Issues within the SGI

Intro:

When I first started this website I was dealing with two sets of issues that were bothering me. One was the allegations from the Gakkai about Nichiren Shoshu (call it NST issues, or The Temple Issue), and the other was allegations from Nichiren Shoshu about the Gakkai (call them SGI issues). As time went on I found out more and things and things became too complicated to organize easily. The issues became too "personal" and many of the involved parties became too strident, demonizing, and inaccurate to take too seriously(see fundamental.html). Therefore this page is dedicated to dealing with the SGI in the framework of the priests allegations -- but I no longer am limited by that framework. With time I have found that;

1. the word "refute" is worse than useless in religion unless someone actually agrees they've been refuted.
2. That most of the time when others criticize us we need to listen as they may be half-right. We also have to "fact check" such allegations for ourselves as they could also be completely deceptive as well. It becomes really rough when both parties are lying -- which is frequently the case.¹
3. And that therefore it is better to think of ones efforts to understand things as "making distinctions between true and false" and since that is difficult to do with absolute certainty of actual factualness (as opposed to confidence that one is actually factual) it is better to refer to such things as "critiques."

Background

Prior to 1991, the Sokagakkai and Nichiren Shoshu were "synonymous" names for most of us members. We knew they were different, but they were "harmoneously related." The principles of "wagoso", "Unity of priest and layman" and Eastern Cultural habits kept a unified face on the two groups. SGI-USA at that time was known as "NSA" and was synonymous with Nichiren Shoshu outside of Japan. Pioneers like Mr. Williams and others were linked to both groups with a spirit of genuine appreciation for the support they got from both priests and lay leaders. There was expecially deserved gratitude aimed at the third president Daisaku Ikeda, but the high priests Nittatsu, and Nikken Shonin both had also helped the "Kosenrufu movement." The goal of achieving Kosenrufu seemed to depend on maintaining and extending this unity or "wagoso."

For more on this background visit these many pages:

NSA,Nichiren Shoshu

All that Changed

When the split occured in 1991 and the so-called temple issue emerged, most of us suddenly were forced to chose between the two groups. The Temple, NST, and the Soka Gakkai. Through letters from Reverend Fujimoto we were told we had to register or else be "excommunicated." Actually the niceties were that we would simply not be considered members of Nichiren Shoshu anymore. Along with that demand that we register with our local temple, was a demand that the Gakkai either apologize for criticizing high priest and let go of President Ikeda, or that they de-incorporate. Eventually the Gakkai chose to "re-incorporate" as a lay-religion "Kai" technically under the umbrella term "Nichiren Sekaishu." Effectively the Gakkai had chosen to leave Nichiren Shoshu. For more on this see the page "split"

However, the Gakkai had engaged in brinksmanship prior to the events in 1991 that belied their claims of victim status. The precipitating incident for the break-up was a speech by President Ikeda called his "35th Anniversary Speech" to senior Gakkai leaders in which he criticized the high priest obliqley in off the cuff remarks that weren't in the published speech. The speech was leaked to the priests, probably by spies from rival lay organizations (ether the Kenshokai or the "Myokanko" lay group). It offended the priests not just because of its rudeness, but because it revealed an underlying unreformed attitude which contradicted the officially often fawning and sweet words that the Gakkai had previously directed towards the priests. High Priest Nikken appears to have been very angered by what had happened. He had Nichijun Fujimoto send inquiries to the Gakkai which were answered by the Youth Division and by Vice President Akiya, but not directly by Ikeda. He chose Reverend Nichijun Fujimoto for that reason, matching the "behind the screens" play by Ikeda. Ikeda kept himself above the fray so that people would think that he hadn't done anything wrong and that Nikken was wronging him. The outpouring of defense of Ikeda was spontaneous and probably orchestrated indirectly.

>For more on this visit the page:

temple.html,

and for a discussion of how rough things got visit personal.html

also follow the embedded links here and at split.html.

The priests make a list

The priests, using Nichijun Fujimoto as their spokesman had a list of allegations of errors in the Gakkai's teachings and practices. I have decided to use their allegations as a starting point for examining the "issues" and to let people decide for themselves just how valid the priests complaints were. For me I've come to believe that sometimes the priests were right for the wrong reasons, wrong for the right reasons. With time I've come to see that some of their criticisms were actually on target and accurate. And some of the allegations of misconceptions levelled by the priests actually apply to the priests own doctrines even more than to the Gakkai. Here is a partial list and links to where they are discussed on this page. This page will discuss each in turn.

1. , The theory of the Master/Disciple Relationship
2. , Discrepancy between Mystic Law and Universal Law
3. , Confusing Buddhism and Philosophy
4. , Misconceptions about Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
5. , Misconceptions about the Gohonzon
6. , Misconceptions about the Three Treasures and the Sho Hondo

Also on this page:

Appendix A

I discuss the issues around the Gohonzon and Dai-Gohonzon pretty thoroughly on their own webpages at these locations:

Gohonzon:

honzon.html,Gohonzon, Dai-Gohonzon

Sho Hondo:

Sho Hondo

Master Disciple, "Heritage", "kechimyaku" and the Fuji School doctrine of the "Original Buddha."

Other Issues

There were a lot of issues raised by the priests, but what they ignored probably concerns us most. For us Gakkai members these issues are as or more important than those alleged by the priests. Things like;

The Lingering authoritarianism, "corporate think" and lack of accountability of "Corporate SGI;"

the Hierarchy and hero worship, tendancy towards deceptiveness, justified by false ideas of upaya or "value creation;"

group level grudges,personalization, secrecy, and the eschewing of literal proofs and written sources in favor of the assertion of esoteric understandings only available to those who "know the mind of" Ikeda,

are probably more important to us "Gaijin" members than the list the priest had in mind. But they share a similar modus operandii so they weren't likely to notice these things. For those issues you need to follow my links to the following pages:

Independent Reassessment

My page, < a href="http://www.daimoku.com/">www.daimoku.com

Reform,Temple Issue, Appearance Issue, and Democratization paper

Literal Issues page,

discussion of the Esoteric Cycle

discussion of and apocryphal issues and Disputed Gosho

Each of the above has links to other pages.

The priests early on alleged that the Gakkai misrepresented the Mentor/Disciple relationship. The Gakkai shot back that they didn't think of Ikeda as an infallible master but that most members simply regarded them as their mentor for practice. The priests taught the following

The only master for us, the followers of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, is the True Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin. In relationship to the Daishonin, the second High Priest Nikko Shonin, was charged with the mission of "True Disciple." For us, the Daishonin, endowed with the Three Virtues of the Buddha, is not only our master, but also our sovereign and parent. And through the "heritage of the true law," the current High Priest also possesses the quality of our master. (Therefore it is the High Priest and not Daisaku Ikeda who is our master in the Current Age.¹)

In the early days of the split, we heard a lot from Vice President Akiya about the so called "temple issue" defending specifically this point. We were shielded from President Ikeda's own speeches which have been gradually translated over the succeeding years. From 1979 to sometime in the mid 1990's the Gakkai fastidiously emphasized that Ikeda was not some kind of magical god or "eternal mentor" but a human being like the rest of us. Someone whose efforts and human revolution had made him a fit example for the rest of us. Of course you always had leaders spreading "megillas" (upayistic tales) about how wise and sagacious he was and how he could know people's hearts. And if you saw Ikeda talking he'd sometimes stare at the crowd like he was looking into each of their hearts and knowing what they were thinking. This is a common reaction of people to "Mentors" and gurus and a common way that such people can keep their authority intact. Unfortunately. (See my discussions of the Three Powerful Enemies and Esotericism)

During the first days of the split this official assessment seemed to be continued. I remember vigorously defending him from this charge. After all I too owe him a debt of gratitude for the lifetime of common sense things he had said and for his efforts to make Buddhism intelligable to ordinary people. The idea of him as a "universal mentor" was promoted as an entirely voluntary view of the members. Trouble was it was promoted over and over and over again. To the point where every World Tribune (party organ of the SGI-USA) experience had to carry a tribute to him, and every world tribune had something by him.

And if we look carefully at Ikeda's own words, he has always pushed an almost synchophantic approach to the Master Disciple relationship emphasizing his own debt of gratitude and the rightness of his own mentors teachings. He has been insisting since his youth that he "knew the mind of his mentor" and was his true disciple, at least in his diaries. During his youth he was almost fanatically devoted to the second president Toda even to the point of putting his career on the line by leading the effort to punish the renegade priest Jimon Ogasawara. Consequently, as the influence of the priests receded their own doctrine of "master and disciple" came out of the woodwork more directly. For instance you can see what Jeff Farr of the Gakkai says at this webpage:http://www.sokaspirit.org/faq/how_is_the_mentor.shtml

Because the presidents of the Soka Gakkai have always maintained this spirit, they have won the people's respect and are regarded as great mentors by millions worldwide. They have led the way in putting the Daishonin's ideas into action.

More recently they have enshrined this premise, that the righteousness of the Gakkai rests on the wisdom and righteousness of it's three founders into a doctrine (see appendix a) embodied in the following written doctrine:

The spirit of the oneness of mentor and disciple, and the selfless practice of propagating the Law for the attainment of kosenrufu, both embodied in the lives of the three successive presidents, is the core spirit of the Soka Gakkai. Herein lies our eternal guiding model. The Soka Gakkai, rooted in the spirit of Buddhist compassion, shall be dedicated to realizing world peace and happiness for all humanity.

They don't come out and say it directly, but they have come around to teaching something very close to what they denied they were teaching in 1991 when they still seemed to care what the priests thought about them.

For more on this visit the embedded links.

I also discuss the "Master/disciple" relationship more thoroughly and universally at entire webpages on the subject:

mentor.html, esoteric.html and hero.html

Also you might want to read:

His diary, kechimyaku, notions of lineage, and heritage

Nichijun Fujimoto's complaints are at expel2 page

The priests(Nichijun Shonin) wrote in 1991:

Nichiren Daishonin, in his Gosho, "On attaining Buddhahood," (M.W., vol. 1, p. 3), states:

"However, even though you chant and believe in Myoho Renge Kyo, if you think the law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the mystic law but some inferior teaching. ...Therefore, when you chant the Mystic Law and recite the Lotus Sutra, you must summon up deep conviction that Myoho Renge Kyo is your life itself."

Without a doubt, Nichiren Daishonin concludes that there is no mystic law outside of our own minds. Therefore, we must conclude that it is heresy and against Buddhist Law to believe that apart from our minds and thoughts, the Mystic Law exists in the objective universe or environs of nature, or that the mystic law is the force which moves and controls the universe or life itself.

In my notes I write that this is a "contradictory allegation." But this allegation hinges on two good questions to consider;

1. is the "dharma" (or law) akin to "natural law" conceptions of the west?
2. And does the Daimoku or "Mystic Dharma" have an objective existence.

The priests seemed incoherent here, but in retrospect I think it is because this is a difficult subject. The Gakkai pioneered new ground when it linked western ideas of "law" and "natural law" and the Buddhist Dharma. There are distinctions to be drawn out here. This is a contradictory allegation on the priests part, because they are condemning an objectification of Buddhist teachings on the grounds that it "slanders the dharma" while asserting their basis of that claim on an objectification of a passage that equates the Daimoku with "life itself." I think the allegation is an example of making a legitimate critique for the wrong reasons. And I've spent a long time trying to understand why it is so easy to get this subject wrong.

First both equations are not literal, they are figurative. That doesn't mean that either of them are false, but it does mean they point to qualitative things that are sometimes beyond words to explain otherwise. For a discussion of this you need to study what Buddhism means by "Upaya" The equation of the Buddhist Dharma and Nam Myoho Renge kyo to natural law is a useful insight but when objectified it is misleading. I studied both groups teachings for years and was still confused on how to grasp or explain it, though I think I understood the subject intuitively. It took studying the Jewish story of the Pardes and some meditation on it and the light it sheds on what the sutras of innumerable meaning and Lotus Sutra are teaching for me to get this distinction so it is not surprising that neither group is able to make it intelligable. It would be impossible for someone who understands this dogmatically to even grasp it.

Even "slander of the dharma" is something that is figurative and not something that can be objectified. Figurative understandings don't mean that the underlying reality they refer to is false, just that we humans use them as "short cuts" to approximate things too complex to grasp elsewise. Thus "light" is "seen" as electro-magnetic waves even though we can't literally see the waves and many of our technical words are derived from metaphors and similies that are often so highly abstracted that they'd make no sense out of context.

If the reality underlying the Dharma doesn't have an objective existence and it's existence is purely subjective then the allegations of the priests are likewise subjective and why should anyone believe them? If neither have actual physical reality then both could well be false understandings, which would be an absurd thing to say coming from a Nichiren or Nichirenist or fuji school perspective. Comparing the Buddhist Dharma to natural law is only absurd if you have the underlying understanding that the other teachings have to be objectively true to be subjectively true. You can't deny an objective (albeit mostly in the human realm) existence to the Dharma and at the same time seek to make claims based on the supposition that Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is your "life itself." You can't have it both ways but it is human nature to try.

There are countless other cases of apparant "mistakes" that when you examine the subject carefully also lead one to appreciate the "mistakes" for what they are. Besides this example of confusing the literal with the synthetic, abstract or figurative things that it refers to you can find other examples in the firestorms that developed over things such as the Gakkai's interpretation of the Ichinen Sanzen doctrine of Ku, ke and chu, in which they referred to "emptiness" as potentiality. Similarly discussions that equate the theory of Ichinen Sanzen to "life states" may not be literally fidel to the original explanations, but as one examines them carefully one finds their "valor." Buddhists who deny such notions as that there might be such a thing as "ku" as a "life state" or who don't see (or don't want to see) the natural link between notions such as "Dharma" and western notions such as "natural law" are often suffering from the same tendancy to "objectification" and "literalmindedness. The concept of Emptiness as related to life-states or "potentiality" just points to "dependent Origination" and says that nothing exists apart from it's relationship to other things (or beings). Anyone who has studied Schroedinger's cat might understand the metaphysics of this easier.

For more discussion see these links:

literal,theoretical, and actual proof

Discussion of Upaya,dharma,The theory of Soka

The Gakkai often tries to recruit people by talking about Buddhism as a "Life Philosophy." The idea is that Buddhism is such a high teaching that people can add it to their lives without discarding what was useful or appropriate about their previous beliefs. This is the notion of "Zuiho Bini" (or propagation in accordance to the land and people). Buddhism accommodated lands where people didn't believe in "gods" (or spirits) and lands that did. There is no reason that it couldn't accommodate lands where people believe in "one 'Supreme' Being, by a proper presentation of the truths of Buddhism. However, for the priests this idea was heresy. Here they are wrong for the right reasons, confused by a dogmatic approach to them. The priests complained as follows:

Buddhism is not a philosophy. While philosophy concerns itself with the objective world, Buddhism is about subjective life. It is a mystake on the most fundamental level to think of Buddhism as if it were a natural or metaphysical science, or an existential law of the objective world (separate from the minds of men). Rather than an existential law, the Mystic Law is the Law of the Wisdom of the Buddha. In essence Buddhism is the teaching that explains the Buddha's enlightenment to the common man, and leads him on the road to enlightenment."

The priests say this, but they seem to completely not know what they are saying.

First philosophy (love of wisdom) means "love of Wisdom" and so if the teachings of Buddhism are the "Wisdom of the Buddha" than true philosophy is nothing more than practicing Buddhism. If one understands the difference between the figurative words used to convey the truth (the first half of the Lotus Sutra is largely about this!), and the truth being conveyed, then this becomes even more apparant. The core of Buddhist practice is "philosophy" or love of the Wisdom of the Buddha. And this wisdom is not outside the ken of men to understand. Indeed the Kaimoku Sho has Nichiren quoting the following:

The Maka shikan says:

"If one lacks faith [in the Lotus Sutra], one will object that it pertains to the lofty realm of the sages, something far beyond the capacity of one’s own wisdom to comprehend. If one lacks wisdom, one will become puffed up with arrogance and will claim to be the equal of the Buddha."

Two: The idea that philosophy is solely concerned with the objective world is the first root of their error. And the idea that Buddhism is solely concerned with the subjective world is also their second error. The purpose of subjective wisdom is to subdue or at least "navigate" the real world we live in. They aren't seperate realms.

See dharma.html for more on this subject. There is a fundamental distinction to be made between what constitutes Buddhism as religion, what constitutes its philosophical basis, and what makes a religion. And according to the principle of Zuiho Bini, that distinction means that Buddhism can manifest different forms as it accommodates different societies.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

The priests say:

The 65th High Priest, Nichijun Shonin in the "The Doctrine of Nichiren Daishonin," states:

"It is commonly believed by many people that Daimoku is the primary concern of Nichiren Daishonin's teaching, with the Gohonzon taking a place of lesser importance... this is a misunderstanding of the Daishonin's teaching. This is because it is thought that Nam Myoho Renge kyo is merely a law, the Mystic Law, which permeates the universe... This is a terrible mistake. Nam myoho Renge Kyo is the embodiement of the essence of the Buddha."

Therefore, the embodiement of the essence of the Buddha is the Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. It is only when we chant Daimoku to the Gohonzon with the faith that we are fusing our lives with the essence of the Buddha that the true benefit of the Daishonin's Buddhism can have effect.

Besides objectifying the subject in a similar manner to the earlier points, this too was a misleading set of allegations. For one thing the priests quoted selectively from Nichijun Shonin's essay. If one had the entire quote it would probably have a less strident tone. Secondly, it demeaned the idea of the Daimoku as "law" with the word "merely." It is true, however, that Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is more than "merely" a law. It is the "title of the lotus sutra" and as such in a mystical and figurative fashion "embodies" that law. This ties in with the next subject, so we'll introduce the next complaint and continue:

Misconceptions about the Gohonzon.

The priests say Dogmatically:

The Gohonzon is not a scroll which lists the names of those who attended the Ceremony of the Air at Eagle Peak, which is described in the 11th through 22nd chapters of the Lotus Sutra. It is also not a map of universal, metaphysical, or physical life. We cannot theorize about the Gohonzon as separate from the Daishonin. The Gohonzon is the embodiment of the Wisdom and life condition of Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha of Kuon Ganjo (time without beginning).

The priests made an important point but then they get it wrong. This is a point of them getting it wrong for the wrong reasons. It is a product of Fuji School reasoning and a dogmatic approach to doctrines. Once again they are "objectifying" something that is abstract and figurative as a literal thing. The Gohonzon is not literally Nichiren's life or his embodiement. At the same time, he did indeed put his "tamashi" into it along with his enlightenment about the Lotus Sutra. At the same time, what they are really trying to do is to build a case for the high priest as "trunk" and intermediary between the Dai-Gohonzon and us common folks not fully initiated to his special kechimyaku of the law. For more see these pages:

honzon,Gohonzon,Dai-Gohonzon, and the kechimyaku of the law discussion.

We in the Gakkai do have a tendancy to take liberties when seeking to explain the gohonzon to others. Scholars describe the Gohonzon as the "Daimoku as Mandala." Nichiren called the Daimoku the "heart of the Lotus Sutra." To him, therefore the Gohonzon was the embodiement of the wisdom and life condition of the eternal Buddha. He never identified this eternal Buddha with himself explicitly expept as a "specific" manifestation. That is he said "perhaps the spirit of Shakyamuni entered my body" or "I have taken such care that the "King Devil doesn't come around anymore." Nichiren taught that it was a mistake to see Buddha either as "pertaining to the realm of the sages" or someone we are already equal to. He saw the task of enlightenment as an ongoing struggle until the last moment of life. The Gohonzon is the perfect embodiement of the Buddha because it is a representation of this "general" principle (the Daimoku. the Buddha) that we as Buddhists seek to "fuse with. When later generations identify Nichiren himself with this Buddha of time without beginning it is because he is the one who embodied it in the gohonzon and sought to live it's example in his specific existence.

Even so it is incorrect for the priests to insist that we can't refer to it in terms of metaphysics or "theorize" about it all we want to. I'm sorry, but theorizing about the Gohonzon is part of coming to understand it. At the same time the Gakkai would probably benefit from an effort to make their understanding of the Gohonzon more in line with general Buddhist Principles.

To do that they need to be reminded that both the Gohonzon and the Daimoku derive from the "Lotus Sutra."

The "Heart of the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren called the daimoku the heart of the Lotus Sutra and claimed that it drew it's power from the benefit of the "fiftieth person" and from the power of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. The Gohonzon also represents the Lotus Sutra, and its center is the daimoku. Both the Gohonzon and the daimoku derive their power from the comprehensive teachings of Buddhism as completed by the Lotus Sutra. The "twenty important things taught by the lotus Sutra are(source irgosho message9670) quoted from the Hokke Mongo ki (commentary on the Hokke Mongu, which in turn is a commentary on the Lotus Sutra), a Tendai Teaching:

1. Giving the prophecy of enlightenment in near future to two vehicles (chap. 3)
2. Showing (or Opening )Buddha's original enlightenment and his immeasurable life span (chap 16)
3. Praising that benefits will accrue even to the fiftieth person who rejoices upon hearing of it (chap 18)
4. Person who hear of the Lotus Sutra attains Buddhahood in this lifetime (chap 17)
5. Shakyamuni shows that Devadatta was his true teacher in the past life (chap 12)
6. Manjushiri shows that eight-year-old dragon king's daughter was his student in the past life (chap 12)
7. Giving the promise that anyone who hears only one phrase of the LS shall attain Buddhahood (chap 10)
8. Anyone who protects the name of the LS will receive innumerable benefits (chap 26)
9. Women who hear the chapter of Medicine King shall never receive women's lives or be born as women (chap 23)
10. Anyone who hears and reads and recites the LS shall know neither old age nor death (chap 23)
11. Those who carry out five practices shall get to the stage of resemblance to enlightenment (chap 19)
12. Those who carry out four Peaceful Practices shall get into copper- wheel in their dream (chap 14)
13. Those who vex or trouble the practitioners of the LS will have their heads split into seven pieces (chap 26)
14. Those who alms to the practitioners of the LS will enjoy good fortune surpassing the ten honorable titles (chap 10)
15. Among the sutras Shakyamuni has preached, now preach, and will preach, the LS is the most difficult to believe and the most difficult to understand. (chap 10)
16. Offering ten similes to praise the teachings of the LS. (chap 23)
17. Maitreya doesn't know any single one of Bodhisattvas of the Earth. (chap 15)
18. The Omen of Lotus in the east which even Manjushiri didn't understand (chap 24)
19. Teaching major world system dust particle kalpas to bodhisattvas of the theoretical teaching. (chap 07)
20. Giving a metaphor of numberless major world system dust particle kalpas to show the original enlightenment (chap 16)

It was the above that provided the inspiration for Nichiren's teachings. And you can see elements above enshrined in the Gohonzon. The above for instance is the real source for two otherwise controversial inscriptions on the Dai-Gohonzon that; "Those who vex or trouble the practitioners of the LS will have their heads split into seven pieces (chap 26)" and "Those who alms to the practitioners of the LS will enjoy good fortune surpassing the ten honorable titles (chap 10)"

Both Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and the Lotus Sutra are the embodiement of the "essence of the Buddha" because they are the "essence of the Lotus Sutra." That essence is the "soul of the Lotus Sutra." And that essence refers to the wonderful "dharma" or law of the Lotus, which is what Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is. Thus the trouble with this allegation is that the Gakkai never taught that Nam Myoho Renge Kyo was "merely" anything. The priests based their allegations on their own mystifying of the meaning of the Lotus Sutra and confusion about which comes from what. While something that is the essence of something may be "superior" to that which it replaces, and may point to a law that is more "ultimate" than what it supplants, that doesn't mean that it literally is older. It is like the quote of the Teacher Hillel when he was asked to summarize Judaism while standing on one foot. A thing that states an abstract may imply tons of explanation and background before it can have any specific meaning. One should never confuse "general and specific" but even Buddhist get this idea wrong constantly. See my page on it

Mechanistic versus faithful

What the priests were complaining about was what they saw as the mechanistic way that many members carry forth their practice. Other than that the whole allegation was a "strawman" that is a whole lot easier to shoot down than the "real thing." But the mechanistic charge also applies to any people practicing this Buddhism who are not initiated to the deeper and more profound meaning that it has. A shallow practice can be found within people whose families have been practicing for generations. The materialistic approach of general members is not all that different from the thousands of prayers offered to Gods and Demons by Japanese through the centuries. All the above talk about Myoho Renge Kyo can easilly be interpreted in magical ways and the daimoku converted into a magical "dharani"/"Spell" to provide material protection or destroy enemies. The idea that faith can move the world is one that members of the Gakkai misuse one way, but the priests alternative way of practicing is no better. These meanings are not literalistic meanings. And the superiority of the lotus Sutra is not just a matter of subjectivity or rhetoric, but of the facts of the wisdom of its teachings. That one can find material benefit from living a creative life is simply the product of creating things by living a creative life. All doctrines or "dharmas" are "upaya." and if they are abstract they need to be applied. And if they are specific they are usually limited and subject to revision. (see sobetsu.html)

Since the split SGI members have had issues about how to chant. Some people tried to tell them that they had to enunciate the "mu" of Namu when they chanted the Daimoku, even when doing it fast. The priests insist that one shouldn't pray for material benefit. Yet it is only a natural thing that one should do so. The priests implied that one only gets "true benefit" when one chants with the right spirit. But Nichiren advocated chanting daimoku whether "sporting under the sheets" and said that it's benefit comes "even without understanding." It is true that one gets better benefit when one chants the daimoku with "right understanding" and "right spirit", but the priests sounded very hair splitting with this paragraph of their complaint. And the reason is that some of them themselves are deeply confused about their own doctrines.

Misconceptions about the Three Treasures

This was the point that had the priests the most ticked off. To quote from what is left of my fragment of their complaint:

It is obvious that the speech which honorary President Ikeda delivered on November 16th, 1990, at the 35th Headquarters meeting, contains words of contempt and disdain directed towards the High Priest Nikken Shonin and the Nichiren Shoshu Priesthood. These remarks also imply that he intends to destroy the Three Treasures of Nichiren Shoshu.

Inscribed in the Gohonzon, the fundamental object of worship for all Nichiren Shoshu believers, are the characters, "Nam myoho Renge Kyo, Nichiren", and to the bottom left of this, the name of the High Priest who inscribed the Gohonzon. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, or the True law, Nichiren Who is the true Buddha, and the..."

I have to fill in from memory here (at least until I find the rest of the document), but basically the priests insisted that Nichiren Was the "Treasure of the Buddha" (Buddha). That Nam Myoho Renge kyo is the treasure of the Dharma (Dharma or law), and that Nikko and the successive high priests are the "treasure of the Priest." He (Nichijun shonin is the one writing this essay), insisted that a passage about how to inscribe the Gohonzon equates the High Priest and Nichiren himself. As a general principle this is certainly something that should be, but as a specific dogma it is a distortion of Buddhist teachings. The priests asserted that the treasure of the priest is exclusively found in the priests themselves. In Buddhist history the treasure of the "Sangha" has often been interpreted that way, but in a fundamental sense the sangha is both "Believers and disciples", with both lay folks and priests having some of both functions depending on their time, availability and ability. Buddhism should be based on a principle of mutual respect. By defining the "treasure of the priest" so narrowly the priesthood was showing presumption. Presuming that their knowledge and wisdom was superior simply because of the title. The reason for this is that they also misinterpret the treasure of the Dharma and the Treasure of the Buddha. Indeed the entire of the conflict between the groups is do to efforts to make convenient interpretations of doctrines.

In my opinion, the Treasure of the Dharma/Law is the treasure of the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and the truths behind those teachings.(for more see dharma.html. The dharma itself does indeed have properties akin to natural law. He also talked about the late great Sho Hondo in his complaint. But for that you have to visit my entire set of pages on the subject

Sho Hondo

High Priest

heritage

Other Issues

To make this page briefer, issues not raised by the priests have been moved to other pages.

For more on them visit

IRG issues

reform.html

Temple Issues

personal.html

I also am introducing a whole series of more philosophical discussions as time goes by and have added biographical and historical information about the various participants.

Sokagakkai Current Rules and Regulations

from JUNE 7, 2002 WORLD TRIBUNE

Revised April 1, 2002

Preamble

The Buddhist spirit of compassion and peace, first expounded by Shakyamuni, is crystallized in the Lotus Sutra. This sutra represents the quintessence of Mahayana Buddhism and clearly sets forth teachings to lead all people to happiness. Nichiren Daishonin embodied the essence of the Lotus Sutra in the Three Great Secret Laws, establishing an eternally enduring path for saving humanity.

The Soka Gakkai is a religious organization in accord with the Buddha's will and mandate, charged with the mission of kosen-rufu, to spread Nichiren Buddhism worldwide.

The organization was founded on Nov. 18, 1930 by the first president, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, and second president, Josei Toda.

Presidents Makiguchi and Toda initiated the practice of propagation in the effort to realize kosen-rufu. During World War II, they were imprisoned by the national government, which used State Shinto to enlist spiritual support for its policies, bringing about President Makiguchi's death in prison. President Makiguchi, who taught Buddhism as a guide for daily living and a philosophy of value-creation, bequeathed to posterity the spirit of selfless dedication to spreading the Law by offering his life for Buddhism.

During his imprisonment, President Toda awakened to the ultimate truth that the Buddha is life itself, and to his own identity and mission as a Bodhisattva of the Earth. Upholding the principle of human revolution, he revived and renewed the significance of Nichiren Buddhism in the comtemporary world. He solidified the foundation for kosen-rufu in Japan by fulfilling his vow to enable 750,000 families to embrace this teaching in his lifetime.

The third president, Daisaku Ikeda, has propagated Nichiren Buddhism not only in Japan but throughout the world, applying the philosophy of Buddhism to the promotion of peace, culture, and education. He has opened the way for the worldwide propagation of Buddhism for the first time in history.

The spirit of the oneness of mentor and disciple, and the selfless practice of propagating the Law for the attainment of kosen- rufu, both embodied in the lives of the three successive presidents, is the core spirit of the Soka Gakkai. Herein lies our eternal guiding model. The Soka Gakkai, rooted in the spirit of Buddhist compassion, shall be dedicated to realizing world peace and happiness for all humanity.

Chapter I. General Provisions

Article 1.

Name: This association shall be called the Soka Gakkai.

Article 2.

This association shall regard Nichiren Daishonin as the true Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. It shall embrace with faith the Dai-Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws bestowed upon the entire world, base itself on the Daishonin's writings and seek to realize, as its ultimate goal, the worldwide propagation of Nichiren Buddhism, thus fulfilling the Daishonin's mandate.

Article 3.

The three successive presidents: -- first president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, second president Josei Toda and third president Daisaku Ikeda -- embody the spirit of selfless dedication to spreading the Law for the attainment of kosen-rufu and shall be considered as eternal leaders of the association.

Article 4.

The objectives of this association shall be to propagate Nichiren Buddhism throughout the world, contributing to the realization of world peace and the flourishing of human culture. Based upon such a foundation, this association will spread Nichiren Buddhism's teachings, conduct ceremonies and functions, and help its members to establish and deepen their faith.

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There is probably more, but this is all that was published.

Links and Footnotes

For the Japanese members view on the Sokagakkai and it's enemies see these page:

http://users.erols.com/miyoko/gakkai.htm.

I hope I'm not yet on that list along with Yamazaki and Nikken

Reform pages:

IRG website

http://www.buddhajones.com/

Sources for speeches SGI opinions and such:

http://www.jinzainet.org/speechs/index.html

http://www.sokaspirit.org/

http://www.gakkaionline.net/ST390/

Footnotes

"Q", I've read this several places, but one source is a post at IRGDaimoku:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irgdaimoku/message/20652

Footnotes

1. I am rearrainging things, and so links that may have been available before will be deleted, consolodated, and may be replaced with links to usenet posts, yahoo posts, or other people's webpages. Sorry for any inconvenience.

2. From a temple handout I have from 1991. I picked this one up at Myozenji Temple at the start of the "overt" split with Nichiren Shoshu. I'm using it because in typical fashion, these people "fished around" for arguments before they settled on ones that they could keep.

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