From his first journey to the United States in October 1960 to his last in June 1996, Ikeda Sensei spent 386 days—more than a year of his life—building the foundation of lasting peace in our multiracial nation, which he described as representing humanity’s future.
These photos capture moments from those visits to the U.S.—his enduring actions distilled in these lines from a poem he wrote in May 2001, at the start of the second series of Seven Bells: “The world is too small / For the colossus / Of the people arisen / The ultimate power of destiny / That will determine the future / Of this Century of Humanity / Lies in the people” (Sept. 21, 2012, World Tribune, p. 6).
1960s
On his first trip to the United States, Ikeda Sensei visited seven cities, meeting with the earliest Soka Gakkai members here, many of whom were Japanese women married to American servicemen and struggling in a foreign land. Here, he established the first Soka Gakkai districts outside of Japan, creating the framework for kosen-rufu in America.
‘Glittering Jewels of Good Fortune’
At a discussion meeting in New York in October 1960, Ikeda Sensei imparts to the members the confidence that they can establish a life condition of absolute happiness.
“You have all truly suffered. You have endured in silence. There must have been times when you felt like giving up. There must have been times when you felt that death would bring a welcome release. I can deeply appreciate how much pain and sadness you must feel. However, this Buddhism has the power to transform your suffering into happiness, to change the tears you have shed into glittering jewels of good fortune. Those who have wept the most bitterly have the right to become the happiest people of all. My purpose in coming to the United States is to help you turn that into a reality.” (The New Human Revolution, vol. 1, revised edition, pp. 206–07)
1970s
During this decade, Sensei laid out his vision for world peace, delivering his first university lecture at the University of California, Los Angeles, on April 1, 1974, and establishing the Soka Gakkai International in Guam on Jan. 26, 1975. At UCLA, he said of our mission moving forward: “Our time is a transition from one century to the next, but it is also much more. It is a time when all of us must decide whether to become human in the richest, fullest sense of the word” (A New Way Forward, pp. 11–12).
Founding a Global Movment for Peace
On Jan. 26, 1975, 158 representatives from 51 countries and territories gather for the First World Peace Conference on the Pacific island of Guam, and establish the Soka Gakkai International, naming Daisaku Ikeda its president. Ikeda Sensei addresses the representatives.
“The sun of Nichiren Buddhism has begun to rise above the distant horizon. Rather than seeking after your own praise or glory, I hope that you will dedicate your noble lives to sowing the seeds of peace of the Mystic Law throughout the entire world. I shall do the same. At times I will lead in the forefront, at other times I shall stand by your side, and at still other times, I will watch over you from behind the scenes. I will always be supporting you with all my heart.” (NHR-21, 33)
1980s
Following the first priesthood issue in 1979, Ikeda Sensei took to the world to spread peace, starting from his visit to the United States in 1980. During this decade, Sensei reestablished the SGI-USA youth division, dedicating to them the poem “To My Beloved Young American Friends—Youthful Bodhisattvas of the Earth,” where he writes in part: “Faith is—to fear nothing / to stand unswayed / the power to surmount any obstacle. / Faith is the source from which all solutions flow” (The Sun of Youth, p. 72).
Earthly Desires Are Enlightenment
In May 1983, Ikeda Sensei visited Anchorage, Alaska, where the First North America General Meeting was held. Here, he spoke about the importance of the inner-directed revolution of each person to move humanity toward happiness.
“It is true that even though you practice faith, you may suffer from many anxieties and problems both in society and within the SGI organization. But Buddhism expounds the principle of ‘earthly desires are enlightenment.’
“Here, ‘earthly desires’ include all your sufferings and worries, and point to the inherent destiny of human beings. But with the power of faith in the Mystic Law, you can transform your earthly desires into sources of enlightenment, the supreme condition of happiness. In other words, you can use your anguish and suffering as fuel for polishing your character and establishing indestructible happiness.” (May 2024 Living Buddhism, p. 17)
1990s
During this decade, Ikeda Sensei gave timeless guidance to members in the United States, determined to lay the foundation of kosen-rufu in America for a thousand years to come and leave behind a textbook of faith—My Dear Friends in America, a collection of his U.S. addresses during that decade. June–July 1996 marked Sensei’s 27th and final visit to the United States. On July 5, 1996, one day before his departure, he said to the U.S. members: “If the organization in America is solid both in terms of its movement for kosen-rufu and its position in society, the world can rest at ease. Please have the awareness, therefore, that your very existence is the hope of all humankind” (My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, p. 496).
‘The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land’
Ikeda Sensei presented his poem “The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land” to SGI-USA members on Jan. 27, 1993, imploring them to awaken to the dynamic life condition of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
My friends!
Please realize that you already possess
the solution to this quandary.
First you must break the hard shell
of the lesser self.
This you must absolutely do.
Then direct your lucid gaze
toward your friends, fellow members.
People can only live fully
by helping others to live.
When you give life to friends,
you truly live.
(Find the entire poem in My Dear Friends of America, fourth edition, pp. 208–22)
October 2, 2025 World Tribune, pp. 4–5
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