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Academy members should:• be district through national youth leaders.• have their own copy of The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1.• read the assigned material prior to each meeting. SEPTEMBER SYLLABUS The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1, pp. 193–213 Part Three: “Expedient Means” Chapter• “Expedient Means”: The Inherent Sanctity of All Existence

September 2023

September 2023

Part 1: Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—Hold High the Banner of Respect for the Dignity of Life! Share the Great Path of the Buddhism of the People!

The following excerpts are from Ikeda Sensei’s lecture on Nichiren Daishonin’s writing “The True Aspect of All Phenomena,” originally published in the November 2013 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study magazine, to commemorate the opening of the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu in Tokyo. It can be found in Teachings

Background Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter from Sado Island in May 1273 and addressed it to Sairen-bo, who was also in exile there. In the beginning of the letter, Nichiren writes about “the true aspect of all phenomena,” a phrase from the Lotus Sutra’s “Expedient Means” chapter. He writes that “all beings and environments in

From a state of confidence, endings appear as the means for fresh growth. I’m Sylvia Dare from Galloway, New Jersey.

In a crucial passage from “On the Buddha’s Prophecy,” in which he boldly proclaimed his vision of worldwide kosen-rufu, Nichiren Daishonin stresses the importance of people who embrace and transmit the teachings (see The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 401). My mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, sternly instructed me: “Without people

Ikeda Sensei once gave this guidance at the opening of a new SGI center: Soka Gakkai culture centers are not idle palaces of luxury; they are bastions of kosen-rufu. Bastions are a base from which a struggle is carried out. So the most fitting way to mark the completion of a new bastion is with

“I wonder if you and I have not been pledged to each other as teacher and disciple from countless kalpas in the past.” (“Reply to Sairen-bo,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 309) Ikeda Sensei’s Guidance Although this statement is addressed specifically to Sairen-bo, we can read it to include all of us.

Two-and-a-half millennia ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote that human beings by nature are social animals: “Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god.” And yet here we are, in an age

In August 1957, Ikeda Sensei initiated a propagation campaign in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward, where more than 200 new members joined the Soka Gakkai in one week. During this time, Sensei had been worried about his mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, who was battling serious health challenges. With Mr. Toda’s lifetime goal of 750,000

Nur Yalman and Daisaku Ikeda

Installment 8: Eleven Letters of Remonstrance

Academy members should:• be district through national youth leaders.• have their own copy of The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1.• read the assigned material prior to each meeting. AUGUST SYLLABUS The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 1, pp. 165–92 Part Three: “Expedient Means” Chapter• The Heart of the True Aspect of All

August 2023

August 2023

Ikeda Sensei’s Lecture Series [90]

The following excerpt is from part 3 of Ikeda Sensei’s three-part lecture on Nichiren Daishonin’s “Letter from Sado.” It can be found in Teachings for Victory, vol. 1, pp. 54–56. There is very little writing paper here in the province of Sado, and to write to you individually would take too long. Nevertheless, if even

Background At the time Nichiren wrote “Letter from Sado,” in March 1272, persecutions targeting his disciples in Kamakura were intensifying, and a growing number of people were abandoning their faith. Despite his own dire circumstances, Nichiren wrote this letter to encourage others. He urged them to summon up the heart of a lion king like