SGI Canada Newsletter, No. 79 - May 19, 2023
SGI Canada Newsletter
Issue no. 79
May 19, 2023
Welcome to the 79th 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 Daisaku Ikeda’s message - “Making a Fresh Start toward a Spring of Peace for All Humanity”
President Ikeda sent the following message to the 13th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting toward Centennial 2030—commemorating May 3, Soka Gakkai Day and the 35th anniversary of Soka Gakkai Mothers Day—at the Toda Memorial Auditorium in Sugamo, Tokyo, on May 3, 2023. SGI leaders from eight countries and territories, representing Europe and Oceania, also attended the meeting.
As part of his message, President Ikeda shared three calligraphic works that he had inscribed in the past:
The third and final calligraphic work is “Fellow Bodhisattvas of the Earth Emanating Spring Sunlight.”
The Bodhisattvas of the Earth voluntarily emerge in an age of winter, a time of unprecedented challenges, emanating an inner radiance like spring sunlight. They joyously perform the indomitable dance of “Winter always turns to spring” (WND-1, 536)—the dance of human revolution, of changing karma, and of making the world a better place through the life-affirming principles of Nichiren Buddhism.
Commenting on the significance of the bodhisattvas “emerging from the earth,” the Daishonin says, “‘Earth’ refers to the earth of the heart of us human beings. ‘Emerging’ indicates that at the time of kosen-rufu people in the entire world will be practitioners of the Lotus Sutra”[1] (GZ, new ed., 1161; GZ, 834).
Everyone—transcending differences of gender, ethnicity, culture, and even religion—is inherently a Bodhisattva of the Earth. Everyone is waiting to encounter the Mystic Law, the supreme Law of the universe.
[1] “Oko Kikigaki” (The Recorded Lectures); not translated in WND, vols. 1 or 2.
The complete message will be published in the July 2023 New Century.
News
Thank you!
Thank you very much for your generous contributions to the SGI Canada Special Fund.
The Buddha, being truly worthy of respect, never judges by the size of one’s offerings. In the past, the boy Virtue Victorious offered a mud pie to the Buddha, and was reborn as King Ashoka and ruled over all of Jambudvīpa. A poor woman cut off her hair and sold it to buy oil [for the Buddha], and not even the winds sweeping down from Mount Sumeru could extinguish the flame of the lamp fed by this oil. (WND-1, 1089, “Reply to Ōnichi-nyo”)
The benefit of making offerings to the Lotus Sutra is boundless. Through that benefit, we can triumph over any obstacles and devilish function. And nothing is stronger than a person whose life is instilled with this confidence. (The Hope-Filled Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, pp. 4–5)
Contributions to the SGI Canada Special Fund can be made at any time through the online portal at sgicanada.org or by mailing a cheque, money order or postal order to SGI Canada at 2050 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario, M6E 3R6.
SGI Action for Peace Website Marks One-Year Anniversary
The SGI Action for Peace website is marking its one-year anniversary. Over 100 stories on SGI’s social contributions in support of the UN and in local communities are now available on the website. Please also check out the Facebook, and Twitter pages of the SGI Office for UN Affairs for regular updates.
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 June 2, 2023. See you then!