Passages from Nichiren Daishonin's writings commented on by Daisaku Ikeda.The book is organized into seven chapters, each with a theme, to facilitate the search for passages. Daisaku Ikeda's encouragements accompanying Nichiren's words offer us a stimulus to deepen our faith, strengthen our practice, and achieve authentically victorious lives, helping others to do the same.Topics covered: The non-duality of mentor and disciple, attitude in faith to face difficulties, how to achieve authentically happy and victorious lives, fulfilling one's mission, the importance of dialogue and friendship, winning in the endeavor for kosen rufu.
A collection of passages from Nichiren Daishonin's writings, accompanied by splendid illustrations, presented to offer encouragement to cultivate faith day by day.The collection comprises 52 phrases, one for each week of the year, and aims to provide an opportunity for deeper understanding of some of the most celebrated passages from the Gosho. Rereading the same words, after a few days or longer periods, one often grasps new nuances and seeks a direct connection with the experiences of our lives. For every follower of Nichiren's teachings, the Gosho is an authentic point of reference, a beacon that illuminates our life's journey and supports us in sad or difficult times as well as in joyful circumstances.
Daisaku Ikeda’s autobiographical novel, SGI President. January 1961. Shin’ichi Yamamoto is about to make his first trip to the Asian continent. Fifteen years have passed since the end of the world conflict and all the countries of the Far East have experienced firsthand the horrors of the war unleashed by the Empire of the Rising Sun.The young president of the Soka Gakkai wholeheartedly wishes to spread the dream of peace and happiness of the peoples of Asia that he inherited from his mentor and predecessor Josei Toda. In early October, a trip to Europe is planned, with the aim of starting the kosen rufu movement also in the old continent."A single sun illuminates the whole world. It is also so in the world of kosen rufu. A single resolute person can protect all others and open a breach in the darkness of society, announcing the dawn of justice."
The book explores some concepts of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, with particular emphasis on the importance of respect for the dignity of every human being, compassion, and active commitment to one's own and others' happiness. Through an analysis of the figure of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging and the kosen rufu movement as a whole, Master Ikeda invites us to transform challenges into opportunities, to contribute to building a peaceful and just society, and to cultivate a solid and unshakeable faith.
"Nichiren Buddhism exists for the well-being of all people. That is why we should behave like Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, respecting each one of them and wishing for them to shine to their fullest. One's happiness is not built upon the misfortunes of others."
Daisaku Ikeda
Ikeda's youth revisited through his diary. The years between 1949 and 1960 were a period of growth and training for Daisaku Ikeda alongside his mentor: during that time, the foundations were laid for the subsequent developments of the kosen rufu movement worldwide, which began after Ikeda's appointment as the third president of the Soka Gakkai.In the pages of the Youth Diary, we read a firsthand account of those particularly significant years. We encounter a young man full of hopes and ideals, searching for the true meaning to attribute to his existence. We see him grappling with the many problems of daily activities and a desire to overcome his limitations and weaknesses. This closeness to the author allows everyone to confront the choices they must make in their own lives and to develop a more sincere awareness of their mission.
The book's main topic is the principle of the non-duality of mentor and disciple in Nichiren Buddhism, highlighting the importance for kosen-rufu of transmitting this bond through the generations. Daisaku Ikeda retraces his journey to realize the vision of his mentor, the second president of the Soka Gakkai Josei Toda, emphasizing the value of perseverance, courage, compassion, and trust in youth.
The book explores some concepts of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, with particular emphasis on the importance of respect for the dignity of every human being, compassion, and active commitment to one's own and others' happiness. Through an analysis of the figure of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging and the kosen rufu movement as a whole, Master Ikeda invites us to transform challenges into opportunities, to contribute to building a peaceful and just society, and to cultivate a solid and unshakeable faith.
"Nichiren Buddhism exists for the well-being of all people. That is why we should behave like Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, respecting each one of them and wishing for them to shine to their fullest. One's happiness is not built upon the misfortunes of others."
Daisaku Ikeda
Faith, practice and study are truly the driving forces for the growth and victory of all Soka Gakkai members, Bodhisattvas of the Earth from time without beginning. They are the timeless guidelines for the commitment we make in order to fulfill the mission that the Buddha has entrusted to us. Engaging in faith, practice, study and embracing the correct teaching, in direct connection with Nichiren Daishonin, have always constituted the tradition of Soka Gakkai members since the beginning.
“A symbol of limitless hope and infinite passion, the sun never stops and embraces all things with its compassionate rays. Nichiren Buddhism is the Buddhism of the sun.” - Daisaku Ikeda
Daisaku Ikeda's lecture on Nichiren Daishonin's writing. In this lecture, Daisaku Ikeda examines the central theme of Buddhist philosophy, namely the meaning of life and death and the overcoming and transformation of suffering. This, according to the author's commentary, is the essential reason that animates the Buddha's compassion and drives him to face every kind of difficulty in order to lead living beings to supreme enlightenment. In the Lotus Sutra, this desire of the Buddha is referred to as the "one great reason" (ichidaiji). Through an in-depth examination of the writing, the author expounds the philosophical principles that Nichiren considered essential for his disciples to achieve Buddhahood.
Daisaku Ikeda introduces us to an understanding of the Lotus Sutra, a fundamental text of Mahayana Buddhism, which states that the condition of Buddhahood is eternal and accessible to every person. Through a series of dialogues that examine the profound symbolic meanings of the sutra, Ikeda offers a contemporary and concrete interpretation of this text, which proves to be a key teaching for opening new perspectives for humanity at the dawn of the third millennium.The first volume examines the chapters from the first (Introduction) to the eleventh (The Apparition of the Treasure Tower).
The new edition of the writings of Nichiren Daishonin. More than fifteen years after the first Italian edition, a single volume collects the new translation of the writings published so far in eight volumes.
This volume describes the events that took place in 1978. On June 19 of that year, the Soka Gakkai received from the priesthood a list of over thirty doctrinal questions, formulated on the basis of various issues raised by the priests, who accused the Soka Gakkai of deviating from the school's teachings. Using the authority derived from their role, the priests began to pressure members to leave the organization and associate directly with their temples as "danto" members, or lay affiliates of the temple. Among their strategies was to threaten members, claiming that if they remained with the Soka Gakkai, they would not be able to attain Buddhahood. Shin'ichi Yamamoto devoted all his efforts to protecting the members from these vile attacks and to trying to maintain unity between the clergy and the laity. Meanwhile, the Soka Gakkai president was always committed to revitalizing the organization's activities: throughout the year, Shin'ichi visited various prefectures of Japan to offer encouragement in faith; in June, he participated in the leaders' meeting for the twenty-first anniversary of the Student Division, during which he reaffirmed his unlimited expectations for students and for what they could achieve in the 21st century; Shin'ichi also used every spare moment between his many commitments to write the lyrics for various songs. Finally, in the first days of October 1978, President Yamamoto participated in the first general meeting of the Remote Islands Department, offering his encouragement to the many members who had come to the headquarters after long and challenging journeys from numerous distant islands of Japan.
"Our growth in faith is reflected in our humanity and clearly manifested in our words and actions imbued with deep care for others. It is this humanity that will determine the future of kosen rufu." Daisaku Ikeda
