May 2021 Living Buddhism

How I built a life with my husband, Robert, overflowing with good fortune. I’m Sumiko George, from Anniston, Alabama.

This monthly encouragement by Ikeda Sensei was originally published in the April 2021 Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. In 1951, just ahead of his inauguration as second Soka Gakkai president, my mentor, Josei Toda, began preparing for the publication of the first issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s newspaper. He demonstrated

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

Each year in the SGI, we welcome May 3, Soka Gakkai Day, in the same way that we celebrate New Year’s Day. For us, not only is May 3 a time to appreciate how our Buddhist practice has enhanced our lives, it is also a time to refresh our resolve to widely share Nichiren Buddhism

“To enable every precious individual, without exception, to become happy—that is the spirit of Soka illuminating May 3.”[1]—Ikeda Sensei Seven decades ago, after triumphing over a series of harsh business challenges, Josei Toda was inaugurated as second Soka Gakkai President. At his inaugural meeting on May 3, 1951, he determined to completely renew the Soka

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary On September 30, 1977, Shin’ichi Yamamoto traveled to the recently completed Toda Memorial Park Cemetery, located in the hometown of his mentor, Josei Toda, in Atsuta Village (present-day Atsuta Ward, Ishikari City), Hokkaido. This was a way to pay eternal tribute to President Toda and build a “spiritual home for Soka mentors and

Chapter Summary The New Year’s Headquarters Leaders Meeting in the Soka Gakkai’s second Year of Study was held on January 6, 1978. The implementation of a new chapter system for the second phase of kosen-rufu was announced at this meeting. Existing greater blocks would become chapters. Like their predecessors in the pioneering days, they would

Chapter Summary On January 19, Shinichi Yamamoto traveled to the Shikoku Training Center in Kagawa Prefecture. It was nighttime when he stood in the garden overlooking the sea and gazed toward the site of the Battle of Yashima, which had taken place during the Genpei War (1180–85). He thought of Nichiren Daishonin’s treatise, “On Establishing

Chapter Summary On January 27, 1978, Shin’ichi Yamamoto visited Suginami Ward in Tokyo to attend the Honan Chapter inaugural meeting. This kicked off the nationwide inaugural chapter meetings that marked the start of the new chapter system. Shin’ichi observed that rather than being an outpost, like a regional office of a business, the chapter serves

This installment, published in the February 17, 2021, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that Ikeda Sensei discusses in volume 26 of The New Human Revolution. Passage 1 “Shakyamuni Buddha had all the thirty-two auspicious features, his body a golden color, his face like the full moon. And yet

Faith Jones Peekskill, N.Y. In college, I had dreams of getting a prestigious, well-paying job, so I worked hard to build a resume strong enough to make that a reality. That’s how I thought I was going to make my life matter. I’m going to be somebody one day, I thought. The year I graduated,

Brian Enright Oakland, Calif. I was a starving sculptor before I was introduced to the SGI. I knew I wanted to do art, but I didn’t have a plan or a sense of mission to pursue it for a reason greater than myself. My parents were visibly frustrated with me leaving my stable work in

District Study for May

Illustrations by Leo Matsuda

“What can we say, then, of persons who are devoting themselves to Buddhism? Surely they should not forget the debts of gratitude they owe to their parents, their teachers, and their country. But if one intends to repay these great debts of gratitude, one can hope to do so only if one learns and masters

To Our Future Division Members, the Torchbearers of Justice—Our Hope for the Future—Part 3 [64]

Gandhi for Modern Times: Neelakanta Radhakrishnan and Daisaku Ikeda