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| Research on SGI |
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| Through the SGI: A Personal Odyssey--Italy |
By Howard Hunter
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| Hunter (left) talking with SGI-members in Italy |
"All roads lead to
Rome." I could not help thinking of this familiar
saying as I concluded my visits to SGI centers in
India, the U.K., Mexico and Italy. I had developed a
high regard for the fine SGI communities of New Delhi,
Bombay, Bangalore, London, Mexico City, Turin and
Florence, and members in Latina, Sienna and
Bhubruneshwar. It was in my final Italian destination,
Rome, that I found the quintessential expression of
the multifaceted reality of present-day SGI outside of
Japan.
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What do I mean by this? I mean that in Rome I
experienced all the very positive aspects of other SGI
groups I visited in Italy: a vibrant community of
talented persons, a well-defined purpose, strong
indigenous leadership and generous, committed and
responsible members. Before discussing Rome, however,
let me tell you about Turin and Florence.
My Italian visits began in the Piedmont area of
northern Italy in the beautiful city of Turin where
SGI leaders arranged a variety of meetings with
members and nonmembers, including a distinguished
Roman Catholic expert on the new religions of Italy.
Professor Massimo Intravigne welcomed me to his home
and to his library specializing in contemporary
religions throughout the world. The professor informed
me that his research on Soka Gakkai International in
Italy led him to the conclusion that it was an
organization well within the mainstream of Italian
society. He views SGI-Italy as an organization
appealing to a cross section of the Italian population
and able to work effectively within Italian culture to
present and to promulgate its message.
I found it especially interesting to learn from
Professor Intravigne that there are 50,000 Buddhists
in Italy, 17,000 of whom are members of SGI. I also
thought it was a real testimony to the strength of SGI
that a notable scholar was of the opinion that SGI has
an excellent opportunity to contribute significantly
to mainstream Italian life and thought.
One evening, members of SGI-Turin showed a video of a
recent culture festival which highlighted the talents
of SGI members in the area. Presented before
standing-room only crowds, the entire program was
prepared through the voluntary efforts of members. Not
only were the audiences enthusiastic, but the members
also found the experience very encouraging. The
festival was a good example of the way in which SGI
encourages artistic expression. In music, song, dance,
dramatic and comic acts, stage and scenery design, as
well as in many other ways, the members expressed an
unmistakable joy. Several members told me that
participation in such festivals was a rich and
meaningful part of their membership in SGI. These
festivals also bring SGI to the attention of the
communities in which they are held.
My impression of Turin was so positive that I could
not imagine it would be equaled elsewhere. I was
wrong. In Florence I again heard responses from
members which similarly revealed the dedication they
shared for the religion, philosophy and social
activities of SGI. Members from a wide-ranging
spectrum of Italian society spoke to me individually
and in groups about the ways in which their
involvement with SGI contributes to their well-being.
In interviews which were sometimes intensely moving, I
learned how SGI had provided many members with
practical methods to deal with the difficulties of
their lives in positive and productive ways.
One member of a distinguished Florentine family
described the changes in his relationship with his
father over a period of years. He told how, when his
father was facing a serious illness, and finally a
terminal illness, the teachings of SGI Buddhism
brought both him and his father to keep insights about
life and their relationship which culminated in a
profound sense of acceptance and reconciliation. The
memory of the poignancy of this member's testimony
will remain with me forever. Another member from a
quite different part of Florentine society spoke
simply of his problems with substance abuse and how he
was able to overcome addiction through the practice of
SGI's philosophy and his membership within its
supportive community. Many others spoke of the central
place that SGI-Florence holds in their lives. A
significant asset to their programs is their
headquarters in a villa which has been beautifully
restored by SGI members. |
While in Florence I was privileged to meet with two
members of the faculty of the University of Florence
whose expertise involves studying social groups within
Italy. One of them had become familiar with SGI
several years ago and is still quite interested in the
organization as a subject of academic inquiry. Though
reserved in expressing judgments, he noted that he had
some difficulty in identifying the specifically
religious aspects of SGI. He appeared to equate
religious activities with the more devotional and
contemplative practices with which he was familiar,
and not with the activism and practical commitments
which he viewed as distinguishing characteristics of
SGI. One could scarcely come away from visits to SGI
in Florence and near-by Sienna without being impressed
by the considerable number of students among the SGI
membership. Not only do they bring energy and vitality
to the organization but they also give one reason to
believe that SGI is building a strong foundation for
the future.
Next I traveled to Rome where I ended my visits to SGI-Italy
on a truly high note. There, I again had the
opportunity to have extensive interviews with a
remarkably diverse range of individuals and groups.
Meetings with the founders of SGI-Rome reminded me
that within a short period of 30 years the teaching
and practice of SGI have grown from the groundwork of
two individuals, a capable Japanese man who arrived in
Rome with no connections and a woman doctor who is
greatly admired by members of SGI-Rome. Together these
two dedicated individuals began the SGI organization
in Rome and remain important figures in it.
It was in Rome that I had an experience I had nowhere
else during my visits. Before beginning my travels to
Italy I was asked whether I would be willing to meet
with a newly formed special interest group of
homosexual members within the larger organization. I
replied that, of course, I would be happy to do so
that I considered it a privilege to be able to discuss
with these persons their deepest personal concerns.
When I met with members of this group, I learned at
once that several members had experienced rejection,
alienation and severe self-doubt. Of course, not all
of these members had experienced such a sense of
despair but all of them had suffered to one degree or
another. They uniformly testified that it was thanks
to SGI and its teaching of self-acceptance,
self-understanding and the unique worth of each
individual that they had gained a positive view of
their lives. They were able to put their concern for
their sexuality in perspective and to avoid being
preoccupied with it. It was genuinely moving to hear
these testimonies. It was also heartening to hear very
strong statements of support for these members
throughout the general membership.
In Rome, the leaders arranged for me to meet with
university scholars who are familiar with new
religions in Italy, especially SGI. Like Professor
Intravigne, these scholars view SGI as integral to the
larger Italian social order. Its values are compatible
with the humanistic emphasis found in the teachings of
major social institutions of Italy. A distinctive
aspect of SGI Buddhism is its emphasis on locating the
source of authority for one's life and actions within
the divine that one has within, one's self. Throughout
my visits to several countries it was most interesting
for me to ask members this question regarding the
source of authority in their lives. To an almost
totally unanimous degree, the answer was the same:
"the source of my authority is the Buddha nature
that is to be found within myself."
One of the distinctive characteristics of the young
members I interviewed in Rome was the frequency with
which they expressed a troubling sense of alienation.
Some felt estranged from traditional religious
institutions which too often left them dissatisfied
with what they see as a disparity between the ideals
and the actual practices of these institutions and
their leaders. Some were alienated by the political
system which they felt to be too often corrupt and
unresponsive to human needs. While such expressions
are scarcely unique to Italian youth, the frequency of
expression of such alienation was notable. This was
especially so in relation to attitudes they held
towards their fathers, whom they often described as
excessively authoritarian and lacking in sensitive
understanding of their problems. Also, nowhere else in
any of my visits in India, England and Mexico did I
hear so many references to problems young persons were
having in the area of close personal and romantic
relationships. Older patterns of behavior and
standards of propriety seemed all but abandoned, and
the resulting lack of clearly stated and widely
accepted values left many of these young people
confused and perplexed.
My visits to SGI-Italy confirmed the impression I had
gained throughout my visits to other countries: that
SGI has a strong student membership; that SGI
leadership and membership are indigenous to the local
society, though Japanese founders and leaders are
respected and appreciated; that SGI groups have a
distinct openness and engagement within their
respective societies; and that there is a freedom of
movement in and out of SGI organizations. There is an
ongoing discussion in SGI communities about the most
appropriate form the organization should take and the
most effective methods of presenting SGI's philosophy
and practice. My visit to Italy was a fitting climax
to this initial series of visits to SGI globally. I
have nothing but admiration for the SGI members I have
met, and I am confident that SGI is a religious
movement with a bright international future.
| Dr. Howard Hunter is Emeritus Professor the Department of Religion and Culture at Tufts University, U.S.A. He has written widely on the social role of religious belief. The articles above was published in the SGI Quarterly. |
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