On Jan. 13, Eileen Reinholz and I joined the Hawaii #3 region team as the women’s vice and women’s leaders.We decided as a team to that we were going to base everything on uniting our hearts with our mentor, SGI President Ikeda—whose sole motivation is to empower ordinary people to change their lives—through sincerely chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo from our guts.
About three years ago, I was challenging a serious reoccurrence with cancer and deep financial issues. I told myself that I didn’t want to suffer anymore and made a determination to win based on prayer and a deep sense of appreciation for the Gohonzon and my mentor’s continual encouragement and care.
During that time, I was assigned to a support a chapter, where I learned the spirit to really chant “fighting” daimoku. My mother, who is a pioneer member since 1962, had always taught me daimoku first. Together with other members, many of whom were struggling with severe health problems, we chanted life-or-death daimoku.
I was shocked when, one day after a 10-hour chanting session, I literally flushed out my cancer. The following week, after many tests, the doctor told me that I was cancer-free. Because of my health challenges, I gained conviction in the power of my prayer and my ability to win over all odds.
When Linda, our SGI USA women’s leader, encouraged us to create a list of things that we normally would not chant about for ourselves and to challenge them, I decided to chant to show actual proof at my place of work, remembering Sensei’s actions when he first worked for second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda.
Because of the global recession, my employer had not given raises or bonuses for the past three years. I never complained and kept myself busy, always asking what can I do to help out, striving to be the kind of example Sensei has always set for us.
Recently, my boss called me into his office (I had never been called in before), my first thought was, “Oh my gosh, I’m going to be fired!”
As soon as I sat down, he started to say something, when I blurted out: “Are you going to fire me?” He looked at me with a puzzled expression and said: “No! I called you in to say how appreciative we are to have you working here. Even though times are so difficult, you really bring a ray of sunshine to our office.” He then presented me with a bonus check—enough to make me smile even more!
That evening while Eileen and I were preparing for our region’s first planning meeting, we shared our day’s event with each other. What a surprise when we found out that we both got unexpected bonuses on the same day at work!
We were so happy, and happy for each other. We made up our minds that all of the Hawaii #3 members are going to their own victories in the month of February. More than ever, “Let’s Win Right Now—Let’s Win Together” is our region’s theme!
Name: Carol Kawamoto
Region: Hawaii #3
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