Sōka Gakkai

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Headquarters of Sōka Gakkai in Tokyo

Sōka Gakkai ( Japanese 創 価 学会 , dt. "Value-creating society") is a new religious movement that was founded in Japan in 1937 by Makiguchi Tsunesaburō and is now only partially based on the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism . Affiliated to the Nichiren-Shōshū until its exclusion in 1991 (1997) , the Soka Gakkai developed as a pure lay movement into a large religious community, especially after the Second World War in Japan. The current president of the organization is Minoru Harada.

Foundation and history

Sōka Gakkai Makiguchi Memorial Hall, Tokyo

The Sōka Gakkai was originally founded in 1930 by the educator Makiguchi Tsunesaburō under the name Sōka Kyōiku Gakkai ( 創 価 教育 学会 , dt. "Value-creating educational society") in Tokyo. The first general assembly did not take place until 1937.

Less in opposition to the policy of expansion , but more for religious reasons, the organization was banned during the Second World War. In 1942 Makiguchi expressed support for the Sino-Japanese War, but he and his successor Josei Toda oppose the installation of a Shinto talisman in the temples of the Nichiren Shōshū and were imprisoned in 1943 for "anti-war activities". From 1945 the Sōka Gakkai became active again under the direction of Josei Toda.

The religious and political sect , militant in its early days , which claimed 4.3 million followers in February 1964, aims to revive the “true religion of Nichiren”. It is one of the new religious movements, the Shinshūkyō . In 1975 the Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) was established as the umbrella organization of the national Sōka Gakkai communities, which today, according to its own statements, have around twelve million followers in 190 countries worldwide. The vast majority of supporters are in Japan, where, according to the SGI, they amount to approx. 8.27 million. This number is repeatedly questioned by outsiders, with the Office for Cultural Affairs of approx. 5.42 million in 2000 Followers in Japan, so the number of followers should not be clearly quantified. The SGI has been represented at the United Nations as a non-governmental organization ( NGO ) since 1983 .

In the mid-1990s, the group's net worth was estimated at 100 billion US dollars, although the group denied this amount, but never disclosed its finances in return.

Basics, goals and commitment

The Nichikan Gohonzon as bestowed on SGI supporters. It is a copy of the original, which was originally created by the 26th high priest of the Nichiren-Shōshū or Taiseki-ji , Nichikan (1665-1726).

The community, which was originally founded as a lay movement within the Nichiren Shōshū , and has since been excluded from it, refers to the Buddhist scholar and reformer Nichiren , who in the 13th century declared the Lotus Sutra to be the essence and ultimate teaching of Shakyamuni, the founder of the religion .

The central practice is the repeated recitation (called chanting) of the mantra : " Nam Myoho Renge Kyo " ( daimoku ) before a Gohonzon (also available as O-Mamori -Gohonzon). Through chanting , the Buddha nature that basically exists in humans is to be manifested.

The Sōka Gakkai aims in its commitment to spreading the Buddhist teaching and humanistic philosophy of Nichiren. The stated goals are: peace , prosperity , health and personal happiness of the people. In addition, it emphasizes the individual development of every human being (referred to as the human revolution) as a prerequisite and basis for global peace.

The Japanese Sōka Gakkai currently has around eight million households, according to its own information. This makes it the largest religious organization in Japan.

Sōka Gakkai International, based in Tokyo , is represented in 190 countries. The organization is divided into national groups, regional groups and local groups divided into individual groups.

Characteristic of the Sōka Gakkai Japan is their involvement in Japanese politics, which led to the founding of the Kōmeitō . Since 1970 there has been no accumulation of offices between the Kōmeitō and the Sōka Gakkai, but the Sōka Gakkai are said to have an influence on the party's program and personnel policy.

Sōka Gakkai International

Sōka University , Daisaku Ikeda Auditorium, Tokyo

The 1975 founded the Sōka Gakkai International (SGI).

It has been affiliated to the United Nations as a non-governmental organization ( NGO ) since 1983 and has advisory status in the UN Economic and Social Council ( ECOSOC ) and since 1989 in UNESCO .

The former Sōka-Gakkai-President and current President of the SGI Daisaku Ikeda has been submitting a peace proposal for international peacebuilding to the United Nations annually since 1983, which explains both concrete measures and spiritual aspects from a Buddhist point of view. In 1983 he was awarded the United Nations Peace Prize for his work.

Through his initiative, Sōka Gakkai International (SGI) founds numerous open institutions in peace research, higher education and cultural promotion. Including the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research, the Boston Research Institute for the 21st Century, Sōka University in Tokyo and California as well as the Min'on Concert Association , the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum and the Institute for Oriental Philosophy (IOP) .

SGI in Germany

The SGI in Germany (SGI-D) has existed since 1970 and, according to its own information, currently has around 7500 followers. Numbers on resignations are not published. In the absence of official data, critics suspect that the number of followers is primarily based on the number of Gohonzon awarded to date . According to current association law, supporters of SGI-D are not also association members of SGI-D eV Since 1986 the headquarters of SGI-D has been in Mörfelden-Walldorf near Frankfurt am Main.

The SGI-D is not a member of the German Buddhist Union (DBU) .

Exclusion by the Nichiren Shōshū

Again and again conflicts between the Sōka Gakkai and Nichiren-Shōshū appeared. Both sides cited differences in the interpretation of Nichiren's teaching as well as reasons for power politics.

The first conflicts arose in 1952 on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the first proclamation of the mantra Namu-myoho-renge-Kyo by Nichiren. Led by Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda, an angry mob of violent supporters of the Soka Gakkai forced a Nichiren-Shōshū priest, Jimon Ogasawara, to “apologize” for his supposed cooperation with the Japanese military regime at the tomb of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi on the Taiseki-ji grounds.

In 1974 disputes led to the exclusion of the Myōshinkō (today's name: Kenshōkai ) and in 1980 to the establishment of the Shōshinkai ( 正 信 会 , "Society of Right Belief") a group of lay believers and about 200 priests of the Nichiren Shōshū. In addition to disputes about direction and succession within the Nichiren Shōshū, both groups also criticized the too great influence of the Sōka Gakkai.

During the late 1970s, Daisaku Ikeda tried to redefine the relationship between laypeople and priests, which the priesthood of the Nichiren Shōshū called on the plan. Because of these ambitions Daisaku Ikeda had to resign on April 24, 1977 as President of the Sōka Gakkai, where he continued to function as Honorary President of the Sōka Gakkai and continued to hold the presidency of the Sōka Gakkai International.

The final break came on November 28, 1991, when the Nichiren-Shōshū of the Sōka Gakkai / Sōka Gakkai International withdrew their status as a lay organization of the Nichiren-Shōshū. Until September 20, 1997, however, she considered the individual followers of the Sōka Gakkai / Sōka Gakkai International as believers of the Nichiren-Shōshū (it should be noted here that only believers are allowed to enter the interior of the Taiseki-ji temple).

However, the majority of the followers decided to stay with the Sōka Gakkai / Sōka Gakkai International. Reliable information on how many lay believers felt they belonged to neither of the two groups or switched to other Nichiren schools is not available from either side. In the course of the conflict, however, the Hokkekō Rengō Kai recorded as a lay organization of the Nichiren-Shōshū, especially in the 1900s, an increase in followers. The conflict between these two groups lasted for a long time and has not been completely resolved to this day, as the courts also have to resolve issues of a legal nature. Although there seems to be little disagreement for outsiders regarding the interpretation of Nichiren's teaching, especially with regard to Nichiren as Buddha, the Sōka Gakkai / Sōka Gakkai International rejects the form of the priesthood practiced in the Nichiren-Shōshū under the leadership of a high priest strictly off. Since the Sōka Gakkai with its following in Japan also has a political influence, it remains to be seen whether there were no clear power-political reasons for the separation of Sōka Gakkai / Sōka Gakkai International and Nichiren-Shōshū. Both sides officially cite religious reasons for the break, whereby the Nichiren Shōshū with the supporters of the Sōka Gakkai / Sōka Gakkai International also lost a large part of their financial support.

Controversy

The Sōka Gakkai and their political secession Kōmeitō cause persistent public controversy, especially in Japan. The background to the ongoing discussions about the Soka Gakkai and their connection with Kōmeitō are fundamental questions about Article 20 of the Japanese constitution, which prohibits a connection between religion and state. The organizational connection between Soka Gakkai and Kōmeitō ended in 1994 with the dissolution of the Kōmeitō. The later founded " New Kōmeitō " is supposedly independent of Sōka Gakkai. It is criticized that the leading politicians of the Kōmeitō are at the same time supporters of the Sōka Gakkai and the supporters are mainly recruited from the supporters of the Sōka Gakkai. Japanese media observers attest that the voting behavior of Gakkai supporters in Japan is based strongly on the kōmeitō-friendly statements of Daisaku Ikeda and less on the content of the party program. This is justified with a strong sense of togetherness that connects both organizations. A poor performance in previous election periods is thus attributed to alternate voters who rejected the foreign deployment of Japanese troops as well as the keeping still of the Kōmeitō when visiting the prime minister at the Yasukuni shrine . Political scientists continue to locate the core electorate among the supporters of the Soka Gakkai.

Another reason for controversy was, at least in the past, the sometimes seemingly aggressive form of conversion or recruiting new followers, which is known as Shakubuku (English: "break and subjugate"). Although the company has distanced itself from the seemingly aggressive form of recruiting new followers, the term is still used. Nevertheless, even today there are repeated allegations that the SGI supporters are sometimes pushing for conversion and recruitment.

The so-called master-student relationship has become increasingly important in the SGI in recent years, with the previous presidents of the SGI, Tsunesaburō Makiguchi , Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda being referred to as the three eternal masters / mentors . In a narrower sense, however, the main emphasis is on a master-student relationship between Daisaku Ikeda and the followers of the Sōka Gakkai. To deepen and cultivate this relationship is suggested to the followers of the Sōka Gakkai. The interpretation of the mentor (master) / student relationship is seen by former supporters and critics of the SGI as an indication of a personality cult around Ikeda, which his followers also refer to as sensei . As a result, the hierarchical structure and centralized management authority of the SGI is also criticized.

In the final report of the German study commission of so -called sects and psychogroups from 1998, SGI says that it remains "latently problematic because of its involvement in an international, elsewhere significant and conflict-prone organization".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jacqueline I. Stone, Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism (Studies in East Asian Buddhism), University of Hawaii Press 2003, ISBN 978-0824827717 , page 454.
  2. ^ Levi McLaughlin: Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions . Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion, ISBN 978-90-04-23435-2 , page 282
  3. ^ Brian Daizen Victoria, Senior Lecturer Center for Asian Studies, University of Adelaide, Engaged Buddhism: A Skeleton in the Closet? Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated May 31, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.globalbuddhism.org
  4. ↑ Japan's course is set: For better or for worse (end): National language made of glass, steel, concrete from October 16, 1964
  5. ↑ http://www.relnet.co.jp/relnet/brief/r3-01.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.relnet.co.jp/relnet/brief/r3-01.htm
  7. ↑ Sensei's World, Forbes, September 5, 2004
  8. ↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education
  9. ↑ Summary 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / daisakuikeda.org  
  10. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Structure of SGI Germany @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sgi-d.org
  11. ^ [1] Member communities of the DBU
  12. ^ Daniel B. Montgomery: Fire in the Lotus, Mandala 1991, pp. 186-187
  13. ↑ Murata, Kiyoaki (1969). Japan's new Buddhism: an objective account of Soka Gakkai ([1st ed.]. Ed.). New York: Weatherhill. ISBN 978-0834800403 .
  14. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from June 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Official Shoshinkai Website (Japanese) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fujimon.or.jp
  15. ↑ Ulrich Dehn, in: Birgit Staemmler (ed.): Soka Gakkai , Lit Verlag, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-64390-152-1 , p. 208.
  16. ^ Daniel A. Metraux. "Why Did Ikeda Quit?" , Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, vol. 7, no.1 (March 1980), p. 56.
  17. ↑ http://www.nichiren.com/en/history-e.html
  18. ↑ https://www.nst.org/sgi-faqs/the-history-of-the-relationship-between-nichiren-shoshu-and-the-soka-gakkai/6-issuing-counterfeit-objects-of-worship -and-discussion-of-doctrines-and-purposes /
  19. ↑ Religion and Politics in Japan: Soka Gakkai and Komeito ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 2.2 MB); Rethinking the Komeito Voter , George Ehrhardt, Appalachian State University, Japanese Journal of Political Science 10 (1), pp. 1-20. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de
  20. ^ Levi McLaughlin, Did Aum Change Everything ?, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
  21. ↑ Japanese Constitution (Engl.)
  22. ↑ Lecture by Levi McLaughlin at Princeton University on SGI
  23. ↑ George Ehrhardt: Rethinking the Komeito Voter. In: Japanese Journal of Political Science , 2009, 10 (1), pp. 1-20.
  24. ↑ George Ehrhardt: Rethinking the Komeito Voter , Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 17-19.
  25. ^ Daniel B. Montgomery: Fire in the Lotus, Mandala 1991, pp. 185-186
  26. ↑ http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/bitstream/1808/1135/1/CEAS.1963.n6.pdf
  27. ↑ OCweekly ( Memento of the original from November 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ocweekly.com
  28. ↑ riverdalepress ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / riverdalepress.blogspot.de
  29. ↑ culthelp.info
  30. ↑ Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauung questions, Lexicon, Soka Gakkai
  31. ↑ McLaughlin, Did Aum Change Everything? ( Memento from December 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  32. ↑ Final report of the study commission on so-called sects and psychogroups, p.105 (PDF; 6.5 MB).
  1. ↑ Makiguchi, The Instruction Manual Summarizing the Experiments and Testimonials of Life based on the Philosophy of Value of the Supreme Goodness ., August 10, 1942

Remarks

  1. ^ Quotation based on the reading of Nichiren Shoshu : “You must sacrifice your own skin to slash the opponent's flesh. Surrender your own flesh to saw off the opponent's bone. ' With their faithful implementation of this well-known Japanese fencing ( Kendo ) strategy into actual practice during the war, the Japanese military is able to achieve her glorious, ever-victorious invincibility in the Sino-Japan conflict and in the Pacific war, and thus , easing the minds of the Japanese people. This (strategy of sacrifice) should be held as an ideal lifestyle for those remaining on the home front and should be applied in every aspect of our daily life. " Quote according to the SGI reading: “Allow an opponent to cut your skin while you cut his flesh. Allow him to cut your flesh while you cut his bone. ' This is the quintessential strategy of Japanese swordsmanship. This strategy should be applied to ensure the security of the people. Since it was properly implemented in Sino-Japan war and Great East Asia War, Japan saw victory after victory in all the battles she was engaged in. This essential spirit of swordsmanship is fundamentally applicable for bringing an ideal victory to every aspect of one's daily life on the home front while the war goes on afar. "

literature

  • Markus Schweigkofler: Sōka Gakkai International in Germany (SGI-D). Discourse analytical investigations . utzverlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-8316-4303-5 .
  • The Sōka Gakkai International - Germany - History - Structure - Members of Robert Kötter, published in 2006 in the REMID series, Marburg, ISBN 978-3-934759-03-9
  • 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
  • Buddhism in the Modern World , "By Imperial Edict and Shogunal Decree" - Politics and Issue of Ordination Platform in Modern Lay Nichiren Buddhism by Jacquelin I. Stone, Chapter 8, published by Steven Heine, Charles S Prebish, Oxford University Press US, ISBN 0-19-514698-0
  • Scientific article on Soka Gakkai "The Sōka Gakkai in Australia: Globalization of a New Japanese Religion" by Daniel A. Metraux
  • Ulrich Dehn: Soka Gakkai . In: Michael Klöcker / Udo Tworuschka (ed.): Handbuch der Religionen. Churches and other religious communities in Germany and in German-speaking countries, 58th supplementary delivery (2018), VII - 2.9

Web links

Commons : Sōka Gakkai International  - collection of images, videos and audio files