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Brief Guidances

Let’s Show Our Appreciation for the Efforts of Our Fellow District Members

Words of Encouragement From Ikeda Sensei

If someone proclaims even a single verse or phrase of the Lotus Sutra, you must respect him as you would the Buddha. This is what the sutra means when it says, “You should rise and greet him from afar, showing him the same respect you would a Buddha” [The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 365].

“The Fourteen Slanders” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 757


Our Soka Gakkai districts are the most wonderful gatherings of mutual respect, where we value and treasure one another as Buddhas, just as the Daishonin teaches. They are oases of security and trust within our communities.

The incredible efforts of our cornerstone men’s and women’s district leaders—and indeed all our dedicated members—are surely observed by Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the universe.

Let’s warmheartedly praise and applaud one another, thereby accumulating even more benefit, and keep working to welcome many new Bodhisattvas of the Earth to our hope-filled movement!

Translated from the December 10, 2021 Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper.

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