CategoryLessons

Long ago, a great monarch named King Rinda ruled over an ancient kingdom. He loved white horses and kept a number in his care. Upon hearing their neighing, King Rinda would become invigorated. He would feel rested and nourished, his mind sharp and his body healthy and strong. The white horses would neigh only when

Long ago in China, there lived a skilled calligrapher named Wu-lung, who refused to transcribe any Buddhist scriptures. On his deathbed, he expressed his final wish to his son, I-lung: “You have inherited talent in the art of calligraphy. But you must never transcribe the Buddhist sutras. In particular, do not transcribe the Lotus Sutra!” 

A Buddhist parable describes a one-eyed turtle who lives at the bottom of the sea. He has neither limbs nor flippers, his belly is as hot as heated iron, and his back is as cold as the Snow Mountains. He yearns day and night to cool his belly and warm his back. The sacred red

At the bottom of the ocean lived the Dragon King Sagara and his 8-year-old daughter. One day, the Buddha’s disciple Manjushri went to the Dragon King’s palace to expound the Lotus Sutra. Upon hearing the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, the dragon girl quickly attained enlightenment. Back at the assembly on Eagle Peak, Bodhisattva

There was once a king who received a gift, an elephant, from a friend in a faraway land. The king’s people had never encountered such a beast. He instructed six wise men, all blind, to inspect the elephant and describe it to him. The first of the wise men touched the elephant’s trunk, describing it

In the following episode from volume 18 of The New Human Revolution, Ikeda Sensei interacts with a staff member of the the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun, at the beginning of the work day. He appears in the novel as Shin’ichi Yamamoto. The Seikyo Shimbun staff were surprised to see Shin’ichi Yamamoto sitting by

The following article was adapted from an installment of the “Myoji no Gen” series in the Jan. 1, 2022, issue of the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, Seikyo Shimbun. A new member shared at a recent discussion meeting, “Until now, I haven’t had people I could call real friends.” Though this young man had relationships where

When it comes to gift giving, many of us are familiar with the phrase “It’s the thought that counts.” And in Buddhism, too, it’s our sincerity to advance kosen-rufu that counts. Ikeda Sensei writes: “Sincerity is not something special. It is a treasure of the heart that we all possess. … This invisible treasure of

Many of us know the feeling—putting something off until the following day only to find that it becomes a greater burden when we don’t follow through. In a letter to a disciple, Nichiren Daishonin tells the story of the “cold-suffering bird” that lives in the Snow Mountains.  Tortured by the cold, the bird determines to

The essential practice of the Lotus Sutra is to achieve happiness for both ourselves and others. In his 2022 peace proposal, Ikeda Sensei underscores this point through the story of Vimalakirti, one of Shakyamuni’s disciples: On one occasion, Vimalakirti … [who was] deeply respected for the way he interacted with people in various conditions of

It’s not news that different generations struggle to see eye-to-eye. Young people are known for seeking to pave new paths in society that reflect the youthful ideals of justice, freedom and equality, while older generations, though sympathetic to those ideals, often prefer to protect established traditions for the security they promise. This age-old, perhaps natural,

How we use our time plays a significant role in how our lives unfold. Finding time amid a hectic schedule is undoubtedly a struggle. When we talk about mastering time from the Buddhist perspective, it’s not about time management in the traditional sense, where we calculate how much time we allot to each activity. Rather,

There is an anecdote about a son of the eminent Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, Ilya, that goes like this: “One day, the boy was given a cup and saucer that he had wanted for a long time. Overjoyed, he wished to show it to everyone. He rushed around the house almost beside himself with excitement.

People’s personalities are infinitely diverse; the English language is said to have as many as 18,000 words to describe the different kinds of character traits that people have.[1] Surely everyone has struggled with some aspect of their own personality. Regarding this Ikeda Sensei writes: “No one’s personality is flawless. … Inevitably, there will be aspects

Legends tell of carp transforming into a dragon by swimming up a waterfall called the Dragon Gate. The falls are believed to be located on the upper or middle reaches of the Yellow River in China. Some sources describe it as being 100 feet high, others as 1,000. Though measurements of the Dragon Gate differ,

How did the eminent British historian Arnold J. Toynbee remain productive throughout his long life? He was at an advanced age when he shared his daily schedule with Ikeda Sensei during their extensive dialogue in 1973. Professor Toynbee awoke every morning at 6:45, prepared breakfast for himself and his wife, made his bed and began

One day, Aniruddha [one of Shakyamuni’s 10 major disciples] attempted to mend a tear in his robe. But because he couldn’t see, he was unable to thread the sewing needle. In his frustration, he muttered, “Is there no one who will thread this needle for me and so gain good fortune [from helping a practitioner

What the world urgently needs now is an age of wisdom. No matter how much information or knowledge we may have, it does not necessarily produce value or bring happiness. The power of wisdom effectively puts that knowledge and information to use, puts it into action. Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda once told the