Clear Mirror (Part 1)

In honor of Women's Month, we will include excerpts this month from SGI President Ikeda's seminal Feb. 27, 1990, guidance to the SGI-USA Women "Buddhism is the Mirror That Perfectly Reflects Our Lives." For a book of his 1990–1996 speeches that includes the full text of this speech, click here.

"The first time the Japanese encountered a glass mirror was in 1551. Francis Xavier is credited with having brought one with him when he came to do missionary work in Japan.

But it was not until the eighteenth century — toward the latter half of the Edo period — that the average Japanese became acquainted with this kind of mirror. Perhaps because it performed its function all too well, causing people to do nothing but gaze in the mirror all day long, the glass mirror came to be known as the "vanity mirror" among the people of the day. Many ukiyo-e prints depict Japanese beauties gazing into mirrors. Still, it was not until the latter half of the nineteenth century — during the Meiji era — that glass mirrors came into wide use among the general populace.

‘Polish the Mirror of Your Life’

Bronze mirrors not only reflected poorly but also tarnished very quickly. Therefore, unless they were polished regularly, they became unusable. This kind of mirror was popular during the Kamakura era during which the Daishonin lived.

In the Gosho "On Attaining Buddhahood," Nichiren Daishonin writes: "Even a tarnished mirror will shine like a jewel if it is polished. A mind which presently is closed by illusions originating from the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but once it is polished it will become clear, reflecting the enlightenment of immutable truth" (MW-1, 5). In this well-known passage, the Daishonin draws parallels between the tradition of mirror-polishing and the process of attaining Buddhahood.

Originally, every person’s life is a brilliantly shining mirror. Differences arise depending on whether or not one polishes this mirror. A polished mirror is the Buddha’s life, whereas a tarnished mirror is that of a common mortal. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is what polishes our life. Not only do we undertake this practice ourselves, we also endeavor to teach others about the Mystic Law so that the mirror of their lives shines brightly, too. Thus, it can be said that we are masters of the art of polishing the mirror of life."