A GIFT OF FRIENDSHIP
FOR DAISAKU IKEDA

We met as strangers,
but we became fast, feisty friends
across the time, space,
and speech that divide us.
We forged
a bond without bondage,
a link without chains,
a union without states,
in the kingdom of the spirit.
Our language of the heart
is sweeter than
the languages of the tongue
(that tear us apart),
bringing
a joy
that unites us,
in our yearnings
for transcendence,
beyond
the finitude and fragility
of our times,
our spaces,
our speeches,
and our sufferings.

Majid Tehranian
Tokyo, Japan
July 30, 1992