Ikeda Sensei dived down to the ground even though he was refrained from giving guidance in meeting.
Immediately after I stepped down as Soka Gakkai president in April 1979, I began visiting the homes of individual pioneer members. My first reason for doing so was to express my gratitude to my fellow members. I would have visited, if at all possible, the home of every single Soka Gakkai member, each of whom I considered a noble child of the Buddha. At the very least, I was determined to visit the pioneers, as representatives of all the members.
My second reason for visiting members was to reinvigorate Soka Gakkai. I firmly resolved to go to the front lines. I did so with the deep conviction that the front lines are the most important stronghold of our organisation, representing the most powerful force for kosen-rufu.
Another reason for visiting member’s homes was to fight back against the forces seeking to obstruct our movement. At the time, Soka Gakkai’s top leaders were cowed by the havoc being caused by the priesthood and felt as if they were under their constant surveillance. The situation deteriorated to the point that I could no longer attend meetings freely. I decided that, if I couldn’t attend meetings, I would visit individual members, one home at a time! If I couldn’t participate in large gatherings, I would hold countless individual meetings! This was my firm resolve, my burning fighting spirit.