Kansai Digs In

Kansai Digs In (pp 59-61)

     ‘Wherever Shin’ichi went, he created a mighty whirlpool of propagation. He was bold at times, prudent at others. If there were many participants but the meeting lacked vigor, he would encourage them by dancing to the song, “Kuroda Bushi.” If it was a quiet gathering of a small number of people, he would do gongyo together with them and give each one of them detailed and elaborate guidance. He sometimes went out to suburban cities, places in which he was a total stranger. On such occasions he would continue chanting daimoku in a low voice in the car all the way to his destination and back. No one noticed this, but it was as if he were challenging the vast area of Osaka yet unknown to him and planting the seeds of daimoku as he went.’

     Shinichi was in Osaka for an extended stay. At the Sakai chapter leaders meeting he said, in part, “We are about to engage in the greatest campaign we have ever faced. Let each of us summon up the courage of a lion, as the Daishonin urges, and fight with all our might, never ceasing to advance.” The chapter members were determined to achieve a record result in May.
     The Osaka chapter districts were competing with each other to achieve the highest shakubuku result But some districts were falling behind and those members were becoming impatient. The leader of one such district, Motoe Asada, called the leaders to attend a two hour daimoku toso. The result was remarkable. All the district members moved in unity, inviting many guests to the meeting. All the guests were willing to try chanting. Everyone was jubilant!
     Some leaders seemed to be overwhelmed by the pace of activities. At times they neglected their work, spending all their time on religious practice, hoping for a release from their predicament. Shinichi would give stern guidance when he encountered this condition. His passionate guidance encouraged these leaders to reflect on their attitude and begin to challenge their difficult lives with renewed courage.
     At a YWD meeting, Shinichi answered a number of questions. Among them was a question about why some girls were born with good looks and others were not. To which Shinichi talked about karmic retribution, When he discovered that one of the young women sneaked away from her job to attend the afternoon meeting, he harshly told her to return to work immediately. Later he called her employer to apologize for the young woman. The employer, who wasn’t friendly toward the Sokagakkai, accepted Shinichi’s apology. The employer would later become more cooperative to that employee.
     Shinichi’s actions kept Osaka buzzing. He continued to do gongyo with the top leaders and give them a gosho lecture every morning. Discussion meetings were taking place all over the country every day.
     On May 13th a festival to celebrate the completion of the waterworks at Taisekiji was held with 1,100 leaders attending at the invitation of former High Priest Nissho Mizutani. Taisekiji had suffered from a shortage of water since its founding 700 years earlier. Finally, after many attempts to drill a well, a district chief was successful in bringing it in. He had been ready to give up but President Toda encouraged him on. A great time was had by all!

Points to ponder
     Contrast these highly focused activities with today’s divergent slate.
     Shinichi Yamamoto, the driving force behind the Osaka campaign, enables many Osaka district leaders to stand up. What lessons can be learned from this?