I n November of 2002 I participated in the General Overseas Tozan
celebrating the 750th anniversary of the establishment of True Buddhism
at Head Temple Taiseki ji in Japan. Follow my audience with the Dai
Gohonzon (Gokaihi); I received a strong message that I was to establish
the seeds of Kosen Rufu in the country of Ethiopia. At that moment I
felt a deep since of responsibility and the mixed emotions of not
knowing what to do next. I felt the profound significance of this
mission as I recalled my father telling me that the Ganges River was
named after a former King of the Ethiopian Empire, before the birth of
Shakyamuni Buddha in India.

I began to chant Daimoku to realize this mission in this great
history African country. I reflected on the many deeply sincere
Ethiopians that I had met over the years since my struggles as a
student at Howard University; when I had no food to eat, who humbly
supported me emotionally with their words and occasional meals at lunch. I could since a very profound order that exist deep in their culture, that I was lacking living here in America.

In early February of 2003 I began the final preparations for my
trip to Addis Ababa, leaving on the 7th, the anniversary of Nikko
Shonin's passing. My shakubuku of 2002 General Johnson and another
Hokkeko member, Stevon Grizzell, whom I performed shakubuku with in
Atlanta decided to join me on this trip. We introduced several
individuals to True Buddhism during our 21 hour flight from Washington,
D.C. to Addis Ababa the capital city of Ethiopia, which mystically
translates to mean "New Flower" in Amharic. I saw that on a very deep
level this culture would truly prosper from the seeds of Buddhism being
established in this city as a beginning. After several days of doing
Gongyo in our room at Ghion hotel, which was formerly part of the Palace the former King Haile Selassie I, I venture into the streets of Addis Ababa and encountered a young man named Abera Wasihun, who developed a strong interest in learning this Buddhism. He continued from this point to do morning and evening Gongyo with us until our departure from Addis 2 weeks later.

We left Ethiopia to attend the 750th anniversary of True
Buddhism in Ghana at Senmyozan Hokke ji Temple, with Rev. Yoshida and
Rev. Obayashi in attendance at the end of February. I spoke to Rev.
Yoshida about the future of propagation in East Africa origination in
Ethiopia, at which point I promised to support him with my efforts.

Upon my return to the U.S. Rev. Kawabe gave a very interesting
lecture about in origins of the first statue of Shakyamuni Buddha being
created 500 to 1000 years after his passing by the former King of the
Kushan Dynasty, King Kanishika of the Gandhara region (present day
Pakistan) who invited engravers from Greece to make them. I began to see the larger picture of what meaning this path had in relation to the past causes made within the Kingdoms of Ethiopia, which was formerly called Kush or the Kushan Empire. The current day inhabitance of India have been said to be the descendants from the previous Kingdoms of Ethiopia that predate Shakyamuni's life.

Continuing to support Abera with encouragement and study
materials the following in Ethiopia began to grow under his efforts.
Returning to Ethiopia in March of this year I found several dozen
individuals who had gained a deep interest and experience with just the
basic of chanting the Daimoku. Everyone needed more support with Gongyo, which I performed slowly in the mornings with Abera and others who could attend. I was told that it was difficult for the members to find a good place to conduct meetings that could be attended by all who were interested and to secure some of their fears from specific Government issues about meeting in large groups without a legal permit. Very mystically a woman who was a descendant of the Royal Family of Former King Haile Selassie offered her home for the meetings to be held. I recalled that 2 year prior I had erected a toba offering for Haile Selassie I at the Head Temple Taiseki ji. This was actual proof of the profound power of the Mystic Law in action and reconfirmed the depths of the profound connection Ethiopia has with this Buddhism.

The 2 months before my departure to Ethiopia, I spent everyday 2
blocks from ground zero in New York City detoxing with the firemen and
rescue workers that were affected by the events of September 11th, 2001. I have a very mystical relationship to this event and all the
individuals who were there the day of the terrorist attack, because I
was no longer able to return to work at my in the Hospital I worked in
secondary to an injury I sustained in my lower back preventing me from
returning to work on September 11th. September 10, 2001 was my last day
of employment up until now. It was said that High Priest Nikken Shonin
inscribed the Joju Gohonzon for New York branch Temple on the exact
moment of the terrorist attack one year earlier, September 12th in Japan 2000; the anniversary of the Tatsunokuchi persecution and the moment of the Daishonin's revelation of his true identity as the True Buddha of Mappo. Because there are no coincidences in this True Buddhism it is very profoundly mystical that Ethiopia's new Years day is September 11 of every year.

Rev. Yoshida came to Ethiopia from Ghana after my initial two
weeks of preparation and we conducted 2 meetings with a total of over 25 participants during the two days. 11 individuals received Gojukai and Gohonzon was received by Abera Wasihun on Sunday, which was a very
interesting experience for me to participate in. Rev. Yoshida and I
continuously walked around the room to individually lead each and every
person through the recitation of the sutra during Gongyo. This was the
first time I have done Gongyo with a Nichiren Shoshu Priest that also
led and assisted Gongyo in the room simultaneously. It was a deeply
moving experience for me to be in Africa, the home of my distant
ancestors doing this work for Kosen Rufu.

What truly made my second trip to Addis Ababa completely
meaningful was the last day Rev. Yoshida and I went to Abera's Home
where his wife performed a coffee ceremony for us. When Rev. Yoshida
asked to see the back of Abera's residence, there we saw a small infant
in the bed, who was the survivor of two parents that just died from HIV
in his area of town. The baby was left outside with no one taking her in until Abera and his wife adopted her. This baby's fortune changed from being a homeless child, to being the first fortune baby born in Ethiopia to a family with Gohonzon. Knowing this fact gave me a much deeper resolve to continue my efforts for Kosen Rufu in Africa.