When one of our SGI representatives waiting at the airport before my arrival discovered this, he tried to lead President Athayde to another room to rest, but the esteemed academy head refused, saying with a smile: “I have lived for nearly 100 years. I have been waiting for President Ikeda for 94 years. One or two hours is nothing to me.”

I went to Brazil to meet him in February 1993. When I walked into the airport VIP room, he was there waiting – Brazilian Academy of Letters President Austregésilo de Athayde, the “conscience of Latin America”. He came right to me and took my hand. “President Ikeda, let us fight together. Let us join forces to change history,” he said. He vibrated with a dynamic energy.

Later I learned that President Athayde had been waiting for me for more than two hours. When one of our SGI representatives waiting at the airport before my arrival discovered this, he tried to lead President Athayde to another room to rest, but the esteemed academy head refused, saying with a smile: “I have lived for nearly 100 years. I’ve been waiting for President Ikeda for 94 years. One or two hours is nothing to me.”  When this was reported to me, I was deeply touched and humbled.

President Athayde expressed a desire to engage in a dialogue with me. He is not in good health, however. I did not wish to put this great treasure of humanity at risk, so I informed him that I would wait as long as it takes for him to regain his health. When he got my message, I was told he smiled. “I am grateful for your consideration,” he replied. “But I don’t have time. Let us begin now. I will talk and talk and talk, as long as I have strength. For the sake of humanity’s future, for the sake of the 21st century, let us have our dialogue!” And so every Saturday afternoon, President Athayde set aside two hours to reply to my questions. He spoke as if I were there next to him. Knowing this, each Saturday I sent him a bouquet of flowers. I understand that he was always delighted to receive them and had them placed in a beloved silver vase.

On Friday, August 27, 1993, he was hospitalized for pneumonia. It was the day before his next scheduled session for our dialogue. In the intensive care ward, he kept repeating to the doctors and nurses, “Please get me out of here quickly. I have a very important task to complete. I want to continue my dialogue with President Ikeda, for the sake of the coming century. So please let me out of here now!” President Athayde passed away on September 13, 1993. News of his death reached me just before I left for the United States to give a lecture at Harvard University. He did complete that “important task” gloriously. He died looking to us to carry on for him. “As long as SGI exists, a century of human rights will come. I am at peace,” he said.