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 the SGI-USA Representatives Conference in Miami, Florida, February 2, 1993. The full speech can be found in My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, pp. 246–50.
One of the Buddha’s titles is “One Who Can Endure” (“The Four Debts of Gratitude,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 41). The Buddha is the ultimate embodiment of the virtue of forbearance—the ability to courageously endure, persevere and overcome all difficulties. The power of faith gives us the strength to weather and survive any storm. Perseverance is the essence of a Buddha. Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day, is the epitome of this quality.
Cultivate Physical, Intellectual and Spiritual Strength
Following in the Daishonin’s footsteps, the first and second Soka Gakkai presidents, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda, endured imprisonment. Even during the 30-odd years since I became Soka Gakkai president, I have endured all imaginable persecutions, intrigues and treachery.
Unless we are strong, we cannot win in life, nor can we accomplish kosen-rufu. The essence of our human revolution is to become as strong a human being as possible.
Mr. Toda used to say, “Become individuals who are strong physically, intellectually and spiritually.” To be strong in all three areas is the ideal. Many people may be strong in one or two of these areas, but only when all three are combined can we enjoy a well-balanced life, a life of resounding victory. Those who cultivate such all-round strength are never defeated.
If your physical health is poor, both you and your family will suffer. Without sound mental capabilities, you cannot see the truth and thereby will be too easily deceived by evil. Nor can you create any great value in society. It is imperative that you have wisdom. For that reason, it is vital that, based on chanting daimoku, you study diligently, starting with the Daishonin’s teachings. It is essential that you develop and strengthen your intellect.
Furthermore, it is our minds that put our bodies and intellect to work. No matter how healthy, intelligent or affluent we may be, if our minds are weak, then our happiness also will be frail and brittle. Our minds of faith, moreover, enable us to bring out the full potential in all things and situations, so it is crucial that we strive to forge our minds of faith.
You cannot win in your daily lives or in society if you are weak minded or given to quick despair or complaint. Only in our daily lives and in society can we prove the validity of Buddhism. Please strive to become exemplary children of the Buddha and SGI members endowed with physical, intellectual and spiritual strength.
I hope you will build, and help others build, solid lives filled with unshakable happiness, while protecting the weak and the suffering. Also, I ask that men always remember to show the utmost respect to women.
In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, in which the Daishonin explains profound Buddhist doctrines, is the phrase “the foremost point [the Buddha] wished to convey” (p. 192), referring to a passage from the Lotus Sutra.
To expound the Lotus Sutra is the reason Shakyamuni made his advent in the world. It is the highest of all his teachings. What, then, were Shakyamuni’s last words therein? “If you see a person who accepts and upholds this sutra, you should rise and greet him from afar, showing [them] the same respect you would a Buddha” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 365).
“A person who accepts and upholds this sutra”—in other words, a votary of the Lotus Sutra—specifically refers to Nichiren. In a broader sense, however, it indicates all those who, directly linked to the Daishonin, are devoting their lives to the widespread propagation of the Mystic Law.
The likes of those [of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood] who appear to embrace the Gohonzon yet in reality abuse faith to serve their own ends are totally undeserving of respect.
Nichiren teaches, “With just these eight characters [‘you should rise and greet him from afar, showing him the same respect you would a Buddha’] he [Shakyamuni] summed up the message of the entire sutra” (OTT, 193).
“Respect the children of the Buddha; respect and cherish the practitioners who dedicate themselves to the widespread propagation of the Mystic Law as you would a Buddha!” This sums up Shakyamuni’s last words, or final testament. It is also the underlying spirit of the entire Lotus Sutra—a spirit the Daishonin decreed to be the “foremost point.”
The true inheritors to whom the Buddha conveyed the teachings are those who exert themselves to the utmost in its practice. Those who, more than anyone else, respect and treasure the SGI members—the present-day votaries of kosen-rufu—understand the foremost point conveyed by the Buddha. …
The Spirit of the Lotus Sutra Holds the Key to World Peace
The priests of Nichiren Shoshu despise the children of the Buddha; they hold human beings in contempt. The Daishonin, in contrast, teaches respect for the children of the Buddha and for all people. He espouses reverence and respect for the inherent Buddha nature of all human beings.
When this spirit of the Lotus Sutra—that is, to respect others—finally spreads and prevails, there is no doubt that true world peace will be achieved. Humankind will then be united, not by authoritarian power, military force or economic might but by the Law of life. Since the Law is eternal, the bonds that are formed on this basis will also be everlasting.
Consequently, in urging us to respect all people, the Daishonin also teaches us the secret, or key, to attaining world peace. We of the SGI are the only ones who have received the foremost point and are putting it into action.
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