Let us consider what it means to be a district chief. As I said before, positions in the nichiren buddhism are a yardstick of responsibility. The group chief, the district chief, the chapter chief each has his own responsibility to dis charge. To be promoted from group chief to district chief means only that you must shoulder that much more responsibility. Even though you have become a district chief, don’t think that you have risen to greatness or that the vice district chief, who used to be your senior, is now your subordinate. If you think this way, you will face difficulties in carrying out your activities. As district chief, you have the responsibility to teach each member in your district the greatness of faith in the Gohonzon and lead him to happiness.
They are not your subordinates in any way. The organization of the nichiren buddhism is essentially different from that of a company. It is a gross mistake to think you are the greatest person in your district or to try to order your members about. I repeat don’t think you are above your members. Instead, think this way: “I am younger and more energetic than others. That’s why I’ve been assigned a larger range of activity.” Each position entails a corresponding scope of activity. The larger the area, the greater and the heavier the responsibility. When dealing with a member who was previously your senior, if you pity him because you have risen above him, that feeling will convey itself to him and may produce an undesirable effect.
Instead, you should recognize his capability and try to enable him to give it full play. In my opinion, to be a district chief is nothing extraordinary. All you need to do is give advice to each group chief through the experience you acquired while you yourself were a group chief. What you should do as a district chief is to utilize your experience for develop ing each group in your district into a splendid body of people.
It is a mistake to think that your duty is to give orders and directions. Take the home, for example. Children hate to be ordered about by their parents. If the mother talks to her daughter as kindly as a sister would, the daughter will welcome her advice. But, if she exercises her parental authority by trying to make her obey, the daughter will resist her. There will be even greater resistance in your district if you assume a high-handed manner. As long as you take the attitude that since you are the district chief and they are your members, they should accept whatever you say, your members will never be convinced. The third president, Mr. Ikeda, used to say that guidance means to give encouragement.
What does it mean to be an outstanding district chief? In the final analysis, I think it means to foster many outstanding group chiefs. This applies to all positions. An able chapter chief, for instance, is one who produces many able district chiefs. A capable group chief is one who, through his guidance, makes each member in his group strive to deepen his faith, practice and study. There must be something a miss if the district chief is great but none of his group chiefs is. To sum up, it is the district chief’s duty to develop each group chief into an excellent leader and to help every member of his district to truly understand Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism.
However, theory is one thing, while practice is quite another. For instance, nichiren buddhism publications repeatedly stress the importance of gongyo, and that members should strictly observe gongyo both morning and evening. You would think that with so much emphasis placed on gongyo, no one would ever miss it. But, in reality, some members find it hard to do gongyo. This is all the more reason why the responsibilities of the district chief and the group chief are both important and difficult to perform. If a schoolteacher dumps all that he has ever learned on his students, he cannot expect to achieve good results.
He should instead ponder how to impart his knowledge according to the different grades, and then prepare an effective curriculum. Likewise, it is inadvisable for the district chief to deluge his members, irrespective of their different situations, with all that he has learned from his senior leaders or through his own experience.
A district consists of many people who are in different circumstances those who have joined only recently, those being swayed by their environment, those whose families oppose their faith, those too busy to participate in activities, those who bear grudges against a leader, and so on. As long as you feel that you have a hard time because of this or that member, you yourself will be unable to grow. Rather, accept it as an excellent chance to further your own growth.
To treasure each and every member in your district, consider their problems as your own, find the solution together with them and encourage them this is your mission as district chief. Therein lies the way for you to accumulate good fortune. I hope you will be convinced of this and proceed in your activities with confidence.
