Grade 3 Study Course 2013 SGI-UK

Grade 3 Study Course
2013
SGI-UK

SGI-UK STUDY DEPARTMENT • SGI-UK grade three study course 2013
A warm welcome to the SGI‐UK Study Courses in 2013
This Grade 3 study course is intended to allow you
to demonstrate your understanding of Nichiren
Buddhism in various ways. Our starting point to
understand the significance of study is this passage from
the Gosho: ‘Exert yourself in the two ways of practice
and study. Without practice and study, there can be no
Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself; you
must also teach others. Both practice and study arise
from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even
if it is only a single sentence or phrase.’ (WND-1, p. 386)
SGI President Ikeda commented on this passage: ‘The
main elements of the practice of Nichiren Daishonin’s
Buddhism are summed up in this passage. What is
important is first faith, second practice and third study.
Strong faith leads us directly to Buddhahood. And it
is practice and study that strengthen and deepen that
faith. For us study must never be a mere accumulation of
knowledge. It must be strictly a practical study to deepen
one’s own faith and elevate one’s own state of life.’
(Foreword to The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol 1 p.xii)
For Grade 3, first of all you will have this opportunity
through writing an essay or dissertation of no more
than three thousand words. Based on one of Nichiren
Daishonin’s most important writings (‘The Selection of
the Time’), and SGI President Ikeda’s four lectures on
that writing, you will have the opportunity to explore the
significance of this Gosho for our present kosen‐rufu
movement. You will pick one of three questions for your
dissertation. The deadline for submitting the dissertation
is 31 December 2013.
At the same time as preparing your written dissertation,
please support the members in your local area who are
following either the Grade 1 or the Grade 2 study courses
before the exam at the beginning of November. For those
members who pass the written stage of Grade 3, there
will be an oral interview in the spring of 2014 at which we
will expect to hear how you have supported those local
meetings and encouraged the members through your own
experience. There is more information on page 6 about
what is expected. Also at the oral exam you will be asked
to explain two out of three questions based on part 4 of
President Ikeda’s lectures on ‘The Selection of the Time’.
Candidates must pass both the written and the oral
parts of this exam to gain a Grade 3 pass.
Passing the Grade 3 study exam is one of the criteria
for leaders to be appointed as study lecturers in SGI-UK.
This is an appointment by the local area appointments
board, and they will also be considering the need for
lecturers or assistant lecturers in a particular area.
Because of this, please bear in mind that your
dissertation should not just be a regurgitation of what
you have read, but rather you should think how you might
share your understanding and personal experience with
an audience of people from different backgrounds and
understandings of Buddhism. The dissertation is an
opportunity for you to demonstrate the spirit of ‘study for
others’.
In his message to study exam candidates last year, SGI
President Daisaku Ikeda expressed his appreciation for
the effort and sincerity of members studying this course.
He said:
My dear comrades in SGI-UK, I can see how earnestly,
courageously and tenaciously you are walking the path
of the ‘two ways of practice and study’. There is no
doubt that Nichiren Daishonin is praising all of you to
the highest degree. You are so noble to have studied
and practised the great Law, creating time in your busy
schedule to do this.
In the realm of faith, all challenges will come to shine
as the best memories of your life and will continue to
sparkle throughout the three existences of past, present
and future as your eternal good fortune.
Nichiren Daishonin says: ‘To uphold the Lotus Sutra
is to uphold belief in the fact that our bodies are the
Buddha’s body.’ (The Record of the Orally Transmitted
Teachings, p. 96)
There is nothing greater than your existence as you
live out your life for kosen‐rufu and chant the Mystic
Law. Because you are already a Buddha, there is no
reason for you to be defeated or fail to become happy.
Regardless of the result of the exam, I ask each one
of you without exception to become ‘an expert in hope’,
‘an expert in happiness’ and ‘an expert in victory’.
Please win in this respect and open up a triumphant life
for yourself and others.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the noble members
of the support team and the people who have worked
hard behind the scenes, encouraging those who are
taking the exam.
Thank you very much for supporting the tradition of study
in SGI by taking this course in 2013.
Please remember that in addition to having the material
for the study courses in this written form, it is also
available to listen to as downloadable audio files on our
website: www.sgi-uk.info/study
With best wishes to you,
Robert Harrap
SGI-UK Study Department Leader
2

SGI-UK STUDY DEPARTMENT • SGI-UK grade three study course 2013
Contents:
How to apply p.4
Grade 3 exam questions
p.5-6
Section A The Dissertation p.5
Section B The Oral Exam p.6
Section C Supporting those taking Grade 1 or 2 p.6
Application form for the Grade 3 exam p.7

SGI-UK STUDY DEPARTMENT • SGI-UK grade three study course 2013
How to apply
Please use the application form provided at the back of this material and give it to your HQ study leader. The deadline
for applications is 20 September 2013.
How to submit your dissertation
• As soon as possible after the study administration team has received your application from your HQ study
leader (which will be after the application deadline of 20 September and before 25 September), they will email
you a template to use for your dissertation, a cover for your dissertation, and instructions on how to save your
dissertation as a word file. These are available to download from the website (www.sgi-uk.info/study), along with
instructions, if you wish to start writing your dissertation before the application deadline of 20 September.
• For ease of administration, please use the template and cover given. Thank you.
• The template will provide a space for you to insert your membership number at the top of every page, in the
‘header’. Please ask your HQ administrator for this number. If you do not know who your HQ administrator is,
please ask your HQ study leader or any other HQ leader for help.
• A help sheet for inserting your membership number in the template’s header and saving your dissertation as a
word file can be found on the website (www.sgi-uk.info/study) and will also be emailed to you when you apply.
• Please DO NOT put your name on the dissertation.
• Please include the full text of the question you are answering, at the top of the first page of your dissertation.
• Please staple the dissertation once, on the top left hand side.
• Please type your dissertation double spaced.
• Please save your dissertation as a word file, as follows: Grade 3 - Your membership number Your name. E.g., if
your membership number is 1234 and your name is Joe Bloggs, then the file name will be Grade3-1234JoeBloggs.
doc
• When you have finished your dissertation, please submit it as follows:
––
Send 2 (two) copies of it by post to:
Study administration team
SGI-UK
Taplow Court
Cliveden Road
Taplow
SL6 0ER
These will be passed to two separate markers for marking independently.
––
Send an email to study.admin@sgi-uk.org attaching your dissertation as a word file, as discussed above. This
will be kept on file as a back-up in case of any problems with the hard copies you have posted.
• The dissertation must arrive at Taplow Court on or before 31 December 2013.
• Please ensure you keep a copy of the dissertation for your own records, as the study administration team will not
keep a record of your dissertation after the exam marking has been done, and will not return your papers.
4

SGI-UK STUDY DEPARTMENT • SGI-UK grade three study course 2013
SGI-UK Grade 3 study exam questions 2013
The Grade 3 exam is only for those who passed the Grade 2 exam in 2011 or earlier.
It contains three sections:
A
B
C
Your dissertation
An oral exam
Supporting those taking the Grade 1 or Grade 2 study course and exam in your local area
SECTION A: THE DISSERTATION
Please download and use the template and cover for
your dissertation provided on the website. Instructions
for their use and on how to save your document are also
on the website (www.sgi-uk.info/study). The template,
cover and instructions will also be sent to you by email
by the study administration team when they have
received your HQ’s applications (after 25 September).
There is no right format or style for your dissertation,
but do include the two points a) and b) set out below.
We understand that many members challenging
themselves to take Grade 3 will not have any experience
at all of writing essays or dissertations. We are certainly
not expecting an academic approach. Rather we want
to see evidence of how you have drawn on the source
material for your answer to the question, as well as its
impact in your own life and activities. You may want your
dissertation to have a beginning, a middle and an end,
with a conclusion that summarises the main points you
have made. One approach might be to consider the
dissertation as the text of a lecture you are delivering in
your local area, but that is just one idea.
Please answer ONE of the three questions given.
Your answer should be no more than 3,000 words and
no fewer than 2,500 words.
Your answer should consider and include the following
two points:
• You will need to demonstrate a good understanding
and grasp of the essence of this study material.
Please express your answer in your own words. You
can use quotations and/or references from the
primary source material for the question you have
chosen, to support your answer. Please also use
additional material such as the Gosho and/or any
of the writings of President Ikeda and other relevant
references. (50%)
Question 1: What is the significance of the time in
propagating Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism? Your
answer should draw from the life of Nichiren Daishonin,
the three presidents, and your own experience of
putting this concept into practice in your own life and in
contemporary society.
Primary Source Material: SGI President Ikeda’s
Lecture Series ‘Learning from the Writings of Nichiren
Daishonin: The Teachings for Victory (16) The Selection
of the Time – Part 1, The Time for Worldwide Kosen‐rufu,
for World Peace’ SGI Newsletter, No. 8010.
Question 2: Why is a correct understanding of the
Latter Day of the Law important? How do you put your
understanding into practice in your own life, in your
activities for kosen‐rufu and in contemporary society?
Primary Source Material: SGI President Ikeda’s Lecture
Series ‘Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin:
The Teachings for Victory (17) The Selection of the Time –
Part 2, The Age of the Buddhism of the People, an age of
Human Triumph’ SGI Newsletter, No. 8047.
Question 3: What is the spirit of refuting evil and
spreading the Law in Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism?
How should we understand this spirit and put it into
practice in our own lives, contemporary society and in
the SGI movement for kosen‐rufu?
Primary Source Material: SGI President Ikeda’s Lecture
Series ‘Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin:
The Teachings for Victory (18) The Selection of the Time
– Part 3, Transforming the Karma of the Country, the Age,
and All Humankind’ SGI Newsletter, No. 8076.
• Based on President Ikeda’s lectures please
illustrate your answer from the viewpoint of your
own experience in life, faith and activities (25%) as
well as from the viewpoint of the development of
kosen‐rufu and in society generally. (25%)
5

SGI-UK STUDY DEPARTMENT • SGI-UK grade three study course 2013
SECTION B: THE ORAL
EXAMINATION
Those who pass the written part of the exam will be
invited for an oral exam.
You must pass both the written and oral parts in order
to pass Grade 3.
In the oral exam you will be asked to explain two out
of the three questions (below) based on the following
material.
SECTION C: SUPPORTING THOSE
TAKING GRADE 1 OR 2
Candidates taking Grade 3 should endeavour to
support those members taking Grade 1 or Grade 2 this
year. This may be in the form of individual support or
supporting study meetings, and should be undertaken
in consultation with local leaders and HQ study leaders.
In the oral exam you will be asked to explain briefly how
you supported.
Material: SGI President Ikeda’s Lecture Series
‘Learning from the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin: The
Teachings for Victory (19) The Selection of the Time –
Part 4 Creating a Great Current of Kosen‐rufu toward an
Age of the People’ SGI Newsletter, No. 8088.
Question 1: Based on part 4 of SGI President Ikeda’s
lecture on ‘The Selection of the Time’ (SGI Newsletter,
No. 8088), what is the spirit and mission of the
Bodhisattvas of the Earth from the viewpoint of Nichiren
Daishonin’s Buddhism, the three presidents and
members of SGI?
Question 2: Based on part 4 of SGI President
Ikeda’s lecture on ‘The Selection of the Time’ (SGI
Newsletter, No. 8088), what is the significance of the
‘Three Occasions of Gaining Distinction’ in Nichiren
Daishonin’s Buddhism?
Question 3: Based on part 4 of SGI President Ikeda’s
lecture on ‘The Selection of the Time’ (SGI Newsletter,
No. 8088), how does Nichiren Daishonin encourage
his disciples to practise? How has this been put into
practice by the three presidents and in your own life
and activities?
6

SGI-UK Study Department Application Form
Grade 3 Study Exam 2013
Application deadline: 20 September 2013
Dissertation submission deadline: 31 December 2013
Please return this application form to your HQ study leader no later than 20 September 2013 so that
appropriate preparations can be made.
Note to HQ study leader:
Please fill in the applicant’s SGI-UK membership number here: ………………………………….
We cannot accept the application without the membership number.
Area Name:
HQ Name:
District Name:
Family Name:
First Name:
Telephone:
Email:
Name on exam pass certificate if different from above: This is the name which will be put on
the pass certificate, unless you request something different here.
Our communication with you is based on the information we hold on our database. However, every
year we experience difficulty in communicating with some members because the information we
hold is out of date or incorrect. This causes delays and in some cases, a candidate’s certificate has
been sent to an old address. Please therefore inform your HQ administrator of any changes to the
following information:
• Address
• Telephone number (home, mobile)
• Email address
• HQ, Chapter and District name.