This section features Ikeda Sensei’s seminal guidance to the members of the United States. The following is an excerpt of his speech given at an SGI representatives conference in Miami, Florida, February 5, 1993. The full speech can be found in My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, pp. 258–62.
The day of a new American Renaissance is dawning, and every one of you is a standard-bearer for that new age. I want you to march forward, carrying high the Stars and Stripes and the tricolored SGI flag as symbols of your diamond- strong solidarity, cheerful progress and brilliant victory.
A New America, Day by Day
I would like to talk a little today about the spirit of renaissance that beats in America’s heart.
The previous American Renaissance in the 19th century also took place in an age of change. A new America was being born day by day. Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the leaders of that glorious American Renaissance.
Emerson was a great thinker, a masterful poet and an unrivaled speaker and writer. He was a philosopher who endeavored to bring to light a new spirit sought by humanity.
As a youth, I read his writings avidly. In the desolation that followed World War II, I turned to them again and again as nourishment for my starved soul. My mentor, Josei Toda, always encouraged me to read Emerson. …
An Inner Revolution Is the Ultimate Revolution
As you all know, Emerson battled fiercely against religious authority. He declared: “The faith that stands on authority is not faith. The reliance on authority measures the decline of religion, the withdrawal of the soul.”
Religion exists first and foremost for the sake of human beings. Buddhism in particular is thoroughly humanistic, based as it is on the philosophy of human equality and the sanctity of life. Whatever their position, those who claim to wield authority over others cannot be termed Buddhists. Reliance on authority is, in fact, eloquent testimony to a person’s corruption and weakness.
Where can we find the noble path to reformation and change? Emerson declared, “Not he is great who can alter matter, but he who can alter my state of mind.” He strongly urged us to undergo an inner reformation. How much more strongly does Buddhism urge this, with its teachings of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life” and “the oneness of life and its environment.”
I want you to be assured that the challenge to which we set ourselves day after day—that of our human revolution—is the supreme path to bringing about a reformation in our families, local regions and societies. An inner revolution is the most fundamental and, at the same time, the ultimate revolution for engendering change in all things.
The Warming Rays of Friendship
Emerson also spoke of the power of affection: “Let our affection flow out to our fellows; it would operate in a day the greatest of all revolutions. It is better to work on institutions by the sun than by the wind.”
Our hearts change others’ hearts. Friendship changes people. Travelers who pull their capes over their shoulders and brace themselves determinedly against the cold wind naturally relax and change their outlook and actions when warmed by the sun. The SGI is an organization of friendship. I hope that, with the warmth of the sun, you will shower one another with friendship and spread waves of camaraderie and affection throughout society.
Becoming Happy Together
In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, referring to “The Benefits of Responding with Joy” chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren Daishonin says, “‘Joy’ means that oneself and others together experience joy” (OTT, 146).
Joy is not simply your personal, egoistic happiness, nor is it making others happy at the expense of your own happiness. You and others delighting together, you and others becoming happy together—this is the Mystic Law and the wondrous thing about our realm of kosen-rufu.
The Daishonin also states, “Both oneself and others together will take joy in their possession of wisdom and compassion” (OTT, 146). To possess both wisdom and compassion is the heart of our human revolution. If you have wisdom alone and lack compassion, it will be a cold, perverse wisdom. If you have compassion alone and lack wisdom, you cannot achieve your own happiness or give happiness to others. You are even likely to lead them in the wrong direction.
As we advance together in the pursuit of our human revolution—on the path of unsurpassed joy and self-improvement—we deepen both our wisdom and compassion with the passing of time. This is our way of life in the SGI.
Our Prayers for Others’ Happiness Are the Driving Force for Development
Each of you developing wisdom, making joyful progress with open and generous hearts, and spreading waves of joy into society and the world—this is Nichiren Buddhism.
Faith means infinite hope, and infinite hope resides in the SGI. As long as your faith is sincere, infinite glory, boundless good fortune and endless victory will unfold before you. You will never find yourselves at a dead end.
From Compassion Springs Wisdom to Bring Others Hope and Joy
Leaders must bring happiness and hope to their fellow members.
When people are joyful, they act with courage and initiative. When they move toward the future with hope, they demonstrate the great things of which they are capable. And in this process, the natural rhythm of improvement and victory will take hold.
That is why leaders must love the members as if they were their own children and why they, more than anyone else, must pray for their happiness. In this single determination for the members’ happiness lies all the power needed for development. The wisdom to bring hope and joy to others springs from this compassion.
You are reading {{ meterCount }} of {{ meterMax }} free premium articles