by Texas-Oklahoma Zone team
What is your zone motto? T-X-O-K! All the way with Sensei!!!
Tell us briefly about your zone’s history. On Nov. 23, 1963, the day after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, a ray of hope emerged when we held our first SGI-USA district meeting in Wichita Falls, Texas.
In 1968, Texas opened its first Soka Gakkai Buddhist center in Dallas, followed by the opening of the Irving Center in 1974, which served all the members of Texas and Oklahoma. Three years later, Ikeda Sensei named the center “Swan Mountain.”
In June 2007, the creation of the three territory system in the SGI-USA marked the birth of Texas-Oklahoma Zone in its present form.
In 2018, we had the wonderful opportunity to be one of the host sites for the Lions of Justice Festival, with 2,500 youth gathering here in Dallas, a golden memory we will always hold dear to our hearts.
How many Buddhist Centers are in your zone? We have six centers that support the members in our zone: the Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio Buddhist centers in Texas, and the Oklahoma Buddhist Center in Oklahoma City.
Does your zone have a particular point of pride? Soka Family Day originated in San Antonio, Texas, in 2012. This was a revolutionary idea to have one meeting for youth of all ages with their parents as well. We have always thought about how we could support our SGI families.
What is your zone’s prime point with Sensei? From Feb. 15 to 16, 1984, Ikeda Sensei and Mrs. Ikeda visited Texas-Oklahoma Zone. Some of the highlights of their visit included an exchange dinner with members who had traveled to Texas from all over the United States and Japan. The mayor of Dallas also issued a proclamation naming Feb. 16, 1984, Soka Gakkai International Day in the city.
By that time, the local membership had grown to 3,000. During the meeting, Sensei remarked that the organization’s growth was “nothing short of astonishing.”1 He continued to speak to the members about the importance of staying on the path of faith to attain absolute happiness: “Happiness is the right of each individual. We create it ourselves. One may employ various means to realize happiness, but we already possess what guarantees us our right to real happiness, and that is faith.”2
Do you have something that is unique to your zone? We have the fortune of having a Buddhist center in each of our regions. Since 1981, we have conducted introductory meetings at the military bases in Texas and Oklahoma. These meetings take place at the following bases: Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Fort Sam Houston and Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. With these introductory meetings, we have been able to plant the seed of Nichiren Buddhism to thousands of young people.
What is your zone’s vision toward 2030? We are determined to have a total membership of 10,000, with 2,600 youth members. We will joyfully welcome 300 new youth to join the SGI this year, while developing and raising youth leaders who, as disciples of Ikeda Sensei, will become pillars in society wherever they go.
Anything else you’d like to add? We have a great sense of pride practicing Nichiren Buddhism with the SGI in Texas-Oklahoma Zone. From its largest cities to its farthest reaches, you’ll find sincere members striving to advance kosen-rufu. Some drive many hours to join their district meeting or visit their nearest center. Our members know what it means to support one another as a Soka family, no matter the distance.
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