CategoryFrontline News

by Adin Strauss SGI-USA General Director  To the precious members of the SGI-USA, I want to thank you for everything in 2022 and the past few very trying years. And welcome to 2023, the Year of Youth and Triumph!  I’m convinced that 2023 will be a very special year for kosen-rufu in America, a year

The Ikeda Wisdom Academy, SGI-USA’s study program for district-national youth leaders, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with the start of its sixth class. On Jan. 26, 2013, the study program, named by Ikeda Sensei, was launched at a historic study conference.  In his message to that conference, Sensei encouraged the youth of North America, saying: 

by Adin Strauss SGI-USA General Director I am convinced that 2023 will be a very special year for kosen-rufu in America, and I am certain that Many Treasures members will be a crucial part of that. Dare I say it—thank you so very much in advance for all you will be doing! But before we

Next year, 2023, will mark the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu. Upon its completion, Ikeda Sensei penned the following poem:  Mentor and disciples have created this triumphant citadel of the great vow. (Dec. 6, 2013, World Tribune, p. 5) Keeping this milestone in mind, the Soka

Our November district general meetings are beacons of ideal human fellowship.

The valiant spirit of the behind-the-scenes training groups.

In 1990, when Ikeda Sensei established a study program for SGI-USA women’s division members, he named it the Sophia Group—Sophia in Greek meaning “skill, intelligence, wisdom.” Since that time, women have gathered monthly in small-group settings to study and discuss Sensei’s guidance to grasp the history of the SGI, deepen their understanding of the shared

The SGI-USA launched its new Member Resources portal (portal.sgi-usa.org), a website featuring all your member and leader resources in one place; and the new SGI-USA website (sgi-usa.org), now a purely outward-facing website geared toward informing the general public of our Buddhist practice and community. Member Resources Website Features: • A more personalized design and user

At the Central Executive Committee Conference, representative leaders discuss the next phase of in-person activities in 2023.

3 Reasons Why Buddhist Study Is Important

The SGI-USA introductory exam will be held on Oct. 29–30. Study is a vital aspect of our Buddhist practice. Preparing for and taking the introductory exam is an opportunity for members and guests to deepen their understanding of Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings through studying his writings, Ikeda Sensei’s commentaries, various Buddhist concepts, and the history Nichiren

This summer, the SGI-USA future division held its second annual National Elementary School Division Art Show and Poetry Exhibition. Themed “Courageously Advancing as Friends for Peace,” it featured the artwork of elementary school division (ESD) members and their friends, expressing their hopes and visions for a peaceful future. The exhibit is dedicated to Ikeda Sensei,

This October 7–8, the SGI-USA will hold online Introductory Exams, administered at SGI-USA centers across the country. Buddhism is a teaching for helping all people, especially those suffering the most. “Therefore,” Ikeda Sensei says, “[Buddhist] study needs to be rooted in daily life and serve as a guide for action. Study becomes a revitalizing force

Sixty-five years after second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda founded the student division on June 30, 1957, SGI-USA members gathered for the Student Division Conference, their first at the Florida Nature and Culture Center (FNCC) in over three years.  Inspired by Ikeda Sensei’s 2019 FNCC message to the student division, in which he called upon

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, Aug. 7—Members and guests entered the new SGI-USA San Juan Buddhist Center in amazement as pioneer members leaped with joy to welcome them home. In their first in-person SGI-USA activity in over two years, Puerto Rico Region hosted a hybrid kosen-rufu gongyo meeting at the new center. With 60 attendees joining

by SGI-USA Future Division and Parents Group Leaders On Aug. 14, 400 elementary school, junior high and high school division and parents group members gathered at reopened SGI-USA centers for the first in-person Soka Family Day meetings since 2020. Several hundred more joined virtually. It was a lively and joyful reunion for all—an opportunity to

SALT LAKE CITY, July 3—For three years, Joel Shelton waited for this day. He had, in late 2019, searched online for “Buddhism without meditation” amid a career crisis. What he found was the SGI-USA community in Salt Lake City, where he learned how to create change and find happiness within. Mr. Shelton was among the

The discussion meetings took shape as family affairs, as gatherings of comrades emerging from an unprecedented, shared hardship. Since the start of the pandemic, the first 11 in-person, hybrid discussion meetings were held July 17–19 at the Los Angeles Friendship Center and the Chicago and New York culture centers. Each meeting was outfitted with a

by Ryo Kuroki SGI-USA Young men’s Leader On July 10th, the young men’s division of the SGI-USA celebrated the 71st anniversary of our founding by holding commemorative meetings across the country. A total of 1,190 young men and nonbinary members and guests gathered, marking the first time this many youth came together in person since

by Maya Gunaseharan SGI-USA Young Women’s Leader To the most noble members of the SGI-USA,  On behalf of the young women, I’d like to express my deep appreciation to each of you for your support of our commemorative introductory meetings held on July 24 throughout the country! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!