Reverend Greg

The sense of purpose Andy is to finally figure out who is really in my district. More than half of my district and chapter are pioneer women's division members whom I have little contact with outside of meetings. This has always made me uncomfortable since becoming a district chief. Filling out info cards for each member will be a personal accounting for me.

*I* believe (rather than quoting to you from the memos regarding this new statistics compaign) that SGI is motivated in two ways;

1. To account for the people whom we have introduced to Buddhism and who have become members.

2. To generate a membership count that is actually in accord to reality, a count that we can stand by with confidence.

This is my opinion.

Rev. Greg

Greg wrote:

"She had stacks of cards from our NSA days lovingly stored and cared for, and she handed them all over to me. One large stack of cards for inactive members (read – members long since forgotten) and another for active members, active – well – 10 years ago. I’ve got a lot of work to do, but with a solid sense of purpose with which to do it."

I guess I'm missing something. What's the sense of purpose to which you refer? Why this new statistic drive? What's it for? What will be done with/about these statistics?

Feeling thick, today,

Andy

In response to your query Harry - First of all I am supportive of any evolution on the part of SGI. Second, I strongly, very strongly believe SGI should have abandoned Taisekiji's historically unsupported version of Nichiren Buddhism. If we had done this in the 90's we would have already healed from it. Now we're stuck with it into the future.

Rev. Greg

OK, Rev. Greg, you've got my interest. You say SGI isn't evolving fast enough in your opnion, but it is evolving and you are mostly critical of that evolution. If that is indeed your meaning, then I'm curious what you are seeing in terms of the evolution, and how it should be different according to your thinking.

In response to Harry's comment. Does it sound creepy? Sure. It may be in the way I've written about it that makes it seem that way. Fact is SGI has been called to the mat for inflating it's membership numbers in the past. During the membership campaigns of the past decades, (which are a thing of the past btw) we quickly and carelessly distributed Gohonzons to whomever we could and the number of Gohonzons passed out was the basis for our membership estimate.

Our critics, the ex-Gakkai ex-culties who now blame SGI for all their suffering want to believe that SGI is not growing. Revolutionists like myself want SGI to evolve faster. SGI IS evolving though. I see it and I'm very critical most of the time.

The reality is that intimate membership information in my district will be protected, at least by me. I personally am prepared to kill to protect my members information from some future conspiracy to uncover all us Gakkai Buddhists.

But then, I'm also a Ninja - your milage may vary

P^)

Rev. Greg

Harry & all -

Just MHO, of course, but when an organization announces a membership drive, or makes numerical targets for propogation (or fundraising, or what-have-you), then it becomes important to keep track of those numbers.

Different organizations do this differently, of course. In Nichiren Shu for example, individual temples know their own membership, but these statistics aren't kept nationally. There is no need to, since the temples function as administrative centers.

From an engineering standpoint (my trade), the more information you have available, the more potential you have for understanding and control. I think, in the end, it's not the collection of data so much as the uses to which those data are put. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett

Am I the only one who finds this entire matter kinda creepy? Certainly, as an organization SGI or any other group has to keep some kind of records, but this has an almost clandestine, Communist Party kind of tone to it. Maybe I'm being a little paranoid here.

There seems to be a whole new spirit behind this latest incarnation - SGI is going to try and avoid carrying bogus cards around for members who have long since quit. If a member is gone, no card, old cards may be disgarded. If a member is a supporting family member, then they get a card. If a member moves away we send their card with them.

There are more specifics, but all in all it appears we are trying to learn from what didn't work before....

I now have nearly one hundred cards for members long forgotten, whom at some point recieved a Gohonzon. I'm not sure I will be willing to destroy these. Not sure what to do at this point. My cards and members lists in San Jose were never so complete and cared for, I am sorry to say.

Also, there is information confidentiality issues that are being discussed, big time.

Rev. Greg

Rev. Greg -

As a former SGI-USA Houston stats person, I am curious as to what criteria have been set regarding who gets listed as active, locatable, etc. I also wonder whether these criteria are set locally, or wider. I am especially curious with regard to those who have resigned, or begun practicing elsewhere; will they still be listed as locatable members? I know they would have been as stats were kept in Houston less than a decade ago. I only ask out of curiousity; if you would rather not answer, that's fine. Thanks in advance, either way.

Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett