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
