From original post saved as:http://www.geocities.com/chris_holte/Buddhism/IssuesInBuddhism/history_conpost.html and taken from print sources.
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.