HARMONY-August 2014

DEAR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF SGI,

This month of August holds great significance in the SGI for a number of reasons. August is the month that the men’s division, the golden pillars of kosen-rufu, was established. August is also the month that the third president of the Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, first took faith in Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, an event that has had far reaching implications. Were is not for the bond of mentor and disciple formed between Mr. Toda and Mr. Ikeda, the Soka Gakkai organization would not be what it is today.

In this issue we look at Revealing the True. The concept of “casting off the transient and revealing the true” can be hard to comprehend. But as you will read in our Special Features, it is really quite easy to grasp and understand, though sometimes challenging to accept and embrace. President Ikeda gave a great example when he said:

“A classical Japanese comedy tells the following story: Once there was a country village where no one had a mirror. In those days, mirrors were priceless. A man, returning from his trip to the capital, handed his wife a mirror as a souvenir. That was the first time for her to see a mirror. Looking into it, she exclaimed: “Who on earth is this woman? You must’ve brought a girl back with you from the capital.” And so began a big fight.

“Though this story is fictitious, many people become angry or grieve over phenomena that are actually nothing but the reflection of their own lives – their state of mind and the causes that they have created. Like the wife in the story who exclaims, “Who on earth is this woman?” they do not realize the folly of their ways.

“Because they are ignorant of Buddhism’s mirror of life, such people cannot see themselves as they truly are. This being the case, they cannot guide others along the correct path of life nor can they discern the true nature of occurrences in society.”

We would also like to draw your attention to a new series that we are very happy to present entitled The Wisdom For Creating Happiness And Peace. We hope that our readers will find this series to be both illuminating and inspiring, and as you continue to polish the mirror of your own lives through your Buddhist practice, that happiness and contentment fill your every day!

Skip Williams

Quotes of the Month:

“In commenting on this passage, I have this to say: Shakyamuni taught that the shallow is easy to embrace, but the profound is difficult. To discard the shallow and seek the profound is the way of a person of courage.” (WND1, p.558)