GUIDANCE ON FAMILY DISCORD

GUIDANCE ON FAMILY DISCORD

In his speech at the Kagawa Prefecture Women’s Division General Meeting, Shin’ichi Yamamoto (President Ikeda) touched on the subject of family discord.

“Family discord and communication breakdown between parents and children,” he said, “are not recent developments, but problems that people have suffered over since the beginning of time. I am sure that there are those who, even though they practice the Daishonin’s Buddhism, have challenging relationships with their sons or daughters, or with their daughter-in-laws, or perhaps with their spouses.

“In the end, the only way to heal these rifts in human relationships is through our Buddhist practice—that is, through expanding our life condition, changing inside, and carrying out our human revolution based on faith.

“Our parents, partners, siblings, and children are all part of the environment in which we find ourselves, and we are bound to them through karmic ties. We cannot escape from our reality.

“What are we to do, then? Instead of blaming our relationship problems on others, we can decide to change ourselves. For example, if a mother carries out her human revolution and her children begin to think she’s the best mother, then their whole attitude toward her will change and they’ll treat her with greater kindness. The same is true of our relationships with our partners.

“If we continually blame our children or partner, without reflecting on ourselves and striving to carry out our own human revolution, then we will never break through our situation. 

Nichiren Daishonin writes: ‘There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds’ (WND-1, 4). It is important for us to look at our situations from the perspective of Buddhism.

“Whether our home and family relationships move in the direction of harmony and become a ‘pure land,’ or end up more strained and unpleasant, becoming an ‘impure land,’ all depends on our inner determination.

“Chant daimoku earnestly to polish your character and cultivate a big, kind heart to warmly embrace your family, a strong invincible spirit, and rich wisdom. Bringing flowers of happiness to bloom in your families will become a powerful force for advancing kosen-rufu in your community.”

Source: SGI Newsletter No. 8872, The New Human Revolution--Vol. 26: Chap. 3, Valiant Leaders