From July to November, the SGI-USA women are studying Ikeda Sensei’s lecture series The Five Eternal Guidelines of the Soka Gakkai at our America Victory Daimoku Group chanting sessions. The study passage for November follows.
Just before issuing the first three guidelines of the Soka Gakkai, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda presented Ikeda Sensei with a poem:
Winning and losing
are both
part of life,
but I pray to the Buddha
for final victory.[1]
The achievement of worldwide kosen-rufu is a noble struggle to guide all people to happiness. As such, it is a “relentless battle between the forces of the Buddha and devilish functions.”[2] The purpose of our Buddhist practice is to achieve absolute victory in every area of our lives.
Here are four key points from Sensei’s guidance on the last of “The Five Eternal Guidelines of the Soka Gakkai”: “Faith for Absolute Victory.”
1. When we share the same commitment as our mentor, we can realize absolute victory.
“When we make a vow to our mentor, hope and confidence well forth.
“When we chant with the same heart as our mentor, we can bring forth the courage and wisdom that resides within us.
“When we struggle together with our mentor, we can break through even the most overwhelming obstacles.”[3]
2. Being undefeated means remaining unwavering in faith.
“The important thing is to never allow ourselves to be defeated. Remaining undefeated is being unwavering. With a firm resolve never to falter, we can embark on a renewed struggle to achieve absolute victory.”[4]
3. Practice in accordance with the Buddha’s golden words.
“Practice the Lotus Sutra, the very heart of the Buddha, just as the Buddha teaches. For us, this means persevering in faith, practice and study. It also means dedicating our lives to the great vow for kosen-rufu, as taught in Nichiren’s writings, always based on the Gohonzon. …
“By making kosen-rufu the guiding purpose of all our prayers and actions, we can tap the limitless wisdom, courage and strength of the Buddha that are inherent in our lives. This is what allows us to make the impossible possible.”[5]
4. Buddhas triumph over devilish functions. “Through our struggle against devilish functions, we forge, strengthen and purify our lives. Eliminating evil and bringing forth good are the two components of benefit. Fighting against evil functions is the way to accumulate benefit and attain Buddhahood.”[6][7]
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