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Real Gakkai Spirit more options

Author: Kathy Ruby

Email: [email protected]

Date: 1998/12/18

Forums: alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren

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History and Conviction of the Soka Gakkai
By Josei Toda
Second President of the Soka Gakkai
Part I - (July 10, 1951)

When the first president, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, stood up to lead the Soka
Gakkai and propagate the True Law, Nichiren Shoshu believers had forgotten
that one is punished when opposing this great Law.  That is why he chose to
expound the theory of punishment both inside and outside of Nichiren Shoshu,
thereby meeting every persecution in his attempt to propagate the great Law.
There were even priests who attacked him by saying that emphasizing the
theory of punishment contradicts the doctrines of Nichiren Shoshu.

However, President Makiguchi was resolute in expounding the dreadfulness of
the punishment that one may receive by slandering the Law.  Until the last
moment of his life, he remained resolute in proclaiming the real punishment
of the Law.

Mr. Makiguchi, my mentor, would often say: �The Gohonzon has great power.
The fact that it does have great power also means that if you slander it,
you will be punished.  If a father is not upstanding enough to scold his
children, how can he help them to become happy?  Pray to the Gohonzon
sincerely.  Can�t you hear the Gohonzon say to you, �If you slander this
Law, you will have your head broken into seven pieces�?  This statement,
which we can read on the Gohonzon, actually refers to the punishment one
will receive by slandering it.�  I agree with Mr. Makiguchi�s central
contention.  If you deny his view, you do not actually believe in the
awesome power of the Dai-Gohonzon.  Those who oppose the theory of
punishment are no different from those who are seduced by the superficial
compassion of Shakyamuni�s Buddhism.  I say that they do not embody the true
spirit of Nichiren Shoshu.

I repeat this.  In the upper-right corner of the Gohonzon are the words, �If
you slander this Law, you will have your head broken into seven pieces.�
Doesn�t this signify the theory of punishment?  At the same time, in the
upper-left corner of the Gohonzon is an inscription that reads, �If you make
offerings to the Law, you will receive more good fortune than that derived
from holding the ten titles of the Buddha.�  Doesn�t this signify the
promise the Gohonzon makes to us that we will receive benefits when we
worship it?  Benefit, or value, and punishment, or anti-value, constitute
the  reality of our daily lives.  Some Nichiren Shoshu priests had forgotten
that the power of the Gohonzon can be revealed in one�s daily life in either
way until President Makiguchi discussed it.  They were astonished at what he
brought out, and I am dumbfounded that many of them have since pretended
that they have known this principle very well for quite some time.

Also, some priests are not yet aware of this principle.  I am saddened
rather than surprised by their ignorance.
 In the Gosho �On Persecutions Befalling the Buddha,� Nichiren Daishonin
writes:

In the Latter Day of the Law of both Shakyamuni and the Buddhas before him,
the rulers and people who despised the votaries of the Lotus Sutra seemed to
be free from punishment at first, but eventually they were all doomed to
fall. (MW-1,241)

This passage clearly indicates that the person who slanders the great Law
will receive severe punishment.  Who can deny this?  That would be a
slanderous act, and those who do so are evil and foolish.  The Daishonin
also says in the same Gosho:

The deaths of Ota Chikamasa, Nagaski Tokitsuna and Dashin-bo, for example,
who were all thrown from their horses, can be attributed to their treachery
against the Lotus Sutra.  There are four kinds of punishment: general and
individual, conspicuous and inconspicuous.  The massive epidemics,
nationwide famines, insurrections and foreign invasion suffered by Japan are
general punishment.  Epidemics are also inconspicuous punishment.  The
tragic deaths of Ota and the others are both conspicuous and individual.
Each of you should summon up the courage of a lion and never succumb to
threats from anyone. (MW-1,241)

President Makiguchi made the heart of this passage his own.  Even though he
was alarmed, he was neither scared nor astonished.  Rather, he continued to
expound on the punishment one will receive by slandering the Law.  He
persisted in his theory of punishment.  Thus, he was criticized by those
both inside and outside Nichiren Shoshu.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government, in the midst of World War II, had
plunged the whole nation into the abyss of war.  Firmly embracing Nichiren
Daishonin�s spirit, President Makiguchi resisted a wartime government order
to worship the Sun Goddess of Shintoism, and evil policy that permeated the
nation.

The military government of the time must have been deceived by the
misconception that the Sun Goddess had generated the kamikaze (or sacred
wind) that helped push back the Mongolian invasions in the thirteenth
century.  The government was unaware of the fact that the kamikaze arose
from the prayer of the original Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin.  The military
government neither heeded nor referenced the Daishonin�s teachings, failing
to recognize that, because of its slanderous acts, Japan was attacked by
Mongol forces.

The Japanese military government employed the base, evil philosophy of
Shintoism to unify the nation�s spirit, whereas the United States followed a
philosophy [of pragmatism] as represented by the American philosopher John
Dewey (1859-1952).  This along with the lack of materials, had already
determined the outcome of the war.  It was unavoidable that the military
authorities went insane as the nation experienced a total defeat.

The supreme philosophy of Buddhism clearly explained the Japan would be
defeated if it operated based on Shintoism.  In fact, the military even
attempted to burn those of the Daishonin�s documents that expounded his most
important teachings.  The military held the reins of authority.  It was like
a knife in the hands of a crazy person.

Intimidated, virtually scared to death by the military government, people
foolishly agreed to build shrines to the Sun Goddess in their homes, which
they worshipped blindly.  In these circumstances, President Makiguchi
strictly pointed out to the Soka Gakkai members that worshipping the Sun
Goddess is absolutely opposed to the spirit of Nichiren Shoshu doctrines.

Swayed by the military, the Japanese nation took strange actions.  Without
understanding how ideologically confused the people would become, the
Japanese nation attempted to unify all religions.  It went so far as to
encourage all citizens to worship the Sun Goddess and ask her to unleash
kamikaze.  Those who refused were accused of being enemies of the nation and
proponents of treacherous, antiwar thoughts.  For the first time in the
history of Japan, virtually the entire nation adopted faith in the Sun
Goddess.

The correct definition of the Sun Goddess is a deity that protects the Lotus
Sutra.  In other words, only when we pray to the Lotus Sutra will the Sun
Goddess reveal her power.  However, the whole nation, ignorant of the
importance of worshipping the Lotus Sutra of Nichiren Daishonin, merely
offered prayers to the Sun Goddess.  As a result, devils, rather than the
answer to people�s prayers, dwelt in the talisman of the Sun Goddess, and
the nation virtually become psychotic.

Nikko Shonin founder of Taiseki-ji, writes in his �Twenty-Six Admonitions,�
�Believers should be strictly prohibited from visiting [heretical] temples
and shrines.�  In this spirit President Makiguchi made a strong declaration:
�We have no choice but to propagate the Dai-Gohonzon, the true intent of
Nichiren Daishonin, in order to save our nation.  How can we save our
country merely by praying to the Sun Goddess?�

The head temple feared persecution if it supported Mr. Makiguchi�s
contention that unless it follows the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin and
Nikko Shonin, any country, family or individual would experience punishment.
It seemed that the head temple was more frightened of the possible
persecution it would face from the military if believers did not obediently
enshrined the Shinto object of worship.

In June 1943, Soka Gakkai Leaders were ordered to the head temple.  The Rev.
Jikkai Watanabe, on behalf of Nichiren Shoshu, suggested that the Gakkai
members received the Shinto talisman in the meantime and follow the
direction of the military for a while.  This suggestion was made with the
current and retired high priest on hand as witnesses.

Again, Nikko Shonin writes in his �Twenty-Six Admonitions� that we should
not follow even the high priest if he takes actions that oppose the teaching
of the Daishonin�s Buddhism.  In this spirit, President Makiguchi resolutely
rejected the idea of accepting the Shinto talisman and left the head temple.
On the way home, he said to me: �What I lament is not that a sect will be
ruined but that our nation will perish.  I am afraid the Daishonin is indeed
sorrowful about this plight.  Isn�t this the time to admonish the entire
nation?  I don�t know what makes the head temple afraid.�

We should take to heart the strictness of the Daishonin�s golden teachings
without fearing authority.  President Makiguchi had such vehement spirit.
Nevertheless the warped military government treated him like a criminal,
even though he had committed no crime.  Twenty-one Soka Gakkai leaders were
imprisoned solely because the refused to enshrine talismans of the Sun
Goddess.  At that time, many believers and priest at the head temple were
shocked and a loss as to what to do.  When I heard about this, I was ashamed
of them.  President Makiguchi, myself and our followers were barred from
visiting the head temple, and the whole country criticized our families as
being enemies of the nation.  Those were strange days.

Those who were imprisoned had to face a pitiable reality.  Many suffered
bankruptcy in their businesses, many were chased after by creditors, and
still many others lost their source of income and barely survived.  Their
families also fell into an abyss of sorrow, discarding their faith and
doubting Nichiren Daishonin�s teachings because they had had little
confidence in their practice and their study of the Daishonin�s teachings
was shallow.  Many who were imprisoned gradually began to bend in faith.
How cowardly they were!  They had little courage or depth of faith, and
sadly enough, they didn�t recognize the Daishonin and the true Buddha.

The persecution [of imprisonment] was very honorable.  It was noble in the
eyes of the Daishonin.  Being persecuted because of our faith put us in an
honored position in light of Buddhism.  Yet, the many who failed to perceive
that they were actually showered with honor discarded their faith.  Nineteen
out of twenty-one of Makiguchi�s followers turned away from their faith in
the Gohonzon, including such senior leaders as Tatsuji Nojima, Inosuke
Inaba, Yozo Terasaka, Katsuji Arimura and Shikagi Kinoshita.

Only President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, General Director Josei Toda, and
Director Shuhei Yajima remained stalwart in their faith.  How difficult it
is to continue to believe in the True Law.  President Makiguchi died in
prison from malnutrition on November 18, 1944, never losing pride in
standing up to persecution.

I didn�t know of the death of my mentor, Mr. Makiguchi, for a while.  I last
saw him in autumn 1943 at the police station where we were being processed
as prisoners.  After that, we were jailed separately in tiny, individual
cells.  We had been master and disciple since I was 20; our relationship was
even deeper that that between parent and child.

Every day in the cell, I prayed: �Dai-Gohonzon, I am still young, but my
master is old.  He is 75.  Please give me all his suffering and let my
master leave prison as soon as possible.�  President Makiguchi must have
sinned profoundly, slandering the lotus Sutra in his previous lifetimes.
The decree of the Buddha was very strict with him.  On January 8, 1945,
one-and-a-half years after my imprisonment began, I was told Mr. Makiguchi
had died recently.  When I returned to my cell, I could not stop my tears.

Just about the time President Makiguchi died, I had almost completed two
million daimoku, and I experienced a profoundly mystic life-condition,
thanks to the Daishonin�s great compassion.  After that, I spent my time in
interrogations, canting daimoku, and feeling the joy of having understood
the Lotus Sutra, which had been so difficult at first.

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