Sensei's message...

to the 6th Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Conference at the SGI-USA Florida Nature and Conference Center (FNCC)
May 5-8, 2006

Please click here.

Sensei's message...

for Women's Commemorative Meetings
February, 2005

To our dear, noble friends of the SGI-USA women’s division—our heartfelt congratulations on your splendid general meetings! To all the friends and guests—our sincerest welcome to all of you!

Ralph Waldo Emerson—one of our favorite philosophers of the American Renaissance—once wrote: “Women are, by their power of conversation and their social influence, the civilizers of mankind. What is civilization? I answer, the power of good women.”

The solidarity of wise, good women will be the great power to guide the world toward peace and happiness. Furthermore, all of you uphold the supreme Buddhist philosophy of life’s dignity. You are practicing Buddhism day in and day out for the happiness of your friends and many others, for the sake of society at large. Each of you has the noble mission to illuminate tomorrow’s world with the sun of hope. Your benefits from these actions are indeed eternal and boundless.

In life’s journey, there may be some treacherous paths—up soaring mountains at some times or down into deep valleys at other times. No matter what obstacles you face, however, through this faith, you can walk the path of life with supreme satisfaction and cultivate your potential to the utmost.

Nichiren Daishonin writes, “Just as flowers open up and bear fruit, just as the moon appears and invariably grows full, just as a lamp becomes brighter when oil is added, and just as plants and trees flourish with rain, so will human beings never fail to prosper when they make good causes” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 1013). There is no doubt that all of you dedicated to kosen-rufu—that is, the cause of supreme goodness—will become happy. This is the great power of the Mystic Law.

The victory achieved by each of you is the victory of the SGI-USA women’s division. The triumph and progress of the SGI-USA women will send out great hope and courage to the world’s people.

We ask all of you to continually share Nichiren Buddhism with brightness, joy and energy. Please expand the beautiful solidarity of goodness among many women. Centering on Women’s Leader Linda Johnson, please forge the unity of “many in body, one in mind” and build an exemplary women’s division—with its friendly harmony foremost in the world.

We will continue to pray with utmost earnestness so that all SGI-USA women will always enjoy excellent health and live lives of abundant good fortune. Please convey our sincerest regards to your families and friends. May the SGI-USA women’s division develop for all eternity!

February 2005
Daisaku and Kaneko Ikeda

Sensei's message...

to the 4th Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Conference at the SGI-USA Florida Nature and Conference Center (FNCC)
April 23-26, 2004

Please click here.

Sensei's message...

for Women's Commemorative Meetings
February 4, 2004

Please click here.

Sensei's message...

to SGI-USA Men's Division for its commemoration of Men's Division Day on August 24, 2003.

My heartfelt congratulations on your gathering to commemorate August 24, Men's Division Day! I express my sincere appreciation to all of you, who are dedicated to spreading the noble teaching of Nichiren Buddhism and helping troubled friends while fulfilling great responsibilities in communities and society at large.

In the course of living a life devoted to kosen-rufu, various obstacles and hardships will arise to challenge you. What is most important for you at leaders is to develop the strength to never let anything defeat you; to surmount every difficulty and always protect your beloved fellow SGI members.

Nichiren Daishonin writes, "Strengthen your faith day by day and month after month" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 997). From yesterday to today, from today to tomorrow, we ourselves must keep changing for the better. I ask that as leaders you broadly expand your own state of life. Those who advance always with the SGI, which is directly connected with the Daishonin, will surely win in the end.

Please be a golden pillar of kosen-rufu who is trusted by everyone, cherishing our sincere women's division members while nurturing the youth, who are out successors.

I am earnestly chanting every day for the excellent heath and great success of each of you, whom I trust most deeply.

August, 2003
Daisaku Ikeda

Sensei's message...

to members of the Kentucky-Ohio Region for a successful general meeting and tree grove dedication in West Chester, Ohio
June 29, 2003

Please click here.

Sensei's message...

to the 3rd Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Conference at the SGI-USA Florida Nature and Conference Center (FNCC)
May 15-18, 2003

My sincere congratulations on the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Conference. 

There is no doubt that the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, who serve as protective functions in the universe, must be praising you to the utmost and greeting all of you who have gathered from across the Untied States, saying to each of, you "Excellent, excellent!" 

Your lofty seeking minds will change into the cause of your great fortune and decisive victory and dignify your lives without fail. 

Nichiren Daishonin states, "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the greatest of all joys" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 788). As long as you carry on your sincere faith and practice, you will definitely change every hardship you may encounter into the source of your growth. Actualizing the principle of "changing poison into medicine," you will doubtlessly overcome all obstacles and enjoy the most fulfilled and joyous existences. 

Just as the cherry blossoms in its unique fashion, and the plum blossoms likewise in its own way, our faith enables each of us to express our innate individual potential to the fullest. In other 
words, Buddhist practice leads every one of us to live a victorious and happy life in accord with the Buddhist spirit of respecting individuality—"the cherry, the plum, the peach, and the damson." 

I hope you have absolute confidence in your eventual victory. It is also my hope that you, showing splendid actual proof of the power of faith, will expand the circles of trust and friendship toward the SGI in your respective communities. Why don't we build together the world's greatest organization, an SGI-USA that will lead the world kosen-rufu movement in the 21st century? 

I am always praying with all my heart for your good health, great happiness and lifelong victory. Please remain in high spirits. 

Daisaku Ikeda 
May 15, 2003 

Sensei's message...

to SGI-USA Women's Division General Meetings
February 4, 2003

My dearest women's division members, the cheerful "sun of hope" of America: 
My heartfelt congratulations on your joyful women's gatherings held under the theme of "Choose hope for the sake of peace." "No matter what," you say, "I will choose hope for peace!" What a noble, confident and courageous declaration. Thanks to your many years of struggle, the SGI has grown into a grand organization of peace, culture and education with global recognition. You, my beloved women of SGI-USA, lead the people's movement of the SGI while taking initiative as representatives of the women of the world. 

I most deeply appreciate you for your daily efforts and respectable dedication to the spread of Buddhism on the forefront of our movement. There is absolutely no doubt that your benefit will shine infinitely throughout the three existences of your lives and illuminate and protect your descendants for generations to come. 

Mahatma Gandhi once said that by establishing peace in women's hearts, peace can be built in society; and that women can become a magnificent explosive power for peace that is great enough to change society. The 21st century is the century of women. To the degree that women expand and strengthen goodness and happiness in the world, the times will certainly progress toward peace and security. The driving force behind this is a supreme philosophy of life, a philosophy of hope, and a philosophy of happiness, which all are rooted in the Nichiren Buddhism we embrace and the activities we promote daily. 

We can find the spirit of Buddhism in the statement that "A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further, will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind." Encouraging a woman who had faith in his Buddhism, Nichiren Daishonin wrote, "Even a single seed, when it is planted, will grow and produce much fruit (Gosho Zenshu, p. 971). A seed, once planted, will take root widely, eventually spreading its branches and enriching the earth with foliage. Likewise, the precious seed of Buddhahood, planted in one's heart, will sprout in time and grow into a giant tree of happiness, embracing one's family and environment with fortune and virtue. I ask that all of you please have great conviction in this point and warmly accept and embrace people who are in all sorts of situations and who have all kinds of opinions. It is my hope that in this way you joyfully conduct "one million dialogues of hope." Please build the most harmonious and cheerful SGI-USA women's division with the greatest unity of "many in body and one in mind." 

I respect and adore you, the women of SGI-USA. Together with my wife, I am earnestly praying every day for your safety and excellent health, victory and happiness. Your personal victory means your family's victory, your community's victory and America's victory. With this thought, I will conclude my message. 

Daisaku Ikeda 
February 2003 

Sensei's message...

to the 2nd Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Conference at the SGI-USA Florida Nature and Conference Center (FNCC)
October 10th-13th, 2002 

My sincere congratulations on your second Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Conference at the Florida Nature and Culture Center! 

I would like to extend my heartfelt welcome to each of you who have come from every corner of the United States. Please be convinced that nothing is more beautiful and respectable than the way you are seeking the Law and assembling to study 
together. 

When the sun has risen, the clouds will be there to cover it. Even if the thick, dark clouds dominate the skies, the light and brilliance of the sun will remain the same. Be resolute like the sun. It is my wish that you will carry on your dauntless faith on 
your own no matter what may happen to you and no matter what painful a situation you may be in now. 

In "The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra," Nichiren Daishonin states, "Myo means to revive, that is, to return to life" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p.149). No matter what hardships or tragedies you may have encountered, the Mystic Law has the power 
to change everything. By chanting nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the fundamental law of the universe, you can change an adverse wind into a tailwind. 

No human being exists apart from sufferings. That we suffer shows our humanity. True happiness lies in challenging and overcoming your sufferings. The source of your energy to do so is the joy and hope you tap from within. And faith is the source 
of your joy and hope. 

I hope you will forge on cheerfully without any reservation in a manner that best suits you, transforming all your sufferings through your strong prayer.

Please live your life with courage, wisdom and absolute conviction. It is also my sincere hope that you will show splendid actual proof in your community, in society, always in 
harmony with your fellow members, in the same bonds of Soka, and in the same spirit of kosen-rufu. 

I am praying for the success of your conference with all my heart. Stay in high spirits. 

Daisaku Ikeda
President
Soka Gakkai International
October 10, 2002