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, March 9, 1993. The full speech can be found in My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, pp. 263–71.
Buddhism expounds the concept of the mystic function of one’s mind, which refers to the wondrous workings of the human mind. Life is a visible manifestation of the invisible workings of the mind. …
Only those who ceaselessly polish themselves can bloom as true flowers that never wither as time goes by.
The Thus Come One Who Is Awakened to the Mind
William James, an American pioneer in the field of psychology, discovered in essence that people could change their lives by changing their attitude. This is remarkably similar to the Buddhist teaching of the “mystic function of the mind.”
Nichiren Daishonin wrote: “This mind that is beyond comprehension constitutes the core teaching of the sutras and treatises. And one who is awake to and understands this mind is called a Thus Come One” (“The Unanimous Declaration by the Buddhas,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 2, p. 844).The Thus Come One—that is, the Buddha—is one who has awakened to the “mystic function of the mind.” In other words, to the mind’s wondrous workings and its infinite power. The Thus Come One is the gifted physician who can cure the deluded minds of sentient beings.
Mahatma Gandhi once said that people become the people they expect themselves to be. Your minds determine your future, your lives.
Belief and Thought Alter Reality
The human brain has been called a microcosm. It is said that billions of nerve cells can be found in the brain. When all their interrelated combinations are taken into account, the number becomes astronomical. The potential of the human brain remains an unknown. We do not know what powers it holds.
But one thing is certain: the power of belief, the power of thought, will move reality in the direction of what we believe and how we conceive it. If you really believe you can do something, you can. That is a fact.
When you clearly envision a victorious outcome, engrave it in your heart and are firmly convinced that you will attain it, your brain makes every effort to realize the mental image you have created. Then, through your unceasing efforts, that victory is finally made a reality. …
The Positive Life View Found Within a Single Moment
Buddhism teaches us that the individual writes and performs the script for their own life. Neither chance nor a divine being writes the script for us. We write it, and we are the actors who perform it. This is an extremely positive philosophy, inherent in the teaching of three thousand realms in a single moment of life.
You are the author and the hero. To perform your play well, it is important to pound the script into your head so thoroughly that you can see it vividly before your eyes.
You may need to rehearse in your mind. Sometimes it helps to write down your goals (for example, to pass an examination or to improve at your job), copying them over and over until they are burned into your heart. …
Is There Any Place Without Worries?
Many people ascribe others’ victories to luck. Such people are likely to think, “If only I had that” or “If only I didn’t have this problem to deal with.” But those are nothing more than excuses. There is no one who does not have their own problems.
A certain Japanese businessman said to his friend: “You’re always complaining about having so many problems. I know a place where there are at least 10,000 people, but not one of them has even a single problem or worry. Should I take you there?”
His friend said, “Yes, please do!” And guess where the businessman took him? To the cemetery.
He was teaching his friend that as long as we live, we will have to deal with problems and sufferings. How do we tackle our problems? This challenge is what makes for a rich life.
Buddhism teaches that “earthly desires are enlightenment.” The greater our sufferings, the greater happiness we can transform them into through the power of daimoku. …
Generous Hearts Invite Great Happiness
The most important thing is to develop our state of life. When human beings think of nothing but themselves, they increasingly become entrenched in small mindedness and their small, lesser selves.
In contrast, those who work toward a great and all-encompassing objective—for the sake of the Law, for others, for society—can forge generous hearts and great, magnanimous selves through the mystic function of their minds. Those with big hearts are assured of savoring great happiness.
By developing your life condition in this way, sufferings that may have been a heavy burden when you had a lesser state of mind will appear minor, and you can calmly rise above them. I hope all of you will lead lives in which you show splendid proof of this mystic function of the mind. …
I need not tell you that the very first step on this vast journey was taken here in the United States [on October 2, 1960]. America is the starting point [for worldwide kosen-rufu].
From this land where all my journeys began, together with all of you with whom I share such profound bonds, I would like to open new doors of history.
I conclude today’s speech with my prayers for the magnificent renewal of the United States, for the great development of the SGI and for the vigorous endeavors of all SGI members, each of whom has a precious mission for kosen-rufu.
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