Many followers of people who founded schools have seen themselves as a "true disciple." It's a way to claim authority. The Kechimyaku/heritage of Nichiren Shoshu started with Nikko Shonin's claim to be Nichiren's true disciple. He wasn't the only one to claim such a heritage, and Nichiren Buddhism wasn't the only school of religion to have people making such claims. Such claims are the foundation for oral heritages. And are also usually the preliminary step to creating a "canon" of written works to embody those heritages as a set of specific doctrines and general theories.
Daisaku Ikeda has seen himself as Josei Toda's "true disciple" or "direct disciple", since his early practice. Whether or not he in fact is a true disciple or not of his disciple he has acted on this basis for most of his adult life and managed to shove aside rival claimants to that title. The below material used to be in my page on him, but I moved it here because it was only marginally relevent to the material and there was just too much of this stuff.
Theese are (sample) entries to his diary from around 1950(see:Message 14903 to the SokaGakkaiInternational Yahoogroup:
- Thursday, May 25. Cloudy.
- Nichiren Daishonin. I am the true Buddha's disciple! As the Buddha's disciple I must fear nothing. All I need do is accept and uphold his great compassion and dash ahead. Contemplation alone accomplishes nothing. Whoever merely contemplates is not a true disciple. Am I free from illusion?
In traditional Buddhism, contemplation is the name of the Game. But what the Gakkai was trying to do is to bring Buddhism back into society. To make it "real." Makiguchi had founded the "Soka Kyoiku Gakkai" on the spirit of "Soka" or value creation. This theory holds that reality (Ji) is more important than theory(Ri) or mystical experience. It is a very modern interpretation of Nichiren's message. Toda didn't claim any godlike powers or special insights into Buddhism. Toda was simply trying to repay his debt of gratitude to the Buddha and his own mentor, Makiguchi. And Toda was also trying to create a Nichiren organization that would be a credit to Nichiren's teachings and not distort them into unrecognizable form. Toda's principle rival was an organization with a "Sensei" or "Guru" named Shoei Asai that was named the Myoshinko. The Myoshinko sought to convert the emperor, and before the war most Nichiren groups sought to advance Nationalist aspirations, Japanese Irridentalism and fantasies of ruling the world. They did so by distorting Nichiren's teachings, expecially those contained in the Gosho (also of disputed authorship) "The Three Great Secret Laws." Additionally there were other "Sensei" led groups such as the Rissho Koseikei and similar, all of which claimed to be teaching Nichiren's teachings, but none of them seemed to have it "right" in Toda's understanding. Outside of Nichiren Shoshu the Gakkai also had rivalries with the Reiyukai and Rissho Koseikei.
After Toda died, there were others who also claimed to be his true true disciple, but Ikeda was the obvious winner in that competition. Young Daisaku Ikeda must have been studying Buddhism during this time. He wrote these inspirational messages to himself and later shared them as guidances to the rest of us.
- Saturday, May 27. Rain.
- Daishonin and Mr. Toda, my wonderful mother and my fellow believers--keep your eyes on me. Watch this young man, this individual that is myself. My activities, my conviction, my ideals, my practice.
You can imagine a young man, building his confidence, his sense of where he is going, etceteras. I don't remember putting similar entries in my diaries, but then I never had the notion that I was going to be famous someday quite the way young Daisaku seems to have. Ikeda seems to have been seeking to bolster his sense of identity and to have known exactly where he wanted to go. This ambition and confidence in himself also inspired others. It also has led to some future conflicts as well.(See temple.html and personal.html, plus the later split with the priests of Nichiren Shoshu. Self Confidence is a good thing, the only problem is that a fine line separates self-confidence from hubris.
- Monday, May 29. Clear.
- Let people criticize me if they wish. Let them laugh if they want to. What does it matter? Only the Daishonin sees me for what I am. Don't die for small virtues. Live for the great ones! For people. For the world. For the Law.
The Gakkai at this time was seen as an organization of fanatic loosers by some outsiders. It attracted the weak, the poor, and the sickly. Ikeda must felt the criticisms of that time and taken them personally. Anyone would, including myself, but those criticisms also seem to have had some foundation in reality too. Sometimes ones critics are trying to tell someone something worth hearing. Defensiveness is not always the best reaction to criticism. Ikeda has responded to these early criticisms by doing everything he does with class, sass, and sometimes just a touch of defensiveness. He has consistently tried to advance "great principles" and "virtues."
- Tuesday, May 30. Light Rain
- I will march forward, out of the burning house. No doubt powerful foes will arise, but I shall confront them resolutely. This is the only road for me to follow. Gohonzon, watch me.
One of the theories of Buddhism is that of the "Three Powerful Enemies". This theory supposes that once one is on the road to enlightenment, opposition will arise from evil people; evil laypeople, greedy and twisted teachers, and arrogant sages. The other theory is based on two premises; that "incorrect beliefs" are the source of misery, and that one's current beliefs are the only way to correct that misery. Both those theories are succeptable to misinterpretation. Dumping superstition, hatred, and lies, is "leaving the Burning house. And dumping lies is key to doing this. Ikeda was reading the Lotus Sutra when he wrote this. In that Sutra is a story of a physician who seeks to save his children from a burning house. The reference to the Burning house is a reference to the Lotus Sutra, Lifespan Chapter and the parable of the Burning house contained therein. He probably was attending some of Josei Toda's lectures on the Sutra. In that story the means the Buddha employs is to promise them a toy vehicle. When they leave the house he gives them a single grand real vehicle. Ikeda is referring to this story, and Nichiren's interpretation of it. Nichiren felt that his teachings were a "vehicle" by which people could end suffering. Ikeda seems to have been contemplating a similar path.
Many Nichiren Buddhists believe that the expression of the Three Powerful Enemies in the form of "persecution" is a kind of eschatological reward for having made progress towards Enlightenment. They interpret the "Burning house" as a world ruled by people who are influenced by false religion and thus by these "enemies" of the Buddha. Of course That interpretation is one that makes sense under some circumstances. The Gakkai has always tended to paint the picture of the battle between enlightenment and fundamental darkness as this sort of thing. So Ikeda is also referring to the path of "Shakubuku" and of propagating and sharing this Buddhism.
There is also a more universal way of interpreting them that is less millenialist and notes that the kinds of people that those verses refer to are pretty much part of our daily tableau. Buddhism was originally designed to apply these things internally even before seeking to apply them externally. Thus Shakubuku (Breaking and subduing) originally referred to some of the meditational and logical processes by which Buddhists developed their religious beliefs. When we argue logically a belief to others, we also are correcting our own thought systems. It is easy to understand the three powerful enemies as others. We tend to ignore the influence of their general principle on our own selves and group dynamics. Thus people tend to not recognize the "Three Powerful Enemies" until it overtly rears it's head in the form of "Devadatta types" or official and unofficial persecution.
- Tuesday, June 6. Clear:
- Somebody once said that people's minds are smaller than beans, and only a hero knows a hero's heart. Someone else said, "Let those who laugh, laugh. Let those who slander you say what they will." Fools cannot possibly grasp the great principles of the Daishonin's Buddhism. You who criticize, go ahead and criticize if you wish. Because of you I can attain my enlightenment.
He must have been reading some criticism around this time. The Sokagakkai around 1950 was very small. It was engaging in very strict shakubuku. Toda insisted that new converts give up attachment to Shinto or to any other Sect. This was necessary in a Japan where Buddhists tend to cover their bets constantly and don't readily give their allegience to the Dharma. They will follow a mentor on personal trust, but they rarely have been willing to follow the Admonitions of Nichiren Daishonin to practice the Lotus Sutra exclusvively and seek Kosenrufu. The Gakkai of this time was seeking Kosenrufu using Nichiren Shoshu's "One true Sect" doctrine. It engendered both kinds of criticism.
At the same time Ikeda was embracing an important truth of life and Buddhism. Our overt enemies, or "opponants of the moment," are often in the long run our very best friends. They are the ones who point out our flaws so we can change them. They are the ones to whose criticisms we respond. Sometimes those who pretend to be our friends turn out in the long run to be "bad friends" or worse than enemies. In my essay on the Three Powerful enemies, I refer to how Warren Harding had to deal with such "bad friends."
- Thursday, July 20. Cloudy.
- The times bring about vast changes. People's minds change as easily as water flows. Lashed out fiercely at Department Chief O. for criticizing Mr. Toda.
This shows the difference between Japanese Culture and the USA. Ikeda's personal loyalty trumphs even the notion of "follow dharma." Who knows if O. was being negative, or if he had legitimate criticism. But Ikeda saw it as a value to pounce on him for personal disloyalty. Perhaps this person deserved to be pounced on. It is important to have unity in an organization. When people disagree the place to disagree is where the arguments can be hashed out openly and fairly. This is an issue in any organization, but in organizations that are hierarchical emphasis on such personal loyalty sometimes leads to byzantine politics and fawning synchophancy. There is no possibility for change or improvement if people cannot openly criticize each others actions.
- Sunday August 27. Cloudy.
- I seem to be the target of everyone's mistrust. My physical condition is terrible. It looks like tuberculosis.
Ikeda had tuberculosis. He was very sickly. I understand that many members in Japan were in the same boat. One of the actual proofs of the power of the Daimoku and practicing this Buddhism is that he and others like him eventually got these diseases under control. In those days he seems to have seen it as a source of shame. He later became wealthy because he inherited Toda's publishing empire and became an adored author partly on the basis of his status in the organization.
- Sunday, November 26. Light Rain.
- Even if not one person takes faith at present, hundreds of millions are waiting for us in the future.
This is the hope of all of us
- Wednesday November 29. Sleet.
- Resolve blazed up anew within me that I must strive never to let anyone so much as point a finger a Mr. Toda or at the Soka Gakkai. Must keep an eye on I. He pretends to be on our side but maneuvers against Mr. Toda behind his back.
And I believe that this attitude of "never let anyone point so much a finger at Mr. Toda" is not the attitude of "follow the Dharma" and will get in the way of sharing Buddhism with hundreds of millions of people. By telling that this is his attitude towards his mentor, he is telling his disciples to have the same attitude towards him. The result is that we have an organization where no one ever criticizes the things that need criticizing. Protecting an organization means making sure that criticism is dealt with and "refuted" not simply stepped on or ignored. I guess at this time President Toda was being criticized from within and without the organization. The best replies to such criticisms were teh actions that Ikeda took by engaging in the Kansai Campaign and spreading Buddhism almost door to door in that part of the Country.
This passage also shows the difficulty of loyalty clearly as well. Ikeda talks about "keeping an eye on 'I'" I suspect that "I" was another youth leader, who probably also wished to build a coalition and inherit Toda's organization. But loyalty is neither demonstrated by blind following, nor by stabbing a leader in the back. It is demonstrated by always seeking the best for the organization and that the organization follow the "Dharma" and behave in the best possible way. Ikeda saw that this person "pretended to be on our side" but "maneuver"(ed) against Toda. This is the worst of both. Such people are not what they seem to be.
At the same time, this passage is problematical for me because you see President Ikeda presuming to know the heart of a person who is a rival. Often we see in others our own pretensions. If one is angry, others seem fawning. If another is calculating, calculating people are all around.
Ikeda's diaries have always inspired me. But I've understood them differently with time and maturity by being willing to critique the human being behind the author. For instance in the above passage I learned initially to watch for people who claim to support a leader and stab him in the back. But with time I've also learned to watch for people who are so keen on such behavior and so loyal to their leader that they will "fight" such people as well. The "fanatic" loyalist can betray his mentor with his loyalty in the same way that Ceasars followers encouraged him to enter the Roman Forum. They are simply unwilling to see the flaws in their teacher for what they really are or admit to them if they do see them.
- Wednesday, December 27. Fine and clear.
- I am confident I understand Mr. Toda's great mission better than anyone else. I alone truly inderstand what is in his mind. Blazing with righteous anger, I will fight with all my life.
And it is this passage that scares me the most. I don't truly understand what is in anyone's mind. The best I can hope for is to truly understand the common truth that unites me with such people. I used to think, at one time, that I truly understood Ikeda's mind, but I have found that what I truly understood was a heroic image of Ikeda that was in my own mind. Ikeda had a heroic image of Toda, what Toda was about, and his mission, that was his own unique image. That driving force can be a good thing, but it can also lead to hubris, arrogance, and self justification of behavior that actually betrays the master. If it was superior even to that of his wife and family, that is a moot question, but it was his own image and his own mission. President Ikeda believed himself to be his masters "one true disciple" and that feeling has driven many of his actions to this day. It is okay to feel that one is a true disciple of one's teacher. But it is hubris to think that one is the only such person with the "right knowledge" of what the Master Wants to do. Ikeda's actions have proved both of these points. On the one hand, this effort to be the best "One true disciple" has driven much of the Growth of the Sokagakkai. On the other hand this hubris has led the Gakkai to become deeply involved in Japanese Politics and has been self limiting on his efforts to promote Buddhism abroad or to deepen the faith of his own disciples and followers. Many are the Buddhists who are sure of their faith in him, not so many of their faith in the Dharma. The result is a religious movement that is always in danger of toppling into being a religious personality cult.