"Soka Gakkai: A new form of Japanese Buddhism that equates faith with the acquisition of political power

From SOKA GAKKAI AND THE KOMEITO: BUDDHSIM AND POLITICAL POWER IN JAPAN (excerpts):

The thesis of this paper is that “faith” is understood in present day Soka Gakkai religious doctrine primarily in terms of political power. In other words, the “fruit" correct faith is the acquisition of political power, which is considered necessary in order to accomplish the goal of kosen-rufu, the world-wide conversion of all people to teachings of Nichiren, the twelfth-century founder of the Nichiren Buddhist tradition. Only when Soka Gakkai is in control of the political process will “salvation come to all people" and a peaceful and “happy” society be established.^6 To demonstrate this it is necessary to briefly discuss the history of the Komeito, its doctrinal foundation, and its specific political goals and activities.

^6. This was the main topic of discussion in a recorded interview I did with Mr. Akiyama Tomiya，the Vice Director and Chief of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of Soka Gakkai at the Tokyo headquarters on December 20， 1968. It is also the main thrust of current Soka Gakkai publications. Specifically religious concerns are defined in terms of the political ideology of the Komeito.

#It is as if religious values had been transformed into purely political values.

(How gauche O_O)

The point is not that politics and religion do not have profound connections. The point is that Soka Gakkai appears to be transforming “religious faith” into specifically secular political values. Both within Soka Gakkai and the Komeito, political activism and ideology have become a means of evangelism, while at the same time religious faith has become a means of gaining political power. Faith and political power are so intimately related that it is quite difficult to determine where one ends and the other begins.

McFarland’s second question has to do with whether or not Soka Gakkai stands for a policy that can be politically implemented. The goal of establishing a “Buddhist Democracy", which has been defined as a “parliamentary democracy in which every individual has been awakened to the principles of Buddhism presupposes the conversion of the majority of the Japanese to Nichiren Shoshu, although the current goal of kosenrufu is one-third of the population. It does not seem likely that a political system can be created on the condition of conversion to a particular religious faith.

Finally, will Soka Gakkai transform itself into another “establishment organization?" As a mass movement, Soka Gakkai has been a severe critic of the politico-religious establishments of Japan. However, there is a tendency for all mass movements to “sell out the revolution’，when they become strong enough to make changes in society. Mass movements also begin to institutionalize themselves at this point in order to solidify their gains and to provide a base for future operations. Thus, a powerful mass movement usually becomes part of the sociopolitical establishment it started out to change. Soka Gakkai is fast approaching this point because of its complex organizational structure and its political strength. The very fact that it has organized a legal political party places Soka Gakkai squarely within the Japanese political “system" it so severely criticizes and wants to change. However, much depends upon the leadership of President Ikeda as well as the abilities of his successor.

Soka Gakkai was able to survive the leadership vacuum when President Toda died because its Board of Directors conferred the Presidency upon Ikeda, Toda’s disciple and personal choice as his successor.

(har har har)

President Ikeda is a charismatic leader, although not to the same degree Toda was. But charismatic leadership has a way of running itself out so that what is left is not the personal charisma of the leader but the charisma of the leader’s office. At this point, a mass movement ceases to be a mass movement and becomes part of the establishment. The question remains open as to whether or not Soka Gakkai will be able to find a leader of Ikeda's ability and charisma. But in a movement where all things revolve around the charisma, skill, and decisions of the leader, the vacuum created by his departure and the problem of finding a successor are crucial to its future.

One thing is certain at the moment. Soka Gakkai has only begun to develop the political role of Buddhism in Japan, and it has the potential to develop this role through the Komeito further than ever before in Japanese history. But the specific directions of this development remain unclear. This much can be safely said. The political and religious goals of Soka Gakkai have become identified with and oriented toward national power based on the rather authoritarian formula of unswerving faith in and absolute allegiance without dissent to the religious faith of Nichiren Shoshu as interpreted by Soka Gakkai and the political policies of the Komeito as determined by President Ikeda.

#Soka Gakkai is a new form of Japanese Buddhism that equates faith with the acquisition of political power.