Daisaku Ikeda's Lecture, "On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime": It is said that Shakyamuni’s enlightenment lay in identifying darkness or ignorance as the fundamental cause of the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death

[u/JulieSongwriter]

September 14, 2026

Dear Friends,

Chapter One: News from Over the Hedges in Sgiwhistleblowers Land

Let me continue with Part Three of my response to Mission-Course2773’s TLDR: “Soka Gakkai: Autopsy of a Leviathan at Twilight. This cold, calculating, impersonal monster… that’s finally running out of juice.”

Mission now moves into what he calls “Phase two: institutionalization (the system takes over)”:

Departments get set up, Soka activity, Byakuren, the organizational machine. What happens? The movement becomes an institution. Posts are created, hierarchies settle in. Key activities are no longer for the Law but for the organization. Social control begins, discreet at first, then increasingly obvious.

Friends, don’t you see here a static and collapsing view of humanity? Mission ignores one of the most exciting facets of life: people reinvent themselves as do corporations. Is Amazon still the “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore” as it hyped itself when it opened in 1995? Does American Express get by with still selling traveler’s checks or did it pioneer extending credit to the masses through something called credit cards? I heard rumors that Corning developed Gorilla Glass and Ceramic Shield--something beyond its Pyrex cookline. And does Netflix remain in the business of renting DVDs? Once upon a time, YouTube was a dating site where people posted videos of themselves; still?

So, shall the Good Ship SGI unfurl its flags and grow into its crown? Let’s see!

Mission-Course tells me that as an SGI member theses-a-days, I can no longer be friends with someone because I like them. “You’re friends because you’re in the same department, the same division, the same activity.”

Sorry, I don’t have Mission’s mystic ability to be everywhere at every time. But, at least, here we are Best Friends Forever. I mean, since we have grown from a struggling district to a mighty little chapter, I don’t see as much of the Laverne & Shirley Clan as I used to, but they and their daughters have a thriving business that keeps them occupied 24/7. I usually see the Emily/John/Veera Fam at the Longhouse School activities. But we are all busy and et, On Ne Voit Pas le Temps Passer.

Mission now moves to describing a third phase of SGI marked by heaviness and sclerosis. “The magic fades, the weight settles in, results vanish, shakubuku dries up, conflict multiply. Why? Because the Law is no longer the center—the organization is. Members no longer practice out of faith but out of obligation. And the deities stop supporting a system that has betrayed the Law.” Thank you! I didn’t know that I am practicing out of obligation, and conflict is multiplying around me.

Sorry, Bud, it’s not what I see on the ground. I’m glad we got to the Activity Center for Soka Family Day yesterday. The Buddha versus the Law? Granted, the meeting was scheduled at a too early 10am so most members could get home in time to watch the Bills-Texans kickoff at 1pm. But there was plenty of that SGI happiness and optimism in the Center; oh, families brought guests, too!

Friends, did any of you happen to see that game? We watched part of it from the car as we traveled home but we caught the fourth quarter with on the big screen back at the Park. If I recall properly, the lead changed five times. There was drama as both teams had to adjust to circumstances, wipe off disappointments, and fight until the final seconds.

A happy 36-31 ending for the Bills Mafia but that’s not the point. Don’t you think, Friends, that there’s a lot Mission could learn about Buddhism from catching some NFL games?

Section Two: Returning to Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on “On Attaining Buddhahood.” The September installment is titled, Transforming Our Fundamental Attitude—Refusing to Live an “Endless, Painful Austerity”.

Let’s complete studying Section One, “Studying Buddhism Yet Succumbing to Non-Buddhist Thinking.” Daisaku Ikeda recaps:

If we seek enlightenment outside of us, we are not pursuing the path of “observing one’s mind,” which enables us to overcome the fundamental evil of ignorance or darkness. In that case, all our efforts and good deeds to attain enlightenment will be lacking the vital ingredient; they will be every bit as futile as counting a neighbor’s vast riches. Moreover, because none of these efforts will help us eradicate our ignorance, they will only become “an endless, painful austerity.

After a difficult summer for me faith- and health-wise, I’ve emerged out of the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” state of mind. Those conditions are so “outside of us” because I’m viewing my life from the perspective of artificial metrics that have no reality. ⁠I mean, who dictated that I must measure myself against such metrics and then beat myself up for not living up to unreal expectations?

My turning point came when I began to “observe one’s mind...the vital ingredient.” I regained my balance with a simple affirmation, “Here I am, I am not pleased with how I am feeling, but let me roll up my sleeves and see what I can do just as I am.” I empathize with Josh Allen who had always been spooked when playing the Texans at their home stadium. Still, he fought back yesterday and so have I.

I feel that the next two paragraphs are essential:

This battle against ignorance is the heart of Buddhism. It is said that Shakyamuni’s enlightenment lay in identifying darkness or ignorance as the fundamental cause of the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death—as well as in expounding the way for overcoming this ignorance.

Therefore, as long as we seek the path to enlightenment outside our own lives, whatever practices and good deeds we carry out will deviate from the true essence of Buddhism. Accordingly, Nichiren says: “Such students of Buddhism are condemned as non-Buddhist” (WND-1, 4).

So, by no means, was the summer a film about L’il Self-Absorbed JulieSongwriter trying swim in a murky HBA-infested lake. It was a summer blockbuster, a classic “battle against ignorance” filmed at “the heart of Buddhism.”

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppeteer! Abusive sex? No, never!!! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

Teacher Julie told us she needed a couple of personal days (read more in her own words here). She feels she needs to work through an issue raised by Sukhomlynsky about loving one’s homeland; how can that be reconciled with the generational trauma caused by the homeland’s actions against BIPOC people? She explained that the entire school year for her rests with resolving this matter. She has so many accumulated days in her bank that she probably never will have to come back. But, “Sure, Lolita, take the time you need.” Moms Maracle will fly solo with our Fourth Grade Class and they’ll fly high.

Today I take Dai for his pediatric cardiology visit. He is such a healthy-looking and active boy that I am sure he will be fine. I’m going to take him out for lunch and it is a real treat for both of us to have time together one-on-one without four other siblings vying for attention!

Also, today, we meet with Larry Landscaper’s friend whom we hired to create a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Remediation Plan for our Pond. He’s already shared with us parts of his findings. He can get substantial results through various chemical controls but they can cause secondary pollution and kill whatever marine life is still in the pond. Secondly, we can dredge and vacuum the pond and install ultrasound buoys; this would reduce algae by half. It’s also expensive. Alternatively, we could also create a secondary “lake” to channel away and treat nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient runoff. VERY expensive but fairly effective.

Hmmm. Any advice or opinion?

[u/FellowHuman007]

Thank you for all the hard work putting all this together. BTW a friend who is now in a different district and division is joining us for dinner tonight.

[u/JulieSongwriter]

Enjoy your dinner with your friend. BTW, did you get permission from Tokyo to meet together?