SGI President Ikeda's New Year's Message - January 2000:
Sowing the Seeds of Peace in the Community and the World
New Year's Day 2000
The door of the new century has opened!
In this momentous year we celebrate
the twenty-fifth anniversary of the SGI's founding
and the fortieth anniversary of worldwide kosen-tufu.
The curtain has risen on the start
of a deeply significant history
for the future of humanity and kosen-rufu!
My noble friends who have emerged from the earth,
who with me have scaled
the precipitous peak of the twentieth century
to usher in this brilliant dawn.
let us embark once more
Aiming for the distant peaks of the third millennium,
advancing our movement of hope
in harmonious unity!
The old century was an interplay of darkness and light
created by science, industry, military might and national strength.
The worship of these powers was also a form of culture.
It is known as the "culture of war"
The nAme given to that witch bred the seeds
of countless tragedies.
A transformation from the pursuit of economic profit above all;
respect for human rights and freedom;
rejection of war and violence;
moving from patriarchy to an age of woman;
casting off selfishness
Herein lies the "culture of peace."
We can clear hear
the deep far-reaching reverberations
that indicate the waold is moving
from a culture of war to a culture of peace,
the pure melody of the rushing strem
of the Century of life.
Beyond the ever omre pervasive information age we live in,
the giant form of an ecologial age is visible.
"All things are interconnected"
This is an underlying principle of ecological thought
and also the insight of Buddhism
All life on this blue planet of water
No, the entire universe itself is a single living entity.
Even the most microscopic being is an important part of the whole.
The world is in need of a deeply religious spirit.
Even the macroscopic ideal of peace
is actualized only when it connects with the life of each individual.
Peace is not found in some distant place;
it lies close at hand, in the vibrant sence of fulfillment felt
by each person taking earnest action
for the welare of their community, society and fellow citizens.
By a mystic coincidence,
the United Nation has designated this year
as the International Year for the Culture of Peace,
and next year as the Year of Dialogue among Civilizetions.
Let us recall that appointed gathering in Guam,
the pledge made twenty-five years ago,
on the start of SGI movement!
I called on those present:
"I hope you will dedicate your whole lives
to sowing the seeds of the Mystic Law
for the sake of peace throughout the entire world.
I shall do the same thing."
Let us now, with renewed commitment,
plant in people's hearts
the seeds of trust and friendship,
the seeds of philosophy and happiness,
the seeds of peace!
In our immediate environments,
let us spread gardens of peace,
green and full of flowers,
with deep pryer and patience!
In the global solidarity of such "people's power"
lies the future, lies hope, lies a way forward.
The morning skies of the new millennium
are dyed with the rays of the rising sun
that illuminate the centuries ahead.
Together let us advance afresh!
Tward that brilliant dawn!
toward a future of unsurpassed wisdom and creativity for humankind!
New Year's Day, 2000
To my beloved fellow members
in 128 countries and territories around the world:
I pray for your good health
I pray for your happiness.
I pray that your life's noble mission
will bring you glory and triumph.
With my deepest respect and affection.
Plms pressed together in revence.
Daisaku Ikeda.