Music knows no barriers. It transcends national borders, languages, cultures, and ethnicity, bringing hearts together in a symphony of peace. This is the reason the Min-On Concert Association has succeeded in cultural exchanges with ninety countries and territories. To me, this great road of cultural exchange uniting people is a Silk Road of the spirit. … …
Becoming a global citizen begins nowhere else but within one’s family, workplace, and community. Let us confirm once again that it is our sure and steady efforts in these areas that form the first steps toward any lasting reform. Wherever we find ourselves at the present moment, that is the place to rise into action, … …
A single individual who encounters and awakens to the true, great Law goes on to courageously engage in altruistic action, meeting with another and telling them about Buddhism. Never forget that this ripple effect from one person to another is the source of the limitless expansion of kosen-rufu and that through such steady efforts, the … …
In addition to being good practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, I hope you will also be good neighbors, good citizens, and good members of your local community and society. May you win the praise, respect, and trust of others through such behavior. Spreading circles of bright, deep, ever-widening trust and understanding is the key to expanding … …
When we strive with the same spirit as our mentor, we will never be deadlocked. Asking ourselves what our mentor would do, mustering all our wisdom and strength to respond to our mentor’s hopes—that spirit awakens the state of a lion king within us. It gives rise to the courage to triumph over every difficulty … …
On Nov. 18, 1930, our first and second presidents Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda, mentor and disciple, established the Soka Gakkai in Tokyo. Our founding month is a month of creating new history. It is also a month in which courageous, self-reliant champions of justice rise purposefully into action. Our founding month is not simply … …
However hard we may have exerted ourselves in the past, the important thing is how we challenge ourselves from now on. We need to rouse even stronger faith than we have before. The heavenly deities, or benevolent functions of the universe, will protect us if we do. The appearance of the “three powerful enemies” and … …
Heart-to-heart discussion is always more effective than ordering people around. And because dialogue takes place between individuals, it requires that we respect and value the other person. This sets the stage for lively and enriching discussion meetings. From The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3, revised edition, p. 127
There is nothing more beautiful, more inspiring, than this spiritual relay, the passing of the baton to those who will carry on the struggle. Without the mentor-disciple relationship, anything we undertake just ends with our own lifetime. It becomes nothing more than a small drama and a pursuit for our own self-satisfaction. In contrast, the … …
Abstract principles and theories are not enough; we have to build a solid and enduring organization dedicated to justice and good so that people will actually unite together as a force for good—it was with this conviction that Mr. Makiguchi and Mr. Toda established our organization. When my mentor, Mr. Toda, was released from prison … …