Daisaku Ikeda - Life and Establishment of SGI

Life and Establishment of SGI

Daisaku Ikeda was born the fifth son of seaweed farmers of Korean descent in Ōta, Tokyo. He had four older brothers, who fought in World War II, two younger brothers, and a sister. During the war, his eldest brother, Kiichi Ikeda (1916–1945), was killed and his familyʼs home destroyed. As a child, he suffered from poor health and later tuberculosis; at the time, doctors had predicted that he wouldn't survive beyond the age of 30.

In August 1947, he met Jōsei Toda at a Sōka Gakkai discussion meeting and, later that month, joined the organization. In 1948, Ikeda made the decision to sacrifice his schooling in order to dedicate his full, unreserved efforts to helping Toda resolve the financial situation then confounding him, and go on to fulfill greater dreams for world peace. Initially, this involved working for Toda's publishing business. In return, Toda pledged to give Ikeda a thorough, university-level education in literature, history, chemistry, physics, economics, law, mathematics, and organization theory. Ikeda regarded Toda as his spiritual mentor. In his writings, Ikeda states that Toda exerted the greatest influence on him through “the profound compassion that characterized each of his interactions”. Ikeda became President of Sōka Gakkai in 1960, after which he began traveling abroad to realize Todaʼs vision of expanding the Soka Gakkai movement.

After World War II Sōka Gakkai formed SGI (Sōka Gakkai International) to support its members overseas.

In its early days, the Soka Gakkai was despised and laughed at in Japanese society as a gathering of the sick and poor. Josei Toda, my life mentor, took this as a point of pride, however, and declared with confidence: “The true mission of religion is to bring relief to the sick and the poor. That is the purpose of Buddhism. The Soka Gakkai is the ally and friend of the common people, a friend to the unhappy. However much we may be looked down on, we will continue to fight for the sake of such people.”

— Daisaku Ikeda, "Faith in Revolution" : An Interview, Tricycle Magazine

Nichiren states that the eight Chinese characters that translate as “you should rise and greet him from afar, showing him the same respect you would a Buddha” express his first and highest transmission— the human qualities Shakyamuni hoped most to see in those who practiced the Lotus Sutra in the future after his passing. In other words, the most fundamental thing is our action and behavior as human beings, our ability to care for and treasure a single individual. There is a chapter of the Lotus Sutra dedicated to Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, who reverentially saluted each person he encountered with the words: “I have profound reverence for you, I would never dare treat you with disparaging and arrogance. Why? Because you are all practicing the bodhisattva way and are certain to attain Buddhahood.” This provides us with a concrete model for our interactions with others as modern Buddhists living in an age of international interconnection and global issues and concerns. According to the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, the period of time we are living in is called the Latter Day of the Law, an era of conflict and strife when all things tend toward conflict. The only way of resisting and countering the violent tides of such an age is with strong faith in the Buddha-nature of oneself and of others. And the way that this is put into practice is through the respect we can offer others.

— Daisaku Ikeda, "Faith in Revolution" : An Interview, Tricycle Magazine

Ikeda took a lead role in this development and became President of SGI upon its founding in 1975. Soka Gakkai International (SGI) was founded by Daisaku Ikeda on the island of Guam in 1975.

In 1979, Ikeda was forced to resign as president of Sōka Gakkai, accepting responsibility for its purported deviation from Nichiren Shōshū doctrines, and the accompanying conflict with the priesthood, and was succeeded by Hiroshi Hōjō. Even so, Ikeda remained president of SGI, and the position of Sōka Gakkai Honorary President, which he still retains, was created for him by Nittatsu Shonin, then the Nichiren Shoshu High Priest. He was excommunicated by Nichiren Shōshū on August 11, 1992. SGI members often describe their group as Buddhism's first Protestant movement, since its excommunication by Nichiren Shoshu in 1991.

As of May 2011, Ikeda had received 310 honorary doctorates. He also delivered lectures to some of the leading universities around the world, i.e. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Moscow State University, Peking University, University of Buenos Aires, University of Macau, University of the Philippines, Harvard University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, University of Bologna, Ateneo de Santander, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, and etc.

In his role as president of SGI, Ikeda acts to support the membership in a number of ways, including support and encouragement through his writings and lectures, and striving to promote a dialogue with many of today's world leaders on the relevance of Nichiren Buddhist principles to today's global challenges. As such, the SGI membership views him as a role model for how to apply this practice in their own lives. Ikeda is referred to by some members as their "mentor in life" (jinsei no shishō, 人生の師匠), and is frequently referred to in the third person as Sensei (先生, "teacher").

According to Nichiren Buddhists' interpretation of the Lotus Sutra, one may awaken one's Buddha Nature through a practice of chanting the phrase: Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō (南無妙法蓮華經?). This practice is thought to develop one's sense of compassion, wisdom, and clarity of mind; and to heighten a sense of the interconnectedness of all life — the "oneness of life and environment" (esho funi). One is encouraged to consider the karmic effects of one's thoughts, actions, and deeds.

Nichiren used the following analogy to explain the daimoku, or “Great Title,” and how it works: “When a caged bird sings, birds who are flying in the sky are thereby summoned and gather around, and when the birds flying in the sky gather around, the bird in the cage strives to get out. When with our mouths we chant the Mystic Law, our Buddha-nature, being summoned, will invariably emerge.” 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 Buddhanature, 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.

— Daisaku Ikeda, "Faith in Revolution" : An Interview, Tricycle Magazine

As Arnold J. Toynbee shared his agreement of the core in Buddhist philosophy that Ikeda has spread for the sake of humanistic value and peaceful world,

In spite of the difference between the authors' religious and cultural backgrounds, a remarkable degree of agreement in their outlooks and aims has been brought to light in their dialogue. Their agreement is far-reaching; their points of disagreement are relative slight. They agree in believing that religion is the mainspring of human life. They agree that a human being ought to be perpetually striving to overcome his innate propensity to try to exploit the rest of the universe and that he ought to be trying, instead, to put himself at the service of the universe so unreservedly that his ego will become identical with an ultimate reality, which for a Buddhist is the Buddha state. They agree in believing that this ultimate reality is not a human-like divine personality. They also agree in believing in the reality of karma, a Sanskrit word that literally means "action" but that, in the vocabulary of Buddhism, has acquired the special meaning of an ethical "bank-account" in which the balance is constantly being changed by fresh credit or fresh debit entries during a human being's psychosomatic life on earth. The balance of a human being's karma, at any particular moment, is determined by the plus or minus sum of the previous credit or debit entries; but the karma-bearer can, and will, change the balance, for better or for worse, by his further acts. In fact, he makes his karma for himself and is thus, at least partially, a free agent. As the authors see it, a human being's perennial spiritual task is to overcome his egoism by expanding his ego until it becomes coextensive with the ultimate reality, from which it is, in truth, is inseparable.

— Arnold Toynbee and Daisaku Ikeda, Preface in CHOOSE LIFE : A DIALOGUE, EDITOR'S NOTE : This preface was written by Mr. Toynbee in the third person on behalf of both authors.

Through the study of their teachings, the practice of chanting, and the practice of active involvement in the world at large, Sōka Gakkai members think they are able to develop the innate Buddha Nature, leading to a happier, more fulfilling life for themselves and others. Ikeda has had dialogues with many people including Arnold J. Toynbee, Linus Pauling, Wangari Maathai, Marianne Pearl, M.S.Swaminathan, Roberto Baggio, Coretta Scott King, Joseph Rotblat, John Kenneth Galbraith, David Norton, Betty Williams (nobel laureate), Ba Jin, and Rosa Parks. Many of his dialogues have been published in various languages.

Choose Life: A Dialogue has been published in more than twenty languages.

It is also possible that, in their exchange of ideas about philosophical and religious life, the authors have delved into subconscious psychic strata of human nature to a depth at which they have reached elements of human nature that are the same in all human beings, always and everywhere, in virtue of being the offspring of the ultimate common ground of existence that is at the root of all phenomena.

— Arnold Toynbee and Daisaku Ikeda, Preface in CHOOSE LIFE : A DIALOGUE, EDITOR'S NOTE : This preface was written by Mr. Toynbee in the third person on behalf of both authors.

In his public appearance, he has always revealed his deep respect to every person, SGI members or otherwise, children or female, as he upholds the Buddhist philosophy that respects everyone equally. Also, he usually has mentioned on the gender equality based on the Buddhist concept with the example of the dragon king's daughter.

To believe in both oneself and others, and to treat others as one would a Buddha—this is the practice that awakens and calls forth the Buddha-nature that resides within us all. It is here that the practice of straightforward propagation advocated by Nichiren has its true significance. It is precisely because we are able to muster faith in the Buddha-nature of the other person that we can bring forth compassion from within ourselves and, desiring happiness for all, continue an earnest and respect-filled process of dialogue. This is the real spirit of propagation— of spreading Buddhism from one person to another. It first and foremost involves building trust and friendship through respectful, ongoing dialogue. All people are equally endowed with the inherent capacity to respect others, and this capacity is a source of inexhaustible hope because it embodies a universal truth that transcends the specifics of religious creeds. The respect offered by Buddhists to other people is offered in virtue of their humanity, without regard to their religious belief or creed. Nichiren described this with a poetic metaphor, saying that when we bow to a mirror, the figure in the mirror bows back reverentially at us. This is the true spirit of Buddhism, and yes, it is reason for great hope.

— Daisaku Ikeda, "Faith in Revolution" : An Interview, Tricycle Magazine

Ikeda has often been the subject of controversy.

The British journalist and political commentator Polly Toynbee was invited to meet Ikeda in 1984, as Ikeda "was hoping to tighten the public connection between himself and Polly Toynbee's famous grandfather, Arnold Toynbee, the prophet of the rise of the East." She described him as "a short, round man with slicked down hair, wearing a sharp Western suit"; they talked from "throne-like" chairs in "an enormous room" reached via "corridors of bowing girls dressed in white". Toynbee wrote "I have met many powerful men — prime ministers, leaders of all kinds — but I have never in my life met anyone who exudes such an aura of absolute power as Mr. Ikeda." Historian William H. McNeill recounts Arnold Toynbee’s own words in response to criticism levelled at the Soka Gakkai and Ikeda:

“I agree with Soka Gakkai on religion as the most important thing in human life, and on opposition to militarism and war.”

And:

“Mr. Ikeda’s personality is strong and dynamic and such characters are often controversial. My own feeling for Mr. Ikeda is one of great respect and sympathy.”

Arnold Toynbee is very grateful to Daisaku Ikeda for having it upon his younger shoulders.

— Arnold Toynbee and Daisaku Ikeda, Preface in CHOOSE LIFE : A DIALOGUE, EDITOR'S NOTE : This preface was written by Mr. Toynbee in the third person on behalf of both authors.

A 1995 San Francisco Chronicle article titled "Japan Fears Another Religious Sect" outlined charges in Japan that Sōka Gakkai was "heavy-handed fund raising and proselytizing, as well as intimidating its foes and trying to grab political power". It quotes a professor at Meisei University as describing Ikeda as "a power-hungry individual who intends to take control of the government and make Soka Gakkai the national religion"; the article describes evidence videotaped in 1993 of "Ikeda yelling and pounding on tables in anger and later railing against President Clinton for having refused to meet with him".

A 1995 Time magazine article criticized Daisaku Ikeda and Sōka Gakkai, claiming that Ikeda, as "honorary president and unquestioned commander" of Sōka Gakkai, had said of Kōmeitō: "This time, not the next time, is going to be about winning or losing. We cannot hesitate. We must conquer the country with one stroke." However, the case of Akiyo Asaki mentioned in the first paragraph of this same article was later revealed that it is not true. In the same year, exonerations by the Japanese Supreme Court received very little media attention. In 1999, The New York Times published an article on the uneasy rise of the New Kōmeitō Party in Japan (funded largely by Ikeda and Sōka Gakkai). In response, a letter to the editor by Alfred Balitzer (later of Soka University of America) offered a more sympathetic portrayal of Sōka Gakkai.

The Soka Gakkai first entered politics in the 1950s; their goals then and now being to challenge government corruption by bringing more ethical individuals into the political arena, to represent the voice of ordinary people, and to protect the freedom of religion. Consequently, Japanese religious associations can become political powers. In Japan’s democratic system, when a large enough number of people share the belief of a particular religious association and vote as a block in elections, they can—and do—add their religious hue to the colors of political power. ..... Over time, and through their political partnerships, the Soka Gakkai has gained some power. Now, through the Soka Gakkai-backed New Komeito, the party influences Japan’s political process through introducing Buddhist values and goals.

— Keiko Yamagishi, Brigham Young University Law Review, 2008, Freedom of Religion, Religious Political Participation, and Separation of Religion and State: Legal Considerations from Japan

The SGI is engaged in wide-ranging activities and exchanges for the promotion of peace, culture, and education. Buddhism is a teaching that exists for people's happiness. That is its very basis. We must, threfore, take a firm stand aginst authoritarian forces that seek to subvert the humanistic ideals of Nichiren Buddhism. It must never turn it into a religion that exists only for its own sake and exploits people for its own ends.

— Daisaku Ikeda, Living Buddhism, Nov 2011 p. 31