August 2021 Living Buddhism

How my Buddhist practice empowered me to break through all limitations with a vow to bring happiness to others. I’m Aide Aguirre from Sylmar, California.

This essay, which was originally published in the July 2, 2005, Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, can be found in Men Shining With Youthful Brilliance: Guidance to the Men of the SGI-USA, pp. 18–23. The nineteenth-century English poet Anne Brontë wrote: “While Faith is with me, I am blest; / It turns my

This monthly encouragement by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the July 2021 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. When I was young and struggling with illness, my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, once encouraged me by having me read this passage from The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings: Our head

Ikeda Wisdom Academy—Advanced Study for SGI-USA Youth Division

“If mentor and disciple are united, they can triumph, transforming even the most adverse circumstances into something positive in accord with the Buddhist principles of ‘changing poison into medicine.’”[1] —Ikeda Sensei On August 14, 1947, 19-year-old Daisaku Ikeda attended his first Soka Gakkai discussion meeting and encountered Josei Toda, whom he would take as his

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary On June 28, 1978, Shin’ichi Yamamoto began writing lyrics for the new student division song. Meanwhile, unwarranted attacks on the Soka Gakkai by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood intensified. Aiming to give hope and courage to his fellow members, Shin’ichi began composing Soka Gakkai songs. The student division song “Onward to Kosen-rufu” debuted at

Chapter Summary At a commemorative leaders meeting at the Shikoku Training Center on July 25, 1978, Shin’ichi Yamamoto spoke about the essence of the Soka philosophy of humanism explaining that ordinary people inherently possess the Buddha nature. He expressed his great hope that many capable people emerge from the Shikoku region. The next day, he

Chapter Summary On September 11, 1978, Shin’ichi Yamamoto departed on his fourth trip to China. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China had recently been signed in August. On this trip and in this new era of Sino-Japanese relations, he sought to broaden the ties between the two

Chapter Summary On October 7, 1978, representatives from 120 islands throughout Japan assembled at the Soka Gakkai Headquarters for the first Outlying Islands Headquarters General Meeting. Ahead of this gathering, Shin’ichi had poured his all into encouraging chapter leaders from Okinawa as well as representatives from other islands. Members living on various islands throughout Japan

This installment, published in the April 22, 2021, Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that Ikeda Sensei discusses in volume 28 of The New Human Revolution. The official English translation of volume 28 will be published at a later date. As such, these excerpts are subject to later revisions. Passage 1 “If

District Study for August

Illustrations by Leo Matsuda

“Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study. Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself; you must also teach others. Both practice and study arise from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase.”

Ikeda Sensei’s Lecture Series [67]

Ikeda Sensei has had dialogues with leading figures throughout the world to strengthen and advance peace. To date, more than 80 of his dialogues have been published in book form. This series highlights one dialogue a month. The following excerpts are from Moral Lessons of the Twentieth Century (pp. 18–20), a dialogue between Daisaku Ikeda