What is a passage from Nichiren Daishonin or the three Presidents that encourages you through difficulty?
Valentine: My favourite Nichiren passage is from ‘Happiness in this world’ (WND 1, pp 681-682), which is:
Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no matter what happens. How could this be anything other than the boundless joy of the Law?
(WND 1, pp 681 - 682)
Sometimes you feel a bit disgruntled and things aren’t happening the way you want them to, which is most of the time! But this passage helps us to keep pushing on forward.
What is your prime point of faith, and how have you maintained your seeking spirit to continue to encourage members?
Valentine: I started practising back in 1983 when I moved from Queensland to London. I was attending a meeting where Richard Causton was giving a lecture about SGI and the practice. He was my main inspiration, I used to do lots of work with him and have meetings with him every day. He was my inspiration to start practising and continue on. The prime point of my faith was when I was in charge of a group in Talbot court, London. The group made an impact on me.
The thing that has kept me continuing on with my faith is the fact that I got a chance to introduce this practice to people in Tasmania. It was very life transforming and Jane’s* support has also helped me continue on with my practice. I have had demons attack my practice but I think it is healthy to question our practice and to seek the answers. It is not healthy to blindly follow things. We also attended a lot of training courses in Sydney which was encouraging, especially the support from Greg Johns. Every month, there would be a big meeting in Sydney and we would go attend those, we would plan our travels for that and would be gone for about a week.
What would you like to share with the youth who are going to shoulder the future of kosen-rufu?
Valentine: You have to keep up your chanting; daimoku is the base of this practice. You don’t have to do hours, only do what is comfortable for you, with the time you’ve got. You can even take time when you are taking a break from work, just a couple of minutes, do what you can. I have some books here that I would suggest you to read; these are by Richard Causton who is my main inspiration.
a. Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism – Richard Causton
b. The Buddha in Daily Life: An introduction to Nichiren Buddhism – Richard Causton
c. The basics of Buddhism – Pat Allwright
d. Fundamentals of Buddhism
But you’ve got the internet now and you’ve got hundreds of books to choose from. It is important to keep with the fundamentals of the practice.
It is also important that you interact with each other, your work colleagues, your friends and your family as well. Your family is very important, you should keep in touch with them. You should cherish your parents as when they pass away you realise; they have only been with you a short time. You realise the influence they have had on you and the connection you had with them. You just take it for granted when they are around, you think they will always be there. Once they pass away you suddenly realise what it was. It’s a very special relationship, you won’t have that with anybody else. You should contact your parents as much as you can and spend time with them.
*Jane Hutcheon is Valentine's partner and she was also the previous SGIA Tasmania's coordinator.