Times, they are a changing

Well, today was a very special day indeed. After seeing the video of president Ikeda's speech of 18 November 2006, we had a general responsible meeting of SGI Netherlands. There were 215 members attending this meeting in our Cultural Center at Zeist. As special guests we had the SGI Europe General director Mr. Takahashi and former general director, and now adviser, Mr Hasagawa.
We where told that we got a new layer in our organization. All of the regions became areas. So a lot of new appointments followed. In essence nothing changed and everything chanced. Same leaders, different responsibilities. Also, a whole lot of new chapter-, district- and group leaders where appointed. There were a lot of encouragements from our special guests and our general director Mr. Kotera. In between there was a lot of Culture in the form of music. Even Mr. Kotera sung a song.
This year is crucial for our growth of SGI Netherlands for Kosen Rufu Netherlands and for Kosen Rufu worldwide. Our main goal till January 2nd 2008, President Ikeda's Birthday he becomes 80 then, is to have 2,000 Gohonzon members in the Netherlands and of that 600 youth division members. Mr.Hasagawa told us that he believed that not 2,000 new Bodhisattva's of the earth were waiting to emerge, but 10,000 Bodhisattva's. He also told us that,when this happens, it would be like an eruption of a volcano and that growth would be unstoppable. That would be a real big victory. Mr. Hasagawa told also about the news that Cuba recognized the SGI as a religious organization. This is a big step for our members in Cuba. Fidel Castro met Sensei in 1996. Castro received Sensei not as usual in his uniform, but in a suit. This was a true historical moment. And this happened never again.
It was a truly great day and I'm happy that I was a part of it. Next week we will have our yearly responsible course. This year only 1 day and at the Cultural Center at Zeist.
Today my girlfriend was a byakuren (hostess of the Young womens division) and next week she is a Keibi or Gajokai (protector of the National Gohonzon, the Center and the members).
NMHRK
Andre

New years Gongyo at Zeist

This weekend me and my girlfriend went to the SGI Cultural Center at Zeist. We arrived on December 31st. round 15.45 hrs at the Center. Since we where the first to arrive there. The Center keeper, Mitsu, asked me to be Keibi because I was there to support the Keibi open days in this special weekend. Luckily I brought my Keibi-uniform. Eventually we where with 8 Keibies and trainees. So we made dinner and did the tour through the center giving instructions.

At 0.00 hrs we did gongyo with everybody who was there. We wished each other happy New Year and we ate and drink for a few hrs. then we went to sleep. At 9.00 hrs we did the Keibi-gongyo and then we prepared our selfs to receive the guests who would come for the new Years Gongyo. This was very nice to experience. So many guests and members (around 200 people). After the meeting we did our evening gongyo and had our own new Year party at the center, together with some Sokahans and Byakurens who stayed and joined us.

Of course we had our difficulties within the group who was keibi. This is only natural. Not every-one has the same high life condition. After a year of problems within the Keibi group we're sure that this year we will have a good group and that everybody will be motivated to do Keibi shifts so we can protect the center,the Gohonzon and the members and guests.

Happy New Year.
Andre

District dinner SGI district Eindhoven III

Last friday, December 15 2006, we had our annual district dinner in Chinese restaurant Golden House at Mierlo. I must say that it was a very inspireing thing to do. Exept for my own District members there were 2 members of SGI District Eindhoven II present. The restaurant is runned and owned by a member of my District and her husband.

The food was very good and very beautiful decorated. The figures in the photos are made from vegetables like onion and carrots.

This dinner is a nice way to bond with eachother and still be able to talk about Nichiren Buddhism. It's also a great way to end the year and to speak out our goals and determinations for the next year. This, while enjoying fine food and drinks like wine, beer or softdrinks. It's also a way of supporting this members business and family. The members could order what they liked from the menu card and payed for it themselfs. Drinks were courtasy of the house. So, when such is done, you give a good tip!

I can recoment this to other SGI members as well, to organise once a year a dinner party for their own District or group. During the dinner we give the members the oppertunity to sign a congratulating letter to President Ikeda for receiving the 200th honoury Doctorate.

I must say that also this year the dinner was a succes, alltough not every districtmember came. Hopefully next year everybody will attent the dinner. Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

André

My experience on "A buddhist podcast"

Well,

After listening to the last broadcast of A buddhist podcast I decided to send in my experience. I became "on air" on 28-11-2006. It's very moving to hear your own experience read by someone else for a change.
So please listen to www.abuddhistpodcast.com and select the 28-11-2006 releasedate.
I hope you will like it and that it will inspire you as well.
Greetz...
André

Podcast

Last week I got a link that I really liked. It was of a podcast called a buddhist podcast. It's from and by SGI members. the site is accessable through www.abuddhistpodcast.com .
Also you might check out the YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrbnNywjgTw&mode=related&search=
Here you can find videos about SGI like history, speeches of Daisaku Ikeda and members like Tina Turner, Joseph Bowie (of Defunkt and Kosen Rufu band).
At a buddhist podcast will be a experience of me published this week. Just listen to it.
André

My Human Revolution

By: André de Wit

Region South-Netherlands

Chapter Eindhoven-Tilburg

District Eindhoven III

My name is André de Wit. I live in Waalre in the Netherlands and have been practising about four years. I am assistant-district-leader for the district Eindhoven 3 and also I am keibi on our beautiful national culture centre in Zeist. My age is 34.

On the first day of Easter this year (2005) I was to go with several of my district members to our CC to watch the monthly video of Sensei’s speech to the headquarters meeting. We would gather at the home of our district leader. Before I left home I did some daimoku for a safe trip and a good and relaxed video meeting. Little could I know that later that day I would be taken in emergency to the Catherine Hospital in Eindhoven.

In fact my day started like any other one. Getting up, doing gongyo, dress and prepare to go to Zeist. When I got up though, I did feel a slight pain in my left arm. I thought I might have slept on my arm and dismissed any worry. Except for that I felt fine.

Once I was in the car, my arm and shoulders felt al little stiff and painful. Well, that wasn’t the first time so I choose to ignore it. I thought for a moment that I might starting to get carsick so I was very happy when we arrived swiftly in Zeist. Because of circumstances we did miss gongyo though. So I decided to do gongyo quietly during the video. On the way back I got a pain on the chest and we stopped at a drive-in restaurant so I could regain my breath. I still didn’t think of a heart attack. I though it was hyperventilation. Even so, we decided to go on to Eindhoven but before we got there, the pain was already so heavy that I decided to stop and call for an ambulance. I was in terrible need of breath, pain on the chest. In my family we do have heart problems at a young age.

One of my English-speaking members tried to call for an ambulance, but was misunderstood. At that point a Dutch couple passed. They asked what was wrong and called for an ambulance right away. The ambulance arrived within 7,5 minutes. They took a heart film (ECG) and decided I should go to the Catherine hospital where I would be operated.

From the moment I heard the ambulance, I became very calm. All the time before I had been doing daimoku to remain calm and to be helped on time.

I also had to think of our senior members Mrs. Kotera and Leo Neven who both survived a massive heart attack two years ago. How they would have felt at the time.

Once in the hospital the nurse and the cardiologist told me that they couldn’t believe I was so calm when my heart was in such critical condition. According to the heart film I would have to be in panic but I was resting in peace. They couldn’t understand that. So this is the power of daimoku. However the doctor couldn’t do anything with his operation to cure my condition. My heart attack had been in the end of the vein and so he could do nothing but wait and hope that the hit area would remain as small as possible. For me this meant to ‘live through’ the heart attack.

I got an infuse with medicine and blood thinners to widen my veins. In the evening I was brought to the Maxima Medical Centre in Veldhoven. But just when you think it’s all right after all and that you will be transferred from ICU to a general department, I got on exactly the same place another heart attack. So I was brought to the Catherine Hospital again to have another operation. Some story as Sunday: ‘Sorry sir, we can’t reach the attack area. It we would do that anyway, we would damage more than now is already the case. So without operation I went back to Veldhoven. Just to get unconscious twice.

It appeared that they had pierced the vein in my groin and created a leak. So they put me with my legs upright and there was talked about to taken a scan. Fortunately the cardiologist stopped that and sent me directly to the ER. Otherwise I wouldn’t have survived! My blood pressure was 60/40 and I had lost about 2 litres blood. In the ER they gave me 2 litres blood and the doctor repaired the leak.

A week later I was with my parents to gain strength. I still walk a little difficult but I am improving.

It’s gonna take some time to participate actively on activities. First health!

President Ikeda also constantly tells us to take good care of our health. That health is the most important thing in life. Without it you can’t do any activities for kosen-rufu.

So I decided that I will do anything to recover as quickly as possible.

But first of all daimoku and then action.

a financial experience

Chanting nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo (NMHRK) does change ones life.

When I first started with this Buddhism, little I know about what impact it would have on my life! I had financial problems, was disapointed with the relation I was in and suffered on depressions. Agood friend that I known most of my life introduced me 6 yrs ago to this form of Buddhism. At first I was, like most people, very sceptical about it. Thinking he joined some sect or so. But seeing him change in a positive way, I tried it for the first time when he received his Gohonzon (a mandala scroll a.k.a. object of worship). Chanting NMHRK at first felt a bit strange but I discovered that i felt much better afterwards.

This friend told me to set a goal which I wanted to achieve for, let's say 3 months to reach. I wanted another job so I earned more money to resolve my financial problems. He also encouraged me not to give up. No matter what happened. Within 1 month I got a new job. At that time I didn't realy believe that it happened because I was chanting. After this positive change a nigative came along. A few months later I was evicted from the house I was living in at that time. Date; 9/11/2001! On top of that I broke up with the girl I was with at that time. Ending up living for a while with my parents.

During the time I was living with my parents again, I decided to receive my Gohonzon in an attempt to speed up things. On 5/5/2002, Liberation day of WWII in the Netherlands, I received my Gohonzon. Once I got it things really moved, I found a room to live in for my own and I got a opportunity to go to the European Centre in Trets, France. As a volunteer to protect the European Gohonzon, the centre and the members. Flights and stay paid by Soka Gakkai International Netherlands.

All this time I had a insolvence officer who i had to ask permission for almost everything I wanted to buy or go to. Each time it would cost extra money. During this stay at Trets the Dutch coordinator asked me to start to do the same kind of volunteer work at our National Centre at Zeist. So I took after 6 months of chanting this challenge. Some 1.5 yrs later I was asked by my chapterleaders to become an assistant District leader for one of the new formed Districts at Eindhoven, which i gladly apcepted.

Now, after 5 yrs of working to resolve my financial problems, the judge decided that I had earned my clean sheet. All the time I kept chanting for a good result. Also, the last year was a real turn point for me. Going to Trets for the 2nd time as a volunteer. Having 2 heartattacks within 48 + an emergency operation to plug a leak in one of my arterial vanes of my legs. But that's another story. Meeting my new girlfriend who is from India and, lucky me, also practices Nichiren Buddhism and is a member of Bharat Soka Gakkai. This is our sister organisation in India.

After all these years I now know that chanting really works and doing SGI-activities togheter with chanting can do "miracles". So I keep chanting and doing my activities. Just to encourage others and let other people see that this Buddhism really works!