Learning from the Founder’s Writings

On November 15, we celebrate the centennial of Founder Niwano’s birth. On October 4, we observed the anniversary of the founder’s entrance into nirvana, which gave us the opportunity to revisit the footprints of the founder, who walked the great Way toward world peace through interreligious cooperation.
　　　　　Being born and dying are phenomena that occur to all living beings. In other words, birth and death are the working and functioning of eternal Life. We can perceive that this is the Truth that operates throughout the three periods of past, present, and future.
　　　　　Founder Niwano experienced birth and death with his physical body; with his dying, he made us realize that all living beings are imbued with eternal Life (Dharma), and by his birth, he made us aware of the wonder and preciousness of being caused to live as human beings in the world of impermanence.
　　　　It was the founder’ wish to realize the spirit of the One Vehicle, represented by his words “Since we are all passengers in the same vehicle, let us recognize and cooperate with one another with a generous heart,” and therefore, with kindness and consideration, he guided us to a life full of purpose and peace of mind.
　　　　Although the founder entered nirvana, he continues to live with us through eternal Life, or the Dharma-body, and in our practice of sincerely seeking the Way we can perceive what the founder wished for and sought.
　　　　Among Rissho Kosei-kai members today there are some people who did not directly know the founder. However, just as Shakyamuni’s teachings have been transmitted by many Buddhist clerics continuing down to the present day, we can come into contact with the mind of the founder, who sought the true spirit of Shakyamuni, by repeatedly studying his writings.

Seeing Things in a New Way

The educator Nobuzo Mori (1896?1992) told us “If a teacher is not himself inspired, then he will not pass anything on to his students.” This means that nothings is of any use to us unless we learn from our own experience, observing with our own eyes and thinking with a critical mind at all times.
　　　　After we have experienced worries and suffering, we reach a state of mind of truly seeking. We are then ready to see things in a new and different way and to become deeply involved in life. This is because earnest thoughts of being saved, of being freed from the bonds of suffering naturally make us serious.
　　　For instance, people who pessimistically think that they can change nothing by themselves, through reading the founder’s writings realize “birth by aspiration.” That is, that they were born due to the wish to bring salvation to all living beings and to ensure their happiness. They are then overwhelmed by a new joy that springs up from deep in their hearts.
　　　Let us continue to advance spiritually with all our hearts, so that each of us becomes a thoughtful human being through deep study and understanding of the Dharma, thus repaying the debt of gratitude we owe to the founder, who spared nothing in his efforts to bring salvation to people.