Gosho for February

Letter to the Brothers Part 1. Overcome all obstacles through steadfast faith! See JanFeb Living Buddhism.

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Soka Care

SGI-USA Vice General Director Ian McIlraith wrote, in the 1 October World Tribune, about his perspective on SGI President Ikeda's discussion of prospects for the SGI-USA in the 21st century. President Ikeda had met with several top SGI-USA leaders on February 13th in Tokyo.

Mr. McI, deeply pondering President Ikeda's guidance and chanting abundant daimoku, came to the realization, he says, that the keys to the success of SGI-USA are daimoku and caring for the members. Or, as SGI leader Matilda Buck called it, 'Soka Care'.

But what, exactly, IS Soka Care? Some seem to think that it's visiting members at their home, doing gongyo with them, encouraging them to participate in activities, engaging them in dialog. This has been the SGI-USA mantra for years. Is it working? The slow growth of the PG area seems to indicate that it is not. The faces at kosenrufu gongyo each month are very familiar. Old friends greet old friends. Members have their favorite spot to sit. But maybe I shouldn't 'speak' for the area but, instead, look at the Bowie district. Are we growing? Not really. How come? That's the 64,000 dollar question. Our district chief isn't around much. This isn't necessarily a problem except that a crucial link with the SGI-USA heirarchy may be broken. This can't be a good thing. Maybe we're not on the receiving end of the much vaunted Soka Care.

Here are some questions that merit discussion:

1. What do the members expect from the leaders?

2. What kind of discussion meetings should we have? Can we expect members to prepare for the meeting?

3. How can we genuinely promote study?

4. How can the membership be invigorated to participate?




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