Protecting the World of Faith

The Justice Chronicle, provided by Soka Gakkai International-USA, is a free monthly e-mail in support of the Soka Spirit movement. Soka Spirit is the SGI's educational effort to create value and deepen our understanding of Nichiren Buddhism through increased awareness of issues surrounding the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood and the spiritual foundation of the SGI movement.

1) DEDICATE YOUR LIFE TO YOUR MISSION

This is an excerpt from a speech SGI President Ikeda gave at the Eighth Friendship and Culture Festival for the staff of the Soka Gakkai Headquarters and affiliated organizations and their families, held in the main gymnasium of Soka University, Tokyo, Oct. 1, 1989. It originally appeared in the February 1990 issue of the Seikyo Times.

PROTECTING THE PURE WORLD OF FAITH

Congratulations on holding this Eighth Friendship and Culture Festival. I am delighted, as you too so obviously are, that we have been favored by such beautiful autumn weather today.

It is thanks to the support of the Soka family that the headquarters of the kosen-rufu movement remains solid and the path to the global stage is being steadily opened. How overjoyed Nichiren Daishonin and Nikko Shonin would be if they could see all of you precious members gathered here like this, brimming over with joy, sharing this enjoyable and very meaningful time together. Every day I pray for the health, safety, longevity and happiness of each one of you.

Normally the appropriate thing to do following energetic sports competitions, such as have been held here today, would be to keep the speeches short and allow you to go home as early as possible. However, since we rarely have occasion to gather together, I would like to use this valuable opportunity to make an appeal of the spirit to you all.

In particular, I would like to talk about the need for us to strive together to eliminate impurities in order to protect the pure world of faith. The greater the degree of purity existing in any group or body, the greater the disorder that is caused by even the slightest impurity. For this reason we must thoroughly fight against impurities that pollute the world of faith and eliminate them. If not, they may become a cause for destroying our movement to achieve kosen-rufu.

In the sphere of advanced technology, revolutionary breakthroughs have been made possible largely thanks to research and techniques for achieving the near-perfect purity of particular substances. One such case is that of the semi-conductor, which has been dubbed the greatest invention of the 20th century. Semiconductor technology is applied to a wide range of electronic goods, including computers, calculators, watches, television sets and radios. It would be hard to imagine life today without semiconductors. So what exactly is a semiconductor?

To begin with, all materials can be generally divided into two groups: those that are good carriers of electricity, or conductors; and those that are extremely poor carriers of electricity, or insulators. A semiconductor is a material possessing characteristics that fall somewhere between these two. It is this special characteristic that makes semiconductors ideally suited for controlling the flow of electricity, and hence an essential element in the production of advanced electronic equipment.

The first practical application of semiconductors was in the form of the transistor, developed around 40 years ago. One of the prerequisites for transistor technology is that the material used requires an extremely high degree of purity. In order to make tiny transistors, it is necessary to thoroughly remove all the impurities from the base materials of germanium and silicon, refining them to a 99.9999999 percent degree of purity -- that is to say, as close as possible to 100 percent purity.

This requirement spawned the development of technology for achieving ultrahigh levels of purity, of up to 11 nines after the decimal point, giving rise to terms such as en-nine or eleven-nine purity. This development made possible the rapid advance of semiconductor-processing technology, which has become the cornerstone of today's thriving electronics industry.

The painstaking process of removing impurities from the material, repeated time and again, was what ultimately made it possible for the exceptional power of the semiconductor to be revealed.

The inherent potential and power of metals are also displayed to the fullest when they are refined to a high degree of purity. For example, steel becomes markedly more rust-resistant as its impurities are removed and the degree of purity increases.

There are relics such as beautiful swords or pillars which, after some one to one-and-a-half millennia, continue to emit a beautiful gleam, completely untarnished by rust. One of the main reasons for their durability is the fact that steel of an extremely high degree of purity was used in their manufacture. The high level of refining technology that was possessed by people of ancient times is astonishing.

One famous passage from Nichiren Daishonin's writings states, A single crab leg will ruin a thousand pots of lacquer (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 747). Similarly, in terms of faith, be it with regard to individuals or to our organization, we cannot permit the influx of the slightest impurity. The reason is that if this were to happen, the world of faith, as a whole, would become sullied and, before long, it would degenerate into a state of corruption and ruin. By fighting the impurities of our mind and working constantly to raise the purity of our faith, we can boundlessly increase our good fortune and further accelerate the momentum of the kosen-rufu movement.

Part one in a series.

2) REFUTING THE PILGRIMAGE OF NICHIREN SHOSHU: SELECTED PASSAGES FROM NICHIREN DAISHONIN'S WRITINGS

This article appeared in the June issue of Living Buddhism.

FAITH TRANSCENDING THE DISTANCE

Even though I cannot see you, I am certain that your heart is here. If you find that you miss me, always look at the sun that rises [in the morning] and the moon that rises in the evening. Whatever the time, I will be reflected in the sun and the moon. (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 596)

Though you remain in Sado, your heart has come to this province. The way of attaining Buddhahood is just like this. Though we live in the impure land, our hearts reside in the pure land of Eagle Peak. Merely seeing each other's face would in itself be insignificant. It is the heart that is important. (WND, 949)

PROTECTING THE LAW, REFUTING SLANDER

Always be determined to denounce slander against the correct teaching to the best of your ability. (WND, 626)

Only by defeating a powerful enemy can one prove one's real strength. When an evil ruler in consort with priests of erroneous teachings tries to destroy the correct teaching and do away with a man of wisdom, those with the heart of a lion king are sure to attain Buddhahood. Like Nichiren, for example. (WND, 302)

Usually these sufferings appear one at a time, on into the boundless future, but Nichiren has denounced the enemies of the Lotus Sutra so severely that all eight have descended at once.... This is what the sutra means when it states, 'It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law.' (WND, 305)

If we hope to bring order and tranquility to the world without further delay, we must put an end to these slanders of the Law that fill the country. (WND, 22)

To hope to attain Buddhahood without speaking out against slander is as futile as trying to find water in the midst of fire or fire in the midst of water. (WND, 747)

Though a person may do good, in the course of doing a single good deed he accumulates 10 evil ones, so that in the end, for the sake of a small good, he commits great evil. And yet, in his heart, he prides himself on having practiced great good -- such are the times we live in. (WND, 68-69)

Part 1 of 2

SOKA SPIRIT IN THE PUBLICATIONS

This section highlights articles published in the World Tribune and Living Buddhism related to the Soka Spirit movement.

Sept. 13 World Tribune, Seize the Day, page A: In Great Good Follows: Northeastern Zone Youth Respond to Sept. 11, Northeastern Zone's Young Women's Leader Beatrice Lopez and Young Men's Leader Ken Nakagawa describe how the youth of that zone responded to Sept. 11, 2001, by deepening their understanding of and efforts for the Soka Spirit movement.