|
|
|
| An international study conference was held July 27-30, 2006 in Santa Monica, California. One hundred and eighty SGI leaders from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States gathered at SGI facilities to hear a series of lectures on The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin by Soka Gakkai vice study department leader Masaaki Morinaka. The following message to the conference was received from SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. (The full story of the conference appears in the August 11 World Tribune) |
SGI President Daisaku Ikeda's Message |
|
To all the leaders of North America and Oceania who are proudly spearheading kosen-rufu throughout Jambudvipa! I would like to express my heartfelt admiration for all the efforts you have made for holding such a meaningful training course to expand the fragrant breeze of your great study movement. Nichiren Daishonin wrote in his famous, "The True Aspect of All Phenomena"-"Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study. Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself; you must also teach others. Both practice and study arise from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 386). Your practice and study will advance as your faith deepens. Your faith will deepen as your practice and study advance. Benefit arises through this mutuality. Your happiness will also be determined through this synergy. Your eternal fortune will be accumulated in this process. When I was a member of the youth division, I dedicated myself to having my practice and study trained under my mentor, President Toda. The lectures I received from him on a one-to-one basis, which I now call "Toda University," covered all fields of study, including the study of Nichiren Buddhism. The first writing I studied with President Toda was "The Entity of the Mystic Law," a vital writing of Nichiren Daishonin that expounds the actual proof of the benefit of his Buddhism. Upon completing the study of this writing, President Toda gave me a completion certificate, which I received with a sense of utmost pride and gratitude. I am deeply convinced that this very first certificate I received from President Toda has eventually led to my receipt of honorary titles from 200 top-rated universities throughout the world. I see the principle of cause and effect in this fact. If you are lacking in the two ways of practice and study, you are like an airplane that flies not only without a sufficient supply of fuel, but also without a clear sense of direction, altitude or destination. Such an airplane will soon go astray and eventually go into a stall. It will easily plummet to the ground when it encounters turbulence. What is common to those who have backslid in faith and betrayed the Soka Gakkai is the fact that they were not steady and serious, but negligent in their devotion to the two basics of practice and study. In any case, as Nichiren Daishonin states, "Buddhism primarily concerns itself with victory or defeat" ("The Hero of the World," WND, p. 835). In other words, Buddhism is a struggle to overcome unhappiness and open the way to happiness. Buddhism is also a struggle to defeat evil and establish justice. I hope you will take total leadership as capable people who will triumph in the battle of "refuting the wicked and enhancing the just." You are so important to me. I hope that through this training course you will become even healthier, further increase your life-force and brilliance, and accelerate your advancement in the unity of "many in body but one in mind." With this prayer I conclude my message. Please convey my deepest regards to the fellow members of your respective countries. To all of you whom I respect with all my heart and who are exemplary in the two ways of practice and study! |
| Daisaku Ikeda |