Part 3: Kosen-rufu and World Peace
Chapter 28: The Three Founding Presidents and the Path of Mentor and Disciple [28.25]
28.25 Realizing My Mentor’s Vision
President Ikeda describes how he made it his personal mission to realize the vision of his mentor, Josei Toda.
I know of no leader of the people who can compare with Mr. Toda. I have stated this confidently wherever I have gone in my travels around the world.
I have met with many leaders of international stature and renown in my time, and spoken with individuals who will no doubt be recognized by history, but Mr. Toda was a leader of singular greatness. I know this better than anyone.
It is an unparalleled source of pride to have lived my life as the disciple of this great mentor in life.
He is all and everything to me. I regard actualizing his wishes, making them a reality in our world, as my sole mission and honor. This alone, rather than any personal concerns or interests, has been my focus.
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Mr. Makiguchi once observed: “If we in the present thrive and flourish, the luster of our predecessors grows. If we in the present languish and flounder, the luster of our predecessors dims.” How true are his words!
I have striven with the unwavering determination to demonstrate the greatness of Presidents Makiguchi and Toda and make their hopes and vision a reality.
If, as third president, I failed to make the Soka Gakkai flourish, I would be unable to repay my debt of gratitude to my predecessors and, more importantly, prove the greatness of my mentor. That is why I have worked tirelessly, blazing new trails forward in every sphere.
I founded the Komeito political party, the Min-On Concert Association, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, Soka University, and the Soka schools. These were all realized based on ideas and plans that my mentor had mentioned to me or given thought to on different occasions. Making his heart my own, I worked to bring each one of them to fruition.
While these may seem like my achievements, their true purpose has always been to prove and illuminate the greatness of President Toda and of President Makiguchi.
From a speech at a gongyo meeting commemorating the 57th anniversary of the Soka Gakkai’s founding, Tokyo, November 18, 1987.
The Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace brings together selections from President Ikeda’s works on key themes.