Victorian SGI Youth Camp 2008
Last weekend i attended the Victorian SGI youth camp which was two day mini training course about Nichiren Buddhism and personal development. This year we had the camp at Merricks Lodge in the Westernport Bay area. I must say it was an amazing experience going away for two days just to learn and discuss about Buddhist philosophy. It was a fun, relaxing atmosphere and people were so friendly and talkative. Even the shy ones participated in the discussion.
We have had endless discussions about the concepts of mentor and disciple, ichinen sanzen (the three thousand realms of life), the human potential, human revolution and various other topics.
The first discussion was about freedom and what it means to be free. From what I’ve learnt, the word freedom has different meanings based on different perspectives, choices and purposes in life. Some people think that freedom is not being affected by society while others view freedom as not being affected by the current situation by negativity. Whatever meaning we put to it, freedom denotes happiness and it comes with responsibility. In other words, we are responsible for our own happiness through our beliefs which are manifested by our words and actions and in turn affect our immediate environment. It is connected to awareness and clarity, about the purpose of our lives. And from what I’ve learnt, this concept sounds very simple but it sometimes need reinforcement, especially during times of hardship. As long as we know what the purpose of our life is, we will re-determine ourselves towards our goals no matter what the challenge is.
The second discussion was the Gosho study - Letter to Niike. The common theme underlying this discussion was mentor and disciple. I have been always skeptical about this concept - why do members of the SGI choose Daisaku Ikeda as their mentor? Yes, his actions were great and he is a selfless figure but why him? He may be our role model, but to me, he is not my mentor. A member from the discussion group suggested to make the Law (the mystic law) as our mentor instead because the law encompasses everything in life - Nature, society, Daisaku Ikeda, the other two presidents of SGI and us. I personally like this perception of the mentor and disciple concept. It makes more sense to me and I can refer to it when I need further direction in life.
There were also other speeches and talks, but I won’t post about it here as it will take forever to write. The camp was a wonderful experience, I have learnt heaps and the most important thing is that I have learnt how to appreciate myself, others and my surroundings. I have also learnt to understand myself better - why I work in the field that I’m in, why my family and friends treat me the way they do and what accounts for my happiness.