Recently, while watching television during my staff retreat, there was a program about the complications of members of the same household having different faiths. This reminds me suddenly of Min, a friend of mine during our undergrad days. Like myself, she is an active member of the Soka Gakkai. However, I learnt recently that her boyfriend is a son of a pastor. How interesting!

It is true that there may be complications when members of the same household have different religions, but it is too hasty to conclude that such a configuration will definitely result in disharmony.

When Nichiren Buddhism was first imported into America, most the practitioners were the Japanese wives of military personals who married while away from home. When these women returned with their husbands when the war was over, they were alone in a strange land and knew little English. Despite great cultural differences, they succeeded in developing a harmonious family and left records of wonderful testimonials of personal triumph.

Min and her boyfriend perfectly respected each other’s faith. I am happy for her that they can enjoy such support from each other. There had been cases of people not fully understanding our movement and resulting in various degree of unhappiness. This is truly unfortunate.

Someone commented to me that when she bought a friend to our meetings, the friend felt awkward after a while because she said that the meeting is too “church-like”. He did not expect a Buddhist organization to be so full of songs and dance and camaraderie. I have no idea when “church-like” had begun to take on a negative connotation among the general populace. I have to admit that I have met various Christian fanatics who damaged their image seriously by acting in very distasteful manner. But I am also rational enough to know that the majority of them are actually very decent folks. It is silly to think that any thing “church-like” is naturally unhealthy.

The Father of Contemporary Peace Studies, Dr Johan Galtung, described one of his encounters with Buddhism as follows: he was visiting a Buddhist Centre in Malaysia when one of the organizers asked him if he would be interested to offer his thoughts and speak about a Buddhist topic. Dr Galtung rejected at first, stating that he is someone who came from the Protestant north of Europe but is visiting only because he wanted to learn more about this philosophy. He was then told directly that the fact that he possessed such a seeking spirit, he is already a Buddhist.

That means that as long as you are striving to understand your own life and its relationship with the environment, you are a Buddhist. This is because Buddhists do not pray to any deities at all. They are just people who are cultivating themselves in order to achieve the life-state of a Buddha. Hence, to some people, they would define Buddhists as spiritual atheistic.

Ultimately the different faiths all have a common goal. And that is to help the common men lead happier lives. Personally, I had studied both the Bible and the Koran when I was younger. And I remained a devoted Buddhist. When I was younger and more headstrong, I would compare the teachings and try to determine the superiority of one over the others. As I gain maturity, my objective had totally changed. I can see the merit in each of the teachings. Although I am still absolutely convinced that Buddhism is the best path to happiness compared to the other faiths, the others are no longer viewed as weaker paths. They are simply alternatives to people with different life-conditions and experiences.

In recent times, the Singapore Soka Association had also begun to reach out beyond our own communities and had multiple chances to cooperate with the Muslim group Mercy Relief on various meaningful and charitable activities. I believe this is a good sign. As long as we continue in this endeavor, true harmony in our society will definitely be achieved. This world is definite in need of more cooperation rather than competition.