"In placing Toda upon a pedestal, Ikeda has guaranteed his [own] lineage"

From a 1998 research paper by Levi McLaughlin.

Followers of Nichiren Shoshü maintain that Nichiren's main purpose in returning to earth in the time of mappo was to inscribe the Dai-Gohonzon. It is itself the embodiment of Nichiren the Eternal Buddha, of dharma, the daimoku (nam-myoho-renge-kyo), and also symbolizes the universe as a whole and the basic laws of life.

When one reads the actual writings of Nichiren, it becomes obvious that he did not assert any of these things himself. Most of Nichiren's works are concerned with refuting the claims of rival religious groups, and making dire predictions about the coming disasters that will surely befall Japan if the governrnent continues to ignore his teachings. He does not claim to be eternal, much less the precursor and mentor to Shakyamuni. Indeed, in the Rissho Ankoku Ron [Nichiren's seminal writing], Nichiren declares that "I was born as son of Sakyamuni, and serve the king of scriptures, the Lotus Sutra"'. He asserts that he must have been a participant in the congregation at the delivery of the Lotus Sutra at Vulture Peak, though he is in this existence only a common mortal. Claims of Nichken's etemal divinity, in the Nichiren Shoshu tradition, were codified during the the of Nikkan in the 18th century, and were expanded upon by succeeding generations of priests.

This is the pattern, the way the modern leaders exert their dominance over the entire movement, by rewriting the history of their predecessors to elevate them and show they approve of the present leadership, which solidifies the present leadership's hold over the entire organization and the religion as a whole.

Toda, in declaring Makiguchi an enlightened spiritual leader, was loyally following the pattern set by centuries of Nichiren Shoshü priests, a pattern no doubt analogous to that found in every venerable religious tradition. The pattern of rewriting tradition was continued with vigour by Ikeda after the death of Toda. The Lecture on the Sutra, for instance, includes an introduction by Ikeda, which appears to be a transcript of a speech he gave about Toda, with little or no relation to the content of the Lecture itself. Ikeda also tacked on a number of appendices. Part One of the appendices is called "Guidance", which is followed by a section entitled "Every Wish Cornes True", and a short question and answer don wherein Ikeda gives his advice on how to address specific problems. All of Ikeda's contributions to this text are rambling and completely out of context, having no perceivable relation to the preceding writings of Toda.

I have a copy of Lecture on the Sutra, and everything he has just said is absolutely true. It's like Ikeda decided to just come in and start pissing on everything.

Their placement, however, is crucial. This document represents Soka Gakkai; it is an English translation, and is thus aimed at a global audience. Ikeda's focus is clearly the spread of the Soka Gakkai movement beyond Japan to the rest of the world. As an example of this, Soka Gakkai was re-organized in 1975 into Soka Gakkai International, an umbrella organization that includes all aspects of the movement worldwide. The English edition of the Lectures on the Sutra is a detailed work aimed at committed members of Soka Gakkai in the West, and no doubt was read by members during weekly zadankai [discussion meetings], or study sessions. By contributing to the text, Ikeda was reinforcing his dominance over the information given to members, and therefore over the members themselves. By including himself in this text, no matter how irrelevant his contribution may have been, Ikeda was effectively reminding all Soka Gakkai members who read it that he, not the past president Toda, was the final authority in the organization.

However, as in the case of Makiguchi's works reintroduced by Toda, it could be argued that it was not technically necessary for Ikeda to even bother republishing Toda's works, much less translating them and introducing them to a world audience. Ikeda could have chosen to quickly silence the memory of the dead president, and focus exclusively on his own aggrandizement. However, it was necessary for Ikeda to revere the memory of Toda. In placing Toda upon a pedestal, Ikeda has guaranteed his lineage. In Ikeda's case, lineage is much more important than in the case of his predecessor. As de facto founder of the Soka Gakkai, Toda theoretically could have claimed himself the sole authority, the exclusive recipient of divine wisdom, and thereby easily justified himself as the leader of a religious community. He could have avoided the construction and justification of a human lineage. This is exactly what was done by the founders of most other Japanese New Religions, such as Nakayama Miki of Tenrikyo, Kawate Bunjiro of Konkokyo, and, more recently, Asahara Shoko of Aum Shinrikyo. Each of these leaders claimed to have been visited by a higher power, and to have themselves become divine and possessed of exclusive knowledge and powers of salvation. It is perhaps testament to the importance of a clearly drawn human conection to illustrious religious figures of the past and to their own leadership structure that Soka Gakkai is Japan's most successful New Religion.

Another of the "New Religions", Seichō-no-Ie, which also started in 1930, in 1954 had more than FOUR TIMES the membership of Soka Gakkai, just an FYI.

Toda perhaps realized that his followers would need to rely on more than his dreams of the Dai-Gohonzon to justify their own fath. He also perhaps realized that pursuing a path of personal and exclusive divinity, while also being counter to the Nichiren Shoshu tradition from which Soka Gakkai is derived, would have meant that his religious order would have lived and died with him.

As Ikeda's will with him O_O

Ikeda, as Toda's successor in office, in order to secure the loyalty of the faithful Toda followers, had no choice but to consecrate the figure of Toda. The written works of Toda, therefore, were edited and presented in a fashion that was in harmony with the version of Soka Gakkai that Ikeda was in the process of forming. The Lectures on the Sutra was translated and edited. Other publications from the Toda era, such as the Shakubuku Kyoten, were edited, then eventually discontinued, and books more in keeping with Ikeda's kinder, gentler Soka Gakkai were released.

There is another aspect to all of this, which relates to what was discussed earlier in relation to shakubuku: by rewriting the tradition, the leaders of the Soka Gakkai and Nichren Shoshu have established their personal dominance over it. It has been established that by rewriting the works of past leaders, the presidents of Soka Gakkai justified their position in the lineage of leaders. Previous leaders, not only of Soka Gakkai, but also of Nichiren Shoshu, are portrayed as meritorious and enlightened. It is important to note that, in their new formulations, preceding leaders are invariably portrayed as unthreatening to the new president. Each successive president is confirmed through writings as a perfect disciple of the previous one. Glowing accounts are written about not only the esteemed behaviour of the previous regime, but also of how the current leader is a perfect exemplar of that which was envisioned by his mentor. Indeed, the current ruler is portrayed as having exceeded far beyond the expectations of the previous president. The message is clear: the old man would surely be proud of his student, were he alive today.

And since he's NOT, we can write anything we wish and attribute it to him! He's not around to complain, after all!

Of course, it is impossible to know if this is true or not. All written works of previous presidents have been rewritten by their successors, and any mention in the preceding president's works of the possible successor, if there ever was any, has been omitted. All of the literature that connotes approval of the leader has been created ex post facto [after the fact] by the leader himself.

The most obvious example of this, of course, is that egregiously fawning and self-glorifying hagiograhy, "The Human Revolution". You can read more about this grand effort by Ikeda to portray himself as the Hero of the Entire World and the most aw-shucks appealing, the brightest, most insightful, most quick-minded, forward-thinking, encouraging, strategically gifted, wise, illustrious, respect-worthy, admirable, thoughtful, compassionate, caring, brilliant and nubile person that ever was, the of course it's OBVIOUS only candidate for the leadership of the Soka Gakkai. And he makes sure Toda mentions this frequently O_O