Sensei Ikeda Has Died

I received this email today from a district member.

> Daisaku Ikeda, Honorary President of the Soka Gakkai and President of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), passed away from natural causes at his residence in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on the evening of November 15. He was ninety-five. A funeral has been held with members of his immediate family; the time and date of commemorative services will be announced shortly.

> Ikeda was born in Tokyo on January 2, 1928. He was inaugurated as third President of the Soka Gakkai in 1960 and for almost two decades led the lay Buddhist movement in dynamic growth that also saw important international development. He became Soka Gakkai International (SGI) President in 1975 and Soka Gakkai Honorary President in 1979. He is survived by his wife Kaneko and his sons Hiromasa and Takahiro.

The subject of the email was 'Sad news about Sensei'. I had been wondering for some time when Sensei might pass. Aside from his age, something inside me felt like it might be imminent. Who knows.

When I got the news, I was inclined to go about my day as if nothing had changed. This is just a person on the far side of the globe, right? It has no real effect on me. And so on.I'm pretty new to practising faith, and I guess this false sense of aloofness from the world is still a natural habit for me.

But it isn't true. As the hours have passed, I feel a subtle injury. I feel strangely disoriented. I've read and discussed so many of Sensei's writings, and I've felt myself internally agree and disagree with him; I've been at different times buoyed, challenged and upset with his words.

When I first attended SGI meetings, I felt a strong suspicion that it might be the Cult Of Daisaku Ikeda. Indeed, if you search for "SGI Cult" online, you'll find no shortage of material.

But my experience has been quite the opposite. I rarely hear Sensei mentioned outside of a specific lesson or challenge. Almost all of Sensei's writings look to his own mentors for guidance; he feels like a strong connector of past, present, and future.

I didn't expect to be affected, but I am. Today I will chant for him, and for us.

When I read the news, I had an image of Sensei passing away in a state of durable happiness, and with a strong conviction to come back to face life joyously again. Whether that happens or not is a question of the universe, but it's what I felt inside me.

Thank you to Sensei Ikeda, and to Senseis Toda and Makiguchi before him. They lived lives of hope in motion, and I have the great fortune to have experienced their positive influence from all the way across the world, through the connections of all the people they impacted for the better.