I was brought up on the beautiful coast of Wales and had the great fortune of being raised by my wonderful family of SGI-UK Buddhists. I always felt a strong affinity to the practice and the SGI movement and started chanting from a very young age, regularly attending Buddhist activities. At the age of 16, I became a member of SGI-UK, and received my Gohonzon at 19 years old, just before embarking on my journey to university.

The ocean has always been a big part of my life. I have had the privilege of spending my childhood walking, running and jumping in and out of the sea. Similarly, I have always been in awe of and fully amazed by the life that the sea sustains and its delicate perfectly balanced ecosystem. I remember a whale stranding on my local beach. It was huge, beautiful and incredibly precious and it was around this time I started to be enticed by the idea of being a marine biologist.

My Buddhist practice really supported me in my journey as I wavered numerous times at the idea. I was consistently told by career advisors and teachers how hard it was to get into the field of marine biology, how few job opportunities there were and how difficult it would be to make a valuable contribution in the field.

I moved away from the idea of becoming a marine biologist. I felt that I was not intelligent enough to study such a subject. However, through SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s words of encouragement and regularly attending Buddhist activities, I consistently heard a strong message ringing out: impossible is nothing, have the heart of a lion king.

I realised that I could fulfil my true dream and that anything is possible

When I was taking part in SGI-UK activities for teenagers, we were asked to write a letter to ourselves in ten years’ time. This included our determinations, hopes and dreams for the future. I remember writing how much I wanted to make a change in society and protect our natural environment. Chanting then helped me to realise that marine biology and saving our planet’s oceans was my true dream.

Since being accepted to study marine biology at the University of Exeter, Penryn Campus in Cornwall, in 2015, I have never looked back and am still striving to help conserve our oceans. I felt instant support from the wonderful local SGI members in Cornwall and from the SGI-UK Student Division across the UK.

The Student Division has given me this true ‘never give up’ spirit. The friendships I have formed in national and European Student Division activities and locally in Cornwall are bonds that will remain with me for life.

My university course allowed me to experience the beauty of the oceans that surround us. We are incredibly fortunate to have been raised in a time where are oceans are so vibrant and full of life. From the smallest plankton to the largest whale, all particles of life in the ocean rely on each other for survival. However, it is currently under threat from overfishing, climate change, plastic pollution and more.

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Life Below Water – states the need to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. I really want to help achieve this goal as our ocean is such an incredible resource that sadly is being destroyed as time goes on. I want to conserve the incredible marine resource that we have and see it thriving rather than dying in my lifetime.

I graduated from the University of Exeter in the summer of 2021 with a Master of Science in Marine Biology. Post-graduation, I am considering options of fieldwork based on community-based conservation ideals and education.

I am currently living back in west Wales and I am so grateful and honoured to be surrounded by such a wildlife-rich natural environment. I’m working as a lifeguard, teaching people water safety and drowning prevention. I’m lucky enough to spend my days on the Welsh coastline, often surrounded my marine enthusiasts.

The ocean and this Buddhist practice has proven to me that the most beautiful unity is borne out of diversity, and that using this as a philosophy offers a lifeline to save our world’s oceans. To finish, I would like to share a quotation from President Ikeda that keeps inspiring me to advance no matter what:

To scale any peak, no matter how high, we have to keep pressing forward steadily, one step at a time. Steady efforts lead to great progress.1 ●

References
  1. SGI Newsletter No. 9775, 14 December 2017