What is the spirit of Soka Gakkai?

The belief of the Soka Gakkai centers on recognizing that all life has dignity with infinite inherent potential; this immanent “Buddhahood” exists in every person and can be awakened through the Buddhist practice prescribed by Nichiren.

Why is Nichiren important?

He refused to compromise his principles and continued to challenge the established schools of Buddhism. During his second exile on Sado Island he wrote letters of encouragement to his disciples which later formed some of his most important works. Today there are many schools of Nichiren Buddhism.

What is the Dharma body?

A term, dharmakaya, was coined to describe a more metaphorical body, a body or collection of all the Buddha’s good qualities or dharmas, such as his wisdom, his compassion, his fortitude, his patience. This corpus of qualities was identified as the body of the Buddha to which one should turn for refuge.

What is the Soka Gakkai?

Within the Soka Gakkai, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (the first President) embraced Nichiren Buddhism and wanted members to learn gongyo and regularly do their own prayers and chanting.

What is Nichiren Buddhism?

Nichiren Buddhism is about action. In “Letter to Jakunichi-bo”, Nichiren tells us to “spread the Lotus Sutra as he does” (WND-1, p994) It’s not about looking up to mentors, putting them on pedestals, or sucking up to them, it’s about facing the future WITH THEM and striving for kosen-rufu with the SAME selfless dedication.

How can I become a better disciple of Nichiren?

DL: Basically, by continuing to deepen your understanding of Nichiren Buddhism, by chanting, and by using the wisdom of your daimoku to stand up and take action imbued with the mentor-disciple spirit for the happiness of ourselves and others.

How many Nichiren temples were there in 1939?

DL: It’s difficult to know exactly, but according to statistics taken from Kiyoaki Murata’s “Japan’s New Buddhism”, in 1939, Nichiren Shoshu only had 45,332 members and 52 priests supported by 75 temples, compared to the other Nichiren schools in Japan, which had 2,074,530 members, 4,451 priests and 4,962 temples (p71).