In recent years, scholars have turned to cosmopolitanism as a framework for thinking through issues of language and citizenship. In this article, I present Daisaku Ikeda's philosophy of cosmopolitan education and compare it with others' in the extant literature. I examine, from a philosophical perspective, its roots in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism and its implications for language education. I conclude that a moral cosmopolitan perspective on language education must be grounded in the cultivation of the three virtues of wisdom, courage, and compassion as ways of empowering individuals and communities. (Contains 11 footnotes.)