Soka Gakkai

Sōka Gakkai (創価学会) (literally, "Value-Creation Society") 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. There are more than 12 million members of Sōka Gakkai International in 192 countries and territories.

Founded by educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi in 1930, the organization was suppressed during World War II for its opposition to government-supported State Shinto. He along with Josei Toda and other top Soka 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, and 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 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.

History

Sōka Gakkai was founded as the Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai (創価教育学会, lit. "Value-Creation Education Society") on November 18, 1930, by Japanese educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and his colleague Josei Toda. Makiguchi sought to reform Japan's militaristic education system into a more humanistic one that would support the full development and potential of Japan's youth. 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 Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, he found a religious philosophy that reflected his educational theories, which led to the establishment of the Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai. Eventually, the focus of the organization began to shift, as Makiguchi came to the conclusion that the practice of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism itself could allow each individual to develop their potential within and attain Buddhahood.

However, Makiguchi and Toda's thinking was in direct conflict with the goals of the state, and their refusal to cooperate with the military government”s decision of enforcing Shinto talismans led to their imprisonment in 1941, charged with being “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" , and "To slander the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren is to invite certain punishment".

Makiguchi died in prison at age 73; Toda was later released and, after World War II, rebuilt the organization, renaming it Sōka Gakkai to reflect the extension of its membership beyond educators only. When religious freedom took hold in Japan following World War II, Sōka Gakkai began to spread Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, initially across the country, then eventually across the globe, as practitioners relocated from Japan and as non-Japanese practitioners returned to their home countries, taking the practice with them.

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Sōka Gakkai International

In response, Sōka Gakkai began to develop a program of international outreach. In 1960, Daisaku Ikeda, then third president of Sōka Gakkai, made a journey that took him from Japan 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 Sōka Gakkai International. In 1975, SGI was formally founded, with Daisaku Ikeda as its president.

An organization, Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA, later also called Nichiren Shoshu Academy, Nichirenshoshu Sōkagakkai of America, and finally Sōka Gakkai International – USA), was formally organized in the United States on October 13, 1960. SGI now has a membership of somewhere between 100,000 to 300,000 practitioners in the United States.

Sōka Gakkai emerged as the largest lay organization of Nichiren Buddhist practitioners and today, Sōka Gakkai membership accounts for nearly 10 percent of Japan's population.

SGI's primary purpose is to provide a supporting organization for its practitioners. On its website,(www.sgi-usa.org) SGI defines its purpose as follows.

For SGI members, Buddhism is a practical philosophy of individual empowerment and inner transformation that enables people to develop themselves and take responsibility for their lives. As lay believers and engaged Buddhists, SGI members strive in their everyday lives to develop the ability to live with confidence, to create value in any circumstances and to contribute to the well-being of friends, family and community. The promotion of peace, culture and education is central to SGI's activities.

Doctrine

Nichiren (portrait)

Nichiren (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 concept is better known as ichinen sanzen, the Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life. Therefore, practitioners believe that Buddhism must be practiced not in a land or a mystic state, but in each person's daily life. 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 person and environment, each individual has the power to then positively affect the environment around them. SGI practitioners call this process "Human Revolution". Nichiren Daishonin argued that when and if human beings fully embraced his teachings, the peace they would develop within would eventually 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 Expedient Means and Life Span 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 Japanese volume Nichiren Daishōnin Gosho Zenshū (The complete works of Nichiren Daishonin), compiled by 59th Nichiren Shoshu 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

The Hokkekō, the traditional lay group associated with Nichiren Shoshu, experienced a spurt of fast growth in the early to mid 1990s following a split between the Nichiren Shoshu 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 Shoshu stripped Sōka Gakkai of its status as a lay organization on November 28, 1991. Though Nichiren Shoshu 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 a form of Nichiren Buddhism. However, due to a number of ongoing issues and doctrinal disputes between the priesthood and the leadership of Sōka Gakkai, Nichiren Shoshu 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 Shoshu, 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 Shoshu bylaws decided two months earlier.

SGI charter

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SGI in New York

Sōka Gakkai's official charter reads:

Purposes and Principles

1. 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.
2. SGI, based on the ideal of world citizenship, shall safeguard fundamental human rights and not discriminate against any individual on any grounds.
3. SGI shall respect and protect the freedom of religion and religious expression.
4. SGI shall promote an understanding of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism through grass-roots exchange, thereby contributing to individual happiness.
5. SGI shall, through its constituent organizations, encourage its members to contribute toward the prosperity of their respective societies as good citizens.
6. SGI shall respect the independence and autonomy of its constituent organizations in accordance with the conditions prevailing in each country.
7. 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.
8. SGI shall respect cultural diversity and promote cultural exchange, thereby creating an international society of mutual understanding and harmony.
9. SGI shall promote, based on the Buddhist ideal of symbiosis, the protection of nature and the environment.
10. 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 Komeito in elections. The two organizations are legally independent of each other. While some critics have alleged that Sōka Gakkai in effect controls New Komeito, researchers find that arguments on policy issues and good governance lead Sōka Gakkai members to support New Komeito 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. They become so concerned with Ikeda or those close to him that they lose touch with their own personal identities.

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 claims that religious tolerance and a deep respect for cultures are strongly emphasized in the organization, citing the Preamble as well as 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”. There also have been cases of persons who are excommunicated from SGI activities for expressing their own ideas and views.

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.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center says, "I am upbeat about Japan... we found good people there... like Daisaku Ikeda and the Sōka Gakkai, that support what we're doing." Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, is quoted as saying, "President Ikeda is a philosopher, a thinker, and a poet with a grand vision and a big heart. He is working not only for Japan but for the sake of the entire world."

Presidents

1. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (18 November 1930 – 2 May 1944)
2. Josei Toda (3 May 1951 – 2 May 1960)
3. Daisaku Ikeda (3 May 1960 – present)

Famous Members of Soka Gakkai

1. Tina Turner
2. Orlando Bloom
3. Courtney Love
4. Patrick Duffy
5. Kate Bosworth
6. Herbie Hancock
7. Orlando Cepeda
8. Amy Winehouse
9. Lindsey Lohan

See also

• Triratna Buddhist Community
• Insight Meditation Society
• Human Revolution in SGI

References

• Buddhism in America. Richard Hughes Seager. Columbia University Press, 2000
• Buddhism in the Modern World: Adaptations of an Ancient Tradition Steven Heine, Charles S Prebish. Oxford University Press, 2003.
• Encountering the Dharma. Daisaku Ikeda, Sōka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. By Richard Hugh Seager. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2006, ISBN 0-520-24577-6
• Sōka Gakkai in America: Accommodation and Conversion By Phillip E. Hammond and David W. Machacek. London: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-829389-5
• "The Sōka Gakkai: Buddhism and the Creation of a Harmonious and Peaceful Society” by Daniel A. Metraux in Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia. Christopher S. Queen and Sallie B. King, eds. SUNY Press, 1996.
• The Faces of Buddhism in America. Charles S Prebish, Kenneth K. Tanaka, eds. University of California Press, 1998.
• The New Believers: A survey of sects, cults and alternative religions. David V Barrett. Octopus Publishing Group, 2003
• The Sōka Gakkai Revolution by Daniel A. Metraux (University Press of America, 1994)
• The Lotus and the Maple Leaf: The Sōka Gakkai in Canada by Daniel A. Metraux (University Press of America, 1996)
• Fundamentals of Buddhism (second edition) by Yasuji Kirimura (Nichiren Shoshu International Center [now SGI], 1984). ISBN 4-88872-016-9
• Sōka Gakkai kaibō ("Dissecting Sōka Gakkai") by the editors of Aera (Asahi Shimbun, 2000). ISBN4-02-261286-X (Japanese)
• Sōka Gakkai by Hiromi Shimada (Shinchosha, 2004). ISBN4-10-610072-X
• A Public Betrayed: An Inside Look at Japanese Media Atrocities and Their Warnings to the West. Adam Gamble & Takesato Watanabe. Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-89526-046-8
• "Celebrating in Earnest: Buddhists Mark the Start of a New Year With Joy and a Strong Sense of Purpose" by Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post, January 1, 2008
• (SERA) Southeast Review of Asian Studies 29 (2007). “Religion, Politics, and Constitutional Reform in Japan,” by Daniel Metraux, 157-72.
• Westward Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia. Charles S. Prebish and Martin Baumann, eds. 2002.
• “Soka Gakkai: Searching for the Mainstream” by Robert Kisala. In Controversial New Religions, ed. by James R. Lewis (New York: Oxford UP, 2005), 139–52.
• Ehrhardt, George. 2009. “Rethinking the Komeito Voter.” In Japanese Journal of Political Science 10 (1), 1–20.
• Igami, Minobu. 1995. Tonari no Soka Gakkai [The Soka Gakkai Next Door], Tokyo: Takarajima.

Books

• Editors of AERA: Sōkagakkai kaibai (創価学会解剖: “Dissecting Sōkagakkai”). Asahi Shimbun-sha, 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 harassment 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 school 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 News 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" Time 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 Shoshu has expelled its lay organization, Sōka Gakkai. Political fallout is probable." Los Angeles Times 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.

External links

Official websites

• Sōka Gakkai International
• Sōka Gakkai
• Daisaku Ikeda
• Josei Toda
• Tsunesaburo Makiguchi
• SGI-USA
• 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
• Why the Soka Gakkai 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

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