The band had been practicing hard for the past hour producing delightful sounds that charmed everyone who walks by. It had been a fruitful practice. At this moment, the teacher decided to declare a 20-minutes break.

The girls were excited about their progress and were chattering excitedly. Everyone was eager to share their experience of their struggles over the past 3 months. There was however, an exception.

The lone girl pulled out a book from their bag and drifted away from the crowd. She parked herself in a cozy corner and began reading.

Noticing her, the teacher approached to strike up a conversation. “What are you doing here?” the teacher asked.

“I’m reading. I decided that time is precious and I must continually expand my mind.”

Smiling, the teacher replied, “While it is important to read good books to expand your mind, you should, at this time, join the other girls and expand your life.”

= = = = =

I remember being given the nickname “Acrobat Reader” by Kevin because I read too much. I am talking about 200-pages per day rhythm. I am amazed by what I’d done now that I recall it. I had totally given myself to the expansion of my mind that I forgot to expand my life. I generalized and categorized everything that I see and do. Deriving systems from every situation and processing everything mechanically. I studied great works of literacy without emotions. I read the words of Leo Tolstoy, Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas without understanding their lives’ testimonies. I was simply a reader.

Recently, I started to realize that I had fallen to the other extreme. I read too little now. I struggled to finish 100 pages each day now. I spent too much time in idle chatter and pursuing frivolous goals. I neglected my personal human revolution and my vow for Kosen-Rufu.

I believed it is time to realign myself again. I must demonstrate culture.

It is difficult to define something like “culture”. Many scholars had attempted but none had given it a meaning that embraced its totality. Personally, culture is the manifestation of wisdom.

Wisdom is not an image of an old man who understands everything. Wisdom is the continual process of self-improvement and character cultivation. Culture is growth.

Culture is as old as civilization itself. Since ancient times, culture had evolved from primitive rituals to war-dances to industrialization affecting populous psychology, philosophies, social ethics and morals, politics and education. Today’s culture is distinctly consumerism and materialism. This social model cannot be sustainable because it drains spirituality and leans heavily on the flux of change and emotion relativity.

Culture must evolve. It must serve a revolution of values and global humanism. To evolve culture is to possess wisdom. It is wise to constantly set out on a conscious exploration to seek the answers to eternal verities.

I stand at the vanguard!

= = = = =

We have no need of any sect
Valorously transcending the obstacles
Of narrow partisanship, of cliques,
As human beings
As stark-naked human beings,
Live, move and for the sake of the joyous new society
Fight, young people!
And I too will fight!
The sect of non-sectarianism
The sect called human being which is no sect at all—
Let us call this the Human Party

~ Daisaku Ikeda