Our young women's division members, whose lives sparkle with dazzling brilliance,
are the diamonds of Soka Gakkai. The realm of the Soka Gakkai and Nichiren
Daisonin's Buddhism is one where women are respected and valued to the
most.
(Photo & words by Daisaku Ikeda)
File 007: February 2007
Grace Tan
(YWD General Chapter Chief)
This month we interviewed Ms.Grace Tan, Young Women’s Division General
Chapter Chief of General Chapter III.
She started practicing this Buddhism through the encouragement of her mother,
who was the first to take faith in her family. Since she was small, she
had been suffering from having a very low self-esteem, lack of confidence
and poor in coping with human relationships.
By participating in the SGI activities and assuming responsibility in the organization, however, she has experienced a gradual change in becoming a stronger and more confident person who can take the initiative of controlling her own life as well as having the wisdom in developing better relationships with others – what we call achieving "human revolution" in Buddhism.
at the Manila-Davao Exchange Meeting
at the YWD Friendship General Meeting
Q & A Interview
Q1. Please tell us about the SGI activity into which you have put most
of your effort on.
I have been in charge of the Boys and Girls Division for a long time. This
activity entails a big responsibility because I am to contribute to the
growth of children; in other words, I am actively participating in establishing
the foundations of their young lives. Among the activities we do is give
them lectures on simple Buddhist terms, encourage them to express themselves
to others and to show their talents in meetings. We also put our efforts
into encouraging them through Sensei's guidance and teaching them SGI values
– to have courage and hope, to expand friendship, to be compassionate to
others – and the importance of upholding faith which enables us to open
up the infinite potential in our lives.
Honestly speaking, I am not a very patient person; therefore, my patience
has been tested in this activity, for children are still small and are
often naughty. But I have learned a lot through this activity. It also
gives me a constant opportunity to reflect with myself and strive to apply
Sensei's guidance to myself, for I myself must be a good example to them.
They are the very leaders of the future. I always bear in mind that the
manner how I guide them will decide how they will grow. As such, I will
exert more effort in helping them become the great leaders as Sensei wants
them to become.
Q2. In what way do you think YWD members can contribute to peace and happiness in Philippine society?
Although it is not only limited to YWD members, I believe that we can contribute
to our society by maintaining a compassionate mind toward others and by
being a responsible citizen as Sensei says. These are the very kinds of
things that we can start with in our respective places; as a daughter,
as a sister and as a good citizen, we can exert a good influence in society,
as this Buddhism teaches that one's action affect the greater realms such
as the circumstances and developments in the community and society as a
whole.
Q3. What is your favorite Gosho passage or Sensei’s guidance and why?
"Strengthen your faith day by day and month after month, should you
slacken a bit in your resolve, demons will take advantage."
I always keep this passage in my heart because it is so true. Whenever
you tend to go astray from the right path, weakness would surely take over.
Another passage that I strongly hold and believe goes like "a sword in the hands of coward is useless."
We all have the power within us, we have the Mystic Law within us – the
only thing that could lead others to happiness too, but if we are coward
to share it, or hesitate to do shakubuku, this great Law will eventually
become useless. So it is very important to have courage to teach others
the surest way to their happiness.
Q4. What is your resolution for the movement of Kosen-rufu in the Philippines?
It is truly crucial to improve myself first, or to have my own human revolution
– starting the change from within me. Everyday is an opportunity to improve
myself; I must think about ways in which I could contribute to my family,
to my work and also base myself on Sensei's guidance to truly develop myself
as a responsible leader who can serve as a model to others. It is my noblest
mission to encourage others to change their lives too, to experience happiness
through faith.
Q5. What is your dream for the future or aspirations in life?
I want to have a family of my own; a family where I could impart Gakkai
values to my children, and together with them, we would earnestly engage
in activities and continually encourage other people to take faith in the
Gohonzon. I envision a family that holds a common value in each other's
hearts. Everyday is a struggle for me to fulfill my dream of having my
own business and develop leadership skills to enable me to truly impart
change in my immediate environment.
Q6. What guidance can you impart to other young women?
Everyday is not perfect, but when you continue to persevere in faith, it will lead you to the path of happiness.
