Photo by Brendan Harris
BrendanHarris.net
As you know, on May 3, 1951, Toda-Sensei was inaugurated as second Soka Gakkai president. In those days, Soka Gakkai had around 3,00 members. Toda-Sensei made a great determination - to convert 750,000 households before his passing. With his determination and the youthful efforts of Ikeda-Sensei, Soka humanism spread into every corner of Japan. It even reached the most tiny village in the most isolated corner and my dear father joined around 1956.
My father introduced the rest of our family. I was three years old.
You would like my dad. He was a rebel and a creative type. He argued with the leaders. He really liked to drink. He sang and told us folk-tales. He also argued with the local priests. My dad told me, “Yo-chan, have unlimited dreams. The bigger dreams, the better. Do not let your future be decided by this island country’s mentality.”
I read Ikeda Sensei’s encouragement for youth to go abroad and work for kosen-rufu.
My mom said, “I trust you, Yo-chan.”
And so, in 1974, aged twenty-one, I moved to Canada alone. I had two vows. First I wanted to help spread Nichiren Buddhism and so contribute to Canadian society. Second, I was determined to someday build a harmonious family.
Actually, I was quite naive. I had no idea what I was getting into.
Two years later my heart broke. My dear father passed away. Too young. Too early. He never came to Canada. He never saw the family I built.
I decided to start my harmonious family with Keith. It was not easy. He was sick, weak, and could not keep a job. But he loved Ikeda-Sensei and our movement and we shared a mission.
Keith also was naive. We were not prepared for a family or life or what the future held.
Fortunately I stumbled into my profession - dental lab technician. The job is very difficult and I had no training, no credentials, and no experience. I stuck to it for over thirty years.
Erica came and then Andrea. We did activities every night with the girls. We bought an old, falling apart house in West Hillhurst - less than 600 square feet for four people and a cat. For meetings we carried the furniture out onto the front lawn. People sat on the floor.
When we were not having meetings in our home we travelled around Canada and the western U.S. for activities. We took the girls everywhere.. Of course they made lots of noise and interrupted meetings.
Keith lost many jobs and went to the hospital many times. In fact, he had eleven major surgeries.
It felt like every trouble a woman could have, I had.
I had a full time job that was quite stressful and the girls were first in daycare, then school. Eventually we bought a larger house so we could hold larger meetings. In fact, before the Community Centre was built, our house was used as the Calgary Activity Centre. We were able to welcome so many different people into our home. Wonderful, fascinating people; and some who were not so wonderful.
In 1981 me, Keith and twenty two month old Erica travelled to Toronto. We wanted to help welcome Ikeda-sensei on his second visit to Canada. Actually none of us attended the big meeting with Sensei. Keith was working behind the scenes and mothers with small children waited in another room. Then, someone told us to go to a hallway. After the meeting Sensei came into the hallway. For an instant he caught my eye, then he put his hand on Erica’s head and other children and chanted three times for each child. I will never forget that moment.
To be able to witness his behaviour up close remains a high point of my life. I will never forget his eyes for that brief second, nor him encouraging Erica. Makes me cry to remember.
I went through poverty, sickness, relationship problems. For many years, some leaders here in Calgary worked hard but sadly their efforts were primarily for their own self-interest. Although they did much good, in the end they could not get past their own egos and undermined Sensei’s efforts, creating confusion and disunity. Many times I wondered what to do. I felt like the Gohonzon and my daimoku were my only comrades. Eventually they left our precious organization.
No matter how poor we were, we wholeheartedly contributed financially to our movement. No matter what difficulties we faced, we tried our best to participate in activities and support our wonderful mentor.
And I won.
Now we are facing this world-wide pandemic and isolation. Looking to the next ten years I will face new challenges. I want to tell people how great is this practice.
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