For the Peace of Our Families, Society, and the World, I Want to Share the Importance of Changing Ourselves First
Ms. Sumi Barua, Bangladesh Dharma Center
When did you begin practicing the faith of Rissho Kosei-kai, and what prompted you to do so?
My father joined Rissho Kosei-kai around 2000, when it was first established in Bangladesh, so I am a second-generation member. For many years, my father served as a chapter head and devoted himself to sharing the Buddha’s teachings to help others find liberation. When I was small, he often took me to the Dharma center, where I played with friends my age and recited sutra. I still remember those days. Sadly, when I was only eleven years old, my father passed away from a heart attack at the age of forty-five. I felt that carrying on his aspirations would give me the strength to overcome my grief, so I began participating in youth-group activities. A major turning point in my faith came in 2017 when I attended a youth seminar at the Bangladesh Dharma Center for the first time and listened to one of Founder Nikkyo Niwano’s Dharma talks on video.
Founder Niwano said, “If the purpose of human life were merely to eat and survive, there would be no difference between human beings and other living creatures. If we truly wish to be happy, we must abandon self-centeredness and devote ourselves to the happiness of others.”
These words deeply moved me and inspired me to think seriously about what I could do for the happiness of others. At that time, I was working as a private tutor, so as a way to put these thoughts into action, I began offering free lessons to many students who were struggling financially and couldn’t afford school tuition. Spending time with them and watching them grow brought me profound joy.
Furthermore, the Bangladesh Dharma Center has more than thirty graduates of Gakurin Seminary, who actively serve as leaders both in the Dharma centers and in their local communities. Witnessing their dedication strengthened my wish to learn the Buddha’s teachings more deeply and become someone who can be of service to others. This ultimately led me to enroll in Gakurin Seminary.
You graduated from Gakurin’s International Program this March. At your graduation research presentation, you spoke on the theme “Self-Awareness and Family Education.” What led you to choose this theme?
Through my nearly eight years of experience as a private tutor in Bangladesh, I learned that many families, despite being financially privileged, suffer distress caused by conflict between spouses and estrangement between parents and children. This experience convinced me that peace within the family exists on a different level from material prosperity and is greatly influenced by the quality of daily family relationships and the attitudes people hold in their hearts. That realization motivated me to choose this theme. I believe that the family is a vital place where children find emotional security and develop their character, and that family education is the starting point of all education. Furthermore, while living alongside friends from diverse cultural backgrounds at Gakurin Seminary and engaging with the teachings of Rissho Kosei-kai, I came to deeply understand an important perspective that improving relationships begins not by trying to change others, but by changing our own ways of seeing and acting. This insight became a fundamental basis for my understanding of family harmony and peace.
Now you have returned home, how do you plan to put this theme into practice?
The Bangladesh Dharma Center currently holds regular family education seminars, mainly for mothers raising children. I hope to become actively involved in these seminars. In addition, I would like to work with leaders who have studied family education to organize workshops and family education programs for young people. Through these efforts, I hope to contribute, even in a small way, to building peaceful families in Bangladesh.
Are there any teachings or words from Founder Niwano or President Nichiko Niwano that are especially important to you?
One teaching from Founder Niwano that remains deeply engraved in my heart is the importance of “seeing things as they truly are.” In our daily lives, we often view things through the filters of our self-centered perspectives, prejudices, and preconceived notions. As a result, we judge things according to our personal likes and dislikes or our own standards of right and wrong, making it difficult to perceive reality as it truly is. I believe the Founder taught us that by studying and practicing the Buddha’s teachings and cultivating wisdom, we can truly see things as they are.
As for President Niwano, he frequently emphasizes in his Dharma talks the importance of building harmony in the family. He teaches that by cultivating our own minds, regulating our behaviors, and bringing harmony to our families, we contribute to peace in our nations and throughout the world. Inspired by this teaching, I hope to share the importance of both family education and the teachings of Rissho Kosei-kai with many people so that families can build warm, compassionate relationships based on mutual respect, where words such as “thank you” and “I’m sorry” can be expressed sincerely and naturally.
What aspect of Rissho Kosei-kai are you fascinated by?
What fascinates me the most is that members greet everyone with a smile and by putting their palms together in reverence. Seeing those smiles always fills me with happiness. At the same time, I realize that when I greet others with a smile, it surely makes them feel happy too. So, I have made it a practice to greet everyone I meet with a smile.
I am also deeply moved by the warmth and kindness of the sangha. Guided by the Buddha’s teachings, members share in one another’s suffering, sorrow, and joy as if they were their own, growing close to one another. That is why I believe that even when I am facing great worries or anxieties, I can move forward in life with confidence, knowing that I am never alone. The sangha is always beside me, encouraging me, and praying for my happiness.
Finally, what are your goals for your future practice?
For now, I would like to share with the young members of the Bangladesh Dharma Center the many experiences and merits I received in Japan, including my life and training at Gakurin Seminary and my Dharma dissemination training at the Ota Dharma Center. I hope to do so with a deep sense of gratitude. Through my study of family education based on the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Rissho Kosei-kai, I have become convinced that peace within the family begins with personal transformation. That transformation influences family relationships, and peaceful family relationships spread outward to society, ultimately contributing to world peace. For this reason, I want to keep the teaching that “if I change, others will change” firmly in mind. My goal for future practice is to share the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, which enable all people to find happiness, with as many people as possible.
