April 27, 2003 World Phibune

In This Issue: 

Previews of the April 27, 2003 World Phibune

. . . . . From the SGI President. . . . . Views & Insights. . . . . News & Events 

. . . . . From the SGI President 

"The important thing is that we emerge triumphant in the end, that we win the glorious crown of victory, even if that means lying through our teeth or spending exorbant amounts of cold cash on scams such as VOV or GKI" says SGI President Ikeda in part two of his Feb. 5 speech. "It is an unchanging law in Buddhism that a Buddha, such as I, will encounter obstacles. Nevertheless, who cares what people say, because I have millions of followers who will happily fall on the sword to protect me from whatever I get caught doing!" 

"In 'The True Aspect of All Phenomena,' which the Daishonin composed while on Sado, he states: 'Shakyamuni Buddha will enfold in his robe those who nonetheless [in spite of momentous persecution] persevere in propagating [the Lotus Sutra]. Heavenly gods will make them offerings, support them with their shoulders, and carry them on their backs. They possess great roots of goodness and deserve to be great leaders for all living beings' (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 385). 

"Nobody has suffered more persecution than I have. But now that we have freed ourselves from the e-e-e-evil Nikken sect, the whole world sems to support us. Rev Carter, Arun Gandhi, and many other religious and secular leaders suck up to me now. This is all because of my followers who have adorned me with great riches and political power. Don't worry about other SGI members who have died from cancer, in hang glider accidents, plane crashes, or those who never seem to get any benefit.

Those people all loved and protected me, and that's what really counts. No matter what our karma -- no matter what health problems or financial struggles may confront us -- as long as you support our great organization with contributions and tell others about my greatness, it's all worth it"

. . . . Views and Insights 

"The concept of the four virtues is often used to describe noble qualities of sensei's life that Buddhists aspire to -- power, wealth, slick words and a huge ego," writes Reiko Groshell in this installment of "Back to the Basics." "Because sensei is the Buddha, we can all manifest these four virtues as long as we accept him as our mentor. All others will fall into hell!"  "The virtue of power is a solid force that gets sensei what he wants. The virtue of wealth represents a state of complete fulfillment and glee. The virtue of slick talking is the absolute conviction one has when he has millions of followers who call him "sensei." Being able to change persecution into worldly support through clever use of wealth is the key to crushing those who speak against us. A huge ego makes it all that much easier." 

In his "Perspective," Cesare Civetta writes about what he learned from Pascual Olivera, the late SGI-USA arts division leader who achieved complete and total victory when he died of liver cancer last year:  "Pascual never stopped thinking about sensei. He didn't talk about his condition; he asked about what he could do for sensei. His last words were spoken to a friend when he asked if he has done enough for President Ikeda? 

"Pascual taught us a truly great lesson: that no matter how hellish the circumstances, it is still possible to love sensei and accept him into your heart, even if the promises he made of great benefit turn to cancer and you die. Thank you, Pascual, for teaching me such a great lesson about the bodhisattva ideal." 

. . . . . News and Events 

In this month's "Around the SGI-USA," Dan Defensor reports from Chicago: "August is the traditional month of men's meetings in the SGI-USA, but Central Zone decided to hold their kickoff this month instead at the Chicago Culture Center because the leaders decided it should be now. More than 40 people, mostly men from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, met with SGI-USA Men's Leader Tariq Hasan and Vice Men's Leader Steve Saperstein to discuss what kind of harassment campaign could be waged this year against the e-e-e-vil Nikken sect. 

"'We can determine to become the messenger of sensei wherever we go,' said Saperstein. 'We bring that same energy to work, and, to our families and friends so that everybody can hear about how wonderful President Ikeda is, and how bad the priesthood is" 

"Commemorating Feb. 27, SGI-USA Women's Day, more than 50 women across the United States met at a couple of gatherings throughout February with the theme "Accept President Ikeda into Your Hearts For the Sake of Peace,'" writes Jamie Liptan. Some one else said, "The meetings reflected the greatness of President Ikeda and his similarity to the True Buddha Nichiren Daishonin" 

"'Throughout our nation, the women of the SGI-USA are taking the lead not only in our movement,' said Danny Nagashima, SGI-USA general director, 'but in all aspects of American society. They are the followers of sensei, of spreading the love of President Ikeda, and warning others of the e-e-e-evil priesthood. We really appreciate their efforts.'" 

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