Koichi Sato, First Germany Chapter leader

It was in the autumn of 1962 that those of us in Germany received the news that President Ikeda would be coming to Europe again the following year. At that point, we still had not reached our goal of a membership of 30 households. Chanting earnestly, I decided to buy a car so that I could cover a wider area in my activities for kosen-rufu. It was very difficult for me financially, but I purchased a secondhand Volkswagen Beetle—at that time, a highly prized car in Japan — and I named it Young Lion. Once I had a car, the area of my activities expanded and I was able to work together with my fellow members to share Nichiren Buddhism with others. Thanks to Young Lion, by the time President Ikeda arrived in Europe, we had more than 50 member households in West Germany.

A few days after the Germany Chapter was established, three other young men and I headed to Paris, where President Ikeda was visiting. We didn’t have enough money to travel by plane or train, so we decided to drive there in my car. When we left Düsseldorf in West Germany and crossed the border into Belgium, we were caught in a blizzard. The road conditions were terrible, and we passed many cars that had slid off into ditches or ravines. Chanting daimoku as we drove, we finally arrived at President Ikeda’s hotel in Paris, almost a whole day later than originally scheduled.

“Thank you for travelling such a long way!” President Ikeda said, greeting each of us warmly. He then asked to see our car. He walked around it and said enthusiastically: “What a fine car!” I was so happy that I told him we had named it Young Lion, which he praised as a wonderful name, just as fine as the car itself.

I was overjoyed to hear him heap his highest praises on Young Lion, which embodied our passion and commitment to kosen-rufu in Germany. I felt that he deeply understood all our efforts and struggles. I later learned something else that really moved me. Hearing that we were driving from West Germany to Paris during the cold and dangerous winter weather, President Ikeda had chanted earnestly until late at night for our safety. At 6:00am, he did gongyo and continued to chant, anxiously awaiting our arrival. He didn’t mention a word about that when we met, or show the least signs of being tired, but devoted himself to encouraging us and praising my car Young Lion.