CategoryMonthly Message

All of you, my treasured fellow members, engage in dialogue throughout the four seasons to realize Nichiren Daishonin’s ideal of “establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land.” You embody the principle that “where there is unseen virtue, there will be visible reward” (“Unseen Virtue and Visible Reward,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin,

The spiritual bond of mentor and disciple is profound and unfettered. The final encounter between Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda was a brief moment following their arrest for their religious beliefs. Passing each other in the corridor of the police headquarters as Mr. Makiguchi was being transferred to a detention center, Mr. Toda cried out,

What good fortune we have to journey throughout the three existences—past, present and future—with Nichiren Daishonin, the Mystic Law and our fellow members, forever walking the path of eternity, happiness, true self and purity. In a letter to Soya Doso, who exerted himself in faith alongside his father, Soya Kyoshin, Nichiren writes, “The matter of

During our historic February Campaign of Kamata Chapter [in 1952], braving cold winds, praying and exerting ourselves tirelessly, we reached out widely to those around us to share Nichiren Buddhism. A passage from Nichiren Daishonin’s treatise “The Selection of the Time” that we read together moved and inspired us deeply: “Those concerned about their next

At the time when his businesses were in dire straits, my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, and I read “On the Buddha’s Prophecy” together. Amid the life-threatening challenges of exile on Sado Island, Nichiren Daishonin proclaimed in that letter his vision of the westward transmission of Buddhism and worldwide kosen-rufu. Mr. Toda vowed

Over the past year, all of you, our dedicated members everywhere—not least the uncrowned heroes who deliver the Seikyo Shimbun each day—have advanced steadily in your tireless efforts for the sake of Buddhism, the happiness of others and the welfare of your communities, societies and the world. If we were to calculate the total distance

Nichiren Daishonin writes, “The wish-granting jewel …, though only a single jewel, can shower all kinds of treasures upon the wisher” (“The Recitation of the ‘Expedient Means’ and ‘Life Span’ Chapters,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 69). Just like the wish-granting jewel, each of our Soka Gakkai districts—the front line in our

Eight hundred years have passed since the birth of Nichiren Daishonin, who described himself as “the son of a commoner” and “the son of commoner parents.” The time has come for Nichiren Daishonin’s sunlike Buddhism of the people to dispel the darkness of chaos and brightly illuminate the global family of humankind with the great

When I was young and battling illness, I was struck by a passage in Nichiren Daishonin’s writings: “Through illness, [the Buddha taught] the power [of Buddhism]” (“On Curing Karmic Disease,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 631). I realized that my painful illness had profound meaning. I resolved not to be defeated and

In the letter Nichiren Daishonin wrote to the lay nun Myoichi containing his famous words “Winter always turns to spring” (“Winter Always Turns to Spring,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 536), he expresses his appreciation for her sincere support and assistance, saying: “In what lifetime could I ever forget what you have

Dynamic progress in human revolution begins with the fierce courage to surmount hardships. Amid unrelenting persecution while in exile on Sado Island, Nichiren Daishonin called out to Shijo Kingo: “Bring forth the great power of faith, and be spoken of by all the people of Kama-kura, both high and low, or by all the people

Nichiren Daishonin writes, “If the [source] is inexhaustible, the stream will never run dry” (“Flowering and Bearing Grain,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 909). It is the Soka Gakkai’s unsurpassed honor to have an everlasting source in its founding spirit. June is the birth month of our founder and first president Tsunesaburo

“Start anew with a fresh spirit!”—that’s the message I imparted to our Soka Gakkai Sports Division members. Whatever your present condition, the key is to always start anew and tackle the next challenge with a fresh spirit. We have the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, who teaches that it is our heart or spirit that is

In “The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs,” the fifth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, we find the beautiful expression “human flowers” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 142). I recall my conversation with South Africa’s great humanitarian leader Nelson Mandela, after welcoming him with 500 youth. I told him about this

As human beings, we cannot be more than human beings, nor do we need to be. Nichiren Daishonin opened the way for all human beings, just as they are, to shine their brightest, with supreme nobility, dignity and humanity. Praising Sage Nichimyo, a disciple and single mother who, amid troubled times, sincerely supported her fellow

I am reminded of a passage from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, and I spoke about as we walked along the street one chilly winter night, gazing up at the luminous full moon: The moon shines more brightly around dawn than it does in the early evening, and

In my conversations with leading thinkers in Japan and around the world, they often say how impressed they are by our members, some calling them precious treasures of humanity and remarking how struck they are by the genuine care and concern evident in their interactions and their compassion for human beings and all life. “The

Faith is the deepest, noblest and most powerful conviction—unshakable, inviolable and unyielding. The starting point of his great struggle to spread the Mystic Law, Nichiren Daishonin says, was his “resolve to withstand the harshest trials” (see “Letter to Misawa,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 895). Inheriting this spirit and forging ahead bravely

In this month of the anniversary of our founding [November], let us once again join in expressing our gratitude to Soka women around the world, the shining suns of kosen-rufu. I am reminded of a passage from the “Bodhisattva Medicine King” chapter of the Lotus Sutra that Nichiren Daishonin sent to Nichigen-nyo: “One who can

In October 1961, when I saw with my own eyes the Berlin Wall that had been built just two months earlier, I was outraged by the forces of evil that divide and separate people. It was the same evil, the devilish nature, that my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, decried in his Declaration