In this section we offer resources for the SGI Spain discussion meetings. This month they are a presentation of several discussion groups (“Locally”), a passage from The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin commented by Daisaku Ikeda (“Advancing with the Gosho»”), a “Perspective” and, in the following pages, a section addressed to the “Young Phoenixes” of the Future Division.
LOCALLY
These images attest to the joy felt by the renewed impulse of SGI-Spain’s discussion meetings movement during these last few months of the year.
ADVANCING WITH THE GOSHO
Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the other Buddhas intend to insure the future propagation of the Lotus Sutra so that it can be made available to all the children of the Buddha in times to come. We may surmise from this that their concern and compassion are even greater than those of a father and mother who see their only child inflicted with great suffering.
(The Opening of the Eyes, in WND-1, pp. 286-287).
“The focus is on the future. The compassionate, dedicated efforts of the Soka family to open the way for the children and young people who will shoulder the future epitomize the Buddha’s ‘concern and compassion.’
The Soka Gakkai is a realm of true human education that encourages and nurtures people.
Precisely because fostering individuals is one of the most challenging endeavors, the benefits of doing so are immeasurable.
In the closing passage of ‘On Repaying Debts of Gratitude,’ the Daishonin says: ‘The flower will return to the root and the essence of the plant will remain in the earth.’[1]
With a sincere wish to bring wonderful flowers of capable individuals into bloom, our dedicated members strive tirelessly to nurture the earth of our young people’s hearts with the water of encouragement and the sunlight of warm prayers. I am certain that they and their loved ones will all be rewarded with magnificent flowers of happiness and the fruits of good fortune and benefit.”[2]
PERSPECTIVE
In the lecture from which the above quote and commentary have been extracted, Daisaku Ikeda quotes Josei Toda: “My mentor solemnly declared: ‘The struggle we are waging now is for the sake of 100 years, 200 years hence. Two centuries from now, history will show that we of the Soka Gakkai have been on the right path. Future generations will attest to it beyond doubt.’”[3] Following this, he interprets the current difficulties in this framework and states that “there is no better education than adversity, as the saying goes. The great difficulties confronting today’s youth are matched only by their great mission to usher in an age of peace and humanity.”[4]
YOUNG PHOENIXES · To the Future Division members
Hi, fellow members! We are already in November, the month in which we commemorate SGI-Spain’s Future Division Day on the 20th November. On this occasion we will celebrate this in our discussion meetings, together with the fellow members of our group, just like a big family.
Ikeda Sensei has always given huge importance to the Future Division and he has dedicated himself to opening the path to its members. Do you know what his motivation has been? It is that he values each of you and believes in and trusts your inherent potential. His wish is that all of you, members of the Future Division, can develop into great capable people and play an irreplaceable role each being, just as Nichiren Daishonin states, unique and different like the cherry, plum, peach and damson. The most important thing is that in the path to fulfilling your mission, you are happy and you help other people experience happiness as well. You are tomorrow’s hope!
An important aspect is to dream big. On one occasion, Ikeda Sensei shared the following words with some fellow members of the Future Division in Japan:
“It has been said that we can only become as big as our dreams. That is why you should have big dreams. But it’s important to remember that dreams are dreams and reality is reality. If you want to realize your dreams, you have to take a hard look at reality and then make all-out efforts toward your goals.
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Mr. Toda once said: ‘Young people must have the determination to excel at something.’ Determination, tenacity of purpose, is crucial. Halfhearted effort will not make the precious jewel of your unique talents shine.”[5]
It is possible that you may already have a dream, but still don’t know how to actualise it… Some of you may be still searching for a dream you feel like yours and, in the meantime, you may be considering different possibilities… And there may be others of you who have nothing clear and do not know how to go about it but, even so, you have the wish to do something.
Ikeda Sensei assures that all of us, without a doubt, have a unique mission. He even states that if we didn’t have one, we wouldn’t have been born… The encouragement that we have highlighted below for each of the groups of the division provides us some clues and key points to start discovering what our mission is.
We can use this opportunity of the commemoration of your day, the Future Division Day, to take steps in this path. In order to do that, how about establishing a goal towards the discussion meeting? For example, we can clarify “what ‘thing’ I want to do” or “what action I want to take in order to attain the goal I want to achieve.”
Are you up for it?
For the Casals Group fellow members:
“[Y]ou are all at an age when it is important to master the basics and build a solid foundation. Building a foundation requires patience. Persevere in your studies. And in the realm of faith, don’t forget to develop yourself, growing like a tall tree to become a person who can make great contributions to kosen-rufu.”[6]
For the Picasso Group fellow members:
“Do something, start something. As you make consistent efforts you will begin to see your goals come into focus, you will discover your mission, the one that only you can fulfil. For example it is important to develop skills in a field that you like or that interest you. The key is to have something you can take pride in, something you can challenge.”[7]
[1] ↑ In WND-1, p. 737.
[2] ↑ Please see Civilización Global, issue 210, October 2022, «En bien del futuro, en bien de la paz».
[3] ↑ Ib., p. 9.
[4] ↑ Ib.
[5] ↑ https://www.sokaglobal.org/resources/study-materials/buddhist-study/the-wisdom-for-creating-happiness-and-peace/chapter-6-6.html
[6] ↑ https://www.sokaglobal.org/resources/study-materials/buddhist-study/the-new-human-revolution/vol-30-chapter-3-21-30.html
[7] ↑ IKEDA, Daisaku: “Youth – A time of Challenge», in Discussions on Youth.