My friend, never fail
We must have high ambitions and dreams
Persevere, persevere and keep persevering
Don’t ever forget the promises that we’ve made
Do have young high spirit in our hearts
Do strive bravely and keep moving forward

My friend! Don’t forget to smile
I believe the pureness in you
Achieving dreams and keep moving forward
Have a kind and sincere heart
Ah! My friend, you must be strong
You are my friend

-Ikeda Sensei


This is a poem I would like to share with you all very much. You wouldn’t imagine how much Sensei loves this poem. But how many of us really appreciates or realize the poems that Sensei had written to us? This poem is really easy to understand either for kids or for encouragement to yourself and to share with friends.

This poem is about how much our mentor had hope and faith on us. The most important is that did we realize any of that before? In the past we once promised that the determination of mentor and disciple. In the present now, have we achieved it yet? I suppose you might not have the images of that anymore. The year 2009 had passed so quickly without us realizing it. Are we now still that strong in faith? Life is like a competition. Its either you’re the winner or the loser everyday. Because of that, we cannot be easily give up or just stop there.

Kaneko Ikeda once said that “We may not win every time, but it shouldn’t mean that we should give up or back out. We cannot just lose easily!” do you still remember the times where you thought that you presented badly in a presentation? And you felt terrible and upset? From my own experience, my feeling went from totally excited to totally down and desperate. At that desperate moment, my leader had used the same encouragement words to me that Kaneko Ikeda had said. I was so touched and I was able to remember it till today. It’s true that we might not get the #1 spot in every running competition, but however, it doesn’t means that we should give up. We cannot give up! No matter how many difficulties that you might face, you must be brave to overcome obstacles or weaknesses.

Besides that, Ikeda Sensei had thought of us to be his partner to strive together for the path of Kosen-Rufu. We should apply this principle in our lives with our members too. The members themselves can feel it if treat them full heartily or not. When they realize it, they will obviously pay gratitude to you. So, no matter how many hardships or obstacles you faced, you should never feel threaten or to give up! Always keep moving forward!

Labels: e. Words of mentor