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1. Buddhism in New Light Chapter
5: Faith and Freedom |
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Shin Yatomi
SGI-USA Study department leader
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1)
It is important to recognize the unconditional value
of life within us. To enjoy fulfilling lives, we
need to stop judging our worth by comparing ourselves
with others.
2) Nichiren Daishonin explains our innate Buddhahood
as an absolute value of goodness—that is,
good in and of itself, not because of external conditions.
To awaken to this treasure inside is authentic happiness.
3) One of the greatest ways to praise ourselves
is through prayer that sincerely affirms our supreme
potential. As we recognize our own Buddhahood, we
cannot help but recognize the same quality in others,
which further strengthens self-esteem. |
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After nine years of litigation, Nichiren
Shoshu on Jan. 31 withdrew its libel case against the
Soka Gakkai over the Seattle Incident. Tokyo High Court
chief judge Kazuo Masui had strongly recommended that
Nichiren Shoshu withdraw the case, and the Soka Gakkai,
based on advice from the judge, decided to accept the
priesthood’s withdrawal.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.—the
first amendment, united states constitution
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.
—article 7, the sgi charter
To exercise freedom of religion, as guaranteed by the
First Amendment, is to choose and practice religion freely
according to one’s conscience.We exercise this freedom
when we make a conscious decision to take faith, uninhibited
by any external power. I exercised my freedom of religion
when I was twenty-one, although my family had joined the
Soka Gakkai almost two decades earlier.
When I was a senior in college, one of my best friends
developed cancer and was given a year to live. I was desperate,
not knowing what I could do for him.
I spoke with an SGI leader whom I respected. He said,
“Let’s introduce your friend to Nichiren Buddhism!”
So I did.
After I visited him at the hospital for more than forty
days in a row, my friend decided to join the SGI, not
because my explanation of Buddhism had made any sense
to him, but probably because he thought he had nothing
to lose at that point. To make our long story short, he
eventually overcame his illness. Today, almost twenty
years later, he still practices Buddhism despite his busy
work schedule. He is healthy and happily married with
two children.
The process of encouraging my friend to take faith was
the process of my own awakening. I witnessed the power
of prayer as he became healthier. I also witnessed the
sincerity of many SGI members who supported my friend
as if he were their own son. At that time, I decided to
practice Nichiren Buddhism for my own sake. That was the
moment I exercised my freedom of religion. It is ironic
that when I thought I was helping my friend, he was actually
helping me to make one of the most important decisions
of my life.
I freely chose to practice this faith through my own experience
and understanding, however limited at that time.
Faith Needs Freedom
Faith must be freely chosen. If faith is coerced, whatever
one professes cannot be called “faith” anymore.
In his Latin treatise A Letter Concerning Toleration,
John Locke writes: “All the life and power of true
religion consist in the inward and full persuasion of
the mind; and faith is not faith without believing”
(Patrick Romanell, ed., William Popple, trans., p. 18).
Locke went so far as to assert that the coercion of faith
is not only “hypocrisy” but also “contempt”
of religion itself (ibid., 18). True religious faith cannot
exist without freedom of religion, whose quintessence
lies in freedom of conscience.
Nichiren Daishonin understood the importance of individual
conscience and held that the realm of faith is above and
beyond the reach of any secular power. As he proclaimed
to Hei no Saemon, a powerful military official of the
Kamakura shogunate government, “Even if it seems
that, because I was born in the ruler’s domain,
I follow him in my actions, I will never follow him in
my heart” (wnd, 579). Nichiren knew that to compromise
one’s freedom of conscience is to abandon one’s
personal integrity and lead a life of hypocrisy. So he
encouraged his own disciples: “My disciples, form
your ranks and follow me.... If you quail before the threats
of the ruler of this little island country [and abandon
your faith], how will you face the even more terrible
anger of Yama, the lord of hell? If, while calling yourselves
the Buddha’s messengers, you give way to fear,
you will be the most despicable of persons!” (wnd,
765).
James Madison, the prime author of the First Amendment,
also understood freedom of conscience as the foundation
of faith. In his “Memorial and Remonstrance Against
Religious Assessments,” Madison argued against a
proposed tax to support Christian ministers of all denominations.
He writes: “Religion or the duty which we owe to
our Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be directed
only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence.
The Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction
and conscience of every man; and it is the right of every
man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is
in its nature an unalienable right. It is unalienable,
because the opinions of men, depending only on the evidence
contemplated by their own minds cannot follow the dictates
of other men” (James Madison: Writings, p. 30).
Freedom of religion exists so that it may protect and
encourage freedom of conscience. For without freedom of
conscience, there can be no faith.
The outer shell of religion may flourish without freedom
of religion, but the substance of religion cannot survive
without it. Madison explains that the absence of religious
freedom and the influence of external powers lead to “pride
and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in
the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution”
(ibid., 32).
Freedom Needs Faith
For faith to thrive, one’s conscience must be free.
Freedom of conscience, in turn, depends upon one’s
inner strength of character. Those who lack spiritual
strength may be easily swayed by the threat and fear of
an external power and confused by the manipulations of
others. As a means of spiritual empowerment, people have
often depended on their faith. As much as faith needs
freedom, freedom needs faith, because freedom presupposes
strength of spirit, which seeks as its source the engine
of faith.
Alexis de Tocqueville, one of the most astute observers
of American democracy, saw another reason why freedom
needs faith: “Religion, which, among Americans,
never mixes directly in the government of society, should
therefore be considered as the first of their political
institutions; for if it does not give them the taste for
freedom, it singularly facilitates their use of it”
(Democracy in America, Harvey C. Mansfield and Delba Winthrop,
trans., p. 280). What is the use of freedom, Tocqueville
argues, if we lack its prime outlet of expression? We
can enjoy the fruit of liberty with a great sense of immediacy
when we experience freedom in our choice and practice
of faith. Because we cherish faith, we value and fight
for the liberty upon which faith depends.
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While utmost courtesy and
decency must be observed in dialogue, speaking out
the truth of Nichiren Buddhism is the essence of
the Soka Spirit. What understanding and attitude
will enable us to refute the misleading beliefs
of Nichiren Shoshu with respect? |
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It is difficult to separate
persons from their ideas since people often feel
offended when their beliefs are criticized. Not
to offend others, therefore, some people avoid dialogue
on faith altogether. How can we overcome this obstacle
in our path of dialogue without eliminating the
path itself? |
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It’s easy to be tolerant
if you don’t believe. It’s often the
case that the stronger your religious conviction,
the more intolerant you become. What aspects of
Nichiren Buddhism make it possible that the more
you believe, the more genuinely tolerant you become? |
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As much as our democracy needs freedom, our freedom needs
faith. In this sense, there is a profound significance
in Tocqueville’s statement that religion is “the
first” of America’s “political institutions.”
Religion, in Tocqueville’s opinion, is the foundation
of America’s freedom and thus its democracy.
An Expression of Faith and
Freedom
Our honest, open dialogue with others is a concrete expression
of our faith and freedom; it is one of the most important
forms of the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the
First Amendment for all Americans. Through speaking what
we believe as truth and listening to the viewpoints of
others, we can develop mutual respect among different
faiths based on understanding instead of inciting hatred
based on ignorance.
The exercise of religious freedom, however, should not
be without bounds. One cannot inflict violence on others,
claiming that doing so is one’s free exercise of
religion. No one can refuse to pay taxes in America, claiming
that paying taxes goes against one’s religious beliefs.
These are external bounds of religious freedom set by
the laws of society.
In addition, there are some internal forms of the abuse
of religious freedom that, though they may not go against
the laws of society, contradict the purpose and intent
of religious freedom. If a person, engaged in a dialogue
about faith, tries to manipulate another’s conscience
and obstruct his or her exercise of reason through fear
or falsehood, that person is contradicting the purpose
of dialogue by causing confusion instead of understanding.
In this sense, one important purpose of our dialogue on
faith is to encourage the free exercise of conscience
through appealing to others’ reason and integrity.
To respect others and their religions is to respect their
power and responsibility to make up their own minds.
Beyond Negative Freedom and Passive Tolerance Although
we have religious liberty, there are some limits to how
our Founding Fathers enabled us to truly enjoy “the
free exercise thereof.” An influential British philosopher
of the last century, Isaiah Berlin explained that there
are two kinds of freedom: “negative freedom”
and “positive freedom”
(“Two Concepts of Liberty” from Four Essays
on Liberty, pp. 118–72).
What he describes as negative freedom is freedom from
external constraints, which are usually political in nature.
Berlin calls such freedom “negative” not necessarily
because it is lower in value, but because it is
essentially a release from external forces and conditions.
Positive freedom, on the other hand, is freedom to do
something in accord with one’s conscience. Berlin
explains that positive freedom is the freedom of a “doer—deciding,
not being decided for, self-directed and not acted upon
by external nature or by other men” (ibid., 131).
In America, we enjoy the precious, hard-won negative freedom
from government powers in matters of religion, thanks
to Madison and other fighters of religious liberty. To
enjoy the positive freedom of religion, however, each
of us must work to overcome our inner powerlessness and
awaken to our true conscience. Without inner strength,
we are vulnerable to external powers and their manipulation
of our conscience.We would let others decide matters of
faith for us instead of deciding on our own.
Another hurdle to overcome for the true enjoyment of religious
freedom is passive tolerance. Passive tolerance is indifference
to others’ happiness; it is the lack of compassion
that says: “Do whatever you please. It’s your
own concern. But don’t meddle in my business.”
Genuine tolerance is the opposite of indifference; it
is an active concern and respect for the happiness of
others.
To go beyond negative freedom and passive tolerance, people
need to strengthen themselves and develop compassion for
others. In this sense, to further deepen the idea and
practice of religious liberty in America, we practice
Nichiren Buddhism. Our efforts to engage in dialogue with
others are not only an expression of freedom afforded
by the Founding Fathers but also a historic enterprise
to give substance to this American ideal.
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(from World Tribune, February
15, 2002)
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