A sutra says: “If you want to understand what results will be manifested in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present.” (WND-1, 279).
In volume 30 of the epic novel New Human Revolution, Great Mountain, Ikeda Sensei wrote, "Shinichi told himself, 'It’s now or never! Don’t let this precious moment slip by!'" Such was the sense of urgency with which our mentor carried out kosen-rufu movement.
We are already in the third quarter of 2017, the year which Ikeda Sensei designated as the “Year of Developing Youth in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu”.
As the deadline of achieving a target of 50,000 membership by 18 November this year draws closer, let us try to understand its significance.
The target of 50,000 membership was first set in the year 2005, in response to Ikeda Sensei’s call to achieve a target of 1% of the respective countries’ population. This 50,000 membership goal was initially targeted to be achieved in 2010. The achievement of the unprecedented 1,111 Gohonzon Conferment in 2005 gave fresh hopes to many of us that SSA was finally returning to its root of propagation as its original focus ever since it was neglected in the 1990s under the senior youth leadership at that time. Between 2006 and 2009, SSA senior leadership, with youth division as the driving force, kept up its focus on propagation activities.
In 2010, just as the propagation efforts were gearing towards the 50,000 target, this goal was suddenly dropped by the central leaders. It was as if someone had pulled a handbrake. Instead, the central leaders mysteriously re-directed the organisation’s focus to the 20K great discussion meeting exercise and year-end Soka Gakkai 80th anniversary celebration. Thereafter, in December 2010, for some strange reasons, it was announced that the goal to achieve the target of 50,000 membership was adjourned to 2017, a procrastination of 7 years! We find this deviation from the ‘now or never’ way Ikeda Sensei carried out kosen-rufu movement very disturbing.
Finally after 4 years of oblivion, this goal of 50,000 suddenly resurfaced in 2014. With changes in top leadership came different methods to build momentum towards the 50,000 target. Examples included apportioning this target based on some simple linear mathematical calculation, with a uniform increase of the number of memberships per district per year from 2014 to 2017, though the leaders at the zone, chapter and district levels had never seemed to be clear on how it all adds up. YWD came up with their Hi 5! Campaign while the YMD started their 11,11 and Happiness CYCLIST campaigns.
By now, we all know clearly in our hearts that all these methods have brought disappointing results.
With the recent appointment of new adult leadership which essentially comprise former senior youth leaders who led the youth division in the 1990s, we understand that SSA launched the Happiness Counter Campaign at the meeting to commemorate March 16. What is this campaign about?
To understand this, let’s study the total membership of SSA. From SSA official sources, the following table shows the estimated membership over the years.
In volume 30 of the epic novel New Human Revolution, Great Mountain, Ikeda Sensei wrote, "Shinichi told himself, 'It’s now or never! Don’t let this precious moment slip by!'" Such was the sense of urgency with which our mentor carried out kosen-rufu movement.
We are already in the third quarter of 2017, the year which Ikeda Sensei designated as the “Year of Developing Youth in the New Era of Worldwide Kosen-rufu”.
As the deadline of achieving a target of 50,000 membership by 18 November this year draws closer, let us try to understand its significance.
The target of 50,000 membership was first set in the year 2005, in response to Ikeda Sensei’s call to achieve a target of 1% of the respective countries’ population. This 50,000 membership goal was initially targeted to be achieved in 2010. The achievement of the unprecedented 1,111 Gohonzon Conferment in 2005 gave fresh hopes to many of us that SSA was finally returning to its root of propagation as its original focus ever since it was neglected in the 1990s under the senior youth leadership at that time. Between 2006 and 2009, SSA senior leadership, with youth division as the driving force, kept up its focus on propagation activities.
In 2010, just as the propagation efforts were gearing towards the 50,000 target, this goal was suddenly dropped by the central leaders. It was as if someone had pulled a handbrake. Instead, the central leaders mysteriously re-directed the organisation’s focus to the 20K great discussion meeting exercise and year-end Soka Gakkai 80th anniversary celebration. Thereafter, in December 2010, for some strange reasons, it was announced that the goal to achieve the target of 50,000 membership was adjourned to 2017, a procrastination of 7 years! We find this deviation from the ‘now or never’ way Ikeda Sensei carried out kosen-rufu movement very disturbing.
Finally after 4 years of oblivion, this goal of 50,000 suddenly resurfaced in 2014. With changes in top leadership came different methods to build momentum towards the 50,000 target. Examples included apportioning this target based on some simple linear mathematical calculation, with a uniform increase of the number of memberships per district per year from 2014 to 2017, though the leaders at the zone, chapter and district levels had never seemed to be clear on how it all adds up. YWD came up with their Hi 5! Campaign while the YMD started their 11,11 and Happiness CYCLIST campaigns.
By now, we all know clearly in our hearts that all these methods have brought disappointing results.
With the recent appointment of new adult leadership which essentially comprise former senior youth leaders who led the youth division in the 1990s, we understand that SSA launched the Happiness Counter Campaign at the meeting to commemorate March 16. What is this campaign about?
To understand this, let’s study the total membership of SSA. From SSA official sources, the following table shows the estimated membership over the years.
Year |
Membership |
2005 |
35,000 |
2008 |
32,000 |
2009 |
34,000 |
2010 |
36,000 |
2013 |
38,000 |
2014 |
32,000 |
2015 |
32,000 |
2017 |
33,000 |
We wondered why the membership could fluctuate by as much as a few thousands in some years and to be honest, there was in fact a drop in the membership since the year 2005. We understand that in some years, membership count included the Soka network which essentially comprised of friends of SSA but in more recent years, they were excluded. If what is to be included and excluded in membership depends on the whims and fancy of top leadership, then would the membership figures not be easily manipulated to achieve the organisation’s ends?
As part of the Happiness Counter Campaign, there is a big exercise underway to approach many family members who are inactive to complete membership forms. We must admit that this is a very clever way to increase membership quickly without much effort needed. For example, suppose a Men Division member applied for Gohonzon some years ago when he was a father of three young children. He would have included all his family members in his membership application form. All along, he would have been counted as one Setai member and his family members would have already been included in the Tokang list. All his children and wife are now being approached by frontline leaders to complete separate membership forms, even if they do nothing more than visiting the culture centres once a year during Lunar New Year Open House or chant 3 daimoku each day. In this way, membership count would have increased by 4! The same goes for believers. It is not hard to see that this method will definitely lead to double counting.
With dismal Gohonzon conferment figures in the last few years (not difficult to infer from studying the number of people receiving Gohonzon from SSA Times), SSA top leaders choose to turn their attention on form filling instead of reviewing the failed propagation campaigns. It seems that all they care about is to increase membership count.
Ikeda Sensei wrote in NHR, Great Mountain Chapter, “When the disciples’ resolve aligns with that of the mentor, the wheels of kosen-rufu begin to move powerfully. That is why the unity of mentor and disciple is the lifeline of Soka Gakkai.”
We were recently inspired by the example of Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) Youth Division which aims to achieve 100,000 youth membership. The senior youth leaders recalled the message that Ikeda Sensei conveyed at BSG's general meeting in 2014: "Please lead the youth of the entire world."
Two years ago, BSG went on to accomplish a membership of 110,000 and last year, they broke through a membership of 150,000. In the centre of BSG’s explosive vigour, it has been the youth who took the lead.
We are struck by the way the senior youth leaders explained the goal of 100,000 youths: "Our goal is to create a solidarity of '100,000 Shinichi Yamamotos' rather than the mere increase of membership. What refreshing words!"
They were inspired by Ikeda Sensei who had achieved "100,000 patriots" for his mentor, Toda Sensei in 1958. Instead of just reading what Shinichi Yamamoto has done in NHR, they aspire to practise like the “Shinichi Yamamotos” in the modern era.
Furthermore, once in every two months, the youths will gather at the chapter level in individual division to study the novel. Their spirit is so strong that even new friends are invited to study with them.
The prime point of the mentor and disciple spirit which the Youth Division of BSG cherishes with Ikeda Sensei is contained in the single word "NOW". They wanted to respond to the mentor's call and delight the mentor.
We salute the BSG Youths who are clearly in tandem with the mentor’s heart and we are confident that the great advancement of kosen-rufu for India is assured!
The gap between SSA and BSG in their approach to fight propagation campaigns could not have been wider. SSA is reduced to strategizing to reach membership target while BSG is using membership campaign as a means to increase the Buddha forces as well as to strengthen the faith of current membership.
In the 28th HQ leaders meeting commemorating May 3rd in 2009, Ikeda Sensei said, ‘The Soka Gakkai is an organisation of lions. “Lion” is a symbol for the oneness of mentor and disciple. Both the mentor and the disciple must boldly keep on winning. I have fought like a lion all my life. And I have won. I want the youth to fight like lions too, and triumph in every struggle. I am counting on you!’
BSG senior leaders clearly have engraved Ikeda Sensei’s words to heart. What came out strongly in BSG example is that instead of merely chasing numbers, the propagation campaign provides a mean to transform all members to become Shinichi Yamamotos, in other words, to become lion cubs who are courageous individuals who can win over all obstacles in their lives as they immerse themselves in the propagation campaign. The members are not only fully involved; they understand the significance of the campaign and they are joyful to be part of it. It is clearly a campaign that changes lives and draws members closer to the mentor.
In the case of SSA, on the other hand, by focusing on form filling, we suspect that the original intent of the membership target got lost along the way, even among the top leaders. Majority of the members are not actively involved in the act of propagation at all! A great opportunity to inculcate in them the true spirit of propagation has slipped away.
SSA top leaders need to understand that merely parroting Ikeda Sensei’s guidance at meetings but not engraving them to heart and translating them into concrete actions, they are only practising the mentor and disciple spirit. But, in the essential phase of the second act of worldwide kosen-rufu, true disciples should practise what BSG is practising: the ONENESS of the mentor and disciple spirit.
Makiguchi Sensei once said: “A thousand sheep cannot hold their own against a single lion.”
By hook or by crook, we are quite confident that the 50,000 membership target can be achieved without fail. The glory and credit will certainly go to the senior leaders who “oversee” the campaign.
But without having been inspired to fight like lions, how many of us will truly be celebrating on November 18? Will SSA members become ‘sheep’ in the process of achieving 50,000 membership target?
As part of the Happiness Counter Campaign, there is a big exercise underway to approach many family members who are inactive to complete membership forms. We must admit that this is a very clever way to increase membership quickly without much effort needed. For example, suppose a Men Division member applied for Gohonzon some years ago when he was a father of three young children. He would have included all his family members in his membership application form. All along, he would have been counted as one Setai member and his family members would have already been included in the Tokang list. All his children and wife are now being approached by frontline leaders to complete separate membership forms, even if they do nothing more than visiting the culture centres once a year during Lunar New Year Open House or chant 3 daimoku each day. In this way, membership count would have increased by 4! The same goes for believers. It is not hard to see that this method will definitely lead to double counting.
With dismal Gohonzon conferment figures in the last few years (not difficult to infer from studying the number of people receiving Gohonzon from SSA Times), SSA top leaders choose to turn their attention on form filling instead of reviewing the failed propagation campaigns. It seems that all they care about is to increase membership count.
Ikeda Sensei wrote in NHR, Great Mountain Chapter, “When the disciples’ resolve aligns with that of the mentor, the wheels of kosen-rufu begin to move powerfully. That is why the unity of mentor and disciple is the lifeline of Soka Gakkai.”
We were recently inspired by the example of Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) Youth Division which aims to achieve 100,000 youth membership. The senior youth leaders recalled the message that Ikeda Sensei conveyed at BSG's general meeting in 2014: "Please lead the youth of the entire world."
Two years ago, BSG went on to accomplish a membership of 110,000 and last year, they broke through a membership of 150,000. In the centre of BSG’s explosive vigour, it has been the youth who took the lead.
We are struck by the way the senior youth leaders explained the goal of 100,000 youths: "Our goal is to create a solidarity of '100,000 Shinichi Yamamotos' rather than the mere increase of membership. What refreshing words!"
They were inspired by Ikeda Sensei who had achieved "100,000 patriots" for his mentor, Toda Sensei in 1958. Instead of just reading what Shinichi Yamamoto has done in NHR, they aspire to practise like the “Shinichi Yamamotos” in the modern era.
Furthermore, once in every two months, the youths will gather at the chapter level in individual division to study the novel. Their spirit is so strong that even new friends are invited to study with them.
The prime point of the mentor and disciple spirit which the Youth Division of BSG cherishes with Ikeda Sensei is contained in the single word "NOW". They wanted to respond to the mentor's call and delight the mentor.
We salute the BSG Youths who are clearly in tandem with the mentor’s heart and we are confident that the great advancement of kosen-rufu for India is assured!
The gap between SSA and BSG in their approach to fight propagation campaigns could not have been wider. SSA is reduced to strategizing to reach membership target while BSG is using membership campaign as a means to increase the Buddha forces as well as to strengthen the faith of current membership.
In the 28th HQ leaders meeting commemorating May 3rd in 2009, Ikeda Sensei said, ‘The Soka Gakkai is an organisation of lions. “Lion” is a symbol for the oneness of mentor and disciple. Both the mentor and the disciple must boldly keep on winning. I have fought like a lion all my life. And I have won. I want the youth to fight like lions too, and triumph in every struggle. I am counting on you!’
BSG senior leaders clearly have engraved Ikeda Sensei’s words to heart. What came out strongly in BSG example is that instead of merely chasing numbers, the propagation campaign provides a mean to transform all members to become Shinichi Yamamotos, in other words, to become lion cubs who are courageous individuals who can win over all obstacles in their lives as they immerse themselves in the propagation campaign. The members are not only fully involved; they understand the significance of the campaign and they are joyful to be part of it. It is clearly a campaign that changes lives and draws members closer to the mentor.
In the case of SSA, on the other hand, by focusing on form filling, we suspect that the original intent of the membership target got lost along the way, even among the top leaders. Majority of the members are not actively involved in the act of propagation at all! A great opportunity to inculcate in them the true spirit of propagation has slipped away.
SSA top leaders need to understand that merely parroting Ikeda Sensei’s guidance at meetings but not engraving them to heart and translating them into concrete actions, they are only practising the mentor and disciple spirit. But, in the essential phase of the second act of worldwide kosen-rufu, true disciples should practise what BSG is practising: the ONENESS of the mentor and disciple spirit.
Makiguchi Sensei once said: “A thousand sheep cannot hold their own against a single lion.”
By hook or by crook, we are quite confident that the 50,000 membership target can be achieved without fail. The glory and credit will certainly go to the senior leaders who “oversee” the campaign.
But without having been inspired to fight like lions, how many of us will truly be celebrating on November 18? Will SSA members become ‘sheep’ in the process of achieving 50,000 membership target?
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