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Sōka Gakkai (創価学会, lit., "Value-Creation Society") and/or Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) is a lay Buddhist movement linking more than 12 million people around the world. Sōka gakkai members integrate their Buddhist practice into their daily lives, following the Lotus Sutra based teachings of Nichiren, a 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest. It is a lay Buddhist movement within the school of Nichiren Buddhism and is being regarded as one of the largest Japanese new religions. Founded by educator Tsunesaburō Makiguchi in 1930, the organization was suppressed during World War II for its opposition to government-supported State Shintō, which should not be equated to Shintō. Makiguchi, Jōsei Toda, and other top Sōka Gakkai leaders were arrested and jailed in 1943 and charged as "thought criminals". In November 1944, Makiguchi died in prison of malnutrition at the age of 73. His companion Jōsei Toda was released in July 1945, and took the responsibility of the organisation. In the following years he rebuilt the Sōka Gakkai membership from less than 3,000 families in 1951 to more than 750,000 before his death in 1958. The Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) currently consists of 84 constituent organizations and has 12 million members in 192 countries and territories worldwide. The SGI was founded on January 26, 1975 on the island of Guam by Daisaku Ikeda, who is its founder president but the movement has its roots in 1930s Japan and the struggle against the thought-control of the Japanese militarist government of the time.

The growth of its membership has been attributed in part to the organization's tradition of small group, neighborhood and local community discussion meetings.

History

From its inception as an educators' group under Tsunesaburō Makiguchi's leadership, the Sōka Gakkai transformed by the 1930s into a lay religious organization affiliated with the Nichiren Shōshū priesthood. Suppressed during World War II, the organization experienced rapid growth under Jōsei Toda's leadership in the aftermath of the war. Daisaku Ikeda's leadership marked a period of overseas expansion that led to the founding of Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) in 1975.

Inception

Sōka Gakkai was founded as the Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai (創価教育学会, lit. "Value Creating Educational Society") on November 18, 1930, by Japanese educator Tsunesaburō Makiguchi and his colleague Jōsei Toda to promote reform in Japan's "highly regimented" education system that was "designed to train loyal citizens." His ideas on education, and his theory of value-creation (創価, sōka), are explored in his 1930 work Sōka Kyōikugaku Taikei (創価教育学体系, The Theory of Value-Creating Pedagogy). In 1928 Makiguchi converted to Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism. In the 1930s Makiguchi and Toda broadened the organization's focus to social reform based on Makiguchi's theory of sōka and the tenets of Nichiren Buddhism.

Makiguchi and Toda challenged the militarist government and its war mobilization efforts, refusing to accede to State Shintō and emperor worship. The two, along with other top leaders, were imprisoned in 1943, as "thought criminals". During interrogation, Makiguchi declared: "the Emperor is a common mortal... The Emperor himself should not be telling people to be loyal to him. This should be struck from the Imperial Rescript on Education". Of the top leaders arrested, only Makiguchi and Toda did not renounce their faith and beliefs. Makiguchi died in prison of malnutrition at age 73, and Toda was released July 3, 1945.

Post-World War II growth

Toda was released from prison in 1945 and, after World War II, rebuilt the organization as a religious movement of social reform, renaming it the Sōka Gakkai. Under Toda's leadership from 1951, when he became the second president, until his death in 1958, Sōka Gakkai membership grew from 3,000 to 750,000 households. Political historian Hiroshi Aruga points out that: "The Sōka Gakkai membership rapidly increased, mainly among those who were of the downtrodden classes in large urban areas and who were excluded from the benefits of upward swing during the reconstruction period of postwar Japan."

In a bid to promote democratic representation of the disenfranchised in society, the Sōka Gakkai fielded local assembly candidates in 1955, and, by 1964, the political party Kōmeitō ("Clean Government Party") was founded. In 1970, the Sōka Gakkai clarified its stance on religion and state relations, reaffirming that Kōmeitō "has no part in Sōka Gakkai's religious activities or efforts to win people to the faith.1. Sōka Gakkai aims at kosen-rufu. It is a Buddhist cultural movement; political advance in and of itself is not its purpose. 2. Sōka Gakkai has long opposed the Nichiren Shōshū demand that Nichiren Buddhism become the state religion and will continue to oppose it. 3. The Kōmeitō exists for the welfare of the public. It has no part in Sōka Gakkai's religious activities or efforts to win people to the faith. Sōka Gakkai is, however, one of Kōmeitō's supporting organizations and will uphold it in elections. 4. In order to make clear the difference between the two organizations, Kōmeitō members of national and local assemblies will be removed from Sōka Gakkai administrative posts.

From Japan's post-war years the Sōka Gakkai emerged as the largest lay organization of Nichiren Buddhist practitioners, claiming membership of 8.27 million households in Japan. It is one of the most successful of new religious movements in Japan's post-war period.

International expansion

Jōsei Toda was succeeded as president in 1960 by the 32-year-old Daisaku Ikeda, who had also experienced the horrors of war in Japan as a youth. Ikeda immediately set about building the foundations of an international movement, traveling overseas to meet and encourage the first pioneer Sōka Gakkai members outside of Japan. He also founded a series of institutions to help build solidarity for peace, in the fields of culture and the arts, peace research and education. The SGI under his leadership has emerged as one of the largest and most dynamic Buddhist movements in the world, including the countries in North America, South America, Australia and parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, fostering and promoting grassroots activities in areas such as nuclear weapons abolition, sustainability and human rights education and cultural exchange.

Sources of Beliefs and World View

The beliefs, religious practice and social orientation of the Sōka Gakkai movement derive from the Lotus Sutra based teachings of the thirteenth-century Buddhist monk Nichiren In the movement's formative years, Makiguchi and Toda found resonance between their ideas on education and the Nichiren's emphasis on individual empowerment, inner transformation and spirit of activism as key to social reform.

While Nichiren "did not argue that working for social betterment in and of itself constitutes an essential part of Buddhist practice,", "he claimed that an individuals' faith, practice and his empowerment carried profound consequences for the society and the world at large" combined with Makiguchi's educational theory of value-creation (Jp. Sōka) was integral to Makiguchi's view of "religion as being not separate from, but identical with, the actual life of individuals in society, so that the efforts to create values in mundane life obtained a religious foundation, peace and prosperity of a nation."

As Dayle M. Bethel says of Makiguchi's thinking: "Makiguchi held not only that working for gain is an entirely proper and honorable pursuit, but that it is a responsibility of each individual, as a creator of value, to work for gain in such a way as to contribute to the welfare of both himself and his society."

Credited with rebuilding the Sōka Gakkai after World War II as a distinctly religious movement, Toda emphasized the pragmatic orientation of his predecessor's theory of value and Nichiren Buddhist practice as the path to individual happiness. To this Toda added his theory of life-force, according to which "the immediate attainment of Buddhahood means salvation through engagement in the realities of daily life, through attaining benefits and happiness that involve all of life, and through extending this happiness to others."

Since the movement's international expansion beginning in the 1960s and extension of social and cultural activities beginning in the 1970s, Ikeda expanded his predecessor's ideas of "human revolution" and "engaging with the world, rather than liberation from it", emphasizing, in the words of one observer, a "humanistic activism" as both the religious and social aims of Nichiren Buddhism. Other observers of Ikeda's thinking use his term Buddhist humanism, describing it as "a spirituality that rests on the pillars of peace, culture, and education."

Nichiren

Nichiren (日蓮) (1222–1282) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who, having studied Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings and the commentaries of the leading Buddhist scholars, believed that the Lotus Sutra was the ultimate teaching of Shakyamuni and that it was the one true teaching. Nichiren declared that the Japanese title of the Lotus Sutra, Myōhō-Renge-Kyō, was the essence of the sutra and that therefore the invocation Nam-Myōhō-Renge-kyō enabled a practitioner to embrace the entirety of the teaching, in conjunction with the Lotus Sutra's injunctions to embrace the text. A key passage in the Lotus Sutra explains that every individual can attain Buddhahood. In reciting the title, the practitioner could embrace the life-condition of Buddhahood. The essence of the Lotus Sutra,as Nichiren Daishonin taught, was that all men and women, regardless of social class or place are inherently endowed with this Buddha nature and could therefore attain Buddhahood. "Nichiren" is a name he chose for himself when he embarked on spreading his teaching on April 28, 1253. It literally means "Sun Lotus". The word Daishonin is an honorific title meaning "Great Sage", as SGI practitioners believe him to be the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.

Nichiren taught that by chanting "Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō", which means, "Devotion to the Mystic/Wonderful Dharma/Law of the Lotus Flower Sutra" to the Gohonzon (御本尊), a mandala he inscribed with Chinese and Sanskrit characters representing the enlightened life of the True Buddha, anyone can bring forth their inherent Buddha nature and become enlightened. Following on from T'ien-t'ai's teachings on Ichinen Sanzen (Eng. Three Thousand Realms in a Single Thought Moment) and jikkai-gogu (Eng. The Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds), Nichiren taught that Buddhahood is not a static state of being, but exists in mutual possession of other states of being (referred to as the Ten Worlds). This is known as the "Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds". This principle pinpoints the fact that everyone, without exception, is endowed with the life state of Buddhahood and has the potential to manifest this life state. This principle also taught that the act of discarding the other Nine Worlds does not portray the true nature of life or the true path of enlightenment. One can achieve the life condition of a Buddha in one's present form. The Doctrine of "Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment of life" (J. Ichinen Sanzen) based on the teachings of Lotus Sutra further explained in detail the Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds, the ten unchanging aspect of all phenomena known as the Ten factors and the Three Realms. Therefore, practitioners believe that Buddhism must be practiced in each person's daily life, and not in some faraway land or mystic place. This is experienced as the result of continuous effort to engage one's highest life condition, or Buddha nature, to overcome the inevitable obstacles and struggles.

In so doing, one establishes an unshakable state of happiness characterized by peace, wisdom, and compassion, and this ultimately permeates every aspect of one's life. In accord with the Buddhist concept of eshō funi, the oneness of Life and Environment, the relationship between life and its environment is intimate and inseparable, and one that mutually influences each other. Nichiren stated: "...if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds." SGI practitioners call this process "Human Revolution". Nichiren Daishonin was convinced that if human beings fully embraced his teachings, the peace they would develop within would definitely be reflected in the environment as peace in society at large.

Flag and Logo

In 1988 Sōka Gakkai began using the tricolour flag. The flag is made up of the three primary colours: Blue, yellow, and red, which represent peace, glory, and victory respectively.

Sōka Gakkai's logo is an Eight Petaled Lotus Flower.

Practice and activities

Individual practice entails chanting Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō daily and reciting excerpts from the 'Expedient Means' (方便品, Hōben pon) (2nd) and the 'Life Span of the Thus Come One' (如来寿量品, Nyorai Juryō hon) (16th) chapters of the Lotus Sutra; studying the life and works of Nichiren; and sharing with others a Nichiren Buddhist view of life and living. Faith refers to the motivation or commitment which gives rise to practice and study, as described in Nichiren's writings:

"Exert yourself in the two ways of practice and study. Without practice and study, there can be no Buddhism. You must not only persevere yourself; you must also teach others. Both practice and study arise from faith. Teach others to the best of your ability, even if it is only a single sentence or phrase."

The majority of Nichiren's teachings have been compiled in The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, volumes I and II, and The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings. These are translations of the Japanese volume Nichiren Daishōnin gosho zenshū (日蓮大聖人御書全集) (The complete works of Nichiren Daishonin), compiled by 59th Nichiren Shōshū High Priest Nichiko Hori and published by Sōka Gakkai in 1952. Companion study materials include the Lotus Sutra, the writings of Daisaku Ikeda, and other writers and scholars of the Lotus Sutra and of Nichiren Buddhism.

How individuals can apply Buddhism to the challenges of daily life and society is the central focus of gatherings most often held at the local community level.Their practice focuses on the process of ongoing inner transformation and empowerment known as human revolution. Members of Sōka Gakkai and SGI claim that chanting energizes and refreshes the practitioner both spiritually and mentally, making him or her happier, wiser, more compassionate, more productive and more prosperous. Scholarly interviews with SGI members form the basis of the conclusion that "SGI members in Cambodia and elsewhere feel a strong sense of empowerment – that all members must assume responsibility for their lives and have the power to change their destinies through their own actions."

Similarities and Differences with Other Schools

The Practice

There are several Buddhist schools which follow the basic practice of Nichiren Buddhism consisting of chanting the phrase Nam(u)-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, and revering the mandala Object of Devotion, the Gohonzon. Another similarity in the rituals practiced by these schools is including recitation of parts of the Lotus Sutra, however in arrangements which can vary from a school to another. SGI practice is based on Nichiren’s recommendation to recite parts of the 2d and 16th Chapters of the Lotus Sutra, supplementing the chanting of the Diamoku.

The Object of Devotion

The Object of Devotion in SGI is the mandala Gohonzon :”the Gohonzon reflects Nichiren's life-state: Buddhahood”. Although the priesthood of Nichiren Shoshu holds the same belief, there is however a substantial difference with SGI about classifying which mandala should be employed in practice. The priesthood require strict endorsement of the mandala by the High Priest: ““One should never worship anything as a Gohonzon that has not been authorised by the High Priest” . Another difference is regarding the Dai Gohonzon as a super-mandala by the priesthood while this is disputed by SGI: “...it is wrong to think that the Dai-Gohonzon alone has some kind of unique mystic power that no other Gohonzon possesses. The Dai-Gohonzon and our own Gohonzon are equal”. Other Nichiren schools employ statue of Shakyamuni Buddha or a combination of statues and mandala Gohonzon - as their Object of Devotion. Buddha statues are not used for prayers in SGI practice.

The Buddha

Traditional groups of Nichiren Buddhism regard Shakyamuni as the Eternal Buddha and Nichiren as a Bodhisattva. For example Nichiren Shu school has the view that “the title Buddha” is reserved for Shakyamuni” . SGI teachings refer to both Shakyamuni and Nichiren with the title Buddha. Although Nichiren Shoshu also regards Nichiren as a Buddha, however, there is a difference between this school’s concept and SGI teachings. In Nichiren Shoshu, “Nichiren Daishonin” is the Buddha of time without beginning (kuon ganjo) , while according to SGI teachings, the Buddha of time without beginning is the manifestation of the state of Buddhahood Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo: “The original Buddha whose life is without beginning or end is nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo Thus Come One” . SGI refers to the founder of Nichiren Buddhism by the title: the Buddha of this Latter Age of the Law: “Nichiren revealed and spread the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and inscribed it in the form of a mandala Gohonzon, to enable all people in the Latter Day of the Law to attain Buddhahood; for this reason he is regarded as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law.”.

The Bodhisattva

Various schools of Nichiren Buddhism give similar interpretation of the state of Bodhisattva, the path leading to Buddhahood, however SGI literature assigns this state also to non-Buddhist individuals of supreme compassion such as Jesus of Nazareth:“I believe that both St Francis and Jesus belong in what we Buddhist call the Bodhisattva World” .

Another interpretation of the world of Bodhisattva in SGI relates to its connectedness with working for Human Rights and of being a World Citizen: “the bodhisattva provides an ancient precedent and modern exemplar of the global citizen”.

The Three Treasure

The doctrine of the Three Treasures of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dharma and the Samgha) has different interpretations in various schools, and a particular difference relates to the Treasure of the Samgha. SGI interprets the treasure of the Samgha as referring to the Community of Believers, including all lay believers as well as priests. In Nichiren Shoshu interpretation, this doctrine refers to the High Priest and the priesthood in general. As for Nichiren Shu school of Buddhism, the treasure of the “Community of Believers” is referred to as the treasure of “Samgha/Temple” .

Most of other concepts of Nichiren Buddhism are shared between its schools. There is also a common understanding about the overall life history of the founder and about his essential writings referred to as the Gosho.

Split with the priesthood

The long tension between the Sōka Gakkai and the Priesthood of Nichiren Shōshū culminated in early 1990s in exchange of various accusations and in disagreement about basic doctrinal issues. The main differences in beliefs of both sides center on: The doctrine of Heritage of the Law: attributed by the Priesthood to "one person" the High Priest while attributed by the Sōka Gakkai to ordinary people, The Priesthood's demand for "Absolute faith and Strict Obedience" to the High Priest a demand which SGI members do not follow, and: The doctrine of the Three Treasures, in which the Treasure of the Priest is taught by the Sōka Gakkai as the Sangha or "Community of Believers", while it is restricted solely to the Priest, by Nichiren Shōshū administration.

These and other issues caused a complete disassociation between the two sides after the Priesthood excommunicated the Sōka Gakkai in 1991. Detailed description of the relationships between the two sides are described in the following:

• Nichiren Shōshū point of view: http://www.nst.org/faqs/the-history-of-the-relationship-between-nichiren-shoshu-and-the-soka-gakkai/

• Sōka Gakkai point of view: http://www.gakkaionline.net/TIResources/NSTimeline.html

In addition to the views of the two sides, various non-Buddhist and non-committed to any of the two side - academics in the field of religion and history, presented their perspectives in several books, such as Daniel A. Metraux's 2001 book The International Expansion of a Modern Buddhist Movement: and: How the Soka Gakkai became a Global Buddhist Movement, the 1998 Oxford University Press book A Time to Chant by B.Wilson and K.Dobberlaere and :"Encountering the Dharma" by prof. Richard Seager, as well as various other publications.

According to Prof. M. Bumann, of the University of Lucerne, Switzerland, the cause of the split was the friction between conservatism and openness, hierarchy and democratization: "A spirit of openness, egalitarianism, and democratization pervaded the SG, embodying and giving new life to the idea of self-empowerment. In 1991, these liberalizing developments led to the split between the Japan-oriented, priestly Nichiren Shoshu and the lay-based, globalized SGI".. In an analysis of books studying the expansion of SGI after the split, Prof. Jane Hurst of Gallaudet University viewed the split as the result of conflict of interest: "lay members seeking religious support for their lives, priests seeking perpetuation of hierarchical institutions".

SGI conferral of the Gohonzon

After the excommunication (1991) and the Priesthood's refusal to confer the Object of Devotion on SGI members (unless they associated themselves with a Nichiren Shōshū temple) - many new members were forced to practice without the Gohonzon. This situation prompted chief priest Rev. Sendo Narita of Joen-Ji temple, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, to secede (1993) from Nichiren Shōshū and offer a woodblock Gohonzon originally inscribed by the 26th High Priest, Nichikan Shonin, to be conferred on SGI members. This development offered further independence of SGI from the Priesthood administration.

According to SGI teachings, the power of the Object of Devotion is not found in an external mandala, but through one's inner faith:"First, the power of any Gohonzon, including the Dai-Gohonzon, can be tapped only through the power of faith. In other words, we should be clear that it is wrong to think that the Dai-Gohonzon alone has some kind of unique mystic power that no other Gohonzon possesses. The Dai-Gohonzon and our own Gohonzon are equal"

SGI Charter

Sōka Gakkai International's official charter reads:

Purposes and Principles

1. SGI shall contribute to peace, culture and education for the happiness and welfare of all humanity based on Buddhist respect for the sanctity of life.
2. SGI, based on the ideal of world citizenship, shall safeguard fundamental human rights and not discriminate against any individual on any grounds.
3. SGI shall respect and protect the freedom of religion and religious expression.
4. SGI shall promote an understanding of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism through grass-roots exchange, thereby contributing to individual happiness.
5. SGI shall, through its constituent organizations, encourage its members to contribute toward the prosperity of their respective societies as good citizens.
6. SGI shall respect the independence and autonomy of its constituent organizations in accordance with the conditions prevailing in each country.
7. SGI shall, based on the Buddhist spirit of tolerance, respect other religions, engage in dialogue and work together with them toward the resolution of fundamental issues concerning humanity.
8. SGI shall respect cultural diversity and promote cultural exchange, thereby creating an international society of mutual understanding and harmony.
9. SGI shall promote, based on the Buddhist ideal of symbiosis, the protection of nature and the environment.
10. SGI shall contribute to the promotion of education, in pursuit of truth as well as the development of scholarship, to enable all people to cultivate their individual character and enjoy fulfilling and happy lives.

Presidents

Sōka Gakkai

1. Tsunesaburō Makiguchi (18 November 1930 – 2 May 1944)
2. Jōsei Toda (3 May 1951 – 2 May 1960)
3. Daisaku Ikeda (3 May 1960 – 24 April 1979) (Honorary President 24 April 1979 - present)
4. Hiroshi Hōjō (北条浩) (24 April 1979 - 18 July 1981)
5. Einosuke Akiya (18 July 1981 - 9 November 2006)
6. Minoru Harada (9 November 2006 – Present)

Honorary President of Sōka Gakkai

1. Daisaku Ikeda (24 April 1979 – present)

Sōka Gakkai International (SGI)

1. Daisaku Ikeda (26 January 1975 – present)

See also

• Soka University of America
• Daisaku Ikeda
• Nichiren Shōshū
• Kōmeitō (公明党 Clean Government Party)
• New Kōmeitō Party
• Sōka University (Japan)
• Shōshinkai

References

1. Dayle M. Bethel (1994), Makiguchi the Value Creator (Weatherhill), p. 98
2. http://www.sgi.org/about-us/history-of-sgi/history-of-sgi.html
3. Metraux, SERA 2007, p. 157-72
4. Seager, Richard. 1999. Buddhism in America. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 72.
5. Murata, Kiyoaki. 1969. Japan's New Buddhism: An Objective Account of Sōka Gakkai.Weather: New York and Tokyo. p. 76
6. BBC article on Nichiren Buddhism
7. "In 1940, the government had enacted the Religious Organizations Law, which gave the state control over religions and enabled it to make use of all religions in the war effort." —Miyata, 81.
8. tmakiguchi.org war resister
9. tmakiguchi.org thoughtcriminal
10. Aruga, Hiroshi. "Sōka Gakkai and Japanese Politics," in Machacek, David and Bryan Wilson, eds, Global Citizens: The Sōka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the World, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 103-104.
11. Aruga, pp. 113-114
12. Nakano, Tsuyoshi. "Religion and State". In: Tamura, Noriyoshi and David Reed, eds. 1996. Religion in Japanese Culture: Where Living Traditions Meet a Changing World. Tokyo: Kodansha International, p. 127.
13. "SGI Membership." http://www.sgi.org/about-us/sgi-facts/sgi-membership.html
14. Seager, p. 74; "Sōka Gakkai" in Daschke, Dereck and Michael Ashcraft, eds. 2005. New Religious Movements: A Documentary Reader. New York: New York University Press; Reader, Ian, Andreasen, Esben and Stefansson, Finn. 1993. Japanese Religions: Past and Present. Kent: Japan Library, p. 125; Earhart, H. Byron. 1982. Japanese Religion: Unity and Diversity. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. p. 178; among others
15. SGI Directory
17. http://www.sgi.org/about-us/history-of-sgi/history-of-sgi.html
18. Metraux, Daniel. 2010. How Sōka Gakkai Became a Global Buddhist Movement: The Internationalization of a Japanese Religion. Lewiston, NY, USA: The Edwin Mellen Press. pp2-3.
19. Dobbelaere, Karel. 1998. Sōka Gakkai: From Lay Movement to Religion. Signature Books. p3.
20. Dobbelaere 1998, p2.
21. Tamaru, Nariyoshi. "Soka Gakkai in Historical Perspective" in Machahek, David and Bryan Wilson, eds. 2000. Global Citizens: The Soka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the World. New York: Oxford University Press. p24.
22. Stone, Jacqueline I. 2003. "Nichiren's Activist Heirs." In Queen, Christopher, charles Prebish, Damien Keown, eds. 2003. Action Dharma: New Studies in Engaged Buddhism. London: Routledge Curzon, p65.
23. Stone, pp65-66
24. Tamaru in Machahek and Wilson 2000, p32.
25. Bethel, Dayle M. 1973. Makiguchi—The Value Creator. Weatherhill. p51.
26. Tamaru in Machahek and Wilson 2000, p37.
27. Susuma Shimazono. 2004. From Salvation to Spirituality: Popular Religious Movements in Japan. Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press. p127.
28. Wilson, Bryan and David Machahek. Introduction to Machahek and Wilson, eds. 2000. Global Citizens: The Soka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the World. New York: Oxford University Press. p3
29. Machahek and Wilson 2000, p4.
30. Metraux, Daniel. The Soka Gakkai Revolution. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1994. p155
31. Seager, Richard Hughes. 2006. Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press. p5.
32. Sōka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, Sōka Gakkai, "Nichiren": "In 1253 he returned to Seicho-ji. There at noon on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month... On this occasion he renamed himself Nichiren (Sun Lotus)."
33. Sōka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, Sōka Gakkai, 'Daishonin': "Literally, "great sage." This honorific title is applied to Nichiren to show reverence for him as the Buddha who appeared in the Latter Day of the Law."
34. Sōka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddism, Sōka Gakkai, 'Myoho-renge-kyo': "Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law (Skt Saddharma-pun-darika-sutra; Chin Miao-fa-lien-hua-ching; Jpn Myōhō-renge-kyō)"
35. Sōka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, Sōka Gakkai, Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds: "A principle formulated by T'ient'ai (538-597) on the basis of the Lotus Sutra stating that each of the Ten Worlds possesses the potential for all ten within itself."
36. Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Sōka Gakkai, v. 1, p. 4
37. http://www.sgi.org/about-us/what-is-sgi.html
38. The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin (WND), vol. 1, p. 386
39. See, for example: Dockett, Kathleen, G. Rita Dudley Grant and C. Peter Bankart, eds. 2003. Psychology and Buddhism: From Individual to Global Community. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
40. Metraux 2007. SERA, p. 236
41. http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=68
42. http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=141
43. http://www.sgi-usa.org/newmembers/resources/faqs/whatisthegohonzon.php
44. NST News, Special Issue, p3
45. http://www.sokaspirit.org/resource/world-tribune/about-the-dai-gohonzon
46. Lotus Seeds,The Essence of Nichiren Shu Buddhism,p.61 ISBN: 0970592000
47. http://www.nichirenshoshu.or.jp/page/nichirenshoshu/eng/ns_e.htm
48. The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra , vol 5 p. 164, World Tribune Press, ISBN: 0915678705
49. http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=1608
50. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=PGCc5hT0gFkC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=jesus+bodhisattva
51. www.sgiquarterly.org/feature2011Oct-6.html
52. Ikeda, New Humanism, p. 56, I.B. Tautis & Co Ltd, ISBN: 9781848854826
53. http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php
54. ”The Treasure of the Priest includes all the Head Priests and assistant Priests" DaiNichiren publication, page 13
55. http://www.nichiren-shu.org.uk/julynewsletter.html
56. http://www.nst.org/glossary/
57. http://www.sokaspirit.org/study/features/what-is-the-heritage-of-the-law-in-nichiren-buddhism
58. http://sokahumanism.com/nichiren-buddhism/NShoShuP13.html
59. "The Treasure of the Priest includes all the Head Priests and assistant Priests" DaiNichiren publication, page 13
60. http://www.sgiquarterly.org/news2001Apr-8.html
61. http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=7963&pc=9
62. > http://books.google.com.au/books?id=_xgU9zC-TwsC&source=gbs_similarbooks_r&redir_esc=y
63. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=utaH3TyPf2EC&source=gbs_similarbooks
64. www.globalbuddhism.org/7/baumann06.htm
65. www.globalbuddhism.org/7/baumann06.htm
66. http://www.gakkaionline.net/TIResources/questions.html
67. http://www.sokaspirit.com/original/nichikan-gohonzon/reaffirming.html
68. http://www.sokaspirit.org/resource/world-tribune/about-the-dai-gohonzon
69. SGI Charter

Notes

• Soka University of America Is A School On A Hill http://www.ocweekly.com/2011-03-10/news/soka-university-of-america-aliso-viejo-gakkai/
• Buddhism in America. Richard Hughes Seager. Columbia University Press, 2000
• Buddhism in the Modern World: Adaptations of an Ancient Tradition Steven Heine, Charles S Prebish. Oxford University Press, 2003.
• Encountering the Dharma. Daisaku Ikeda, Sōka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism. By Richard Hugh Seager. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press, 2006, ISBN 0-520-24577-6
• Sōka Gakkai in America: Accommodation and Conversion By Phillip E. Hammond and David W. Machacek. London: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-829389-5
• "The Sōka Gakkai: Buddhism and the Creation of a Harmonious and Peaceful Society" by Daniel A. Metraux in Engaged Buddhism: Buddhist Liberation Movements in Asia. Christopher S. Queen and Sallie B. King, eds. SUNY Press, 1996.
• The Faces of Buddhism in America. Charles S Prebish, Kenneth K. Tanaka, eds. University of California Press, 1998.
• The New Believers: A survey of sects, cults and alternative religions. David V Barrett. Octopus Publishing Group, 2003
• The Sōka Gakkai Revolution by Daniel A. Metraux (University Press of America, 1994)
• The Lotus and the Maple Leaf: The Sōka Gakkai in Canada by Daniel A. Metraux (University Press of America, 1996)
• Fundamentals of Buddhism (second edition) by Yasuji Kirimura (Nichiren Shōshū International Center , 1984). ISBN 4-88872-016-9
• Sōka Gakkai kaibō ("Dissecting Sōka Gakkai") by the editors of Aera (Asahi Shimbun, 2000). ISBN 4-02-261286-X (Japanese)
• Sōka Gakkai by Hiromi Shimada (Shinchosha, 2004). ISBN 4-10-610072-X
• A Public Betrayed: An Inside Look at Japanese Media Atrocities and Their Warnings to the West. Adam Gamble & Takesato Watanabe. Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2004. ISBN 0-89526-046-8
• "Celebrating in Earnest: Buddhists Mark the Start of a New Year With Joy and a Strong Sense of Purpose" by Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post, January 1, 2008
• (SERA) Southeast Review of Asian Studies 29 (2007). "Religion, Politics, and Constitutional Reform in Japan," by Daniel Metraux, 157-72.
• Westward Dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia. Charles S. Prebish and Martin Baumann, eds. 2002.
• "Sōka Gakkai: Searching for the Mainstream" by Robert Kisala. In Controversial New Religions, ed. by James R. Lewis (New York: Oxford UP, 2005), 139–52.
• Ehrhardt, George. 2009. "Rethinking the Kōmeitō Voter." In Japanese Journal of Political Science 10 (1), 1–20.
• Igami, Minobu. 1995. Tonari no Sōka Gakkai , Tokyo: Takarajima.

Books

• Editors of AERA: Sōkagakkai kaibai (創価学会解剖: "Dissecting Sōkagakkai"). Asahi Shimbun-sha, October 1995. ISBN 978-4-02-261286-1. AERA is a weekly investigative news magazine published by one of Japan's leading news organizations; this book attempts to present a dry, fair assessment of Sōkagakkai and Daisaku Ikeda and contains several interviews with Gakkai leaders.
• Fulford, Benjamin S.: Ikeda-sensei no sekai: Aoi me no kisha ga mita Sōkagakkai/The Fabulous World of Sōka Gakkai (イケダ先生の世界：青い目の記者が見た創価学会/The Fabulous World of Sōka Gakkai: "The world of Ikeda the master: the Sōkagakkai as experienced by a blue-eyed journalist/The Fabulous World of Sōka Gakkai"). Takarajimasha, October 2006. ISBN 4-7966-5490-9. Fulford is former chief correspondent, Asia-Pacific, for Forbes. Details financial condition of Sōka Gakkai, financial scandals and cover-ups, and harassment experienced by critics in the media and politics as well as ex-member private individuals.
• Furukawa, Toshiaki: Cult toshite no Sōkagakkai=Ikeda Daisaku (カルトとしての創価学会=池田大作: "Sōkagakkai, the Daisaku Ikeda cult"). Daisan Shokan, November 2000. ISBN 4-8047-0017-7
• Shimada, Hiroki: Sōkagakkai (創価学会: "The Sōka Gakkai"). Shinchosha, April 2004. ISBN 4-10-610072-X. H. Shimada is a professor who studies the relationship between religions and society; this book is generally considered a neutral description.
• Shimada, Hiroki: Sōkagakkai no jitsuryoku (創価学会の実力: "The true extent of Sōkagakkai's power"). Shinchosha, August 2006. ISBN 5-02-330372-0. Argues that the Sōka Gakkai is not (or is no longer) as powerful as many of its opponents fear, and that it is losing ground internally as all but the most dedicated are turned off by the leadership and fewer members need the organization for social bonding. Also notes that it is becoming more like a civic rather than a religious organization, and that inactive members don't resign because they want to avoid the ostracism and harassment that can result.
• Shimada, Hiroki: Kōmeitō vs. Sōkagakkai (公明党vs.創価学会: "The Kōmeitō and the Sōka Gakkai"). Asahi Shinsho, June 2007. ISBN 978-4-02-273153-1. Describes the relationship between Kōmeitō and Sōka Gakkai and the development of their history. Touches on the Sōka Gakkai–Nichiren Shōshū split, describing it as the result of a power struggle and financial constraints, as well as on the organized harassment of opponents by Sōka Gakkai members, the organization's use of its media vehicles to vilify opponents, and Ikeda's demand for unquestioning loyalty.
• Taisekiji: Shoshū Hashaku Guide (Jp: 諸宗破折ガイド: "Guide to refuting other schools"). 2003 (no ISBN); pp. 160–164. Published by the Buddhist school formerly associated with Sōka Gakkai and presents details of Sōka Gakkai's gradual distortion of the school's teachings and reasons for its severing of ties.
• Tamano, Kazushi: Sōkagakkai no Kenkyū (創価学会の研究: "Research on the Sōkagakkai"). Kodansha Gendai Shinsho, 2008. ISBN 978-4-06-287965-1. This book is an attempt to review scholarly studies of Sōka Gakkai from the 1950s to the 1970s and shifts in perceptions of the organization as journalists took over from scholars. Tamano takes the perspective of a social scientist and describes Sōka Gakkai as a socio-political phenomenon. He is also somewhat critical of some views Shimada expressed in the latter's recent publications.
• Yamada, Naoki: Sōkagakkai towa nanika (創価学会とは何か: "Explaining Sōkagakkai"). Shinchosha, April 2004. ISBN 4-10-467301-3
• Yano, Jun'ya: Kuroi Techō—Sōka Gakkai "Nihon Senryō Keikaku" no Zen Kiroku (黒い手帳 創価学会「日本占領計画」の全記録: "My black notebooks: a complete record of Sōka Gakka's ‘Operation Occupy Japan'"). Kodansha, February 2009. ISBN 978-4-06-215272-3. Yano is a former secretary-general of Kōmeitō.
• Yano, Jun'ya: "Kuroi Techō" Saiban Zen Kiroku (「黒い手帳」裁判全記録: "The whole record of the trials concerning ‘My black notebooks'"). Kodansha, 7/2009. ISBN 978-4-06-215637-0.

News media (websites)

• "Risky alliance for Japan's ruling party" BBC News report, June 22, 2000
• Japan Fears Another Religious Sect San Francisco Chronicle, December 27, 1995
• "The Power of Sōka Gakkai: Growing revelations about the complicated and sinister nexus of politics and religion" Time Magazine, November 20, 1995
• Lecture by Levi McLaughlin, Ph.D. candidate in Religion, Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives on Sōka Gakkai, Princeton 2009
• Matsutani, Minoru, "Soka Gakkai keeps religious, political machine humming", Japan Times, 2 December 2008, p. 3

Excommunication

• Shoshū Hashaku Guide (Jp: 諸宗破折ガイド: Guide to refuting other schools). Taiseki-ji, 2003 (no ISBN); pp. 160–164.
• "Religious Battle Taking Shape in Foothills of Mt. Fuji Japan: The Buddhist order of Nichiren Shōshū has expelled its lay organization, Sōka Gakkai. Political fallout is probable." Los Angeles Times December 16, 1991
• Sōka Gakkai-in e no shakubuku kyōhon (A textbook of refutations for Sōka Gakkai members), Taisekiji, 2004.
• Nichiren Shōshū nyūmon (Beginner's guide to Nichiren Shōshū), Taisekiji, 2002.
• The Untold History of the Fuji School (World Tribune Press)

External links

Sōka Gakkai International(SGI)

• Sōka Gakkai International

SGI centers

Africa

• SGI-South Africa

Asia

• SGI-Hong Kong
• SGI-India
• SGI-Malaysia
• SGI-Nepal
• SGI-Philippines
• SGI-Singapore

Europe

• SGI-Ireland
• SGI-UK

North America

• SGI-Canada
• SGI-USA

Oceania

• SGI-Australia
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Soka University

• Soka University of Japan
• Soka University of America

Book reviews of scientific research on SGI

• Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Sōka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism by Richard Hugh Seager Reviewed by Martin Baumann
• Sōka Gakkai in America: Accommodation and Conversion by Phillip E. Hammond and David W. Machacek Reviewed by James William Coleman

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