The following message by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada was translated from the August 2025 issue of the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal, Daibyakurenge.
Nothing is more precious than peace. Nothing brings more happiness.” These enduring words— Ikeda Sensei’s timeless appeal for eternal peace—constitute the opening lines of his novel The New Human Revolution. What a bold and beautiful cry, filled with fearless conviction and heartfelt passion, resonating from the depths of his being!
Sensei penned these words on Aug. 6, 1993, the anniversary of the horrific atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The fact that he chose this day to begin writing The New Human Revolution carries profound meaning: It embodies his vow to fulfill the legacy of his mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, who yearned to eradicate misery from the face of the earth and made a historic commitment to the abolition of nuclear weapons. It also signifies the profound mission entrusted to the Soka Gakkai.
Sensei used to say that “the opening of a novel is crucial. I, too, wrestled with it—grappling with every word, struggling and suffering over how best to begin.” The themes of war and peace addressed at the outset of both The Human Revolution and The New Human Revolution resonated throughout his life’s work.
This year marks 80 years since the atomic bombings and the end of World War II. With our mentor’s impassioned cry for peace firmly etched in our hearts, we, as members of the Soka Gakkai, commit to eternally uphold pacifism and take tireless actions for peace.
Seventy-five years ago, on Aug. 24, 1950, Mr. Toda and a young Daisaku Ikeda met with a journalist who wanted to report for his newspaper on the crisis facing Mr. Toda’s business. Engaging in a sincere and open dialogue, they succeeded in gaining the reporter’s understanding. After the interview, Mr. Toda turned and said to his young disciple: “The Soka Gakkai needs to have its own paper someday, preferably soon. Daisaku, please put your mind to it.” That very evening, he announced his intent to step down as general director of the Soka Gakkai. In the midst of his greatest trial, what the mentor chose to entrust to his disciple was the vision for what would later be realized as the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper.
Sensei subsequently devoted himself not only to ensuring that his mentor would become the Soka Gakkai president but also to launching the Soka Gakkai’s newspaper. The Seikyo Shimbun, described as the ammunition in the struggle for kosen-rufu, was born from the earnest efforts of a disciple fully united in purpose with his mentor. He nurtured the newspaper’s development through his own writing. More than anyone else, he had keen faith in the immense power of an organ publication and wielded it freely and creatively as a tool to advance kosen-rufu.
Reading the Seikyo Shimbun every day [in the U.S., World Tribune and Living Buddhism], enables us to draw from its pages life force and wisdom, which we can use to foster friendships. Let us never forget that this steady and consistent practice is the very foundation for igniting a global current of respect for the dignity of life.
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