A Youthful Diary by Dr Daisaku Ikeda

One man’s journey from the beginning of faith to worldwide leadership for peace

In 1949, a 21-year-old Daisaku Ikeda began a private diary that would continue for 11 years, until May 1960, shortly after he became the third president of the Soka Gakkai. A Youthful Diary records the day-to-day reflections of this young man struggling with ill health to master the tenets of his newfound faith and develop his own worldview under the tutelage of his mentor in life, Josei Toda, during what became the formative years of the lay Buddhist Soka Gakkai organization in Japan.
In the diary entries Ikeda jots down frustrations as well as aspirations in squarely facing the dramas of life, work, family, faith and friends. Often citing a lesson he gleaned from Toda or from the teachings of Nichiren, the school of Buddhist thought on which the Soka Gakkai bases itself, Ikeda gives frank assessment of his efforts at the grass-roots activities of the organization—something that is never far from but often central to his thoughts—and reveals insights that would inform and shape the Soka Gakkai’s development as a global movement in the ensuing decades.

In May of 1949, when this diary begins, Daisaku Ikeda was twenty-one years old. A year and nine months had passed since he had taken faith in Nichiren Shoshu and joined the Soka Gakkai. Since April of the previous eyar, he had been attending the night school extension of Taise Gakuin (now Fuji Junior College) in the department of economics and political science. In January he had become an employee of the Nihon Shogakkan, a publishing firm owned and managed by Josei Toda, then general director of the Soka Gakkai, who would later become its second president. The young Ikeda was at first assigned to help edit the monthly children’s magazine Boy’s Adventure, and in May became its chief editor. During this period, the Soka Gakkai was still in the first phase of its postwar reconstruction, but had already regained its peak prewar membership of 3000 families. Its study magazine, Daibyakurenge, would soon be inaugurated, in July.

Tuesday, May 31st.

One meets too many hypocrites in this world. Youth specially must revere the truth. He who pursues the truth throughout his life is a great person.
Half a year has passed already since I went to work for Mr Toda’s company. Storm and eventful days. All I can do is steel myself to meet hardships cheerfully. Must advance toward the dawn, never wavering in my conviction, following my lifelong – no, my eternal master.
Finished the July Issue of Boy’s Adventure. My maiden work. I advance in the cultural vanguard, in company with pure-hearted children. Will develop the editing to the limits of my ability, treating it as my dearest friend, or as my lover.

“Fulfill your mission for today” – for by doing so, you will make the future glorious.
Saw a movie at Shimbashi on my way home. Up at 7.00, to bed at 12.00.
Through faith, youth must cultivate a wealth of spirit, a vast tolerance.

Wednesday, June 1: Clear.

"To lie is the basest act in life". But in reality, all live under false pretenses, and truth is lost to expediency. How pitiful!

Must remember to think seriously about my own future and carry through the supreme mission throughout my life. The road to hell and the gallant road of a significant and truthful life - both lie at the feet of youth.

Received guidance and advice from Mr Toda about the logical system of "main point, outline and development" in terms of both work and public relations.

June, month of fresh green and summer breezes, wafting a thousand miles. Must advance without regrets in the time of my passionate youth.

Skipped tonight's lecture on the Lotus Sutra to help Mr Kodaira proofhead the Daibyakurenge. I pray earnestly for the development of the Daibyakurenge, the vanguard of kosenrufu.

My room is so cramped, I feel that I insult the Gohonzon. It makes me quite apologetic. Disrespect for the Gohonzon is the same thing as contempt for ones own life. As soon as possible, I want to enshrine my Gohonzon in a place of dignity.

What a magnificent moon tonight! Without the moon and the stars twinkling above us, how empty and desolate the world would be!
Through faith, youth must cultivate a wealth of spirit, a vast tolerance.

Life demands confidence. Life demands effort. Life demands compassion. To live without confidence is to live without meaning, like a stagnant puddle, never knowing what it means to risk or dare. To live without effort is to go through life relying on cunning, like some despicable and insolent thief. To live without compassion is to be like contemporary scholars and politicians. Men of limelight, masters of seeking their own advantage, ignorant of life's subtle beauty.

Strength and conviction of a life lived confidently. Noble figure of a man of heroic effort, meeting troubles and hardships head on. A man filled with unfathomable mercy and dignity - Mr Toda. How wondrous is the perfection of life!

Thursday, June 2: Clear

Days of youth wet with tears. Through tears, I sense the surge of new power. Through tears, I experience unutterable emotion welling from my innermost heart. Youth, rich in poetry. Youth, who live with passion and effort. Now in the precious moments of youth, I wish to express the pinnacle of art in my art of living.

In literature, in poetry, in music.

I pray that youthful impulse will not lead me to follow the wrong road.

To break through hardships, to fulfill one's purpose in life, to carry out the great task of human salvation - ultimately, there is no other way but to cherish absolute faith in the gohonzon.

I must live always conscious of the supreme mission. Must advance, toward the glorious dawn.

All men strive to impress, and I'm no different.

However, leaders of the future must be men of real capability. Must remember the spirit of our forebears, the men of old.

The times advance, day by day. I want to be someone who can keep pace with that advance - no, who can lead it!

I love children, those new arrivals who will fulfill the future's dreams. I love all my countrymen. I long to embrace and shake hands with everyone, at any time, anywhere, but the rules of society forbid it.

I love the whole human race like a lover. But even if I cry out my love at the top of my voice, they cannot hear me.

People of the world! The time has come to embrace the true religion, to follow the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin.

I strike the golden bell and shatter the silence of the dawn. I drown out the noisy clamor of leaden bells.

In 1949 an economic policy called the "Dodge Line" was enacted to help check runaway inflation. As a result of this ultra-stringent measure, initiated by the general headquarters (GHQ) of the Occupation, the economy did an about-face and entered a rapid deflationary trend. Medium sized and small businesses then went bankrupt one after another. As the ranks of the unemployed swelled, labor disputes broke out nationwide. The Tokyo Federation of Labor Unions held a retaliatory strike on June 2 to protest the death of a participant in a demonstration a few days earlier against the Tokyo Public safety regulations. Unrest continued for some time.

Friday, June 3: Cloudy

Cool since morning. Threatening to rain since afternoon, but none fell.

Busy days, but I grapple squarely with the tasks assigned to me. That gives my work meaning. Even when I'm suffering, I'm truly happy. Must make Mr Toda's company the best in Japan. Must create the finest magazine in the nation.

I am deeply stirred by the growth and struggles of the Gakkai.

Must persuade my father to take faith as soon as possible. I have to fundamentally change my family's destiny. I keenly feel this to be my mission.

Nothing is achieved in life without decisiveness. Am I a coward? Or a young man who will truly carry out religious revolution? In the true spirit of youth, wake up! In the true spirit of youth, Advance!


At night, read the Gosho "On the Teachings Affirmed by All Buddhas Throughout Time." "Scholars of the Latter Day how can you judge Buddhism without reading this? Three principles you should closely study: the sudden teaching (which corresponds to the truth of non-substantiality, the gradual teaching (corresponding to the truth of the Middle Way). These are the three truths revealed in the lifelong teachings of Buddha. He expounded the sudden and gradual teachings for forty-two years, and the perfect teaching for eight. Together they total fifty years. There is no Buddhism apart from these. Why are you confused about this? They are called the three truths while one remains a common mortal; when he attains Buddhahood, they are called the three enlightened properties. These are but two names for a single thing. That which clarifies them is the lifelong teachings of Shakyamuni. When one realizes and manifests their perfect unification with himself, he becomes a Buddha."
Oh, vast motion of a boundless universe! History being endlessly created. People rushing about in confusion, as though imprisoned in a burning house. Lives surrounded by conflict after conflict. Ordered flux of the great cosmos which no human intellect can fathom. Where shall sensitive youth turn for an answer? As I read the Gosho, I tremble with delight. Buddhism, clearly expounding the origin and basis of all, offering true happiness.
Who can doubt it? Here's the ultimate, the guiding principle for all humanity. Politicians, men of letters, scientists! Awake! Believe in the Great Pure Law.

Saturday, June 4. Clear

Progress and revolution involve all forms of opposition. Those who overcome it are worthy to be called youth. Like seeds that endure through winter and sprout from the earth in spring.
Youth! Abandon wishful thinking. Reality is harsh. Youth is the time to advance, to grow, to battle against corruption. A youth is most worthy of respect when advancing earnestly towards a goal. But don't forget to smile. Be cheerful always.
Editorial conference at 2.00pm. Discussed renaming Boys' Adventure. No matter what, somehow, it must become the best boys' magazine in Japan. That is my mission, and the way I can repay Mr. Toda.
Youth division meeting at 6.00. K. and I announced our religion debate to refute the heretical Butsuryo sect. Surprised at our seniors' lack of enthusiasm.
Has my hour finally come to advance on the front line? For the sake of kosenrufu, armed with the Daishonin's supreme philosophy.

Monday, June 6: Cloudy

Exhausted, both mentally and physically. Heavy assignments every day. Youth amid the storm: profound, remote, mysterious. Youth, like the surging strains of Beethoven. Youth, brimming with poetry wildly impassioned as Dante's. Valiant young trees that bear up in the storm. The mysterious beauty of forests lit my ashes of lightening. Same old familiar scent of the earth, though the soil is plowed up again and again. Irrepressible motion of a soul who, even when drenched by rain and buffeted by wind, does not forget remote and timeless beauty. Youth in the storm! Advance, never forgetting the blazing sun soon to rise. Cloudy since morning. We were warned by the chief accountant that we'd better start coming to work earlier to get everything set up. I feel sorry for the female clerks. The gulf between management and labor is glaringly obvious. I wait for the day when employees at every company can work happily together in mutual trust. No, better not wait. We must create it ourselves, with our own hands. Three chapters of the Tokyo Railway Workers' Union went on strike in Meguro, Hiro'o and Yanagishima. The demonstration was against public safety regulations. Days of violence go on and on. Pray, pray. That's all I can do. For kosen-rufu to come even one day sooner. Worked at the office till 9:40. Everyone went home; I stayed on alone. Working hard makes me happy, even if no one sees. Home by 11:20. Its so far to go! Ate a bowl of noodles before bed.

The June 2 strike of the Tokyo Joint Federation of Labor Unions was followed by a two-day strike, on June 10 and 11, of Japan Natinoal Railways Workers. Railway strikes became so widespread that the GHQ had to intervene. In addition, another threat soon became evident. On June 13, in connection with the problems of the return of Japanese prisoners of War from the Soviet Union, hostility between the United States and Russia surfaced at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, and the intensification of the Cold War between East and West began to cast its shadow over Japan.

Tuesday, June 7. Light Rain.

The rainy season seems to have started. A gentle drizzle since morning. Asian people, especially the Japanese, have a strong, poetic feeling for nature. I hope our nation, now recovering from the ravages of war, will never lose. But the reality of it is that the average working people’s nerves are on edge during the rainy season, and emotional outbursts are all too frequent. It’s a shame. I am physically exhausted. I can’t seem to stop oversleeping in the morning. Human Revolution is the goal of faith. Must strive harder. I can feel my body growing stronger year by year. To self-indulgent youths, to suffering senior citizens, to all stubborn-minded people, I must show the true joy of faith, a strong body brimming with ardor and a youthful spirit in a great mission. “Stand up in the cause of justice, and your strength is doubled.” Talked for nearly two hours with the artist Ichiro Ikebe about French politics, art and society. Raining harder towards evening. Read alone in the quiet editorial room. Will study hard. Must not be defeated. Especially must study politics and economics.