Well, since my last entry a lot has happened in my life. One of the major changes was that there was a reformation within the SGI chapter of Eindhoven. This meant that the three districts where merged into two districts. With this merge it was decided that it would be good to start these two "new" districts wit newly appointed leaders. My old district, which had been effectively been run for more then 1,5 yrs without a district leader, was only run by me, an assistant Young Men's Division Leader.
After the decision was taken to reform, I was asked to resign as a leader so that others could stand up for Kosen-Rufu. After 7 yrs I found it was time for me to take a step aside as a leader as well. The day I took this decision to step back, a colleague of my work came to me. He wanted to ask me something. He was a member of the labor Union Abvakabo FNV and he was tasked to ask me for function for the Union within the company I work for. He told that the union senior members within the company had spotted my dedication and they were convinced they needed me. For me it was the chance to put Kosen-Rufu into action within the real world. Not just within SGI. At the same time it was a real turbulent time for the company. Being a sheltered company and having to deal with a government that wanted to discard the sheltered companies, it was obvious that Abvakabo FNV really needed the power of daimoku for the same of Kosen-Rufu.
At this moment the law we had protesting against, is deemed controversial, the government has fallen and the Netherlands will have elections on September 12th 2012. In the meantime I've been to a couple of important Union congresses, been to national action commitee meetings and was granted a training course how to deal with union members.
This colleague of mine who asked me to step up, is an union consultant for my company and also a legal consultant. He wants me to follow him into his footsteps. Somehow he recognized my value and the training of SGI that I received. Thanks to SGI I'm able to listen, discuss and take notes at the same time. This is something that you often need while in committee meetings of the labor union.
This colleague also told me that thanks to my efforts several other colleagues signed up as a member.
Kosen-Rufu at work.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Life goes on/Tears in heaven
Since my last post, last year, a whole lot has happened in my life. Shortly after my girlfriend arrived I got the news that I should start looking for a new place to live. Reason was that my landlord got a letter of eviction from city counsel that he no longer could rent out the house to people that didn't work at his company. So my house-mates and I had to be gone by May 31st 2010. That letter came in on..... March 16 2010. I got a big apartment from housing co-operation in Veldhoven and signed the leasing contract, which is indefinably, on....May 3rd. I moved over on May 8 2010.
I just moved in into my new apartment, when I learned that my mother was seriously ill. She lost each time her functions to her arms and legs and fell down, but stayed contumelious all the time. The doctor sent her to hospital on June 3rd 2010. Only 3 days before her 69th birthday. Within a few hours we learned that my mother had lung cancer.The next day we learned that my mother had also a brain tumor. At first it looked like it was treatable but after 3 radiation treatments the doctors decided to stop, because my mother was to weakened already to continue. They told us that she would have a life expectancy of 2 weeks to 3 months maximum. After this message mom lived up and was transferred to kempenhof to the palientive ward where she died piece fully on September 4th 2010. Thanks to all the daimoku that was sent worldwide to her, this stay at Kempenhof was the best 6 weeks she had of her remaining life. She enjoyed it fully and totally free of pain. When she died , she died in the highest possible life condition. Even her funeral went exactly as she wanted it. The day of the funeral we had to take a small detour from the funeral home towards the church. Mom had told us that when the time was there to bring her to church, she wanted to drive past the airport. This, because she had never been there since the roads there where changed. This was what happened on the day of the funeral. Because of road reconstruction near the church, we couldn't drive the planned route and had to drive....past the airport! If she had planned it.
A few months after the funeral my father became seriously ill and had to go to hospital. Because of his former job, they found out that he had COPD alongside his heart condition and that he had an open abces between his blatter and colon. After 2 times committed to hospital by the end of 2010, he was recommitted by end of January 2011. It was decided to give him a temporary stoma, so that this so called fistula could heal. The surgery was scheduled for Friday February 25th 2011, but on the day before he got pain on his chest and was moved to the heart ward. At that time he also contracted Noro-virus. That Friday I learned That I had to count on it that I would loose my father as well if they couldn't operate on him. Or if the pneumonia on his right lung wouldn't cure in time. But, the doctors said, he will not die within a few days. It's more likely a matter of weeks if the pneumonia will not cure.
On Sunday morning February 27th 2011 at 03:50 hrs my phone rang. It was the hospital. I was already awake, since I woke up at 03:30 hrs and couldn't sleep anymore. The night nurse told me that my father died in his sleep between 03:30 an 03:45 hrs in the morning. Dad's funeral was on March 4th 2011. Exactly a half year after mom died.
It's strange, to loose one's parents in such a short time span, to empty one's elderly home and to handover the keys to the landlord. Still...I believe that my dad died out of grieve of the loss of mom. I know he loved her to death. Still he wanted to do so much, like restoring a old motorcycle back to working order. he started it already. Guess it's now my task to do so. At least, as far as I can. This I obliged to him. Somehow I know he started to restore this bike for me. I couldn't see him driving it. Such a heavy machine on his age and with his condition. But this machine give him a new purpose in life. A new goal. It wasn't suppose to be.
To all who chanted for my parents over the last year... Many thanks for sending daimoku. I know it helped them and it surely helped me.
Thank you all.
NMHRK, NMHRK, NMHRK.
André
I just moved in into my new apartment, when I learned that my mother was seriously ill. She lost each time her functions to her arms and legs and fell down, but stayed contumelious all the time. The doctor sent her to hospital on June 3rd 2010. Only 3 days before her 69th birthday. Within a few hours we learned that my mother had lung cancer.The next day we learned that my mother had also a brain tumor. At first it looked like it was treatable but after 3 radiation treatments the doctors decided to stop, because my mother was to weakened already to continue. They told us that she would have a life expectancy of 2 weeks to 3 months maximum. After this message mom lived up and was transferred to kempenhof to the palientive ward where she died piece fully on September 4th 2010. Thanks to all the daimoku that was sent worldwide to her, this stay at Kempenhof was the best 6 weeks she had of her remaining life. She enjoyed it fully and totally free of pain. When she died , she died in the highest possible life condition. Even her funeral went exactly as she wanted it. The day of the funeral we had to take a small detour from the funeral home towards the church. Mom had told us that when the time was there to bring her to church, she wanted to drive past the airport. This, because she had never been there since the roads there where changed. This was what happened on the day of the funeral. Because of road reconstruction near the church, we couldn't drive the planned route and had to drive....past the airport! If she had planned it.
A few months after the funeral my father became seriously ill and had to go to hospital. Because of his former job, they found out that he had COPD alongside his heart condition and that he had an open abces between his blatter and colon. After 2 times committed to hospital by the end of 2010, he was recommitted by end of January 2011. It was decided to give him a temporary stoma, so that this so called fistula could heal. The surgery was scheduled for Friday February 25th 2011, but on the day before he got pain on his chest and was moved to the heart ward. At that time he also contracted Noro-virus. That Friday I learned That I had to count on it that I would loose my father as well if they couldn't operate on him. Or if the pneumonia on his right lung wouldn't cure in time. But, the doctors said, he will not die within a few days. It's more likely a matter of weeks if the pneumonia will not cure.
On Sunday morning February 27th 2011 at 03:50 hrs my phone rang. It was the hospital. I was already awake, since I woke up at 03:30 hrs and couldn't sleep anymore. The night nurse told me that my father died in his sleep between 03:30 an 03:45 hrs in the morning. Dad's funeral was on March 4th 2011. Exactly a half year after mom died.
It's strange, to loose one's parents in such a short time span, to empty one's elderly home and to handover the keys to the landlord. Still...I believe that my dad died out of grieve of the loss of mom. I know he loved her to death. Still he wanted to do so much, like restoring a old motorcycle back to working order. he started it already. Guess it's now my task to do so. At least, as far as I can. This I obliged to him. Somehow I know he started to restore this bike for me. I couldn't see him driving it. Such a heavy machine on his age and with his condition. But this machine give him a new purpose in life. A new goal. It wasn't suppose to be.
To all who chanted for my parents over the last year... Many thanks for sending daimoku. I know it helped them and it surely helped me.
Thank you all.
NMHRK, NMHRK, NMHRK.
André
Saturday, March 13, 2010
It's like that (and that's the way it is)
Last week my girl finally arrived after a period of 3 years again in the Netherlands. This time to start her PhD study in the beautiful city of Groningen. She will stay there for 6 months, then she has to go back for a while before returning again.
Of course I went to Amsterdam International Airport, a.k.a. Schiphol, to pick her up. I had to leave very early since she was to suppose to arrive at 5.55 hrs in the morning. But like 3 years ago, her KLM flight landed again half hour early to the planning. So according to the flight plan I was on time.
Anyways, after greeting each other and hugging and kissing we went to the car and we drove to Groningen to her room. She slept almost all the way from Amsterdam to Groningen, because she was dead tired. We wanted to have some breakfast along the way, so we stopped at a Van de Valk road restaurant which is normally known as a good and cheap place for eating. Not for breakfast though. Open breakfast buffet is great, but not when they want to charge you € 11,00 p.p. Only for one sandwich and to cups of coffee! That they wanted you to pay upfront with the story that they weren't able to control if you only took 1 plate or 2 plates if they would let you pay for only 1 plate but lat you in wit 2 persons. So the had to charge you for 2 persons. So I told the waitress in Dutch to cancel the order and we left. for € 22,00 I can have breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner for 2 at MacDonalds!
Once we reached her room we unloaded the car and rested for some hours till it was time to leave for her to go to the Academy building for her appointment there. I drover here to her appointment, parked my car near her faculty building, it's only a 5 minutes walk from the academy building and went for a hamburger at a local snackbar. I walked back to the car and picked her up again and we went to do some shopping. She needed a simcard and we needed food for the weekend. Man, what did I miss the Indian kitchen.
In the evening i gave her some presents I bought fer her that she can wear on the beach this summer. She was really surprised. She said I was crazy that I bought it for her. I simply said to her that it would look marvelous on her skintone. After that she had wine and I some juice and we and a long and nice night together.
On Sunday friends of us came to visit and brought even more food and stuff for her and the man of my girlfriends friend checked my girlfriends laptop after which the laptop kept rebooting itself. so, he took it with him to repair it at his home.
Together with our friends we went into Groningen and made some photos and had a nice walk trough the city from the faculty building to the train station and back.
After those friends left in the evening I left also. By then it was already 21.30 hours and it's a 2,5 drive back to Eindhoven. So my girlfriend wanted me to stay and leave next day. Still I left that night. My speedometer acted crazy and i wanted to be home so I could check it and if need be see if i could get a salvaged one to build in. As it turned out, 100 kilometers before I reached home the speedometer broke down. The needle went crazy. It thought it was not a needle but a propeller. It spinned around the dial like crazy. Luckily I had a Satnav in the car and this tells you also your actual speed that you're driving.
Anyways, I had a great weekend and I happy that my girlfriend is back in the Netherlands. Now we can also pray, chant and do SGI activities together in the weekends again.
André
Of course I went to Amsterdam International Airport, a.k.a. Schiphol, to pick her up. I had to leave very early since she was to suppose to arrive at 5.55 hrs in the morning. But like 3 years ago, her KLM flight landed again half hour early to the planning. So according to the flight plan I was on time.
Anyways, after greeting each other and hugging and kissing we went to the car and we drove to Groningen to her room. She slept almost all the way from Amsterdam to Groningen, because she was dead tired. We wanted to have some breakfast along the way, so we stopped at a Van de Valk road restaurant which is normally known as a good and cheap place for eating. Not for breakfast though. Open breakfast buffet is great, but not when they want to charge you € 11,00 p.p. Only for one sandwich and to cups of coffee! That they wanted you to pay upfront with the story that they weren't able to control if you only took 1 plate or 2 plates if they would let you pay for only 1 plate but lat you in wit 2 persons. So the had to charge you for 2 persons. So I told the waitress in Dutch to cancel the order and we left. for € 22,00 I can have breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner for 2 at MacDonalds!
Once we reached her room we unloaded the car and rested for some hours till it was time to leave for her to go to the Academy building for her appointment there. I drover here to her appointment, parked my car near her faculty building, it's only a 5 minutes walk from the academy building and went for a hamburger at a local snackbar. I walked back to the car and picked her up again and we went to do some shopping. She needed a simcard and we needed food for the weekend. Man, what did I miss the Indian kitchen.
In the evening i gave her some presents I bought fer her that she can wear on the beach this summer. She was really surprised. She said I was crazy that I bought it for her. I simply said to her that it would look marvelous on her skintone. After that she had wine and I some juice and we and a long and nice night together.
On Sunday friends of us came to visit and brought even more food and stuff for her and the man of my girlfriends friend checked my girlfriends laptop after which the laptop kept rebooting itself. so, he took it with him to repair it at his home.
Together with our friends we went into Groningen and made some photos and had a nice walk trough the city from the faculty building to the train station and back.
After those friends left in the evening I left also. By then it was already 21.30 hours and it's a 2,5 drive back to Eindhoven. So my girlfriend wanted me to stay and leave next day. Still I left that night. My speedometer acted crazy and i wanted to be home so I could check it and if need be see if i could get a salvaged one to build in. As it turned out, 100 kilometers before I reached home the speedometer broke down. The needle went crazy. It thought it was not a needle but a propeller. It spinned around the dial like crazy. Luckily I had a Satnav in the car and this tells you also your actual speed that you're driving.
Anyways, I had a great weekend and I happy that my girlfriend is back in the Netherlands. Now we can also pray, chant and do SGI activities together in the weekends again.
André
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Dont stop thinking about tomorrow.
Happy New Year!
Since the lasy post of me, a lot has happened. I went to Trets ( European study center if SGI Europe) as a keibi again. It was my 4th time there as a keibi. When I was there, there was in the second half of de week a course of German Young men. On this course were among them 3 old keibies who i met last time in Trets 2 yrs ago, when I was a Keibi there. Also, there was a young men i knew from chapter Limburg south, district Maastricht. At that time he just moved back to Germany. It was wonderful to see him again.
Since the last time 2yrs ago, a lot has chanced in Trets. Since 2009 there is wireless internet at the center in Trets. If i had known that, I had brought my laptop along with me.
I also met a few Men division members from Germany, who where in Trets to support the young men course. One of them was the German study department responsible, The other was a chapter chief for Berlin. Both of them wrote articles for the second level study exams of last November. Which I also participated in.
When I came back from Trets, I learned from my girlfriend that she will come to the Netherlands this March to start her PhD study in Groningen. This news made me very happy. As did it to some of our mutual friends.
Only last month a member from Japan called me to ask my address, so they could send me a Christmas and New year card. Then She told me that she and her family probably will come to the netherlands for 1 year. Her husband has to do an upgrade course at the HQ of his company, which is situated in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. It will be nice to greet them back in the district again.
Let's hope that this year will be a very good year.
André
Since the lasy post of me, a lot has happened. I went to Trets ( European study center if SGI Europe) as a keibi again. It was my 4th time there as a keibi. When I was there, there was in the second half of de week a course of German Young men. On this course were among them 3 old keibies who i met last time in Trets 2 yrs ago, when I was a Keibi there. Also, there was a young men i knew from chapter Limburg south, district Maastricht. At that time he just moved back to Germany. It was wonderful to see him again.
Since the last time 2yrs ago, a lot has chanced in Trets. Since 2009 there is wireless internet at the center in Trets. If i had known that, I had brought my laptop along with me.
I also met a few Men division members from Germany, who where in Trets to support the young men course. One of them was the German study department responsible, The other was a chapter chief for Berlin. Both of them wrote articles for the second level study exams of last November. Which I also participated in.
When I came back from Trets, I learned from my girlfriend that she will come to the Netherlands this March to start her PhD study in Groningen. This news made me very happy. As did it to some of our mutual friends.
Only last month a member from Japan called me to ask my address, so they could send me a Christmas and New year card. Then She told me that she and her family probably will come to the netherlands for 1 year. Her husband has to do an upgrade course at the HQ of his company, which is situated in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. It will be nice to greet them back in the district again.
Let's hope that this year will be a very good year.
André
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I can't stop loving you
Maybe the title sounds a bit strange. But this Ray Charles song is one of my all time favorites. Till now I never actually really listened to the lyrics, I have to confess. But after listening to it last night, it struck me that this song could go about me and my girlfriend. It is all about thrust, confidence in each other and supporting and loving each other. Maybe even about the lack of it all in a relationship. Depending from which angle you look towards it.
Talking on the phone last night with my girlfriend and hearing her say that she has lost confidence in my actions and willingness to fight for my job and overcoming my health karma, really hurted me. It wasn't the first time she said this. That was the most hurtful. Like I was giving up the fight instead of fighting on the battle. I know how difficult it is when you are not able to be with the person you love because of distance and cultural differences. But it doesn't mean that I'm the only one who has to fight and show proof. Yes, I want to marry and settle down also with her. This doesn't mean that I have to do everything on my own. I'm still true to the goals we both set on February 11th 2007. But this also means that she has to set things in motion to come back to the Netherlands and not to wait till my problems are solved or till I show actual proof of a big victory. I already made some small victory and I'm sure that I'm on the break of a major victory.
After 2 years of combating severe migraine attacks, which often make it impossible for me to work, I finally found a professor who made a spectacular research break through in the research and treatment of migraine. This professor, who works at the Leiden University Medical Center, is my last hope for treatment through regular medical treatment. Downside is that I might be due for an appointment in November of this year. In the meantime I can only do daimoku and try to work as much as possible in between migraine attacks.
Another personal small victory for me is the fact that I allowed to go to the European Study Center at Trets, France of SGI Europe again. That I can go to Trets as a Keibi(protector of the Gohonzon at centers and the members there)is for me a strong sign that there will be a big victory soon and that I can challenge my karma to expatiate soon through extra strong daimoku. This happened every time when I went to the Trets center. So I'm confident that I will win no matter what and that my girlfriend and me are together again soon.
I know my girlfriend does send me a lot of daimoku. I can tell. She also keeps on sending me encouragement. Even while she says she lost confidence in me and she doesn't care or doesn't mind anymore. Still I can tell she does care and mind and that she deep in her heart wants to be with me and does love me. But I guess that it is sometimes easier to deny that to have to admit.
André
Talking on the phone last night with my girlfriend and hearing her say that she has lost confidence in my actions and willingness to fight for my job and overcoming my health karma, really hurted me. It wasn't the first time she said this. That was the most hurtful. Like I was giving up the fight instead of fighting on the battle. I know how difficult it is when you are not able to be with the person you love because of distance and cultural differences. But it doesn't mean that I'm the only one who has to fight and show proof. Yes, I want to marry and settle down also with her. This doesn't mean that I have to do everything on my own. I'm still true to the goals we both set on February 11th 2007. But this also means that she has to set things in motion to come back to the Netherlands and not to wait till my problems are solved or till I show actual proof of a big victory. I already made some small victory and I'm sure that I'm on the break of a major victory.
After 2 years of combating severe migraine attacks, which often make it impossible for me to work, I finally found a professor who made a spectacular research break through in the research and treatment of migraine. This professor, who works at the Leiden University Medical Center, is my last hope for treatment through regular medical treatment. Downside is that I might be due for an appointment in November of this year. In the meantime I can only do daimoku and try to work as much as possible in between migraine attacks.
Another personal small victory for me is the fact that I allowed to go to the European Study Center at Trets, France of SGI Europe again. That I can go to Trets as a Keibi(protector of the Gohonzon at centers and the members there)is for me a strong sign that there will be a big victory soon and that I can challenge my karma to expatiate soon through extra strong daimoku. This happened every time when I went to the Trets center. So I'm confident that I will win no matter what and that my girlfriend and me are together again soon.
I know my girlfriend does send me a lot of daimoku. I can tell. She also keeps on sending me encouragement. Even while she says she lost confidence in me and she doesn't care or doesn't mind anymore. Still I can tell she does care and mind and that she deep in her heart wants to be with me and does love me. But I guess that it is sometimes easier to deny that to have to admit.
André
Monday, August 3, 2009
I'm leaving on a jet plane
Well, after a long period of not writing, I finally have the time again to do so.
Today some 40 members of SGI Netherlands left from Eindhoven Airport to Marseille Airport (France), to go for the Dutch summercourse of SGI Netherlands at the Institute European du SGI (IESGI)center at Trets, France. I went to Eindhoven Airport to see them off.
Although most of them I knew, I saw also some new faces. One of the members, who will be a Byakuren (hostess) at this course,told me she would fly from Eindhoven Airport. There where members from Rotterdam, Den Bosch, Tilburg, Breda, Amsterdam(!) and Eindhoven.
I wish all memers who went for the Trets course this year a great and fun week and a save flight from and to Marseille!
André
Today some 40 members of SGI Netherlands left from Eindhoven Airport to Marseille Airport (France), to go for the Dutch summercourse of SGI Netherlands at the Institute European du SGI (IESGI)center at Trets, France. I went to Eindhoven Airport to see them off.
Although most of them I knew, I saw also some new faces. One of the members, who will be a Byakuren (hostess) at this course,told me she would fly from Eindhoven Airport. There where members from Rotterdam, Den Bosch, Tilburg, Breda, Amsterdam(!) and Eindhoven.
I wish all memers who went for the Trets course this year a great and fun week and a save flight from and to Marseille!
André
Friday, April 24, 2009
Discontinueing of my website Itai-Doshin.net
To all my readers and visitors of my blog en website.
After running for some years an own website to promote Kosen Rufu (world peace)and doing a lot of chanting for it of what to do with it, I have decided to not continue my website Itai-Doshin.net.
I hear you think right now, why? Well, the main factor of my decision was the time it took to maintain it, the low visit rate and the fact that maintaining a blog to share experiences with Nichiren Buddhism was more easily. Also a blog is more easy to find and has a lower threshold then a website. Most reactions I've got came trough my blog anyway so why would I then continue the website?
Greetings,
André
After running for some years an own website to promote Kosen Rufu (world peace)and doing a lot of chanting for it of what to do with it, I have decided to not continue my website Itai-Doshin.net.
I hear you think right now, why? Well, the main factor of my decision was the time it took to maintain it, the low visit rate and the fact that maintaining a blog to share experiences with Nichiren Buddhism was more easily. Also a blog is more easy to find and has a lower threshold then a website. Most reactions I've got came trough my blog anyway so why would I then continue the website?
Greetings,
André
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