불법의 목적은 모든 사람에게 내재한 불성에 대한 존중을 바탕으로, 각자의 잠재력을 꽃피우고 참된평등과 정의가 구현되는 평화로운 사회를 건설하는 데 있다.

(부처는) 어떤 사람도 어떤 생명도 더없이 소중한 존재로서 평등하다고 보는 것입니다. 이 법화경의인간주의야말로 ‘다음의 천 년’에 필요한 ‘우주적 휴머니즘’이라고 나는 확신합니다.

불법은 인간 존엄을 가장 근본에서 밝히는 가르침이다. 우리의 불성은 인간으로서의 삶의 행동 속에서만나타난다. 모든 사람은 평등하고, 모두가 최고로 존귀함을 지닌 존재이며, 누구나 행복할 권리를 갖고 있다.

불법의 목적은 모든 사람에게 내재한 불성에 대한 존중을 바탕으로, 각자의 잠재력을 꽃피우고 참된평등과 정의가 구현되는 평화로운 사회를 건설하는 데 있다.

법화경에는 사악함과 싸우는 정의의 드라마가 있다. 지친 사람을 격려하는 따뜻함이 있다. 두려움을제거하는 용기의 고동이 있다. 삼세를 자유자재로 유희하는 환희의 합창이 있다. 자유의 비상이 있다. 찬란한 빛이 있고 꽃이 있고 숲이 있으며 음악이있고 회화가 있고 영화가 있다. 최고의 심리학이 있고 인생학이 있고 행복학이 있으며 평화학이 있다. 건강의 근본궤도가 있다. 마음이 바뀌면 일체가바뀐다는 우주적 진리에 눈을 뜨게 해 준다.

Now I entrust it to you. You must single-mindedly propagate this Law abroad, causing its benefits to spread far and wide.

Nichiren chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, vowing to make it possible for all [living beings] to attain Buddhahood.

Everything depends on how earnestly one can accept and act on even a single word of the mentor. A true disciple strives to actualize the mentor’s vision—not by mimicking the mentor but by putting into action what the mentor has taught.

Who is capable of broadly preaching the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law?

If one lights a fire for others, one will brighten one’s own way.

When we fully integrate both the practice for ourselves and the practice for others, we get in sync with the rhythm of the universe.

The more we advance in the practice for oneself, the more our practice for others develops. And as our practice for others advances, our practice for oneself deepens.

Our wish is that in future ages we may use our long lives to save living beings.

The Buddha’s preaching of the Law is called the lion’s roar, and the Lotus Sutra is the foremost roar of the lion.

As long as we have faith, there is no difficulty we cannot overcome. The great life force of the lion king wells up in our lives.

When we devote ourselves to the happiness of others, when, of our own free will, we undertake the struggle of a bodhisattva, the immense force of life without beginning or end wells up in our being. The eternal life of the Buddha permeates our being like a rising tide. Then, there is no way that we cannot dramatically change our lives for the better.

The benefits gained by this person will be such that when he is reborn he will be in a place where the Lord Shakra is seated.

What a joy it is for us to have been born in the Latter Day of the Law and to have shared in the propagation of the Lotus Sutra!

When we possess the kind of strong faith where we love the Gohonzon, love chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and love SGI activities, our life overflows with the “benefits of responding with joy.”

At that time in the Buddha’s presence there was a tower adorned with the seven treasures …that rose up out of the earth and stood suspended in the air.

No treasure tower exists other than the figures of the men and women who embrace the Lotus Sutra.

We can attend the eternal Ceremony in the Air here and now. We can cause the treasure tower to shine in our lives, our daily existence, our homes. That is the greatness of faith in the Gohonzon. It is always close at hand and always reflected in our immediate reality.

If after the Buddha has passed into extinction
one can understand the meaning of this sutra,
one will be the eyes of the world
for heavenly and human beings.

Nichiren, who propagates [Nam-myoho-renge-kyo], the heart and core of the Lotus Sutra, throughout the country of Japan—is he not the “eyes of the world for heavenly and human beings”?

The SGI members who are carrying on [Nichiren]’s legacy are the “eyes” of …  the world in the 21st century. Hope for the new century rests with the victory of the SGI. Resolutely defeating all unjust slander, let us cause the great light of justice of the SGI to shine in our communities and throughout the world.

Those who are able to embrace this sutra... Their virtue will be uppermost, immeasurable and boundless as the open sky.

When once we chant Myoho-renge-kyo, with just that single sound we summon forth and manifest the Buddha nature of all Buddhas; all existences; … the sun and moon, and the myriad stars; … human and heavenly beings, and all other living beings. This blessing is immeasurable and boundless.

Human beings are children of the stars, of the universe. Our lives are one with the great life of the universe. The benefit of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is literally the benefit of the entire universe. It is inexhaustible. Limitless.

Single-mindedly desiring to see the Buddha.

Single-mindedly observing the Buddha, concentrating one’s mind on seeing the Buddha, and when looking at one’s own mind, perceiving that it is the Buddha.

The mind of an ordinary person who seeks the Buddha becomes the mind of the Buddha itself.

The heart is what really matters. One simply cannot understand Buddhism without a pure seeking spirit stemming from the depths of one’s heart.

The benefits gained by such a person
are boundless and inexhaustible,
like the vast sky in the ten directions
that no one can set a limit to.

When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo single-mindedly with strong faith, this ordinary body of ours will immediately become the body of the Buddha.

Could there ever be a more wonderful story than your own?

The fundamental teaching of the Lotus Sutra and of the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin is that ordinary people—just as they are—should live, assert themselves, and strive wholeheartedly for happiness while fully expressing their humanity. To do so is to throw oneself completely into the struggle, to stand up against adversity. This is what it means to practice without begrudging one’s life. Apart from this, there is no “living Lotus Sutra.”

His pure light, free of blemish,
is a sun of wisdom dispelling all darkness.
He can quell the wind and fire of misfortune
and everywhere bring light to the world.

There are no living beings that do not possess the true aspect of Buddhahood.

Just as a seed will grow into a great tree with the passage of time, the branches of good fortune and benefit in our lives will thicken and produce abundant flowers and fruit as we continue to practice.

A tree of good fortune and benefit that is thus rooted in the earth of life will not fall over. It stands firm even when buffeted by a fierce storm.

If a person who has an illness is able to hear this sutra, then his illness will be wiped out and he will know neither aging nor death.

“Myo” is the elixir of immortality.

We can develop our lives to the extent that, as we overcome various hardships, we will live each day, each moment, savoring the joy of being alive. This is true health.

To be healthy in body and mind is to live vigorously, dedicated wholeheartedly to accomplishing one’s mission in this existence. It means that, as long as we are alive, even should illness overtake us, we will continue chanting [Nam-myoho-renge-kyo] and telling others about the Mystic Law. It means living fully for our mission throughout eternity. To have such faith is to possess a state of life free from aging and death.

This bodhisattva manifests himself in various different bodies and preaches this sutra for the sake of living beings in various different places.

“Wonderful sound” refers to the unfathomable and wonderful sound made at the present time, in the Latter Day of the Law, when Nichiren and his followers now chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

When we tune and practice the instrument of the self, we cause the wonderful sound of the universe to pulse in our lives; we cause it to reverberate and ring out. Buddhist practice teaches us how to do this.

While we may exert ourselves in different areas, we are all motivated by compassion and humanity. We should burn with a spirit and determination to become the foremost ally of those who are suffering.

This sutra is to be honored
as highest among all sutras.
Constantly I guard and protect it.

If one fails to denounce the enemies of the Lotus Sutra, it will be impossible to attain the way.

The Soka Spirit is the courage to speak out for the sake of truth. We must strive undauntedly to ensure the triumph of justice.

He views human beings with compassionate eyes.
The sea of his accumulated blessings is immeasurable.

It could never come about that the prayers of the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra would go unanswered.

When we take action for kosen-rufu with a selfless spirit, the microcosm of our lives fuses with the macrocosm of the universe and our prayers are answered.

To walk the essential path of humanism throughout life, the path of kosen-rufu, is to lead an unsurpassed existence. Therefore, we need to forge ahead on this path without retreating a single step. There is no need to hold back.