Josei Toda

1. Be that kind of person. Are you a person that has little ego or commits to selfless behavior for the betterment of the human race? Have you thrown yourself away from this seductive world? To be a spiritual leader it means saying "NO!" to the flesh and saying "Yes!" to Humanity, God, Allah, Yahweh, Dharma, Qi, the Buddha nature and the other spiritual realms which envelope us each and every day.

2. Have a great idea. You need a plan, a system, a manifesto, a mission. Write it down. It can be a book, an unpublished manuscript, an essay, a drawing, a diary, a couple of poems, a draft for a constitution, or just a few lines of your thought. Something! Think about Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. Your idea will become the genius sitting on your shoulder and attending your actions; it's your guiding spirit, your talisman, and your protector. Having it will forever distract the critic's eye away from your over-the-top personality toward that genius.

This paper begins by examining domination as something human beings have “inherited" through recursive processes that can potentially be altered through creation and implementation of new myths. Applying Riane Eisler's model of "hierarchies of actualization" to the concept of egalitarian mentorship and mutual empowerment (based on giving and caring), there follows a discussion on how when such ethical considerations are present, creativity flourishes as do conviction and human capacity. Driven by a heightened sense of mission toward the happiness of humanity as taught by exemplary mentors, human beings become more capable of inspiring and enhancing their own lives and those of others. Exploring the partnership template in my own daily life, I conclude with how I see myself modeling partnership in the future. Examining my own lived-embodied experience and how it has brought me to value life as well as discover in music and my voice a powerful vehicle for delivering my message, I propose to contribute to an evolutionary consciousness that can ultimately transform myths of fear and domination to myths of life and partnership.

Humanity is on the threshold of recognizing the fundamental error in its view of life and death. Both death as well as active life is necessary to the vital formation of a larger, more essential whole. In this paper, I apply the sociology of knowledge and change as it pertains to death and focus on ways in which we can step outside its traditional frameworks and limitations. I also discuss topics related to death such as birth, aging, sickness, and war, and examine cultural differences in attitudes toward death. I offer varying perspectives including the Buddhist view and from these draw implications and conclusions. I apply the lenses of contemporary social scientists such as Edgar Morin, Kenneth Gergen, Edward Stewart, Milton Bennett, Mary Catherine Bateson, E. Doyle McCarthy, Philip Slater, and Piotr Sztompka. To these I add other relevant passages from the writings and speeches of key thinkers on the topic of death, in particular, Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, and educator, Daisaku Ikeda. To construct a more humanistic and sustainable view of life, it is first of all crucial to establish a culture which perceives death in its larger living context as but one cycle in the expansive eternity of life.

This is an English translation of the article published in Spanish in Cuadernos del Institute Ikeda based at Universidad de Alcalá in Spain (original article available at https://institutoikeda.ediciones-civilizacionglobal.com/article/la-actitud-del-maestro/). The past decade has witnessed dramatic developments, especially in the Anglophone scholarship, in the global field of Ikeda/Soka studies in education. This field engages with works of Daisaku Ikeda (b.1928) and those of his forerunners Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944) and Josei Toda (1900-1958), who coined the Japanese neologism 'sōka,' meaning 'value creation.' Synthesizing key texts from the Anglophone literature, the article here introduces the Spanish-speaking field to the role of teacher attitude in the work of these renowned Japanese educators, especially within their approach of value-creating education. In it, teacher attitude is seen to play a fundamental role, which determines the end of education. More specifically, it outlines four components: 1) guiding student learning; 2) finding genuine interest in students' well-being; 3) believing in students' potential; and 4) engaging in continuous learning and mutual growth. Based on analyses of Makiguchi's and Ikeda's ideas relative to those of John Dewey, the article also proposes the necessity of teachers' self-reflection as a fifth component and original contribution to this rapidly emerging field of Ikeda/Soka studies in education.

Humanity is on the threshold of recognizing the fundamental error in its view on life and death. Both death as well as active life is necessary to the vital formation of a larger, more essential whole. Now, with clear, pragmatic ideas, applying an analysis of the sociology of knowledge and change as it pertains to matters of life and death, Carol Simpson focuses on ways in which we can step outside death’s traditional frameworks and limitations. Discussing death as well as topics related to death, such as birth, aging, the elderly and war, Simpson examines cultural differences and attitudes and offers varying perspectives including the Buddhist view, drawing sophisticated and compelling implications and conclusions. She applies the lenses of eight key contemporary social scientists: Edgar Morin, Kenneth Gergen, Edward Stewart and Milton Bennett, Mary Catherine Bateson, Edith Doyle McCarthy, Philip Slater, and Piotr Sztompka, adding the perspective of Buddhism’s Lotus Sutra as posited by Shakyamuni, Nichiren, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda, and especially contemporary Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, educator and poet, Daisaku Ikeda. Simpson, like Ikeda, concludes that to construct a more humanistic and sustainable view of life, it is first of all crucial to establish a culture which correctly positions death in its larger living context and which assigns as its essential component an awareness of the all encompassing eternity of life.