Youth Division Workshop

Cherry Blossom Plum Blossom

President Ikeda, Guidelines for Youth, 1987:

“To illustrate how we should live, observe the plum tree for instance.  With the approach of spring, it is in full bloom with a crisp sense of grace.  Soon, in turn, the cherry blossoms burst to life.  The cherry tree too, expresses its beauty to the utmost degree when the proper time comes.  Likewise, the human being should express his [her] true potential to the fullest extent.  What makes this fundamental action possible?  It is nothing other than your keen awareness of the mission and responsibility for which you were born into this world.”

Objective:

To explore the idea of “mission” and to understand how it relates to both our secular and religious lives.

• what is my mission, what is my purpose?
• why should I care about “my mission”?
• do we all have a mission, even those who do not chant?
• can I change my destiny?
• if I have a mission, then why is life so hard and why do I suffer?
• is my profession my mission?
• what if I have a dream or idea of what I want to become — must it relate to my mission?
• what is the correct attitude to have?
• how do I live up to my true potential?
• how can I find direction and meaning?

 Food For Thought

On Responsibility:

“One who honestly lives up to the mission and responsibility which is his alone will be able to expand his [or her] lifeforce and life condition to the maximum degree – just as the plum and cherry blossoms unfailingly come into full bloom at just the right time.  He [or she] will also gain a deep sense of pride, satisfaction and fulfillment in being able to utilize his [or her] utmost potential in this lifetime.” (President Ikeda, Guidelines for Youth, 1987)

“When we awaken to the great vow of kosen-rufu, that is, when we realize “from the beginning I have been a Buddha,” then even harsh destiny changes into mission.  We are born with suffering just like everyone else.  By always practicing together with the people, we constrict lives of ultimate happiness.  This is the drama of mission that we enact.  (President Ikeda, The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, Volume II, page 177)

“To simply view your suffering as “karma” is backward-looking.  We should have the attitude ”“These are suffering I took on for the sake of my mission.  I vowed to overcome these problems through faith.”  When we understand this principle of “deliberately creating the appropriate karma,” our frame of mind is transformed; what we previously viewed as destiny, we come to see as mission.  There is absolutely no way we cannot overcome suffering that are the result of a vow that we ourselves made.” (President Ikeda, The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, Volume II, pages 208-209)

“It is the Bodhisattvas of the Earth who realize Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as their very life and take on the propagation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as their mission and life’s work.… [I]f we forget that our mission is to propagate and live by the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, we will be unable to carry out the benevolent acts of transient bodhisattvas.  We would become too involved in the pursuit of fame or power, lose control of ourselves in daily life and finally fall into the four evil paths (Hell, Hunger, Animality, and Anger).” (President Ikeda, Selected Lectures on the Gosho, Volume 1, pages 32- 33)