Psychology & Buddhism.pdf

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groups by, for example, vocation, parenthood, and cultural-artistic activity, to
support groups of young men- and women-in-training. In addition, there is the
basic organizational unit comprised of geographically organized neighborhood
discussion groups, which constitutes the first-line source of social support and
training in the practice of Buddhism. Enriching these basic activity groups,
a host of special activity groups are established to carry out unique SGI-sponsored
projects. These include such activities as the recent Women’s Peace Conference at
The World Bank attended by over 2,000 participants; the youth-sponsored Victoiy
Over Violence Campaign; and worldwide and nationwide exhibitions on “Nuclear
Arms: Threat to Our World,” “War and Peace,” “Humanity in Education: The Soka
School System,” “Ecology and Human Life,” and “Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy
of Building Peace.”
All groups operate as semi-autonomous settings with social and religious
functions that require substantive member input and contributions to operate successfully.
Within and across groups, from the local through the national level, there
are multiple opportunities for roles of functional importance to be assumed by
a single individual. The roles are highly accessible in that they require skills at all
levels of complexity and responsibility from, for example, stuffing envelopes, to
stage crew, to overall project coordination. These abundant opportunities for
meaningful role involvement not only foster a sense of empowerment but, as indicated
in the social support literature, enhance psychological and physical health by
providing an alternative source of meaning, activity, life satisfaction, and social
identity in the lives of individuals. The multifunctional nature of roles can be seen
in the on-going training and education within the SGI-USA where members might
be on the provider or the recipient end of skill development.
In line with its mission to promote world peace, the fundamental purpose of
all training is to enable people to polish their lives so that they can steadily establish
a life of great value. The development of capable people is viewed as the
foundation of everything. Toward this end, all activities within the organization
are treated as arenas in which members can grow in faith, develop their potentialities
for value creation, and develop their skills in the art of worthy living.
Support System
Kathleen H. Dockett
An empowering support system in the Maton and Salem (1995) model is one
that is encompassing (includes many types and sources of support), is peer-based
(support giving and received by peers), and provides a sense of community both
within and beyond the setting.
Encompassing support is evident in the SGI-USA, which Ikeda often states
exists for the sole purpose of supporting the members. Organizational norms of
friendship, respect, equality, values-pluralism and unity create a highly supportive
climate in which members are afforded extraordinary levels of esteem support.