In October, the SGI-USA women and young women launched the dialogue initiative “Peace in Miniature: One Is the Mother of Ten-Thousand,” which invites each of us to engage in transformative one-to-one dialogues with our friends, neighbors and one another, with the conviction that each one represents peace itself.
At your monthly America Victory Daimoku Group and Sophia Group meetings, please feel free to use the following guidance by Ikeda Sensei, referencing a Gosho passage that he called “the eternal lifetime of the SGI” and that many SGI members have recited daily after gongyo.
Nichiren Daishonin writes: “Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbor doubts in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood. Do not have doubts simply because heaven does not lend you protection. Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life. This is what I have taught my disciples morning and evening, and yet they begin to harbor doubts and abandon their faith.
“Foolish men are likely to forget the promises they have made when the crucial moment comes” (“The Opening of the Eyes,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 283).
Ikeda Sensei writes of this passage: “Putting the spirit of this passage into action is the eternal lifeline of the SGI. If we keep advancing with these words as our point of reference, our faith will shine with indestructible brilliance.
“Based on the spirit of this passage, any time we face hardships is a crucial moment. It is, therefore, essential that we have the dauntless faith to enable us to fight back bravely at such times—for instance, when the three obstacles and four devils strike, when we are challenging ourselves to change our karma or when we are engaged in a win-or-lose struggle for kosen-rufu. We should realize that every day we can learn this spirit of faith from Nichiren’s example. We must never be foolish people who cave in at a crucial moment” (Learning From Nichiren’s Writings: The Teachings for Victory, vol. 1, p. 86).
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