TagDaisaku Ikeda

MINNEAPOLIS, May 14—The University of Minnesota, one of the world’s leading research institutions, awarded Ikeda Sensei with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the 2022 commencement ceremony for the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, for his enduring role as a global peace advocate and Buddhist philosopher. In a ceremony at the university’s

Ikeda Sensei’s acceptance message for his honorary doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

A look at the 171-year-old University of Minnesota campus, where Ikeda Sensei was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters on May 14 during the 2022 commencement ceremony for the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. All photos by Seikyo Press and Yvonne Ng.

We of the Soka Gakkai will forever walk the great path of basing ourselves on the Gosho, the writings of Nichiren Daishonin. Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, left these timeless, precious texts for humanity. Reading them, we will faithfully uphold and work to fulfill “the great vow for kosen-rufu

It was here in Kanagawa, a place with which I share a deep connection, that I inscribed the two calligraphic works “Justice” and “Shared Struggle” in May 1979 [immediately after stepping down as third Soka Gakkai president]. Who were the first people I showed them to? It was the youth, my beloved young disciples.  We

Toward a World of Dignity for All: The Triumph of the Creative Life by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2012 At the start of the second decade of the twenty-first century, I would like to share some thoughts on the issues facing contemporary society and the most effective means of achieving a more peaceful

Toward a New Era of Value Creation We are living in an era marked by an absence of values, in which no measure of worth other than the monetary is recognized. Discussions of poverty and income disparity, for example, are cast solely in terms of monetary values, making them needlessly sterile and soulless.  Growing income

Toward a New Era of Value Creation by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2010 On the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the Soka Gakkai and the thirty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), I would like to share some thoughts on the most effective means of achieving a more

Toward Humanitarian Competition: A New Current in History by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2009 The impact of the “once-in-a-century” financial meltdown, which started with defaults in the subprime mortgage market in the United States and the bankruptcy of the investment bank Lehman Brothers, has now spread to engulf the whole world. The crisis

Humanizing Religion, Creating Peace The optimism that greeted the end of the Cold War and the prospect of the creation of a new world order quickly dissolved, to be replaced by an overriding impression of global disorder. While initiatives continue in the quest for new and more inclusive ways of ordering global affairs, these must

Humanizing Religion, Creating Peace by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2008 On the occasion of the thirty-third anniversary of the founding of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), I would like to share some thoughts and proposals in the effort to contribute to the realization of a lasting peace in the world. Already some twenty

Restoring the Human Connection: The First Step to Global Peace The year 2007 marks fifty years since the second president of the Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda, made an historic declaration condemning nuclear weapons as “an absolute evil’ and calling for their prohibition, stating he wished to rip out the claws that are hidden in their

Restoring the Human Connection: The First Step to Global Peace by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2007 On the occasion of the thirty-second anniversary of the founding of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), I would like to offer thoughts and proposals regarding some of the issues humanity faces at this juncture in our history.

A New Era of the People: Forging a Global Network of Robust Individuals by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2006 On the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), I would like to present some ideas that can contribute to humanity’s shared quest for a global society of

Toward a New Era of Dialogue: Humanism Explored by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2005 Commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), I would like to take this opportunity to offer some philosophical perspectives and concrete proposals to further the search for world peace and the creative coexistence

Inner Transformation: Creating a Global Groundswell for Peace In recent years, international society has been convulsed by new threats and divisive debate over how best to respond to them. We cannot turn a blind eye; at the same time, however, it is clear that an exclusive reliance on military force will not bring about a

Inner Transformation: Creating a Global Groundswell for Peace by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2004 Commemorating the twenty-ninth anniversary of the founding of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), I would like to take this opportunity to offer some perspectives and proposals that might further the search for global peace. In the opening years of

A Global Ethic of Coexistence: Toward a “Life-Sized” Paradigm for Our Age The high hopes with which we greeted the start of the twenty-first century seem to have been replaced with a sense of frustration and hopelessness. Although the two key themes of the new century need to be the culture of peace and dialogue

A Global Ethic of Coexistence: Toward a “Life-Sized” Paradigm for Our Age by Daisaku IkedaPresident, Soka Gakkai InternationalJanuary 26, 2003 I would like to offer some thoughts and observations on the occasion of the twenty-eighth SGI Day —January 26, the anniversary of the establishment of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). We are now three years

The Humanism of the Middle Way: Dawn of a Global Civilization It was particularly bitter that 2001, the first year of the new century, was marred by the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. This incident was diametrically opposed to the spirit of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence that so many people have