Page 23 – SGI USA

On August 4, the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) cosponsored a panel discussion titled “Avoiding Nuclear War: what short-term steps can be taken?” during the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), held from August 1 to 26 in New York. The event was organized together with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN and other organizations. Following the event, participants met with the president of the Tenth NPT Review Conference, H.E. Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen. Hirotsugu Terasaki, director general for peace and global issues for the SGI, introduced the SGI’s efforts for nuclear disarmament and presented Ambassador Zlauvinen with SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s statement calling for “No First Use” of nuclear weapons. On August 5, Soka Gakkai Women’s Peace Committee Vice Chair Chie Sunada introduced a joint statement signed by some 100 Faith Based Organizations at an interfaith event titled “Nuclear Prayer Day.”

After World War II, the United Nations was established in 1946 to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”^[1] Unfortunately, since then, some 250 armed conflicts have broken out around the world, claiming hundreds of millions of lives.

Conflict resolution, which aims to resolve tense situations between opposing parties peacefully, became a significant field of research in the latter half of the 20th century. Various theories of conflict resolution have evolved over the decades, ranging from avoidance and deterrence to compromise and collaboration.

The philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism, rooted in nonviolence and respect for all people, offers valuable insights that can be applied to conflict resolution and creating peace and harmony.

This Decade Is Crucial

In December 2019, Ikeda Sensei pointed to the significance of this decade, declaring:

The decade from the Soka Gakkai’s 90th anniversary to its centennial in 2030 will be crucial. We must be even more determined to show victorious proof of our own human revolution, to transform all great evil into great good and to effect a powerful change in the destiny of all humankind.^[2]

Since then, we have faced unprecedented challenges, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, mass shootings and the Russia-Ukraine war.

But Nichiren Daishonin writes, “When great evil occurs, great good follows.”^[3] This is not to say that evil will naturally give rise to good. He teaches that we must use evil as a motivation to bring about great good amid turbulent times.

While global and interpersonal crises seem to persist and intensify, Buddhism teaches us how to transform evil into good and build a society of trust and mutual respect.

How can we become agents of change who can resolve conflicts on personal and societal levels?

Let’s look at three vital Buddhist perspectives that can help us act or take action as protagonists for peace:

1) Everyone is a Buddha, worthy of utmost respect.

2) Dialogue is the most powerful means of creating understanding and respect among people.

3) Our inner transformation is the key to changing the world.

Everyone Is a Buddha

Buddhism teaches that all life contains the potential for enlightenment and that each person is a Buddha worthy of the utmost respect.

We may readily agree with this point when we think about people who support us or share similar viewpoints. However, when faced with individuals who make us suffer, are cruel and unreasoning, or hold views starkly different from ours, we may seriously question whether everyone is a Buddha.

Yet, the basic premise of Nichiren Buddhism is that beyond our current or past actions, weak character traits or negative tendencies, each of us has a Buddha nature and that we have the potential to change and grow. Faith in this point drives our Buddhist practice, which helps deepen our belief in our own and others’ improvement.

Bodhisattva Never Disparaging is a figure from the Lotus Sutra who exemplifies this spirit. He famously approached every person he met, saying:

I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparagement or arrogance. Why? Because you will all practice the bodhisattva way and will then be able to attain Buddhahood.^[4]

He sought to awaken each person to their inherent Buddha nature. Unfortunately, people sometimes responded negatively, shouting abuses and throwing sticks, stones and tiles at him. Undaunted, Never Disparaging continued to revere them, first retreating to a safe distance and then proclaiming they would attain Buddhahood.

In addition to teaching us to believe in the Buddha nature of all people, Never Disparaging exemplifies the spirit of perseverance. Sensei writes:

Even when vilified or injured, he never ceases to plant the seed of the twenty-four-character Lotus Sutra.^[5] He continues struggling through all, having determined that this is how he will live regardless of other people’s reaction.^[6]

Because he was determined to awaken everyone he encountered to their Buddha nature, Never Disparaging revealed his enlightenment and eventually led even those who had tried to harm him to Buddhahood.

In other words, every encounter—positive or negative—is an opportunity to deepen our belief in the Buddha nature of each person we meet, as well as our own.

And just as Never Disparaging evaded dangerous situations, there may be times when we need to remove ourselves from a harmful predicament. Yet no matter the circumstances, we can always chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for others to awaken to their Buddha nature. The key is that we strive to respect others as we engage in our Buddhist practice. Sensei says:

The Daishonin says, “It is like the situation when one faces a mirror and makes a bow of obeisance: the image in the mirror likewise makes a bow of obeisance to oneself.”^[7]

Put another way, respect invites respect, and contempt breeds contempt. When we ourselves change, the other person changes, too.^[8]

Challenging ourselves to believe in the Buddha nature of others simultaneously awakens our enlightened nature, helping us tap into our inherent wisdom, compassion and courage to create value in any situation.

Dialogue Is the Most Powerful ‘Weapon’ in Creating Peace

Buddhism considers dialogue the most potent “weapon” in resolving conflicts, whether on the individual, community or international level.

Nichiren Daishonin thoroughly believed this:

Nichiren’s faith in the power of language was absolute. If more people were to pursue dialogue in an equally unrelenting manner, the inevitable conflicts of human life would surely find easier resolution. Prejudice would yield to empathy and war would give way to peace. Genuine dialogue results in the transformation of opposing viewpoints, changing them from wedges that drive people apart into bridges that link them together.^[9]

In genuine dialogue, the parties involved express their thoughts and hopes while listening to and learning from one another’s views and ideas.

Sensei explains how the use of coercion or violence only creates an unending cycle of conflict:

It may sometimes be possible to break an impasse through the use of military force or other forms of “hard power.” At best, however, such action can only respond to the symptoms of conflict; to the degree it plants further seeds of hatred in regions already torn by strife, it can deepen and entrench antagonisms.^[10]

Dialogue is the only way to transform the root causes of conflict, as it contains the key to changing people’s hearts. But this is easier said than done. It requires the commitment of all involved to stay engaged until reaching a solid resolution.

Praising Socrates’ dedication to dialogue, Sensei writes:

In Socrates, we see the steadfast commitment to dialogue, to verbal combat from which there is no retreat, and an intensity that is, in some literal sense, “death defying.” Such dialogue can only be sustained by resources of spiritual energy and strength far greater and deeper than will be found among those who so quickly turn to violence.^[11]

Sensei affirms that it takes a person of spiritual strength who is not prone to undue trust or unwarranted suspicion of others. “Our efforts for dialogue’s sake must be carried through to the end,” he says. “To refuse peaceful exchange and choose force is to compromise and give in to human weakness; it is to admit the defeat of the human spirit.”^[12]

Shakyamuni Buddha expounded Buddhism, which rejects violence and teaches that dialogue is the most effective means for resolving conflicts. He exemplified this throughout his life.

In one story, toward the end of his life, the minister of his home kingdom of Magadha considered conquering the neighboring state of Vajji and sought Shakyamuni’s advice. Instead of admonishing the minister, Shakyamuni offered seven scenarios to demonstrate how all efforts through violence would fail. This discussion thwarted the planned attack.^[13]

In Nichiren’s case, after submitting his treatise “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,” he encountered several life-threatening attacks: the Matsubagayatsu Persecution,^[14] Komatsubara Persecution^[15] and Tatsunokuchi Persecution and Sado Exile.^[16] He faced brutal force each time, yet he never resorted to violence.

Reducing the Poison of Anger

Nichiren teaches that the three calamities of famine, pestilence and warfare spring from the three poisons of greed, foolishness and anger. He states, “Famine occurs as a result of greed, pestilence as a result of foolishness and warfare as a result of anger.”^[17]

Sensei comments on this last point about anger:

There is a terrible destructive force in the fiery magma of anger that wells up at frustration, discrimination, betrayal, insult or exploitation by others. When that suppressed negative energy explodes, it can manifest as violence or aggression and even escalate into warfare. These eruptions of hatred and malice in the forms of nationalism or of economic, ideological or religious conflict are often the cause of war and armed conflict in our present age.^[18]

The effort to create a truly peaceful and harmonious society begins with ourselves addressing the anger in our hearts.

Buddhism opposes all forms of violence because when anger is met with more anger, it proliferates. And the use of force only creates a cycle of vengeance and further violence. So how do we rid ourselves of the three poisons, anger included?

Simply put, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo enables us to bring forth limitless inner strength, confidence and wisdom to use our anger as a catalyst for our inner transformation.

Responding to anger or violence with dialogue may seem counterintuitive. The side that chooses dialogue may seem weaker. But in looking at the examples of Shakyamuni and Nichiren, we can see the humanism and effectiveness of their ways.

Mahatma Gandhi said: “Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”^[19]

By rejecting violence and always choosing the path of dialogue, we will transform our anger into the determination, wisdom and creativity necessary to resolve conflicts in a way where all parties win.

Through our Buddhist practice, we can become masters of conflict resolution in our families, workplaces or greater society. We can learn to diffuse frustration, anger and tension by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo for the happiness and best solution for all parties, learn how to recognize the Buddha nature in others and engage in value-creative dialogues.

Having conducted more than 1,600 dialogues with leading world figures, Sensei exemplifies how to create value and mutual understanding among peoples and groups with differing views. He writes about becoming a protagonist of peace:

Great good can come of great evil. But this will not happen on its own. Courage is always required to transform evil into good. Now is the time for each of us to bring forth such courage: the courage of nonviolence, the courage of dialogue, the courage to listen to what we would rather not hear, the courage to restrain the desire for vengeance and be guided by reason.^[20]

No matter how seemingly hopeless the times become, let’s continue practicing Buddhism day after day with the spirit “Still I am not discouraged,”^[21] and consistently bring forth the inherent goodness in ourselves, others and the world.

On July 29, the Soka Gakkai affiliated Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue held its first in-person Dialogue Nights event since the pandemic on the theme “Revitalizing Our Relationships: What Does That Look Like Now?” Some 30 university students and young professionals discussed pandemic-related concerns and how to build and maintain healthy relationships.

1) Lasting change starts with the resolve to secure peace for all.

If you care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land, should you not? (“Establishing the Correct Teaching,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 24)

Buddhism teaches that all life is interrelated. The concept of “dependent origination” holds that nothing exists in isolation, independent of other life. For that reason, our personal security cannot be established in isolation.

Ikeda Sensei writes of Nichiren’s admonition:

For each of us to enjoy a safe and secure life, it is crucial that both the natural environment and the society in which we live are flourishing in peace and stability.

Therefore, if we truly seek personal security, we must first transcend our lesser selves ruled by egoism and work to establish the peace and security of the society in which we live—in other words, “tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land.” This is the Daishonin’s message.

The Daishonin’s use of the expression “tranquillity throughout the four quarters of the land” also demonstrates that he was concerned with more than just the security of a single country: he was seeking peace for the entire world. (The Teachings for Victory, vol. 7, p. 158)

2) When we change, the world changes.

Therefore, you must quickly reform the tenets that you hold in your heart and embrace the one true vehicle, the single good doctrine [of the Lotus Sutra]. If you do so, then the threefold world will become the Buddha land, and how could a Buddha land ever decline? (WND-1, 25)

Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda used the term human revolution to describe a fundamental process of inner transformation whereby we break through the shackles of our “lesser self,” bound by self-concern and the ego, and bring out our “greater self,” which is capable of caring and taking action for the sake of others—ultimately for all humanity.

In addition, Nichiren states that we must “quickly reform the tenets we hold in our hearts,” stressing the urgent need for us to create a society of genuine equality and respect by facing and conquering our own doubts and misgivings about ourselves and others.

“Establishing the correct teaching,” therefore, means establishing within each person’s life the principle of respect for the dignity of life. The way to enact this is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with the determination to “establish the correct teaching” in our own hearts. When awakened individuals are guided by this core philosophy, they can produce genuine value in every aspect of society.

Sensei writes:

What we have faith in indicates what we hold most precious, what values we cherish. It establishes our fundamental purpose and direction in life. …

When we transform our hearts and minds, what tenet or ideal should we base them on? According to the Daishonin, it is “the one true vehicle, the single good doctrine” (WND-1, 25). “The single good doctrine” here is the ultimate good taught in the Lotus Sutra—the principle that all people can bring forth their inherent Buddha nature and attain enlightenment. (The Teachings for Victory, vol. 7, p. 161)

3) Courageous dialogue to spread the Mystic Law and awaken others’ potential is the direct path to transforming society.

But it is not enough that I alone should accept and have faith in your words—we must see to it that others as well are warned of their errors. (WND-1, 26)

“On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land” ends with this statement by the guest in the dialogue—a vow to widely spread the Mystic Law, which enables all people to become Buddhas. The most effective way to carry out this vow is through compassionate, one-to-one dialogue.

Sensei writes:

Though our discussions may not seem to have an immediate effect, they activate the Buddha nature in the person we are talking with. “The seeds of Buddhahood sprout through causation, and for this reason they [the Buddhas] preach the single vehicle [the Mystic Law]” (see “The Properties of Rice,” WND-1, 1117). The only way to bring forth the Buddha nature is through engagement based on the ultimate causation that is the Mystic Law (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo). The more we speak out and share the truth as practitioners of the Mystic Law, the more people we help form a connection with Nichiren Buddhism. …

While courageously challenging our own human revolution, let us create a groundswell of dialogue, reaching out to talk with one person after another, to change society, and bring peace and happiness to all people. …

Our dialogues impart hope. They have the power to revitalize others and awaken them to their inner potential, and they are imbued with courage, conviction and the cause for victory.

Our dialogues for “establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land” will build an age of the people through the power of faith in the human being. (The Teachings for Victory, vol. 7, pp. 165–66)

—Prepared by the World Tribune staff

OUR HISTORY

July 16, 1260: ‘On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land’

“One reason why the lot of the secular reformer or revolutionist seems to me to be easier is this: that for the most part he conceives of the evils of the world as something external to himself. … If there is evil incarnate, it is always incarnate in the other people—a class, a race, the politicians … and so forth—never in oneself.”^[1]

—T.S. Eliot

On July 16, 1260, Nichiren Daishonin presented his treatise “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land” (in Japanese, Rissho ankoku ron) to the most powerful figure in Japan, the retired regent Hojo Tokiyori. Nichiren had perceived that the teachings being promoted by priests who curried favor with the political elite were the cause of suffering, discord and ongoing calamities in society, and his treatise was a passionate cry for a return to the original purpose of Buddhism—securing the peace and happiness of the people.

Nichiren believed that the teachings of Buddhism should help people overcome the fundamental ignorance of their inherent potential, or Buddha nature, and call it forth, thereby leading fulfilled lives.

In his treatise, which takes the form of a dialogue, Nichiren starts by describing the turmoil he saw around him: “Over half the population has already been carried off by death, and there is hardly a single person who does not grieve” (WND-1, 6). He perceived that the immense suffering of the people was ultimately caused by the corruption of the human spirit.

As Eliot points out, many believe that evils lie solely in others, but the Daishonin teaches that we ourselves must change. He understood that in order to restore peace and security to the country, it was necessary for the people to shed their deep-seated disbelief in and disrespect for human life. Nichiren therefore called on people to “reform the tenets that you hold in your heart” (WND-1, 25).

Nichiren vowed to awaken and empower people to embrace the correct teaching so that they could, on an individual level, transform their destinies, and, on a societal level, bring about an age that respects the dignity of life.

After making his treatise public, he survived numerous acts of oppression, including attempts on his life and repeated exile.

SGI members strive to put Nichiren’s teachings into practice, to “establish the correct teaching for the peace of the land.” This effort involves tenacious dialogue based on fundamental respect for the dignity of each person and fostering successors dedicated to carrying on this task far into the future.

by Savita Gilbert
Washington, D.C.

Art speaks where words fail.

At age 10, I began to doodle during conversations. My voice was sunny, but I put on paper how I really felt. Flowers if the conversation was lively, lines and shapes if not. Art was a kind of private dialogue-within-a-dialogue that expressed my deeper feelings and gave a sense of fulfillment.

As I grew up, I continued to express myself through my art, but never showed it to anyone, thinking it wasn’t worthwhile.

As I embraced Buddhist practice, I began to make great strides in my self-confidence. I established a successful law practice and helped many people. Though I continued to sketch and paint and even design clothing, I didn’t entertain any hopes that I could actually make a career of these hobbies. That is, until the pandemic hit and my parents came to live with my husband and me.

In his late 80s, my father was recovering from surgery and needed 24/7 care. Each day, I tried my best, chanting vigorously for his happiness. And yet, each day, he lashed out with harsh words as his faculties declined. Usually, I held my tongue, but a few times, I retorted, burning with indignation and then, immediately, with regret. Instinctively, I turned toward my garden, taking a pen and paper to sketch the flowers. There, though, I worried about my father, batting back feelings of guilt.

How selfish—sketching flowers while your father suffers inside. What are you doing here? Who are you helping?

In 2021, my parents moved out. My father and I stopped talking to each other, and a scolding inner voice told me I was a bad daughter. I was losing focus at work, sinking into a daily depression. Now I turned to my garden for survival, to muster some joy—any joy. After sketching flowers, I painted them. These paintings I printed on fabric, which I cut and stitched to dresses. If I was sketching, painting or designing, I’d find myself smiling. This is what brings me joy, I realized. I continued to chant to awaken my creative energies and put them to work. Soon, I had a small collection of original dresses.

Ikeda Sensei has said that art is intended to lift the human spirit. I had reflected on this for years, but only now, as art lifted me out of depression, did I realize how greatly this guidance applied to me. Few things uplift the spirit like art, yet here I was hiding mine away from the world. I chanted to have the courage to share my art with others—for kosen-rufu, for joy.

In August, I put on a mini fashion show for my neighborhood. I asked a few friends if they’d be willing to wear my dresses and tell how the dresses spoke to them, if at all. They said they felt not just good in the dresses but extraordinarily good. The audience floored me with their praise.

Their encouragement was enough for me to call the organizers of DC Fashion Week, the capital’s most significant fashion show. Late on New Year’s Eve, the show’s executive director called to ask if I could put together 15 pieces in two months—I’d be working with 15 young models. I resolved to help all 15 form a connection with Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Each time doubts emerged, I recalled Sensei’s guidance and steeled my resolve. I chanted to bring joy to everyone at the show, starting with the models themselves. When the executive director called again asking if I could do not 15, but 20 pieces, I did not think, Five more pieces? Instead, my heart rejoiced: Five more youth!

I got to know the models personally, their hopes, their dreams, their reasons for modeling. One was from war-fraught Ethiopia, another from Ukraine, another from Russia. One had previously won the title Ms. New Jersey, another, Ms. Virginia. One had been a nurse during the pandemic’s early chaos and was modeling, she said, to heal. Each of these youth was incredible.

Typically, models are trained not to smile on the runway. But I put their names on my altar and chanted for their happiness. On the night of our show, as they lined up in the wings, I went up to each one.

“Please be yourself,” I said. Then I watched them take the stage and bring down the house, looking so happy.

Joyful and proud, I called my father to tell him about the show.

“That’s amazing!” he cried. He then asked how he could invest in my clothing company, which, during all of this, I had jump-started online. The joy of pursuing my passion has opened up not just old lines of communication with my father but new ones. We are speaking again, and our relationship is transforming in new, positive ways.

Through this, I realized something: It doesn’t matter how many acts of virtue I check on a list titled “Things Good People Do.” I must use my life to fulfill my unique mission, because that is what brings me joy and that is how I can bring joy to others.

I’ve stayed in touch with many of these models, some of whom are on some part of their journey in Buddhist practice. To all, I say: Don’t be selfish! Pursue your mission and uplift the human spirit!

from Ikeda Sensei (The Way of Youth, p. 83)

[Art] can encourage us when we are run-down, lift our spirits when we are tense. … Art is the liberation of the humanity inside you.

On July 10, over 2,000 Soka Gakkai Malaysia members, including youth, took an elementary-level Buddhist study exam at 41 venues across the country. The exam took place for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.