To My Friends (Feb. 17)

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

—TO MY FRIENDS—
History is made in small gatherings!
It is important that we value the presence of each participant,
rising and greeting them from afar and showing them the same respect we
would a Buddha.*
Warmly welcoming and sincerely applauding members,
(for the efforts they made to be able to come or contribute to a meeting,)
let us create waves of appreciation and joy!

* "The Fourteen Slanders," WND-1, Page 757: "Even an ignorant person can obtain blessings by serving someone who expounds the Lotus Sutra. No matter if he is a demon or an animal, if someone proclaims even a single verse or phrase of the Lotus Sutra, you must respect him as you would the Buddha. This is what the sutra means when it says, "You should rise and greet him from afar, showing him the same respect you would a Buddha."You should respect one another as Shakyamuni and Many Treasures did at the ceremony in the "Treasure Tower" chapter."

—DAILY GOSHO—
"It seems to me that on the path to attain Buddhahood it may invariably be when one has done something like lay down one's life that one becomes a Buddha" (Banishment to Sado—The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 1, page 202).

Selection source: President Ikeda's speech at the Headquarters Leaders Meeting held on February 11th, 2009 and covered in the Seikyo Shimbun of February 17.