Part 3: Kosen-rufu and World Peace
Chapter 28: The Three Founding Presidents and the Path of Mentor and Disciple [28.24]

The final installment of President Ikeda’s serialized novel The New Human Revolution was published in the September 8, 2018, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun. This is an excerpt from an essay he wrote the following week, in which he calls on members around the world to join him in making fresh strides in advancing kosen-rufu.

On September 8, the serialization of the 30th and final volume of The New Human Revolution ended.

The whole process, starting from The Human Revolution, which I began writing in Okinawa [in December 1964], has taken 54 years.

From the outset, I was determined to devote myself to this undertaking as long as I should live. And with the sincere support of my fellow members, I have gained the great benefit of “prolonging my life through faith.”1 As a result, I have seen these works to their conclusion amid the great development of worldwide kosen-rufu, which I had vowed to Presidents Makiguchi and Toda to achieve.

As a disciple, I am filled with deep emotion and cannot find words to express my gratitude.

I would like to reiterate my sincerest appreciation to everyone in Japan and throughout the world who supported this endeavor in every possible way.

I am humbled to hear many say they are sad to see the series come to an end. But there is no end to the challenge of human revolution that we undertake as mentor and disciples.

I am reminded of something I once saw at a Fife and Drum Corps performance—a young woman at the rear of the stage swiftly dampening the reverberations of her percussion instrument with her hand after she played. To me, her action conveyed the message: “Don’t linger on your achievements; always move on to the next challenge.” This spirit of “true cause”2—of continuously moving forward from the present moment—is the heart of Nichiren Buddhism. The curtain falling on one challenge is the curtain rising on the next.

That is the essence of the Daishonin’s words: “Strengthen your faith day by day and month after month. Should you slacken in your resolve even a bit, devils will take advantage” (WND-1, 997).

Twenty-five years ago, in September 1993, just after I began writing The New Human Revolution, I gave a lecture at Harvard University titled “Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-First-Century Civilization.” In it, I posed the following questions. Does religion make people stronger, or does it weaken them? Does it make people better or worse? Are they made wiser or less so by religion?

A truly humanistic religion must enable people destined to live out their lives amid the turbulent currents of change to achieve constant growth and become stronger, better, and wiser. And Nichiren Buddhism—our religion of human revolution—makes this possible.

My motivation for writing The New Human Revolution was to engage in a life-to-life dialogue with young people throughout Japan and across the globe, just as my mentor had offered me one-to-one training at what I call “Toda University.”

Now, youthful Bodhisattvas of the Earth3 worldwide are studying the spirit of human revolution and making Shin’ichi Yamamoto’s heart their own. I am delighted to see them boldly and vigorously achieving proof of brilliant success in their lives and for kosen-rufu, just as I hoped.

The Human Revolution starts with the chapter “Dawn,” describing how my mentor stood up alone to break through the darkness of war. The novel ends with the chapter “New Dawn,” telling how his disciple, fully united with him in spirit, inherited his mission.

The New Human Revolution begins with the chapter “Sunrise.” It describes Soka mentor and disciples embarking on the mission of worldwide kosen-rufu with the energy of the rising sun.

The novel is an account of my tireless efforts as an extension of my mentor to bring the compassionate light of Nichiren Buddhism to the world. It tells how I leaped in among the multitude of humanity, among the people, and stirred a whirlwind of dialogue.

And the chapter that brings the novel to a close is titled “Vow.”

Nichiren Daishonin states: “My wish is that all my disciples make a great vow” (WND-1, 1003); and “The ‘great vow’ refers to the propagation of the Lotus Sutra” (OTT, 82).

By making the same great vow as our mentor to spread the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we can tap infinite power—the underlying strength of the noble Bodhisattvas of the Earth.

The sun of the vow of mentor and disciple is a beacon now shining ever more brightly, illuminating Mother Earth and the boundless future.

Our friends exist in every country and region. The world’s people are waiting for us.

With fresh determination, let us embark anew toward worldwide kosen-rufu, the goal of world peace that humankind so earnestly longs for.

I will advance. Please advance, too.
I will fight. Please fight, too.
I will win. Please win, too.

Let us join together to spread the great light of human revolution and compose a new and magnificent epic of Soka mentor and disciples! Our journey to fulfill our vow will go on forever!

From an essay series “The Eternal Citadel of Soka,” published in Japanese in the Seikyo Shimbun, September 15, 2018.