General Director’s New Year’s Message
Happy New Year, and my sincere greetings to all members at the start of this new year of 2021!
This year’s theme is “Year of Hope and Victory”. With the world still challenging the new normal post Covid-19 pandemic, the time has come for us to demonstrate through our compassion and hope-filled activities, a groundswell of hope and victories, and expand our movement for the peace and happiness of the world. With hope and courage, let us transform all adversities into victories for 2021! Where there is hope, there is victory, and where there is victory, there is hope. Let us create ripples of hope and victories, from wherever we are!
2021 will mark our first year of the decade towards year 2030, the centennial of Soka Gakkai’s founding. This decade towards November 18, 2030 has also been designated as the “Decade to Build a New Youthful Soka Gakkai”.
As we advance towards our 100th anniversary, it is crucial we build ranks of capable youth who seek Ikeda Sensei as their mentor, and who are committed to realising their vow of realising our mentor’s ideals and visions. Let us pray and do our best to warmly foster our youth division members in all aspects for them to realise their fullest potential for kosen-rufu. Ikeda Sensei writes in “Fresh Hope” Chapter, in Volume 12 of The New Human Revolution as follows,
“No matter how dynamic and solid an organisation appears to be, if its youth are not growing, it will eventually stagnate. Fostering young people is crucial to the achievement of kosen-rufu.”
This year will also mark several important anniversaries. Amongst many, it will mark 800 years since Nichiren Daishonin’s birth; the 150th anniversary of first Soka Gakkai president Mr Tsunesaburo Makiguchi’s birth; the 70th anniversary of Mr Josei Toda’s inauguration as second Soka Gakkai president; the 70th anniversaries of the Women, Young Men and Young Women Divisions. For us in SSA, we will also be witnessing the completion of our new centre at Punggol in November. Heartiest congratulations to all as we are able to partake in these auspicious commemorations!
In his message to the 46th Soka Gakkai Headquarters Leaders Meeting of the New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu, Ikeda Sensei shared:
“The decade from the Soka Gakkai’s 90th anniversary to its centennial in 2030 will be crucial. We must be even more determined to show victorious proof of our own human revolution, to transform all great evil into great good, and to effect a powerful change in the destiny of all humankind.”
With the unshakeable conviction that “Here I will make a great vow” (WND-1, p. 280), let’s set out to triumph over every challenge and goal we have set forth this year, with the awareness that we are all Bodhisattvas of the Earth, each with a noble and unique mission for kosen-rufu, the movement to awaken the inherent Buddha nature in ourselves and that of others, bringing forth this supreme state of happiness in life.
Together, let’s create hope and victory with the vast heart of Soka, and show great actual proof through our individual human revolution. Wishing everyone and your family, good health, happiness and victory in 2021.
Tay Eng Kiat
SSA General Director
