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 005: December 2006
Cynthia Gaerlan
(YWD Vice-Chief)
This month, we interviewed Ms. Cynthia Gaerlan, Young Women Division Vice-Chief.
Firmly determined to fulfill her mission Philippine Kosen-rufu, she has
dedicated her life to SGI activities since 1986, the year she joined SGI.
As YWD Vice- Chief, she has devoted most of her time to YWD and other various
activities where she has continuously encouraged members.
She has also been active in the radio program of the SGI-Philippines "Let's
Talk about SOKA" every Sunday.
Training in Hong Kong
at Soka University, Japan
Q & A Interview
Q1. Why did you join SGI?
I was introduced to Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism by a friend in my interior
design school when I was 24. For a long time I had been suffering from
a sense of unhappiness and powerlessness for no particular reason. Although
I was born to a family of a non-Buddhist religion, I was already an atheist
by that time, tired of begging an external God to grant my wishes, which
were after all, not granted.
Therefore, Nichiren Daishonin’' Buddhism truly impressed me because it
teaches us that we are the ones who create our own lives and are responsible
for our lives, and that we have the power within ourselves to change our
environment as well as our own lives.
Since that time, I started attending meetings and chanting daimoku; I
then received my own Gohonzon on Dec.15, 1986. Soon I will welcome its
20th anniversary!
Q2. Please share your most cherished experience that deepened your faith.
I have so many experiences and one of them is the Young Women Division meeting at the General Cultural Center (GCC) in Tagaytay, where a beautiful panorama of Taal Volcano and Lake Taal can be enjoyed. I was in charge of this meeting and I put so much effort into the preparation for the success of this meeting. The very day of the meeting, however, a typhoon hit our area! It was so windy and foggy all around us that we could not see the said view from GCC at all. Even the failure of the meeting was anticipated since under such a situation it seemed difficult for members to attend the meeting.
However, I never wanted to admit defeat so I started chanting daimoku
very earnestly for one hour as if I was fighting… and amazingly, when I
went outside an hour later, the sun was shining very bright and the beautiful
panorama of Taal showed up. Moreover, I saw a long line of participants
in the meeting! The meeting was a great success with the attendance of
numerous guests, which exceeded our expectation. Strangely, after the last
person left the GCC, the typhoon came back! At this time, I was really
convinced that the whole universe supported us for the success of our meeting.
There are still many difficulties that I have experienced, all of which I learned to appreciate. Devoting my life to SGI activities gave me a confidence that I can overcome any difficulty, and at the same time, learn from it and develop myself even more to become a better person.
Q3. What makes you proud about SGI-Philippines?
Before anything else, having Ikeda Sensei as the mentor in life makes me
proud; at the same time I am also proud of the fact that
SGI has been working for peace and happiness of all people by empowering
them.
I do believe that SGI-Philippines has the very key to changing the Philippines
into a better country, that is,
our way of helping the suffering people by empowering their very lives
through the philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism.
Q4. How would you assess the current situation of the Philippines in general?
What do you think can SGI contribute
to the betterment of these situations?
You know, my bag was snatched awhile ago. That incident made me realize
that I should work even harder for kosen-rufu because life in the Philippines
is really very difficult. That is why many people tend to lose hope and
eventually resort to crimes.
Presently, there are about 85 million Filipinos and only around 20 thousand
are SGI members.
This means SGI has still a long way to go. I believe that the key to happiness is having a correct faith and understanding.
So let us start it within ourselves and share it to others especially to those who are suffering so that they can ultimately change their own destinies too.
Q5. What guidance of Sensei keeps you going?
"People who wake up with a mission are the greatest."
SGI members are like that. What makes my life truly happy is the fact that Sensei is my mentor, I am an SGI member, and I have an opportunity to change the destiny of my country. These are the greatest treasures of my life.
Q6. What is your personal aspiration in life?
With my work in interior designing, I would like to make it into something
'big', as an actual proof of my Buddhist practice and as being an SGI member.
My aspirations are always inclined with the aim of achieving kosen-rufu
in the Philippines.
Q7. What encouragement can you impart to the junior YWD members?
The key to a truly happy life is to devote ourselves to SGI activities to strengthen our faith day by day and to earnestly read, study and apply Sensei's teachings to our lives and our society.
We should not ask questions like, "What can SGI do for me?,"
but rather ask ourselves, "What can I do or contribute to SGI?"
