SGI Canada Newsletter, No. 58 - August 5, 2022

SGI Canada Newsletter

Issue no. 58

August 5, 2022

 

Welcome to the 58th 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.

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ENCOURAGEMENT

SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s Editorial: “Building a Society That Supports Happy Aging”

In his August editorial in the Daibyakurenge study magazine, SGI President Ikeda speaks directly to the senior members of the Many Treasures group :

Each of you has your own painful battles with karma. In the course of your unsparing, untold efforts in life and kosen-rufu, you may face the sufferings of illness, aging, and the loss of loved ones. But you have taken to heart the Daishonin’s message “Do not be discouraged because you do not enjoy an easy and secure existence in this life” (WND-1, 283). As champions of unwavering, steadfast faith, you are certain to transform even the most challenging karma and savour the brilliant triumph of attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime, in accord with the Buddhist principle of “lessening karmic retribution.” 

Our rapidly aging society is a new frontier in human history. Upholding the Mystic Law—the teaching through which “not a one will fail to attain Buddhahood” (LSOC2, 75)—let us of the Soka family unite together with respect for all people to build a society that supports happy aging.

I hope that you, our Many Treasures Group members, will set an inspiring example for the youth—who are heading into an age of 100-year lifetimes—of “using our long lives to save living beings” (cf. LSOC17, 280). And I fervently pray for the arrival of a spring of tranquility and security for our planet, overflowing with global citizens committed to working together for peace, culture, and education.   

The full editorial will be published in the September 2022 New Century.

 

NEWS

SGI President Calls on States to Commit to "No First Use" of Nuclear Weapons

On July 26, ahead of the Tenth Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference that opened on August 1 at UN Headquarters in New York, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda called on the five nuclear-weapon states to declare that they will never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict: the principle of “No First Use.”

President Ikeda proposed that the following points be included in the Final Document of the NPT Review Conference:

• That the five nuclear-weapon states pledge to continue to abide by their January Joint Statement [that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”], immediately pursuing measures to reduce the risks posed by nuclear weapons in accord with their Article VI nuclear disarmament commitments.
• That the five nuclear-weapon states, as a matter of highest priority, declare their commitment to the principle of No First Use at the earliest possible date.
• That in order to give concrete form to the joint statement’s declaration that “none of our nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or at any other State,” the principle of No First Use be universalized as the security policy of all states possessing nuclear weapons as well as the nuclear-dependent states.

For the full statement please click here.

  

New Options for Subscribers to Publications

SGI Canada members can now use the Online Portal to do the following:

• Start a new Annual subscription
• Renew an Annual subscription
• Purchase a gift subscription for someone else

Link to online portal: www.sgicinfo.org/portal/login

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How to set up your online account:

1. Go to the SGI Canada website at sgicanada.org and click on the Online Portal button near the top right corner of your screen.
2. Click on I have not created an online account and then Submit
3. Fill out the personal information fields and click on Submit
4. You will receive an email from accounting@sgicinfo.org . The email will confirm your username and password (which you can change once you log into the site the first time). Please check your Junk Mail or Spam Mail Folder for this email. For assistance with setting up your account, please contact support@sgicinfo.org.
5. Once your username and password have been confirmed, you will be able to log into the Online Portal from the SGI Canada website at any time.

 

Guests (non SGI Canada members) can now subscribe to SGI Canada Publications directly from the website:  www.sgicanada.org/subscriptions

Please note that once SGI Canada processes your subscription:

• You will receive your print copy in the mail in approximately 8-10 weeks.
  
  
• You will be able to access a digital copy of your magazine through the online portal:
  • if you are an SGI Canada member and
  • if you already have an online portal account
    
    
• Currently, New Century, SOKA, Ère nouvelleand From Today Onward are available online.
  
  
• Subscriptions are only valid for addresses in Canada. Payment must be in Canadian funds, and all transactions are non-refundable.

Notice about Monthly Pre-Authorized Payment (PAP) by Visa Credit Card

Starting in January 2023, we will not be accepting any new PAP forms by Visa Credit Card. Those who are currently paying by Visa Credit Card can continue to use this payment method. However, if the monthly PAP payment is declined and we are unable to retrieve the declined payment, we will have to cancel the PAP and this option will not be available thereafter.

Those who wish to pay monthly by PAP can do so by Debit from their chequing account. This option will still be available.

 

We’d Like to See You!

Have you been having outdoor visits with other members? We’d love to see your photos of outdoor visits with individual members or small numbers of members (in keeping with the SGI Canada recommendations published in Newsletter #56 on July 8).

If you submit your photos to SGI Canada, your photos may be used in upcoming editions of our magazines. Your photos should be:

• High-resolution (at least 1 MB in size)
• Sent as attachments to an email (rather than copied into the body of the email)
• Emailed to publications@sgicanada.org

We look forward to seeing your faces!

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Men’s Group General Meetings: "Building Peace through Dialogue"

The annual Men’s Group General Meetings will be held from mid-August through September, commemorating Men’s Division Day, August 24, the date when Daisaku Ikeda joined the Soka Gakkai in 1947.

The theme for the meetings will be “Building Peace through Dialogue”. For more information, please contact your Men’s Group leader.

 

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 19, 2022. See you then!

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