Kosen-Rufu

World Peace Means A Piece of Bread

Swimmy the Bodhisattva Fish

Swimmy - Cartoon On Working Together - All For One and One For All. Alone, they are vulnerable fish, together, in a group with a common cause they are a gigantic fish. This reminds of my Buddhist faith, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, therefore I edited this old 16mm film with a modern touch. We all need to shine together now more than ever. ~~ Eso Terry

Cancer Again? Not With This Lifeforce!

So I'm waiting for the doctor's office to call me about getting a biopsi of this spot on my lung. I am in the Veterans Affairs (VA) medical care, and so it's not a doctor's office I can call and say, "I'm Here Waiting!" Still, I fear not, for I remember what President Josei Todo once said: "When you go to a doctor...Medicine King is your own life, the doctor naturally cannot help but provide a cure (WLS-6, 21)."

In the letter to Ota Jomyo, Nichiren Daishonin writes, "The sutra known as the Lotus Sutra is good medicine for the various ills of body and mind (wnd-2, 747)." It is here the Daishonin teaches that the Mystic Law is the supreme "good medicine" for overcoming the sufferings caused by illness and other disturbances of body and mind (May 2020 World Tribune).

Conversely, being in a healthcare system (the VA) where the doctors, nurses, staff, etc. are worked very hard with too many patients for the system, I remember the wise guidance Ikeda Sensei once gave in his "bodhisattva Medicine King" lecture, where he states that when you chant, the protective life force functions so that even an ordinary doctor naturally provides the right cure (May 2021 LB). In this article, Sensei goes on to say, "In fact, illness is an important and integral part of our experience of being alive -- an indispensable part of our journey to becoming happy and attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime."

In this same article, there is the story of when President Toda scolded the young Ikeda Sensei by saying, "Daisaku! You haven't got an ounce of life force! If your life force is weak, you'll be defeated." President Toda then sat Sensei in front of the Gohonzon and "chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with a force that literally seemed to batter the devil of illness into submission."

Finally, my favorite quote I read over and over, five-years ago when I defeated my first battle with cancer, is the one I'll end here with:

"When you go to a doctor, even if he is incompetent, because Medicine King is functioning in your own life, the doctor naturally cannot help but provide a cure (WLS-6, 21)."

Here is a video of when I came home after having the cancerous tumor successfully removed from an eight-hour surgery by a young surgeon who had never done this surgery before. Yes, Medicine King was alive in my life then, and is still with my faith and chanting powerful daimoku with a lifeforce that will batter this "devil of illness into submission." My Bodhisattva mission is not over yet. I'll be here January 2030 to celebrate the one-hundredth year of the Soka Gakkai. This I am sure of.

~~ Eso Terry

Josei Toda (1900-58)

was an educator, publisher and entrepreneur who, as second president of the , revived the lay Buddhist organization after World War II, building it into a dynamic, popular movement.

Arriving in Tokyo from the northern island of Hokkaido in his early 20s, Toda found a teaching post at the school where was principal. Impressed by Makiguchi’s educational ideals, he soon became his protege. In 1928 he followed Makiguchi in his decision to practise . The two later cofounded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, forerunner of the Soka Gakkai.

As tightened control over society and suppressed dissent, Toda and Makiguchi were arrested and imprisoned in 1943 for opposing the government’s policies. In prison, Toda devoted himself to the practice and study of Nichiren Buddhism, gaining a profound grasp of its principles. His efforts brought him to a clear realization that Buddhahood is a potential inherent in all life, and deepened his confidence that all people could manifest this enlightened life condition through practising Nichiren’s teachings.

On his release from prison at the end of World War II, Toda began to reconstruct the collapsed Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, renaming it the Soka Gakkai (Society for the Creation of Value). Toda taught that through Buddhist practice and inner-motivated change, or “,” all people can change their destiny for the better. This message resonated powerfully among the many people suffering from poverty, illness and other challenges in the chaos of postwar Japan. Moreover, Toda’s unshakable confidence in the power of Nichiren’s philosophy and his ability to translate the profound concepts of Buddhism into practical guidance for daily life re-ignited people’s hope and courage. By the time of his death in 1958 Toda had built an organization of nearly one million members and laid the foundation for the dramatic spread of Nichiren Buddhism in Japan and abroad.

Toda is also remembered for his uncompromising stance against , which he termed an absolute evil that threatens people’s inalienable right to life. He urged the youth members of the Soka Gakkai to work for the abolition of nuclear weapons. This stance, which he declared in 1957, is considered the inspiration for the . In honour of Toda’s ideals, his successor, SGI President , founded the (formerly the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research). The institute brings peace researchers, policy-makers and community activists together on projects related to peace-building and dialogue among civilizations.

My Cancer Diary

So the docs found a new spot on my lungs. It is May 27th, 2026, I've been here before. I'm ready for this. Interesting, it was exactly four years ago on this day that I posted "My Cancer Cure" post on here. In that post I wrote: "We all come into this life with a mission, a reason, and when that reason is done so are we...this is why cancer doesn't matter to me, if I still have a reason to live, the cancer will wait. And as I told you before, the blue Buddha came to me in a dream and so I know I am healing and will stay alive as long as I continue my mission. I am chanting each morning that this body which can create a cancer cell, can heel a cancer cell. Therefore, I chant that the recent spots they found on my lungs are smaller than they were the day before, and that they are not cancerous. I then thank the heavenly deities for providing this. I also pray that the medicine king will bring me the knowledge, doctors, cures, etc., that I need...."

I go into how I eat raw bitter melon, broccoli, and carrots in the morning. I also go into my faith: "The faith I speak of is the Mystic Law which saved my life over a year ago by alarming me to have my lungs checked. I've told you about it before, how while chanting my chest began to hurt which caused me to go to the hospital where they found a cancer spot. It amazed the doctors that I brought it to their attention so early. I had part of my lung removed and have lived another year without cancer. Now, it looks like there are more spots which could be cancerous. I am not sure what I have left, if it is to share with you how my faith has saved me again, or how I know by chanting I am protected and will be here as long as I am needed. Maybe just to share my cure with you, kind reader. The faith I speak of is the Mystic Law. To obtain it all you have to do is chant: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Give it a try.

Japanese Boy, Taro - 1963 Educational Film

This is a film from 1963 I had some fun with. First of all it tells the story of Taro, a boy in the fifth grade. It shows his life in 1963 Japan. I added my cartoon character Kim Zog to do part of the voice over because there was a copyright issue with the music behind the speaker in the original version. I stayed true to him script until Taro visits a shrine with a Buddha in it. This section of the film tells how most people in Japan in 1963 were both Buddhist and Shinto, I added a line about Nichiren in there, informing the viewer of the "correct teachings of Buddha." Can you guess?

Enjoy

~~ Eso Terry

The Similarities Between Daisaku Ikeda and JFK

Cleaning out some of my old film closets, I came across this testimonial by a 1960's politician describing the "humanistic" qualities of President John F. Kennedy. I couldn't help but notice the similarities between JFK and Daisaku Ikeda, the 3rd President of the Soka Gakkai. Watch and I think you'll agree.

~~ Eso Terry

EsoTv