To My Friends (Feb. 15)

A translation of SGI President Ikeda's "To My Friends" published in the Seikyo Shimbun and more.

—TO MY FRIENDS—
The inner strength of our Buddha nature is infinite.
With such conviction and confidence,
let's be courageous in our faith!
That is how we will most definitely be victorious!

* In chanting daimoku, the first important thing is having the challenging spirit to act with courage. This could be described as arousing deep faith from the innermost reaches of our life in accord with the Daishonin's words, firmly believing that we can summon forth the mystic truth within us, manifest our inherent Buddhahood, and attain enlightenment in this lifetime without fail. It also means directly taking on the three obstacles and four devils that seek to obstruct us from chanting daimoku. We need to have a fearless, tireless, and unremitting challenging spirit to confront and overcome the diverse array of obstacles that rise up to assail us (Lectures on "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" by Daisaku Ikeda, p. 57).

—DAILY GOSHO—
"Strengthen your faith day by day and month after month."

(On Persecutions Befalling the Sage—The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol.1, p. 997). Selection source: SGI President Ikeda's essay, Seikyo Shimbun, February 15.