Therefore, I want people with seeking minds to meet and read this letter together for encouragement. When great trouble occurs in the world, minor troubles become insignificant. I do not know how accurate the reports reaching me are, but there must surely be intense grieving over those killed in the recent battles. What has become of the lay priests Izawa and Sakabe? Send me news of Kawanobe, Yamashiro, Tokugyo-ji and the others.

Letter from Sado, WND, 306 Written to Toki Jonin on March 20, 1272 from Tsukahara on Sado

I hope all those who are serious in their resolve will gather in one place and listen to this letter.

The Problem to Be Pondered Night and Day, WND, 622

Written to Toki Jonin on Aug. 23, 1275 from Minobu

President Ikeda: From time to time we hear about cases of people who have grown up entirely in the wild.

Suda: Yes. I recall the case of a French boy who had been abandoned by his parents and grew up in the jungle. Apart from searching for food and nests, he did not show the slightest interest in the world around him. His hearing was normal, but he reportedly did not display any interest in sounds that did not have any relation to food. Also, it is said that he did not show affection or any particular attachment toward anyone.

President Ikeda: People only become human if they are educated as human beings. It is not birth that makes us such. Only when one is raised as a human being does one become human. That's why education is so important. The Japanese writer Yuyu Kiryu (1873-1941) described the world as "the path of animality." Because there are all too few truly "human" beings, people start wars simply to prove who is strongest. We find ourselves tossed about in a society that is locked in the grip of animality. To ensure that such are never again repeated, we have to produce a steady stream of humane people, of people overflowing with humanity. That is my conviction and my heartfelt prayer. Kosen-rufu is in a sense a great movement of human education - on the success of which the fate of humankind depends.

Living Buddhism, June 1998, pg. 39

It will not suffice, however, simply to call for a new humanism, or to discuss in abstract terms the possibilities of a cosmologically based humanism. We must discover the means by which to actualize a universal respect for the sanctity of life.

One of the most important supports for such an effort must, I believe, be sought in education. Without the ameliorating influence of education, strongly held beliefs, whether political or religious, can quickly succumb to the pitfalls of dogmatism and self-righteousness.

There may be those who say that my outlook is entirely too optimistic. I will not, however, under any circumstance, abandon my faith in humanity.

Living Buddhism, January 1998, p.14 & 18

There are a number of short-term measures that may be implemented to combat violence and terrorism, but the only viable and long-term solution is education. There is no other alternative but to educate people on the loftiest humanitarian values and views of life in order to establish a foundation of peace and stability for humankind in these times of tumultuous change. What we must strive to bring about is a century upholding the dignity of life, a century predicated upon humanistic education.

World Tribune, September 28, 2001, pg. 1