Chapter Seven A Revolution Dawns - sgi-usa.org

Chapter Seven

A Revolution Dawns

An Essay by SGI President Ikeda

The SGI president remembers 1990, the year that Meeting” was delivered to the Soka Gakkai
the priesthood tried to take control of the Soka Headquarters. Among other things, the docu-
Gakkai and started to negate Nichiren Daisho- ment claimed that singing “Ode to Joy,” the
nin’s humanistic teachings. “For the sake of Ninth Symphony’s choral section, was slander
kosen-rufu, we of the Soka Gakkai simply could of the Law; it was tantamount to praising
not allow the Daishonin’s teachings to be tram- non-Buddhist teachings, to venerating Chris-
pled in this manner,” President Ikeda writes. “The tianity. The priesthood took exception to the
Daishonin’s Buddhism exists for all the world’s fact that I had suggested at the meeting in
people. We rallied to defend the Daishonin’s spirit, question that we put on a large scale choral
and we rose as one. It marked the dawn of a new performance of “Ode to Joy” in the future.
religious revolution.” (This article appeared in
the February 5, 1999, World Tribune, p. 4) The Nichiren Shoshu document criticized
me for saying things I never said and was an
B eethoven’s Ninth Symphony is the attempt to brand me with the labels of slan-
roar of the spirit of that great musical derer of the Law and slanderer of the high
genius, who proclaimed: “At the end of priest. We sought to discuss these claims with
suffering, there is joy!” It is a sublime, eternal the priesthood, but the cowardly priests hid
hymn that links all humanity as brothers and and refused to come forth to talk.
sisters, a rousing paean of the people.
Then, at the end of 1990, under the pretext
On December 12, 1998, I was fortunate to of revising Nichiren Shoshu’s regulations, they
enjoy once again the Soka University students’ eliminated the position of head of all Nichiren
performance of the Ninth Symphony, which Shoshu lay organizations, the post I held, and
has now become an annual tradition. It was effectively dismissed me.
this same symphony that was performed on
October 3, 1990, as a song of victory celebrating “They wanted to get me out
Germany’s reunification, which was finally of the way”
attained after such a long, hard struggle.
Their aim was clear. They wanted to get me
It was a few months later, in mid-December out of the way, to destroy the Soka Gakkai
1990, that a document from the Nichiren and, under the cloak of priestly authority, to
Shoshu Administrative Office titled “Ques- control all the Soka Gakkai members as if they
tions Regarding the Speech of Honorary Presi- were their personal slaves.
dent Ikeda at the 35th Headquarters Leaders

28 ESSENTIALS EXAM, PART 2

The Nikken sect began propounding Daishonin’s writings, that this madness of
doctrines found nowhere in Nichiren Daisho- Nikken was an example of the devil king of
nin’s teachings. They declared, for instance, the sixth heaven having entered the body of
that the high priest and the Dai-Gohonzon are a high-ranking priest in an effort to destroy
“two indivisible entities of the object of funda- Buddhism.
mental respect.” Their plan was to create a
hierarchy of power and control, with the high The Soka Gakkai is an organization of
priest at the apex, followed by the rest of the people completely dedicated to advancing the
priesthood, who stood above the lay believers widespread propagation of the Mystic Law,
and dominated them. thereby carrying out the Buddha’s will and
decree. The Nikken sect, on the other hand,
This was in complete violation of the in excommunicating the Soka Gakkai with its
Daishonin’s teachings, which uphold the own hand cut off the true lineage of faith and
principles of the dignity and equality of returned to the vile behavior it had exhibited
all human beings and state that we are all during World War II, when it denigrated the
treasure towers, we are all children of the Daishonin’s spirit and utterly betrayed his
Buddha. teachings.

If we had allowed the priesthood to do this, Soka Gakkai Embraces
Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism would have Spiritual Independence
become a false religion that served only as an
instrument of oppression and harm. It also For the Soka Gakkai, the excommunication
soon became clear that the Nikken sect was released us from the chains by which the
guilty of an astonishing number of violations envious, scheming Nikken sect had sought
of the Daishonin’s teachings—for example, to control Nichiren Daishonin’s followers
Nikken, the sixty-seventh high priest of and allowed us to claim our true spiritual
Nichiren Shoshu, had erected a new ancestral independence.
tombstone in a Zen temple cemetery. Stories of
the greed of the clergy in selling their services The outcome of the struggle of good and
at funerals and in memorial tablets for the evil and the workings of the law of cause and
deceased, along with an astonishing number effect have been strict and uncompromising.
of incidents of corruption and degeneracy— The decline of the Nikken sect is clear.
including profligate spending and licentious
behavior—surfaced one after another. The victims, unfortunately, are the lay
believers who practice with the temple, who
For the sake of kosen-rufu, we of the Soka are not aware of the evil heresy of the Nikken
Gakkai simply could not allow the Daisho- sect and have been deceived by the priests.
nin’s teachings to be trampled in this manner.
Nichiren Buddhism exists for all the world’s We declare confidently to all: Look
people. We rallied to defend the Daishonin’s at the exciting, joyful activities of our
spirit, and we rose as one. It marked the dawn comrades spreading the Daishonin’s teach-
of a new religious revolution. ings throughout the world! Listen to their
bright song of hope and life, filled and over-
On November 28 the following year, 1991, flowing with benefit!
the Nikken sect excommunicated the Soka
Gakkai. What madness! It was the Soka The new humanism of the Soka Gakkai,
Gakkai that had always upheld the Daishonin’s derived from Nichiren Buddhism, is linking
teachings to the letter. The mask of the priests people around the globe, transcending
was ripped away by this action. national and ethnic boundaries, and earning
praise from all as the light of hope for the new
But the Soka Gakkai members did not century.
quail. We knew, from our reading of the

SOKA SPIRIT 29

Leaders of diverse fields who seek a He once told a young man who was always
philosophy of humanism and peace come to maneuvering and striving to look good in the
the Soka Gakkai in a constant stream from all organization without making any effort: “If
over the world. Isn’t this brilliant proof of our you keep this up, you’re going to come to a
truth and rightness? pitiful end in life. I can discern no desire on
your part to live with decency and honor. You
Most despicable of all are those former are deceitful, and in the end, you’re the one
Soka Gakkai members who have betrayed their who will suffer for it.” He said this out of great
comrades in the organization and the Soka compassion, out of a deep wish to prevent the
Gakkai itself, although they owe us so much, young man from going further astray and
in order to curry favor with the priests. Simón losing his faith.
Bolivar, the great liberator of Latin America,
once said, “Forgetting one’s debt is the greatest How wonderful it is, in every age, for a
crime a person can commit.” First Soka Gakkai person to have a true teacher!
President Tsunesaburo Makiguchi used to say,
“The final fate of all traitors is a degrading Mr. Toda often used to say about trai-
story of suffering and ignominy.” tors: “Leave those lowly losers be. Betraying
the Soka Gakkai is betraying the Daishonin.
Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda In the end, they’ll receive the punishment of
also took a harsh view of ingratitude and the Buddha [negative retribution in accord
treachery. Though in one respect he seemed with the strict workings of the law of cause
easygoing and an accepting man, he was and effect], you’ll see.” Right human conduct
very strict about the conduct and behavior of means fighting against evil and cutting it off
youth. He believed that the time of one’s youth at its root. The tricolor Soka Gakkai banner of
is vital in building the foundation for the rest victory waves in the skies of the new century,
of one’s life. When it came to the essentials, he and a song of joy resounds throughout the
could be quite ferocious. heavens. The grand march of a new year, of a
new century of Soka, has begun.
Once, one of his disciples told a lie. When
Mr. Toda learned of this, he took the youth —See A Revolution Dawns, pp. 55–59.
to task, thundering: “Are lying and deceit any
way for a young person to behave?! Have you
become a fox?” He was the epitome of paternal
strictness.

30 ESSENTIALS EXAM, PART 2