CategoryIkeda Sensei

This monthly encouragement by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the January 2022 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. 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

Shijo Kingo

This essay by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the Dec. 27, 2021, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Each December, there is a poem of my mentor’s that I recall with boundless gratitude: Winning and losingare bothpart of life,but I pray to the Buddhafor final victory. Second Soka Gakkai President Josei

Ikeda Sensei composed the following poems to celebrate the start of the New Year. These poems were originally published in the Jan. 1, 2022, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Engraving in our heartsthe Daishonin’s sacred teachings,which can unite the entire world,let’s break through all obstaclesas Bodhisattvas of the Earth! • •

Ikeda Sensei’s 2022 New Year’s Message

This monthly encouragement by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the December 2021 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. 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”

This essay by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the Dec. 6, 2021, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Snow-crownedMount Fuji tooapplauds our victory. A regal, snowcapped Mount Fuji towered into the clear blue December sky, more indomitable than ever. En route from the Soka Gakkai Headquarters in Shinanomachi to the Tokyo

These are excerpts from Ikeda Sensei’s speech at the Soka Gakkai Headquarters leaders meeting held at the Toda Memorial Auditorium in Sugamo, Tokyo, on Nov. 16, 1990, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Soka Gakkai’s founding. Video footage of the speech was broadcast during the Fifth Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting Toward Our Centennial, held

5th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting

This installment of the series “Unforgettable Journeys” features excerpts from Ikeda Sensei’s essay on Hawaii, published in the Oct. 1, 2021, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. The full essay was originally published in the Soka Gakkai–affiliated monthly magazine Pumpkin. May new horizons shine before you on your journey. There is a

Ikeda Sensei composed this poem in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, on Dec. 10, 1981, and presented it to the members of the Soka Gakkai youth division. This English translation is based on his revised version introduced in 1999. It can also be found in Sun of Youth, pp. 77–100. A renowned mountaineer when asked his reasons

This monthly encouragement by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the November 2021 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. 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

Poems from Ikeda Sensei

This essay by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the Nov. 4, 2003, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. Revolution is the awakening of humanity,” said Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China. “When people realize that only they can save themselves, they can bring forth great strength. With such great strength,

This essay was written by Ikeda Sensei as part of his series “Our Brilliant Human Revolution.” It was originally published in the Oct. 14, 2021, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. We who dedicate our lives to kosen-rufu are always together with Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the

This essay by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the Oct. 5, 2021, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. On Oct. 5, 1961, six decades ago, I set foot in Europe for the first time, filled with a powerful determination to open the way to a more peaceful world through widely spreading

This monthly encouragement by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the October 2021 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. 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

30 Years of Our Spiritual Independence

These excerpts are from Ikeda Sensei’s essay that was originally published in the Sept. 23, 2021, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. 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

This essay was written by Ikeda Sensei as part of his series “The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin and the Mentor-Disciple Relationship.” It was originally published in the Jan. 8, 2009, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun, and in the May 15, 2009, World Tribune. Part 1 was reprinted in the Oct. 1,