Soka Gakkai Explained

Native Name:創価学会
Native Name Lang:ja
Sōka Gakkai
Formation:November 18, 1930
Type:New religious movement
Headquarters:〒160-8583, Tokyo Shinjuku-Ku, Shinanomachi (Japanese: [[:ja:信濃町 (新宿区)|信濃町]])
Membership:11million according to SG; between 3 and 4million according to academics
Leader Title:President
Leader Name:Minoru Harada
Former Name: (Japanese: [[:ja:創価教育学会|創価教育学会]])

is a Japanese Buddhist religious movement based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese priest Nichiren. It claims the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhist groups.

The organization bases its teachings on Nichiren's interpretation of the Lotus Sutra and places chanting Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō at the center of devotional practice. The organization promotes its goals as supporting "peace, culture, and education".[1]

In Japan, it heads a financial, educational and media empire,[2] including newspapers, publishing houses, financial holdings and a network of schools. Komeito, a conservative party allied with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was founded by members of the Soka Gakkai.

The movement was founded by educators Makiguchi and Toda on 18 November 1930, and held its inaugural meeting in 1937.[3] It was disbanded during the Second World War when much of the leadership was imprisoned for violations of the 1925 Peace Preservation Law and charges of lèse-majesté. After the war, its expansion was led by its former third president Daisaku Ikeda.

According to its own account, Soka Gakkai has 11million members in 192 countries and territories around the world. However, this figure is not supported by any independent count. According to the work of American academic Levi McLaughlin,[4] membership in Japan is closer to 2–3% of the country's population, or between 2.4 and 4million people.

Moving the group toward mainstream acceptance, the organization is still viewed with suspicion in Japan and has found itself embroiled in public controversies[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] Komeito, a political party closely aligned with Soka Gakkai and founded by elements of its lay membership, entered a coalition agreement with the Liberal Democratic Party in 1999 and is currently a junior partner in government. Soka Gakkai has been described as a cult.[13] [14] [15]

Beliefs

The beliefs of Soka Gakkai center on recognizing that all life has dignity with infinite inherent potential; this immanent Buddhahood exists in every person and can be awakened through the Buddhist practice prescribed by Nichiren.[16] [17] Further, a person's social actions at every moment can lead to, or the creation of value (the theory of the interdependence of life). Societal change is facilitated through "human revolution", a way of living in the world that creates value.[18] [19] [20] [21] [22]

The doctrine of Soka Gakkai derives from Nichiren, who promulgated the Lotus Sutra as he perceived its application to the epoch in which he and people today live.[23] Soka Gakkai gives significance to Nichiren's writings, referred to as, and refers especially to the collection of Nichiren's writings that was compiled by Nichiko Hori and Jōsei Toda, published as in 1952.

T'ien-t'ai (538–597), a Chinese Buddhist scholar who upheld the Lotus Sutra, developed a theoretical system to describe the infinite interconnectedness of life translated as "the principle of the mutually inclusive relationship of a single moment of life and all phenomena" or "three thousand realms in a single moment of life" (Japanese:). This theory demonstrates that the entire phenomenal world exists in a single moment of life. Soka Gakkai members believe that because Nichiren made actualizing this possible by inscribing and teaching the invocation, their prayers and actions can in a single moment pierce through limitations.[24]

"Life force" and "Human Revolution"

Soka Gakkai teaches that this "self-induced change in each individual" – which Josei Toda began referring to as "human revolution" – is what leads to happiness and peace.[25] [26]

Josei Toda studied a passage from the Immeasurable Meanings Sutra (considered the introduction to the Lotus Sutra) that describes Buddhahood by means of 34 negations – for example, that it is "neither being nor non-being, this nor that, square nor round". From this, he concluded that "Buddha" is life, or life force.[27] [28]

Toda considered that the concept of "Buddha as life (force) means that Buddhism entails transforming society.[29] Ikeda has been quoted as saying "Faith is firm belief in the universe and the life force. Only a person of firm faith can lead a good and vigorous life[...] Buddhist doctrine is a philosophy that has human life as its ultimate object, and our Human Revolution movement is an act of reform aimed at opening up the inner universe, the creative life force within each individual, and leading to human freedom."[30]

The concept of life force is central to the Soka Gakkai's conception of the role of religion and the application of Nichiren's teachings. Ikeda states that "[o]ur health, courage, wisdom, joy, desire to improve, self-discipline, and so on, could all be said to depend on our life force".[31]

Oneness of mentor and disciple

The Soka Gakkai liturgy refers to all of its first three presidents – Tsunesabura Makiguchi, Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda – as "the eternal mentors of ".[32] The organization's current leader, Ikeda, is revered by members.[33] The relationship between members and their mentors is referred to as "the oneness of mentor and disciple". The mentor is to lead and thereby improve the lives of his disciples. The mentor's actions are seen as giving disciples confidence in their own unrealized potential. The role of disciples is seen as supporting their mentor and realizing his vision using their unique abilities and circumstances.

Since the mid-1990s, the issue of the oneness of mentor and disciple has received more prominence in Soka Gakkai. There is a strong emphasis on "cultivating all members[...] in discipleship" through forging "affective one-to-one relationships with Ikeda".[34]

"On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land"

Nichiren wrote a treatise "On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land" in 1260 and submitted it to the regent. Soka Gakkai members believe that it is one of his most important writings. In it, he claimed that the source of the natural disasters Japan faced at that time was due to the weakened spirit of its people, caused by attachments to religions that disavow the primacy of the people themselves. He called for the leaders and people to base their spiritual life on the Lotus Sutra, "the correct teaching", which would, in turn, lead to "the peace of the land".[35]

Five "Eternal Guidelines of Faith"

In 1957, Josei Toda proclaimed three "Eternal Guidelines of Faith". In 2003, Daisaku Ikeda added two more guidelines. The Five Guidelines of Faith are:

  1. Faith for a harmonious family;
  2. Faith for each person to become happy;
  3. Faith for surmounting obstacles;
  4. Faith for health and long life;
  5. Faith for absolute victory.[36]

Relation to the Lotus Sutra

Soka Gakkai members pray to Nichiren's (see section on Gohonzon), which "embodies Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the essence of the Lotus Sutra".[37] The includes the Sutra's teaching that all life inherently possesses dignity when "illuminated by the light of the Mystic Law".[38], and depicts the ceremony in which bodhissatvas embrace "their mission to teach and preach to suffering people the path to happiness and freedom".[39]

Soka Gakkai's history is closely intertwined with the study of the Lotus Sutra. Josei Toda began the postwar reconstruction by lecturing on the sutra, the study of which led to what Soka Gakkai considers his enlightenment (see "Life Force and Human Revolution"). After Soka Gakkai's excommunication by Nichiren Shōshū, Daisaku Ikeda conducted dialogue sessions on the Lotus Sutra which resulted in the publication of a six-volume work called The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra.[40]

Karma (as "changing karma into mission")

The concept of karma is based on the law of causality. It refers to consequences created through one's actions, words or thoughts.Both early Buddhists and Hindus believed that to redress karma accumulated over the course of many eons, one must be reincarnated numerous times.[41] The concept of karma then often became a source of despair as well as a tool for Buddhist clergy to instill fear and guilt in the minds of believers. Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism, however, believes that the fundamental cause for revealing the ultimate potential of life, or Buddha nature, can diminish the influence of negative karma in the present lifetime.[42]

Ikeda explains that negative karma is subsumed in the world of Buddhahood and is purified by its power.[43] Importantly, Soka Gakkai members believe effects are determined simultaneously with causes, though they remain latent until the right external influences bring them to fruition. Soka Gakkai Buddhism teaches that even the most stubborn karma can be overcome as one reveals one's Buddha nature in this lifetime.

Practices

The practice of Soka Gakkai members is directed to "oneself and others".[44]

Chanting

The words Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (also called Daimoku) is the main practice of the organization, which is claimed to express the true nature of life through cause and effect.[45] Soka Gakkai members believe that chanting releases the power of the universal life force inherent in life.[46] For some members, chanting for material benefits is a first step toward realizing the ultimate goal of Buddhahood.

The believers of the organization chant these words reputed to change their lives, including the natural environments in which they live.[47] Accordingly, the intended goal is to produce an internal change that serves as the motivator for external social change. Furthermore, the organization teaches that chanting cannot be divorced from action.[48]

Gohonzon

The Gohonzon Soka Gakkai members enshrine in their homes and centers is a transcription by the 26th High Priest Nichikan Shonin.[49] The central main syllabary of characters reads Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo (Kanji: 南 無 妙 法 蓮 華 經). The lower portion reads "Nichi-Ren" (Kanji: 日 蓮). On the corners are the names of the Four Heavenly Kings from Buddhist cosmology, and the remaining characters are names of Buddhist deities reputed to represent the various conditions of life.[50]

The organization teaches that in contrast to worshiping the Buddha or Dharma as anthropomorphized personifications, Nichiren deliberately made a calligraphic mandala, rather than Buddhist statues as the central object of devotion. American author, Richard Seager explains the following:

The Soka Gakkai often uses Nichiren's metaphor of a mirror to explain its faith in the Gohonzon. The Gohonzon "reflects life's innate enlightened nature and cause it to permeate every aspect of member's lives". Members chant to the Gohonzon "to reveal the power of their own enlightened wisdom and vow to put it to use for the good of themselves and others". The organization teaches that a member is considered to be practicing the Lotus Sutra when chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon.[51] [52]

Faith, practice, and study

The primary practice of the Soka Gakkai, like that of most Nichiren sects, is chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which is the title of the Lotus Sutra, and simultaneously considered the Buddha nature inherent in life[53] and the ultimate reality of existence.[54] The supplemental practice is the daily recitation of parts of the 2nd and 16th chapters of the Lotus Sutra. Unlike other Nichiren sects, the Soka Gakkai stresses that practice for enlightenment entails actual "engagement in the realities of daily life", while including the happiness of others in one's own practice.[55]

Believers claim that the Lotus Sutra contains principles or teachings that are not readily apparent. Furthermore, the Soka Gakkai claims that Nichiren revealed these teachings as The "Three Great Secret Laws" namely the following:.

  1. The "Object of Devotion" (Gohonzon mandala) used and designated by the Soka Gakkai
  2. The incantation (of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) by united Soka Gakkai believers
  3. The sanctuary or place where Buddhism is practiced.

Soka Gakkai practices Nichiren Buddhism as it has been expounded by its three founding presidents, and so also studies their speeches and writings, especially those of third President Daisaku Ikeda. His novelized histories of the movement, The Human Revolution (and its sequel The New Human Revolution) have been said to have "canonical status" as it "functions as a source of inspiration and guidance for members".[56] Study meetings are held monthly. "The tenor of the meetings is one of open discussion rather than didactic teaching..." Discussions on Nichiren's teachings are welcomed, "dictatorial edicts on moral behavior are not."[57]

The Soka Gakkai practice also includes activities beyond the ritualistic, such as meetings, social engagement, and improving one's circumstances; these also have significance as religious activities in the Soka Gakkai.[58] [59] [60]

Discussion meetings

See main article: Zadankai.

Gakkai meetings have been called "formal liturgies" in that their format – "chanting, relatos (experiences), teachings, inspiring entertainment" – is identical from place to place.[61] Discussion meetings are among the most important activities of the Soka Gakkai.[62]

At discussion meetings, participants are encouraged to take responsibility "for their own lives and for wider social and global concerns".[63] The format is an example of how the Soka Gakkai is able to "dispense with much of the apparatus of conventional church organization".[64]

Proselytizing

The Soka Gakkai's expansion methods have been seen as controversial, as it employed a Buddhist method called shakubuku, a term employed by Nichiren, translated as "break and subdue (attachments to inferior teachings)."[65] [66] [67]

The reason for propagation, as explained by Josei Toda, is "not to make the Soka Gakkai larger but for you to become happier ... There are many people in the world who are suffering from poverty and disease. The only way to make them really happy is to shakubuku them."[68]

In 1970 Ikeda prescribed a more moderate approach, "urging its members to adopt an attitude of openness to others"; the method Soka Gakkai prefers since then is called shoju– "dialogue or conversation designed to persuade people rather than convert them", though this is often referred to still as "shakubuku spirit".[69]

History

Foundation

See main article: Tsunesaburō Makiguchi. In 1928, educators Tsunesaburō Makiguchi and Jōsei Toda both converted to Nichiren Buddhism. The Soka Gakkai officially traces its foundation to November 1930, when Makiguchi and Toda published the first volume of Makiguchi's magnum opus on educational reform, Sōka Kyōikugaku Taikei (創価教育学体系, The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy).[70] [71] The first general meeting of the organization, then under the name Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai (Japanese: 創価教育学会, "Value Creating Educational Society"), took place in 1937.[72] The membership eventually came to change from teachers interested in educational reform to people from all walks of life, drawn by the religious elements of Makiguchi's beliefs in Nichiren Buddhism.[73] The group had a focus on proselytization growing from an attendance of 60 people at its first meeting to about 300 at its next meeting in 1940.[74]

Repression during the war

See also: Japanese dissidence in 20th-century Imperial Japan. In 1942, a monthly magazine published by Makiguchi called Kachi Sōzō (Japanese: 価値創造, "Creating values") was shut down by the government, after only nine issues. Makiguchi, Toda, and 19 other leaders of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai were arrested on July 6, 1943, on charges of breaking the Peace Preservation Law and lèse-majesté: for "denying the Emperor's divinity" and "slandering" the Ise Grand Shrine. The details of Makiguchi's indictment and subsequent interrogation were covered in July, August, and October 1943 classified monthly bulletins of the Special Higher Police.[75]

With its leadership decimated, the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai disbanded.[76] [77] During interrogation, Makiguchi had insisted that "The emperor is an ordinary man ... the emperor makes mistakes like anyone else".[78] The treatment in prison was harsh, and within a year, all but Makiguchi, Toda, and one other director had recanted and been released. On November 18, 1944, Makiguchi died of malnutrition in prison, at the age of 73.

Jōsei Toda was released from prison on July 3, 1945, after serving two years of imprisonment on the charges of lèse majesté. He immediately set out to rebuild the organization that had been repressed and dismantled by the government during the war.[79] [80]

The reconstruction of the organization

Toda officially re-established the organization, now under the shortened moniker Sōka Gakkai ("Value-creation society"), integrated his prison awakenings into the doctrine of the Soka Gakkai, began locating members who had dispersed during the war, started a series of lectures on the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren's letters, undertook business ventures (largely unsuccessful) to provide a stream of revenue for the organization, provided personal encouragement to many members, launched a monthly study magazine, and the newspaper Seikyo Shimbun, launched propagation efforts, and involved the active participation of youth including Daisaku Ikeda who was to become his right-hand man and successor.[81] [82]

Noah Brannen, a Christian missionary writing in 1969,[83] describes the Soka Gakkai's study program at this point as "the most amazing program of indoctrination Japan has ever seen". New members attended local study lectures, subscribed to weekly and monthly periodicals, studied Toda's commentaries on the Lotus Sutra, took annual study examinations, and were awarded titles for their achievements such as Associate Lecturer, Lecturer, Associate Teacher, or Teacher.[84] [85]

"The Great Propagation Drive"

The drive began with the 1951 inauguration speech of Josei Toda when he assumed the presidency of the organization. Before 1,500 assembled members, Toda resolved to convert 750,000 families before his death.[86] The accuracy of this figure was never confirmed by outside sources.[84] The primary vehicle of the propagation efforts were small group discussion meetings.[87]

There are several competing narratives that attempt to explain how the Soka Gakkai was able to achieve this rapid growth. One narrative portrays a drive powered by the "seemingly unlimited enthusiasm" of its members[84] that was masterminded by Toda and channeled by his younger followers. The organization's own publications articulate this narrative.

A second narrative examines the Soka Gakkai's expansion through a sociological lens. White, in the first English-language sociological work on the Soka Gakkai, attributes the growth, cohesion, and sustainability of the organization to the organizational skills of its leaders, its system of values and norms that match the individual needs of members, and its ability to adapt to changing times. According to Dator, the organizational structure of the Soka Gakkai, which values individual participation within small heterogeneous groups and parallel peer associations by age, gender, and interests, fulfills members' socio-psychological needs.[88]

A third narrative tracks criticisms of the Soka Gakkai in the popular press and by other Buddhist sects. This narrative implies that the propagation efforts succeeded through intimidating and coercive actions committed by Soka Gakkai members[89] [90] [91] [92] such as the practice then of destroying the household Shinto altars of new members.[93] There were reports of isolated incidents of violence conducted by Soka Gakkai members but also incidents directed toward them.[94] [86]

Jōsei Toda was succeeded as president in 1960 by the 32-year-old Daisaku Ikeda. Ikeda urged, from 1964, a gentler approach to proselytizing.[95] [96] Under Ikeda's leadership, the organization expanded rapidly, both inside and outside Japan during the 1960s.

Soka Gakkai's own narratives argue that within the first 16 months of Ikeda's presendency the organization grew from 1.3 million to 2.1 million members.[97] By 1967 it grew to 6.2 million families according to its own reporting.[98] By 1968, the daily Seikyo Shimbun newspaper is supposed to have attained a circulation of 3,580,000.[99] Today, the Soka Gakkai claims it has a circulation of 5.5 million copies, but the number is controversial and impossible to verify since Seikyo Shinbun does not belong the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association nor the 日本ABC協会 who are officially in charge of the circulation numbers of Japanese newspapers.

International growth

In October 1960, five months after his inauguration, Ikeda and a small group of staff members visited the United States, Canada (Toronto),[100] and Brazil.[101] In the United States he visited Honolulu, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, meeting with members, the vast majority Japanese war brides, at discussion and guidance meetings, setting up local organizations, and appointing leaders to take responsibility.

Ikeda also expanded the scope and pattern of the Gakkai's activities. In 1961 he created an arm of the organization, the Culture Bureau, to accommodate nonreligious activities. It had departments for the study and discussion of Economics, Politics, Education, Speech, and, later in the year, the Arts.[102]

Ikeda and his team visited countries in Europe and Southeast Asia in 1961 and the Near and Middle East in 1962.[103] By 1967 Ikeda had completed 13 trips abroad to strengthen the overseas organizations.[104]

The Gakkai's first overseas mission, called Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA), grew rapidly and claimed some 200,000 American adherents by 1970.[105] Ikeda founded Soka Junior and Senior High Schools in 1968 and Soka University in 1971.[106] Soka Gakkai International (SGI) was formally founded in 1975, on Guam.[107]

Founding of the Komeito

See main article: Komeito.

In 1961 Soka Gakkai formed the Komei Political League. Seven of its candidates were elected to the House of Councillors. In 1964 the Komeito (Clean Government Party) was formed by Ikeda. Over the course of several elections it became the third largest political party, typically amassing 10–15% of the popular vote.[108] The New Komeito Party was founded in 1998 and has been allied with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 1999.

In 2014 the New Komeito was renamed Komeito again.[109] Komeito generally supports the policy agenda of the LDP, including the reinterpretation of the pacifist Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, proposed in 2014 by LDP Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to allow "collective defense" and to fight in foreign conflicts.[110] [111]

1969: Crisis and transformation

In response to criticism, Ikeda made major shifts to the Gakkai's message.[112] He committed the organization to the rights of free speech and freedom of religion, admitting it had been intolerant and overly sensitive in the past.

In the 1970s Ikeda helped transition the Soka Gakkai from an internally focused organization centered on its own membership growth to one adopting a focus on a motto of "Peace, Culture, and Education". On October 12, 1972, at the official opening of the Shohondo at Taiseki-ji Ikeda announced the start of the Soka Gakkai's "Phase Two" which would shift direction from aggressive expansion to a movement for international peace through friendship and exchange.[113]

"Citizen diplomacy" by Ikeda

Ikeda initiated a series of dialogues with prominent political, cultural, and academic figures which he labeled "citizen diplomacy". In 1970 he held a dialogue with Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi centered on east–west issues and future directions the world could take.[114] Ikeda conducted ten days of dialogue with Arnold J. Toynbee between 1972 and 1974 which resulted in the publication of the book Choose Life.[115] In 1974 he conducted a dialogue with André Malraux.[116] Today, the number of his dialogues with scholars, leaders, activists and others has reached 7,000.

In 1974 Ikeda visited China, then the Soviet Union, and once again to China when he met with Zhou Enlai. In 1975 Ikeda met with then Secretary-General of the United Nations Kurt Waldheim and United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.[114] Ikeda presented Waldheim with a petition, organized by Soka Gakkai youth, calling for nuclear abolition and signed by ten million people.[117]

Former relations with the Nichiren Shoshu sect

Generally speaking, Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shōshū worked in harmony before 1990, although there have been moments of tension. An early example of strained relations came during World War II, in 1943, when the Nichiren sect's headquarters at Taiseki-ji was willing to comply with Japanese government demands to enshrine a Shinto talisman of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu inside the temple. Makiguchi and Toda, on the other hand, angrily rebuked Taiseki-ji for doing so, and the two were jailed for refusing to do the same (Makiguchi would also die while in prison).[118]

Nikken Abe excommunicated Soka Gakkai and its senior leaders in November 1991, citing doctrinal deviations, the Soka Gakkai's usurpation of rites such as the Higan-e equinox ceremonies and funerals without Nichiren Shoshu priests officiating, its defiant staging of Ode to Joy concerts that, for their Christian themes, were incongruent with Nichiren Shoshu doctrine, and a speech (which became public when a recording was leaked) by then Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda. In response, the Soka Gakkai countered by outlining Nichiren Shoshu's deviation from their own interpretation of Nichiren's doctrines, along with accusations of simony and hedonism among its ranking priests. It also condemned Ikeda for abandoning the aggressive propagation style (shakubuku) that led to some social criticism of the lay group, though not the priesthood.[119]

The priesthood further accused the organization of impiety and sacrilegious behavior, citing the song "Ode to Joy" along with the promotion of its musical performance, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, as evidence for non-Buddhist teachings.[120]

In 2014, the Soka Gakkai rewrote its bylaws to reflect that it no longer had any relationship with Nichiren Shoshu or its doctrine.[121]

"Peace, culture, and education"

In the 1970s, the Soka Gakkai began to re-conceptualize itself as an organization promoting the theme of "Peace, culture, and education."[122]

In later years, the three themes were institutionalized within the 1995 charter of the Soka Gakkai International.[123]

Humanitarian work

The Soka Gakkai conducts humanitarian aid projects in disaster stricken regions. As an organization it is not only dedicated to personal spiritual development but also to engaged community service. After the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Soka Gakkai facilities became shelters for the displaced and storage centers for food and supplies for the victims. The relief effort also included community support by youth groups, global fundraising for the victims, and spiritual support. SGI-Chile members collected supplies to deliver to a relief center after the country's 2014 earthquake.[124]

Peace activities

The group's peace activities can be traced back to the Toda era – at an athletic meeting in 1957, Toda called for a complete ban on nuclear weapons. A 1975 petition drive against nuclear weapons by the Gakkai's youth division garnered 10 million signatures, and was handed over to the United Nations.[125] [126]

Support of United Nations

SGI has been in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1983. As an NGO working with the United Nations, SGI has been active in public education with a focus mainly on peace and nuclear weapons disarmament, human rights and sustainable development.[127]

Each year, Ikeda publishes a peace proposal which examines global challenges in the light of Buddhist teachings. The proposals are specific and wide-ranging, covering topics as constructing a culture of peace, promoting the development of the United Nations, nuclear disarmament, the prohibition of child soldiers, the empowerment of women, the promotion of educational initiatives in schools such as human rights and sustainable development education, and calls to reawaken the human spirit and individual empowerment.[128] The Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research has published a compilation of topical excerpts.[129]

Exhibitions

The Soka Gakkai uses its financial resources for a number of civic activities. It has participated in many activities and exhibitions in conjunction with the UN.[130] [131]

The Soka Gakkai has been active in public education with a focus mainly on peace and nuclear weapons disarmament, human rights and sustainable development.[127]

Establishment of institutions

The Soka Gakkai has established multiple institutions and research facilities. The Institute of Oriental Philosophy[132] (founded in 1962), among other goals, clarifies the essence of Buddhism to peace studies.

The Amazon Ecological Research Center (founded by Ikeda in 1992) outside Manaus, Brazil has pioneered reforestation, the creation of a regional seed bank and experiments in agroforestry.

The Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue (founded in 1993 as the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century), promotes dialogue between scholars and activists to prevent war and promote respect for life.[133]

The Toda Peace Institute (formerly called the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research) (founded in 1996) conducts peace-oriented international policy research through international conferences and frequent publications.[134] [135]

Cultural activities

The Soka Gakkai sponsors many cultural activities for its membership as well as the general public.

Cultural institutions

The Soka Gakkai's subsidiary organizations also have a social presence. Several educational institutions were either founded by the Soka Gakkai or were inspired by the educational writings of the Soka Gakkai's three presidents.[136] [137] The Min-On Concert Association is a subsidiary of the Soka Gakkai which Ikeda established in 1963. It claims to sponsor over 1100 concerts each year.[138]

Ikeda also founded the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum in 1983. It houses collections of western and oriental art, and has participated in exchanges with museums around the world.[139]

Performance art

Soka Gakkai considers dance and other genres of performance art to be a major aspect of its peace activities. It has a long tradition of "culture festivals", originating in the 1950s, which take the form of group gymnastics, marching bands, traditional ensembles, orchestras, ballet, or choral presentations. The Soka Gakkai perceives these activities as vehicles for its members to experience the skills of cooperating with others, opportunities to engage in the personal discipline that performing arts provide, and occasions to overcome obstacles and to undertake one's own "human revolution". They enhance peer networks and understanding of and commitment to the goals of the organization. In addition, they are viewed as expressions of Buddhist humanism and are aligned to the Soka Gakkai's ideals about creating a peaceful and more humane society.[140] [141] [142]

The tradition, which began in Japan, has been copied in other Soka Gakkai organizations in the world.[143] [144] [145] [146] [147] [148] [149] [150] [151] [152] [153] [154] [155] [156] [157]

The organization's musical and dance wings are organized into ensembles or groups in the local and national levels and are categorized as:

Educational activities

See main article: Soka School System.

The educational activities of the Soka Gakkai are often subsumed under the title of Soka education. Several educational institutions were either founded by the Soka Gakkai or were inspired by the educational writings of the Soka Gakkai's three presidents.[158] [159]

Organization

Formally, the Soka Gakkai International is the umbrella organization for all national organizations, while Soka Gakkai by itself refers to the Japanese arm.

The basic functional organizational unit is the Block – a group of members in a neighborhood who meet regularly for discussion, study and encouragement. A number of Blocks form a District, and Districts are grouped into Chapters. From there the Soka Gakkai is organized into Areas, Regions, Prefectures and, finally, Territories – all under the umbrella of the national organization. Discussion and study meetings, the basic organizational activities, are conducted mainly at the Block level, though there are occasional meetings held at every level.[160]

Membership

Soka Gakkai International claims a total of over 12 million adherents.[161] The majority of these belong to the Japanese organization, whose official membership count is 8.27 million households.[162] However, this is the figure put forward by the organization itself, and is not supported by any independent count. According to the work of American academic Levi McLaughlin, membership in Japan is closer to 2-3% of the country's population, or between 2.4 and 4 million people.

In a 1996 NHK survey, it was found that Soka Gakkai adherent made up somewhere around 3.2% of the Japanese population, or somewhere around 4 million individuals.[163] According to statistics from the Agency for Cultural Affairs (a body of the Japanese Ministry of Education), the Japanese organization had 5.42 million individual members in 2000.[164]

In a 2002–2003 survey of 602 Soka Gakkai adherents living in Sapporo, Hokkaido who had at least one child over the age of 18, it was found that 65.9% of those members' adult children were also themselves active members. Additionally, it was found that among the siblings of 418 second-generation members, collectively speaking, 69.5% of all those siblings were also active members. A further analysis found that "higher degrees of parental religiosity, better family relationships, and higher levels of participation in youth groups" contributed to higher degrees of religiosity among Soka Gakkai children during middle school years, although this effect was more pronounced in women than in men.[165]

A study in Europe found that most of new members joined because of the personalities of the people they met within the organization; but the biggest reason for continuing is the positive changes they see in their own lives.[166]

List of Soka Gakkai presidents

The following are the list of the presidents of the Soka Gakkai:

  1. Tsunesaburō Makiguchi – (18 November 1930 – 18 November 1944)
  2. Jōsei Toda – (3 May 1951 – 2 April 1958)
  3. Daisaku Ikeda – (3 May 1960 – 24 April 1979) + (Honorary President of the Soka Gakkai International: 1979 – 2023)
  4. Hiroshi Hōjō – (24 April 1979 – 18 July 1981)
  5. Einosuke Akiya – (18 July 1981 – 9 November 2006)[167]
  6. Minoru Harada – (9 November 2006 – incumbent)[167]

Economic and social influence

The Soka Gakkai is the head of a media, political and financial empire. Levi McLaughlin writes that "exerts considerable influence in the fields of education, media, finance, and culture throughout Japan".[168] According to the magazine Shûkan Daiyamondo (June 2016), the assets of the organization include fourteen corporations, investments in 331 other companies for 18 billion yens, holding overseas, and real estate holdings. Forbes magazine estimated (2004) that the organization has an income of at least $1.5 billion per year.[169] In 2008, religion scholar Hiroshi Shimada has estimated the wealth of the Soka Gakkai at ¥500 billion.[170] Daisaku Ikeda's writings are the roots of a massive publishing and media enterprise, centered on the Gakkai's newspaper, Seikyō shinbun. The newspaper has an important readership base. It is only sold in Soka Gakkai's venues, and mainly bought and read by Soka Gakkai's members, though its print run is impossible to verify.[171]

Perception

In Japan

Today, Soka Gakkai is rarely criticized in mainstream news media. Since the Komeito Party joined the ruling government coalition in 1999, widespread criticism by the media of the Soka Gakkai has abated and the Soka Gakkai is gaining acceptance as part of the Japanese mainstream.[172] [173] There has been a "fractured view" of the Soka Gakkai in Japan. On the one hand it is seen as a politically and socially engaged movement;[174] [175] on the other, it is still viewed with suspicion by Japanese people.[176] [177]

Some scholars who utilize the Bryan R. Wilson typology of newly emerging denominations categorize it as "gnostic-manipulationist", a category of teachings holding that the world can improve as people master the right means and techniques to overcome their problems.[178] [179] [180] [181]

International perception

In 2015, Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi signed an agreement that recognizes the Soka Gakkai as a "Concordat" (It: "Intesa") that grants the religions status in "a special 'club' of denominations consulted by the government in certain occasions, allowed to appoint chaplains in the army – a concordat is not needed for appointing chaplains in hospitals and jails – and, perhaps more importantly, to be partially financed by taxpayers' money." Eleven other religious denominations share this status.[182] [183]

Controversies

In 1969, prominent university professor Fujiwara Hirotatsu authored the book I Denounce Soka Gakkai (Soka Gakkai o kiru)[184] in which he severely criticized the Gakkai. The Gakkai and Kōmeitō attempted to use their political power to suppress its publication. When Fujiwara went public with the attempted suppression, the Soka Gakkai was harshly criticized in the Japanese media.[185]

Cult status

Soka Gakkai has been described as a cult.[13] [14] Particular controversies have arisen around its entry into politics with the New Komeito and an alleged cult of personality surrounding former leader Daisaku Ikeda. Seizaburo Sato, deputy director of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, described Soka Gakkai as "a dictatorship built around the person of one man."[186] Soka Gakkai members have made arson attacks and bomb threat against rival groups, as well as wiretapping the house of the Communist Party of Japan leader. Soka Gakkai have distanced themselves from these members and attributed their actions to mental illness.[187] Rick Alan Ross, cult specialist and founder of the nonprofit Cult Education Institute, considers them a "destructive cult" and claims to have "received serious complaints from former members and from family members."[188]

Sexual assault allegation

In June 1996, Nobuko Nobuhira, a long-time Sokka Gakkai member, filed a 75 million yen civil suit against Ikeda, alleging that he raped her on three occasions, including at the sect's facilities and on a street in Hokkaido. Sokka Gakkai lawyers denied these claims, calling them "groundless fabrications motivated by personal resentment" and alleging that Nobuhira had extorted money from Soka Gakkai members. The lawsuit was dismissed in 1996, and an appeal was denied in 2006.[189] [190]

See also

Bibliography

Further reading

Books

News media (websites)

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: At a Glance. . n.d. . Soka Global (SGI) . 28 January 2021.
  2. [Levi McLaughlin]
  3. [Jacqueline I. Stone]
  4. Levi McLaughlin, Soka Gakkai's Human Revolution: The Rise of a Mimetic Nation in Modern Japan, Hawaii, University of Hawai‘i Press, 31 December 2018
  5. Book: Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices. 2010. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara, California. 978-1-59884-203-6. 2nd. Melton. J. Gordon. Baumann. Martin. 2656–2659.
  6. Phillip E. Hammond and David W. Machacek, "Soka Gakkai International" in J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann (eds.), Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, 2010, p. 2658. "Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928), Soka Gakkai's charismatic third president, led the international growth of the movement. Although Ikeda and his successor, Einosuke Akiya, have gone to great lengths to improve the movement's public image, suspicion remains. Soka Gakkai's political involvement through the organ of the Komeito, a political party founded by the Soka Gakkai, and the near godlike reverence that members have for President Ikeda have tended to perpetuate public distrust. Although it has been subjected to a generalized suspicion toward Eastern religious movements in the United States, Europe, and South America, the movement's history outside of Japan has been tranquil by comparison to its Japanese history."
  7. Book: Wellman. James K. Jr.. Religion and human security: a global perspective. Oxford University Press. New York. 978-0-19-982775-6. 272. Lombardi. Clark B.. 2012-08-16. registration. "When I conducted a survey of 235 Doshisha University students a few years ago asking their opinions about the Gakkai and how much they knew about its peace education programs, over 80 percent responded that they had a negative image of the movement and about 60 percent thought that its 'peace movement' is little more than promotional propaganda. The few respondents with a positive image were either Soka Gakkai members, were related members, or were friends of members."
  8. Book: Seagar. Richard. Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, the Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. 2006. University of California Press. 978-0-52024577-8. Since its founding in the 1930s, the SG has repeatedly found itself at the center of controversies, some linked to major struggles over the future of Japan, others to intense internal religious debates that erupted into public view. Over the course of its history, however, it has also grown into a large, politically active, and very well-established network of institutions, whose membership represents something on the order of a tenth of the Japanese population. One result is that there is a fractured view of the movement in Japan. On one hand, it is seen as a highly articulated, politically and socially engaged movement with an expressed message of human empowerment and global peace. On the other, it has been charged with an array of nefarious activities that range from fellow traveling with Communists and sedition to aspiring to world domination.. xii.
  9. Book: Lewis, James R.. Scholarship and the Delegitimation of Religion in Legitimating new religions. 2003. Rutgers University Press. New Brunswick, N.J.. 978-0-8135-3324-7. [Online-Ausg.] . 217–218. "For over half a century, one of the most controversial new religions in Japan has been Soka Gakkai. Although this group has matured into a responsible member of society, its ongoing connection with reformist political activity served to keep it in the public eye. Until relatively recently, it also had a high profile as the result of sensationalist and often irresponsible media coverage. Apparently as a direct consequence of the social consensus against this religion, some scholars have felt free to pen harsh critiques of Soka Gakkai—critiques in which the goal of promoting understanding has been eclipsed by efforts to delegitimate Soka Gakkai by portraying it as deluded, wrong, and/or socially dangerous. Soka Gakkai also spread to the United States and Europe, where it aroused controversy as a result of its intense proselytizing activities. Although it was never as controversial as groups like the Hare Krishna Movement or the Unification Church, Soka Gakkai—which in the United States went under the name Nichiren Shoshu of America after Soka Gakkai broke with Nichiren Shōshū—was not infrequently stereotyped as a brainwashing cult, particularly by anti-cult authors."
  10. Book: Beasley. W. G.. Modern Japan: Aspects of History, Literature, and Society. 1977. University of California Press. Berkeley. 978-0-520-03495-2. 190–196.
  11. Book: Hunt, Arnold D.. Japan's Militant Buddhism: A Survey of the Soka Gakkai Movement. 1975. Salisbury College of Advanced Education. Salisbury East, S. Aust.. 978-0-909383-06-0. 1–13.
  12. Book: Kitagawa, Joseph M.. Religion in Japanese history. 1990. Columbia University Press. New York. 978-0-231-02838-7. 329–330. [Reprint]..
  13. McElhinney . David . Op-ed: Frankly, Cult Thinking is Everywhere in Japan . Tokyo Weekender . 2022-01-11 . 2024-01-09. Called a cult by some, Buddhist group Soka Gakkai, based on the teachings of 13th-century priest Nichiren, claims to have 8.27-million-member households in Japan.....
  14. Web site: The Roots of the Contemporary Image of Japanese Cults . Sakai . Noboru . electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies . 2017-08-27 . 2024-01-09 . Note 1: ...Regardless of its reputation since the end of World War II (both positive and negative), Soka Gakkai began to be called a cult by some people after the Tokyo subway sarin attack and the clear appearance of Aum Supreme Truth, so at least Soka Gakkai itself is not the root image of cults in Japan independently, though it may also, even partly, be the case that the early stage of Soka Gakkai gave some sort of conceptual image of a cult..
  15. Introvigne . Massimo . November–December 2019 . Soka Gakkai in Italy: Success and Controversies . The Journal of CESNUR . 3 . 6 . 3–17 . January 18, 2024 . Although annoying for the members, who are insulted by their opponents through the social media and should occasionally face hostile press reports and TV shows, anti-cult criticism of Soka Gakkai in Italy has been so far largely irrelevant..
  16. Strand. Clark. Faith in Revolution: An Interview with Daisaku Ikeda. Tricycle. 2008. Winter. To chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is to call out the name of the Buddha-nature within us and in all living beings. It is an act of faith in this universal Buddha-nature, an act of breaking through the fundamental darkness of life—our inability to acknowledge our true enlightened nature. It is this fundamental darkness, or ignorance, that causes us to experience the cycles of birth and death as suffering. When we call forth and base ourselves on the magnificent enlightened life that exists within each of us without exception, however, even the most fundamental, inescapable sufferings of life and death need not be experienced as pain. Rather, they can be transformed into a life embodying the virtues of eternity, joy, true self, and purity..
  17. Book: Susumu. Shimazono. Yoshinori. Takeuchi. "Soka Gakkai and the Modern Reformation of Buddhism" in Buddhist Spirituality: Later China, Korea, Japan and the Modern world. 1999. Crossroads Publishing. 978-0-8245-1595-9. 439. Therefore, when you sit before the Gohonzon and believe there is no distinction among the Gohonzon, Nichiren and you yourself,[...] the great life force of the universe becomes your own life force and gushes forth..
  18. Book: Fisker-Nielsen. Anne-Mette. Religion and Politics in Contemporary Japan: Soka Gakkai Youth and Komeito. 2013. Routledge. [S.l.]. 978-0-415-74407-2. 46. Ikeda's reading of Nichiren always returns to this point of seeing the potential of "Buddhahood" present in each person, in each social action and at each moment (the theory of ichinen sanzen). Emphasizing the potentially positive and mutually beneficial outcome to any situation is the basis for the concept of soka, creation of value, which is the name of the organization. The most fundamental idea is that to facilitate social change it is necessary to develop a way of being in the world that creates value. The daily morning and evening chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and the study of Nichiren Buddhism is advocated as the practice for such self-development....
  19. Book: Macioti. Maria Immacolata. Capozzi (tr). Richard. The Buddha within ourselves: blossoms of the Lotus Sutra. 2002. University Press of America. Lanham. 978-0-7618-2189-2. 73. It is a matter of a "human revolution" that begins with the individual, etends to the family, and then, if possible, spreads to entire nations; social peace would come about as the summation of many single "human revolutions"..
  20. Book: Strand. Clark. Waking the Buddha: how the most dynamic and empowering Buddhist movement in history is changing our concept of religion. 2014. Middleway Press. Santa Monica, CA. 978-0-9779245-6-1. 25. From the beginning, the Soka Gakkai's approach to Buddhism was focused on the fundamental dignity of human life—affirming it, protecting it, and convincing others to do the same..
  21. Web site: Bocking. Brian. Soka Gakkai. Overview of World Religions. University of Cumbria, Division of Religion and Philosophy, Philtar (Philosophy, Theology and Religion). Central to Soka Gakkai's philosophy are the ideas of 'human revolution' (i.e. personal and social transformation) and the Tendai concept of 'one thought, three thousand worlds'. According to Soka Gakkai, human beings can change themselves, and through changing themselves change the world. Change for the better is brought about by chanting the powerful daimoku ("great invocation") – 'Nam-myoho-renge-kyo'. The effect of chanting this phrase, which embodies the essence of the enlightened mind of the Buddha, is radically to elevate one's mental and spiritual state within the 3,000 possible states of mind, which range from the experience of hell to perfect supreme enlightenment. Since 'body and mind are not two' (i.e. they are a unity), the transformation of the 'inner' or mental state is reflected in transformed behaviour and therefore social influence. If enough people practice, whole societies and eventually the whole world will be transformed..
  22. Book: Morgan. Diane. The Buddhist experience in America. 2004. Greenwood Press. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]. 978-0-313-32491-8. 127. 1. publ..
  23. Book: Buck. Christopher. God and Apple Pie. 2015. Educator's International Press. Kingston, NY. 978-1-891928-15-4. 274.
  24. Web site: Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of Life. Soka Gakkai International . 24 August 2020. 28 January 2021.
  25. Web site: Human Revolution. www.joseitoda.org.
  26. Book: Dobbelaere. Karel. Soka Gakkai. 1998. Signature Books. 978-1-56085-153-0. 9, 70.
  27. Book: Seager. Richard. Encountering the Dharma. University of California Press. 978-0-520-24577-8. 48. 2006-03-16.
  28. Book: Tamaru. Noriyoshi. Macachek and Wilson. "The Soka Gakkai In Historical Perspective" in Global Citizens. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-924039-5. 37. 2000.
  29. Book: Seager. Richard. Encountering the Dharma. 53.
  30. Book: Shimazono. Susumu. Buddhist Spirituality: Later China, Korea, Japan and the Modern world. 436.
  31. Ikeda. Daisaku. Winning In Life With Daimoku. Living Buddhism. September 2014. 51.
  32. Book: The Liturgy of the Soka Gakkai International. 2015. SGI-USA. 978-1-935523-81-9. 18.
  33. Chilson, Clark (2014). "Cultivating Charisma: Ikeda Daisaku's Self Presentations and Transformational Leadership". Journal of Global Buddhism, Vol. 15., p. 67
  34. Levi . McLaughlin . Did Aum Change Everything? What Soka Gakkai Before, During, and After the Aum Shinrikyo Affair Tells Us About the Persistent "Otherness" of New Religions in Japan, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies . Japanese Journal of Religious Studies . 39 . 1 . 51–75 . 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131223213130/http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/4110 . 2013-12-23.
  35. Book: Ikeda. Daisaku. Abdurrahman. Wahid. The Wisdom of Tolerance. 2015. I. B. Tauris. 978-1-78453-091-4.
  36. Buddhist Concepts. Living Buddhism. December 2014. 18. 12. 8.
  37. Book: The Liturgy of the Soka Gakkai International. 2015. SGIUSA. 978-1-935523-84-0. 18.
  38. Book: Nichiren. The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin. 1999. Soka Gakkai. Tokyo. 832. The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon.
  39. Book: Seagar. Richard. Encountering the Dharma. 2006. University of California Press. Berkeley, CA. 978-0-520-24577-8. 33.
  40. Web site: The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra I -VI - Daisaku Ikeda Website. www.daisakuikeda.org.
  41. Book: Nanda and Ikeda, Ved and Daisaku. 2015. Our World to Make . Dialogue Path Press . Cambridge, MA. 94.
  42. Book: Yatomi, Shin. 2006. Buddhism in a New Light. World Tribune Press . Santa Monica. 164. 978-1-932911-14-5.
  43. Book: Daisaku Ikeda . Katsuji Sato . Masaaki Morinaka . 2004. The World of Nichiren Daishonin's Writings . 3 . Soka Gakkai Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 62.
  44. Book: Dobbelaere . Karel . Soka Gakkai . 1998 . Signature Books . 1-56085-153-8 . 27.
  45. Book: Dobbelaere. Karel. The Soka Gakkai. 1998. Signature Books. 978-1-56085-153-0. 20–26.
  46. Book: Susume. Shimazono. Yoshinori. Takeuchi. "The Soka Gakkai and the Modern Reformation of Buddhism" in Buddhist Spirituality. 437.
  47. Book: Dobbelaere. Karel. The Soka Gakkai. 26.
  48. Ikeda. Daisaku. Change Starts From Prayer. Living Buddhism. September 2014. 18. 9. 56–57.
  49. Book: Seagar. Richard. Buddhism in America. 2012. Columbia University Press. New York. 978-0-231-10868-3. 131.
  50. Book: J. Gordon Melton . Martin Baumann . Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices. 978-1-59884-203-6. 2658. 2010. Bloomsbury Academic .
  51. Ikeda. Daisaku. The Significance of the Expedient Means and Life Span Chapters. Living Buddhism. September 2014. 18. 9. 52–53.
  52. Web site: Upholding Faith In The Lotus Sutra. Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism Library. 2014-11-03. This Gohonzon is the essence of the Lotus Sutra and the eye of all the scriptures..
  53. Book: Seager. Richard. Encountering the Dharma. 2006. University of California Press. 978-0-520-24577-8. 17. "They could, in Anasekei's words, 'restore a primeval connection with the eternal Buddha'".
  54. Book: Melton and Baumann. Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. 2010. 978-1-59884-203-6. 2658. Bloomsbury Academic . 2nd. By chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo one forms a connection with the ultimate reality that pervades the universe.
  55. Book: Shimazono. Susumu. Yoshinori. Takeuchi. Soka Gakkai and the Modern Reformation of Buddhism . Buddhist Spirituality: Later China, Korea, Japan and the Modern world i. 1999. Crossroad Publishing. 978-0-8245-1595-9. 451.
  56. Book: Cornille, C.. Canonization and decanonization: papers presented to the international conference of the Leiden Institute for the Study of Religions (LISOR), held at Leiden 9–10 January 1997. 1998. Brill. Leiden. 978-90-04-11246-9. 283–287. Canon formation in new religious movements: the case of the Japanese New Religions. van der Kooij. A..
  57. Book: Fowler, Jeaneane and Merv . 2009. Chanting in the Hillsides . Sussex Academic Press . Great Britain . 155.
  58. Book: Strand. Clark. Waking the Buddha. 2014. Middleway Press. 978-0-9779245-6-1. 58–59. Middleway Press is a division of SGI-USA.
  59. Book: Dobbelaere. Karel. Soka Gakkai. 59.
  60. McLaughlin. Levi. Faith and Practice: Bringing Religion, Music and Beethoven to Life in Soka Gakkai. Social Science Japan Journal. 2003. 6. 2. 6–7. 10.1093/ssjj/6.2.161.
  61. Book: Seagar. Richard. Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, The Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. 2006. University of California Press. 978-0-520-24577-8. 201.
  62. Book: McLaughlin. Levi. Soka Gakkai in Japan. Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions. 2012. Brill. 978-90-04-23436-9. 272.
  63. Book: Fowler. Jeanne and Merv. Chanting In The Hillsides. 2009. Brighton and Portland: Sussex Academic Press. 978-1-84519-258-7. 85.
  64. Book: Wilson. Bryan. The British Movement and Its Members. Machacek and Wilson. Global Citizens. 2000. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-924039-5. 358. Liberated from ecclesiastical restraints, Soka Gakkai is enabled to present itself as a much more informed, relaxed and spontaneous worshipping fellowship. In a period when democratic, popular styles have displaced or largely discredited hierarchic structures, the typical meetings of Soka Gakkai reflect the style and form increasingly favored by the public at large..
  65. Book: McLaughlin. Levi. Soka Gakkai in Japan. Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions. 2012. Brill. 978-90-04-23436-9. 277.
  66. Book: McLaughlin, Levi. Prohl. Inken. Nelson. John. Soka Gakkai in Japan. Handbook of contemporary Japanese religions. 2012. Brill. Leiden. 978-90-04-23435-2. 272.
  67. Book: Sins and Sinners: Perspectives from Asian Religions. 133 . 2012-08-17. BRILL. 978-90-04-23200-6. en.
  68. Book: Seagar. Richard. Buddhism In America. 2012. Columbia University Press. New York. 978-0-231-15973-9. 96.
  69. Book: Seagar. Richard Hughes. Encountering the Dharma. 2006. University of California Press. 978-0-520-24577-8. 97,169–170.
  70. Book: Clarke. Peter. Encyclopedia of new religious movements. 2008. Routledge. London. 978-0-415-45383-7. 594. 1. publ..
  71. Book: Bethel, Dayle M.. Makiguchi the value creator: revolutionary Japanese educator and founder of Soka Gakkai. 1994. Weatherhill. New York. 978-0-8348-0318-3. 1st paperback.
  72. Levi McLaughlin, Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions, Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion,, page 282
  73. Book: Hammond, Phillip E.. Soka Gakkai in America: accommodation and conversion. 1999. Oxford University Press. Oxford [u.a.]. 978-0-19-829389-7. Reprinted.. Machacek, David W. .
  74. Kisala, pp. 141–142
  75. Web site: Detainment and... -Tsunesaburo Makiguchi Website. www.tmakiguchi.org.
  76. Robert L. Ramseyer. "The Soka Gakkai". "The neighbor complained to the police, who arrested Jinno and a director of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai named Arimura." In Beardsley, Richard K., editor, Studies in Japanese culture I. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1965. p. 156
  77. Book: Laderman. Gary. León. Luis. Religion and American cultures. 2003. ABC- CLIO. Santa Barbara, Calif. [u.a.]. 978-1-57607-238-7. 61.
  78. Book: Seager, Richard Hughes. Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. 2006. Univ. of California Press. Berkeley [u.a.]. 978-0-520-24577-8. registration.
  79. Book: Murata. Kiyoaki. Japan's New Buddhism: An Objective Account of Soka Gakkai. registration. 1969. Walker/Weatherhill. New York & Tokyo. 978-0-8348-0040-3. 89. Toda 'was burning with a desire for vengeance--not against the militarist government of Japan but against an invisible enemy who had caused his own suffering of more than two years as well as his teacher's death in jail and agony to tens of millions of his fellow countrymen.'.
  80. Book: Palmer. A.. Buddhist Politics: Japan's Clean Government Party. 2012. Springer Science & Business Media. 978-94-010-2996-4. Toda's experience in prison had also been one of much suffering, including (it is reported) malnutrition, tuberculosis, asthma, heart trouble, diabetes, hemorrhoids and rheumatism. Besides breaking him physically, his imprisonment and the war had destroyed him financially.. 6.
  81. Book: Bethel. Dayle M.. Makiguchi the value creator: revolutionary Japanese educator and founder of Soka Gakkai. 1994. Weatherhill. New York. 978-0-8348-0318-3. 91–3. 1st paperback.
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  86. Book: McLaughlin, Levi. Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions. 2012. Brill. 978-90-04-23436-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=uiZi2mgC5a4C&pg=PA293. Soka Gakkai in Japan.
  87. Stone. Jacqueline. 1994. Rebuking the Enemies of the Lotus: Nichirenist Exclusivism in Historical Perspective. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 21/2-3. 231–259.
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  103. Book: Dehn. Ulrich. Staemmler. Birgit. Dehn. Ulrich. Soka Gakkai. Establishing the revolutionary: an introduction to new religions in Japan. 2011. Lit. Berlin. 978-3-643-90152-1. 207.
  104. Book: Urbain. Olivier. Daisaku Ikeda and dialogue for peace. 2013. I.B. Tauris. London. 978-0-85772-269-0. 22–3.
  105. Book: Neusner. Jacob. World religions in America: an introduction. 2003. Westminster John Knox. Louisville, Ky.;London. 978-0-664-22475-2. 166. 3rd.
  106. Book: Kiyoaki Murata . Japan's new Buddhism: an objective account of Soka Gakkai.. 1969. Weatherhill. New York. 978-0-8348-0040-3. 146–147. 1st.
  107. Book: Marshall. Katherine. Global institutions of religion ancient movers, modern shakers. 2013. Routledge. London. 978-1-136-67344-3. 107.
  108. Book: Masumi Junnosuke . Lonny E. Carlile . Contemporary politics in Japan. 1995. University of California Press. Berkeley. 978-0-520-05854-5. 397–8.
  109. Web site: New Komeito changes name back to Komeito.
  110. News: MAJOR SECURITY SHIFT: Local New Komeito officials oppose collective self-defense . Asahi Shimbun . https://web.archive.org/web/20140727023918/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201406290025. 2014-07-27.
  111. News: Japan Moves to Allow Military Combat for First Time in 70 Years. The New York Times. 2015-07-16. Soble. Jonathan.
  112. Book: Seager. Richard Hughes. Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the globalization of Buddhist humanism. 2006. University of California Press. Berkeley. 978-0-520-24577-8. 97–8. Ikeda took [the free speech issue] seriously and made it the starting point for a process of critical self-examination that resulted in his once again re-creating the Gakkai. ... The free speech issue gave him a platform from which to make shifts in emphasis of such magnitude that some members recall that it took them a year or more to grasp his intent fully..
  113. Web site: Profile: Soka Gakkai. THE WORLD RELIGIONS AND SPIRITUALITY PROJECT (WRSP). Virginia Commonwealth University. On October 12, 1972, during ceremonies marking the opening of the completed Shōhondō at Taisekiji, Ikeda delivered a speech announcing the start of Sōka Gakkai's "Phase Two", describing a turn away from aggressive expansion toward envisioning the Gakkai as an international movement promoting peace through friendship and cultural exchange..
  114. Book: Teranashi. Hirotomo. Urbain. Olivier. People's Diplomacy: Daisaku Ikeda in China and the Former Soviet Union. Daisaku Ikeda and Dialogue for Peace. 2013. I. B. Tauris. 978-0-85773-413-6.
  115. Book: Toynbee. Arnold. Ikeda. Daisaku. Gage. Richard L. (Ed.). Choose life: A Dialogue. 2007. I.B. Tauris. London. 978-1-84511-595-1.
  116. Malraux, Andre and Ikeda, Daisaku. Ningen kakumei to ningen no joken (Changes Within: Human Revolution vs. Human Condition) Tokyo: Ushio Shuppansha Tokyo 1976
  117. Book: Nanda. Ved P.. Krieger. David. International Law, Nuclear Weapons, and 21-st Century Insecurity. The challenge of abolishing nuclear weapons. 2009. Transaction Publishers. New Brunswick, N.J.. 978-1-4128-1517-8. 97.
  118. Métraux . Daniel A. . 1992 . The Dispute between the Sōka Gakkai and the Nichiren Shōshū Priesthood: A Lay Revolution against a Conservative Clergy . Japanese Journal of Religious Studies . 19 . 4 . 325–336 . 10.18874/jjrs.19.4.1992.325-336 . 30233480 . 0304-1042. free .
  119. Book: Dobbelaere. Karel. Soka Gakkai. 12. Other criticisms were more fundamental. For example, the president was criticized for having abandoned shakubuku as a method of proselytism in favor of the shoju method..
  120. Faith and Practice: Bringing Religion, Music and Beethoven to Life in Soka Gakkai. Social Science Japan Journal. McLaughlin. Levi. January 2003. 6. 2. 161–179. 10.1093/ssjj/6.2.161.
  121. Harada. Minoru. Reaffirming the Original Spirit of Nichiren Buddhism. World Tribune. December 12, 2014. 5.
  122. Book: Seager. Richard. Laderman. Gary. León. Luis. Soka Gakkai International-USA. Religion and American Cultures: Tradition, Diversity, and Popular Expression, 2nd Edition. 2014. ABC-CLIO. 978-1-61069-110-9. 68.
  123. Book: Lebron. Robyn E.. Searching for spiritual unity...can there be common ground?: a basic internet guide to forty world religions & spiritual practices. 2012. Crossbooks Publishing. Bloomington, Ind.. 978-1-4627-1262-5. 424. The SGI shall contribute to peace, culture, and education for the happiness and welfare of all humanity based on the Buddhist respect for the sanctity of human life..
  124. Web site: Yes, Religion Can still be a force for good in the world: Here are 100 examples how. Huffington Post.
  125. Richard H. Seager, Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism, University of California Press:2006, p. 83
  126. Book: Kisala, Robert. Prophets of peace: Pacifism and cultural identity in Japan's new religions. 2000. University of Hawaiʻi Press. Honolulu, HI, USA. 978-0-8248-2267-5.
  127. Web site: UNODA. update. UN Office for Disarmament Affairs Meets Youth Representatives of Soka Gakkai Japan and of SGI-USA Engaged in Disarmament Issues. 24 March 2014. 18 March 2014.
  128. Anwarul K. Chowdhury, "Introduction," Olivier Urbain (ed), A Forum for Peace: Daisaku Ikeda's Proposals to the UN. IB Tauris, 2013,, pp. xi-xiv
  129. Olivier Urbain (ed), A Forum for Peace: Daisaku Ikeda's Proposals to the UN. IB Tauris, 2013,
  130. Web site: U.N. and NGO Links. Soka Gakkai International. 14 November 2015. SGI works closely with other organizations which share the same goals at the national and international levels. At the grassroots, SGI groups partner with local community organizations and educational institutions to raise awareness of issues such as nuclear abolition and sustainable living, and empower individuals to contribute to building a culture of peace..
  131. Web site: Sato. Aoi. UN Office for Disarmament Affairs Meets Youth Representatives of Soka Gakkai Japan and of SGI-USA Engaged in Disarmament Issues. United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. 15 November 2015.
  132. Web site: The Institute of Oriental Philosophy. www.iop.or.jp.
  133. Karel Dobbelaere, "Toward a Pillar Organization?" in Global Citizens, Machacek and Wilson (eds.), pp. 243, 250
  134. Web site: Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research. 27 February 2015.
  135. Seager, p. 107
  136. Web site: 創価学園 SOKA GAKUEN. 27 February 2015.
  137. Web site: An Educational Legacy - Daisaku Ikeda Website. 27 February 2015.
  138. Web site: Min-On Concert Association. www.min-on.org.
  139. Karel Dobbelaere, "Toward a Pillar Organization?" in Global Citizens, Machacek and Wilson (eds.), page=245
  140. Book: Religion and American cultures: tradition, diversity, and popular expression . 978-1-61069-110-9. Second . Santa Barbara, California . ABC-CLIO . 897907045. 68. Laderman. Gary. León. Luis. 2014-12-17.
  141. Book: The Future of new religious movements. 1987. Mercer University Press . Bromley, David G. . Hammond, Phillip E. . 978-0-86554-237-2. Macon, Ga.. 159. 15081992.
  142. Book: Japan's Demographic Revival: Rethinking Migration, Identity And Sociocultural Norms. 2015. World Scientific. Nagy, Stephen Robert. 153 & 154. 978-981-4678-89-6.
  143. https://www.academia.edu/5285382/The_nationalization_of_religion_Cultural_performances_and_the_youth_of_Soka_Singapore Cultural performances and the youth of Soka Singapore
  144. Web site: 28th SEA Games Opening Ceremony to Break Records with Spectacular Show. Sport Singapore. 2022-06-20. 2016-03-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092643/https://www.sportsingapore.gov.sg/newsroom/media-releases/2015/1/28th-sea-games-opening-ceremony-to-break-records-with-spectacular-show.
  145. Web site: NDP 2014 Show - The show is testimony to how everyday Singaporeans can come together to create something extraordinary…. 27 February 2015. 5 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150205071642/http://staging.ndp.org.sg/show.php.
  146. News: Giving back to society in more ways than one. The Straits Times. 2015-11-25. Seow. Bei Yi.
  147. Web site: Community engagement, aspirations, and the youth of Soka Singapore. 2018-08-02. 2018-08-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20180802162800/http://www.mmg.mpg.de/research/all-projects/community-engagaement-aspirations-and-the-youth-of-soka-singapore/.
  148. Web site: SGM Participates in 57th National Day Celebrations. 27 February 2015.
  149. Web site: Soka Gakai's Merdeka show features multi-cultural performances. Yee Xiang. Yun. The Star.
  150. News: Shimmering splendour. The Straits Times. 10 August 2018.
  151. News: Making their voices heard at NDP's first rap, hip-hop segment. The Straits Times. 2 August 2019. Lim. Min Zhang.
  152. Web site: Look out for street performances by Soka Gakkai at i-City tomorrow. The Star.
  153. Web site: 40,000 at colourful N-Day countdown. M.. Kumar. The Star.
  154. A New Home for New Immigrants? A Case Study of the Role of Soka Gakkai in the Integration of Japanese and Mainland Chinese Immigrants in Hong Kong. 2018. 10.3390/rel9110336. Ng. Ka. Religions. 9. 11. 336. 10069/38710. free. free.
  155. News: NDP 2021: A parade to lift spirits. The Straits Times. 21 August 2021. Qing. Ang. Lim. Jessie. Iau. Jean.
  156. News: Soka Gakkai International Hong Kong marks anniversary with grand cultural presentation. South China Morning Post. 21 February 2001.
  157. News: Singapore shines its light on the future with NDP 2023.
  158. Web site: 創価学園 SOKA GAKUEN. 27 February 2015.
  159. Web site: An Educational Legacy - Daisaku Ikeda Website. 27 February 2015.
  160. Web site: Organization Chart. Sokanet. 26 October 2015.
  161. Web site: A Global Organization . . n.d. . Soka Global (SGI) . 28 January 2021.
  162. Web site: 概要 . SOKAnet 創価学会公式サイト . Soka Gakkai . 17 December 2013.
  163. http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/7770.html Religion in Japan by prefecture, 1996
  164. Web site: わが国における主な宗教団体名 . 文化庁 . 1995-12-31 . 2013-11-01.
  165. Inose . Yūri . 2005 . Influential Factors in the Intergenerational Transmission of Religion: The Case of Sōka Gakkai in Hokkaido . Japanese Journal of Religious Studies . 32 . 2 . 371–382 . 30234069 . 0304-1042.
  166. Book: Dobbelaere . Karel . Soka Gakkai . 1998 . Signature Books . 978-1-56085-153-0 . 38.
  167. Web site: Minoru Harada appointed as Soka Gakkai President. Soka Gakkai International. 3 January 2014.
  168. Book: McLaughlin . Levi . Soka Gakkai's Human Revolution: The Rise of a Mimetic Nation in Modern Japan . 2018 . University of Hawaii Press . 978-0-8248-7542-8 . Honolulu.
  169. News: Sensei's World. 4 December 2013. Forbes. 9 June 2006. Benjamin Fulford. David Whelan.
  170. News: Matsutani. Minoru. Soka Gakkai keeps religious, political machine humming. 6 December 2013. The Japan Times. 2 December 2008. 11 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131211155325/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/12/02/news/soka-gakkai-keeps-religious-political-machine-humming/.
  171. Book: Seager. Richard. Encountering the Dharma. 2006. University of California Press. 978-0-52024577-8. 7.
  172. Mette Fisker-Nielsen, pp. 65–66.
  173. Book: Metraux. Daniel. The Soka Gakkai and Human Security. Wellman. James K.. Lombardi. Clark B.. Religion and human security: a global perspective. 2012. Oxford University Press. New York. 978-0-19-982774-9. 266. registration.
  174. Book: Seager. Richard. Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, the Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. 2006. University of California Press. 978-0-520-24577-8. Since its founding in the 1930s, the Soka Gakkai has repeatedly found itself at the center of controversies, some linked to major struggles over the future of Japan, others to intense internal religious debates that erupted into public view. Over the course of its history, however, it has also grown into a large, politically active, and very well-established network of institutions, whose membership represents something on the order of a tenth of the Japanese population. One result is that there is a fractured view of the movement in Japan. On one hand, it is seen as a highly articulated, politically and socially engaged movement with an expressed message of human empowerment and global peace. On the other, it has been charged with an array of nefarious activities that range from fellow traveling with Communists and sedition to aspiring to world domination.. xii.
  175. Takesato Watanabe, "The Movement and the Japanese Media" in David Machacek and Bryan Wilson (eds.), Global Citizens, Oxford University Press, 2000. "The Soka Gakkai is exceptional in that no other large Japanese religious organization engages in both social and political issues—from the promotion of human rights to the protection of the environment and abolition of nuclear weapons—as actively as it does." (p. 217)
  176. Book: Wellman. James K. Jr.. Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective. Oxford University Press. New York. 978-0-19-982775-6. 272. Lombardi. Clark B.. 2012-08-16. registration. "When I conducted a survey of 235 Doshisha University students a few years ago asking their opinions about the Gakkai and how much they knew about its peace education programs, over 80 percent responded that they had a negative image of the movement and about 60 percent thought that its "peace movement" is little more than promotional propaganda. The few respondents with a positive image were either Soka Gakkai members, were related members, or were friends of members."
  177. Phillip E. Hammond and David W. Machacek, "Soka Gakkai International" in J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann (eds.), Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, 2010, p. 2658. "Daisaku Ikeda (b. 1928), Soka Gakkai's charismatic third president, led the international growth of the movement. Although Ikeda and his successor, Einosuke Akiya, have gone to great lengths to improve the movement's public image, suspicion remains. Soka Gakkai's political involvement through the organ of the Komeito, a political party founded by the Soka Gakkai, and the near godlike reverence that members have for President Ikeda have tended to perpetuate public distrust. Although it has been subjected to a generalized suspicion toward Eastern religious movements in the United States, Europe, and South America, the movement's history outside of Japan has been tranquil by comparison to its Japanese history."
  178. Bryan Wilson, Religion in Secular Society. Penguin, 1969
  179. Bryan Wilson, Magic and the Millennium, Heinemann, London, 1973, pp. 18–30
  180. Book: Wallis, Roy. The road to total freedom: a sociological analysis of Scientology. 1976. Heinemann Educational. London. 978-0-435-82916-2. 156.
  181. Book: Glock. Charles Y.. Bellah. Robert N.. The New religious consciousness. 1976. University of California Press. Berkeley. 978-0-520-03083-1. 200.
  182. Web site: Religion in the Italian Constitution . Georgetown University . 10 August 2015 . 26 November 2016 . https://archive.today/20161126191359/http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/religion-in-the-italian-constitution .
  183. Web site: Istituto Buddista Italiano Soka Gakkai . Governo Italiano . 14 August 2015.
  184. Book: Fujiwara. Hirotatsu . Worth C Grant . What shall we do about this Japan: I denounce Soka Gakkai. Nisshin Hodo Co.. 1970. 978-91-1-013550-5.
  185. Book: Masumi Junnosuke . Lonny E. Carlile . Contemporary politics in Japan. 1995. University of California Press. Berkeley. 978-0-520-05854-5. 398.
  186. News: A Sect's Political Rise Creates Uneasiness in Japan (Published 1999) . . 14 November 1999. 20 June 2024 . a dictatorship built around the person of one man . French. Howard W..
  187. News: A Sect's Political Rise Creates Uneasiness in Japan (Published 1999) . . 14 November 1999. 20 June 2024 . French. Howard W.. . "Members of the group have used arson and a bomb threat against temples of rival Buddhist groups. Soka Gakkai has also tried to block the publication of critical books, and members were convicted of wiretapping the house of the Communist Party leader. A spokesman said the bomb threat and arson incidents involved individuals with histories of mental illness and denied that Soka Gakkai had ever ordered violence or harassment."
  188. Web site: Monumental Error? How a Statue Honoring a Controversial Japanese Religious Leader Wound Up in a Chicago Park . Newcity . 6 December 2012 . 20 June 2024 .
  189. News: Hideko Takayama . A Buddhist Leader Is Accused Of Rape. . 1996-07-08. none.
  190. News: . Soka Gakkai head Ikeda allegedly raped follower. . 1996-06-05. none.

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