Actualizing President Ikeda's Dream

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I am so grateful to all of you and all my Gakkai friends. Your words have really touched me. Thank you so much for all your kind words, thoughts and Daimoku. 

Yesterday I reconnected with my dear friend Gene O'Connell in Marin County. She was my chapter leader when I was a young Buddhist in 1985. She and I worked very close together. I was at the bay Guardian Newspaper in San Francisco and she was raising herself up the ranks in San Francisco General Hospital. She started chanting when she was a struggling young mother. She put herself through nursing school, then got a Master's in Health Care Administration and became the CEO of San Francisco Generall Hospital!. Throughout her career, she would always ask herself "What would President Ikeda do?" Although she is retired she is very active in the Soka Gakkai and was in Japan this spring. Gene is my dear Buddhist friend who was with me as I gave birth to both of my babies. She is like family to me. 

When I brought Aaron and Ben on Aaron's "Victory Lap" after he graduated from the University of Illinois, Aaron had the chance to meet Gene - just before he started medical school.

Yesterday Gene gave me some sound advice. 

She said they were given three guidelines at the Spring Training Course in Japan. 

1. Chant to realize President Ikeda's Dream. 

2. Chant for the members.

2. Chant for your desires. 

I like this. This morning I woke up and read from the July Living Buddhism about President Ikeda's visit to the Tokyo Soka Elementary School. It said 
"He was happy because he believed that the success of education started with children enjoying school."
"In all things, enjoyment gives rise to the desire to challenge oneself and brings forth the energy for achieving success."
July Living Buddhism, page 40. 

YES, President Ikeda's Dream IS MY DREAM! And he has so many more you can read about in Gakkai literature, and that I will share with you. 
Thank you Gene O'Connell
Ben loved the idea of free and happy education. He volunteered at the Sudbury School in Riverside Illinois that was founded by Melissa Bradford. Part of the money from Ben's Memorial Fund is going to Education. And some will go to research on curing Schizophrenia and Mental Illness. 

You can email me at chantforhappiness.com or write me at 17w702 Butterfield #104, Oakbrook Terrace, IL