samedi 23 mars 2019

Discovering Soka Gakkai SGI Buddhist Center

By Barbara Anderson


When it comes to the history of Buddhism, the practice dates back thousands of years. While this is the case, the Soka Gakkai International sgi buddhist organization was founded at a conference on world peace in 1975. Individuals representing 51 countries were in attendance at the meeting. Sine that time, the organization has added local organizations while the national organization has grown to over 12 million individuals now holding a membership.

The U. S. Headquarters of SGI is located Chicago, Illinois. The organization started as an intentional peace movement which had hoped to take the world by storm. By choosing Guam as the place for the meeting, the area's ties to World War II and the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the group hoped to stress the need for world peace.

The group first began to expand and grow after the end of the second world war. In part, the growth was due to the many Soka Gakki members whom married local women, then moved out of Japan. For, during that time, there were a number of young serviceman whom became husbands and fathers while overseas. As such, most of the women and children returning to original destinations will be moving into an actual home for the first time.

The SGI has also received some great honors. For example, a stamp was produced for the 25th anniversary of the organization with a stamp in 2000. When available, the first stamp was released on October 2nd in conjunction with President Ikeda's journey overseas in 1960.

In 2015, the Peace Research Institute Director reported that SGI was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination was later confirmed by a local Nobel Peace Laureate. While this is the case, the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet received the award. Whereas, the SGI-USA was one of the groups organizing for the first annual Buddhist conference to be held at the White House.

Italy's SGI location has officially been recognized by the Italian government as of 2015. In addition, the government also acknowledged the organization as an official religion which allows all local organizations to operate on a tax-free basis. As such, all donations provided to the organization are tax deductible from personal income taxes when and where applicable.

The SGI is now comprised of a global network of affiliated groups and organizations. As of 2011, the group had over one hundred ninety active organizations in territories and countries with twelve million plus members. While headquarters for two such organizations are located in Tokyo, each are independent of the other. Whereas, all national locations can receive funds from the International Headquarters if selected to do so.

All local SGI organizations operate autonomously with all business dealings are provided in the native language of the country. In addition, most of the national organizations are sponsored and coordinated by local community not-for-profit groups. Wile this is the case, most locations organize and produce at least one fundraiser to raise funds on a quarterly or annual basis.




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