July 2021 Living Buddhism

How I’ve defeated the odds and transformed my health, life and destiny. I’m Kristopher Sanders from Chicago.

In Hall Caine’s epic novel The Eternal City, the youthful revolutionary David Rossi cries out: “Be brave, be strong, be patient.”[1] Our youthful revolutionaries of kosen-rufu are forging ahead with courage, abundant self-confidence and steadfast perseverance. As the young men’s division marks its 55th anniversary this month (July 2006), I am thrilled with the vigorous

This monthly encouragement by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the June 2021 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. Those who practice Nichiren Buddhism just as Nichiren Daishonin teaches are certain to become happy and win in life. That is the essence of the Soka Gakkai’s “faith for absolute victory.” Our founding president, Tsunesaburo

Ikeda Sensei's Essay

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

“The bond of mentor and disciple transcends the bounds of this existence. As long as my mentor is in my heart, I know I will never be defeated.”[1] —Ikeda Sensei July 3, 1945—second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda was released from prison, where he had been detained for refusing to submit to the wartime Japanese

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary Tokyo Soka Elementary School opened on April 9, 1978, with a festive mood pervading its first entrance ceremony. After the ceremony, the school’s founder, Shin’ichi Yamamoto, took group photos and planted trees with the students to mark the occasion. The previous day, he had toured the campus and engaged in conversations with teachers

Chapter Summary In 1978, many young Nichiren Shoshu priests intensified their attacks on the Soka Gakkai and its members. With the start of the Soka Gakkai’s second phase of worldwide kosen-rufu in 1972, Shin’ichi Yamamoto had been steadily opening the way for global kosen-rufu, centered on developing a study movement in the organization focused on

Chapter Summary Meetings commemorating May 3, Soka Gakkai Day, which also marked Shin’ichi Yamamoto’s 18th anniversary as Soka Gakkai president, were held at community and culture centers throughout Japan. At Soka University, he attended an awards presentation for those who had helped establish the organization’s foundation where he emphasized the importance of pursuing faith, practice

Chapter Summary On May 27, Shin’ichi Yamamoto encouraged the Tohoku Region women’s leader and women’s secretary at the Tohoku Peace Center. He also met with representatives of the six prefectures that comprise Tohoku and, the following day, attended the Miyagi Prefecture leaders meeting. In the evening, he strolled through the ruins of Aoba Castle known

This installment, published in the March 18, 2021, Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that Ikeda Sensei discusses in volume 27 of The New Human Revolution. The official English translation of volume 27 will be published in the future. As such, these excerpts are subject to later revisions. Passage 1 “Do not

District Study for July

Illustrations by Leo Matsuda

“It must be ties of karma from the distant past that have destined you to become my disciple at a time like this. Shakyamuni and Many Treasures certainly realized this truth. The sutra’s statement, ‘Those persons who had heard the Law dwelled here and there in various Buddha lands, constantly reborn in company with their

Ikeda Sensei’s Lecture Series [66]

Ikeda Sensei has had dialogues with leading figures throughout the world to strengthen and advance the path to peace. To date, more than 80 of his dialogues have been published in book form. This new series highlights one dialogue a month. The following excerpts are from Human Rights in the Twenty-first Century (pp. 109–13), a