Skip to main content

Ikeda Sensei

A Grand Bastion of the Written Word

wilpunt/GettyImages

This monthly encouragement by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda was originally published in the September 2019 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal.

In one of his letters, Nichiren Daishonin praises a female disciple named Onichi-nyo, who was making sincere efforts to support kosen-rufu in spite of her modest circumstances. He explains to her: “A single character of the Lotus Sutra is like the great earth, which gives rise to all things. A single character is like the great ocean, which contains the water from all rivers. A single character is like the sun and moon, which illuminate all four continents. This single character changes and … becomes a Buddha” (“Reply to Onichi-nyo,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 1089).

The Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin’s writings carry the living voices of Shakyamuni and Nichiren, both of whom spoke out tirelessly in their determined effort to help all people attain enlightenment. In this age of the Latter Day of the Law—an age of quarrels and disputes—the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper Seikyo Shimbun, fully imbued with the wondrous power of each word of these sacred texts, is carrying on the great struggle to communicate the truth through the written word.

I will never forget the early days of the Seikyo Shimbun when, under the leadership of my great mentor in kosen-rufu, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, I exerted myself energetically in editing, delivering and promoting the paper. I still fondly recall our small, cramped editorial office in the Ichigaya Building (near Tokyo’s Ichigaya Station).

Our members have embraced the Seikyo Shimbun and worked wholeheartedly to realize the shared wish of mentor and disciple to enable people all around Japan and the world to read our newspaper. Today, the Seikyo Shimbun has gained a large and dedicated readership, and some 80 sister publications, such as the Hwakwang Shinmun of SGI-South Korea (KSGI), have appeared across the globe.

The impressive new Soka Gakkai World Seikyo Center, a grand bastion of the written word, is now nearing completion in Tokyo. My wife, Kaneko, and I wish to express our deepest respect and appreciation to our uncrowned heroes, the Seikyo Shimbun deliverers; our volunteer regional correspondents; our newspaper promotion chiefs; and all those who have contributed to the newspaper’s present remarkable growth.

The Seikyo Shimbun is the “great earth” of happiness. Through its articles, it provides not only documentary and theoretical proof, but actual proof in the form of personal experiences attesting to the wonderful benefit of practicing Nichiren Buddhism. In this way, it offers hope and inspiration for human revolution, for overcoming the most challenging destiny and achieving happiness for both oneself and others.

The Seikyo Shimbun is the “great ocean” of peace. Transcending all differences, it embraces people the world over, actively encourages cultural and educational exchange, and creates beautiful, shimmering waves that carry the Daishonin’s ideal of “establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land” far and wide.

The Seikyo Shimbun is the “sun and moon” of truth and justice. It illuminates the darkness of our confused and troubled times with the light of the life-affirming philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism, and points the way forward for humanity, speaking out for what is right with a courageous lion’s roar.

A new bastion of the written word dedicated to fostering, uniting and illuminating world citizens now stands majestically before us. Proudly sharing the Seikyo Shimbun, let us reach out to others in dialogue, showing utmost respect for each person in the spirit of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, and help as many people as possible form a connection with Nichiren Buddhism as a cause for their happiness.

Together with the Seikyo Shimbun,
continue writing
a golden “day-to-day record”
[1]
in your lives,
living each day without regret.

References

  1. “The Unanimous Declaration by the Buddhas, The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 2, p. 843. ↩︎

Calling Forth an Ever-Growing Stream of Youthful Bodhisattvas

The Soka Gakkai Is a Wellspring of Courage