Sensei's Necktie

Being the emcee for our Mentor & Disciple Hall Soft Launch for the past 2 days was a truly turning-point to me. I renewed my vow to Sensei to pledge to become Sensei’s eternal disciple to carry out my mission as a real protagonist of kosen-rufu everywhere I go.

I have emceed numerous events, big and small, within Gakkai events and external public events before, however this time I really learned a lot from Mineo-san as well as Mr. Koh on how to become a real emcee. How to be an emcee that always put Sensei as my focus. That I have never thought about before.

Being an emcee for the Soft Launch for our Mentor & Disciple Hall brings me the opportunity to participate in all Mineo-san MDH explanation tour in details. Mineo-san explanation was really detail and touching. From the man who is closest to Sensei, I can feel his spirit is always one with Sensei. Thinking of how to make Sensei happy, how to make Sensei at ease, how to arrange activities for Sensei. His episode on Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata at Shizuoka was especially touching to me; his episode on Sensei’s resignation on 1979 truly make me feel the true disciple’s attitude towards one’s mentor; and he shared many more episodes he had for the past 40 years working besides Sensei.

Last night was their farewell dinner before leaving for KLIA. I had the opportunity to dine together with them (thanks to my YMD chief who had nominated me). After the dinner, Mineo-san presented every men attended the dinner with a piece of Sensei’s necktie. This necktie, which either Sensei used before, or being with Sensei before, had a deep significant to me. The moment I received it from Mineo-san hand, I pledge in my heart, I will give my life for the sake the Law, Gakkai and Sensei.

When I returned, I chanted an hour daimoku to thank Sensei for his great care and impartial love for a disciple like me.

Human Revolution The Musical Premier Show

Tonight is the first night of HRTM. It is going to run for 4 more shows on every Saturday night in SGMS. The audience response was good but I still find there are rooms for improvement. There is still scenes that we can trim and streamline. Probably I was having too high of a hope on our inexperience youth division on this musical. But somehow I find I cannot live on a mediocre musical especially on this one that we dedicated to the man who inspired us, Ikeda Sensei!

I am hoping this musical can be improved from day to day and it is eventually a prefect gift for Sensei in 2010.

On the 80th Anniversary of Soka Gakkai Founding

I'm on my way back from HK after my week-long business trip. Tired but feel really exited on this special day. I was reading the novel Human Revolution on the plane and can't help but to think of the determination both the Founding President Makiguchi & his successor President Toda hold on to were so powerful that even the militarist government in Japan couldn't bend them an inch.

However, today there is a scholar, BV, in University of Adelaide claimed Makiguchi Sensei was a supporter of Japan's militarism in his "Engaged Buddhism: A Skeleton in the Closet?"!! How on earth did he came to this conclusion? According to DB, an article contributor to IOP, BV had only partial view of President Makiguchi's writings and he didn't even refer to his most important work, The Pedagogy of Value Creation. Hence it can be very misleading and even dangerous to just have to believe whatever being published even by some "scholar".

Soka Gakkai has come so far in the past 80 years. Ikeda Sensei has successfully built the foundation of kosen-rufu around the world. It is now Sensei's disciple, SGI comrades around the world including myself to move SGI towards 2030, the 100th Anniversary of its Founding.

Let the gods forsake me

Let all persecutions assail me

Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law

Close with Sensei

JN briefed us on his Japan SGI 80th Anniversary General Meeting, saying the entire SGI is moving towards the a great shakubuku campaign, great discussion meeting, fostering capable youth to build a youthful Gakkai. The only way to ensure Gakkai development is through human revolution.
I remembered telling all these to KP and all our YMD Region leaders that this should be our direction for post 80th anniversary 1 month ago. Furthermore our 80th Anniversary Youth Projects are in exact accord with the direction of Soka Gakkai whereby our quotes of Justice compiled from Sensei's guidances and lectures and Human Revolution Musical are exactly JN's 80th Anniversary's General Meeting emphasis in Japan.
Never before for me to feel so close to Sensei as my thought and plan was exactly what Sensei wanted the rest of us to do.
Thank you Sensei for your great compassion to let me, your disciple, to feel how you feel and allowing me to walk into your world with greater confidence.