives with a great victory that will forever be recorded in the annals of our movement.
There is no life more noble than one dedicated to kosen-rufu. Let’s savor truly meaningful and victorious lives! Let’s work together and do our best!
Please take care of your health.
(Extracted from SGI President Ikeda’s guidance. Published in Wings, May 2007 issue)
Prospect of a World Without Nuclear Weapons
(Extracted from SGI President Ikeda’s Dialogue With Director General Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 30 November 2006)
President Ikeda: Nuclear weapons are the greatest peril threatening our planet. As one who is tackling that threat head-on, you, Dr ElBaradei, are a courageous champion of peace. Reducing nuclear armaments and halting their spread is the most difficult challenge facing humanity. As IAEA director general, you are dealing with this daunting challenge. You are a man of wisdom and dedication to truth and justice.
Dr ElBaradei: President Ikeda, you embarrass me with your kind words. I am just an ordinary human being who is trying to follow his conscience and common sense. What I am trying to preach is not rocket science. My message is simply that we will not be able to achieve peace unless we treat every single human being the way we would like to be treated. That is the only way that we will be able to survive.
Abandoning the Us-Versus-Them Mentality
President Ikeda: That is absolutely correct. It all comes back to us human beings, and we need to change ourselves. That’s why we in the SGI advocate what we call “human revolution” -- namely, a profound transformation in people’s hearts and minds.
Dr ElBaradei: This idea is expressed in the philosophies and religions of many different cultures and countries. It is very simple: if we recognize the decency and dignity of every human individual, we would never fight each other. We have had so many wars. We’ll never achieve peace if we continue to repeat the same error.
President Ikeda: How true. All of our SGI members -- not only in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, which experienced the horror of nuclear weapons firsthand -- but throughout Japan and the globe, as well as all of the students and faculty of Soka University and SUA are sincerely grateful for your contributions to peace.
Dr ElBaradei: Thank you. I was recently in the U.S., and while there I acquired a painting that expresses a very profound message: the absence of war is not peace. The fact that we are not fighting at a certain point in time does not mean that we are at peace, because we continue to emphasize our differences instead of what we have in common. We continue to talk about “us” versus “them”. Only when we can start to talk about “us” as including all of humanity will we truly be at peace with each other and at peace within ourselves, too.
President Ikeda: That is a very perceptive observation. I am deeply impressed. The Buddhism we practise teaches the importance of unity, which is expressed in the phrase “many in body but one in mind”. It means that though we are each individuals, and though we may have different ethnic, national, linguistic, or racial backgrounds, we can all work together as human beings towards a shared ideal. The SGI’s efforts for world peace are based on this philosophy of a great alliance that embraces all humanity.
The United Struggle of Father and Son for Justice
President Ikeda: Your father was an eminent attorney known for his high ideals and his courageous struggle for democracy, freedom, and justice in a period when Egypt was ruled by an oppressive government. I have heard that he was persecuted on numerous occasions for his efforts, but eventually his reputation was restored and today he is recognized as a great figure in Egyptian history.
Dr ElBaradei’s father, an eminent jurist, Mostafa ElBaradei was named president of the Egyptian Bar Association in 1958, a position he held for 17 years. In 1974, he was elected as president of the Arab Bar Association. He also devoted himself to education and called for the establishment of a special institute for advanced training of legal professionals. The senior ElBaradei attended numerous international conferences as a leading representative of the Egyptian legal profession, fighting for democracy, human rights, and freedom for the people of Egypt and the world.
President Ikeda: You have inherited your father’s integrity and noble strength. In a very important sense, I believe you are carrying on his struggle to uphold the rights and dignity of human beings -- a joint struggle shared by father and son. In our complex international situation, you have shown yourself to be fearless in the face of tremendous pressure and have consistently worked for peace and justice. Thinking people around the world trust and admire you.
Dr ElBaradei: The most powerful lesson that my father taught me is that you have to follow your conscience. If you compromise your conscience, you compromise your soul. No matter how difficult the situation, you have to listen to the voice within you and believe in your inner strength. If you believe in your inner strength, you will always arrive at victory, no matter how challenging the circumstances or how long it takes.
***
On the same occasion, Soka University bestowed an honorary doctorate on Dr ElBaradei in recognition of his tireless efforts for world peace. Expressing his joy at meeting President Ikeda and his gratitude to him and Soka University for the honour, the IAEA head conveyed his wish to work harder together with the SGI leader to achieve peace and freedom for all members of the human family.
In his impromptu remarks on accepting the honorary degree, Dr. ElBaradei emphasized his belief that the key to true peace lies in fully respecting the dignity of each individual, regardless of race, religion, gender, or cultural background. In a world where 850 million people go to bed hungry every night and over two-fifths of the world’s population live on less than 200 yen [US 2 dollars] per day, he added, achieving economic justice and a decent standard of living for all is equally crucial to genuine peace. He also voiced his admiration for the SGI leader’s focus on the need for people to look inside themselves to achieve peace, and Mr. Ikeda’s insistence that religion’s proper purpose is to serve humanity by promoting the realization that we are all members of a single human family.
Background
Dr ElBaradei, 64, was born in Cairo, Egypt. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Cairo in 1962, he entered the Egyptian diplomatic service in 1964, serving in his country’s permanent mission to the United Nations in both New York and Geneva. In 1974, he earned a doctorate in international law at the New York University School of Law, where he later served as an adjunct professor of international law from 1981 to 1987. In 1980, Dr ElBaradei left the diplomatic service to join the United Nations, and in 1984, he became a senior member of the IAEA Secretariat. He was appointed IAEA director general in 1997, and reappointed to a third term in 2005.
The IAEA, an intergovernmental organization that is part of the United Nations system, is often called the “nuclear watchdog” for the people of the world. It plays an important global role in halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Dr ElBaradei is widely recognized as one of its most successful and dynamic leaders, and as a result of his efforts, he and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
(Extracted from SGI President Ikeda’s dialogue. Published in Wings, September 2007 issue)
The Vital Importance of Human Revolution
Life is harsh, complicated, and often baffling. Many people may feel that though they strive and strive, all their efforts are in vain, and that though they seek happiness, all they encounter is a string of misfortune.
You are young. Right now you think you’ll never grow old. However, no one can escape the universal human sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death. This, too, is a harsh reality.
There are people who betray others. There are cowards who abandon their beliefs in a crisis. There are people who spend their whole lives lamenting their bad luck and the cruel hand that fate has dealt them. I absolutely never want any of you to live your lives this way.
Where, then, can we find the key for turning our lives in a positive direction? Absolutely vital in this question is the philosophy of human revolution. Human revolution offers the only certain path to happiness and victory in life. Human revolution means transforming our lives from unhappiness to happiness.
The challenge is transforming our lives so that we are no longer swept along by force of habit or at the mercy of the whims of destiny. The incredible power to do that already exists ianside you.
Forge a solid self, and develop within you the power to attract happiness to your life. Then you yourself will be happy and fulfilled, and you will be able to lead your family, your relatives, and your friends to happiness, too.
We only live this precious life but once. Please make continual efforts, steadily overcoming life’s challenges one step at a time, until you ultimately achieve a life in which all of your wishes are realized. May all of you, without exception, become happy. That is my sincerest wish. That is the purpose of your two years at Soka Women’s College.
Among your predecessors at this school are many highly accomplished women. I frequently receive tidings of their activities and of the trust and recognition they have won in society. This brings me great joy.
I hope that all of you will take immense pride in studying at this unsurpassed institution of higher learning and make your time here the most wonderful and satisfying days of your youth.
Caught Napping in Class
I also receive various reports on the activities of our precious Ska University and Soka Women’s College students every day.
For instance, I heard that in one recent class, some students were caught napping, but the instructor didn’t say anything and just continued patiently with his lecture. Later, out of concern for the students, he called them to his office and asked them why they were napping in class.
The first student answered honestly that he had been working at his part-time job until late the night before and he just fell asleep. No doubt he was tired; to him the instructor’s brilliant lecture probably sounded like a gentle lullaby! [Laughter.]
A second student said that he wasn’t sleeping at all, but that he was better able to absorb the lecture’s contents if he listened with his eyes shut. Obviously, he has a way with words! [Laughter.]
A third student said that he always got sleepy when he studied. He apologized for behaving inconsiderately to his teacher and his fellow students, and said he knew that he would have a terrible time when exams rolled around. He then said, with deep self-reflection: “This is the last time I will fall asleep in class. I am determined to carry out my human revolution. If I ever want to make something of myself, I have to get serious about my studies. I now realize how important this is.”
As the other students there listened to his vow, they realized how their teacher must feel when, doing his best to give a good lecture, he saw students sleeping in class. When they looked at the situation from their teacher’s viewpoint, they felt so bad that they, too, renewed their determination never to sleep in class again.
Of course students shouldn’t sleep during class, but when I heard about this episode, I was impressed with these students. I think the reason that the instructor didn’t say anything during class but just let them sleep showed the great trust he had in his students. I was pleased by the students’ straightforwardness, which is why I shared this story with you.
Seek Out Difficult Challenges
Madame Deng Yingchao (1904–92) is revered in China as the “mother of the people.” During the Sino-Japanese War of 1937–45, she called out to young Chinese women students: “You are the bell that announces the dawn. You are the sun of the new day.” How this clarion call must have encouraged them!
Our voices are important. In particular, the voices of women have the power to make people feel more energetic, optimistic, and full of life.
From her teens, Madame Deng courageously leapt into the tempest of the revolution. She was surrounded by enemies front and behind; she never knew when she might be arrested or killed. That was how she spent her youth.
My message to you, therefore, is: Please don’t spend your youth avoiding hardship and taking the path of least resistance. Please seek out difficult challenges and work hard. And if you are going to take on hardships, let it be for the sake of a high ideal. Don’t stay closed up in your own tiny shell, pursue your studies with the high ideals of helping your friends and contributing to society and humanity. This is where the true significance of the pursuit of learning lies.
In addition, the greater your goals, the greater growth you can achieve. Also, when you have a great objective, you’ll be able to bravely endure and overcome any obstacles or difficulties you may encounter.
Madame Deng also told the women students: “Your suffering sisters are fervently awaiting the illumination you will bring them!”
With the same urgency, I wish to say to you, the students of Soka Women’s College: “Your sisters in the 21st century who will follow after you are awaiting your growth and development!”
Please start from what you can challenge right now, striving to broaden your own knowledge and to expand your circle of friends—both of which are a precious treasure—as you advance together toward peace and happiness.
(Extracted from SGI President Ikeda’s guidance. Published in Wings, January 2007 issue)
Cherry, Plum, Peace and Damson. We Are All Unique!
The Daishonin states, "Cherry, plum, peach and damson blossoms all have their own qualities, and they manifest the three properties of the life of the Buddha without changing their character." (Gosho Zenshu, p. 784) Simply put, each one of us contributes one own unique qualities through the role we play in society. The Daishonin uses the example of the cherry, plum, peach and damson flowers to make his point. The cherry flower is renowned for its beauty; many people enjoy seeing the cherry blossoms in the spring. The plum blooms in late winter--while other flowers usually bloom in the spring--and it, too, is known for its beauty. According to an old Chinese tradition, peaches are said to bring longevity and ward off evil. The damson flower’s appearance is different from the others, but it is associated with assiduousness and perseverance.
Each of these flowers is unique, that is why the Daishonin uses them as an example of how each human being is unique. As hard as it might try, a cherry can never become a plum and a plum can never become a cherry. Although each is different, they all embody the three properties of the Buddha. The same goes for ordinary people; each of us embodies the three properties of the Buddha.
The three properties of the Buddha are: the Dharma body, which indicates the fundamental truth of life, or the Mystic Law; the reward body, which indicates the wisdom of the Buddha that we develop by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo; and the manifest body, which represents the bodhisattva actions to save all people from suffering. Each of these three properties is embodied in each one of us, and through our actions, as practitioners of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, we can manifest them each day and live happy lives without ever having to change who we are.
Attaining enlightenment does not require us to become anything other than a human being; it is recognizing our own true value and worth exactly as we are. By being true to ourselves, we can become happy. Only we know what it is that makes us happy and only we know when we are making efforts to make ourselves happy. Comparing ourselves with others only leads to a sense of inferiority or superiority. By focusing on surpassing our own limitations--without focusing on what others are doing--we will find it much easier to grow. No matter how much we try to become like someone else, we can only be ourselves.
Each one of us plays a valuable role in society and in the movement toward world peace. "Buddhism teaches that all things have a unique beauty and mission. Every person has a singular mission, his or her individuality and way of life. That is the natural order of things" (Faith into Action, p. 140). The SGI is an organization where each of us is free to express ourselves in our own unique way, while striving to accomplish world peace. For the SGI to work as an organization for the people, it has to be made up of many different types of people. "Total revolution will be achieved only when people with all sorts of characters and talents fully live up to their abilities as they scale the peak of kosen-rufu on into the coming century" (Selected Lectures on the Gosho, vol. 1, p. 155).
Everyone has a specific role to play in society. Our mission as Buddhists is discovering what that role is and challenging ourselves to go beyond our limitation. When we make these daily efforts, we will be contributing to kosen-rufu as individuals and as Buddhas.
(Published in Wings, January 2007 issue: Extracted from Living Buddhism; March 2001)
