CategoryIkeda Sensei

On Sept. 5, 1956, I was conferring with second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda about the future of kosen-rufu. The focus of our discussion was Yamaguchi Prefecture in the Chugoku region of Japan. At the time, we had only a little more than 400 households practicing Buddhism there. Yamaguchi was the starting point of events

This section features Ikeda Sensei’s seminal guidance to the members of the United States. The following is an excerpt of his speech given at a training session for divisional representatives, held at the Malibu Training Center, Malibu, California, February 28, 1990. The full speech can be found in My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition,

“Enjoy!” This is the Aloha spirit. My eyes are drawn and riveted to a particular spot on the beach. There, from the sand, emerges the figure of a white horse. Who sculpted it? It seems as if it would gallop gracefully away at any moment. I bow with respect and appreciation to the nameless beach

Ikeda Sensei gave the following speech on Aug. 1, 2008, at the Soka Gakkai Youth Division Representatives Conference. This guidance first appeared in the Aug. 6, 2008, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Part one appears in the March 7, World Tribune, pp. 2–3. No matter what storms may assail the Soka

Ikeda Sensei gave the following speech on Aug. 1, 2008, at the Soka Gakkai Youth Division Representatives Conference. This guidance first appeared in the Aug. 5, 2008, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Congratulations on this Youth Division Representatives Conference!  The Beijing Olympics will start from Aug. 8, [2008,] and I’m happy

The following are excerpts from Ikeda Sensei’s speech at the First Nationwide Young Men’s and Young Women’s Division Leaders Meeting held at the Tokyo Toda Memorial Auditorium in Sugamo, Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 1997. Video footage of the speech was broadcast during the most recent Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting on Jan. 11, 2025. It

This section features Ikeda Sensei’s seminal guidance to the members of the United States. The following is an excerpt of his speech given at the First SGI-USA Women’s Division Meeting, held at Soka University of Los Angeles, Calabasas, California, February 27, 1990. The full speech can be found in My Dear Friends in America, fourth

It was already late in the afternoon, but at that time of the year the European sky remains light until quite late. But suddenly the sky darkened with clouds, and heavy rain began to fall. It tapped on the rooftops with a thousand fingers, like a pianist playing a lively sonata. It fell like curtains

This essay originally appeared in the Jan. 26, 2023, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun, and the Feb. 10, 2023, World Tribune, pp. 10–11. My mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, placed deep trust in our pioneering members of Tohoku, centering around Sendai Chapter. He regarded them as a model for

The following are excerpts from Ikeda Sensei’s speech at the 73rd Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting, held in Tokyo, on Dec. 16, 1993. It was translated from the April 4, 2018, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun, originally published in the May 11, 2018, World Tribune. A Japanese intellectual recently remarked: “The

This section features Ikeda Sensei’s seminal guidance to the members of the United States. The following is an abridgement of his speech given at the Youth Training Session, held at the Malibu Training Center, Malibu, California, February 26, 1990. The full speech can be found in My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, pp. 84–94.

November 3, 1995. I had just received an honorary doctorate of letters from Nepal’s Tribhuvan University. After the ceremony, we headed away from the city to a hilltop from which I could get a good picture of the Himalayas. … Just as our car pulled up, a young girl, her back laden with rice straw,

The following essay by Ikeda Sensei was translated from the Dec. 11, 2009, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun, originally published in the May 2016  Living Buddhism. Youand I,joyful comradesfrom time without beginning,victorious champions. In his novel Elective Affinities written 200 years ago (in 1809), German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)

The following essay by Ikeda Sensei was translated from the Oct. 25, 2008, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Part one of this essay can be found in the Dec. 13, 2024, World Tribune, pp. 2–3. Proudly singing a paean of happinessand peace—my life is filledwith tremendous joy. Our communications technology is

The following is Ikeda Sensei’s message to the 3rd Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting of the New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu, held at the Toda Memorial Auditorium in Sugamo, Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2014. It was translated from the Jan. 12, 2014, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Congratulations on this headquarters

The following are excerpts from Ikeda Sensei’s speech at the headquarters leaders meeting held at the Tokyo Makiguchi Memorial Hall, in Hachioji, Tokyo, on Dec. 16, 1996. Video footage of the speech was broadcast during the most recent Fifth Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting Toward Our Centennial, on Nov. 17, 2024. The excerpts were translated

This section features Ikeda Sensei’s seminal guidance to the members of the United States. The following is an abridgement of his speech given at the Youth Training Session, held at Soka University Los Angeles, Calabasas, California, February 25, 1990. The full speech can be found in My Dear Friends in America, fourth edition, pp. 76–83.

A single road, stretching limitlessly. If we follow that single road, that single path, it will link us to the land. And beyond the broad expanse of the land, it will link us to the world as well. If we never stop walking ahead step by step along the correct path in life, then the

Your voices resound and reach the heavens, bringing victory and glory and the protection of the heavenly deities. Buddhism is concerned with winning. This is a point that Nichiren Daishonin made emphatically clear. The law of cause and effect operating within our lives is very strict. We cannot fool ourselves; we know in our hearts

The following poem by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the Feb. 6, 2007, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. My mentorwas a man of great intellect.His life was oneof profound compassion.He was stern.He was gentle. His heart always blazed with an uncontainable fighting spirit againstcorruption and wrongdoing.He was a champion of justice. When