Published by Soka Spirit Editor
Posted on November 08, 2011
On Nov. 28, 1991, an event of unprecedented magnitude in the history of Buddhism occurred. The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood, led by High Priest Nikken, excommunicated 10 million lay believers of the Soka Gakkai International. For the priesthood, they ceased to be one of the largest, global Buddhist schools. For the SGI, it was the birth of spiritual independence.
Conditioned by centuries of government-sanctioned power over the lives of Japanese citizens, the clergy could not come to terms with self-reliant, progressive lay believers. Eventually, it became clear to the priesthood that the self-empowering practice of Nichiren Buddhism precluded the priests’ control of the laity and its resources. The threat of excommunication was their last desperate attempt to seize control.
It is clear in the Lotus Sutra and The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin that those who propagate the Law will encounter specific opposition from arrogant priests and arrogant false sages. What characterizes them is that they are jealous of, and feel threatened by, genuine practitioners dedicated to kosen-rufu or worldwide propagation of Nichiren Buddhism. Such opposition of efforts to relieve the suffering of humanity is defined as evil in Buddhist terminology.
SGI President Ikeda states: “In his treatise ‘On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land,’ Nichiren Daishonin says, ‘Rather than offering up ten thousand prayers for remedy, it would be better simply to outlaw this one evil’ (WND-1, 15). He is saying that rather than offering many kinds of prayers to eliminate various sufferings from the world, one should instead concentrate on removing the fundamental cause of society’s misery.
“’One evil’ means the fundamental evil. It is because of the distorted spiritual foundation of human beings and society that all well-intentioned actions and strategies are futile.
“What, then, is this fundamental evil? The Daishonin clarifies that it is slander of the true Law and correct teaching. It is a force that tries to destroy kosen-rufu, which is the great wish of the Buddha. It is jealousy toward, and betrayal of, the fundamental good that causes the infinitely noble lives of all people to shine, that inspires them to realize a peaceful society based on the principle of the sanctity of life.
“Acting in league with those in power, people affected by such negative forces trample on the true teaching and persecute people of justice. This devilish function is itself the one evil, the fundamental evil. In the modern age, the slanderous actions of Nichiren Shoshu are a case in point” (August 10, 2001, World Tribune, p. 4).
We live in a world where a distortion of the human spirit marginalizes or diminishes one group or another based on false criteria. The human landscape is littered with oppression stemming from religious, economic, political, social and gender intolerance and more. The widespread propagation of Nichiren Buddhism is the means to correct this distortion—this fundamental evil. Only the SGI has made the Buddha’s great desire of kosen-rufu a reality. The priesthood’s attempt to destroy kosen-rufu jeopardizes more than our spiritual freedom. If we allow this “one evil” to go unchallenged, then all such evils will continue unabated.
As seen in the so-called Arab Spring that began in December 2010, oppressed people eventually reach a breaking point. However, just changing regimes or political systems will not change the compulsions in human nature that cause those in power to take advantage of those without it, or the weak to submit to authority. The purpose of Nichiren Buddhism is to resolve this aberration of human behavior and change the way people relate to one another. The Lotus Sutra reveals that the lives of all people are to be revered. When religious fundamentalism values religion above the lives of believers, it justifies exploiting people.
In his 2008 peace proposal presented to the United Nations, SGI President Ikeda writes:
“The kind of humanism I am convinced our times require is one capable of confronting and halting the slide toward fundamentalism. This is the work of restoring people and humanity to the role of central protagonist, something that ultimately can only be undertaken through a ceaseless spiritual effort to train and to temper ourselves.
“If we are to halt this slide toward fanaticism, we cannot be content to regard it as passive bystanders. A true humanist cannot avoid or abandon the struggle against evil. Humanism, as mentioned, is a word and a concept with both positive aspects—peace and tolerance, moderation—and negative possibilities—a tendency for easy compromise and merely lukewarm commitment. Unless we can break through and rise above these negative aspects, we will not be capable of countering the extremism that is the special characteristic of fanaticism” (http://sgi-usa.org/newsandevents/docs/peace2008.pdf).
People too easily lose sight of their capacity for courage, to become captive to a particular dogma. We seem to possess an instinctive weakness that drives us to the shallow and easy choice of unquestioning, blind belief in dogma. Therefore, it is not enough to just criticize the priesthood. We must reform the underlying culture or the human tendencies that allow authoritarian, priest-centered religion to thrive. We must now go beyond refuting Nichiren Shoshu alone. Our challenge is to transform the spiritual soil of humanity at the fundamental level. Only the widespread propagation of Nichiren Buddhism can do this.
In his 2005 peace proposal, President Ikeda states: “In the years since this issue first surfaced, through our struggles against corrupt religious authority, members of the SGI have, both as individuals and as an organization, outgrown the restraints of our past selves, strengthening and tempering the hearts of the courageous. It is something of which I believe we can be justly proud. This pride stems from the confidence that our struggle ties into the larger challenge— inherent in the nature of civilization itself—of constructing a genuine and robust humanism.” (http://sgi-usa.org/newsandevents/docs/peace2005.pdf)
Under the leadership of President Ikeda, the 12 million members of the SGI stand strong against the attempt of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood to intimidate and subjugate them. Our commitment to kosen-rufu is stronger than ever. The SGI response to the demand by Nikken and the priesthood that we disband was and is, a resounding “Never!”
—SGI-USA Soka Spirit Committee