SGI Canada Newsletter, No. 162 - August 14, 2026
SGI Canada Newsletter
Issue no. 162
August 14, 2026
Welcome to the 162nd 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: “A Summer to Reaffirm the Vows of Youth”
In his editorial in the August issue of Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal, Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada encourages us all to support the members of the Future Division:
Challenge is the very essence of youth. Through initiatives such as the Future Division Summer Challenge [in Japan], which includes a variety of annual summer contests, our young members—the young shoots of kosen-rufu—are joyfully advancing along the path of growth that will one day enable them to become mighty trees. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation and respect to all their family members, as well as the future division leaders and members of the broader Soka family in every community, who continue to support and encourage these young people with such devoted care.
Nichiren Daishonin praised Nanjo Tokimitsu—whom we may regard as a forerunner of today’s future division—for not only inheriting the faith of his late father but surpassing it through deepening his own resolve. He likened him to cloth that had been dyed bluer even than the indigo dye itself (cf. WND-2, 809).[1] To nurture successors who become “bluer than the indigo” is among the noblest of undertakings, one the Daishonin praised above all.
Every future division member who embraces the Mystic Law from a young age is a lion cub with a unique mission. President Ikeda used to write with the earnest determination that his words would reach each and every young person, and future division members today can feel their mentor’s heart directly through his writings. Let us warmly encourage these precious treasures of the Soka Gakkai whose bond with their mentor runs deep, pass on to them the “faith of the lion,” and together make this a summer of dynamic growth and advancement.
[1] The phrase “blue dye is bluer even than indigo itself” derives from a writing of the Chinese philosopher Hsun Tzu. The liquid extracted from the indigo plant is not a deep blue color, which is only obtained by repeatedly dipping the cloth into the dye until it attains a blue more intense than the color of the juice from the plant itself. This becomes a metaphor for deepening one’s learning and knowledge through study. It is cited in T’ien-t’ai’s Great Concentration and Insight. Nichiren Daishonin often employs this metaphor of the indigo plant not only in the context of deepening one’s Buddhist practice but also regarding our development as successors.
You’ll find the complete editorial in the September 2026 issue of New Century.
News
Toronto East area holds summer picnic
Over 70 Toronto East area members and friends got together for a picnic at Kew Gardens in Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood on Sunday August 9. There was lots of food, good conversation and entertainment!
Right: Toronto East area Future Division and Youth Division members. (Photo by Prithviraj Keswani)
SGI Canada General Director visits Central Region
SGI Canada General Director Glenn Turner spent six days in Central Region in August, visiting members at home and attending small group meetings. Supported by Men’s Group leaders Ricky Lee, Taiju Hashimoto and Susumu Uchida, Glenn was able to meet with over 40 members in York-Simcoe / Northern Ontario (YSNO), Toronto East and Ontario West. Glenn hopes to make similar trips to other regions across the country in the near future.
Right: Glenn with Ontario West member John Breen. (Photo by Glenn Turner)
Dialogue and Daimoku Campaign
So far this year, we’ve held almost 10,400 Buddhist dialogues and chanted over 138,000 hours of daimoku.Don’t forget to record your Buddhist dialogues and your hours of daimoku! 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:
For more information, please visit the SGI Canada website at:
https://www.sgicanada.org/activities/dialogue-and-daimoku-campaign
Upcoming events
Men’s Division Day - August 24
August 24 is the anniversary of the day that Daisaku Ikeda became a member of Soka Gakkai in 1947. Men’s Group members commemorate this anniversary as Men’s Division Day.
SGI Canada Men’s Group members will be holding commemorative Men’s Division Day meetings throughout August and September. In his January 2026 message, SGI Canada Men’s Leader Ian Mattinson said:
As we work toward the lofty goal of 20,000 members by 2030, I’m very encouraged that we are focusing our efforts this year, and during the next four years, on the very humane and important task of cultivating life-to-life connections through visits, phone calls, and meeting one-on-one – chanting daimoku, enjoying dialogue, and connecting life-to-life![1]
[1] NEW CENTURY January 2026, p.11.
Please contact your local Men’s Group leaders to find out about the meetings in your location.
Introductory Exam in October
Registrations are now open for the SGI Canada Introductory Exam on October 25. The exam is open to all members and interested friends who have not yet taken an SGI Canada study exam, and to those who have not yet passed the Introductory Exam. The Introductory Exam will be available in English, French and Chinese. Please see the June issue of New Century, Ère Nouvelle and Chinese New Century for more information.
The Introductory Exam will be based on The Basics of Nichiren Buddhism for the New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10.
The study material are available in English, French and Chinese as a free PDF file, with key passages highlighted to aid your study. The PDF files will be available in June from SGI Canada district leaders, and from all other SGI Canada leaders.
To register for the Introductory Exam, you can use the QR code that appears in the published announcement, or through the SGI Canada website.
Calendar for August
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Throughout August |
Dialogue and Daimoku campaign |
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Throughout August |
Friendship activities |
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August 24 |
Men’s Division Day |
New Century - August 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 August 25, 2026. See you then!