Lee Siew Chun
SGS Young Women Division Chief
I am grateful to my grandmother for bringing the Buddhism of the sun, Nichiren Buddhism, to our family.
“You will overcome your illness by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!” A neighbour told my grandmother who was bedridden due to a serious illness. The doctor had earlier informed our family to prepare for the worst.
Transformation of My Family
This neighbour would come to chant with my grandmother every day and after three days, my grandmother was strong enough to sit up straight in bed. My grandmother prolonged her life for 15 years after fighting her health challenges head-on.
Seeing this actual proof, my mother and three aunts started chanting and attending monthly discussion meetings. My father, however, objected to my mother enshrining the Gohonzon.
My father was a part-time welder, and our financial situation was unstable. To make ends meet, my mother worked as a kitchen assistant while caring for me and my two older sisters. When I was one month old, she realised that she did not want to continue living a life of suffering anymore. She resolved to seriously pray for my father to get a stable job, stop drinking, and our family’s financial situation to improve. She also prayed for my father to be supportive of our Buddhist practice.
Everything starts from our inner determination. A few months later, my father found a stable, full-time job! After working full-time, he stopped drinking so much. Recognising the importance of chanting in front of the Gohonzon in our daily Buddhist practice, my mother further strengthened her resolve to receive the Gohonzon for the sake of the happiness and harmony of our family.
In 1994, she summoned her courage once more to ask my father about enshrining the Gohonzon. Unexpectedly, he agreed readily! It must be due to the positive changes he saw in our lives and my mother’s human revolution that convinced him to accept our Buddhist practice.
Now, more than 30 relatives in my mother’s family are practising Nichiren Buddhism!
My Awakening
Even though I am a fortune baby, I would only chant daimoku during the examination periods or when I encountered challenges. However, I regularly attended discussion meetings due to the warmth of the district members and the delicious home-cooked food served after the meetings. I am also grateful to my Young Women Division (YWD) seniors for never giving up on me.
My first turning point was in 2015 when I participated in the opening ceremony of the Southeast Asia Games. I did not enjoy the training process and journey. At that point, my seniors in faith encouraged me and while I was seeking Ikeda Sensei through his writings, I came across this guidance of Toda Sensei, “If that’s how you feel, then why don’t you create an organisation that you truly like? Work hard and devote yourself earnestly to building the ideal organisation through your own efforts!” (Discussions on Youth)
As I progressed in my faith journey, I learnt what this guidance means in my context. The Buddhist concept of the oneness of life and its environment teaches that individuals can influence and transform their environments through their inner change. Our inner state of life is also simultaneously manifested in our surroundings. We have the ability to create an environment that we truly enjoy, through our own efforts and human revolution.
I reflected on the event and realised that instead of lamenting over the negative experience, I should tap on it as a springboard to put what I learnt in Buddhism into action. I wanted to strive and become a cheerful and sincere young woman who will be sensitive to people’s circumstances, and someone who can create a harmonious and thriving environment wherever I am.
Later, I decided to join the YWD training programme to strengthen my faith. During the training, we studied The New Human Revolution and Gosho extensively. My faith deepened as a result, and I realised how much Ikeda Sensei had worked for kosen-rufu. Upon completing the training, I joined the Byakuren Group on my own initiative. My senior in faith was surprised as she took almost three years to encourage me to join the training and function group. Subsequently, I assumed various leadership responsibilities in the organisation. I attribute my awakening and growth to the perseverance and trust of my seniors in faith.
Since young, I had low self-esteem. I frequently worried about the judgement of others, and encountering situations where I felt things were beyond my control. Through the diverse training and platforms provided by SGS, I could tap on my potential and actualise my human revolution. I realised that it is important to keep trying and never give up in all things. I also became aware that we possess the power to change our environment and circumstances. Instead of clinging to uncertainties, I based myself on daimoku and became confident that I could direct everything towards the best direction. People around me have told me the positive changes they see in me since I became serious in my Buddhist practice, too.
Clinching Victories at Work
In 2020, at the height of the global pandemic, I received a call from my manager informing me that my job would be impacted due to reorganisation. Losing this job would mean a loss of income for my mother and me, at a time when there seemed to be no end to the pandemic. However, I did not feel worried or anxious. I was certain that everything happened for a profound reason. I thanked my manager calmly for sharing this difficult news and expressed my absolute trust in her ability to protect the team. On the same night, we were informed that Ikeda Sensei had sent a message to the youth division members in Singapore.
Ikeda Sensei said, “Nichiren Daishonin states, ‘When a tree has been transplanted, though fierce winds may blow, it will not topple if it has a firm stake to hold it up.’ (WND-1, p. 598) All of you have embraced the world’s foremost philosophy – the correct teachings of Buddhism as youths. Therefore, there is no way that you will be defeated by the fierce winds of tribulations and sufferings that are currently buffeting our lives with great intensity.” This message was extremely timely, and I felt that Ikeda Sensei was always watching over us. I resolved to emerge victorious, regardless of my circumstances!
A few days later, my manager informed us that our company had been invited to take on a multi-million training project to reskill Singaporeans affected by the pandemic, in emerging industries. I was asked to be part of this big project. With this newly created position, my employment was secured, and it provided me with opportunities to create value to help Singaporeans during such unprecedented times. I was convinced with this actual proof that we can activate the protective functions of the universe if we summoned forth the power of faith and practice in us.
Today, the training project is coming to an end, and with the steadfast support of the same manager, I am transitioning to a new position with a 38% increase in my remuneration. As such, I am determined to increase my contribution to the Members Contribution Fund this year too.
Dashing Ahead with Hope
Having fulfilled my mission, I graduated as Byakuren Chief on May 3, 2024. I was truly humbled and filled with immense gratitude to take up my new mission as SGS YWD Chief on July 3, 2024, which also marks the Mentor and Disciple Day.
I also attended the SGI Youth Training Course this year (2024) which was the first SGI Youth Training Course held after Ikeda Sensei’s passing. All 260 youth from 60 countries were brimming with hope, ready to take on the challenge of advancing kosen-rufu in our respective homelands in a fresh departure.
Fresh departure often entails the beginning of a new greater struggle. In a guidance, which I keep close to my heart, which Toda Sensei gave to a YWD member, he said, “If you aren’t going to create happiness in the place where you are now, where else are you going to find it?” (Our Brilliant Path of Victory, “My Mentor, Josei Toda – Part 2” ) I believe to create happiness where we are we need to develop inner strength and become people who aren’t defeated by life struggles.
I will continue to develop my inner strength and create happiness for myself and others in the place where I am.
In Ikeda Sensei’s study lecture series, The Buddhism of the Sun – Illuminating the World, “Key Passages from The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings ‘Bodhisattva Never Disparaging’ chapter” published in the December 2023 issue of the Daibyakurenge, the Soka Gakkai monthly study journal, Ikeda Sensei declared, “Now, as we approach the Year of Fresh Departure for a Youthful Soka Gakkai Worldwide, I would like to present our youthful Bodhisattvas of the Earth, whose hearts are one with mine, with the words my mentor (Toda Sensei) said to me in the past, and ask that they ‘strive in my place’… The curtain has now finally risen on the crucial seven years for securing an unshakeable foundation for lasting world peace!”
I will respond to my mentor with all my heart. At a joint executive conference with SGI representatives from Singapore and Australia on November 26, 2000, Ikeda Sensei stressed to the young people present, “Having a mentor in life provides you with a model for living, and there is no more wonderful example than mentors and disciples striving together, dedicating their lives to the lofty ideal of peace and happiness for all humanity.”
From a girl with no goal and aspirations, I am now leading a life of supreme purpose and value, striving for the happiness of many people and the noble goal of kosen-rufu as SGS YWD Chief. I am who I am today, solely because of my mentor. I am determined to be a true disciple who takes action and joyfully fulfils the vow of the Ikeda Kayo-kai with gratitude!
(Adapted from November 2024 issue of Creative Life)
