We Can Create a Bright Future

Resources for the introduction of SGI-Spain’s discussion meetings

Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the other Buddhas intend to ensure the future [mirai] propagation of the Lotus Sutra so that it can be made available to all the children of the Buddha in times to come [mirai].

↳ WND-1, page. 286. This passage is from The Opening of the Eyes, one of Nichiren Daishonin’s most important writings which was written in 1272, during his exile on Sado Island. Amid the extremely harsh circumstances he underwent there, the Daishonin completed this treatise in two parts and addressed it Shijo Kingo, one of his leading disciples, as a representative of all his followers.

[T]he word mirai [‘future’ in Japanese] appears 175 times in the new Japanese edition of the Nichiren Daishonin gosho zenshu (The Complete Works of Nichiren Daishonin).
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The future is also a major theme running through the Lotus Sutra, which clarifies the crucial question: What is the correct teaching that should be spread in the evil latter age after Shakyamuni Buddha’s death, and who will spread it?
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To ensure the happiness of all living beings throughout the eternal future of the Latter Day of the Law, the Daishonin overcame every conceivable hardship and revealed the essence of the Lotus Sutra in the form of the Gohonzon.
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Our Buddhist practice is for the present and the future. In accord with the teaching ‘If you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present,’[1] it’s important to create great causes now that will assure great victory in the future. (…)
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A bright future does not suddenly appear out of nowhere. It is the culmination of our inner resolve in every moment. That’s why it is essential that we sincerely encourage the person in front of us. Then, we must continue to move forward together, striving harmoniously today and again tomorrow. Only through such consistent and ongoing efforts can we create a brilliant future. (…)
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While facing a storm of criticism, Mr. Toda once declared: ‘The struggle we are waging now is for the sake of 100 years, 200 years hence.’ Even if no one understands our movement now, he asserted confidently, history is certain to prove it right. (…)
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Now is the time for us to initiate a fresh challenge to create a brighter future. Let us reach out to and converse and connect with one person after another. Let us foster capable successors, certain that the key to future victory is here and now![2]

In the essay from which the above Gosho passage and commentary have been taken from, Daisaku Ikeda mentions the following regarding the challenges in raising children:

[W]hile in exile on Sado Island, the Daishonin [also] wrote a letter to Shijo Kingo and his wife, Nichigen-nyo—disciples in Kamakura who were struggling with the illness of their young daughter, Kyo’o. In it […] he declares: “Kyo’o’s misfortune will change into fortune. Muster your faith, and pray to this Gohonzon. Then what is there that cannot be achieved?”[3]
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Every family has its problems and raising children is a universal challenge. There may be times when unexpected difficulties befall our families or our children. But we have the lion’s roar of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! We have the Gohonzon, of which the Daishonin states: “I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart.”[4]
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By rousing courageous faith, “misfortune will change into fortune”[5] without fail. We can transform any hardship into future good fortune for our families and children.
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This is the power of faith and practice that “changes poison into medicine.”[6]