The Brilliant Path of Worldwide Kosen-rufu, 2: Study Guide for The New Human Revolution, vols. 11-20

By Soka Gakkai

Filled with stories of people achieving their human revolution, surmounting obstacles, and fulfilling their vow to create peace and happiness in the world. The New Human Revolution recounts the true history of the Soka Gakkai spirit. Its thirty volumes will allow generation after generation to learn, to be inspired, and to continue the story into the future. This study guide offers highlights, key passages, historic photos, and other material to enhance your own study of this essential work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Apr 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781946635693

Book preview

Front Cover of The Brilliant Path of Worldwide Kosen-rufuHalf Title of The Brilliant Path of Worldwide Kosen-rufuBook Title of The Brilliant Path of Worldwide Kosen-rufu

Published by World Tribune Press

606 Wilshire Boulevard

Santa Monica, California 90401

© 2022 by the Soka Gakkai.

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Illustrations courtesy of Seikyo Press.

ISBN: 978-1-944604-57-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021947288

Interior and cover designed by Jocelyn Hsu.

26 25 24 23 22 1 2 3 4 5

Contents

Editor’s Note

Volume 11

Volume 12

Volume 13

Volume 14

Volume 15

Volume 16

Volume 17

Volume 18

Volume 19

Volume 20

Resources

Editor’s Note

Volume 2 of The Brilliant Path of Worldwide Kosen-rufu reprints the study guides for The New Human Revolution, vols. 11–20, that were first published in Living Buddhism from December 2019 to September 2020.

The final volume in this series will cover the remaining guides for volumes 21–30 The citations most commonly used in this booklet have been abbreviated as follows:

GZ, page number(s) refers to the Gosho zenshu, the Japanese-language compilation of letters, treatises, essays, and oral teachings of Nichiren Daishonin.

LSOC, page number(s) refers to The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, translated by Burton Watson (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 2009).

NHR, volume number, page number(s) refers to The New Human Revolution.

OTT, page number(s) refers to The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, translated by Burton Watson (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 2004).

WND, page number(s) refers to The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1 (WND-1) (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 1999) and vol. 2 (WND-2) (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 2006).

The New Human Revolution

VOLUME 11

Chapter 1

Light of Dawn

Chapter 2

Pioneering New Frontiers

Chapter 3

Ever-Victorious

Chapter 4

Dynamic Advancement

COMMENTARY

by SGI VICE PRESIDENT

HIROMASA IKEDA

The New Human Revolution

VOLUME 11

On September 8, 2019, the construction of the Soka Gakkai World Seikyo Center was completed at the Soka Gakkai Headquarters Complex in Shinanomachi, Tokyo. The day marked exactly one year since the publication of the final installment of The New Human Revolution.

At the entrance of the World Seikyo Center stands a stone monument bearing a plaque with a dedication written by SGI President Ikeda. The dedication, dated September 8 and titled "Seikyo Shimbun¹—The Triumph of Mentor and Disciple," begins:

Kosen-rufu is a struggle of words. The Soka Gakkai’s development hinges on the power of words to communicate boldly the true greatness and validity of Nichiren Buddhism.

The Light of Dawn chapter of volume 11 of The New Human Revolution describes a scene where, in 1966, Shin’ichi Yamamoto speaks with a leader in Brazil about what this struggle of words entails:

The situation here in Brazil requires a concentrated effort to convey a correct understanding of the Soka Gakkai to Brazilian society. This cannot be achieved, however, simply by writing articles for Soka Gakkai publications. The most important thing is to use your voice and conduct dialogue with others…. The best way to do this is for each member to go out and make an effort to speak clearly and honestly to their fellow citizens about the truth of Nichiren Buddhism and our organization.²

In concrete terms, then, kosen-rufu is about engaging in heart-to-heart dialogue and gaining wider understanding of the Soka Gakkai through reaching out and connecting with others.

To struggle against hardship is the direct path to our personal development.

In the World Seikyo Center dedication, President Ikeda also mentions that through sister publications of the Seikyo Shimbun, which share its mission of imparting a light of wisdom to the world, the message of this newspaper for the people is now able to reach readers around the globe simultaneously.

In the Pioneering New Frontiers chapter, Shin’ichi Yamamoto proposes that the Soka Gakkai organ newspaper in Peru be named Peru Seikyo. Today, more than eighty such sister publications of the Seikyo Shimbun can be found in fifty countries and territories worldwide. At this significant time, with the World Seikyo Center to be opened on November 18, let’s courageously challenge ourselves to have one-to-one conversations about Buddhism with our friends, using the Seikyo Shimbun to help us.

THE DRIVING FORCE TO CHANGE THE TIMES

The Light of Dawn chapter details the struggles of the members in Brazil under its military dictatorship at a time when misconceptions about and prejudices toward the Soka Gakkai were circulating in society. To overcome these, Shin’ichi meets with journalists in Brazil. He also encourages fellow members so they may establish an unshakable foundation of faith in their lives, saying:

To struggle against hardship is the direct path to our personal development and elevating our state of life. It is a springboard that leads to our human revolution.³

Brazilian members set out to win trust in society starting from earnest prayer, with the women’s division members taking the lead. In this chapter, Shin’ichi shares the following with a local women’s leader:

The real driving force to change the times are the prayers of women and their activities that are deeply rooted in daily life. The power of women can be likened to the power of the earth. When the earth moves, everything is affected.⁴

This women’s leader, originally from Japan, proceeds to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with a fierce determination each day. She would then travel twenty to thirty miles almost daily to visit members, clasping a list of their addresses in her hand and asking for directions in broken Portuguese along the way. Through such valiant and earnest efforts, members determined to work for kosen-rufu begin to appear one after another in Brazil.

Their shared commitment is expressed in their motto Muito mais daimoku! (More daimoku!), which is the heartbeat of SGI-Brazil (BSGI) to this day. The spirit and struggle of the pioneer members still live on.

The first Soka Gakkai chapter outside Japan was established in Brazil during Shin’ichi’s first trip there in October 1960. Later, chapters were established in other Latin American countries such as Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic. The Pioneering New Frontiers chapter details how the Soka Gakkai grows in recognition in these countries, which historically had no connection to Buddhism.

In the beginning, members in each of these countries undergo a succession of trials and tribulations, which are not unlike trying to cultivate rocky earth in order to grow crops.⁵ But the members gradually earn trust in society through their contributions as model citizens.

The genuine bond they had formed with Shin’ichi is what serves as the primary motivating force behind their efforts. When Japanese leaders visit Argentina, Shin’ichi asks them to convey this message to the members there:

While Japan and Argentina may seem a world apart, on opposite ends of the earth, the hearts of those who live their lives for kosen-rufu are one with mine. You are always in my heart.⁶

We must never forget the intense struggles of our pioneer members and their passionate spirit born out of the heart-to-heart connection they forged with their mentor. The mentor-disciple spirit is not based on physically meeting the mentor. Rather, it comes alive when the disciples earnestly strive to fulfill their shared vow, with the mentor in their hearts.

MARKING THE END OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Volume 11 was published in daily installments in the Seikyo Shimbun toward the end of the twentieth century, from May to December 2000. In the Dynamic Advancement chapter, Shin’ichi Yamamoto describes the century as a time of ceaseless war and conflict,⁷ and the Ever-Victorious chapter provides a detailed account of events surrounding the Vietnam War.

By 1966, the Vietnam War had become a seemingly endless quagmire. Shin’ichi discusses the war and the urgent need to bring it to an end at a Tokyo metropolitan area high school division meeting in January that year, as well as at a youth division general meeting in November and at a student division meeting in August 1967. While anticipating pressure from Japanese politicians who toed the U.S. line, he continues to appeal for peace in Vietnam and presents proposals for resolving the conflict out of his sincere concern that young people are the first to die in war, and innocent civilians are war’s greatest victims.⁸

Youth division members in the United States show a great response to his proposals as many of them are either faced with being drafted or are career soldiers already. Convinced that Buddhism is a teaching that can eliminate war from the world, they eagerly study Nichiren Daishonin’s writings and Shin’ichi’s lectures. As they pursue their studies, they come to this conclusion:

The fundamental path to peace can be found only in transforming the inner state of life of each individual. In other words, the only answer is human revolution, a process that establishes an indestructible citadel of peace in each person’s heart.⁹

Their response clearly demonstrates the essential attitude of Buddhist practitioners.

In January 1973, Shin’ichi sends a letter to the U.S. president appealing for a cease-fire. It is at once a proposal and a pledge for peace, as well as an admonition¹⁰ coming from his irrepressible conviction that we must transform the century of war that we saw in the twentieth century into a century of peace in the twenty-first.

This spirit is certainly reminiscent of Nichiren when he submitted On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land in remonstration with the government. At the end of the Dynamic Advancement chapter, I believe President Ikeda writes about the persecutions undergone by the Daishonin as an expression of his determination to transmit and put into practice his spirit in the twenty-first century.

Unperturbed by any manner of adversity, let us keep advancing in exact accord with the Daishonin’s spirit to further expand our movement for kosen-rufu.

Translated from the September 25, 2019, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper.

NOTES:

1. Seikyo Shimbun is the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper.

2. Daisaku Ikeda, The New Human Revolution, vol. 11, revised edition (Santa Monica, CA: World Tribune Press, 2020), pp. 48–49.

3. Ibid., p. 26.

4. Ibid., p. 48.

5. Ibid., pp. 165–66.

6. Ibid., p. 130.

7. Ibid., p. 269.

8. Ibid., p. 224.

9. Ibid., p. 240.

10. Ibid., p. 250.

Chapter One—

Light of Dawn

CHAPTER SUMMARY

On March 10, 1966, Shin’ichi Yamamoto visited Brazil for the first time in five and a half years. Since his first visit in October 1960, the membership in Brazil had grown to eight thousand households. On March 13, Shin’ichi planned to attend a grand culture festival in São Paulo. The Brazilian mass media, however, had spread false claims that the Soka Gakkai was a dangerous organization attempting to undermine the social order. In response to this reality, Shin’ichi encouraged the Brazilian members saying that the three obstacles and four devils had arisen as a result of their organization’s remarkable growth.

On March 11, Shin’ichi toured Rio de Janeiro. Also, with the goal of correcting prejudices and misunderstandings toward the Soka Gakkai, he agreed to an interview by a well-known Brazilian journalist.

On March 13, Shin’ichi attended the South America Culture Festival, which was held under police surveillance. The Brazilian members resolved to transform Brazil into a country that understood and praised the efforts of President Yamamoto and the Soka Gakkai more than any other country in the world.

In March 1974, when President Yamamoto was scheduled to visit Brazil again, his visa was denied and he was forced to cancel his trip. The Brazilian members, however, strengthened their resolve, saying, We will definitely welcome President Yamamoto to Brazil again! They determined to gain such a level of trust in society that the Brazilian president himself would invite him. Then, in 1984, Shin’ichi was finally able to realize his next visit to Brazil, this time at the personal invitation of the nation’s president. SGI-Brazil had broken through the deep darkness that had shrouded its path and was finally greeting the brilliant light of dawn.

ROARING CHEERS OF JOY IN BRAZIL

UNFORGETTABLE SCENE

In March 1974, the SGI members in Brazil eagerly awaited welcoming Shin’ichi Yamamoto with a culture festival. Due to misunderstandings about the Soka Gakkai, however, the government did not issue necessary visas, and at the last minute, his trip was canceled. A call was placed to the leaders in Brazil to inform them about the cancellation.

Just then, [Kaoru Tahara’s] voice was replaced by another over the phone lines. I hope you’re all right. You must be strong! It was Shin’ichi Yamamoto.

Saiki responded energetically, trying to rouse his own courage, I’m fine!

"I’m sure this is difficult for you, and I can imagine how disappointed and frustrated you must feel, but this is all part of the workings of the Buddha’s wisdom. No doubt it has profound significance. There are times when a present victory actually plants the seed for future defeat, as well as times when a present defeat creates the cause for an enduring future victory. Now is the time for the Brazilian members to rise up and use this challenge as the starting point for dramatic advancement that will lead to tremendous new growth and development. It is your firm resolve based on faith that will enable you to achieve this.

In the long run, those who have suffered, who have endured the greatest hardship, always become strong. That is a fundamental tenet of Nichiren Buddhism. Though I am not able to visit you now, I will definitely make it there to encourage all of you at some point. (NHR-11, 58–59)

Feelings of disappointment and frustration ignited a flame of determination in the hearts of the Brazilian members. Through dedicated effort and prayer, the members gained the trust of their local communities. Then, in February 1984, by invitation of the president of Brazil, Shin’ichi’s visit was finally realized.

Shin’ichi also poured his life into inspiring the members wherever he went. On February 25, he went to the Ibrapuera Gymnasium, the state sports arena in São Paulo—where members were rehearsing for the Brazil Grand Culture Festival to be held the following day—to encourage everyone. Shin’ichi was determined to meet with and encourage as many Brazilian members as possible. When he stepped into the arena, he was met with joyous cheers and thunderous applause. Everyone had been eagerly anticipating this encounter.

He then walked once around the arena stage, raising his arms as he did so to greet the participants. Later, speaking into a microphone, he said with deep emotion, "I am so happy that after eighteen years I am at last able to meet with all of you, my dear friends and noble emissaries of the Buddha, on this wonderful occasion! …

One can only imagine the struggles you have faced and just how valiantly you have forged ahead in solid unity in order to arrive at this point. I would like to convey my most profound respect and appreciation to all of you. In my heart, I am embracing every one of you and shaking your hand. (NHR-11, 75–76)

Vigorous applause echoed throughout the arena and then the members broke out in a rousing Brazilian cheer, expressing their joy and commitment.

É pique, é pique, é pique, pique, pique! É hora, é hora, é hora, hora, hora!

They cheered with all their might, many eyes red and swollen with tears. (NHR-11, 76)

KEY PASSAGE

The path of faith, however, is by no means smooth. There are steep hills to climb and storms to endure. But whatever happens, I hope you will not be defeated. This is how we demonstrate actual proof of faith. (NHR-11, 40)

Chapter Two—

Pioneering New Frontiers

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Shin’ichi Yamamoto and his colleagues departed from São Paulo, Brazil, for their next destination, Peru.

When they arrived on March 15 in the capital, Lima, Shin’ichi was scheduled to attend a meeting at the Metropolitan Theater. In Peru, too, however, it was clear that the authorities kept close surveillance on the organization because of their misconceptions. Amid this reality, Shin’ichi decided that to protect the Peruvian members, he would not attend the meeting but watch over its success remotely. The hotel room where he stayed during this trip became the place from which he would open a bright future by encouraging the local members. Hearing the stories of these pioneers of kosen-rufu in Peru who gathered in his hotel room, Shin’ichi was filled with respect and affection for them.

Shin’ichi gave guidance to the Peruvian members, outlining three necessary elements to becoming victors in life. The first was chanting Nam-myoho-rengekyo. Chanting is the source that enables us to limitlessly tap our life force. Those who base themselves on chanting Nam-myohorenge-kyo are never deadlocked. The second key element was to make steady efforts to read the writings of Nichiren Daishonin and apply them to our lives. This is the true meaning of studying the Daishonin’s writings. It is practical Buddhist study that we can apply to our daily lives. The third key element was persevering in one’s faith without ever giving up until the very end.

The next day, Shin’ichi took a walk through Lima’s main business district. There, he came upon the statue of the hero of Latin American liberation, José de San Martín, and discussed the significance of his life.

During this same month that Shin’ichi visited Brazil and Peru,