Map to JFk Performing Arts

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Community Center Needs Your Help

Dear men's division members,

The community center needs your help. We need responsible volunteers for the reception group. We need men to take responsibility for a shift every six weeks. We need men for the weekends. We need men to relieve other reception staff during late activities. We need those men who can fill in during holidays or when someone is ill. We need men who will take the initiative, who will help with creative ideas and find solutions to the obstacles we face. We need experienced former reception staff and those who have never had the opportunity to do this activity ( We will be happy to have an orientation for those who would like or need one). We know that your responsibilities are great and your time limited, we also know that this activity of protecting the 'Castle of Kosen Rufu', protecting the members and protecting the future should not be considered lightly. I am sending this personal appeal to you, the guardians of this organization because we need your wisdom, your spirit and your help. Thank you sincerely for all of your effort in every arena to date. The work of Kosen Rufu is as long as our lives. We need you for a couple more hours.
For more information on how to get started:

call Michael Aiken 301 262-3730.
or e-mail me at: aikenphoto@tcs.wap.org

Thank You Again,

Mike

Seven Points 0f Human Revolution

Tariq Hassan, in his comments at the nationwide district leaders simulcast on 6/24/07, mentioned seven points of human revolution postulated by President Ikeda in his guise as Shinichi Yamamoto. He suggested that these 7 points be the theme of this year's Men's Division General Meeting. He also suggested that the meeting be 4 divisional.
In New Human Revolution Sunlight chapter, Shinichi is visiting the USA in 1973. In his remarks at the ceremony commemorating Josei Toda's passing, held at the America headquarters building, he offered 7 points about human revolution:

Health - the important thing is our earnest Buddhist prayer to be healthy and to attune our lives to the fundamental rhythm of the universe at the deepest level.

Youthfulness - as long as we continue to practice vibrantly and strive to improve and develop ourselves, we will never lose our youthful spirit.

Good furtune - good fortune accumulated through our practice protects us and enables us to experience genuine fulfillment.

Wisdom - to perfect ourselves and develop into capable members of SGI and society, we need to cultivate our minds. Failure to do so will lead to our defeat.

Passion - whether we are happy depends, in large part, on our ability to feel passionate about things in our lives.

Conviction - without conviction we may lose our way in life.

Victory - we carry out our human revolution by achieving victory after victory in our daily lives.

Shinichi went on to say that being a true Buddhist practitioner also requires bringing forth one's compassion, which embraces all of these characteristics.

Three Thousand Realms

The 'doctrine of tree thousand realms in a single moment of life' is the supreme philosophical achievement of the Great Teacher T'ien T'ai (538-97) of China. It is set forth in Great Concentration and Insight, a compilation of T'ien T'ai's lectures recorded by his disciple, Chang-an. Based on the Lotus Sutra, this doctrine clarifies the ultimate oneness of the absolute reality (Buddhahood) and the phenomenal world (environment).
A life-moment refers to the state of a person's life at any given moment and 3000 refers to the diversity of potential states it can assume at that moment. T'ien T'ai explained that a life-moment contains within it the Ten Worlds, their mutual possession, the ten factors and the three realms. In this way he demonstrated that all phenomena - body and mind, self and environment, sentient and insentient, cause and effect - are integrated in the life moment of the common mortal.
T'ien T'ai's doctrine is called the theoretical three thousand realms because it refers in theory to the life of Buddhahood latent in all people. In Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, three thousand realms refers to the method of attaining Buddhahood in this life, and is referred to as actual three thousand realms.

Letter to the Brothers

Nichiren Daishonin wrote ‘Letter to the Brothers’, the study material published in the May-June Living Buddhism, to the Ikegami brothers who lived in what is present day Tokyo. Although the brothers, who were both samurai, had been practicing for about 20 years, little is known about their early practice. It is known that their father was adamantly opposed to their practice and finally disowned the elder brother in an attempt to drive a wedge between them. In a final turnaround, the brothers converted their father after 22 years practice.

This gosho is about devils and obstacles to our practice. Devils in Buddhism are those negative functions that originate from our fundamental darkness. The brothers faced severe opposition from their father. As Nichiren Daishonin wrote in ‘Letter to the Brothers’, “If you propagate it, devils will arise without fail. If they did not, there would be no way of knowing that this is the correct teaching.”

For a more current example, and in a different context, consider a young woman who joined the SGI about 25 years ago and participated in vigorous activities. She married her sponsor. Life was good. But the woman, after 10 years of practice, was visited by a powerful devil.

From the gosho, Nichiren quotes from ‘Great Concentration and Insight’, “As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge in confusing form, vying with one another to interfere … One should be neither influenced nor frightened by them. If one falls under their influence, one will be led into the paths of evil. If one is frightened by them, one will be prevented from practicing the correct teaching.”

The young woman fought the devil and the devil won. In 1991 she and her husband joined the temple.

O dear!

Practice with the temple was difficult. Members were expected to simply follow and not question. Rumors and hearsay abounded. Eventually she and her husband stopped going to activities. Now, life was not good. Then her husband left.

14 suffering years later, through the efforts of her brother and sister-in-law, she finally reconnected with the SGI. She made a new beginning. Her daughter, seeing the change in her mother, began a consistent practice. Life was getting better.

This is not an urban legend. You can read the account, and the experience of her brother, a member of the Soka Spirit Group, in the April 27 WT.

Nichiren Daishonin emphasizes that those who propagate the correct teaching will encounter obstacles and the appearance of such obstacles confirms the validity of their practice. One might wonder, ‘What’s the difference between my problems and those of non-believers?’ It might be better to look within rather than comparing ourselves to others. One doesn’t get rich by counting another person’s money.

The ‘doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life’ mentioned in the text is the supreme philosophical achievement of T’ien T’ai the Great of sixth century China. Based on the Lotus Sutra, this doctrine clarifies the ultimate oneness of life and the environment. You can read some details in the May-June Living Buddhism.

T’ien T’ai’s doctrine is called the theoretical three thousand realms because it refers in theory to the life of Buddhahood latent within all people. In Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, however, it refers to the means to manifest Buddhahood as a reality within the lives of all people. Therefore it is called the actual three thousand realms.

Mention of the three thousand realms opens the way to a discussion of the ‘three obstacles and four devils’. These are events or situations in our lives that tend to hinder our Buddhist practice. Some details can be found in the May-Jun Living Buddhism. Overcoming these obstacles and devils is the means to end the suffering that originates in our lives.

As long as we are determined to achieve our happiness and help others to do the same, we are certain to face obstacles. We may tend to think of visible benefits as our actual proof of the validity of our practice, but the appearance of obstacles can also be tremendous proof of our progress in faith. Once we are resolved to overcome them, hardships can be a good teacher and a good means to lead us to purer faith, greater strength and a higher state of life.