“No matter what be close to the Priest who knows the heart of the lotus sutra”
I have been practicing Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism for 20 years and it has always been my prayer and desire to introduce my family to Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism.
First and foremost, it has been my prayer to shakubuku my mother as people in my hometown have distorted views of Buddhism. Anytime, I visit my hometown I make it a point to talk about Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism to the people I encounter. This could never have been possible without my strong faith in the Gohonzon. The Gohonzon was and would continue to be my source of confidence. It is said that it is the Gohonzon that does the shakubuku and not the individual.
As a result of the encouragement and guidance of the Chief Priest and other members I had the opportunity to repay my debt of gratitude to the three treasures at the Head temple by attending Tozan in April 2015. I was able to renew my faith and determination by chanting to the Dai-Gohonzon.
I have come to the realization that by chanting diamoku as a Hokkeko organization with the aim of achieving Kosen-Rufu nothing can stop us from realizing this objective.
During the month of April this year, I visited my hometown with Mr. Richmond Glagoh, a member of the youth division. After doing morrning gongyo together in my family house, a family member of mine told me he wanted to practice Buddhism. I took advantage of that opportunity to share my experience of Buddhism with him. There’s a passage from the gosho, The True Entity of All Phenomena, which states:
“Strive forth in the two ways of practice and study. If practice and study are neglected, then Buddhism will cease to exist. You should practice for yourself and lead others to this teaching. Both practice and study originate from faith. You must propagate to others with all your might, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase.”
On returning to Accra, I consulted the Chief Priest, Rev Imafuku on my desire to have a Shakubuku Seminar in my hometown.
After consulting with the Chief Priest, I went back to Dodze to meet with the opinion leaders to talk to them about my wish of holding a Shakubuku seminar at Dodze. They gave me a go ahead.
The Chief Priest, Rev. Imafuku granted me permission to publicise the impending Shakubuku seminar in my hometown. We mounted posters at vantage points, made announcements at the local FM stations and the Community centre.
On the 30th July 2017, we held a seminar with the support of the members from Dabala.
Eighty people were in attendance out of which fifteen received Gojukai, my mother, 79 years old woman was amongst them. The thought of that day alone brought great joy to my heart because my town folks were happy to see the Priest and they were also able to clear their doubts about Buddhism. I would always remember that day as the beginning of my journey towards the advancement of the achievement of Kosen-rufu in Ghana and Africa.
The people of my town who received Gojukai have started sharing the joy of embracing Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism with their family and friends. The gojukai recipients would join us at the Hokkeji Temple this August so that we can celebrate the Youth General meeting together.
Thank you, more chanting.