CategoryEncouragement

Ludwig van Beethoven completed his Ninth Symphony, known for its choral section “Ode to Joy,” in 1824, at the age of 53, just three years before his death. It is the last complete symphony he composed. The Ninth Symphony is famous for including a choral section, unlike any other symphony at the time. Beethoven created

After second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda’s passing on April 2, 1958, Ikeda Sensei (then Soka Gakkai chief of staff) not only grappled with the loss of his beloved mentor but also deeply considered how to carry on his mentor’s work of advancing kosen-rufu. He recalled Mr. Toda saying: “The Gakkai should advance a major

5th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting

Unforgettable Journeys

Ikeda Sensei’s Lecture Series—Installment 71: “Letter from Sado”—Part 1: Triumph With the Heart of a Lion King!

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

Poems from Ikeda Sensei

Thoughts on The New Human Revolution

We who dedicate our lives to kosen-rufu are always together with Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. While residing on Mount Minobu in Kai Province (present-day Yamanashi Prefecture), Nichiren sent a letter to the elderly lay nun of Ko, a dedicated follower who lived on Sado Island—“a thousand [miles away]

Our Journey of Mentor and Disciple Shining with Hope and Victory

Ikeda Sensei’s Lecture Series—Installment 70

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

On the occasion of the autumn equinox [traditionally a time for memorial services for the deceased in Japan], I offered solemn prayers for all our noble fellow members who in life strove for kosen-rufu, your deceased loved ones and those who have lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic. I am also praying for an

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Part 1 of 2

Monthly Message

Ikeda Sensei’s Lecture Series

I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to our members around the world struggling in the wake of various natural disasters, including in western Japan, which recently suffered devastating torrential rains. As Nichiren Daishonin indicates in his treatise “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” torrential rains, along with epidemics,

In 1937, I was 9 years old. My father was finally beginning to recover from a long, severe bout of rheumatism. It was at just that time that my eldest brother was drafted into the army. His name was Kiichi, and he was 12 years older than me, making him 21 when he was called

To mark the 20th anniversary of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, the World Tribune is reprinting the poignant message Ikeda Sensei sent to the members of the SGI-USA on its one-year anniversary. In it, Sensei conveys the important role that America plays in securing peace for all humanity.  A year has already passed