Tucked behind Jazzman’s CafCB) in the back halls of Driscoll North, practicing Buddhists greet DU students with a smile and a Roche chocolate.
The circle of chairs and welcoming smiles foster a feeling of community, the same community that has been created by the Soka Gakkai International organization of American Buddhists across the nation.
The meeting last Wednesday was the fourth introductory meeting put on by members of SGI, to give students at DU a glimpse of one of the most widely practiced schools of Buddhism in the United States.
“I have a right to become happy, and I can help others to become happy. That is my contribution to human society,” said Chin Lin, a member of SGI and a 20-year follower of Buddhism. Lin explains that the school of Buddhism advocated by SGI members is the Lotus Sutra, which emphasizes the importance of teaching Buddhism to others so that they may themselves reach happiness, then pass it along to others. This will, in theory, inevitably result in world peace, Lin said.
“A single individual can influence other people, who influence a community, who influence a city, and so on. In teaching, we take the first step,” said Lin.
Lin, accompanied by DU graduate students Anna Ikeda and Akemi Tantesugu and SGI member Carlean Foley, described the beginnings of Buddhism and its fragmentation into multiple schools. Such fragmentation proliferated misconceptions about Buddhism that can be misinterpreted even by those who practice Buddhism.
Nichiren Daishonin, a Japanese monk who first spoke the chant, “Nam-Myoho-renge-kyo.”
The quote translates to, “devotion to the mystic laws of cause and effect through sound teaching.” The general meaning of this chant is the idea that humans are continuously creating causes that have inevitable effects. These effects may not happen in their lifetimes, and may be positive or negative. Daishonin asserted that in chanting this mantra, believers are moving into a deeper strain of consciousness, and thus “tapping into the positive Karma bank” that is the nature of Buddha.
“Attending Buddhahood is relying on your self to be happy within,” said Foley.
The traditional teaching method of Daishonin was to give each individual a method of achieving enlightenment that was relative to each person. The theme of the Lotus Mantra Buddhism is the ability to rely on the self for happiness.”
“College is the time when people are finding who they are and what they are seeking,” said Foley, who has been practicing and attending SGI Buddhist discussion for seven years. “We invite them to join a community that is about helping them find happiness through themselves.”
The existing state of SGI Buddhist meetings on the DU campus is still at an introductory level.
“Different people are coming each time, so it is difficult yet to do a follow-up meeting,” said Ikeda.
DU SGI members hope to generate enough interest to attain a consistent following, so that discussions can extend to include more history, study and experience that influence use of the Buddhist chant.
“We learn from each other through experiences,” said Lin, who shared her own experience of finding the Buddhist practice, “and we involve the student division because they are the future.”
SGI hopes the future will be the generation that pursues peace through teachings of self-happiness.
The founder of SGI, Daisaku Ikeda, was awarded an honorary doctorate from DU, for his studies and initiatives for peace.
If you would like to learn more about SGI and its meetings, visit the SGI Denver Web site at, http://www.sgi-usu-denver.org, or e-mail DUStudentDivision@gmail.com with questions pertaining to meeting schedules or the SGI organization.
