This year marks Soka Gakkai Singapore’s 50 years of incorporation as a legal entity carrying out the Buddha’s work, in accord with Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings and following the guidance of the Soka Gakkai (the organisation was officially registered under the Registry of Societies in January 1972).
This year also marks the 55th year of establishment of the first district in Singapore with the appointment of late General Director, Mr Koh Kian Boon, as the first district leader on June 24, 1967.
Today, we have grown from one district to 521 districts and from a handful of members to more than 30,000 members in Singapore.
With our greatest appreciation to Ikeda Sensei for gifting us our first centre at Geylang, we now have eight activity centres, with our ninth centre, Punggol Soka Centre, due to open in the later part of this year.
All these would not have been possible without the sincere faith and dedication of all SGS members, especially our pioneers, who have striven alongside the organisation through all challenges and always alongside our mentor to give utmost support to SGS.
All your invaluable contributions have made SGS what we are today.
Although the last two years had been a difficult period of the pandemic, you have all withstood the challenges and persisted on with faith and triumph over these adversities.
Through these, including the chanting of abundant daimoku, supporting SGS activities, sharing Buddhism with friends, making financial offerings, carrying out dialogues: you have accumulated immense good fortune and benefits for yourselves and your families.
At this critical juncture where the world is faced with daunting challenges, let us continue to strive joyously in the spirit of many in body and one in mind, encouraging each other to advance together as comrades of the Mystic Law.
In his message to the 7th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting (please refer to ST648 April 2022 issue), Ikeda Sensei wrote,
“In this age of turmoil and confusion, amid seemingly never-ending challenges, we of the Soka Gakkai dedicate ourselves to spreading the Mystic Law. With the same mind as the Buddha and the same spirit as the Daishonin, we strive to develop an unshakeable, eternal state of happiness in the depths of our lives and help others do the same. And we take courageous, patient action to positively transform our communities and society — in the spirit of ’purifying the land three times’ as described in the Lotus Sutra (cf LSOC11, pp. 212-13) and realise the Daishonin’s ideal of ’establishing the correct teachings for the peace of the land’.”
As we commemorate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of our first district this June, let us never forget this important guidance of Sensei and continue to enjoy our SGS activities while carrying out our human revolution and helping others attain absolute happiness in this Buddha’s land. This should be our mission in this lifetime.
