Gandhiji wrote that people might say that he’s dreaming when he tells them that he’s going to achieve independence through peaceful means. From the general perception of the time it sounded like nothing more than a dream. He didn’t mind that it was a dream. It’s as if he’s seeing a dream while he’s awake, a noble dream. It’s an exalted dream of humanity prospering into the future. He encouraged others to dream, to hold a good dream, so that they might feel their morality rise rather than feeling encumbered by the hardships of being exploited or enslaved. It was truly a dream back then. In all of the world history of political revolution it was just a dream in the human world that independence could be won without firing a single bullet, without killing a single person of the oppressive sovereign state that rules. Gandhiji made that dream come true. Its virtue is tremendous. It is a great beacon that sheds light on the path that should be taken by humanity. Buddhism is a world of dreams. Maha Bodhisattva Nichiren said that a nation would become peaceful by chanting Na-mu Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo. No one believed such a thing. To believe in such a thing is a dream. But this dream has a goal that by chanting Na-mu Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo we will bring peace to the nation, peace to the world. No one can say for sure that this dream is not going to come true. When we look around to see what other paths are available to us to make this world a peaceful place, all we see in reality is killing. Translation by Yumiko Miyazaki, 7/06/03. Used by permission. © 2003. All rights reserved by author and translator.

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