The New Human Revolution, vol. 3

By Daisaku Ikeda

Through this novelized history of the Soka Gakkai-one of the most dynamic, diverse, and empowering Buddhist movements in the world today-readers will discover the organization's goals and achievements even as they find inspiring and practical Buddhist wisdom for living happily and compassionately in today's world. The book recounts the stories of ordinary individuals who faced tremendous odds in transforming their lives through the practice of Nichiren Buddhism and in bringing Buddhism's humanistic teachings to the world. This third volume focuses on the initial stages of the Soka Gakkai movement in India and southeast Asia in 1961, with an in-depth retelling of the life of the Buddha. This inspiring narrative provides readers with the principles with which they can positively transform their own lives for the better and realize enduring happiness for themselves and others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Sep 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781946635129

Book preview

2006).

Westward Transmission

THE TIME had come! After millenniums of darkness, a long-awaited dawn—the sun of a new beginning, rising at last. Prepare to set forth! Opportunity passes in an instant, never to come again.

On this New Year’s morning,

I pray

for kosen-rufu in Asia.

Soka Gakkai President Shin’ichi Yamamoto wrote this waka poem at home on New Year’s Day, 1961—the Year of Dynamic Advancement—in which he was to travel to Asia. He presented the poem to his wife, Mineko.

The day began with clear blue skies, and the city of Tokyo basked in spring-like sunshine. At ten, Shin’ichi led the first gongyo of the year in the Soka Gakkai Headquarters’ main hall, which was packed with leaders. Their voices joined as one, and their chanting resounded throughout the room in a powerful and dynamic rhythm.

Shin’ichi felt himself fusing with the vast cosmos as he chanted earnestly for the success of the year’s kosen-rufu activities, for the health of all members, and for the happiness and prosperity of their families. After gongyo, he rose to offer greetings.

The sunlight streaming in through the windows illuminated the participants’ faces. With a solemn expression, Shin’ichi spoke carefully and deliberately: "This Gohonzon before which we have just performed gongyo is the Soka Gakkai’s Kosen-Rufu Gohonzon. It was transcribed and bestowed upon the Soka Gakkai by High Priest Nissho shortly after our late mentor, Josei Toda became president on May 3, 1951. That day, Mr. Toda stood up with the determination to work for the happiness of all people.

"In the margin of this Gohonzon is written: ‘For the fulfillment of the great vow for kosen-rufu through the compassionate propagation of the great law.’ This clearly expresses the Soka Gakkai’s mission.

"Our goal, first and foremost, is to realize kosen-rufu for the peace and happiness of all humanity. Indeed, during these past seven hundred years, only the Soka Gakkai has actually exerted itself to make kosen-rufu a reality in accord with Nichiren Daishonin’s will.

"To fulfill this mission, it is vital first of all that each of you become absolutely happy—both spiritually and materially. In addition, you must have deep compassion to pray for others’ happiness. To pray for others’ happiness is the essence of the Soka Gakkai spirit.

"President Toda gave the Soka Gakkai three eternal guidelines: (1) faith for a harmonious family; (2) faith for achieving happiness; and (3) faith for overcoming obstacles. Herein lies the way to kosen-rufu.

I hope all of you, as leaders, will engrave these guidelines deeply in your hearts and make this a year in which you will dedicate yourselves to the members’ happiness.

AFTER Shin’ichi’s brief greetings, one leader read a waka poem by Josei Toda, as a tribute to their late mentor:

To the people of Asia

Who pray for a glimpse of the moon

Through the parting clouds,

Let us send them, instead,

The light of the sun.

Shin’ichi’s heart leapt when he heard these lines. He fondly recalled this poem, which Toda had composed at the beginning of 1956. Its meaning was this: Let us send the dazzling light of the sun to the people of Asia, a light far more brilliant than the faint moonlight of happiness they hoped to behold through a break in the clouds.

Here the moon refers to Shakyamuni’s teachings, while the sun indicates Nichiren Buddhism.

The poem expresses Toda’s determination to realize kosen-rufu in Asia, based on the principle known as the westward transmission of Buddhism. This means that Buddhism, which originally traveled from west to east (from India to China, Korea, and Japan), will eventually return to the west. The Daishonin revealed this in his On Reprimanding Hachiman and other writings. As Toda’s cherished disciple, Shin’ichi shared his mentor’s determination in this regard.

Later that January, Shin’ichi planned to take his first step for kosen-rufu in Asia to realize that dream—a trip that would include India, the cradle of Buddhism.

After the poem was read, the participants all joined in singing Song of Dynamic Advancement to express their determination at the start of the year, which bore that same theme as its motto:

Firmly embracing

our mentor’s vision,

we’ll accomplish kosen-rufu.

Come along, let’s do it.

When the waves crash and roar,

excitement courses through our veins,

valiant heroes of Japan

advancing in high spirits,

advancing in high spirits.

The song had been a favorite of the Chugoku General Chapter and had originally been called the Song of the Valiant Heroes of Chugoku. While attending the completion and Gohonzon-enshrining ceremony for the Chugoku Headquarters in Okayama Prefecture in December 1960, one month earlier, Shin’ichi had heard this song and immediately proposed:

What an encouraging song! The lyrics are straightforward and filled with powerful enthusiasm for kosen-rufu. Why don’t we make this a song for all the members in Japan? What do you say?

The Chugoku members, including General Chapter Leader Ittetsu Okada, were overjoyed.

Shin’ichi then added:

But I think that people in other parts of Japan may hesitate to sing something titled ‘Song of the Valiant Heroes of Chugoku.’ So, since next year is the Year of Dynamic Advancement, why don’t we rename it ‘Song of Dynamic Advancement’?

The members gave their resounding approval and the song was officially announced at the December Soka Gakkai Headquarters leaders meeting.

THE first meeting for the year ended shortly after eleven. Shin’ichi rose to leave, but he stopped and turned again to the assembly and said: Thanks to your tremendous efforts, we achieved a magnificent victory last year. But the real battle is still ahead. This year, let’s advance, engraving in our hearts the motto, ‘Let’s win this battle, then brace ourselves again for the next one!’

Everyone cheered in approval.

"Let us fight with all our might! I am determined to create one hundred years’ worth of history in one year.

Everyone sensed an exceptional determination behind President Yamamoto’s spirited words.

On the morning of January 2, Shin’ichi set off for the head temple, Taiseki-Ji, where he would join chapter-level leaders and above from around Japan. Starting this year, the pilgrimage period would be extended to twenty days a month. His visit thus coincided with the first day of this new monthly program.

Up until August 1960, pilgrimages to the head temple, either one day or overnight, had been conducted each week from Saturday to Monday. As the Gakkai’s membership grew, however, many more people wished to visit the head temple. Starting in September, Tuesday pilgrimages were added. When this still proved insufficient to accommodate the demand, it was decided to further extend the period to twenty days per month as of January 1961. Under this new program, about six thousand people would visit the head temple on each of those twenty days—overnight and day visitors combined. This included members traveling from as far as Hokkaido to the north and Kyushu to the south.

On the eve of his departure to the head temple, Shin’ichi Yamamoto had trouble sleeping. His mind was filled with thoughts of members traveling all night on trains and buses to reach Taiseki-ji. Deep sleep eluded him. Each time he woke, he chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in his heart that there would be no accidents.

Shin’ichi arrived at the head temple shortly before noon. He was light-hearted as he went to pay his respects at Josei Toda’s grave. Standing before the tomb, palms joined together in prayer, Shin’ichi silently addressed his mentor with deep emotion: Sensei! On January 28, I will at last begin my journey for kosen-rufu in Asia, a task you bequeathed to me to fulfill. In your place, I will send the light of happiness to the people of Asia.

The face of his mentor, who had always held the welfare of the Asian people so dear, appeared clearly in his mind’s eye.

THE SOKA GAKKAI’S board of directors met on the evening of January 2. Afterward a lecture on Nichiren’s writings and a youth division guidance meeting were held. The next day, chapter-level leaders from throughout Japan were scheduled to hold a nationwide meeting at the head temple.

On the second, the board of directors unanimously decided to appoint senior youth division leaders Eisuke Akizuki and Yusuke Yoshikawa as new directors. President Shin’ichi Yamamoto announced the decision at the nationwide leaders meeting on the third. This brought the membership of the board of directors, including the president, to twenty-three.

The recommendations for Akizuki and Yoshikawa as directors had come from Shin’ichi. If the organization is to develop, it is essential always to have fresh new energy and innovative ideas to break through the walls of monotony and outmoded ways. For this, it is vital to use the energy and strength of youth.

Shin’ichi prayed that the youth division members would stand up to shoulder full responsibility for the Soka Gakkai as soon as possible so that they might bring about a new age. Even during his visit to the head temple, he made time to talk with young people, giving his all to their training and development.

During one of those discussions, Masako Nakagawa, a young women’s leader from Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture who had lost one leg, said to Shin’ichi with an anguished expression: Sensei, I just can’t do activities like everyone else. I’ve tried my best, I really have. But I haven’t gotten the results I’d hoped for. I think it’s beyond me to be a young women’s chapter leader.

At age three, Nakagawa had been stricken with a disease called erysipelas, more commonly known as Saint Anthony’s fire, which led to the amputation of her right leg above the knee. When Mito Chapter had been established the previous September, Shin’ichi had sensed Nakagawa’s sincere and committed attitude toward faith, and he appointed her as the chapter young women’s leader. He had also considered the fact that she had a younger sister who was extremely supportive and stood by to help her in any way.

When interviewing Nakagawa for the position, Shin’ichi had told her: You must never retreat, using your disability as an excuse. The power for victory lies in a firm inner resolve. You’ll also have to put your wisdom and ingenuity to work. Please ask for your sister’s support. I’d like you both to pool your energies and work together like the two wheels of a cart.

Three months had passed since then.

Shin’ichi was well aware of how difficult it must be for Nakagawa to fulfill her responsibilities. For a moment, he wanted to commend her, shield her from further hardship, and allow her to relinquish her position. But instead, he forced himself to say in a stern tone, You make it sound like I’m the one who’s at fault for appointing you in the first place!

HE FIXED Masako Nakagawa with a sharp gaze. Your attitude as a young women’s leader is pitiful. I don’t like cowards! Without saying another word to her, he moved on to the next question from the audience.

Nakagawa was stunned. She had presented her plight to Shin’ichi after a great deal of agonized soul-searching. She was constantly racked by doubts as to her suitability as a young women’s leader. When it came to visiting the members at their homes, for instance, since it took time for her to walk, she could only manage one or two such visits at most in a single day, while other leaders could easily achieve several times that number. Also, when she went out to lend support to her members in their propagation efforts, she was often subjected to people’s cold stares. She always sensed a hint of disdain in their gaze. Somehow, she couldn’t help feeling that, as a leader, she was dragging down people’s evaluation of the Soka Gakkai.

Shin’ichi’s guidance, however, had been unexpectedly harsh. Nakagawa didn’t know where she was in error. Yet, the word coward had painfully pierced her heart; it still echoed naggingly in her ears.

Shin’ichi knew well how she must be feeling. But he also knew that sympathy would be of no real benefit to her. Nakagawa needed to gain inner strength. There would probably be times when she would experience discrimination because of her disability. Reality was certainly no bed of roses. If she allowed herself to be hurt by every incident and became cowardly, she could not possibly be victorious in life. Faith is how we develop and strengthen our lives and overcome our weaknesses.

The Buddhist Law is impartial. Though disabled, one can still shine as a human being and attain a life condition of supreme happiness. Nakagawa’s challenge was to demonstrate this.

Shin’ichi, therefore, had deliberately taken a strict stance with her, hoping she would develop the fortitude not to be defeated by anything. The purpose of Shin’ichi’s training was not only to draw out a person’s potential; it was a rigorous spiritual struggle to remove the one evil¹—the fundamental fault—that lurked in each person’s life and was the root cause of all suffering.

His thoughts remained with Nakagawa even after the meeting had finished. He had every confidence that she would understand the importance of his guidance and challenge herself anew without fail. Trust lay behind Shin’ichi’s strictness.

THE YOUNG people who were present all looked up to President Shin’ichi Yamamoto as their teacher in Buddhism and in life. Therefore, his guidance to them was strict at times.

His purpose was to forge and strengthen their lives, to lead them to a state of indestructible happiness. Such strictness was born of a deep love and compassion, the product of having given concentrated thought to the happiness and welfare of the individual. The sterner his words, the more his heart was filled with tears.

The youth understood this as well. Consequently, even if Shin’ichi seriously took them to task, they squarely accepted his guidance, stuck by him, and faced him without flinching. This was the strength of those linked by the bonds of trust existing between mentor and disciple.

After the meeting, Shin’ichi spoke with Minoru Suzumoto, the Soka Gakkai director in charge of Ibaraki Prefecture.

"Although I scolded that young women’s leader from Mito today, she is not a coward by any means. She’s doing a really wonderful job. If she can just push herself a little further and break through her shell, she’ll be on her way to real happiness. Right now, she’s probably feeling sad and discouraged, but I have every confidence that she’ll begin to exert herself with fresh resolve as soon as she gets back home.

She’s struggling harder with her karma and experiencing more hardships than anyone. These struggles are sure to make her a wonderful leader who understands others’ suffering and pain. She is truly precious. I’d like you to encourage her as much as you can.

Masako Nakagawa, meanwhile, had returned to the group’s lodging temple. There she chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with tears streaming down her face. After chanting for a while, Shin’ichi’s words at the interview the previous year suddenly came back to her: You must never retreat! Yet here she was thinking of resigning from her position! She was aware of her own weakness and cowardice.

What a coward I am! Nakagawa thought. I gave in to my fears and weaknesses; I became timid. Sensei saw through that and unmasked my cowardice. How annoyed he must be with me! That thought was more than she could bear.

Just then, Director Suzumoto came over to her. Hoping to cheer her up, he shared what Shin’ichi had said to him: Sensei told me that he knows you’re not a coward and has every expectation that you’ll do your best. He spoke to you the way he did because he wanted to inspire you to stand up.

At Suzumoto’s words, Nakagawa felt as if a shaft of light flooded her heart where before there had been only forlorn darkness. A smile lit her face and tears fell again, this time expressing her pure joy and her pledge. On that day, Nakagawa picked herself up and stood resolutely, turning her back on the self-pity in which she had been immersed.

Thus from the start of the new year, Shin’ichi gave every spare moment to earnestly training the youth.

ALL THINGS, our struggles in life and activities for kosen-rufu included, are determined by powerful and unwavering resolve. The cause for defeat, too, lies not in the obstacles we face or the severity of our situation but only in an ebbing or breakdown in our inner determination.

Shin’ichi Yamamoto had accomplished such unprecedented results in propagation since becoming president because of his unshakable determination—his proud, unswerving commitment as Josei Toda’s disciple.

I will realize Sensei’s vision without fail!—this resolve was the force that drove him, what lay at the core of his every thought.

For Shin’ichi, the severity of obstacles and the difficulty of circumstances were irrelevant. He had embarked on his struggle knowing full well what difficulties lay ahead. Everything was difficult, everything was impossible, if one wished to view it that way.

When our resolve weakens, all we can see are giant obstacles looming on the horizon. We end up believing that they are immovable realities. This is where the cause of defeat lies. The key to victory in our struggle for kosen-rufu, it may be said, lies in battling the cowardice that resides in our own hearts. Shin’ichi now strove to bring about a transformation in each person’s inner resolve, because ultimately this is where the human revolution begins.

On the morning of January 3, Shin’ichi strolled through the temple grounds with High Priest Nittatsu, discussing plans and ideas for the head temple’s future development. They came across a huge cedar tree that had fallen next to the structure called the Daike-jo.

Do you know, Mr. Yamamoto, the high priest said, that this tree calmly withstood last year’s Ise Bay Typhoon only to be ravaged and felled by woodworms?

I see. We must always be on guard against parasites within. This goes for the individual and the organization as well. If we forget to fight the enemy within—the traitor within our own hearts—rot will set in from there. This cedar, I think, offers an important lesson for ensuring the eternal prosperity of the Law.

High Priest Nittatsu smiled and nodded in agreement.

At the year’s first nationwide leaders meeting later that day, Shin’ichi took up this theme again, stressing how important it was for leaders to transform their inner resolve. The sun of victory resides in our hearts, he said. Slay the internal enemy known as cowardice. He also stressed the importance of being harmoniously united and in rhythm with one another.

What determines an organization’s strength? It is unity and harmonious cooperation among its leaders. When the leaders of an organization are out of sync or lack harmony with one another, any ability or power individuals may possess is diffused.

ONE OF the most important tasks in the Year of Dynamic Advancement was to strengthen the many new chapters around the country. Now, as the new year began, Shin’ichi wanted to discuss how to achieve this.

"The chapter leader might say, ‘Let’s try hard in our Gakkai activities and reap the benefits of faith.’ If, on the other hand, the vice chapter leader sitting next to him then says: ‘Faith is not separate from daily life. Let’s strive diligently in our jobs,’ the messages will conflict.

"Or, the chapter leader might say, ‘I’d really like to see our chapter concentrate on study.’ But if the women’s leader then says: ‘Study without practice is abstract. It’s pointless if we don’t try to introduce others to this Buddhism,’ the members will be left feeling bewildered.

"This is a prime example of disunity. Although each statement fits Soka Gakkai guidelines, the apparently conflicting guidance will only confuse the members. This is because the leaders haven’t tried to harmonize. If they were in sync with one another, they could naturally express the above points more constructively.

"If, for example, when the chapter leader says, ‘Let’s promote study,’ the other leaders were to say, ‘Yes, and because we study to support our practice, let’s also chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and share Buddhism with others,’ no one would be confused. The statements don’t conflict; they complement each other.

"In baseball, the team with good teamwork is strong. When the first baseman fields a ball, a teammate will cover first base. This is acting in harmony. The team cannot win if the teammate stands by and does nothing, saying, ‘It’s the first baseman’s job to cover first base.’ And when a player comes to bat with a runner on base, the batter might bunt or hit a fly ball to advance the runner, even if it means the batter will be called out.

"The important thing is to think not only about yourselves but to work in harmony with those around you in order to win. This will contribute to your own growth as well.

In any event, let’s again create a record of unprecedented triumph this year through solid unity.

After the leaders meeting, Shin’ichi posed for a photograph with the others as a record of their pledge to achieve victory. The engines of new advancement now began to rev with a thunderous roar. The leaders returned to their respective areas with a passionate fighting spirit apparent in their expressions, the pulse of fresh progress beating strongly in their hearts.

ON JANUARY 7, with New Year’s euphoria still lingering over Japan, Shin’ichi flew via Osaka to Fukuoka on the southern island of Kyushu. In Kyushu, he would attend a joint inaugural meeting for the First, Second, and Third General Chapters, which had been formed after the existing Kyushu General Chapter was split at the headquarters leaders meeting in December.

The meeting, which began at