World Peace Prayer 3 May

We had a great World Peace Prayer meeting on 3 May at Mt. Rainier Community Center. The meeting was planned by Prince George's East Chapter and all three Prince George's East districts were represented in the program. Denise Greene from Bowie District led gongyo, Nikki Jeter from Prince George's District and Lawrence Cooper from Crofton District shared emcee responsibilities. 

The emcee's introduced the theme: Significance of Buddhist Offering, Sara Fultz read President Ikeda's May 3rd message. Carmela Menchaka's words of encouragement emphasized the importance of the May contribution effort. 

The video of the 27th Headquarters Leaders meeting begins with an expression of President Ikeda’s personal encouragement to all members by presenting representatives from various regions with poems and photos, followed by a choral presentation of the new Ikeda Kayo-kai song.

 

In his speech, President Ikeda acknowledges SGI members from 60 overseas countries and offers quotes from acclaimed scholars from several of those countries, including America, France, Denmark and Brazil. It is also the first time a representative from the African nation of Gabon is attending.

  

President Ikeda recalls the struggle he shared with youth to write "Song of Crimson" twenty-eight years ago. It included over twenty revisions. He also recounts the founding and spirit of the "Gajokai"—young men who oversee the protection of SGI members and community centers. He offers words of encouragement and guidance to men, women and youth, recalling the words of his mentor President Toda.

Kazue Elliot

Kazue Elliot came to America in 1958 with $25 in her pocket and an incurable illness. Her challenges in those early years are too numerous to count. So when Mrs. Elliot retired four decades later—in 1999—having surmounted tremendous difficulties, she made a firm determination to give to the annual S G I - U S A May Commemorative Contribution activity in a way she had never done before. “Without the Gohonzon, without the SGI and SGI President Ikeda,” she says, “I could not be here today. So with that appreciation, I wanted to give from my heart.” 

Almsgiving is considered the first of the six paramitas, or practices, required of bodhisattvas to attain enlightenment. For longtime Buddhist practitioners such as Mrs. Elliot, the essence of contribution is not the amount, but the spirit to live with a heart of appreciation. “When you can bring out your appreciation,” she says, “your happiness gets deeper and deeper. But without appreciation, your world gets so small.” 

The May Commemorative Contribution activity is a means, she says, to learn how to expand one’s heart. One year, for instance, Mrs. Elliot found it hard to meet her contribution goal. When she chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo about it, she realized that she had to fight against her own tendency to lose her sense of appreciation, even after years of Buddhist practice. “President Ikeda teaches us that every day is a battle between the negative functions in our heart and our Buddhahood,” she says. When we make a determination to change our lives, our negativity is bound to come up, trying to close off our heart, she explains. When she felt her heart close, she urged herself to think about others. When she shifted her focus to supporting others, she broke through her impasse and accomplished her goal. Mrs. Elliot came to the United States in 1958. Two years later, she was present when President Ikeda made his first visit to Los Angeles. She saw how he took great care to encourage the Japanese members living there. “He knew we were so poor,” says Mrs. Elliot, “but he encouraged us to learn English, get a driver’s license and become good American citizens.” 

Those words gave her hope that she could build a meaningful life in the states, so she wholeheartedly followed his guidance. “When I think about how little I had when I arrived and how I was able to work for kosen-rufu in America for all these years,” she says, “I have so much appreciation for the Gohonzon and President Ikeda. Life is so different now.” For nearly 50 years, Mrs. Elliot has lived a fulfilling life in this country—an accomplishment she attributes to her Buddhist practice, her involvement in the SGI and learning from her mentor, President Ikeda. This deep sense of gratitude is what characterizes Mrs. Elliot’s approach to life. “Without appreciation, I cannot live,” she says. “And for as long as I am alive, I want to keep showing my appreciation and keep contributing to the SGI.”

Soka Spirit Towards April 24th

On April 24, 1979 the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood, in conjunction with Soka Gakkai leaders who were betraying the Soka Gakkai in Japan, forced President Ikeda to step down as the third President of the Soka Gakkai in Japan. 

 

Still though, President Ikeda remained the President of the newly created Soka Gakkai 

International.  He used this as a base to unite with Soka Gakkai members and fight for Justice.  

For the next thirty years our mentor has continued to expand the SGI into the greatest 

organization for the spread of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism and world peace in the world today.  (more information Feb 27 World Tribune, p. 7)

 

As this anniversary approaches, the leaders of the Mid-Atlantic Zone have determined to 

encourage everyone to fight for Justice with a multi-faceted daimoku campaign to help as many temple members as possible leave the temple and rejoin the SGI.

 

Let's make a difference toward April 24, 2009 by solidifying our spirit and uniting to make the next four weeks an absolute success!

 

There are many new opportunities for Soka Spirit/Justice daimoku:

 

MARCH 28th,   APRIL 4th,   APRIL 11th  and  APRIL 18th.....ALL DAY SATURDAY SOKA SPIRIT DAIMOKU AT THE CULTURE CENTER FROM 9:00AM  UNTIL 4:00PM

 

SUNDAYS:  SUNDAY MORNING SOKA SPIRIT DAIMOKU SESSIONS:

DC CULTURE CENTER..... 8:00AM-9:00AM

MT. RAINIER COMMUNITY CENTER.....8:00AM-9:30AM

MONTGOMERY ACTIVITY CENTER...8:00AM-9:00AM

 

"Round Robin" daimoku in every region between now and April 24th and beyond to the beginning of the May Contribution Campaign.  There will be coverage/sign up in each region in Mid Atlantic Zone.  We will send more details on this next week.

 

All existing Soka Spirit daimoku sessions, for example the March and April Soka Spirit daimoku session calendars, will still take place as additional opportunities to send powerful daimoku.

Buddhist Victory

In the March study lecture on 'The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra', President Ikeda writes, "Buddhism is primarily concerned with victory and defeat. It is a struggle between enlightenment and ignorance. Kosen-rufu is a battle between the Buddha and devilish functions. The heart is what decides our victory or defeat in all things. Spiritual victors can lead lives undefeated by anything. The secret to adorning our lives with brilliant victory is the 'strategy of the Lotus Sutra'". (Living Buddhism Mar-Apr 2009 pg 53)

The Bowie District study meeting will be held at the Wolpert's on Monday 23 March. Please come to learn more about this important writing by Nichiren Daishonin.

Mid-Atlantic Zone Expands

As announced at the Zone Kickoff Meeting on 28 Feb, the Mid-Atlantic Zone has expanded to five regions: Virginia South, Virginia, Capital, Washington DC and Maryland. Region and area leaders were announced during the meeting. Prince George's Area has divided into the Central Area and the Southern Maryland Area of the Capital Region.

PG Central Chapter has divided. Cheverly, Broad River, Fortune and Mt Rainier Districts are in the Central Area. Bowie and Prince George's Districts are in the Southern Maryland Area along with the districts of Potomac Chapter. 

Leadership positions were announced as follows:

Capital Region: MD Ken Hodge; Vice MD Jason Feinman; WD Karen Howe; Vice WD Tina Smith, Jennifer Bryant and Angela Baden; YMD Damien Bryant; YWD Ayanna Wilson.

Southern Maryland Area: MD Mac Ewell; WD Jennifer Bryant; Vice WD Sarah Fultz.

Until chapter and district leaders are announced at the April Kosenrufu Gongyo, we will continue with the current organizational setup. 

Shijo Kingo - Trusted Disciple

The study material for March is the gosho "The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra".

Shijo Kingo was the recipient of this gosho. Shijo lived in Kamakura with his wife and two daughters. As a samurai well versed in medicine and martial arts he was in the service of the Ema family. Lord Ema was a follower of Ryokan, a priest of the True Word Precepts school who bitterly opposed Nichiren Daishonin. Shijo urged Ema to take faith in the Lotus Sutra resulting in a loss of favor with Ema to the point that Ema threatened to confiscate Shijo's fief. Later, Ema grew ill and Shijo was able to nurse him back to health thus restoring Ema's trust. Shijo was granted a fief three times larger than the original one. Even so, out of jealousy and resentment, Shijo's enemies (fellow samurai) attacked him. Shijo escaped unharmed. This letter is a reply to Shijo's report of the attack.

Shijo, recipient of 29 of Nichiren's writings, was a most trusted disciple. He accompanied Nichiren to Tatsunokuchi where Nichiren was to be beheaded. He also visited Nichiren during his exile to Sado. When Nichiren was on his deathbed, Shijo attended him and he participated in his funeral.