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| Research on SGI |
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| Through the SGI: A Personal Odyssey--Mexico |
By Howard Hunter
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In a crowded office in
an unpretentious building in the sprawling metropolis
of Mexico City five women sat across from me
responding to my questions about their membership and
participation in Soka Gakkai International. Why, given
the rather routine nature of this encounter, did I
have to resist revealing my tears? What was it about
this meeting that immediately provoked an emotional
response from me? It was the depth of appreciation
these women expressed for their Buddhist faith and
practice. It was also the simple eloquence of several
of the older women as they recalled their life
histories, typical histories of poverty, early
marriage, lack of educational opportunities and
unending labor. It was also the measured eloquence of
one woman who fulfills dual roles as mother of four
talented sons and as a career woman working as a
medical doctor and administrator, challenging roles
difficult to maintain anywhere, but especially so in
Mexico.
When I heard the testimonies of these women,
especially those from humble farm and working class
origins, I could not help but think of two groups of
people. The first was my own family with its similar
story of rural poverty in Appalachia, a chronically
impoverished area of the United States. While some
instances of religious practice and conviction could
be found among my family members, for the most part
religion remained a distant and relatively unimportant
consideration. These Mexican women, on the other hand,
had found in Buddhism a practical and life-enhancing
alternative to the prevailing options.
The second group of people who came to mind were the
masses of women still experiencing lives of profound
hardship, not only economic hardship, which is a
condition confronting all of Mexico at present, but
also the hardship of male domination, lack of
educational encouragement and opportunity and
religious authoritarianism. Several women told of the
struggles they had endured to overcome the hostility
of their husbands and families as well as the
disapproval of religious leaders when they began
practicing the Buddhist faith with its stress on
individual responsibility and freedom from
depersonalizing, conventional social traditions. Each
woman in her own unrehearsed and spontaneous way paid
tribute to the central importance of Buddhism's
emphasis on the personal obligation to cultivate one's
spiritual life as well as the need to offer meaningful
assistance to other people in the quest for personal
authenticity. They were also thankful for the
supportive community of fellow believers without whom
they could not have succeeded in revolutionizing their
lives.
When I reflected upon their stories, I remembered that
I was listening to the stories of only a small
fraction of the people living in Mexico City and the
country of Mexico. I asked myself what could be the
importance of hundreds of Buddhists in a sea of
millions of non-Buddhists. The answer was revealed in
the story of the small boy who was seen at a beach
retrieving small starfish one by one from thousands
stranded on the beach which were facing a certain
death. An adult asked the boy why he was wasting his
time when it was so clear that he could save only a
few of the hundreds which were certain to perish. The
boy responded: "What I am doing is important for
the one I save." And so it is with the Buddhists
of Mexico!.
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| Challenging
the Environment |
Soka Gakkai International of Mexico impresses me as an
organization with an enthusiastic, energetic,
ambitious and highly motivated membership. It has
members representing a wide range of Mexican society,
from people in professional careers to workers,
students, homemakers and artists. The organization
recognizes that the prevailing culture of Mexico
presents both obstacles and opportunities for the
development of Buddhist faith and practice, and that
those obstacles and opportunities are two sides of the
same coin.
The entrenched machismo attitudes of male superiority
and self-definition in terms of virility as well as
patriarchal patterns and a predominant formal
religious tradition with its emphasis on tradition,
mystery, suffering, and dogmatic authority are
regarded as both obstacles and opportunities by many
SGI members. While these aspects of Mexican culture
may differ Buddhism's stress on the inherent worth of
each individual and the necessity of discovering
within one's self the truth of one's life and
recognizing that truth alone as truly authoritative,
they also cause people to rebel against the prevailing
culture. Many people are no longer able to defend
traditional machismo attitudes, and many accept only
at a ritualistic level the religion which the
Spaniards imposed on Mexico centuries ago. The Mexican
people's disenchantment with the traditions of the
church and with patriarchal society affords the
members of SGI significant opportunities for teaching
others about their philosophy and practice.
Mexico of today is still a challenging environment for
the spread of Buddhist principles, however. Although
there is a strong sentiment of anti-authoritarianism
in religion, there are vast numbers of people who
still profess and practice loyalty toward the church.
In fact, in some areas of Mexico it can be extremely
dangerous even to question or to deviate from the
strictest conformity to traditional patterns of
church-dominated society. One SGI member made the
point, however, that in spite of these conditions more
and more Mexicans are searching for something beyond
their traditional religious and cultural patterns.
Unperturbed by those people who are fanatic in their
religious zeal, there are many people who have
overcome their fear of that which is different.
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| A Tool for Living |
One of the most impressive aspects of SGI-Mexico is
its youth division. The youth division members'
vitality, humor, intellectual curiosity and obvious
joyfulness gave me reason to feel confident about the
future of SGI in Mexico. One student, in particular,
demonstrated keen insight into the distinctive
attributes of Buddhist thought. He spoke of his
studies of various faiths and his conclusion that
Buddhism is a truly universal religion unlike those
religions which preach salvation only for those who
accept certain dogma. He said that Buddhism regards
all life as valuable and, that like the water and the
sun, it encompasses everything now and forever. When I
asked him to summarize in a word his view of Buddhism
as taught by the SGI, he responded that it is a tool,
a tool for living, a love for life. He said that
Buddhism teaches us to embrace life joyously whatever
the circumstances and to keep on growing. He had
prepared notes for our interview and had questions for
me regarding my reasons for studying the SGI in India,
England and Mexico. He even suggested something that I
had not recognized: a mystical connection between
these countries!.
This young man pointed out that the most current
scholarship of human origins and cultures shows that
pre-Hispanic Mexican cultures had their origins in
Asia and that significant similarities exist between
the philosophic concepts of Buddhist and pre-Hispanic
culture. Both cultures question the meaning of life
and death most intensively. He expressed deep
appreciation for the SGI and the guidance it affords
him, and he spoke appreciatively of President Ikeda
and especially of his book, Life: An Enigma, A
Precious Jewel. He asked if I knew of it, and I
replied that I had a copy in my suitcase!.
Surprisingly, it was a question from eleven-year-old
Aloysha Villalpando, following a talk I gave at the
Cultural Center of SGI in Mexico City, which captured
the essence of my project and its limitations.
Standing with a group of adults, he looked up to me
and said, "Excuse me, but I have a question. Just
how far can you actually penetrate when you are
studying someone else's religion?" What an
insightful question at any age! I told him that one
could only go so far as descriptions of ideas and
actions can go. The true location of the religious
life cannot be penetrated by another person, because
the true location of religion is in the human heart.
It was clear to me that Aloysha knew this before he
asked the question. It was a delight to encounter him
and so many of his fellow SGI members who recognize
that the true source of authority for their faith and
practice lies within their hearts. The true Gohonzon,
as Nichiren taught, is in the human heart.
Throughout my visit to SGI-Mexico, I was again
impressed, as I had been in India, with the
unmistakable reality that this organization is
fundamentally indigenous, independent, freely chosen,
deeply appreciative of the words and leadership of its
President Ikeda but not dominated by him or his staff,
and made up of studious, self-disciplined members
committed to self-realization through lives dedicated
to truth and to compassionate concern for all
humanity. Presently their numbers are small, only
thousands among ninety million, but their organization
is strong and has within it the seeds of considerable
growth.
| 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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