Creating an alternative/how to move forward
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:41 pm
A couple weeks ago, I hosted a youth meeting at my house and advised my fellow friends that I have some serious concerns about SGI. I love SGI and it has done a lot for me over the past ten years. But it is no longer substantial and I think new members are not getting the point of the practice because the same topics are constantly simplified and recycled.
So we made our own group, NOT to replace SGI but as a supplement. Something that can be open to both outside sources as well as deeper study. This is a balancing act. As I've seen repeated on this forum, SGI has gone too far into the simplification. For the intro level, that's fine. But for us who want a deeper understanding...?
I have felt that this practice is very serious and that this practice is my life. Not everyone will jive with that and that's ok. But there are youth out there that want more...
I guess my question is: how do I maintain a balance in this little supplemental group so that people can bring outside resources and also encourage deeper study of Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra?
If anyone has suggestions, I'm open. I've brought my concerns to fellow leaders. One senior leader actually told me I can pick my mentor (since I have qualms with Ikeda being the default mentor - cool guy but doesn't always get me to go deeper)... in this sense, Nichiren feels like my mentor (I frequently imagine myself as a samurai chanting at his side - weird probably).
I'm going to keep going to meetings and encourage people to see mentor/disciple as more about the *spirit* than the person... and to encourage deeper study. But I'd still welcome input. There is of course resistance from the organization itself to change. Some have suggested this will change when Ikeda dies. I'm not sure and also...why wait?
So we made our own group, NOT to replace SGI but as a supplement. Something that can be open to both outside sources as well as deeper study. This is a balancing act. As I've seen repeated on this forum, SGI has gone too far into the simplification. For the intro level, that's fine. But for us who want a deeper understanding...?
I have felt that this practice is very serious and that this practice is my life. Not everyone will jive with that and that's ok. But there are youth out there that want more...
I guess my question is: how do I maintain a balance in this little supplemental group so that people can bring outside resources and also encourage deeper study of Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra?
If anyone has suggestions, I'm open. I've brought my concerns to fellow leaders. One senior leader actually told me I can pick my mentor (since I have qualms with Ikeda being the default mentor - cool guy but doesn't always get me to go deeper)... in this sense, Nichiren feels like my mentor (I frequently imagine myself as a samurai chanting at his side - weird probably).
I'm going to keep going to meetings and encourage people to see mentor/disciple as more about the *spirit* than the person... and to encourage deeper study. But I'd still welcome input. There is of course resistance from the organization itself to change. Some have suggested this will change when Ikeda dies. I'm not sure and also...why wait?