January 1, 2021, World Tribune

Ikeda Sensei’s 2021 New Year’s Message

Ready to go deeper with your Buddhist practice in the new year? One great way is to visit bookstore.sgi-usa.org, the newly redesigned SGI- USA online bookstore, which offers expanded resources for members and guests alike. The website features new books from Ikeda Sensei, such as The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, and

Ikeda Sensei’s latest book For Our Wonderful New Members is available at bookstore.sgi-usa.org for $3.95. He explores core principles of Nichiren Buddhism and the Soka Gakkai movement, explaining how our Buddhist practice enables us to find true happiness ourselves, help others do the same and bring about a more peaceful world. The book is a

Open dialogue among individuals and civilizations is the key to the harmonious solidarity of humankind—this conviction has motivated Ikeda Sensei to engage in dialogue with a wide range of individuals from around the world. Seventy-five of these dialogues have been published in book form and translated into nearly 50 languages. Below is a small sampling

The Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue in Cambridge, Massachusetts, introduces its new executive director, Kevin Maher. He succeeds Virginia Benson, who has served as the executive director for 19 of the center’s 27 years and will become the senior executive advisor. Mr. Maher has worked at the institute since 2002 and resides just

In October 1961, Ikeda Sensei visited the Berlin Wall just two months after it had been erected. “The sudden closing of the passage between East and West Berlin split families, relatives and lovers,” he wrote of the time. “It was a small-scale model of the Cold War, in which people were oppressed and cast asunder

“The Future Is Yours to Change”

A: The value—or, if you like, the quality—of a 100-dollar bill is more than a 10-dollar bill. Naturally, most people would prefer a 100-dollar bill, right?Similarly, in faith, sincere, strong prayers are important. Of course, having lots of 100-dollar bills is even better! Likewise, in chanting Nam- myoho-renge-kyo to the Gohonzon, both quantity and quality

Let’s create a groundswell of happiness in 2021.

As members continue to encourage one another remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual meeting was held on Dec. 5—but this gathering was entirely interpreted through American Sign Language (ASL). The SGI-USA held its first ASL intro-to-Buddhism meeting for members and guests of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community across the nation. The activity kicked off

Meet 15-year-old Gitanjali Rao, of Lone Tree, Colorado: Time magazine’s first Kid of the Year (see its December 2020 issue). Among her many contributions as a scientist and inventor, she created a phone and web device that can recognize early signs of cyberbullying. Currently, she is working on a tool to easily detect biocontaminants in