My deepest gratitude to every SGS member for your great efforts in the August four division discussion meetings by reaching out to one more person, which resulted in a breakthrough in the number of attendees. There were not only new friends including non-practising family members who joined us for the first time, but also longtime inactive members who reconnected with us.
Most importantly, the discussion meetings held were all filled with joy, inspiration and hope, living up to Ikeda Sensei’s words that Soka Gakkai discussion meetings are oases of happiness.
The 1.2 billion daimoku chanted by all the members this year with fervent prayers for the advancement of Singapore kosen-rufu is definitely the impetus for this progress.
In our faith and practice of Nichiren Buddhism, everything begins with prayer — such as challenging our karma, striving in our human revolution, and connecting another person to Nichiren Buddhism to advance kosen-rufu. It is the driving force for our practice for oneself and others. If we lose sight of prayer, it will be very hard to transform our lives.
Our concept of prayer differs from that in many other faith traditions, where prayer generally involves making requests to, seeking intervention from, or appealing for salvation from a divine or higher power. If we offer prayers to the Gohonzon with this same mindset, treating our prayer as a request for help or intervention from an external power, we would have deviated from the correct path of our Buddhist practice.
Ikeda Sensei states in his guidance:
“Prayer is the courage to persevere. It is the struggle to overcome our own weakness and lack of confidence in ourselves. It is the act of impressing in the very depths of our being the conviction that we can change the situation without fail.”
Thus, prayer in Nichiren Buddhism is an expression of one’s resolve and determination in breaking through a situation, opening up a new path or achieving a goal by revealing the innate Buddha nature within one’s life that is filled with wisdom, life force and courage.
Nichiren Daishonin writes: “The prayers offered by a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra will be answered just as an echo answers a sound, as a shadow follows a form, as the reflection of the moon appears in clear water, as a mirror collects dewdrops, as a magnet attracts iron, as amber attracts particles of dust, or as a clear mirror reflects the colour of an object.” (WND-1, p. 340)
Ikeda Sensei explains: “In Nichiren Buddhism, it is said that no prayer goes unanswered. But this is very different from having every wish instantly gratified as if by magic. … Nonetheless, viewed from a deeper, longer-term perspective, all your prayers serve to propel you in the direction of happiness. Sometimes our immediate prayers are realised, and sometimes they aren’t. When we look back later, however, we can say with absolute conviction that everything turned out for the best. Buddhism accords with reason. Our faith is manifested in our daily lives, in our actual circumstances. Our prayers cannot be answered if we fail to make efforts to realise them.”
Prayer is a powerful, unyielding conviction. And prayer must become manifested through action. In other words, if our prayers are in earnest, they will definitely give rise to action. Ultimately, Ikeda Sensei teaches, “To win in life, we need determination and prayer, effort and ingenuity.”
