SGI Canada Newsletter, No. 92 - November 17, 2023
SGI Canada Newsletter
Issue no. 92
November 17, 2023
Welcome to the 92nd 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: “Let’s Change the Destiny of All Humankind!”
SGI President Daisaku Ikeda sent a message to the 16th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting toward Centennial 2030, held at the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu on November 1, 2023. As part of the message, he presented three calligraphic works to the audience. In this excerpt, he talks about the second work:
The next calligraphy is “World Peace.”
Seven hundred and fifty years ago [in 1273], amid his harrowing ordeal of exile on Sado Island, the Daishonin wrote in “On Practising the Buddha’s Teachings”:
When the people all chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the wind will no longer buffet the branches, and the rain will no longer break the clods of soil. The world will become as it was in the ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung.[1] In their present existence the people will be freed from misfortune and disasters and learn the art of living long. Realize that the time will come when the truth will be revealed that both the person and the Law are unaging and eternal. (WND-1, 392)
Our chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the ultimate sound of respect for the dignity of life and universal harmony. It is the fundamental driving force for achieving the security of the land and world peace.
Looking toward the eternal future of the Latter Day, the Daishonin taught us the great path of dialogue for realizing true peace and prosperity everywhere based on the life-affirming principles of Buddhism. The first three Soka Gakkai presidents and their disciples have followed this path with the hearts of lion kings.
Now our youthful Soka Gakkai worldwide is a great movement to change the destiny of all humankind. Our members brim with the boundless life force of the sun of time without beginning, uphold the transformative principle of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life,” and are unwavering in their conviction that “When great evil occurs, great good follows” (WND-1, 1119).
[1] Fu Hsi and Shen Nung were legendary kings who reigned over ideal societies in ancient China.
The complete message will be available in the January 2023 New Century.
News
Introductory Study Exam
The Introductory Study Exams are being marked right now, and we hope to have marks and certificates out to exam participants via email by December 10. The exam questions and answers will be published in the December issues of New Century, Ère nouvelle and Chinese New Century.
Over 500 people registered to write the exam, and many more participated in district study sessions about Nichiren Buddhism. Thank you for all your efforts to support the exam.
SGI Canada Special Fund
Thank you very much for your generous donations to the SGI Canada Special Fund.
Members can contribute at any time through their SGI Canada online portal account (by credit card or debit card) at https://sgicinfo.org/portal/login or by mailing a cheque to SGI Canada at 2050 Dufferin Road, Toronto, Ont. M6E 3R6. Monthly contributions from a chequing account can also be made by completing a Pre-Authorized Payment (PAP) form available from district leaders.
Thank you so much for your sincere dedication and for your support in every way for the advancement of kosen-rufu in Canada!
Going paperless with your official income tax receipt!
You now have two options for obtaining the official income tax receipt for your donations to SGI Canada:
- SGI Canada can mail the receipt to you
- You can go paperless and download the receipt yourself from the SGI Canada website
Choosing to download the receipt yourself will allow SGI Canada to reduce its use of paper and devote more resources to activities for members. Once you choose to go paperless, you will no longer receive a receipt in the mail from SGI Canada.
In order to go paperless and download the receipt yourself:
- Sign in to your SGI Canada account at https://sgicinfo.org/portal/login. (If you do not have an SGI Canada account yet, please see the instructions below)
- On your personal information page, you will see a section titled Official Tax Receipt
- Click on the button in front of Your current option, and follow the instructions
You can change the way in which you receive your income tax receipt at any time between March 16 and December 30 each year.
Your tax receipt for 2023 will be available online by February 29, 2024.
Have you set up your online account yet?
SGI Canada members now have access to an online portal in which they can create their own personal SGI Canada accounts, subscribe to publications and make secure online donations.
Members can also use their online account to read the English and French-language publications to which they subscribe, and access their tax receipts and personal information.
How to set up your online account:
- Go to the SGI Canada website at sgicanada.org and click on the Online Portal button near the top right corner of your screen.
- Click on I have not created an online account and then Submit
- Fill out the personal information fields and click on Submit
- 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). For assistance with setting up your account, please contact support@sgicinfo.org.
- 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.
Many SGI Canada members have already registered. We hope you will also take advantage of this convenient method of making online donations, subscribing to SGI Canada publications, and reading them online.
Upcoming events
SGI Canada online bookstore
The SGI Canada Online Bookstore has just received 20 new books, including The Five Eternal Guidelines of the Soka Gakkai, The New Human Revolution Vol. 27, Making the Impossible Possible, La nouvelle révolution humaine vol. 19-22, Commentaires sur l'atteinte de la bouddhéité en cette vie, and La sagesse pour le bonheur et la paix - vol 4.
The Online Bookstore will be closed from December 4 to January 2 for the annual inventory audit. If you are hoping to order books or other items before the end of the year, we encourage you to visit the bookstore as early as possible this month. You can visit the Online Bookstore at: https://sgicanada.myshopify.com/
Happy District General Meetings!
Throughout the month of November, District General Meetings will take place across Canada to commemorate November 18, Soka Gakkai Founding Day.
Thank you for all your efforts to prepare for your District General Meetings. Your visits with members and friends – whether in person, by phone or online – are all amazing causes for your own happiness and for the growth of your district. Let’s reach out to everyone and make these District General Meetings the most successful and encouraging that we have ever held.
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 December 1, 2023. See you then!