December 2019 Living Buddhism

Kaydence ReedBROOKLYN, NEW YORK Living Buddhism: Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Kaydence. What was your life like growing up? Kaydence Reed: I grew up in a strict religious household, where I struggled to reconcile my sexual identity with my upbringing. I wanted to fit the mold, but being gay made that hard

This monthly encouragement by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda was originally published in the November 2019 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai’s monthly study journal. There is an unforgettable passage from the writings of Nichiren Daishonin that I studied together with my mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda. It is from a letter addressed

Deeply committed to the education and development of children and youth, SGI President Ikeda, as the third Soka Gakkai president, established the high school division in June 1964, the junior high school division in January 1965, and the boys and girls division in September 1965—which together comprise the Future Division. The present generation of future

The Ikeda Wisdom Academy is an SGI-USA youth division movement to engage youth leaders in advanced study. This month, academy members will study chapter 5 of The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life: SGI President Ikeda’s Lecture Series. While the Ikeda Wisdom Academy is a youth leaders study program, all SGI-USA members are invited

by SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda

Chapter Summary On March 10, 1966, Shin’ichi Yamamoto visited Brazil for the first time in five-and-a-half years. Since his first visit in October 1960, the Soka Gakkai membership in Brazil had grown to 8,000 member households. On March 13, Shin’ichi planned to attend a grand culture festival in São Paulo. The Brazilian mass media, however,

Chapter Summary Shin’ichi Yamamoto and his colleagues departed from São Paulo, Brazil, for their next destination, Peru. When they arrived on March 15 in the capital, Lima, Shin’ichi was scheduled to attend a meeting at the Metropolitan Theater. In Peru, too, however, it was clear that the authorities kept close surveillance on the organization due

Chapter Summary After Shin’ichi returned from his visit to North and South America, he embarked on a whirlwind tour of Japan to offer encouragement and take commemorative photographs with group leaders, the people working on the front lines of kosen-rufu. In April, Shin’ichi visited Osaka, Wakayama, Shizuoka, Kagawa and Ehime prefectures. Shin’ichi continued to take

Chapter Summary The Soka Gakkai forged ahead into 1967, the Year of Dynamic Advancement, where they would mark the seventh anniversary of Shin’ichi Yamamoto’s inauguration as third Soka Gakkai president. At the end of November 1966, the organization surpassed six million member house-holds. Shin’ichi was firmly determined to make this new year one of incredible

This installment, published in the September 18, 2019, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, focuses on passages from Nichiren Daishonin’s writings that SGI President Ikeda discussed in volume 11 of The New Human Revolution. Passage 1 “We awaken with the Buddha every morning and go to rest with the Buddha every night.” (see The Record of

A: The list of stressors may seem endless, from relationships and finances to the state of our world. However, Buddhism teaches us how to transform all our stressors into vital fuel for bringing forth our strength, wisdom and compassion to advance our lives and benefit those around us. While there are various ways to take

“Irrespective of what other people do, you yourself will receive benefit and good fortune in direct proportion to your hard work and efforts for the sake of kosen-rufu.” —SGI President Ikeda Peru is a country of diverse landscapes ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes Mountains to

Part 3: Kosen-rufu and World Peace—The Future Division: The Key to the Ongoing Development of Kosen-rufu

No treasure tower exists other than Myoho-renge-kyo. The daimoku of the Lotus Sutra is the treasure tower, and the treasure tower is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. At present the entire body of the Honorable Abutsu is composed of the five elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space. These five elements are also the five characters of the

To My Friends of Each Division Engaged in Our Shared Struggle [47]