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Sharing Efforts to Build
a Greater Society
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| Lei Loi Tak
SGI-Macau General Director |
Macau--the historic city where Eastern and Western
civilizations fuse harmoniously together--was returned to China on
December 20, 1999, bringing to an end approximately 450 years of Portuguese
rule. As members of SGI-Macau, we were proud to participate in the numerous
festivities and commemorative events held to celebrate the city’s
new start as a Special Administrative Region of China.
We organized a culture festival, held on January 9, 2000,
which was attended by 500 guests from various circles of society. Macau
Culture Minister Chui Sai On, attending in place of Chief Executive Edmund
Ho, remarked that the cultural contributions of the SGI were a great source
of support and reassurance for the city and its cultural melting pot.
In addition, SGI-Macau and the Macau municipal council
cosponsored an exhibit entitled "The Heroes of The Water Margin,"
which opened on January 7 and ran for one month. The magnificent adventures
of the heroes of The Water Margin, China’s most beloved work of popular
literature, were captured in the paintings, ceramic art and other works
of Macau’s most renowned artists.
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| The National
Chinese Opera Troupe's performance (September 1999) |
Macau is located at the southern tip of China’s
Guangdong Province, about 64 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong. The new
administrative region covers 18.7 square kilometers with a population
of approximately 450,000. Westerners first came to Macau at the beginning
of the 16th century, and the city became the first focal point for Europeans
in Asia. Since that time, many immigrants have arrived not only from Europe
but also from China and other Asian countries, fueling the amalgamation
of Eastern and Western cultures on this tiny island. Indeed, the island
brims with a spirit of openness, allowing a symbiotic relationship between
the disparate cultures of Macau to be forged through international exchange.
Academic Exchange
The University of Macau, founded in 1981, now plays a
leading role in promoting academic exchange and has cooperative relationships
with 130 universities and research institutes around the world. In 1990,
the university formed an academic exchange agreement with Soka University,
its first such relationship with a Japanese educational institution, and
in 1994 the two universities cosponsored the fourth Pacific Rim Symposium,
which was held on the campus of the University of Macau. Backed also by
the government of Macau and the Japanese consulate general in Hong Kong,
the symposium was attended by 60 scholars from 16 countries and regions
and 30 universities and institutions. Lively debate centered on the symposium
theme of "East-West Relations in the 21st Century." SGI President
Daisaku Ikeda, the founder of Soka University, has been recognized with
four awards from the University of Macau, including an honorary doctorate.
The SGI Movement
in Macau
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| SGI members
and friends (August 1998) |
The first SGI member in Macau was Naoko Shiga (1926--1999)
who emigrated from Japan in 1966. Later she and another Japanese resident,
Yoko Ishii, together with Leong Ieong Iok Fu, a Macau citizen who joined
the SGI in Hong Kong, began talking to others about Buddhism. Their activities
did not progress as smoothly as they had hoped, however, because of the
influx of refugees, unstable conditions in Macau and prejudice against
Japanese immigrants. At one point, discussion meetings and other Buddhist
activities were even labeled as "gatherings of dangerous elements."
Despite these difficulties, and determined to show actual
proof of their faith in society, Ms. Shiga and Ms. Ishii became official
government guides in 1967. Ms. Shiga was the first Japanese national ever
to become a government guide. Later her son and daughter also earned their
licenses, and the family started a travel business, which has now grown
into the largest travel agency in Macau. Meanwhile, Ms. Leong Ieong Iok
Fu is also contributing to society through her role as the central figure
in the Macau Women’s Association and the Nurses Association.
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| At the "Heroes
of The Water Margin" exhibit |
In 1978 a district was formed with 100 households, with
Ms. Shiga as the district chief and Ms. Ishii as the district women’s
division leader. At that time, however, there were hardly any active men’s
division members, and the few who joined SGI-Macau through the efforts
of these two leaders often left the organization after becoming discouraged
by the hard economic times in Macau. In response to this situation, Ms.
Shiga and Ms. Ishii strongly resolved to create a solid organization to
leave behind for the next generation of SGI members in Macau.
In 1987, SGI-Macau finally found a stable meeting place,
provided by a generous member. We began holding weekly chanting meetings
there. Attendance of just over 10 people grew to 100 by 1991, and in April
of that year a chapter was formed. Mr. Chan Chi Kai and myself were the
pioneers of the men’s division. We took as our motto the goal of
contributing to society as citizens of Macau, and capable people started
to appear from within the organization. In addition, the SGI’s message
of peace, culture and education began to be understood and appreciated
by all elements of Macau society.
I myself joined the SGI in 1983. I had been managing
a diverse manufacturing and transportation business, but after encountering
Buddhism I learned that an individual’s work and the inner reformation
of his or her life are intimately related. The sense of satisfaction that
wells up from the depths of one’s life when one engages in Buddhist
activities improves the quality of one’s work. Based on these principles,
I am firmly convinced that the more our organization is recognized by
society, the more deeply aware we become of the momentous responsibility
we have in both our public activities and our private lives.
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| A culture seminar
(January 2000) |
In order to contribute in more concrete ways to Macau
society, SGI-Macau formed the Macau Culture Council in 1995. This led
to the decision to open the SGI-Macau Culture Center, built in 1997, to
local choral and dance groups to use for rehearsals. In 1999, we invited
experts from a variety of fields to the center to lead our many cultural
seminars. Meanwhile, we also hosted the National Chinese Opera Troupe,
which came to Macau to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding
of the modern Chinese state. In addition, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s
two visits to Macau have inspired the SGI-Macau members to challenge themselves
to new heights in their cultural activities.
In his lecture at the Macau Culture Center in April 1999,
Zhou Li-Gao, then chancellor of the University of Macau, stated that Macau’s
role is to serve as a bridge linking East and West. He remarked that the
role of the SGI is to act as a bridge between people’s hearts in
Macau. Mr. Zhou noted that his trust in the SGI as an organization for
peace stems from his respect for SGI President Ikeda, who has always treated
Macau as equal to other countries and territories and who is struggling
for world peace based on a correct understanding of history. His words
struck a chord in my heart.
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