The following is encouragement Ikeda Sensei sent to participants of a young women’s meeting in Tokyo on Sept. 5, 2013. It can be found in The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 2, revised edition, chapter 15, installment 5, pp. 132–33.
In a message to the young women’s division SGI Ikeda Kayo-kai, Ikeda Sensei stressed three points: (1) Illuminate these troubled times with the bright sun of the Kayo-kai; (2) Strive in your own way to open new creative paths to a culture of peace; and (3) With an invincible smile, never stop practicing Buddhism as long as you live. In discussing the third point, he explained that unwavering resolve is the essence of “faith for overcoming obstacles.”
I would like to say to you: with an invincible smile, never stop practicing Buddhism as long as you live!
In 1979, when the Soka Gakkai was in the midst of a harsh spate of persecutions, my wife, Kaneko, continued to strive in activities for kosen-rufu with an imperturbable smile. At one discussion meeting during that time, a member asked her to inscribe something on a decorative card, and she wrote, “Never stop practicing.”
The shared vow of mentor and disciple is to keep practicing Nichiren Buddhism together with the Soka Gakkai throughout one’s life, no matter what happens.
You are all Bodhisattvas of the Earth, with wondrous karmic bonds, who have emerged in your respective places of mission at this significant time.
Having such a great mission means that the challenges you face will also be great. But that is why you will be able to savor a truly rare and irreplaceable sense of fulfillment in your lives and accumulate indelible good fortune.
Whatever the situation, decide that you will not be defeated and keep moving forward with vigor and optimism, leading a youth of unsurpassed joy.
The Daishonin writes, “To have faith like water means to believe continuously without ever regressing” (“The Two Kinds of Faith,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 899). In accord with these words, I hope you will lead vibrant and victorious lives of steadfast faith, free of regret.
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