May 2012

Hoza Center in Kolkata Inaugurates New Rissho Kosei-kai Chapter

Rissho Kosei-kai's hoza center in the Indian city of Kolkata, opened in 2007 as the second hoza center in the country under the Rissho Kosei-kai International of South Asia (RKISA), was recently redesignated as a chapter of Rissho Kosei-kai. The inauguration of the new chapter was held May 6 in the center's training hall. A hundred members attended, including Rev. Norimasa Aritomi, minister of Rissho Kosei-kai of Bangladesh and the director of RKISA.

The ceremony opened with eight boys carrying offerings to the altar, followed by the sutra recitation. Then Mr. Suman Barua, who had been appointed the head of the new chapter, rededicated himself to the Buddha. After that, Rev. Aritomi addressed the gathering of members.

Since 2007 members in Kolkata have devoted themselves to disseminating the Buddha's teachings in their city. They have studied the teachings with materials translated from Japanese into Bengali and worked hard to apply them in daily life. The spread of dissemination to the city's suburbs in the recent years has brought an increase in members. There are some 500 member families at present. As a result of this, the hoza center was raised to the status of a chapter.

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