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    The New Human Revolution, vol. 9
    The New Human Revolution, vol. 9
    The New Human Revolution, vol. 9
    Ebook307 pages4 hours

    The New Human Revolution, vol. 9

    By Daisaku Ikeda

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    Through this novelized history of the Soka Gakkai—one of the most dynamic, diverse, and empowering 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 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIndependent Publishers Group
    Release dateApr 1, 2020
    ISBN9781946635211

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      The New Human Revolution, vol. 9 - Daisaku Ikeda

      2006)

      A New Era

      LIFE IS ETERNAL. That is the reason we must carry out our human revolution. For according to the strict law of cause and effect, the good causes we accumulate through our Buddhist practice in this lifetime become the very essence of our eternal self we will carry into the next existence.

      On the evening of April 1, 1964, the day before the service commemorating the seventh memorial for second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda, a service took place in the newly completed Grand Reception Hall at the head temple. Some five thousand practitioners and guests from Japan and overseas attended the event, which was carried out with great solemnity.

      Earlier that day, at eleven thirty, a separate ceremony celebrated the hall’s completion. Everyone gazed upon the breathtaking sight of the hall standing amidst the tall cedars, its magnificent white structure looking proud and dignified in the spring sunlight.

      It was a five-story, reinforced concrete building some one hundred feet tall with more than a hundred thousand square feet total area. The outer corridors on each floor were made to resemble lotus flower petals. The shell-shaped roof was connected to supporting pillars by 480 steel ball bearings designed to resist earthquakes. This dedication to safety was one of the hall’s special features.

      The first floor was the lobby, which provided a shelter for people waiting to view the Dai-Gohonzon in the adjoining Hoanden Hall. Atop the lobby’s central staircase, which was lined with railings of shining Italian marble, was a wonderful mosaic depicting a phoenix made from vivid red, white, and black ceramic tiles. A monumental work, it stood ten feet high and thirty-nine feet wide. Spreading its wings majestically, the phoenix seemed to symbolize Nichiren Buddhism taking flight into the vast, open sky of the world.

      Matazo Kayama, a master of contemporary Japanese painting who later won the Japan Art Grand Prix award, designed the mosaic, while the skilled ceramicist Tokuro Kato made the tiles. Kayama is said to have done thirty-six preliminary sketches. It was a world-class work of art created by leading Japanese artists.

      The second floor held restrooms and a place for visitors to store their shoes. Both accommodated a smooth flow of several thousand people. Shin’ichi Yamamoto had proposed that the reception hall be constructed and donated to the head temple, and its design reflected his belief that people must be treasured.

      The third floor housed the building’s main hall. Its high, open ceiling with crossbeams made from Taiwanese cypress created a beautiful geometric pattern.

      THE TEN-THOUSAND-square-foot main hall, together with the stage and outer corridor, could accommodate as many as five thousand people. The cabinet holding the Gohonzon at the front was made of gold aluminum panels and had electric doors, a remarkable innovation at the time. Black Swedish granite was used for the floor of the Buddhist altar, and stones Shin’ichi had collected from forty-six countries around the world were set in the concrete base. A sparkling European chandelier hung from the ceiling inside the room, and the ceiling covering the outer corridor was made of planks cut from straight-grained Canadian cedar.

      Upon completion of the Grand Lecture Hall (in 1958), Josei Toda had instructed Shin’ichi to build the Grand Reception Hall. He had often commented that this would be the next step, but at that time he specifically told Shin’ichi that it should be the next seven-year goal. He also proposed that Shin’ichi gather fine materials from around the world to be used in the construction as a prayer for world peace. Just as his mentor wished, Shin’ichi had traveled the globe collecting precious materials with which to adorn the hall.

      The architect was the same person who had done the Grand Lecture Hall and the Hoanden Hall. He was well known as a standard-bearer in modern temple design. Wanting the structure to be a great work of architecture that would endure far into the future, he researched, studied design innovations, and experimented with different ideas.

      Shin’ichi announced the project at the headquarters general meeting on May 3, 1960, at which he was inaugurated as third president. A steering committee was immediately established, and then, for four days starting on July 21, 1961, the Soka Gakkai collected donations from members. Some 1.4 million households contributed more than 3.2 billion yen. On April 2, 1962, the fifth memorial of the death of Josei Toda, they held a groundbreaking ceremony and construction began.

      Concrete was poured into an area measuring 197 feet by 164 feet and 23 feet deep for the base. A tremendous effort was put into building a strong foundation that would withstand the test of time.

      THE ARCHITECT and everyone involved in the construction were determined to make it a masterpiece of Japanese religious architecture that would endure for thousands of years. As the project proceeded, the members’ enthusiasm to work for kosen-rufu soared. Their slogan was Let’s adorn Mr. Toda’s seventh memorial and the completion of the Grand Reception Hall by introducing many friends to the practice! In the end, they greeted the significant day with tremendous joy at having achieved a membership of more than four million households, far surpassing their original goal of three million.

      A number of guests from government and business, as well as foreign journalists and officials from several embassies attended the completion ceremony. The balcony section inside the main hall was lined with more than twenty-two hundred flags representing Soka Gakkai chapters throughout Japan and the various youth division corps. The brightly illuminated banners added to the festive mood.

      The event began with a dedication service. Following a recitation of the Lotus Sutra, High Priest Nittatsu delivered a speech in which he said: Due to the propagation efforts of the Soka Gakkai since its establishment just over thirty years ago, we now have more than four million followers. The time of kosen-rufu has certainly arrived. This is truly the achievement of countless Bodhisattvas of the Earth who have appeared in this existence to spread the Buddhism of sowing, the seed of which they received in the remote past.

      The high priest applauded the hall’s completion, noting that it had been the result of Shin’ichi Yamamoto’s promise to realize the mission of his mentor, Josei Toda. Paying tribute to Shin’ichi’s efforts in collecting stones and other fine materials from around the world, he said: We vow to keep this building in good condition. We will use it as a place of diligent practice and usher in the arrival of kosen-rufu while rejecting all negative influences.

      This was the priesthood’s pledge at the most joyous event of its seven-hundred-year history. But a little more than thirty years later, the head temple would become a den of slander of the Law pervaded by devilish functions. Far from carrying out repairs, the next high priest, Nikken, heartlessly razed the beautiful Grand Reception Hall.

      Nittatsu was Nikken’s predecessor, his mentor. Yet maddened with envy, Nikken had the building that stood as proof of his mentor’s achievements completely destroyed. This was not just the destruction of the hall; it was the destruction of the sincere offerings of the 1.4 million believers who had contributed to its creation. What Nikken really destroyed was the great and profound teaching of Nichiren Buddhism itself.

      During the service, Shin’ichi presented Nittatsu with a list of the items donated to the head temple and received a written acknowledgment in return. The high priest then announced Shin’ichi’s appointment as the head of all Nichiren Shoshu lay organizations. The announcement came as a surprise, but Nittatsu had been telling Shin’ichi for some time that this was his intention.

      AS HEAD of all Nichiren Shoshu lay organizations, Shin’ichi Yamamoto’s task was to unify believers and take the lead in the effort to achieve kosen-rufu.

      After the dedication, a completion ceremony began. Following a progress report, the priesthood’s general administrator said: "As representative of Nichiren Shoshu, I would like to thank all of you for the offering of this magnificent edifice, whose exterior balconies wrap around it like the petals of a white lotus. It should be recorded in the annals of Buddhist architecture in Japan—no, in the annals of religious architecture the world over.

      Thank you, President Yamamoto, for the donation of this wonderful building.

      Stating that peace is the dream of all humanity, the priest emphasized that Nichiren Daishonin also sought to inspire an awareness of global citizenship and to realize world peace. He declared that the significance of the Grand Reception Hall lay in the fact that it was the place where priests would perform their early morning gongyo ceremony daily, praying wholeheartedly for world peace and the actualization of kosen-rufu.

      In closing, the priest called President Yamamoto’s collection of materials from around the world used in the construction an expression of great compassion. He explained that those treasures would serve to help distinguished guests from overseas form a connection to Buddhism.

      After congratulatory speeches from a number of guests, it was time for Shin’ichi’s greetings. Sharing his joy at the building’s completion, he proclaimed: "In ‘On the Receiving of the Three Great Secret Laws,’ the Daishonin says, ‘We have only to wait for the proper time’ (WND-2, 987). I don’t think I am alone in my conviction that the time for kosen-rufu has arrived at last.

      "Challenging one intense struggle after another, we of the Soka Gakkai have created a remarkable history of more than thirty years. Our path has been a series of unending hardships. But now spring has come. The golden age is here. I hope that each of us will enjoy wonderful lives as we accumulate ever-greater benefit, all the while strengthening our unity toward the achievement of kosen-rufu.

      Let’s make today the day we reinforce that vow!

      Thunderous applause rang throughout the hall. Shin’ichi added: Please give my best to those who were unable to attend today’s meaningful ceremony. Lastly, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to our guests, who graciously took the time to join us in this celebration despite the long distances they traveled.

      AFTER A RECEPTION, the youth division’s brass band and fife and drum corps paraded the grounds, bringing the completion ceremony to an end.

      At six, a service commemorating the eve of the seventh memorial of Josei Toda’s death took place in the new building. A light rain was falling, and the floodlit hall glimmered in the mist. The waters cascading from the fountain in the central plaza danced in a magical display of red, blue, green, and yellow light.

      Toda’s seventh memorial service, which had been the first major target of the Soka Gakkai since Shin’ichi Yamamoto became the third president, was about to begin. Shin’ichi’s heart was filled with pride and joy at having fulfilled the vow he had made to his mentor.

      After Toda’s death, the determination of many of his disciples to realize his goals gradually weakened. But Shin’ichi stood up alone and strove wholeheartedly to carry out each one of them. He regarded Toda’s countless golden and timeless words as guidelines for him to follow, extracting their essence and making them a reality.

      For example, Shin’ichi felt that Toda’s instruction to collect fine materials from around the world for use in the Grand Reception Hall expressed his wish to achieve worldwide kosen-rufu. Shin’ichi’s travels around the globe to purchase such materials were therefore an effort to lay the foundation for the widespread propagation of Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings. As a result, the Soka Gakkai had established twenty-five chapters with more than ten thousand members outside of Japan.

      Purchasing treasures from abroad itself would not have been difficult. But Shin’ichi was not one to simply go through the motions. Rather, he always went back to Toda’s spirit, recalling his mentor’s words and working untiringly to realize his mentor’s intent. This is the true way of mentor and disciple.

      When Shin’ichi entered the main room, he bowed deeply to the five thousand members gathered there from throughout the country and overseas. He wanted to show his deepest respect to his courageous fellow members who had devoted all their time and energy to sharing Nichiren Buddhism, always focused on this day.

      The sutra recitation began. Shin’ichi prayed sincerely for his mentor as he made an offering of incense. Filled with emotion, he silently reported to Toda: Sensei! At my inauguration as third president, I vowed to accomplish the goal of three million households by your seventh memorial service, and to complete the Grand Reception Hall and donate it to the head temple. I have fulfilled the promises I made to you!

      IN HIS HEART, Shin’ichi saw his mentor smiling and nodding in approval.

      After the chanting, several of Toda’s disciples spoke. Eisuke Akizuki, the youth leader; Katsu Kiyohara, the women’s leader; Hisao Seki and Kiyoshi Jujo, vice general directors; and Koichi Harayama, the general director, all shared memories of President Toda.

      Seki spoke with deep feeling: "Mr. Toda once said to President Makiguchi, ‘Your true greatness won’t be appreciated during your lifetime. Only after your death will people really know how great you were.’

      "Looking back, the same can be said of Mr. Toda. It is through President Yamamoto’s actions since his mentor’s death that we truly know Mr. Toda’s greatness. President Yamamoto has realized every principle that Mr. Toda articulated, and he has made him known throughout the world.

      "Mr. Yamamoto often says that he is a president of action. Indeed, when I look at his tremendous accomplishments, I truly understand the extent of Mr. Toda’s vision and what he was trying to teach us. I am determined to become a genuine disciple of President Yamamoto and to follow him to the very end. For this is the real path of a disciple of Mr. Toda, and it is the way of mentor and disciple that he has shown us.

      President Yamamoto has declared that we are now entering the essential phase. He has called on us to press forward in our efforts to realize kosen-rufu. Aiming for the next seven years, I promise to advance toward that goal always bearing these words in mind.

      This was doubtless the determination of all of Toda’s disciples. Toda had told them to support the third president, saying that if they did, kosen-rufu would absolutely become a reality. This support, however, could come only from genuine disciples.

      The mentor-disciple bond in the Soka Gakkai is a unified network of selfless champions who dedicate their lives to the supreme goal of kosen-rufu with the mentor at the center. Without this relationship, kosen-rufu cannot be realized. All efforts would degenerate into a struggle for fame and profit, becoming the epitome of self-interest and power.

      From this seventh memorial service, the gears of mentor and disciple began to turn in earnest with Shin’ichi as the axle. This became the motivating force of the essential phase, the time of new developments in the endeavor to spread the Daishonin’s teachings far and wide.

      PRESIDENT Yamamoto took the podium next. The room erupted in applause and everyone looked on as they waited for him to begin. After expressing his gratitude at being able to commemorate Toda’s seventh memorial in such splendor, Shin’ichi called out vigorously: As disciples of Mr. Toda, let us make today the first step toward our next seven-year goal. And let us commence our victorious advance with courage and strength for the sake of kosen-rufu and the construction of a peaceful society! The audience applauded.

      Shin’ichi continued in a calmer voice: "Mr. Toda left behind his novel The Human Revolution. The story ends with its protagonist, Gan, who was modeled after Mr. Toda, alone in his prison cell resolving to devote his life to kosen-rufu. Gan declares: ‘Five years later than him I became free of doubt, and five years earlier than him I came to understand my mission.’ ‘Him’ refers to Confucius, who said, ‘At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven.’¹ Mr. Toda was forty-five² when he wrote this passage describing his spiritual state.

      "After his release, Mr. Toda became president of the Soka Gakkai, at which time he announced the goal of a membership of 750,000 households. Having achieved that goal, he departed this world for Eagle Peak on April 2, 1958.

      "When Mr. Toda began to write The Human Revolution under the pen name Myo Goku, he said to me: ‘Shin’ichi, read this novel. If there is anything you think should be revised, feel free to do so.’ I will never forget the happy expression on his face when he completed the work. But Mr. Toda didn’t write anything about his life after leaving prison. I had a profound sense from everything he said that he wanted me to pick up where he left off and continue his story up until the time of his death. I have kept that wish of his deep in my heart."

      The members’ faces lit up. "President Yamamoto is going to write a sequel to The Human Revolution!" they thought. Shouts of joy and tumultuous applause echoed throughout the hall.

      SHIN’ICHI CONTINUED: "I would like to mark Mr. Toda’s seventh memorial by preparing a sequel to The Human Revolution, resuming with his release from prison and finishing with his death. I regard this as an expression of my profound gratitude to Mr. Toda as his disciple.

      "Mr. Toda used the pen name Myo Goku; I will use Ho Goku. Combining the first part of each name creates myoho, or Mystic Law. Goku means to awaken to the truth of nonsubstantiality. The myo of myoho refers to the world of Buddhahood, and ho refers to the other nine worlds. Myo is also awakening or enlightenment, while ho is fundamental darkness or delusion. Based on this principle we can say that myo corresponds to mentor and ho to disciple.

      "I don’t know how long this project will take me, but I will write as many volumes as necessary—three, five, seven, ten—to include all the guidance I received from Mr. Toda and record his many achievements. I will also write about those who harassed and persecuted him. I am determined to make it a novel that refutes every criticism and slander that writers, scholars, and politicians directed at the Soka Gakkai.

      This is an enormous task, and there are aspects of it that will be difficult for me on my own. I may request the help of Mr. Toda’s disciples in gathering and organizing materials. I may also need the help of all of you in some form or another, so I ask for your kind cooperation. Filled with excitement, the participants cheered.

      Shin’ichi closed his remarks by saying: "The road to kosen-rufu is long and hard. I therefore hope that all of you leaders gathered here today will make efforts to be fit and healthy. Please show warm understanding to your fellow members and do your utmost to help them grow as we set sail in solid unity toward our great victory seven years hence.

      I would like to finish today by stating that Mr. Toda’s family and relatives will without a doubt enjoy the benefits of his causes. But I also sincerely hope they will regard him as their mentor and work energetically for kosen-rufu.

      THE SERVICE on the eve of the seventh memorial closed with a rousing choral performance of the Song of Worldwide Kosen-rufu.

      The following day, April 2, the weather cleared and a beautiful blue sky stretched overhead. Bathed in sunlight, Mount Fuji stood majestically in the distance. At nine, the actual memorial service was held in the Grand Reception Hall. Shin’ichi spoke of the significance of the essential phase: "The Soka Gakkai has now entered the struggle of the essential phase. This is a time of the substantive realization of kosen-rufu, a time when we will complete our efforts to fuse the principles of Buddhism with all secular realms, creating a society where the flowers of peace and culture bloom.

      "On a personal level, it is the period when we each experience tremendous progress in our own human revolution and, at the same time, show wonderful proof of faith in our communities and workplaces. In this way, we will win the trust of the people around us.

      "I am convinced that the essential phase is also the time when we, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, will become first-rate leaders in all spheres, will take the lead in bringing happiness to the people, and will make significant contributions to society.

      "We have advanced this far with Mr. Toda’s seventh memorial as our goal. But if we view this target in light of the Lotus Sutra, it is like the phantom city portrayed in the theoretical teaching. In other words, it is nothing more than a provisional target on the way to our final destination. It’s time now for us to leave this ‘phantom city’ behind. I hope that some of you will draw forth the state of life described in the ‘Emerging from the Earth’ chapter of the sutra’s essential teaching, standing up as Bodhisattvas of the Earth and working wholeheartedly as great leaders of kosen-rufu.

      "I hope others of you will display the state of life illustrated in the ‘Supernatural Powers of the Thus Come One’ chapter and become great proponents of the Law striving to achieve kosen-rufu. And I hope still others will demonstrate with your lives the teaching in the ‘Life Span of the Thus Come One’ chapter that all living beings can attain Buddhahood.

      I am calling on each of you to become the embodiment of the essential teaching. I ask that, as champions in the movement to build a society that operates in accord with the principles of Buddhism, you continue advancing toward our next seven-year goal, allowing not a single person to fall by the wayside. Shin’ichi hereby opened the door on the new essential phase.

      After the service, Shin’ichi headed with some fellow members toward Toda’s gravesite at the head temple. When they arrived there, the brass band that had been waiting for them began playing the Song of Worldwide Kosen-rufu.

      AS SHIN’ICHI listened to the strains of the Soka Gakkai song resounding through the tall cedars, he thought about how fervently Josei Toda had prayed and toiled for peace and the happiness of the people of Asia and the world. He determined to spread his wings and fly into the broad skies of the global arena to carry on his mentor’s work.

      In front of Toda’s grave, ceremonial chanting began. Shin’ichi vowed to his mentor that in the next seven years he would increase the Soka Gakkai’s membership to six million households. Kosen-rufu cannot be achieved without expansion. The practice of introducing others to Nichiren Buddhism is itself compassion, and it is the direct path to our human revolution.

      At the time, there were approximately twenty-three million families in Japan. That meant that if Shin’ichi were to achieve his goal of six million, the Gohonzon would be enshrined in about one-fourth of all Japanese households. The Soka Gakkai’s membership already

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