A translation of "To My Friends" published in the Seikyo Shinbun based on President Ikeda's recent guidance, and more.
Tuesday, April 18th, 2017
-- TO MY FRIENDS --
Through our wholehearted efforts
for kosen-rufu
and for the sake of our fellow members,
the hardships and challenges that we endure,
which are often unseen by others,
make our lives glow
with unlimited good fortune and benefit!
The principle of "the Mystic Law is our witness"
is indisputably taking place.
Brimming with this unshakable conviction,
let's continue to constantly advance!
Tuesday, April 18th, 2017
--- DAILY GOSHO ---
"Nichiren declares that the varied sufferings that all living beings undergo - all these are Nichiren's own sufferings."
("The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" page 138)
Selection Source: Teachings of the Buddhism
Seikyo Shimbun: April 18th, 2017
Wednesday, April 19th, 2017
---- DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT ----
"Our conviction is directly linked to the conviction of Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
"Let us deeply engrave in our hearts a passage from a letter that the Daishonin sent to the Ikegami brothers, our forerunners of faith here in Tokyo, then known as Musashi Province.
"At the time, the Ikegami brothers, Munenaka and Munenaga, were undergoing a terrible crisis. Their father [an ardent Nembutsu believer] had just disowned the elder brother, Munenaka, a second time. Munenaka had been disowned once before [because of his faith in the Daishonin's teaching], but the brothers had been able to overcome that situation and restore relations with their father. But now their father had again disowned Munenaka. In the feudal society of the day, disownment meant not only losing one's right to succession, but also one's social standing and livelihood.
"There are all sorts of difficulties in life—such as the recurrence of illness or unending business challenges—that we must overcome again and again. We can only expect this to be even more so in our efforts for kosen-rufu. As the Daishonin writes [in 'The Opening of the Eyes']: 'As mountains pile upon mountains and waves follow waves, so do persecutions add to persecutions' (WND-1, 241). We will inevitably encounter daunting and challenging obstacles, one after another, in the course of striving to realise our mission for kosen-rufu. Such moments are critical junctures when the truth of our conviction is tested, and as such, they are all part of our Buddhist practice for attaining the eternal life state of Buddhahood.
"The Daishonin clearly warned the Ikegami brothers: 'The three obstacles and four devils will invariably appear, and the wise will rejoice while the foolish will retreat' (WND-1, 637).
"Taking these words to heart, the Ikegami brothers moved forwards courageously, never retreating a single step. Both they and their wives joined together to create a solidarity that no devilish function could undermine, and continued fighting for their beliefs. Eventually, they attained the victory promised by the Daishonin in his words: 'Winter always turns to spring' (WND-1, 536). Not only did their father restore Munenaka as his heir, he also finally started practising the Daishonin's Buddhism himself, after long years of fierce opposition. Thus, in the end, the brothers were able to achieve wonderful family harmony.
"When we strive to show actual proof of 'faith for overcoming obstacles,' we can resolve not only our own immediate challenges, but also positively change the way people view Nichiren Buddhism and dramatically transform our environment as a whole. This is the joyous 'come-from-behind' victory that 'the wise' can attain.
"In the end, the Ikegami brothers and other members of their family welcomed the Daishonin to the family's residence. There, shortly before his death, he gave his final lecture on his treatise 'On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,' as if entrusting it to them for posterity.
"And mystically, centuries later, the Soka Gakkai was born, raising aloft the banner of 'establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land,' with Tokyo, a place infused with the Daishonin's spirit, as its headquarters."
SGI Newsletter No. 9590, 25th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting, Leading Noble Lives of Conviction, from 16th April, 2017, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translation released 17th April, 2017
* The Japanese kanji is available by clicking on Seikyo Shinbun's web-site address at http://www.seikyoonline.jp/news/index.html
-- WAGATOMO NI OKURU --
KOFU NO TAME DOSHI NO TAME
KAGE NO ROKU O KASANERU NAKA NI
MURYO NO FUKUTOKU GA KAGAYAKU!
"MYO NO SHORAN" WA GENZEN DA.
DAI KAKUSHIN NI MICHITE SUSUME!
--- KYO NO GOSHO ---
ISSAI SHUJO NO I NO KU O UKURU WA KOTOGOTOKU KORE NICHIREN HITORI NO KU NARU BESHI
("ONGI KUDEN," Oral Teachings page 758)
Tuesday, April 18th, 2017
-- TO MY FRIENDS --
Through our wholehearted efforts
for kosen-rufu
and for the sake of our fellow members,
the hardships and challenges that we endure,
which are often unseen by others,
make our lives glow
with unlimited good fortune and benefit!
The principle of "the Mystic Law is our witness"
is indisputably taking place.
Brimming with this unshakable conviction,
let's continue to constantly advance!
Tuesday, April 18th, 2017
--- DAILY GOSHO ---
"Nichiren declares that the varied sufferings that all living beings undergo - all these are Nichiren's own sufferings."
("The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings" page 138)
Selection Source: Teachings of the Buddhism
Seikyo Shimbun: April 18th, 2017
Wednesday, April 19th, 2017
---- DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT ----
"Our conviction is directly linked to the conviction of Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
"Let us deeply engrave in our hearts a passage from a letter that the Daishonin sent to the Ikegami brothers, our forerunners of faith here in Tokyo, then known as Musashi Province.
"At the time, the Ikegami brothers, Munenaka and Munenaga, were undergoing a terrible crisis. Their father [an ardent Nembutsu believer] had just disowned the elder brother, Munenaka, a second time. Munenaka had been disowned once before [because of his faith in the Daishonin's teaching], but the brothers had been able to overcome that situation and restore relations with their father. But now their father had again disowned Munenaka. In the feudal society of the day, disownment meant not only losing one's right to succession, but also one's social standing and livelihood.
"There are all sorts of difficulties in life—such as the recurrence of illness or unending business challenges—that we must overcome again and again. We can only expect this to be even more so in our efforts for kosen-rufu. As the Daishonin writes [in 'The Opening of the Eyes']: 'As mountains pile upon mountains and waves follow waves, so do persecutions add to persecutions' (WND-1, 241). We will inevitably encounter daunting and challenging obstacles, one after another, in the course of striving to realise our mission for kosen-rufu. Such moments are critical junctures when the truth of our conviction is tested, and as such, they are all part of our Buddhist practice for attaining the eternal life state of Buddhahood.
"The Daishonin clearly warned the Ikegami brothers: 'The three obstacles and four devils will invariably appear, and the wise will rejoice while the foolish will retreat' (WND-1, 637).
"Taking these words to heart, the Ikegami brothers moved forwards courageously, never retreating a single step. Both they and their wives joined together to create a solidarity that no devilish function could undermine, and continued fighting for their beliefs. Eventually, they attained the victory promised by the Daishonin in his words: 'Winter always turns to spring' (WND-1, 536). Not only did their father restore Munenaka as his heir, he also finally started practising the Daishonin's Buddhism himself, after long years of fierce opposition. Thus, in the end, the brothers were able to achieve wonderful family harmony.
"When we strive to show actual proof of 'faith for overcoming obstacles,' we can resolve not only our own immediate challenges, but also positively change the way people view Nichiren Buddhism and dramatically transform our environment as a whole. This is the joyous 'come-from-behind' victory that 'the wise' can attain.
"In the end, the Ikegami brothers and other members of their family welcomed the Daishonin to the family's residence. There, shortly before his death, he gave his final lecture on his treatise 'On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,' as if entrusting it to them for posterity.
"And mystically, centuries later, the Soka Gakkai was born, raising aloft the banner of 'establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land,' with Tokyo, a place infused with the Daishonin's spirit, as its headquarters."
SGI Newsletter No. 9590, 25th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting, Leading Noble Lives of Conviction, from 16th April, 2017, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, translation released 17th April, 2017
* The Japanese kanji is available by clicking on Seikyo Shinbun's web-site address at http://www.seikyoonline.jp/news/index.html
-- WAGATOMO NI OKURU --
KOFU NO TAME DOSHI NO TAME
KAGE NO ROKU O KASANERU NAKA NI
MURYO NO FUKUTOKU GA KAGAYAKU!
"MYO NO SHORAN" WA GENZEN DA.
DAI KAKUSHIN NI MICHITE SUSUME!
--- KYO NO GOSHO ---
ISSAI SHUJO NO I NO KU O UKURU WA KOTOGOTOKU KORE NICHIREN HITORI NO KU NARU BESHI
("ONGI KUDEN," Oral Teachings page 758)
__._,_.___
Posted by: Scobie-John Le May-Grellan <sjlmg@yahoo.co.uk>
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If you have a friend(s) who would like to get To My Friends directly get them to send an E-mail to the following address and just simply write - "subscribe"
: SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk
from there on it is all automatic!
ALSO if you want to introduce a friend to the SGI but just don't know where to start, share with them the following addresses and they can read and watch some very well put together explanations about the SGI. Check it out yourself!
http://www.sgi.org/
http://www.sgi-uk.org/buddhism/practice
Check out the following address if you are looking for an important gosho quote
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org
And for the children there's a wonderful new web-site
http://treasures-of-heart.com/
And if you are looking for back editions of To My Friends click on...
https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo/conversations/messages
To unsubscribe from this group send an email to:
SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-unsubscribe@egroups.com
But do drop us a line at sjlmg@wta.att.ne.jp when you leave and tell us why you are leaving as it often can help us to improve the service! Please!
To modify your subscription from receiving daily to picking up as you wish go to http://www.egroups.com/mygroups
: SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk
from there on it is all automatic!
ALSO if you want to introduce a friend to the SGI but just don't know where to start, share with them the following addresses and they can read and watch some very well put together explanations about the SGI. Check it out yourself!
http://www.sgi.org/
http://www.sgi-uk.org/buddhism/practice
Check out the following address if you are looking for an important gosho quote
http://www.nichirenlibrary.org
And for the children there's a wonderful new web-site
http://treasures-of-heart.com/
And if you are looking for back editions of To My Friends click on...
https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo/conversations/messages
To unsubscribe from this group send an email to:
SGI-ToMyFriends-Wagatomo-unsubscribe@egroups.com
But do drop us a line at sjlmg@wta.att.ne.jp when you leave and tell us why you are leaving as it often can help us to improve the service! Please!
To modify your subscription from receiving daily to picking up as you wish go to http://www.egroups.com/mygroups
.
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