Traveler, from whence do you come?
And where do you go?
The moon had set,
But the sun has not yet risen.
In the chaos of darkness before the dawn
Seeking the light,
I advance
To dispel the dark clouds from my mind
To find a great tree unbowed by the tempest
I emerge from the earth.

- An impromptu poem recited by Daisaku Ikeda, 19, at his first meeting on Aug. 24, 1947