Learning from Ikeda Sensei’s Poetry

•   •   •

You! Successors to the task of kosen-rufu!
The twenty-first century is at hand.
Correctly develop
your remarkable abilities and powers—
for the sake of the American continent,
for the sake of this troubled, unstable world.
First, you yourself
must realize all
your dreams and desires;
savor a profound and satisfying life,
free from all regret;
advance again with exalted step;
with unshakable confidence, create
a golden history of cause and effect.

‘The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land’

Ikeda Sensei presented the poem “The Sun of Jiyu Over a New Land” to the members of SGI-USA on Jan. 27, 1993. To resolve the country’s crisis of discord, he writes, we first must “break the hard shell of the lesser self” and return to humanity’s essence, transcending all superficial differences and helping other awaken to the state of Jiyu within. Read the complete poem in My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, pp. 208–22.

My treasured friends,
There is no question that
your multiracial nation, America,
represents humanity’s future.
Your land holds secret stores
of unbounded possibility, transforming
the energy of different cultures
into the unity of construction,
the flames of conflict
into the light of solidarity,
the eroding rivulets of mistrust
into a great broad flow of confidence.
On what can we ground
our efforts to open
the horizons of such a renaissance?
It is for just this reason,
my precious, treasured friends,
that you must develop within yourselves
the life condition of Jiyu—
Bodhisattva of the Earth. 
As each group seeks its separate
roots and origins,
society fractures along a thousand fissure lines.
When neighbors distance themselves
from neighbors, continue your
uncompromising quest
for your truer roots
in the deepest regions of your life.
Seek out the primordial “roots” of humankind.
Then you will without fail discover
the stately expanse of Jiyu
unfolding in the depths of your life.

•   •   •

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.
Cultures can only realize
their further richness
by honoring other traditions.
And only by respecting natural life
can humanity continue to exist.

‘Soar Into the Vast Skies of Freedom! Into the New Century!’

In July 2000, Ikeda Sensei penned “Soar Into the Vast Skies of Freedom! Into the New Century!” It would be his final poem to the members of the SGI-USA. In it, he reminds the members of the importance of the new era and the SGI-USA’s role in creating it. The following are excerpts from the poem. Read the complete poem in the July 2020 Living Buddhism, pp. 15–19.

The Bodhisattvas of the Earth
have emerged!
They have arisen!
They have started to stir, to move!
Here, on the American
continent,
the winds of a new era
have begun to blow.

•   •   •

So many have lost hope
in this world of ceaseless conflict,
of mutual abuse and contempt.
Yet we are filled
with vigorous resolve,
upholding the principle
for living fully,
with unabated joy
in harmony with the cosmos.

•   •   •

Toward the civilization
of the twenty-first century;
for the sake of the young leaders and scholars;
for the sake of the
peace, prosperity and joy
that come from humanistic education!
Soka University of America
has been constructed…
Gazing out upon the waves
of a monarch Pacific Ocean, carrying the burden
of the hopes and expectations
of the centuries,
its construction has been matched by innumerable voices
raised brightly in song,
by an unending array
of young people ascending
that vibrant hill in Orange County.
For the sake of
these free, young spirits,
I have determined to spend
the culminating years of my life in this America I love,
together creating infinite memories,
sounding the reverberant trumpet of the dawn.

Be the Protagonist of Your Life

by Carolina Shorter
Los Angeles, Calif.

My husband, Wayne Shorter, passed away on March 2, 2023, right before March 16, Kosen-rufu Day. His 50th year of Buddhist practice would have been that July 3, the Day of Mentor and Disciple.

To the world, Wayne was a towering jazz figure. To me, he was a person of great conviction in the oneness of mentor and disciple, which was evident in his every encounter.

Whenever we went out, he took Ikeda Sensei’s example to heart. He loved sparking conversations with strangers, and always ended them by saying, “I’ll see you in the movies.” The person would say, “What do you mean by that?” and he would reply, “The movie of your own life, where you are the writer, director and actor.” Wayne always encouraged people to be the protagonist of their lives and introduced hundreds of people to Buddhism around the world in the process. 

From the beginning of his career, Wayne had a sense of mission in terms of touching people’s lives with his music. But after he came into contact with this Buddhist philosophy, he poured his life into every note he wrote, hoping that it would awaken something in the life of the musician and, consequently, in the life of the listener.

Before he was drafted into the U.S. Army, he began working on an opera titled “The Singing Lesson.” Decades later, Esperanza Spalding, whom Wayne introduced to Buddhism, dedicated herself to bringing his dream to fruition. With her, he completed “Iphigenia,” his first opera, at the age of 88.

During the last years of Wayne’s life, Esperanza found opera houses to commission his work, which was difficult because they typically plan years in advance. She also traveled the four corners of the world to find investors.

“Iphigenia” opened a little more than a year before he passed away, and it made an impact on the world. Cambridge University Press even published a special issue of Ramus: Critical Studies in Greek and Roman Literature dedicated to it, saying in the introduction: “Once in a while there comes an ancient drama’s transformation of such stunning creativity and vision that it deserves immediate scholarly attention” (see vol. 52, issue 1, 2023). Now, we have an agent who is working to bring his work to opera houses around the world.

A year before Wayne’s passing, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts acquired his archives, including musical compositions from the time he was 19 years old, his original artwork and even his letters, including those he wrote to Ikeda Sensei and Mrs. Ikeda. In partnership, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts plans to host concerts to promote the archives of Wayne’s music, and the archives will be made available to everyone.

I felt a tremendous sense of mission fulfilled when the institution took all of Wayne’s music to store it in its archives. After they left, I shouted all around the house: “Wayne, we did it! We did it!” I cried and laughed, because I knew that every piece of paper carried so much of Wayne’s life. He poured his life into his music, hoping that every note would awaken people to the nobility of their own spirit. 

Becoming a Leader of Peace

by Pavitra Kavya-Friedman
Long Beach, Calif. 

I started practicing Buddhism with my mom in New Delhi in July of 1992, when my grandmother was struggling with Parkinson’s disease. As my mom and I chanted for her, my grandmother’s mobility improved, which enabled her to live with confidence before her passing. This became a turning point for us, teaching us that through faith, we can transform any karma.

When I think of Ikeda Sensei’s philosophy of peace, I’m reminded of this quote from Nichiren Daishonin: “The journey from Kamakura to Kyoto takes twelve days. If you travel for eleven but stop with only one day remaining, how can you admire the moon over the capital?” (“Letter to Niike,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 1027). Sensei reminds us that when we take action based on prayer, we can surmount even the most difficult obstacles. This encouragement has enabled me to persevere in fulfilling my dreams despite tremendous obstacles. 

After graduating from Soka University of America as part of the fifth class and finishing my master’s in psychology, I returned to India with the dream of coming back to the U.S. Although it was economically challenging, I fulfilled that dream in 2016 and have dedicated myself to advancing kosen-rufu in America since.

Today, in my personal life, I’m striving to create a harmonious family with my husband and win at home. At work, as a professor of communication and leadership at the University of Southern California (USC), I’m on the front lines of education, guiding young people whose lives are shaped by things such as artificial intelligence, division and lack of peace and harmony in the world. I view my classroom as a place to embody Sensei’s vision, and I strive to teach classes inspired by his efforts for global peace and transformational leadership. 

Finally, I challenge myself to give hope to friends and family through my experiences of actual proof in line with Sensei’s encouragement and guidance. I’ve introduced several people to Buddhism and my prayer is that they each will one day start their own Buddhist practice. I’m hoping that soon we can have a campus club at USC so that we can share Buddhism with students on campus. 

My determination is to live out Sensei’s philosophy of peace through my actions, so that even in a turbulent world, people can discover hope and the courage to transform their lives.

October 2, 2025 World Tribune, pp. 12–13