The following excerpts from The New Human Revolution can also be found in The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, revised edition, chapter 21, installment 1, pp. 1–4.
Do not ask whether the mighty flow of kosen-rufu is an inevitable consequence of history. Rather, always ask yourself whether you have the passion to make kosen-rufu inevitable through your own sweat and effort.
This is a well-known passage from Ikeda Sensei’s poem “From the Indigo, an Even Deeper Blue.” The realization of kosen-rufu and ultimately world peace is the lofty ideal to which he has dedicated his entire life, and it is the aim and purpose of Nichiren Buddhism.
Happiness is life’s goal. Peace is what all people desire. History must move in the direction of happiness and peace.
It is human nature to seek a firm guiding principle leading toward those aims. Science, government, society and religion must also be focused on human happiness and peace.
Regarding the suffering of humanity as his own, Nichiren Daishonin rose to action, holding high the banner of “establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land.” He clearly set forth a guiding principle leading to happiness and peace.
Nichiren writes, “Can there be any doubt that … the great pure Law of the Lotus Sutra [Nam-myoho-renge-kyo] will be spread far and wide [kosen-rufu] throughout Japan and all the other countries of Jambudvipa [the entire world]?” (“The Selection of the Time,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 550). He predicted worldwide kosen-rufu and entrusted its realization to his disciples of future generations.
Nichiren Buddhism teaches that all living beings equally possess the Buddha nature and embody the principle of three thousand realms in a single moment of life. It also reveals the means by which we can break free of all the chains that bind us. Affirming human dignity, equality and freedom, Nichiren Buddhism is a world religion committed to bringing peace to humanity. It will illuminate the 21st century and impart the great light of universal happiness to the world.
The most distinguishing characteristic of Nichiren Buddhism is its emphasis on kosen-rufu—the widespread propagation of the Mystic Law.
It is a teaching that urges us to dedicate ourselves to spreading this universal Law of life throughout the world and realizing happiness and peace for all humanity, because this is the mission for which we were born into this world and the path to our own happiness as well.
In Nichiren Buddhism, therefore, we practice for both ourselves and others. We strive in our Buddhist practice not just to gain the benefits of the Law ourselves but to share the teachings with others and introduce them to the practice so that they, too, can gain the same benefits.
Nichiren states: “You must not only persevere yourself; you must also teach others. … Teach others to the best of your ability, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase” (“The True Aspect of All Phenomena,” WND-1, 386). Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and sharing the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism with others are the two wheels of our Buddhist practice.
Nichiren Buddhism also stresses the importance of “establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land.”
Throughout his lifetime, Nichiren Daishonin asserted the need to spread the correct teaching and firmly establish the philosophical principles of Buddhism in the heart of each individual, thereby creating a peaceful and prosperous society for all.
From one perspective, it can be said that “establishing the correct teaching,” or widely spreading the Mystic Law, represents our religious mission as practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, and that realizing the “peace of the land” represents our social mission.
Nichiren Daishonin writes, “If you care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and tranquility throughout the four quarters of the land, should you not?” (“On Establishing the Correct Teaching,” WND-1, 24). “Order and tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land” refers to peace in society. We are fulfilling our mission as Nichiren Buddhists when we strive to actualize a peaceful land by changing society for the better and bringing peace and prosperity to all people.
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