True Freedom
To be sure, true freedom in Buddhism means having a free and unrestrained state of life that no obstacle can destroy. Nichiren Daishonin spread his teaching of universal enlightenment amid relentless persecutions by the ruling authorities of feudal Japan. Yet he…
The Three Kinds of Treasure
The Three Kinds of Treasure It is rare to be born a human being. The number of those endowed with human life is as small as the amount of earth one can place on a fingernail. Life as a human being is hard to…
On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Vol 1 p.3 If you wish to free yourself from the sufferings of birth and death you have endured since time without beginning and to attain without fail unsurpassed enlightenment in this lifetime, you must…
On the Buddha’s Prophecy
Becoming People of True Wealth
World Tribune Feature “Becoming People of True Wealth” Perhaps we’ve even daydreamed a time or two about what we’d do if we received an unexpected inheritance or won the lottery. For those of us not living in sprawling mansions—and even for…
State of Mind
[1] Dr. Lawrence E. Carter, dean of Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, inherited the spirit of [Martin Luther King, Jr. and Benjamin E. Mays] and is also a member of Soka University of America’s Board of Trustees.…
Each of Us Is a Protagonist
Two Kinds of Happiness
Nichiren writes “Single-mindedly chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and urge others to do the same, that will remain as the only memory of your present life in this human world.” (WND-1 p.64)
Joy Is Found In Struggle
“Joy is found in struggle. It is found in the darkness of the crushing breakers and tearing winds of a stormy sea.” ~ Aleksandr Pushkin, Russian poet We Are Each “the Blacksmith of Our Own Happiness” Iron, when heated in…
The Face of Evil in the 21st Century
What do most people envision when they think of evil? A demon with a pitchfork? A large dragon? A fearsome opponent or a monster in someone else’s movie? “Evil” is defined as something “profoundly immoral and wicked,” or in the…