SGI General Director Yoshiki Tanigawa: You are the foremost student division members in the world. So, it is my honor to be here with you. Please feel free to ask anything.
Q. What is the best way to chant to achieve my goals?
A. In Nichiren Daishonin’s writings, he says: “An individual at cross purposes with himself is certain to end in failure. Yet a hundred or even a thousand people can definitely attain their goal, if they are of one mind” (“Many in Body, One in Mind,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 618).
When you chant, sometimes you feel so determined to accomplish a goal. But then as time passes, you start to doubt whether you can see that prayer come to fruition. Or maybe you lose confidence. The important thing is that you pray with single-minded determination. When you have two conflicting things in your heart, that’s what it means to be “at cross purposes” with yourself. And that’s why your prayer will not be answered. This is important to keep in mind.
When Ikeda Sensei was working for second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, there was a time when President Toda’s businesses started to decline. Many people quit. Sensei couldn’t buy an overcoat and, at times, didn’t receive a salary. When Sensei was 22 years old and responsible for a district in the city of Kawagoe, he gave a Gosho lecture during a time when President Toda’s businesses were facing significant struggles. The lecture focused on Nichiren’s writing, “Reply to the Lay Nun Nichigon.”
In it, Nichiren writes:
Whether or not your prayer is answered will depend on your faith; [if it is not] I will in no way be to blame.
When water is clear, the moon is reflected. When the wind blows, the trees shake. Our minds are like the water. Faith that is weak is like muddy water, while faith that is brave is like clear water. (WND-1, 1079)
As long as you persevere in faith as the sutra teaches, then everything will proceed in the way you desire.
At work, Sensei was engaged in an intense struggle. On the surface, President Toda’s businesses were failing. Of course, they were chanting intensely for things to improve yet things got worse. Still, in his lecture, Sensei said that it’s up to one’s faith whether their prayers are answered.
The next year, things changed dramatically to the point that President Toda could take on the presidency of the Soka Gakkai. Sensei said this process of chanting is the process of beating out the weaknesses in our hearts. Prayer is the process of eradicating the tendency to lose hope and confidence, to give in to cowardice, to want to quit or to be swayed from your path.
As you chant and strengthen your determination, then your prayers will be answered. Based on the simultaneity of cause and effect, your prayer will definitely be answered.
Q: My classmates and friends have varying opinions and religions. How can I connect on a heart-to-heart basis based on dialogue.
A: When you meet someone who has an opinion different from you, you’re meeting someone who has something you do not have. If we all had the same opinions, it would be quite boring.
Ikeda Sensei first announced and shared his vision of establishing Soka University of America (SUA) in 1996 during a Q&A session at Columbia University’s Teachers College. He expressed his determination to establish a university that would raise global citizens in the 21st century. At the time, there was growing division in society and many global conflicts. He identified three qualities a global citizen should have: wisdom, courage and compassion.
When it comes to courage, there are so many differences between people, whether they are based on culture, age, gender or nationality. These differences are often the cause for conflicts. Rather than fearing differences, we can perceive them as wonderful
opportunities to learn from one another. Differences are what help us create new ways of thinking.
When we see there are great differences, that’s actually a wonderful opportunity to find common ground.
Every person has innate potential that is as grand and as vast as the universe.
Through believing in and perceiving that potential in each person, we can bring forth the courage and wisdom to connect with them and generate something new and fresh.
The first thing is to understand the other person’s character and who they are. Accepting them and respecting them for who they are is important. We can then approach that person with a seeking mind, with the desire to learn from them.
Sensei met and talked with thousands of leading thinkers and published many of these dialogues. He met with people from Christian, Muslim and Hindu backgrounds and strove to find what makes each person special and to find commonalities.
Regardless of religion, the basic state of the human being is the same. We all want to become happy and help alleviate the fundamental sufferings of humanity. President Toda once said if Jesus, Muhammad and Shakyamuni had a meeting, they would quickly find common ground.
Rather than looking at someone with a different opinion as an adversary, it’s important to start from respecting that person and learning from them. I think you’re all thinking of how you’re going to live in the future. The important thing is to build true friendships. Sensei is a great example of this.
Q: How do I engage in my studies with the awareness of my mission for kosen-rufu?
A: As you are trying to figure out what kind of path to pursue in life or what kind of person to become, it can be hard to know in this moment.
You may seek people who have lived longer than you and gather information from various sources to decide the best next step to take.
Based on that, you may confidently choose a certain path, but you may not know how things will turn out until the end. Sensei says when you’re young, the bigger the dream the better. Reality is strict. No matter how grand a dream you have, most people can only accomplish a fraction of what they set out to do. If your dream is too small, then you’ll only accomplish a small percentage of that dream. That’s why it’s important to have a grand dream.
There are certainly challenges in front of you that you must overcome. What’s important is to climb the mountain in front of you with all your might. No matter how small or low the mountain is, you’ll gain that much more perspective once you climb that mountain. The higher you climb, the more you see. As you continue to climb one mountain after another, you’ll see with greater clarity the path to traverse. You can move toward that direction and really challenge yourself.
In terms of work, you may find work that you love but it doesn’t make money. Or you may make good money but the work you do may not be contributing greatly to society. It’s hard to find a job that you love, that pays well and that contributes positively to society. Regardless, what’s most important is to give your all to the task you need to accomplish at this moment. In doing so, you will find areas that you need to polish.
Say you’re doing your best in your job and then leave that job completely fulfilled. You’ll find another job where you can continue growing and challenging yourself.
Especially if you do so based on faith, then, as you continue to persevere, you’ll reach a place where you like what you’re doing, are living well and contributing to society. This is what it means to work toward your dream based on faith.
Q: My father told me faith is everything. What really is faith?
A: Faith is a realm that is not often visible. There are certain things you can do in life without faith. However, the question is: Does it open the best path for you? We don’t know what the future holds for us. There are all sorts of challenges in life. Prayer is key. When we pray to see What can I do to improve myself? we can peel away one layer after another, and we can strengthen our power and ability. Faith is about developing a sense of conviction that through prayer you can achieve the impossible. It is the ability to not give up on ourselves.
Sensei has said that faith becomes a bridge between us and our dreams. It’s about bringing out the strength from within to accomplish our dreams. Not only will we become stronger, we will help others become stronger too.
Q: Is it a prerequisite for SGI members to regard Ikeda Sensei as their mentor?
A: I don’t think so. Let’s look at what Nichiren says about this. He writes: “Those who become Nichiren’s disciples and lay believers should realize the profound karmic relationship they share with him and spread the Lotus Sutra as he does. Being known as a votary of the Lotus Sutra is a bitter, yet unavoidable, destiny” (“Letter to Jakunichi-bo,” WND-1, 994).
He also says: “Now, no matter what, strive in faith and be known as a votary of the Lotus Sutra, and remain my disciple for the rest of your life. If you are of the same mind as Nichiren, you must be a Bodhisattva of the Earth” (“The True Aspect of All Phenomena,” WND-1, 385).
Sensei teaches that the disciple chooses the mentor. As long as you decide to become a disciple, please strive as a disciple. When we choose a great mentor, we can come to clearly see the areas we need to develop. When we have a great mentor, we can develop ourselves limitlessly. A great mentor inspires us to keep growing.
In the realm of animals, there is a parent-child relationship. But only in this human realm can we have this mentor-disciple relationship.
As human beings, we can easily get stuck and stop growing. When we seek Sensei’s guidance, we can find different perspectives and strive based on that. That is the mentor-disciple relationship.
There was a well-known martial artist who always bowed to his teacher as the teacher walked out of the dojo. Because his teacher’s back was to him, he never saw his student bowing. Yet, this student never failed to bow, keeping his head down until his teacher left the room. This student said mentor and disciple is something we cannot push onto other people. It’s a relationship that we ourselves choose to take part in and choose to grow and thrive from.
Sensei explained that President Toda chose Tsunesaburo Makiguchi as his mentor. It was a choice. And Sensei chose Josei Toda as his mentor, and he chose to live in a way that befits a disciple.
Seeking Truth and a Solid Philosophy
Name: Devin Weber
City: New York
School: Teachers College, Columbia University
Living Buddhism: Thank you, Devin, for speaking with us today. You grew up in the Soka community but didn’t begin practicing until you were 16. Can you tell us how you got started?
Devin Weber: There were two main reasons why I started practicing. The first was friendship. I became close with my young men’s division leader and started making more friends in the SGI. I began going to my local Buddhist center more often, and I began looking forward to participating in SGI activities. Many of those friendships continue to this day.
The second reason was more personal. I was born with Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune condition, that would flare up from time to time and make school really difficult. I missed weeks of classes and felt isolated because it was hard to make friends when I was gone so often. As a teenager, I started feeling like there was nothing I could do to get out of the cycle. Even when it came to college, I barely gave it any thought at all because I didn’t think it mattered.
But when I started chanting, something shifted. I began to care more about my life and started taking responsibility for my own health. Before, I used to argue with my parents about going to the doctor, but once I began chanting, I took initiative to learn about my condition and what my body needed. By 17, I was in remission.
That’s incredible. Where did you end up going to college?
Devin: I studied at the University of Colorado in Denver for one year, but then the pandemic hit. Online classes were hard for me, so I took a gap year and later applied to Soka University of America (SUA). I just graduated in May and began studying at Columbia University’s Teachers College this September.
You are now supporting the campus club. What has that been like?
Devin: It’s been great. We’ve had incredible support from students and local SGI-USA leaders. The club has a long-standing history, so we had a solid foundation to build on. At the start of the semester, we were invited to have a table at the university’s Religious Life Activities Fair, where we displayed the SGI-USA student exhibit “Does What I Do Matter?”
At first, we thought we were unlucky because our table was in a corner—but it turned out to be right next to the free ice cream machine, so tons of students stopped by! I was nervous at first, wondering how I’d even start a conversation.
I had a buildup of anxiety, wondering how I would even say hi to anyone. But when I saw how easily others at our table were initiating conversation, I felt a transition happen in my heart. I welcomed someone to the booth and found myself explaining Buddhism naturally. I connected with a lot of people and one of them came to our semester’s first campus club meeting.
What are your club meetings like?
Devin: At our first meeting, we introduced the basics of Buddhism and had some great discussions. We also set up the Gohonzon and chanted for one minute together. I spoke with an international student from the Congo, and we ended up talking deeply about life and Buddhism. Afterward, students started asking thoughtful questions about the Gohonzon, about good and evil. It felt like such an open, natural space for dialogue.
Why do you think campus clubs are important for students today?
Devin: I think students are really intent on seeking the truth. We’re aware that we’ll inherit the future—including its problems—and many of us are looking for something that can genuinely guide us. People want a compass, a philosophy they can trust to lead society toward peace and prosperity. That’s why students today ask deep questions instead of just going along with things. They’re searching for something solid to base their lives on.
What is your determination for the future?
Devin: At SUA, I learned that education is key to transforming society. I feel it’s essential to study how to cultivate people and life itself. One day, I’d love to work at SUA or help establish a Soka high school, some way to give back through Soka education.
In our campus club, our shared vision is to foster more people who see education as a powerful force for changing the direction of society. That’s the kind of model we hope to create at Teachers College.
You are reading {{ meterCount }} of {{ meterMax }} free premium articles