Discovering My Mission Through Every Challenge
Twelve years ago, Riya Sen was a student carrying heavy uncertainty about her future.
Most of her seniors from college were either unemployed or trapped in poorly paid jobs.
Watching them struggle filled her with fear.
She could not imagine a hopeful future for herself.
Then one day, a college senior told her something unexpected:
That through Buddhism, karma itself could be transformed.
Reluctantly, she attended her first discussion meeting.
There, a senior leader shared a guidance from Ikeda Sensei that deeply touched her heart:
“Do your best in whatever is in front of you and your mission will unfold.”
Something shifted inside her immediately.
The heavy clouds of self-doubt began lifting.
For the first time, she started believing that her life could hold a unique purpose.
Discovering a Mission Through Service
Almost immediately after beginning practice, remarkable changes began appearing.
Riya topped the first year of her master’s program.
Soon afterward, she cleared a highly competitive PhD entrance examination on her very first attempt.
Even her parents, who had once doubted her potential, began recognizing her abilities.
At the same time, she prayed deeply to discover a meaningful mission in life.
Then, through her academic program, she was assigned to work in an urban slum community.
That experience transformed her perspective completely.
Serving underprivileged families awakened something profound within her.
Gradually, she realized her true calling lay in public health and social impact.
For the first time, her prayers and actions felt perfectly aligned.
Her career slowly evolved into an expression of compassion and contribution.
Growing While Encouraging Others
As her faith deepened, Riya immersed herself wholeheartedly in BSG activities.
As a young women’s division leader, she challenged herself intensely.
Every day, she chanted nearly three hours for the happiness and growth of YWD members.
Despite the demands of her PhD research and fieldwork, she remained constantly engaged in encouragement.
There were days when she met five or six YWD members individually.
At times, she completed sixty home visits in a single month.
Far from exhausting her, these efforts strengthened her life state.
Even while facing:
Unemployment uncertainty
Academic pressure
Twenty failed marriage proposals
She continued advancing fearlessly.
Eventually, through this inner transformation, she met the person she felt was truly her kosen-rufu partner.
They married in 2020.
Meanwhile, her academic and professional life flourished rapidly.
She completed her PhD successfully.
She published thirty-five research papers nationally and internationally.
She also received fully funded invitations to present research in five countries, including Japan.
Then came another major breakthrough.
Riya was selected by NITI Aayog, India’s leading policy think tank, where she contributed toward revising national public health guidelines.
The same young woman once consumed by self-doubt was now contributing at the national level.
Choosing Courage Over Comfort
As her work expanded, Riya began praying to further enhance her abilities.
Studying and working abroad increasingly felt necessary for her growth.
Yet emotionally, the decision terrified her.
Leaving behind:
A stable life in India
Her husband
Financial security
felt overwhelming.
At that moment, one Gosho line became her source of courage:
“[Y]our faith alone will determine all these things. As word is useless in the hands of a coward.”
(‘Reply to Kyō’ō’, WND-1, p. 412)
Rather than retreating into fear, she intensified her Buddhist practice.
She took greater responsibility as a women’s division leader and expanded her efforts through:
Study meetings
Supporting Cubs activities
Sunshine Chorus participation
Dialogue with friends and colleagues
During this time, she introduced eight people to the practice.
Soon afterward, the breakthrough arrived.
Riya received an offer for a prestigious research role in London on a Global Talent visa.
The position included:
A four-hundred-percent salary increase
International exposure
Free trips home because of India-based implementation work
In 2024, she moved to London.
The courage she brought forth through faith opened entirely new dimensions in her life.
Loneliness in a Foreign Land
But the new beginning was not emotionally easy.
Despite the professional growth, London often felt painfully lonely.
There were many nights when Riya cried herself to sleep.
Being away from her husband and familiar surroundings weighed heavily on her heart.
Yet instead of withdrawing, she turned even more deeply toward the Gohonzon and SGI activities.
In a foreign country, she challenged herself to support members sincerely.
Within a month, she visited more than twenty members.
Mystically, her husband’s work also began creating opportunities for him to travel and spend more time with her.
Gradually, loneliness transformed into deeper connection, gratitude, and mission.
The Greatest Trial
Then came the greatest challenge of her life.
In August 2025, her father was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.
The disease had first appeared through a fracture in his arm.
Doctors estimated he had less than three years to live unless a miracle occurred.
When the biopsy suggested lymphoma — a rare but treatable possibility — Riya felt emotionally shattered.
A senior leader encouraged her to chant limitless daimoku to repay her debt of gratitude to her father.
She immediately wrote down three determinations:
“Cancer-free”
“Lymphoma”
“20+ years together”
Then she began chanting with complete seriousness.
More than seventy people joined the daimoku effort — nearly half of them non-members.
As the warmth of members surrounded the family, even relatives who had never practiced before began chanting sincerely.
Then came a turning point.
After eighteen continuous hours of lion’s roar daimoku, Riya experienced an overwhelming surge of conviction.
Her prayer shifted fundamentally:
From fear and doubt…
To certainty.
Shortly afterward, the biopsy confirmed lymphoma.
The cancer was treatable.
Hearing this experience later inspired several relatives and friends to attend discussion meetings.
Her prayer had transformed not only the medical outcome, but also the hearts of people around her.
Victory Through Unwavering Determination
Yet the battle was still far from over.
One after another, her husband, father, and in-laws all faced hospitalization.
Rather than collapsing emotionally, Riya deepened her determination even further.
She:
Chanted over 150 hours of daimoku
Conducted alliance daimoku twice daily
Studied the Gosho and The New Human Revolution
Completed over fifteen home visits in a month
Supported members battling cancer
Made continuous six-figure contributions toward kosen-rufu
Her district was eventually recognized as the best district in the region.
She herself was acknowledged as a “Bodhisattva in Action.”
Then came the breakthrough doctors had never expected.
With chemotherapy alone, her father’s fractured bone healed naturally.
He suffered:
No drastic weight loss
No repeated infections
No emotional collapse
Instead, he remained cheerful and optimistic throughout treatment.
And within just two-and-a-half months, scans showed near-complete remission.
What once appeared impossible gradually became undeniable actual proof.
A Line That Stayed With Me
“Do your best in whatever is in front of you and your mission will unfold.”
Reflection
Many people search endlessly for their life’s mission.
But often, mission reveals itself gradually through sincere effort, contribution, and perseverance.
Riya’s journey shows that when we continue encouraging others despite our own fears and uncertainties, our life condition expands enormously.
The greatest breakthroughs do not come merely from external success.
They come when fear transforms into conviction and prayer becomes completely aligned with courage.
Key Takeaways
Mission unfolds through sincere daily effort.
Encouraging others strengthens one’s own life state.
Fear transforms through courageous prayer and action.
Human revolution creates visible actual proof.
Faith deepens most during life’s greatest challenges.
Forward With Determination
Today, Riya remains deeply determined to:
Awaken many more lives to the power of the Mystic Law
Advance joyfully toward BSG’s 2030 goals
Continue supporting members battling difficult karma
Use her professional mission to contribute to society meaningfully
Above all, she remains committed to living every day with the spirit:
“Sensei, your vow is my vow.”
Inspired by a published Buddhist experience and retold with commentary, reflection, and adapted storytelling.