Published by Soka Spirit Editor
Posted on July 30, 2012
The following speech by SGI President Ikeda was given at the 9th general meeting of the Study Department at Josei Toda Memorial Auditorium in Osaka, Japan on January 15, 1977. (It was published in English in the April, 1977 Seikyo Times, p. 6)
I offer my sincerest congratulations on the holding of today’s study department conference. Thank you very much for taking the trouble to participate on such a cold day. I’d like to present a brief overview of the history of Buddhism and to share with you informally some of the thoughts I’ve had lately on the matter.
First, I’d like to speak a little about the original spirit of the Buddhist religion in connection with the idea of religious revolution or reformation.
That is to say, Buddhism from its inception was a religion of reform. Shakyamuni’s establishment of Buddhism arose from his efforts to challenge the religious control wielded by the Brahmans, who had descended into authoritarianism and neglected any efforts to save suffering people.
Shakyamuni’s intention was to return religion to the hands of the people.
Buddhism was thus born of efforts to transform society—from one in which the people were seen as existing to serve religion into a society in which religion exists for the sake the people. It is no exaggeration to say that it emerged out of a revolutionary movement to revitalize the people.
Separation from the people invites decline
With the passage of time, however, even Buddhism, despite its popular origins, came to center on those who had renounced family and society to become monks, and eventually came to be dominated by an exclusive class of individuals. I’m sure you are all aware of this history, but Buddhism as practiced in the monasteries at that stage had become merely a matter of scholastic or intellectual discourse that was supported by the donations of ordinary believers. And for this reason a countermovement emerged to return Buddhism to its original purpose of serving the people. In this condition, Buddhism came to be known as the teaching of the “Lesser Vehicle,” or “Hinayana,” and in response to this trend there arose a reform movement known as Mahayana, or the “Greater Vehicle.”[i]
About 100 years after Shakyamuni’s death, an event famous in the history of Buddhism took place: the split of the Buddhist order into two schools, the Theravada and the Mahasamgika schools.
The rift arose from a conflict of opinion within the Buddhist order. Theravada means “Teaching of the Elders,” and when translated into Chinese, was rendered with the characters meaning “seated above.” This conveyed their image as an elite class of monks who saw themselves as naturally entitled to the donations of lay practitioners while at the same time looking down upon and lording it over the masses.
In contrast, the Mahasangikas, whose name means “Great Council,” was a more progressive and flexible religious order, which maintained contact and engaged in dialogue with ordinary believers. It advocated that Buddhism must be open to all people. But these two opposing conservative and progressive factions within the Buddhist community did not fundamentally reform Buddhism, which as a whole had lapsed into ritual and formality. It was the later rise of the Mahayana movement, however, that did bring about revolutionary change.
The adherents of Mahayana viewed the monastic Buddhism of Theravada, or Hinayana, as having become overly formalistic and bureaucratic, as having estranged itself from the masses of people. In contrast, theirs was a movement to restore the spirit of Shakyamuni Buddha, the original spirit and intent of Buddhism. This great wave of awakening to the genuine spirit of Buddhism went on to engulf all of India and eventually spread to China, Korea and Japan.
The above is a very cursory outline, giving us a bit of a perspective on the greatest revolution that took place in the early history of Buddhism—the formation and spread of the Mahayana Buddhist movement. I mention this because it contains essential historic lessons pertaining to the transmission of Buddhism from one age to the next, from the present into the future.
One such lesson is that Buddhism, which emerged among the people as a fresh and vibrant, people-centered movement, had become stagnant, a mere remnant of what it once was. An important reason for this is that the entire Buddhist community had lapsed into monasticism, that is, it had become centered entirely around monasteries and monks. As a result, it lost any real ability to lead the people. Buddhism originally belonged to the people, and those Buddhist teachers who renounced secular life did so in order to dedicate themselves as leaders of the people.
The Soka Gakkai’s Practice is Directly Connected to the True Buddha
Nichikan Shonin (the 26th high priest of the Fuji school, noted for his scholarship and organized analysis of Nichiren Daishonin’s writings), in his Annotations on The Selection of the Time, writes: “Volume 18 of the Nirvana Sutra states, ‘Because one knows the proper time, one is given the title “Great Teacher of the Law.”’ That is because a Great Teacher of the Law is someone who is able to preach the Law and benefit living beings.”
As is clear from this passage, a “Great Teacher of the Law” is one who correctly understands the appropriate time. With clear insight into the nature of the times, that person takes the lead in the movement to widely spread the Law (kosen-rufu). While skillfully explaining the Law, that teacher gives rise to broad and powerful waves of practice for self and others amid the vast ocean of the people. An important requisite for accomplishing this is keen insight into the swift currents of the times. He or she becomes a shield of armor for the people when needed, protecting the believers who are dedicating their lives, and together with the people, continues to wage a ceaseless struggle for the sake of Buddhism.
It was none other than Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, who persevered in carrying out such noble action. By living this superlative way of life, he willed to us today a historic and wonderful lesson, showing us just what it means to be a Teacher of the Law.
Nichiren Daishonin goes so far as to say in his writings, “Though a person may have been fortunate enough to be born as a human being and may have even entered the priesthood, if he fails to study the Buddha’s teaching and to refute its slanderers but simply spends his time in idleness and chatter, then he is no better than an animal dressed in priestly robes” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 760).
Many of Nichiren’s writings contain strict admonitions toward those who would take leadership in spreading his teachings, but this is because Nichiren was keenly aware that conditions leading to the destruction of Buddhism would arise within Buddhism itself. Offering examples of priests from various Buddhist schools who violated the standards set down for monks in the Buddhist precepts, he taught the correct attitude and behavior of those who chose to leave secular life to become priests.
Further, he writes, “According to the sutra text, the votaries of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law, who are so faithful in upholding the sutra that they are hated by others, are the true priests of Mahayana. They are the teachers of the Law who will propagate the Lotus Sutra and bring people benefit” (WND-1, 886).
A true Mahayana priest, then, is one who does not avoid doing battle with the three powerful enemies.[ii] Rather, Nichiren says that we should throw ourselves into a fierce struggle against the three obstacles and four devils, which compete to obstruct us. It is this spirit that stands as a standard for Nichiren Daishonin’s disciples. This, he tells them, should be their pride and their mission.
After the part quoted above in his letter in “On the Fourteen Slanders,” Nichiren writes, “As a lay believer, the important thing for you is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo single-mindedly and to provide support for the priests. And if we go by the words of the Lotus Sutra, you should also teach the sutra to the best of your ability” (WND-1, 760).
According to this passage, lay believers should devote themselves to chanting daimoku, making offerings, and beyond that, according to their ability, talking about Buddhism with others. Priests should dedicate themselves thoroughly to shakubuku—refuting slander of the Law—battling the three powerful enemies of Buddhism and widely spreading the Law, while lay believers in contrast should fulfill the role of supporting the priests. Based on this essential definition, we can say that today the Soka Gakkai is fulfilling both of these functions of priesthood and the laity.
In the world today, there is no other such wonderful harmonious body fulfilling the Buddha’s intent. It is therefore absolutely certain that we will attain Buddhahood and enjoy great fortune and benefit. The Mahayana scripture known as the Vimalakirti sutra emphasizes that leaving family life to practice formalities such as precepts or monastic discipline or shaving one’s head or wearing dyed robes are not what is important; rather, it is whether one has absorbed and embodied the true fundamental spirit of Buddhism.
In other words, neither form nor appearance, but the state of the heart or spirit of a practitioner of Buddhism that determines whether that person is a “monk” in the genuine sense the word.
One Chinese term for monk or priest is written with the two characters meaning, “leave” and “the house” respectively. This signifies “leaving the house” of desire for fame and profit and removing oneself from the quagmire of the pursuit of earthly desires or cravings. To receive tonsure, or shave one’s head, upon becoming a priest symbolizes one’s departure from this worldly “house.” We can think of it as formality expressing one’s vow to never again return to this “home.”
If we base ourselves on this original meaning or intent behind becoming a priest, then it becomes clear that whether one is a priest or a lay person, once one awakens to correct faith in the Buddhist teachings and stands up with the spirit to save the people from suffering and misery, from that moment forward, transcending any formality or appearance, one is spiritually a person who has departed the “house” of the secular world, a monk in the truest sense.
In the Manjushrivikridita Sutra, we find the following passage: “Bodhisattvas do not become monks by virtue of shaving their heads. What is it then that allows [them to become monks]? If one is able to muster a great spirit to advance and thereby relieve the cravings and sufferings of all living beings, this is what it means for a Bodhisattva to become a monk. To dress oneself in a dyed robe [note: early Buddhist monks dyed their robes to distinguish themselves from laypersons, who wore white robes] does not make one worthy of being called a monk. But to exert oneself to remove the dye of the three poisons from the hearts of living beings—this makes one worthy of being called a monk.”
Mahayana Buddhism, which grounds itself upon the original intent of Buddhism, promoted the idea of the Bodhisattva monk. But this was based more than anything on the founding spirit of Buddhism—to dive in directly amid the suffering people and fight to relieve the people’s troubles as if they were their own. The Bodhisattva monks who formed the mainstream of Mahayana Buddhism, as the above sutra passage indicates, did not shave their heads, but exerted themselves as a gathering of lay believers who took the appearance and wore the clothing of ordinary people.
And therefore, we of the Soka Gakkai, though ordinary lay persons in form and appearance, in accord with this spirit possess a sense of mission befitting genuine monks—those who have left behind worldly concerns to practice Buddhism. With great pride, we would like to dedicate ourselves all the more to the spread of the Buddhist Law.
Offerings are made for the sake of the Buddhist Law
Next I would like to give some consideration to the idea of offerings based on the original principles of Buddhism. In reading the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, we see many places in which Nichiren praises people for the offerings they have made to Buddhism and teaches of the magnificent benefits to be derived doing so.
We of the Soka Gakkai have until today made unprecedented offerings for the sake of Buddhism, in accord with the Daishonin’s golden words. I mentioned this on the occasion of our New Year’s gathering, but in “The True Aspect of All Phenomena” Nichiren writes, “On the other hand, not even the wisdom of the Buddha can fathom the blessings that one will obtain by giving alms to Nichiren and by becoming his disciple and lay supporter. The sutra reads, “[The benefits he gains thereby will be such that] even the Buddha wisdom could never finish calculating their extent” (WND-1, 384-5).
There can be no mistaking that the Soka Gakkai, which has advanced directly on the path of genuine faith, practice and study, is imbued with tremendous good fortune and benefit. If the teachings of Buddhism are true, then the good fortune we have accrued will shower down like bright sunlight on future generations for ages to come. Please have great confidence in this point.
Again, speaking of offerings from a historical perspective, the Vimalakirti Sutra, which I mentioned previously, records an example of Vimalakirti, a lay practitioner, receiving support in the form of offerings. The sutra describes Vimalakirti as first refusing to accept these offerings.
But upon being urged a second time, he accepts them, first using half for the good of impoverished people who were looked down upon by others, and then presenting the other half to the Buddha to use for the sake of spreading the Buddhist teachings. What is the significance of this portrayal in the sutra?
One point underlying this is the idea that those who genuinely devote their lives to spreading the Buddhist teachings and advance the cause of saving the people from suffering are qualified to receive offerings. Second, so long as such offerings are in return used for the sake of the people and for the sake of Buddhism, they accord with the essential spirit of Buddhism.
Ultimately, offerings are given always for the sake of supporting Buddhism. And so if offerings are used to give life to the spread of Buddhism, then even lay believers are entitled to receive them.
Lay believers who embrace the Gohonzon are also Teachers of the Law
The Lotus Sutra, which represents the highest pinnacle of Mahayana Buddhism, touches more thoroughly on the nature of a genuine teacher of the Law.
The “Teacher of the Law” chapter of the Lotus Sutra designates as teachers of the law those who carry out the five kinds of mystic practice of accepting and upholding, reading, reciting, copying and preaching the sutra. Also, in the “Benefits of the Teacher of the Law” chapter, the benefits accrued by the Teacher of the Law are explained, the conclusion being that they take the form of the purification of the six sense organs.
Purification of the six sense organs—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind—put in modern terms would accord with purification of one’s life itself, or what we call human revolution.
In that sense, where else does there exist today a genuine gathering of people who have genuinely set aside secular life and entered the Buddhist Way, carrying on the principles of Mahayana Buddhism in accord with the Daishonin’s spirit, other than in… the Soka Gakkai? Nichiren writes, “Embracing the Lotus Sutra and chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in itself encompasses the five practices” (WND-1, 833).
That is to say, if one embraces the Gohonzon and chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, then, in accord with the principle that “embracing and upholding faith equals observing the mind,” one is immediately endowed with the [benefits of the] five kinds of mystic practice. That person will, as a lay practitioner, become an excellent “teacher of the Law.”
In The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings, Nichiren Daishonin states, “Now Nichiren and his followers, who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, are the greatest among the teachers of the Law” (p. 82)
Specifically, we of the Soka Gakkai who uphold faith in Nichiren Daishonin, or the Gohonzon, and chant the daimoku, can count our names among the great teachers of the Law; today we embody the real significance of “leaving the home” or becoming a monk.
Nittatsu Shonin (the 66th chief priest of Taisekiji) has clearly stated, “Whether or not one has taken tonsure, one who worships the Dai-Gohonzon by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in unity with the harmonious order of monks becomes, together with us priests, a member of that harmonious order.” In other words, there is absolutely no distinction between lay believers and priests in terms of their [religious] status or qualifications.
We too have resolved to set aside secular concerns
Let’s now take a look at the creation and original significance of Buddhist temples and the mission of the Soka Gakkai headquarters and community or culture centers.
Buddhist temples originate from the monasteries built during the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni’s original method of propagation did not involve staying at one fixed site, such as a monastery or temple, and preaching the Law and conducting ceremonies there. Rather, he would travel about on foot, covering all of India, and there among the masses speak about the teachings and spirit of Buddhism.
India, however, has a monsoon season, a time of heavy rains, and during that three-month period each year Shakyamuni was unable to move about on his travels. For that reason, it became necessary during this time of year to have a place where people could gather with the Buddha and learn and practice the Buddhist teachings. These places became known as monasteries. Famous among them were the Jetavana Monastery of Shravasti and Venuvana (Bamboo Grove) Monastery of Rājagriha. I’m sure you are very familiar with these.
The monasteries of this period, then, were far different from the Buddhist temples we see today, where professional priests live and preside over religious rites and ceremonies. We could say that they served as a focal point or gathering place for Buddhist activities. During the rainy season, the monks would gather there, engage in training and practice, and when the rainy season was over they would disperse to various locations around the country.
Later, at Nalanda Monastery, the degree of training monks received deepened, and with this it began to function as a kind of university. Practitioners in training gathered there from all around, lived together and studied Buddhist doctrines and methods of propagation together. When their set period of study was over, they would return to their respective locales. This system closely resembles the study and training courses conducted by the Soka Gakkai today. The Japanese word garan, which is often used to refer to Buddhist temples, derives from the Sanskrit term sangharama, meaning a structure where monks that compose the sangha, or Buddhist order, congregate to engage in training and practice.
This is why the term dojo [lit. ‘Place of the way’, meaning a place of practice—the same word that is applied to a martial arts studio or practice hall] is also applied to Buddhist temples.
Buddhist temples today conduct ceremonies, but do not offer opportunities for learning or self-development, nor do their priests go out among the people to spread the teachings. As such, they do not constitute a place where people gather to engage in Buddhist practice or a venue for training as the term dojo implies.
It is when there is a base of activities where people who sincerely believe in Buddhism can gather joyfully, study together earnestly and from there spread the spirit of the Buddhist teachings into society, that the name dojo, or “place of practice,” first applies. As the Lotus Sutra states, “Before long this person will proceed to the place of practice” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, chapter 28, pp. 364–65), it is the place where people bring forth the world of Buddhahood from within their lives.
Also, in Mahayana Buddhism, influenced by ideas and images such as that of the Treasure Tower depicted in the Lotus Sutra, faith in Buddhist stupas (funerary towers housing the Buddha’s ashes or relics) flourished, and around these structures were built large temples or cathedrals. At these temples, it seems, gathered not only ordained monks, but also lay believers, who formed the core of those engaged in Bodhisattva practice.
In short, they functioned as places where laypersons gathered and then went out among the people. Among the reasons for this was the fact that Hinayana Buddhism had estranged itself from the people, forming a body of specialists or elite practitioners to the point that lay believers were even barred in many cases from entering the monasteries or temples.
The need emerged, therefore, to create a gathering place specifically for laypersons. “Bodhisattva monks,” who did not take on the appearance of priests, made new temples their focal point and from there went out to engage in Buddhist practice.
Many of these “bodhisattva monks” were not ordained clergy who had given up secular life, but lay practitioners with their own homes and families. In addition, they did not take tonsure and kept their hair. They wore the ordinary clothing of laypersons and not the traditional robes of monks. The flourishing of Mahayana Buddhism was thus accomplished by groups of laity formed among those who gathered at temples that were established specifically for the laity.
Taught primarily among these lay groups was the Jataka, the collection of stories of the Buddha’s practices in previous lives. Rather than conveying difficult doctrine or theory, these stories told of the practices and actions the Buddha carried out in previous existences in order to one day become a Buddha, explaining things in a way that was easy to understand for ordinary people. They taught people the nature of Buddhist practice and the fundamental spirit of Buddhism.
Here, too, we see an expression of the spirit of Mahayana Buddhism to treasure the people. For that reason, it is my deepest wish that our study of Buddhism in the Soka Gakkai never become a matter of mere doctrinal scholarship or armchair theory, but rather study that is applied through practice and that is closely connected with a genuine awareness of the realities of people’s daily lives.
Soka Gakkai community centers are “places of practice” for the revitalization of human beings
In more recent history, Nichiren Daishonin, the true Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law, never possessed a temple such has those of the traditional Buddhist schools. Until his death he took residence in a humble hermitage.
In this way, he sounded a wakeup call the Buddhist world of his day, which had come to be centered on large, opulent temples, and initiated a new revolutionary movement within Buddhism.
As mentioned, temples were originally “places of practice,” venues where those practicing the Buddhist Way could gather, study the Buddhist teachings, and from there go forth among the people to spread the teachings.
If we take this as their essential significance, then today, the Soka Gakkai’s headquarters and community, culture and training centers, clearly serve as central venues where those dedicated to kosen-rufu gather to carry out Buddhist practice and to widely spread and dynamically promote Buddhism. They are “places of practice” where people deeply study Nichiren Buddhism, and, deriving strength and energy thereby, leap into action in their own communities to revitalize society and the people. For this reason, Soka Gakkai community centers and training centers should be thought of as temples of the modern age…. please be deeply aware that it is due to existence of Soka Gakkai community centers, “castles of the Law” for the development of kosen-rufu, that the rise of a dynamically progressive Buddhism open to all people has for the first time become possible.
The other day I had a pleasant conversation with a certain dignitary, who observed that religion should not remain secluded within temples of the old established orders, but should, for the sake of peace and culture, spread into and permeate society on a broad scale. In that sense, he assessed the course the Soka Gakkai has been taking as correct and appropriate.
Until today, the established religions have maintained their secure position by keeping the people dependent upon and subordinate to them. But this alone can lead only to a regressive conservatism, and in modern times reveals itself to be the cause of an enormous deadlock.
It is therefore important that we protect and support our centers, while making them the base for our kosen-rufu activities. This is an unprecedented equation for modern times, a new path and basis for overcoming various obstacles and challenges and protecting the whole of Nichiren Buddhism.
The profound meaning behind “this person” mentioned in the “Supernatural Powers of the Thus Come One” chapter
The “Supernatural Powers” chapter reads, “As the light of the sun and moon can banish all obscurity and gloom, so this person as he advances through the world can wipe out the darkness of living beings, causing immeasurable numbers of bodhisattvas in the end to dwell in the single vehicle” (LSOC-21, 318).
Let’s first focus on the phrase “this person” in the above sutra passage. The sutra here does not refer to “this Buddha” or “this bodhisattva” or “this priest.” It goes without saying that Nichiren Daishonin concluded that “this person” meant himself. That is, emphasis on the term “this person” makes clear the extent to which the Lotus Sutra, and also Nichiren Daishonin, consistently takes the stance of placing focus on the human being, on people.
It is up to human beings to dispel the darkness clouding all living beings. “Living beings,” too, indicates human beings, who are subject to feelings of joy, anger, misery and pleasure. Because we are human, we are capable of defeating human suffering. Because we have life, we are capable of polishing and developing our lives.
And later in this passage appears the phrase “as he advances through the world.” “The world” here means society. Unless one fights amid the confusion and chaos of society, it will remain impossible to drive away the clouds of misery afflicting the people.
From the time he established his teaching, Nichiren Daishonin’s activities to spread Buddhism in Kamakura, then the center of Japanese society, is behavior that accords exactly with the sutra’s words “as he advances through the world.”
Therefore, there is a danger that, unless we continue to spread the teachings of Buddhism within society and outward to the world, we will be going against the Daishonin’s practice and his objective.
Today I recall the words of my late mentor, Josei Toda, who on New Year’s Day, 1953, said, “I firmly believe that the Soka Gakkai, embraced by showers of benefit and grasping the sword of shakubuku, is fulfilling the courageous practice of a lion king.”
It is my hope that this year we too, our hearts showered in the sunlight of benefit springing from the infinite past, our hand firmly grasping the sword of compassion, and our lives abundant with joy, will further open the cherry-blossom lined path of Soka.
With a prayer for the increasing good health and successful endeavors of my precious friends, I will close my words today.