SGI Canada Newsletter, No. 52 - May 13, 2022
SGI Canada Newsletter
Issue no. 52
May 13, 2022
Welcome to the 52nd 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
SGI President Ikeda’s message to 9th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Meeting: “Let Us Continue on Our Journey to Guide Humanity to Peace and Happiness”
SGI President Ikeda sent the following message to the 9th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting toward Centennial 2030—commemorating May 3, Soka Gakkai Day and Soka Gakkai Mothers Day—at the Toda Memorial Auditorium in Sugamo, Tokyo, on April 16, 2022. In his message, President Ikeda talks of our mission as members of SGI.
Our founding president, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, was persecuted for his Buddhist beliefs during the Second World War and died in 1944 in the Tokyo Detention Center here in Sugamo, striving selflessly to propagate Nichiren Buddhism until the very end. Our second president, Josei Toda, likewise engaged in an unsparing struggle in prison, where he gained the profound realization that the Buddha is life itself and awakened to his identity as a Bodhisattva of the Earth.
Seventy-eight years have passed since then. Over that time, we Soka mentors and disciples, as Bodhisattvas of the Earth with a shared vow from time without beginning, have risen to action with the conviction that “we have a mission to fulfill in this world” and widely spread throughout our communities and societies our grassroots movement to eliminate all misery and misfortune from this saha realm.
We each engage in the lively dance of human revolution and strive to enact brilliant dramas of victory through putting faith into practice in daily life and Buddhism into action in society. We seek to strongly manifest and firmly establish the life states of bodhisattva and Buddha in our own and others’ lives on this planet Earth. This is our great challenge as global citizens of Soka.
“The mission of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth is dialogue!” declared Mr. Toda. Responding to his courageous lion’s roar, let us enthusiastically set forth on our mission of dialogue with the vibrant, powerful life state of Bodhisattvas of the Earth, sow in people’s lives “the seeds of Buddhahood that will endure into the future” (cf. WND-2, 534), and work even harder to create value based on respect for the dignity of life.
(Translated from the April 17, 2022, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai daily newspaper)
To My Friends: “Let’s continue to engage in dialogue based on our convictions”
TO MY FRIENDS
May 10, 2022
No matter how turbulent society
becomes, we will continue to
engage in dialogue based on
our convictions.
Steady, ceaseless efforts to connect
our heart with the person in front
of us is the unerring force for
creating peace!
(Tentative translation)
“To My Friends” is a short daily message based on recent guidance from President Ikeda and published in the Seikyo Shimbun newspaper. To receive “To My Friends” in your email every day, please click here.
News
Young Phoenix Group: “Shining Suns of Youthful Victory”
For our upcoming Young Phoenix Group General Meetings in June–to be held mainly at the area level–the youth division has decided on the following theme:
‘Shining Suns of Youthful Victory!’
The theme comes from Ikeda Sensei's inspiring message to the Young Phoenix Group General meeting in June 2021:
All of you have embraced and are learning the unparalleled Buddhist philosophy of absolute respect for the dignity of life at a young age. Your mission and good fortune are boundless and immeasurable. You are all successors of the Soka Gakkai who will shoulder the twenty-first century. You are shining suns of youthful victory who will light the way forward in the future. The more hardships and sufferings you experience, the more you can understand the struggles of others, the more you can develop your inner strength and capability, and the more you can embrace those around you with warmth and compassion.
Congratulations on this inspiring theme, which came directly from our mentor’s guidance to us!
Youth Division Friendship Campaign Update
The national Youth Division leaders would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your efforts in continuing to promote our Youth Division Friendship Campaign. As of May 10, we are at 297 dialogues out of our goal of 500.
The links to the dialogue counter form and dialogue map will remain the same. We encourage you to ensure everyone bookmarks this link to make it easily accessible. Please continue to encourage each youth member to submit their dialogues!
o https://forms.gle/A5AXP4ApjdMDxSf27 - dialogue counter form
o https://datastudio.google.com/s/kHabchTXbSg - dialogue map
Let's keep going and achieve our goal of 500 dialogues, celebrate victory together at our Young Phoenix Group General Meetings in June, and report our victory to Sensei!
SGI Canada Special Fund
The SGI Canada Special Fund is an opportunity to contribute directly to the kosen-rufu movement in Canada. Thank you so much for your sincere dedication and your support in every way for the advancement of kosen-rufu in Canada!
Contributions to the SGI Canada Special Fund can be made at any time by using one of the following two options:
- You can contribute online through the SGI Canada online portal at https://sgicinfo.org/portal/login
- You can also contribute by mailing a cheque, money order or bank draft to SGI Canada at SGI Canada, 2050 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ont. M6E 3R6
We deeply appreciate your courageous efforts to support and encourage your fellow members, families and friends at this very challenging time in the history of humankind. Thank you very much!
Upcoming events
Nationwide Commemorative Leaders Meeting on June 5
Registration is now open for the 2022 SGI Canada Nationwide Commemorative Leaders Meeting, to be held online on the evening of Sunday, June 5, 2022.
This very special meeting will commemorate the 41st anniversary of SGI President Ikeda’s second visit to Canada and the 35th anniversary of his poem “A Rainbow over Niagara.” It will be a new departure for SGI Canada toward 2030!
We hope that all leaders in SGI Canada—from group, district, chapter, area, regional and national levels—will participate in this significant event, uniting together with our mentor to initiate the next stage of Canadian kosen-rufu.
All leaders are asked to register as soon as possible. For more information, please see Advancing Together #17 or speak with your area or regional leaders.
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 May 27, 2022. See you then!