Part 3: Kosen-rufu and World Peace
Chapter 30: The Future Division—The Treasure of the Soka Gakkai [30.8]

Touching upon his experience as the editor in chief of a children’s magazine when he was young, President Ikeda expresses his limitless hopes and expectations for future generations.

When I was 21, Mr. Toda appointed me editor in chief of a magazine called Boys’ Adventure, which was later renamed Boys’ Japan. I resolved to make the magazine the best in Japan, putting all my youthful energy into the task. I adored kids and wanted to impart courage and hope to them.

Envisaging the vibrant potential of young people, I wrote in my diary at that time: “We must consider them the treasures of our nation, for they are builders of the society to come.” I fervently believe this to this day.

Praising the son of his disciples Abutsu-bo and the lay nun Sennichi, Nichiren Daishonin writes: “There is no treasure greater than a child!” (WND-1, 1045). Their son, Tokuro Moritsuna, had grown into a fine successor and, like his father, traveled long distances [from Sado Island to Mount Minobu] to visit the Daishonin. He decided to follow the path of highest good alongside his great mentor, just as his parents had taught him.

The realization of kosen-rufu will be nothing but an empty dream unless we create a great river of transmission, unceasingly passing on the correct teaching of Buddhism from one generation to the next, from parents to children and on to grandchildren. Each child is the treasure of their family, of society, and of the world. Indeed, children are treasures of the future, of humanity, and irreplaceable treasures of Soka. That’s why it is so important to transmit the true spirit of faith, of the Soka Gakkai, to our children. That is our responsibility to the future.

How do we nurture people of promise? How do we help them develop their fresh and vibrant potential? The fate of the 21st century hinges on these questions.

From an essay series “The Light of the Century of Humanity,” published in Japanese in the Seikyo Shimbun, April 1, 2006.