Message to the European Women’s Division General Meeting

Many congratulations on holding this European Women’s Division General Meeting in high spirits! My wife and I are chanting for the great success of the meeting and watching over you. We are imagining all of your cheerful smiles, as you gather together from your respective areas in Europe.
Amid the harsh realities of an ever changing world, I am well aware of how much you are exerting yourselves, day in and day out, in your Buddhist activities in order to construct a peaceful society, for the prosperity of your local community and to establish happiness for yourselves and others. Thank you so much for your great efforts. There is no doubt that the heavenly deities will surely protect every one of you, who are tirelessly dedicating yourselves for kosen-rufu.
Referring to the Buddhist parable of King Rinda, whose power and vitality increased when he heard the sound of white horses neighing, Nichiren Daishonin states as follows: “The neighing of the white horses is the sound of our voices chanting Nam-myoho-rengekyo. When Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, the four heavenly kings, and the others hear this sound, how could they fail to take on a healthy colour and shine with a brilliant light? How could they fail to guard and protect us? We should be firmly convinced of this!”(WND-1, pp. 989-990)
How immense is the power of the Mystic Law!
The Daishonin asserts that through continuing to chant resonant daimoku our lives will be polished and come to shine with brilliance, our environment will be transformed and we ourselves will be protected.
My mentor, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda said:
“Whatever the problems you may have, you must turn them into prayers and deepen your faith. Everything, without fail, will be transformed into great benefit. The Mystic Law has the power to transform everything. A person who resolutely forges ahead based on faith will be a great victor in the end, without fail.”
Therefore, I sincerely hope that you will steadfastly walk on the correct path of faith, practice and study while encouraging one another. Shine as brilliantly as the sun in your family and steadily climb the slope of happiness everyday, one step after another. Putting your health first, please brightly and wisely demonstrate “actual proof of victory” in your local communities and your workplaces, and continue to expand the circle of trust in your environment. It is the cheerful advance towards happiness by the members of the Women’s Division that symbolises the hope-filled advance of the SGI.
It is my fervent wish that all of you, without exception, will live an unsurpassed life where all your prayers and dreams come true.
I conclude my message by expressing my heartfelt prayers for my beloved fellow members of the Women’s Division of SGI Europe. I am praying for your great health and success and the increasing happiness and prosperity of your families.
Three cheers for the Women’s Division of Europe! Please stay well forever!

May 31st, 2013
Daisaku and Kaneko Ikeda

"Composing Hope" featuring Verbal Ase of SGI-USA

Wonderful episode of Composing Hope here featuring beat-boxer Verbal Ase. Thank you SGI-USA for sharing!  

Thank you Buddhas!

Thank you so much for the support you have shown the Buddhas of Essex blog. 15,000 views of Nichiren Daishonin's writings and Sensei Ikeda's guidance to date.

Really appreciate all the comments and feedback - a big Soka THANK YOU from this Buddha of Essex!

Much love xx

Daily Gosho - The Teaching, Practice, and Proof

The time to be brave and prove the validity of the Mystic Law!

"Nichiren's disciples cannot accomplish anything if they are cowardly."

(The Teaching, Practice, and Proof - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, page 481) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=473 Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's guidance, Seikyo Shimbun, June 24th, 2012 Selection source: Myoji no Gen, Seikyo Shimbun, November 13th, 2012


Background
In the fifth month, 1274, Nichiren Daishonin left Kamakura and went to live in a small dwelling in the wilderness of Mount Minobu. Here he continued to write letters and other documents, trained his disciples, and lectured on the Lotus Sutra. From this time, his disciples, centering around Nikko Shonin, took the leadership in propagation activities.
This letter is generally thought to have been written at Minobu in the third month of the twelfth year of Bun’ei (1275). It contains the Daishonin’s reply to questions from Sammibo, one of the Daishonin’s leading disciples, concerning his preparations for a religious debate.
Sammi-bo was noted for his eloquence and learning. He was a priest who had studied on Mount Hiei, delivered lectures for the aristocracy in Kyoto, and was for a while active in helping spread the Daishonin’s teachings. The Daishonin, however, chided him on several occasions for his arrogance. During the Atsuhara Persecution of 1279, he forsook his faith and is said to have met a tragic death, although the precise details are not known.
In this letter, Nichiren Daishonin states that Shakyamuni’s teachings no longer lead to enlightenment in the Latter Day of the Law, and that only Nam-myoho-renge-kyo combines the three elements of teaching, practice, and proof essential to making Buddhism viable. In the opening section, he discusses the Buddha’s teaching, the practice of the teaching, and the proof, that is, the merit - strictly speaking, enlightenment - resulting from practice in the three consecutive periods of the Former, Middle, and Latter Days of the Law. In terms of Hinayana Buddhism, he explains that in the Former Day there are teaching, practice, and proof; in the Middle Day there are teaching and practice but no longer any proof; and in the Latter Day only the teaching remains, and there is neither practice nor proof.
The Daishonin goes on to say that those who attained Buddhahood during Shakyamuni’s lifetime and in the Former and Middle Days of the Law were able to do so because they had already received the seeds of Buddhahood from Shakyamuni in the past and nurtured it over many lifetimes until their capacity for enlightenment had all but matured. For this reason, they were able to gain conspicuous benefit through Shakyamuni’s teachings— that is, they attained enlightenment immediately. In the Latter Day, however, people receive the seeds of Buddhahood for the first time. Because the seeds require a certain period of time to mature, the enlightenment of these people takes a while to become apparent and is therefore called inconspicuous benefit. Next, asserting the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra, the Daishonin points out the doctrinal errors of the True Word, Nembutsu, and other schools, and urges Sammi-bo to refute their misconceptions fearlessly. Lastly, he stresses the benefit of Myoho-renge-kyo, the core of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, and predicts that that teaching will spread widely without fail.

Daily Gosho - The Supremacy of the Law

I'm thinking, in this year of my Actual Proof Campaign, that my results will depend on how much effort I devote to my three practices every day. By effort, I don't necessarily mean just time, but my sincerity within the time I have. And this deep determination and effort will provide benefits - of course, conspicious benefits are great, but as we know, treasures of the heart are so much more satisfying! How wonderful that we all have the tool to become unshakeably-happy. Not sure if that is a word or not, but hopefully you know what I mean! Skilled in the practice of being pilots of our own happiness. As Sensei says in Newsletter 8575:


'No matter what our circumstances may be, when we have firm faith in the Mystic Law, we will definitely be protected by the positive functions of the universe. In Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, faith means always looking to the future and making a fresh start from this moment on. Let’s begin each day anew with the resolve to strengthen our faith more than ever. This is the essence of the proud ever-victorious spirit of the SGI."

Let's rouse these shoten-zenjin with our roaring daimoku!


"I say this for your sake. I know your faith has always been admirable, but now you must strengthen it more than ever."

(The Supremacy of the Law - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 614) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=613 Selection source: Buddhist teachings, Seikyo Shimbun, November 11th, 2012

Background

Nichiren Daishonin wrote this letter at Minobu in the eighth month of the first year of Kenji (1275). It was addressed to Oto, the daughter of Nichimyo, an earnest believer living in Kamakura. This letter, though addressed to Oto, was obviously meant for her mother, whom the Daishonin had called the Sage Nichimyo in a letter dated the fifth month of 1272.

Virtually nothing is known about Nichimyo other than that she visited the Daishonin, with her daughter, while he was in exile on Sado Island. The journey to Sado was a dangerous one, and the Daishonin was greatly impressed by the strength of faith she demonstrated.

In this letter, the Daishonin says, “Ice is made of water, but it is colder than water. Blue dye comes from indigo, but when something is repeatedly dyed in it, the color is better than that of the indigo plant.” With this paraphrase of a passage in the well-known Chinese classic, Hsün Tzu, he encourages Nichimyo to strengthen her faith still more so she can gain even greater vitality and good fortune.

The title for this letter derives from a passage in The Annotations on the Nirvana Sutra that reads, “One’s body is insignificant while the Law is supreme. One should give one’s life in order to propagate the Law.” The Daishonin declares that however much people hate and persecute him, because the Law is supreme, it will spread without fail. Then, after his death, his remains, he adds, will be respected, as will those who have aided him. 

Daily Practice - latest SGI-UK e-bulletin out now!

Latest issue of the SGI-UK e-bulletin is online now at http://www.sgi-uk.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/sgi_e_bulletin_issue95.pdf featuring the Women's Division Inspiration Day...

Daily Gosho - Hell Is the Land of Tranquil Light

Just thinking about our daily practice and how quickly our lifestates can drop when we haven't chanted consistently - well, mine anyway! We have 195 days now till 18th November - so still lots of time to win in our Actual Proof Campaign. I think the key is to chant every day so that we can have faith like water, smooth and balanced. Our dominant lifestate becomes that of Buddhahood and we truly believe that we will have victories in our lives...we can and we will!

"One who, on hearing the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, makes even greater efforts in faith is a true seeker of the way. T'ien-t'ai states, 'From the indigo, an even deeper blue.' This passage means that, if one dyes something repeatedly in indigo, it becomes even bluer than the indigo leaves. The Lotus Sutra is like the indigo, and the strength of one's practice is like the deepening blue."

(Hell Is the Land of Tranquil Light - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 457) http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=456 Selection source: Buddhist teachings, Seikyo Shimbun, November 11th, 2012


Background
In the fifth month of the eleventh year of Bun’ei (1274), Nichiren Daishonin left Kamakura and went to live in a small dwelling at the foot of Mount Minobu. In the seventh month, the Daishonin wrote this letter to the wife of Nanjo Hyoe Shichiro, or Ueno. She was the mother of Nanjo Tokimitsu, who had succeeded his father as steward of Ueno in Suruga Province. She had raised nine children after her husband’s death in 1265and was a devoted mother and a sincere follower of the Daishonin. On this occasion she had
sent the Daishonin various offerings to commemorate the tenth anniversary of her husband’s death. This letter expresses the Daishonin’s appreciation for her thoughtfulness and devotion.

SGI President Ikeda’s Message for May 3, 2013

I would like to congratulate all of you, my dear friends of SGI-UK, on this glorious May 3—which is not only Soka Gakkai Day, but also Soka Gakkai Mothers Day, an occasion when we express our appreciation to all our wonderful women’s division members, the mothers of kosen-rufu.

I am delighted to be celebrating this May 3 in great victory with all of you, the members of our Soka family around the world, and I would like to sincerely praise and thank you for your noble, dedicated efforts.

Inheriting the spirit of Nichiren Daishonin, the three founding presidents of the Soka Gakkai have each made a vow to accomplish kosen-rufu and devoted their lives to realizing that goal. And May 3 is the eternal prime point of this shared vow of mentor and disciple.

With the dawn of each May 3, let us - as SGI members joined by the bonds of mentor and disciple - make the original and inherent brilliance of our lives shine forth even more strongly to illuminate the world and those around us.

On November 18 of this year, the long-awaited new citadel of worldwide kosen-rufu, the Soka Gakkai’s central headquarters, will be completed. This will mark a new phase for the SGI as a world religious movement that offers hope to all humanity.

While in exile on Sado Island, Nichiren Daishonin declared:

There should be no discrimination among those who propagate the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo in the Latter Day of the Law, be they men or women. Were they not Bodhisattvas of the Earth, they could not chant the daimoku. At first only Nichiren chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but then two, three, and a hundred followed, chanting and teaching others. Propagation will unfold this way in the future as well. Does this not signify “emerging from the earth”? (WND-1, 385)

It is the presence of our towering network of members in 192 countries and territories - Bodhisattvas of the Earth who have appeared just as the Daishonin predicted - that will make our new central headquarters shine with incomparable brilliance. 

Please remember that all of you here today are people of great mission who share profound and wondrous karmic ties and have a direct connection to Nichiren Daishonin.

With confidence in our mission as Bodhisattvas of the Earth, let’s set forth afresh on the great adventure of kosen-rufu, promoting our movement with pride, joy, energy and a youthful spirit!

The SGI is a “pillar” of peace - imparting hope and reassurance to the world. It is a “great ship” of culture - fostering a rich spirit of peace in the hearts of people everywhere. And it is the “eyes” of education - nurturing humanistic values centered on respect for the dignity of life.

When we chant and take action for kosen-rufu, we can manifest the same life-state as the Buddha. We can tap the same wisdom and strength as the Buddha. We can carry out the same work as the Buddha. There is no life more victorious or noble than this.

Please continue to advance together with me and all our members around the world, brimming with courage and hope! As good citizens, please be active in your communities and societies and continue to forge bonds of trust and friendship with those around you.

I offer this message with sincere prayers for the health, long life, happiness, and victory of all of you, my most dear and precious fellow members.

May 3, 2013
Daisaku Ikeda
President, Soka Gakkai International