Soka Gakkai International
Encyclopedia
is a lay religious movement within Nichiren Buddhism
, a branch of Mahayana
Buddhism derived from the teachings of the thirteenth-century Japanese monk, Nichiren Daishonin
.
Founded by educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi
in 1930, the organization was suppressed during World War II for its opposition to government-supported State Shinto
. Makiguchi, Josei Toda
, and other top Sōka Gakkai leaders were arrested in 1943 and charged as "thought criminals". In November 1944, Makiguchi died in prison of malnutrition at the age of 73. Toda was released in July 1945, just weeks before the first use of the atomic bomb. In the following years he rebuilt the Sōka Gakkai membership from less than 3,000 families in 1951 to more than 750,000 before his death in 1958.
Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) was founded in 1975, with Daisaku Ikeda
as its president. SGI characterizes its organization as both a support network for practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism and as a global Buddhist movement for peace, education, and cultural exchange.
The SGI movement is based on the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism. Its philosophy is rooted in the concept of "Human Revolution", a process of inner transformation through Buddhist practice. SGI members believe that it is a process that leads them to develop their character and to act not only for personal fulfillment, but also for the betterment of society. They believe that happiness is being able to experience the profound joy that comes from winning over any problem in life.
The growth of the membership of SGI has been attributed in part to the organization’s tradition of small group, neighborhood and local community discussion meetings. Buddhists do not generally proselytize
, but SGI members in the United States will sometimes distribute pamphlets or literature at social and political events to encourage others to join them.
priesthood. Suppressed during World War II, the organization experienced rapid growth in the war’s aftermath under Josei Toda’s leadership. Daisaku Ikeda’s leadership marks a period of overseas expansion that led to the founding of Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) in 1975.
Makiguchi and Toda challenged the militarist government and its war mobilization efforts, refusing to accede to State Shinto and emperor worship. The two, along with other top leaders, were imprisoned in 1943, as “thought criminals”. During interrogation, Makiguchi declared: "the Emperor is a common mortal... The Emperor himself should not be telling people to be loyal to him. This should be struck from the Imperial Rescript on Education". Of the top leaders arrested, only Makiguchi and Toda did not renounce their faith and beliefs. Makiguchi died in prison of malnutrition at age 73, and Toda was released July 3, 1945.
, rebuilt the organization as a religious movement of social reform, renaming it the Sōka Gakkai. Under Toda’s leadership from 1951 until his death in 1958, Sōka Gakkai membership grew from 3,000 to 750,000 households.
Among others, Aruga points out that: “The Sōka Gakkai membership rapidly increased, mainly among those who were of the downtrodden classes in large urban areas and who were excluded from the benefits of upward swing during the reconstruction period of postwar Japan.”
In a bid to promote democratic representation of the disenfranchised in society, the Sōka Gakkai fielded local assembly candidates in
1955, and, by 1964, the political party Kōmeitō (“Clean Government Party”) was founded. In 1970, the Sōka Gakkai clarified its relationship with Kōmeitō.
From Japan's post-war years the Sōka Gakkai emerged as the largest lay organization of Nichiren Buddhist practitioners, and Sōka Gakkai today claims 8.21 million members. It is one of the more successful of new religious movements in Japan’s post-war period.
, then third president of Sōka Gakkai, journeyed to the United States, Brazil, and Canada. During this trip he met practitioners in each of these countries and began laying the foundation for what would later become SGI (Sōka Gakkai International). SGI was founded on January 26 1975 on the island of Guam, with Daisaku Ikeda as its president, to provide a support organization for its practitioners. As of 2010, SGI claims membership of approximately 12 million in 192 countries and territories, including the countries in North America, South America, Australia and parts of Asia, Africa and Europe.
(日蓮) (1222–1282) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who, having studied Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings and the commentaries of the leading Japanese Buddhist scholars of the day, believed that the Lotus Sutra
was the ultimate teaching of Shakyamuni and that it was the one true teaching. Nichiren declared that the Japanese title of the Lotus Sutra, Myoho-Renge-Kyo, was the essence of the sutra and that therefore the invocation Nam-myoho-renge-kyo enabled a practitioner to embrace the entirety of the teaching, in conjunction with the Lotus Sutra's injunctions to embrace the text. A key passage in the Lotus Sutra explains that every individual possesses this life-condition, albeit as a latent Buddha nature. In reciting the title, the practitioner could embrace the life-condition of Buddhahood. The essence of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren Daishonin taught, was that all men and women, regardless of social class, are inherently endowed with this Buddha nature and could therefore attain Buddhahood. "Nichiren" is a name he chose for himself when he embarked on spreading his teaching on April 28, 1253. It literally means "Sun Lotus". The word "Daishonin" is an honorific title meaning "great holy man" as practitioners believe him to be the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
Nichiren taught that by chanting "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo", which means, "Devotion to the mystic law of cause and effect through sound and vibration." to the Gohonzon
(御本尊), a mandala
he inscribed with Chinese
and Sanskrit
characters representing the enlightened life of the True Buddha, anyone can bring forth their inherent Buddha nature and become enlightened
. Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism taught that Buddhahood is not a static state of being, but exists in mutual possession of other states of being (referred to as the Ten Worlds). This is known as the "Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds". This principle pinpoints the fact that everyone, without exception is endowed with the life state of Buddhahood and has the potential to manifest this life state. This principle also taught that the act of discarding the other Nine Worlds does not portray the true nature of life or the true path of enlightenment. One can achieve the life condition of a Buddha in its present form. The Doctrine of "Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of life" (Ichinen Sanzen) based on the teachings of Lotus Sutra further explained in detail the Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds, the ten unchanging aspect of all phenomena known as the Ten factors and the Three Realms. Therefore, practitioners believe that Buddhism must be practiced in each person's daily life, and not in some faraway land or mystic place. This is experienced as the result of continuous effort to engage one's highest life condition, or Buddha nature, to overcome the inevitable obstacles and struggles.
In so doing, one establishes an unshakable state of happiness characterized by peace, wisdom, and compassion, and this ultimately permeates every aspect of one's life. In accord with the Buddhist concept of eshō funi, the oneness of Life and Environment, the relationship between life and its environment is intimate and inseparable and one that mutually influence each other. Nichiren taught, "if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. Thus, every individual has the power to then positively affect the environment around them." SGI practitioners call this process "Human Revolution". Nichiren Daishonin was convinced that if human beings fully embraced his teachings, the peace they would develop within would definitely be reflected in the environment as peace in society at large.
The majority of Nichiren's teachings have been compiled in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, volumes I and II, and The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings. These are translations of the Japanese volume Nichiren Daishōnin Gosho Zenshū (日蓮大聖人御書全集, The complete works of Nichiren Daishonin), compiled by 59th Nichiren Shōshū High Priest Nichiko Hori and published by Sōka Gakkai in 1952. Companion study materials include the Lotus Sutra, the writings of Daisaku Ikeda, and other writers and scholars of the Lotus Sutra and of Nichiren Buddhism.
How individuals can apply Buddhism to the challenges of daily life and society is the central focus of religious gatherings most often held at the local community level. Members of Sōka Gakkai and SGI claim that chanting energizes and refreshes the practitioner both spiritually and mentally, making him or her happier, wiser, more compassionate, more productive and more prosperous. Scholarly interviews with SGI members form the basis of the conclusion that "SGI members in Cambodia and elsewhere feel a strong sense of empowerment – that all members must assume responsibility for their lives and have the power to change their destinies through their own actions."
The Hokkekō
, the traditional lay group associated with Nichiren Shōshū, experienced a spurt of fast growth in the early to mid 1990s following a split between the Nichiren Shōshū priesthood and Sōka Gakkai over doctrinal and practical differences. Friction between the two surfaced as 1990 drew to a close, sparking an inflow of Sōka Gakkai members into Hokkekō that accelerated for a while after Nichiren Shōshū stripped Sōka Gakkai of its status as a lay organization on November 28, 1991. Though Nichiren Shōshū still considered individual Sōka Gakkai members as lay followers until a rule change in 1997, most mistakenly believed that they had been excommunicated along with the Sōka Gakkai organization.
The fundamental practice of Sōka Gakkai and SGI members is derived from of Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism. However, due to a number of ongoing issues and doctrinal disputes between the priesthood and the leadership of Sōka Gakkai, Nichiren Shōshū withdrew Sōka Gakkai's and SGI's statuses as lay organizations in November 1991. SGI President Daisaku Ikeda was excommunicated in 1992. Until 1991, Sōka Gakkai had been a lay organization closely affiliated with Nichiren Shōshū, and members retained their temple membership as individuals. On November 30, 1997, these Sōka Gakkai and SGI members lost their standing as temple members unless they renounced their affiliation with Sōka Gakkai and SGI, as per a change to the Nichiren Shōshū bylaws decided two months earlier.
Conferral of the Gohonzon — the basis of the faith and practice of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism — was regarded by the priesthood as the high priest’s prerogative, and lay believers had been long taught to support that view. After the excommunication in November 1991, many SGI members had been forced to practice without the Gohonzon. Because of these circumstances — and based on its sense of responsibility as a harmoniously united order (sangha
) of the Daishonin’s Buddhism — the SGI decided to make Gohonzon available to its worldwide membership.
in elections. The two organizations are legally independent of each other. While some critics have alleged that Sōka Gakkai in effect controls New Kōmeitō, researchers find that arguments on policy issues and good governance lead Sōka Gakkai members to support New Kōmeitō and “that political mobilization stems from insistence that members learn about contemporary political problems, not from declarations of solidarity”.
In the Lotus Sutra, regarded by Nichiren Buddhists as one of the most important compilations of Shakyamuni’s teachings, the oneness of mentor and disciple is an important aspect of practicing and spreading Buddhism. Detractors have looked upon SGI’s version of the mentor and disciple relationship as a cult of personality
for its focus on SGI President Ikeda, as well as the two preceding presidents (and founders) Josei Toda and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi.
SGI members describe the mentor-disciple relationship as central to individual practice and the development of the organization. Makiguchi took Nichiren as a mentor in his life, while Toda took Makiguchi as his. Ikeda continued the tradition with Toda as his mentor, and now members throughout the world have chosen Ikeda. It is believed by Sokka Gakkai members that the concept of mentor exemplifies the compassionate spirit of supporting others to excel in their own individual mission, while sharing the same "vow" of the Bodhisattva, exemplified by a stanza of the 16th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra that states: "This is my constant thought; at all times I think, how can I cause all living beings, to achieve the body of a buddha, without distinction".
SGI members view Ikeda and his life as an example of how to use the practice in their own lives. He is viewed as an inspiration and an example of the power of the individual to positively influence the world. For many members, Ikeda (as well as Shakyamuni, Nichiren, Makiguchi, Toda, and a host of other like-minded philosophers, and thinkers around the world) is a model of how to live a contributive life promoting the values of peace, culture, and education and at levels of interaction with family, work, friends, and society at large. There are a noteworthy number of SGI members who behave in such a way as the very authoritarian controlled people for whom this practice was created to help.
There has been controversy about the degree of religious tolerance practiced by Sōka Gakkai members. However official materials state all other religions, including other Buddhist denominations, should be viewed as valuable inasmuch as they are able to support the happiness, empowerment, and development of all people. SGI states that religious tolerance and a deep respect for cultures are strongly emphasized in the organization, citing the Preamble and Purposes and Principles of its charter as both its fundamental stance and guideline for engaging social issues. Some individuals claim that they have been pressured to dismiss their past religions and cultures by fellow members, while “some within the group have also attributed its newfound religious tolerance to the fact that they are free of the monks’ control and thus able to abandon an outdated exclusivism”. Many of Nichiren's writings are about how other forms of Buddhism are incorrect.
Gains in SGI membership among native populations in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, parts of Southeast Asia, the Americas, South Africa and Europe have been characterized as “significant” and “one of the numerically strongest” among Buddhist communities in these regions.
Sōka Gakkai International (SGI)
Nichiren Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...
, a branch of Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhism derived from the teachings of the thirteenth-century Japanese monk, Nichiren Daishonin
Nichiren
Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
.
Founded by educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi
Tsunesaburō Makiguchi was a Japanese educator who founded and became the first president of Sōka Gakkai....
in 1930, the organization was suppressed during World War II for its opposition to government-supported State Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
. Makiguchi, Josei Toda
Josei Toda
was an educator, peace activist and second president of Sōka Gakkai from 1951 to 1958. Like his mentor, Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, he was an innovative educator disillusioned with the Japanese educational system—which he thought of as suppressive of individual thought and as geared toward the interests...
, and other top Sōka Gakkai leaders were arrested in 1943 and charged as "thought criminals". In November 1944, Makiguchi died in prison of malnutrition at the age of 73. Toda was released in July 1945, just weeks before the first use of the atomic bomb. In the following years he rebuilt the Sōka Gakkai membership from less than 3,000 families in 1951 to more than 750,000 before his death in 1958.
Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) was founded in 1975, with Daisaku Ikeda
Daisaku Ikeda
is president of Sōka Gakkai International , a Nichiren Buddhist lay association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and peace research institutions.-Life and establishment of SGI:...
as its president. SGI characterizes its organization as both a support network for practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism and as a global Buddhist movement for peace, education, and cultural exchange.
The SGI movement is based on the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism. Its philosophy is rooted in the concept of "Human Revolution", a process of inner transformation through Buddhist practice. SGI members believe that it is a process that leads them to develop their character and to act not only for personal fulfillment, but also for the betterment of society. They believe that happiness is being able to experience the profound joy that comes from winning over any problem in life.
The growth of the membership of SGI has been attributed in part to the organization’s tradition of small group, neighborhood and local community discussion meetings. Buddhists do not generally proselytize
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
, but SGI members in the United States will sometimes distribute pamphlets or literature at social and political events to encourage others to join them.
History
From its inception as an educators' group under Tsunesaburo Makiguchi’s leadership, the Sōka Gakkai transformed by the 1930s into a lay religious organization affiliated with the Nichiren ShōshūNichiren Shōshū
Nichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese monk Nichiren . Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō , the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji...
priesthood. Suppressed during World War II, the organization experienced rapid growth in the war’s aftermath under Josei Toda’s leadership. Daisaku Ikeda’s leadership marks a period of overseas expansion that led to the founding of Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) in 1975.
Inception
Sōka Gakkai was founded as the Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai (創価教育学会, lit. "Value Creating Educational Society") on November 18, 1930, by Japanese educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and his colleague Josei Toda to promote reform in Japan's “highly regimented” education system that was “designed to train loyal citizens.” His ideas on education, and his theory of value-creation (創価, sōka), are explored in his 1930 work Sōka Kyōikugaku Taikei (創価教育学体系, The Theory of Value-Creating Pedagogy). In 1928 Makiguchi converted to Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism. In the 1930s Makiguchi and Toda broadened the organization’s focus to social reform based on Makiguchi’s theory of sōka and the tenets of Nichiren Buddhism.Makiguchi and Toda challenged the militarist government and its war mobilization efforts, refusing to accede to State Shinto and emperor worship. The two, along with other top leaders, were imprisoned in 1943, as “thought criminals”. During interrogation, Makiguchi declared: "the Emperor is a common mortal... The Emperor himself should not be telling people to be loyal to him. This should be struck from the Imperial Rescript on Education". Of the top leaders arrested, only Makiguchi and Toda did not renounce their faith and beliefs. Makiguchi died in prison of malnutrition at age 73, and Toda was released July 3, 1945.
Post-World War II growth
Toda was released from prison in 1945 and, after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, rebuilt the organization as a religious movement of social reform, renaming it the Sōka Gakkai. Under Toda’s leadership from 1951 until his death in 1958, Sōka Gakkai membership grew from 3,000 to 750,000 households.
Among others, Aruga points out that: “The Sōka Gakkai membership rapidly increased, mainly among those who were of the downtrodden classes in large urban areas and who were excluded from the benefits of upward swing during the reconstruction period of postwar Japan.”
In a bid to promote democratic representation of the disenfranchised in society, the Sōka Gakkai fielded local assembly candidates in
1955, and, by 1964, the political party Kōmeitō (“Clean Government Party”) was founded. In 1970, the Sōka Gakkai clarified its relationship with Kōmeitō.
From Japan's post-war years the Sōka Gakkai emerged as the largest lay organization of Nichiren Buddhist practitioners, and Sōka Gakkai today claims 8.21 million members. It is one of the more successful of new religious movements in Japan’s post-war period.
International expansion
As practitioners relocated from Japan and as non-Japanese practitioners returned to their home countries, they took the practice with them. In 1960, Daisaku IkedaDaisaku Ikeda
is president of Sōka Gakkai International , a Nichiren Buddhist lay association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and peace research institutions.-Life and establishment of SGI:...
, then third president of Sōka Gakkai, journeyed to the United States, Brazil, and Canada. During this trip he met practitioners in each of these countries and began laying the foundation for what would later become SGI (Sōka Gakkai International). SGI was founded on January 26 1975 on the island of Guam, with Daisaku Ikeda as its president, to provide a support organization for its practitioners. As of 2010, SGI claims membership of approximately 12 million in 192 countries and territories, including the countries in North America, South America, Australia and parts of Asia, Africa and Europe.
Doctrine
NichirenNichiren
Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
(日蓮) (1222–1282) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who, having studied Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings and the commentaries of the leading Japanese Buddhist scholars of the day, believed that the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
was the ultimate teaching of Shakyamuni and that it was the one true teaching. Nichiren declared that the Japanese title of the Lotus Sutra, Myoho-Renge-Kyo, was the essence of the sutra and that therefore the invocation Nam-myoho-renge-kyo enabled a practitioner to embrace the entirety of the teaching, in conjunction with the Lotus Sutra's injunctions to embrace the text. A key passage in the Lotus Sutra explains that every individual possesses this life-condition, albeit as a latent Buddha nature. In reciting the title, the practitioner could embrace the life-condition of Buddhahood. The essence of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren Daishonin taught, was that all men and women, regardless of social class, are inherently endowed with this Buddha nature and could therefore attain Buddhahood. "Nichiren" is a name he chose for himself when he embarked on spreading his teaching on April 28, 1253. It literally means "Sun Lotus". The word "Daishonin" is an honorific title meaning "great holy man" as practitioners believe him to be the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.
Nichiren taught that by chanting "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo", which means, "Devotion to the mystic law of cause and effect through sound and vibration." to the Gohonzon
Gohonzon
Gohonzon , is the object of devotion in many forms of Japanese Buddhism. In Japanese, go is an honorific prefix indicating respect and honzon means object of fundamental respect, veneration, or devotion...
(御本尊), a mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
he inscribed with Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
characters representing the enlightened life of the True Buddha, anyone can bring forth their inherent Buddha nature and become enlightened
Enlightenment (spiritual)
Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...
. Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism taught that Buddhahood is not a static state of being, but exists in mutual possession of other states of being (referred to as the Ten Worlds). This is known as the "Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds". This principle pinpoints the fact that everyone, without exception is endowed with the life state of Buddhahood and has the potential to manifest this life state. This principle also taught that the act of discarding the other Nine Worlds does not portray the true nature of life or the true path of enlightenment. One can achieve the life condition of a Buddha in its present form. The Doctrine of "Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of life" (Ichinen Sanzen) based on the teachings of Lotus Sutra further explained in detail the Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds, the ten unchanging aspect of all phenomena known as the Ten factors and the Three Realms. Therefore, practitioners believe that Buddhism must be practiced in each person's daily life, and not in some faraway land or mystic place. This is experienced as the result of continuous effort to engage one's highest life condition, or Buddha nature, to overcome the inevitable obstacles and struggles.
In so doing, one establishes an unshakable state of happiness characterized by peace, wisdom, and compassion, and this ultimately permeates every aspect of one's life. In accord with the Buddhist concept of eshō funi, the oneness of Life and Environment, the relationship between life and its environment is intimate and inseparable and one that mutually influence each other. Nichiren taught, "if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. Thus, every individual has the power to then positively affect the environment around them." SGI practitioners call this process "Human Revolution". Nichiren Daishonin was convinced that if human beings fully embraced his teachings, the peace they would develop within would definitely be reflected in the environment as peace in society at large.
Practice and activities
Individual practice entails chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo daily and reciting excerpts from the Means "方便品, Hōben pon" (2nd) and the Life Span of the Thus Come One '"如来寿量品, Nyorai Juryō hon" (16th) chapters of the Lotus Sutra; studying the life and works of Nichiren; and sharing with others a Nichiren Buddhist view of life and living. Faith refers to the motivation or commitment which gives rise to practice and study, as described in Nichiren's writings:"Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study. Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself; you must also teach others. Both practice and study arise from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase."
The majority of Nichiren's teachings have been compiled in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, volumes I and II, and The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings. These are translations of the Japanese volume Nichiren Daishōnin Gosho Zenshū (日蓮大聖人御書全集, The complete works of Nichiren Daishonin), compiled by 59th Nichiren Shōshū High Priest Nichiko Hori and published by Sōka Gakkai in 1952. Companion study materials include the Lotus Sutra, the writings of Daisaku Ikeda, and other writers and scholars of the Lotus Sutra and of Nichiren Buddhism.
How individuals can apply Buddhism to the challenges of daily life and society is the central focus of religious gatherings most often held at the local community level. Members of Sōka Gakkai and SGI claim that chanting energizes and refreshes the practitioner both spiritually and mentally, making him or her happier, wiser, more compassionate, more productive and more prosperous. Scholarly interviews with SGI members form the basis of the conclusion that "SGI members in Cambodia and elsewhere feel a strong sense of empowerment – that all members must assume responsibility for their lives and have the power to change their destinies through their own actions."
Split with the priesthood
SGI members often describe their group as Buddhism's first Protestant movement, since its excommunication by Nichiren Shōshū in 1991.The Hokkekō
Hokkeko
Hokkeko is a lay organization affiliated with the Nichiren Shoshu school of Japanese Buddhism and the name most Nichiren Shoshu temple congregations are known by...
, the traditional lay group associated with Nichiren Shōshū, experienced a spurt of fast growth in the early to mid 1990s following a split between the Nichiren Shōshū priesthood and Sōka Gakkai over doctrinal and practical differences. Friction between the two surfaced as 1990 drew to a close, sparking an inflow of Sōka Gakkai members into Hokkekō that accelerated for a while after Nichiren Shōshū stripped Sōka Gakkai of its status as a lay organization on November 28, 1991. Though Nichiren Shōshū still considered individual Sōka Gakkai members as lay followers until a rule change in 1997, most mistakenly believed that they had been excommunicated along with the Sōka Gakkai organization.
The fundamental practice of Sōka Gakkai and SGI members is derived from of Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism. However, due to a number of ongoing issues and doctrinal disputes between the priesthood and the leadership of Sōka Gakkai, Nichiren Shōshū withdrew Sōka Gakkai's and SGI's statuses as lay organizations in November 1991. SGI President Daisaku Ikeda was excommunicated in 1992. Until 1991, Sōka Gakkai had been a lay organization closely affiliated with Nichiren Shōshū, and members retained their temple membership as individuals. On November 30, 1997, these Sōka Gakkai and SGI members lost their standing as temple members unless they renounced their affiliation with Sōka Gakkai and SGI, as per a change to the Nichiren Shōshū bylaws decided two months earlier.
Conferral of the Gohonzon — the basis of the faith and practice of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism — was regarded by the priesthood as the high priest’s prerogative, and lay believers had been long taught to support that view. After the excommunication in November 1991, many SGI members had been forced to practice without the Gohonzon. Because of these circumstances — and based on its sense of responsibility as a harmoniously united order (sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
) of the Daishonin’s Buddhism — the SGI decided to make Gohonzon available to its worldwide membership.
SGI charter
Sōka Gakkai's official charter reads:
Purposes and Principles
- SGI shall contribute to peace, culture and education for the happiness and welfare of all humanity based on Buddhist respect for the sanctity of life.
- SGI, based on the ideal of world citizenship, shall safeguard fundamental human rights and not discriminate against any individual on any grounds.
- SGI shall respect and protect the freedom of religion and religious expression.
- SGI shall promote an understanding of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism through grass-roots exchange, thereby contributing to individual happiness.
- SGI shall, through its constituent organizations, encourage its members to contribute toward the prosperity of their respective societies as good citizens.
- SGI shall respect the independence and autonomy of its constituent organizations in accordance with the conditions prevailing in each country.
- SGI shall, based on the Buddhist spirit of tolerance, respect other religions, engage in dialogue and work together with them toward the resolution of fundamental issues concerning humanity.
- SGI shall respect cultural diversity and promote cultural exchange, thereby creating an international society of mutual understanding and harmony.
- SGI shall promote, based on the Buddhist ideal of symbiosis, the protection of nature and the environment.
- SGI shall contribute to the promotion of education, in pursuit of truth as well as the development of scholarship, to enable all people to cultivate their individual character and enjoy fulfilling and happy lives.
Reception
In Japan, Sōka Gakkai as a voting constituency endorses and tends to support the political party New Kōmeitō PartyNew Komeito Party
The , New Kōmei Party, or NKP is a centre-right political party in Japan founded by members of the Nichiren Buddhist organization Sōka Gakkai. The leadership and financing of the two groups are currently independent...
in elections. The two organizations are legally independent of each other. While some critics have alleged that Sōka Gakkai in effect controls New Kōmeitō, researchers find that arguments on policy issues and good governance lead Sōka Gakkai members to support New Kōmeitō and “that political mobilization stems from insistence that members learn about contemporary political problems, not from declarations of solidarity”.
In the Lotus Sutra, regarded by Nichiren Buddhists as one of the most important compilations of Shakyamuni’s teachings, the oneness of mentor and disciple is an important aspect of practicing and spreading Buddhism. Detractors have looked upon SGI’s version of the mentor and disciple relationship as a cult of personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
for its focus on SGI President Ikeda, as well as the two preceding presidents (and founders) Josei Toda and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi.
SGI members describe the mentor-disciple relationship as central to individual practice and the development of the organization. Makiguchi took Nichiren as a mentor in his life, while Toda took Makiguchi as his. Ikeda continued the tradition with Toda as his mentor, and now members throughout the world have chosen Ikeda. It is believed by Sokka Gakkai members that the concept of mentor exemplifies the compassionate spirit of supporting others to excel in their own individual mission, while sharing the same "vow" of the Bodhisattva, exemplified by a stanza of the 16th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra that states: "This is my constant thought; at all times I think, how can I cause all living beings, to achieve the body of a buddha, without distinction".
SGI members view Ikeda and his life as an example of how to use the practice in their own lives. He is viewed as an inspiration and an example of the power of the individual to positively influence the world. For many members, Ikeda (as well as Shakyamuni, Nichiren, Makiguchi, Toda, and a host of other like-minded philosophers, and thinkers around the world) is a model of how to live a contributive life promoting the values of peace, culture, and education and at levels of interaction with family, work, friends, and society at large. There are a noteworthy number of SGI members who behave in such a way as the very authoritarian controlled people for whom this practice was created to help.
There has been controversy about the degree of religious tolerance practiced by Sōka Gakkai members. However official materials state all other religions, including other Buddhist denominations, should be viewed as valuable inasmuch as they are able to support the happiness, empowerment, and development of all people. SGI states that religious tolerance and a deep respect for cultures are strongly emphasized in the organization, citing the Preamble and Purposes and Principles of its charter as both its fundamental stance and guideline for engaging social issues. Some individuals claim that they have been pressured to dismiss their past religions and cultures by fellow members, while “some within the group have also attributed its newfound religious tolerance to the fact that they are free of the monks’ control and thus able to abandon an outdated exclusivism”. Many of Nichiren's writings are about how other forms of Buddhism are incorrect.
Gains in SGI membership among native populations in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, parts of Southeast Asia, the Americas, South Africa and Europe have been characterized as “significant” and “one of the numerically strongest” among Buddhist communities in these regions.
Presidents
Sōka Gakkai- Tsunesaburo MakiguchiTsunesaburo MakiguchiTsunesaburō Makiguchi was a Japanese educator who founded and became the first president of Sōka Gakkai....
(18 November 1930 – 2 May 1944) - Josei TodaJosei Todawas an educator, peace activist and second president of Sōka Gakkai from 1951 to 1958. Like his mentor, Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, he was an innovative educator disillusioned with the Japanese educational system—which he thought of as suppressive of individual thought and as geared toward the interests...
(3 May 1951 – 2 May 1960) - Daisaku IkedaDaisaku Ikedais president of Sōka Gakkai International , a Nichiren Buddhist lay association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and peace research institutions.-Life and establishment of SGI:...
(3 May 1960 – 24 April 1979) (Honorary President 24 April 1979 - present) - Hiroshi Hojo (北条浩) (24 April 1979 - 18 July 1981)
- Einosuke AkiyaEinosuke AkiyaEinosuke Akiya is a Japanese Buddhist leader. He was the fifth president of Soka Gakkai, from July 1981 to November 2006.-References:* International Who's Who. accessed September 3, 2006....
(18 July 1981 - 9 November 2006) - Minoru HaradaMinoru Haradais a Japanese Buddhist leader. He became the sixth president of the Sōka Gakkai in November 2006 following the resignation of Einosuke Akiya from the position.-Soka Gakkai Pesidency:...
(9 November 2006 - Present)
Sōka Gakkai International (SGI)
- Daisaku IkedaDaisaku Ikedais president of Sōka Gakkai International , a Nichiren Buddhist lay association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and peace research institutions.-Life and establishment of SGI:...
(26 January 1975 - present)
See also
- Soka University of AmericaSoka University of AmericaSoka University of America is a university located in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. It describes its mission as the fostering of a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life—with an emphasis on principles of pacifism, human rights, and the creative...
- Daisaku IkedaDaisaku Ikedais president of Sōka Gakkai International , a Nichiren Buddhist lay association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and peace research institutions.-Life and establishment of SGI:...
- Human Revolution in SGI
- Nichiren ShōshūNichiren ShōshūNichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese monk Nichiren . Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō , the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji...
- Kōmeitō (公明党 Clean Government Party)
- New Kōmeitō PartyNew Komeito PartyThe , New Kōmei Party, or NKP is a centre-right political party in Japan founded by members of the Nichiren Buddhist organization Sōka Gakkai. The leadership and financing of the two groups are currently independent...
- Triratna Buddhist Community
- Insight Meditation SocietyInsight Meditation SocietyThe Insight Meditation Society is a non-profit organization for study of Buddhism located in Barre, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1975, by Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and Joseph Goldstein, and is rooted in the Theravada tradition. IMS meditation practices are based on the teachings of the...
- Soka University (Japan)Soka University (Japan)is a private university located in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. The school was founded in 1969 and opened to undergraduate students in 1971 and opened a graduate school in 1975....
Books
- Editors of AERA: Sōkagakkai kaibai (創価学会解剖: “Dissecting Sōkagakkai”). Asahi Shimbun-shaAsahi ShimbunThe is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
, October 1995. ISBN 978-4-02-261286-1. AERA is a weekly investigative news magazine published by one of Japan’s leading news organizations; this book attempts to present a dry, fair assessment of Sōkagakkai and Daisaku Ikeda and contains several interviews with Gakkai leaders. - Fulford, Benjamin S.: Ikeda-sensei no sekai: Aoi me no kisha ga mita Sōkagakkai/The Fabulous World of Sōka Gakkai (イケダ先生の世界：青い目の記者が見た創価学会/The Fabulous World of Sōka Gakkai: “The world of Ikeda the master: the Sōkagakkai as experienced by a blue-eyed journalist/The Fabulous World of Sōka Gakkai”). Takarajimasha, October 2006. ISBN 4-7966-5490-9. Fulford is former chief correspondent, Asia-Pacific, for Forbes. Details financial condition of Sōka Gakkai, financial scandals and cover-ups, and harassment experienced by critics in the media and politics as well as ex-member private individuals.
- Furukawa, Toshiaki: Cult toshite no Sōkagakkai=Ikeda Daisaku (カルトとしての創価学会=池田大作: “Sōkagakkai, the Daisaku Ikeda cult”). Daisan Shokan, November 2000. ISBN 4-8047-0017-7
- Shimada, Hiroki: Sōkagakkai (創価学会: “The Sōka Gakkai”). Shinchosha, April 2004. ISBN 4-10-610072-X. H. Shimada is a professor who studies the relationship between religions and society; this book is generally considered a neutral description.
- Shimada, Hiroki: Sōkagakkai no jitsuryoku (創価学会の実力: “The true extent of Sōkagakkai’s power”). Shinchosha, August 2006. ISBN 5-02-330372-0. Argues that the Sōka Gakkai is not (or is no longer) as powerful as many of its opponents fear, and that it is losing ground internally as all but the most dedicated are turned off by the leadership and fewer members need the organization for social bonding. Also notes that it is becoming more like a civic rather than a religious organization, and that inactive members don’t resign because they want to avoid the ostracism and harassmentHarassmentHarassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
that can result. - Shimada, Hiroki: Kōmeitō vs. Sōkagakkai (公明党vs.創価学会: “The Kōmeitō and the Sōka Gakkai”). Asahi Shinsho, June 2007. ISBN 978-4-02-273153-1. Describes the relationship between Kōmeitō and Sōka Gakkai and the development of their history. Touches on the Sōka Gakkai–Nichiren Shōshū split, describing it as the result of a power struggle and financial constraints, as well as on the organized harassment of opponents by Sōka Gakkai members, the organization’s use of its media vehicles to vilify opponents, and Ikeda’s demand for unquestioning loyalty.
- Taisekiji: Shoshū Hashaku Guide (Jp: 諸宗破折ガイド: “Guide to refuting [erroneous teachings of] other schools”). 2003 (no ISBN); pp. 160–164. Published by the Buddhist schoolNichiren ShōshūNichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese monk Nichiren . Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō , the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji...
formerly associated with Sōka Gakkai and presents details of Sōka Gakkai’s gradual distortion of the school’s teachings and reasons for its severing of ties. - Tamano, Kazushi: Sōkagakkai no Kenkyū (創価学会の研究: “Research on the Sōkagakkai”). Kodansha Gendai Shinsho, 2008. ISBN 978-4-06-287965-1. This book is an attempt to review scholarly studies of Sōka Gakkai from the 1950s to the 1970s and shifts in perceptions of the organization as journalists took over from scholars. Tamano takes the perspective of a social scientist and describes Sōka Gakkai as a socio-political phenomenon. He is also somewhat critical of some views Shimada expressed in the latter’s recent publications.
- Yamada, Naoki: Sōkagakkai towa nanika (創価学会とは何か: “Explaining Sōkagakkai”). Shinchosha, April 2004. ISBN 4-10-467301-3
- Yano, Jun'ya: Kuroi Techō—Sōka Gakkai “Nihon Senryō Keikaku” no Zen Kiroku (黒い手帳 創価学会「日本占領計画」の全記録: “My black notebooks: a complete record of Sōka Gakka’s ‘Operation Occupy Japan’”). Kodansha, February 2009. ISBN 978-4-06-215272-3. Yano is a former secretary-general of Kōmeitō.
- Yano, Jun'ya: “Kuroi Techō” Saiban Zen Kiroku (「黒い手帳」裁判全記録: “The whole record of the trials concerning ‘My black notebooks’”). Kodansha, 7/2009. ISBN 978-4-06-215637-0.
News media (websites)
- "Risky alliance for Japan's ruling party" BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
report, June 22, 2000 - Japan Fears Another Religious Sect San Francisco Chronicle, December 27, 1995
- "The Power of Sōka Gakkai: Growing revelations about the complicated and sinister nexus of politics and religion" TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
Magazine, November 20, 1995 - Lecture by Levi McLaughlin, Ph.D. candidate in Religion, Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives on Sōka Gakkai, Princeton 2009
Excommunication
- Shoshū Hashaku Guide (Jp: 諸宗破折ガイド: Guide to refuting [erroneous teachings of] other schools). Taiseki-ji, 2003 (no ISBN); pp. 160–164.
- "Religious Battle Taking Shape in Foothills of Mt. Fuji Japan: The Buddhist order of Nichiren Shōshū has expelled its lay organization, Sōka Gakkai. Political fallout is probable." Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
December 16, 1991 - Sōka Gakkai-in e no shakubuku kyōhon (A textbook of refutations for Sōka Gakkai members), Taisekiji, 2004.
- Nichiren Shōshū nyūmon (Beginner's guide to Nichiren Shōshū), Taisekiji, 2002.
- The Untold History of the Fuji School (World Tribune Press)
Official websites
- Sōka Gakkai International
- Sōka Gakkai
- Soka University of Japan (English portal)
- Daisaku Ikeda
- Josei Toda
- Tsunesaburo Makiguchi
- Soka University of America
- SGI-USA
- SGI-UK
- Bharat Sōka Gakkai
Websites of SGI practitioners
- Sōka Gakkai Unofficial Yahoo! Group
- Information on Sōka Gakkai author Daniel Metraux
- Site containing experiences of actual SGI members, as well as numerous sections on Buddhist study
- Podcast site containing unofficial Buddhist study lectures, stories & experiences recorded by SGI members
- The 3 Opponents of the Soka Gakkai. Why the SGI is Attacked?
- A personal blog of letters and experiences and thoughts about SGI, Buddhism and Life
- Spreading the wonders and joy of nichiren buddhism through articles, experiences, art, music, film, comedy and pop culture
- Comparison between SGI Buddhism and Zen, Tibetan, Nichiren Shu and Christianity.
- The Search For Enlightenment - A UK based practitioners daily blog.
- A free site that contains a complete true tutorial of all the SGI-USA chants in perfect Japanese rhythm, pronunciation and tone. This site also has text pronunciation guides in American and International English and Spanish.
Book reviews of scientific research on SGI
- Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Sōka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism by Richard Hugh Seager Reviewed by Martin Baumann
- Sōka Gakkai in America: Accommodation and Conversion by Phillip E. Hammond and David W. Machacek Reviewed by James William Coleman