SGI Canada Newsletter, No. 148 - January 30, 2026
SGI Canada Newsletter
Issue no. 148
January 30, 2026
Welcome to the 148th issue of the SGI Canada Newsletter, a bi-weekly summary of news, upcoming events and encouragement. If you are not subscribing to the SGI Canada Newsletter, you may do so by clicking on the button below. Subscriptions are free of charge, and the SGI Canada Newsletter will be emailed directly to you.
Encouragement
Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada’s editorial: “Begin with Prayer” — Our Shared Motto
In his editorial in the February issue of Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal, Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada highlights the importance of prayer to support our dialogues, home visits and personal encouragement:
February is traditionally known as the Soka Gakkai’s month of vibrant propagation efforts. During the February Campaign[1] in 1952, the young Daisaku Ikeda set what was then an unprecedented target: for a single chapter to introduce 200 new member households to Nichiren Buddhism within just one month. Some voiced concern, questioning whether the goal was impossibly ambitious.
President Ikeda worked meticulously to ensure the target could be achieved. He began by engaging wholeheartedly in home visits and one-to-one encouragement, awakening in each person the resolve to challenge their own goals. He also made a special effort to chant together with his fellow members. He always began from prayer: throughout his life, President Ikeda was like a youthful lion of daimoku—at every moment, wherever he went.
Chanting and taking action together, with hearts united, the members were inspired with shared sincerity and tenacity. What propelled their advance was not tactics or strategizing but powerful prayer that activated the protective forces of the universe, causing wisdom and life force to surge forth. With bold action, they decisively broke through every impasse. It was this steady accumulation of effort that culminated in the monumental result of 201 households. Herein lies the eternal formula for victory of the Soka Gakkai.
According to the traditional Japanese method of counting, this month marks 805 years since the birth of Nichiren Daishonin, who declared: “It could never come about that the prayers of the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra would go unanswered” (WND-1, 345). There is no doubt that Soka Gakkai members, with resolute determination to advance kosen-rufu, will lead lives of complete fulfillment and satisfaction. With this unwavering conviction and joy, let’s triumphantly crown this February of tradition!
[1] February Campaign: In February 1952, President Ikeda, then an adviser to Tokyo’s Kamata Chapter, initiated a dynamic propagation campaign. Together with the Kamata members, he broke through the previous monthly record of some 100 new member households by introducing the Daishonin’s Buddhism to 201 new member households.
You’ll find the complete editorial in the March 2026 issue of New Century.
News
Dialogue and Daimoku Campaign
SGI Canada has set three major goals for 2026:
- 20,000 Buddhist dialogues
- Two billion daimoku
- Life-to-life connections, every day
To help keep us focused on achieving our goals throughout the year, we have begun a Dialogue and Daimoku Campaign.
Whenever we talk about Buddhism or about SGI with someone who is not an SGI member, we can register that dialogue online. In the same way, whenever we have completed an hour or more of daimoku, we can record the number of hours online.
You can record your dialogues and daimoku by clicking on this button:
If you are having trouble logging in, you can ask someone else in your district to enter the information for you.
SGI Canada is keeping track of the total number of dialogues and hours of daimoku. You can see how many dialogues and how much chanting has been done so far, across the entire country by clicking on this button:
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a “Buddhist dialogue”? A Buddhist dialogue is a meaningful conversation where you introduce Nam-myoho-renge-kyo or SGI to someone who has no previous experience of Nichiren Buddhism. This might include a face-to-face conversation, phone call, video conference or even a text exchange. It should be a one-on-one dialogue with someone rather than a social media post or a mass email.
Can I record multiple dialogues with the same person? No — please count all your dialogues with the same person as one dialogue. Through this campaign, we hope to share the practice with as many people as possible. We are planting the seeds for many thousands of people to become absolutely happy. Of course, it is important to continue to support those who are interested and to encourage them to begin practising Buddhism.
Can I include home visits with members in this campaign? No — please do not include your home visits and conversations with other SGI Canada members. They are also very important, but we are not including them in this campaign.
How do I record my chanting? For this campaign, we are recording the number of hours of daimoku that we have chanted. If you personally keep track of your chanting in minutes, please convert your minutes into hours to record them.
How often should I record my dialogues and daimoku? Please do whatever is easiest. You may want to log each dialogue or hour of daimoku as soon as you can, or you may choose to wait and record them later.
How about if I forgot to record my dialogues and daimoku earlier? No problem — you can add your missed dialogues and hours of daimoku when you have the opportunity.
Is SGI Canada tracking my personal information? No – SGI Canada is only recording the number of dialogues and the hours of daimoku that you are submitting. You do not have to enter your name or your division (ex. Women’s Group, Men’s Group, etc.), if you choose not to. SGI Canada will not collect your email address or try to identify you in any other way.
You are asked to name the region in which you practise (i.e. Western, Prairie, Central, Eastern or Québec) to give national and regional leaders an indication of participation in the campaign.
If you have any questions, please speak with your local leaders or send an email to contact@sgicanada.org.
Daimoku charts and Altar cards
To support your chanting and determinations for victory in 2026, we invite you to download and print daimoku charts and altar cards from our website.
You can find the daimoku charts and altar cards at sgicanada.org. Simply go to Activities and click on Daimoku Chart or Altar Cards. You can download and print daimoku charts and prayer cards from this page.
Daimoku Chart: https://www.sgicanada.org/activities/daimoku-chart
Altar Cards: https://www.sgicanada.org/activities/altar-cards
Tax receipts available now!
Your official 2025 donation receipt for income tax purposes is now available. If you have chosen to receive your receipt by mail, it will be sent to you over the next few weeks.
If you have chosen to download your official income tax receipt, you can do so immediately by signing into your SGI Canada online portal account and choosing Donations and then Tax Receipts.
You can change the way in which you receive your income tax receipt at any time between March 16 and December 30 each year by emailing contact@sgicanada.org.
Upcoming events
Calendar for February
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Throughout February |
Dialogue and daimoku campaign |
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Throughout February |
Leaders’ Training (in some regions and areas) |
New Century - February 2026
Subscribe to New Century to stay connected to the latest guidance and encouragement and to support the movement for kosen-rufu in Canada.
We hope you found this newsletter beneficial. Please email your questions or comments to contact@sgicanada.org. Please note that the next SGI Canada Newsletter will appear on February 13, 2026. See you then!