June 2019 Living Buddhism

Jaffar Amir Wilkerson, Atlanta Living Buddhism: Amir, thank you for sharing your story with us. Can you tell us about your upbringing? Jaffar Amir Wilkerson: Thank you! I’m honored to share my experience with you. When I was younger, my mother had many struggles in her marriage, raising nine children and keeping us financially stable.

This monthly encouragement by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda was originally published in the May 2019 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. No other leader I know could compare with my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda, when it came to his faith in young people, his concern for them and

Interview with Carlos Rubio

Installment 1

The Mentor-Disciple Relationship and the Journey of Kosen-rufu

The Ikeda Wisdom Academy is an SGI-USA youth division movement to engage youth leaders in advanced study. In March, a new cycle of the academy began, focusing on the study of On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime: SGI President Ikeda’s Lecture Series. This month, academy members will study chapter 7 of this lecture series. While

This guidance is from section 26.2 of “The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace” series, published in the December 2017 Living Buddhism, p. 54. [First Soka Gakkai President] Tsunesaburo Makiguchi began practicing Nichiren Buddhism at the age of 57, in 1928, the year I was born. He was by no means a young man. In

“The Great Pyramid is the crowning triumph of the Egyptian people, animmortal monument to their enthusiasm, dedication and creativity.” —SGI President Ikeda In February 1962, Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda went on his first trip to the Middle East. He arrived in Cairo, Egypt on February 6, setting foot for the first time on the

Chapter Summary On January 29, 1962, Shin’ichi Yamamoto set off on his first trip to the Middle East, vowing in his heart to transform the world into a treasure land of eternal peace based on Buddhist humanism. Two days before his departure, he met with Torazo Kawarazaki, a Soka Gakkai member and an expert in

Chapter Summary On February 2, Shin’ichi and his companions arrived in Turkey. Looking back on the history of relations between Japan and Turkey, he observed that although diplomatic relations between nations are important, the ties between their people are fundamental. While in Turkey, they visited the Dolmabahçe Palace and other sites. The group traveled onward

Chapter Summary On a tract of reclaimed land jutting into Japan’s Hakata Bay, there was a shantytown that the locals called Dokan, which was considered a rough, unsafe area, inhabited by people who ended up there due to various severe hardships. As the momentum of the Soka Gakkai’s propagation efforts accelerated toward the goal of

Chapter Summary On June 2, Shin’ichi attended the Shikoku Head-quarters Leaders Meeting in Kagawa Prefecture. The day before, an anonymous caller threatened Shin’ichi’s safety if he attended this meeting. However, determined that he would protect the members—the precious children of the Buddha—Shin’ichi participated. The next day in Okayama Prefecture, he gave a lecture to district

Chapter Summary Shin’ichi actively fostered the members of the student division. In the April 1962 issue of the Daibyakurenge study magazine, in an editorial addressed to student division members, he clarified their mission to serve as trailblazers for kosen-rufu. He also began lecturing on Nichiren’s writings to student division representatives to help them become people

This installment, published in the March 20, 2019, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that SGI President Ikeda discussed in volume 6 of The New Human Revolution. Passage 1 “If the general were to lose heart, his soldiers would become cowards.” (“The Supremacy of the Law,” The Writings of

A: Despite our best efforts, it can be difficult to convey to our closest family members and friends the great value we derive from practicing Nichiren Buddhism. Countless SGI members, including SGI President Ikeda, have grappled with this problem. During his first U.S. visit in 1960, a woman asked at a meeting in Washington, D.C.,

Part 3: Kosen-rufu and World Peace—The Flowering of a New Humanism

For Our Wonderful New Members—Part 2 [41]