Arise, the sun of the century
On the thirtieth anniversary of the kosen-rufu movement in America
America! Oh America!
Nurturing endless dreams
of myriads of people,
awakening their frontier spirit,
you are the New World of rainbows,
you are the great land of freedom.
America! Oh giant America!
As the century draws to a close
and the shadows of anxiety deepen,
you are the protagonist and producer
of the drama of world history—
the drama of incessant change.
Your powerful vigor will determine
the destiny of our precious oasis—
our spaceship Earth.
The limitlessness of freedom,
the rhythms of harmonious collaboration,
the richness of democratic experience
and the refreshing spirit of pioneering;
the conviction in autonomy,
the unbounded space,
and the vitality of the people united.
I see those varied and colorful images:
Songs in praise of America
—indeed, of all humanity—
revolve like a kaleidoscope,
deep in my mind.
Since my youth, years ago,
Emerson and Whitman have been
my constant companions.
We have talked together—a dialogue of the heart.
The land they so loved and took pride in,
the land I too longed for,
this haven of hope—America!
Although signs of malaise
can be seen here and there,
your latent energy
like bubbling magma
only awaits the moment of eruption.
Oh my beloved ones!
My precious friends!
Bound by some unfathomable connection
you have come together
a throng of champions, hundreds of thousands strong,
emerging from the earth in solemn dignity.
The curtain rises
announcing the long-awaited start
of a grand drama,
enacted under the banner of human dignity.
The morning bell sounds high and loud
heralding the arrival of a new renaissance.
Ah, some thirty years have passed
since one youth arrived
in this unfamiliar land
where so few embraced the Mystic Law.
Moved by a powerful karmic bond,
he burned with the mission
to cultivate and to accomplish
the noble task of kosen-rufu.
I also trained and encouraged another youth
to set off for those shores.
Together they cherished
the fervent pledge
to dedicate their lives to America
until they became its soil.
Along with many others,
they stood up and forged on
along the treacherous path
bravely opening the way for the Mystic Law.
Seeking to respond to the brave struggles
of my dear friends,
in the autumn of 1960
I took the first step in my travels for peace
in this great land of America—
where all the world’s diverse races
are represented.
Twenty-seven years have passed since then.
So many friends were at a loss
in this vast and unfamiliar land,
sick with loneliness
and weeping at the harshness of their destiny.
I summoned the last reserves of my strength
in order to kindle
the flame of courage and happiness
in their dark and sunken hearts.
Time flies like an arrow.
In the intervening quarter-century
I have returned more than twenty times
to this American land.
My friends’ faces blossomed in smiles
and small yet precious seeds of propagation
began to sprout;
it is the pioneering fathers and mothers
—the mothers above all—
who with sweat and tears and joy and hope
wrote the history of the early stages of kosen-rufu;
and now, in this land
hundreds of thousands of Treasure Towers stand tall.
In praise of the mothers who toiled so tirelessly
across the great land in the early days of propagation,
the Statue of SGI-USA Pioneers
stands on a scenic hill in Hawaii,
overlooking the Pacific under the brilliant sunshine.
Thus the great river of your glorious history has unfolded,
and waves of compassionate action
to spread the Mystic Law
throughout this land of America
continue to rise.
In order to create a new American history,
my dear friends,
resolve to be people of trustworthiness.
Descendants of the proud forebears
who transformed the pristine land
into a great continent of civilization,
you are bright with optimism.
With unswerving frontier spirit,
your minds are always open to the future.
From its inception, this country
has been a land of genuine freedom.
Filled with the spirit
of democracy and broad-mindedness,
the citizens are linked in comradeship,
and warm goodwill binds you all.
By drawing forth and illuminating
these characteristics of the American heart,
you, as believers of unwavering faith,
participate in the community as model citizens,
the rhythms of your lives unseparated from society.
My precious friends who are to open the road
into the future,
throughout your entire lifetime
always hold firm to this course
in which faith finds expression in daily life.
It is through the certain steps we take in daily life
that a magnificent future
of peace and kosen-rufu
is brought closer.
It is the light of your humanity
that gives it its brilliance.
Do not forget that Buddhism is reflected
in life, living and society.
Take compassionate action for others;
manifest proof as a person valued at work;
be the foundation for happiness and harmony at home
and the light of good sense in society.
Nothing is more persuasive than trust,
nothing more far-reaching in its effects;
the true meaning of our faith
is revealed
in our behavior as human beings.
Since this is so, strive to merit
the praise of others as trusted persons
and models of good citizenship.
Behold the soaring Rockies,
eternal and imposing,
ranged against the skies in dignity,
just as trustworthy individuals
remain unshaken in the midst of howling gales.
My friends,
construct mountain ranges of trust
that like the Rockies
will rise high into the sky and stay unshaken,
a majestic sweep of capable people.
Armed with a philosophy
that comports with the latest developments
of scientific civilization,
possessing a fresh perspective on the future,
resolve to write the new history of America
as people of persistence.
Only with the will, unyielding and indomitable,
to continue to make effort after painstaking effort
can we construct
a tranquil and illuminated realm
where peace and happiness prevail.
Be aware that without
the perseverance to continue,
past glories and achievements and labors
—no matter how great—
will all come to naught.
The greatest quantity
when multiplied by zero
results only in zero.
Buddhism is reason;
thus Nichiren Daishonin states,
“Fire can at once
reduce even a thousand-year-old field
of pampas grass to ashes.”
Never succumb
to the merciless winds of tribulation
or to obstacles and adversity.
Advance along this road
with persistence, patience and perseverance,
for this is the path you yourselves have chosen.
Continue to advance
like the mighty Mississippi
flowing ceaselessly along its course
day and night—
in the biting cold of winter,
in the spring when the butterflies dance,
in the burning hot summer,
and in the autumn of the harvest,
always brimming with conviction and contentment.
There is faith like fire
that flares up violently
only to quickly fade and disappear.
And there is faith like flowing water
that continues with calm persistence.
Ours must be faith like flowing water,
ceaseless, knowing no end,
washing away the banks of stagnation and languor.
It must be a vast, eternal river
flowing on to reach the great sea
that is its one and only destination.
There is strength in persistence
and in the accumulation of efforts.
Never forget that it is only
through tireless, devoted exertion
that our faith shines with true brilliance
and a life of enduring happiness is realized.
You are the Minutemen of the Mystic Law,
the Whitmans of kosen-rufu,
shouldering the responsibility
to ensure the development
of the next chapter of worldwide kosen-rufu.
As the first step toward this,
resolve to write a new chapter
in the history of America, your home,
as people filled with a spirit of forward thinking.
It was forward-thinking people
who brought forth
from the immensity of the prairies,
from the boundless frontier,
the luster of culture
and the fresh breezes of civilization.
The minds of forward-thinking people
never stagnate,
for they single-mindedly seek
the radiance of truth and wisdom.
The eyes of forward-thinking people
are free from all shadows,
for they never lose sight
of the distant rainbow of hope.
The hearts of forward-thinking people
know no hesitation,
for taking the initiative to act
is our supreme honor.
The history of America
is one of ceaseless advance.
In search of a new world,
filled with hope for an abundant harvest,
people cultivated the land
never letting up.
The pioneer spirit that drove one advance after the next:
this is your eternal pride—
for the pioneer spirit is nothing other
than the spirit of forward thinking.
For years since my youth
I have cherished the maxim
“Renew yourself, day by day;
each new day, renew yourself.”
Thus have I forged on with all my might.
Filled with satisfaction for this day
and determination for the next,
today and tomorrow, consistently,
let us climb the hill of progress and development.
The spirit of forward thinking
is another name for a seeking mind.
For this reason, my friends,
never neglect the source of energy
that nurtures and sustains progress.
Never neglect this source
—the essential practice of gongyo and daimoku—
morning and evening,
sitting upright, reciting and chanting sonorously.
Never neglect to call forth
boundless, endless joy.
Let trustworthiness, persistence and forward thinking
be the badges of honor you wear,
valiant ones fighting for the happiness of this vast land of
America.
Embracing a clear and unfailing philosophy
of life and humanity,
deeply cultivate the frontiers of transience
to bring into being a land of enduring happiness
filled with blooming flowers and fruit-bearing trees.
For this is the magnificent crown
of courageous fighters for kosen-rufu.
I call on you, every one of you!
You who will water and enrich the arid earth
with the Mystic Law,
you who will determine the future of kosen-rufu,
it is you who hold the key to the future
of our faith as a world religion.
You are the true champions, who,
with deep and firm determination,
will shine forth in the splendid history
of worldwide kosen-rufu.
Walt Whitman writes:
O soul, repressless, I with thee and thou with me,
Thy circumnavigation of the world begin,
Of man, the voyage of his mind’s return,
To reason’s early paradise…
How profound and strong our karmic ties!
For we also are aware
of what the great poet sought:
the early paradise
is nothing but the Buddha land
that knows no decline;
it is nothing but the treasure land
that knows no dissolution.
For that cause we stand tall.
A single wave summons a second;
the second, a third;
and the third inevitably
brings countless waves to follow.
With this firm conviction we each rise up,
taking up the challenge
of transforming the tenets of the heart,
to realize a peaceful society.
Behold, at this moment,
the magnificent sun rises,
tinting the surface of the Rockies vermilion,
cherishing the great prairies of Colorado
in its golden embrace,
turning the waters of the Mississippi crimson,
and casting the morning rays of hope
through the windows of Manhattan high-rises.
My beloved friends
who cherish splendid dreams!
A new dawn of kosen-rufu in America has come.
The gateway to our journey
into a future filled with infinite possibility
has opened.
Gallant pioneers of the Mystic Law,
courageous fighters for peace!
It is time to set out!
It is time to embark!
Toll the bell high and loud, again and again!
It is the bell of departure!
It is the bell of daybreak!
It is the bell of happiness!
Let us aim for the summit of enduring happiness
in the new century
shining beyond the vast prairies.
This day, this very morning,
with lofty pride and profound conviction
we have set out on our voyage,
a fresh beginning.
Malibu Training Center
February 26, 1987
Written for SGI members in the United States and presented at a commemorative meeting in Los Angeles.
“Fire can at once”: Nichiren, The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 636.
Minutemen: members of colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. The author often praised their rapid response to danger as a model to the Soka Gakkai youth.
“O soul, repressless”: Whitman, “Passage to India” in Leaves of Grass, p. 537.