SUBJECT: Distribution of Gohonzon and Statement about the IRG

It is hoped that the following memo will help all SGI-USA leaders share a correct understanding about the distribution of Gohonzon and about the Independent Reassessment Group (IRG).

Thank you very much.

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In recent months, some SGI-USA members have received or distributed reproductions of Gohonzon from various sources, including Internet sites. Some have also scanned these Gohonzon, including the Nichikan- and Nikken-transcribed Gohonzon, and uploaded them to their own Web sites.

While Internet distribution of the Gohonzon is a fairly recent development, Gohonzon from several Nichiren sects have been available in Japan for decades. Since before second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda's time and continuing today, many of these sects have sold Gohonzon at their temples. These groups do not respect the Gohonzon as the ultimate object of devotion in the Latter Day of the Law but rather view the Gohonzon merely as a good luck charm of sorts that can be commercially sold.

In the United States, we have had little opportunity to encounter these various Nichiren schools, though some of their supporters have now become active on the Internet. In Japan, however, Soka Gakkai members have witnessed a stark contrast between the advancement of the SGI and these other groups and between the benefit of their respective followers. Because these groups mostly descend from the "five senior priests," who betrayed the Daishonin and his teachings soon after his death, they therefore misinterpret the Daishonin's Buddhism, and their followers misunderstand the Daishonin's intent. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that any Soka Gakkai member would receive or pray to a Gohonzon from such sources-even if it were a replica of a Gohonzon inscribed in the Daishonin's own hand.

The Daishonin himself very carefully chose those believers for whom he inscribed and conferred the Gohonzon. "Faith like yours is so extremely rare that I will inscribe the treasure tower [Gohonzon] especially for you," he wrote his disciple Abutsu-bo, "You must never transfer it to anyone but your son. You must never show it to others unless they have steadfast faith. This is the reason for my advent in this world." (Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 300)

In "Reply to Niiama," he writes, "Because your resolve does not seem to wane, I will give you the Gohonzon (WND, 469). The Daishonin granted the Gohonzon only to those who demonstrated a high degree of commitment. His successor, Nikko Shonin, also maintained this strictness. The Daishonin's community of believers understood that such strictness was an expression of his compassion. To save people from slandering the Gohonzon by taking it lightly, the Daishonin did not want to give it to people unaware of its deep significance.

Today, the SGI has accepted the responsibility to confer the Gohonzon in this strict and compassionate spirit. As part of this body of believers dedicated to fulfilling the Daishonin's will, each of us share in that responsibility. When it comes to matters concerning the Gohonzon, faith is most important. As Nichiren Daishonin states: "Never seek this Gohonzon outside yourself…. This Gohonzon also is found only in the two characters for faith" (WND, 832). For us, this means the heritage of faith we share as members of the SGI. The Daishonin describes this heritage in part as unity. "All disciples and lay supporters of Nichiren should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with the spirit of many in body but one in mind, transcending all differences among themselves to become as inseparable as fish and the water in which they swim," he writes. "This spiritual bond is the basis for the universal transmission of the ultimate Law of life and death. Herein lies the true goal of Nichiren's propagation. When you are so united, even the great desire for widespread propagation can be fulfilled. But if any of Nichiren's disciples disrupt the unity of many in body but one in mind, they would be like warriors who destroy their own castle from within." (WND, 217)

The Gohonzon that we pray to together is, in one sense, a focal point for the unity the Daishonin is referring to.

As SGI members, we honor, support and share in the responsibility to protect and propagate the Gohonzon and correct faith in it. As the most responsible and diverse group of believers in Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, we have spread his teachings to 163 countries and territories; we have made his writings and other study materials widely available; we have built community centers throughout the world-all carried out in the spirit of realizing the Daishonin's will for kosen-rufu, the eternal happiness and security of humanity. This proves that the SGI possesses the heritage of faith. No other body of Buddhist practitioners today is doing so.

Other groups or interests engaged in distributing Gohonzon fail to regard the Gohonzon with the spirit and faith the Daishonin intended. To receive or distribute the Gohonzon from such sources is tantamount to supporting their misconceptions. To do so would only create confusion and disharmony within the SGI's community of believers and thus may serve to undermine one's own faith and that of others.

Therefore, out of reverence for the Gohonzon and concern for the happiness of those who receive it, SGI-USA wishes to clarify that it supports the conferral of Gohonzon only as done within the SGI, the correct body of believers upholding the Daishonin's teachings today. We do not support or condone the distribution, receipt or reproduction of any Gohonzon in any other manner.

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Many SGI-USA members have been asking about the activities of the Independent Reassessment Group, which has stated its intention to "help our organization to continue its development." SGI-USA always welcomes dialogue, and always strives to improve the organization, but here are some points to keep in mind regarding the IRG:

Essentially, the IRG is offering views that go against the SGI and the Daishonin's teachings.

The IRG has seven official members but a much larger number of people have participated in the wide-ranging dialogue sponsored on its message board, including SGI-USA members, temple members, Minobu sect members and so-called "independents" (people who say they are practicing the Daishonin's Buddhism on their own).

IRG members have now started promoting an e-mail newsletter called Reflections, which to this point has featured only mild opposition to the SGI's direction. Because Reflections presents itself as "an e-journal for SGI-USA members," many members across the country have been confused as to whether Reflections is an official journal of the SGI-USA.

It is not.

The Independent Reassessment Group is not an officially recognized part of the SGI-USA organization. Many of the positions it promotes deviate from or contradict Nichiren Daishonin's teachings and the policies of the SGI-USA. For this reason, promotion of the IRG's activities is unacceptable at SGI-USA activities.

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