I went for SGI-UK Student Course on last Friday at a nice and cozy place in Cheshunt, Herfordshire.
Before I actually apply for the course, I hesitated for a long time...I wanted to attend the course initially, but I was worried about my financial condition and also I have an exam on the following Monday. More importantly, I don't know what to do during the course because I know no one and I always feel that I can't get into the culture of SGI-UK.
Yet....I feel so lucky now that I attended the course. Thanks so much to Victor who encouraged me all this while =)
Back then when I was in Malaysia...I was really active in Gakkai activities...I'm a YWD leader, an exhibition guide committee member, a student division leader, and Hibiscus Artistic Dance group leader. Wow....I wonder how could I fulfill my responsibilities when I was there...
I spared every evening for Gakkai activities =) Gakkai activities are always on the top on my list...those days were really busy and challenging, but I enjoyed them so much...
However, when I moved to London, everything seems so different to me...no exhibition guide activities, no cultural activities, no home visitation, no gosho study meet, no YWD leaders meet, no monthly all leaders meet, etc. Plus there are very few Gakkai activities here. Obviously, the amount of activities reduced drastically....and I feel quite difficult to get used to the new environment and the new culture.
I miss you all sooooooo much, my comrades...you know how much I miss you all...My heart started to build a concrete wall against Gakkai activities...I tried really hard to open up my heart to accept the cultural diversity and also to think about what I can do for SGI-UK. However, it was my fundamental darkness that caused me to be ignorant about my potential...I completely lost my passion towards gakkai activities. I even missed my gongyo and daimoku for about a month recently. I knew that this is not right....but I just lost the life force to change myself from within....Before I actually apply for the course, I hesitated for a long time...I wanted to attend the course initially, but I was worried about my financial condition and also I have an exam on the following Monday. More importantly, I don't know what to do during the course because I know no one and I always feel that I can't get into the culture of SGI-UK.
Yet....I feel so lucky now that I attended the course. Thanks so much to Victor who encouraged me all this while =)
Back then when I was in Malaysia...I was really active in Gakkai activities...I'm a YWD leader, an exhibition guide committee member, a student division leader, and Hibiscus Artistic Dance group leader. Wow....I wonder how could I fulfill my responsibilities when I was there...
I spared every evening for Gakkai activities =) Gakkai activities are always on the top on my list...those days were really busy and challenging, but I enjoyed them so much...
However, when I moved to London, everything seems so different to me...no exhibition guide activities, no cultural activities, no home visitation, no gosho study meet, no YWD leaders meet, no monthly all leaders meet, etc. Plus there are very few Gakkai activities here. Obviously, the amount of activities reduced drastically....and I feel quite difficult to get used to the new environment and the new culture.
Fortunately, I attended the student course =)
During the course, I met members with pure but strong faith...I met members who dvote themselves in succeeding the course...I met members to devote their lives into kosen rufu and I've heard how they actually challenged to be sensei's great disciple....all these wonderful encounters hit deeply into my heart and reminded me about the mission of a student division. It's the same now....I felt...there's no difference between members in SGI-UK and members in SGM. They are the same...we are the same. All of us strive for kosen-rufu wholeheartedly and we vowed to be sensei's disciple. The heart, the ichinen are the same! How could it be different??!!!
Also, I joined lilac on the last day of the course. Lilac is Byakuren in SGI-UK. I wasn't very keen to join lilac. I just remembered that I ticked all boxes (volunteer action groups) during the course application cuz I want to assist in anything that I could to support the course. However, I did not get any information regarding this matter until I met Pippa during the course. She recognized my name when I introduced myself and she said that the Lilac chief has been trying to contact me. It was then we found out that the phone number on the name list is short of one number. So Pippa encouraged me to look for Lynn (the Lilac chief, I hope that I spell her name correctly...) to be Lilac. So....I told myself, why not I just give a try?
Finally, I met Lynn, and I became a "temporary" lilac on Sunday =) It was the first time in my life doing lilac/byakuren. During the day, I recalled myself being a backstage PIC (person in charge) in SGM, and I can feel that how much effort every one contributed to support the course for all student division. It was really really great to have this opportunity =)
Hmm....I think this blog entry is quite lengthy...and more importantly....I'm tired now =P
I hope you enjoyed this entry...
I love you all, my dear friends...take care~~
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