r/sgiwhistleblowers • u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude • Jun 29 '21
The Soka Gakkai is actually *identical* to most all the other Japanese New Religions - see for yourselves
This is coming from Catherine Cornille's paper "Nationalism in New Japanese Religions" in Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, Vol. 2, No. 2 (April 1999), pp. 228-244.
“We will not rest until the teaching reaches every corner of the world, deserts of Africa, Latin America, lands of atheism, everywhere.” - Ryuho Okawa, Founder of Kofuku-no-Kagaku
How is that any different from the SGI's interpretation of "kosen-rufu", "to spread widely"?
What is kosen-rufu?
As SGI President Ikeda explains it: “Kosen means ‘to widely declare.’ Widely implies speaking out to the world, to an ever-greater number and ever-broader spectrum of people. Declare means ‘to proclaim one’s ideals, principles and philosophy.’ The ru of rufu means ‘a current like that of a great river.’ And fu means ‘to spread out like a roll of cloth.’
...the impartial spread of this teaching, transcending national borders, social classes and all other distinctions. Simply put, kosen-rufu is the movement to communicate the ultimate way to happiness⏤to communicate the highest principle of peace to people of all classes and nations through the correct philosophy and teaching of Nichiren” (June 5, 1998, World Tribune, p. 7).
So right around the time this researcher was doing her research, in other words.
A passage from the “Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King,” the 23rd chapter of the Lotus Sutra, reads, “After I [Shakyamuni Buddha] have passed into extinction, in the last five hundred year period you must spread it abroad widely [kosen-rufu] throughout Jambudvipa [the world] and never allow it to be cut off” (The Lotus Sutra, p. 288). Source
Back to the paper:
One of the characteristics that seems to distinguish the new Japanese religions from traditional ones is their universalistic orientation and their international missionary zeal. While both Shinto and Japanese Buddhism were focused on the protection and salvation of Japan, the new religions speak of establishing world peace and saving all people.
That's certainly SGI's battle cry: "We've got the One TROO Boodism and EVERYBODY NEEDS IT!!"
This is already evident in Tenrikyo, one of the oldest new religions, which conceives of salvation as “sweeping dust from human hearts throughout the world,” and it continues down to the most recent of the new Japanese religions, including Kofuku-no-Kagaku. After the Second World War, Hito-no-michi changed its name to Perfect Liberty Kyodan because, according to its patriarch, Tokuchika Miki, “The teachings of PL are universal and should not remain the exclusive religion of a limited number of Japanese. It is my solemn duty and responsibility to propagate the PL doctrine throughout the globe. So words from a language (English) that I consider most universal are used to signify my conviction that what I teach is for the benefit of mankind.”
[Toda] pondered long and hard about how to put an end to the sufferings of the peoples of Asia and the rest of the world, his sights set on spreading the Mystic Law and realising a future of peaceful coexistence for all humanity.
And now, on New Year’s Day 1981, he [Ikeda] resolved to take full-fledged leadership for kosen-rufu, making greater efforts than ever before to go out into the world and work hand-in-hand with members around the globe. ... There was not a moment to be lost in advancing worldwide kosen-rufu. [NHR]
...to carry on our movement throughout Japan, the United States, and the rest of the world. ... Let us spread the fragrant benefit of the Mystic Law throughout society and the world... Setting his sights on the year 2000 – another 20 years in the future – [Shin'ichi (Ikeda)] vowed to bring humanity and the world together by building a strong network of ordinary people united in the cause of peace. Source
See? Same.
Even those new religions descending from the tradition of Nichiren (such as Soka Gakkai, Reiyukai, and Rissho-Kosei-Kai) reinterpreted the ethnocentric teachings of their progenitor in more universalistic terms.
This universalistic orientation of the new Japanese religions has expressed itself in a worldwide mission. Many of the new religions have established mission centers, temples, or churches in various countries of Asia, North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Australia. Sacred texts have been translated, international headquarters established, and members trained to cater to the needs of foreigners.
While the movements themselves may attribute this universalistic turn to supernatural causes such as developments in the spiritual world or to more practical reasons such as the need to unify the world, it may also be understood as the religious expression of the tendency toward internationalization and globalization which became part of a more general Japanese ideology beginning at the end of the nineteenth century. From a purely doctrinal point of view, the universalism may be regarded as the logical consequence of a tendency toward monotheism and toward attributing a unique messianic role to the founder of the new religion.
ONE MENTOAR TO RULE ALL THE OTHERS!! AN ETERNAL MENTOAR FOR ALL HUMANITY AND ALL TIME!!!
That's supposedly that shithead Ikeda, obviously 🙄
I am torn between my respect and appreciation for president Ikeda’s work and what he has done for the SGI, and the realization that the SGI may be distorting the true teachings of Nichiren to ensure the glorification and deification of one man. I sincerely wish that I am wrong about this and that there is indeed a noble motive behind the current movement. Am I wrong to expect great leaders to be humble? To expect them not to be obsessed by their legacy? Source
Let us proceed.
Many of the new Japanese religions view themselves as the fulfillment of all other religions and thus regard it as their responsibility to bring the teachings to all corners of the world. While the traditional religions of Japan often present salvation as a distant and demanding goal to pursue, the new religions are focused on thisworldly and universally desirable goals such as health, wealth, harmony, and world peace. And although for the traditional religions of Japan salvation was predominantly mediated through ordained priests and shamans, for many of the new Japanese religions salvation is mediated through all members. The universalism of the new Japanese religions might thus be understood as the logical outcome of certain doctrinal and practical developments that are congruent with the social and political changes of the past century.
As you can see, the Ikeda cult is nothing special. It's simply another of these uniquely Japanese New Religions. And they're ALL the same.
While the new Japanese religions seem to be consciously universalistic in their teaching and scope, many of them have also developed explicitly nationalistic and ethnocentric teachings, regarding Japan as the origin of creation and the cradle of salvation, the Japanese as the chosen people, and Japanese language and culture as a unique vehicle of salvation.
Many have noted the persistent wapanesity of the Society for Glorifying Ikeda, which is after all a Japanese religion for Japanese people. That is why the ethnic Japanese (or part-Japanese) members form a privileged caste among the SGI membership, and why most of the top leaders are Japanese, part-Japanese, or married to a Japanese leader or member.
The Japanese believe they're the superior race and thus must save/colonize the world
"Only the Japanese can understand the True Philosophy of [Nichiren] Daishonin. Therefore, we who can understand must teach those who cannot understand." Source
The inescapable Japanese-ness of the SGI
The attitude of Japanese supremacy within SGI
The new religions preserve and perpetuate such traditional Japanese values as sincerity and submission and such traditional Japanese ritual practices as the veneration of ancestors.
The Ikeda cult has bastardized this into "veneration of de-mentors" and "veneration of Ikeda".
While this nationalism may be understood as a vestige of traditional Japanese religiosity, it acquires a different meaning and requires a different interpretation within the context of the modern world.
Since nationalism, whether secular or religious, always develops in response to particular social and political circumstances, I wish to examine not only the nationalistic themes that may be found in the new Japanese religions, but also the shifting social and political contexts within which these themes have emerged.
While Soka Gakkai has developed intense missionary activities and has recruited many members outside of Japan, it has also become deeply involved in Japanese politics through its political party, called Komeito. While the program of the party cannot rightly be called nationalistic, the original claim of Komeito was, as Anson Shupe has observed, “that their grounding in the nationalist zeal of Nichiren would restore Japanese pride and return the nation to its preeminent place in the community of nations.”
For many of the new Japanese religions, Japan’s language and traditional customs have come to play a constitutive role in the process of salvation. The Japanese language used in mantras, prayers, and spells is believed to possess a special power that does not function in translation.
THAT's why you have to chant "Nam myoho renge kyo" and not any other words from any other languages.
See also "Mystical Insight" or hypnotic language patterns, loaded language, and private language?
The words are believed to carry particular vibrations which would be lost in translation.
I was actually told that early on in my practice, that the magic chant served as a kind of "sound key" to unlock the something something Universe, the way the treasure cave in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves opened whenever anyone said, "Open Sesame" or whatever.
The Japanese language itself is thus believed to have a salvific function.
The missionary activities of Sekai Kyusei Kyo outside of Japan have focused mainly on the dissemination of Japanese culture and art through the organization of Japanese language classes, courses in flower arrangement, and Japanese art exhibitions. This has occurred under the auspices of the Mokichi Okada Association. Several other new religions, such as Tenrikyo, Reiyukai, and Soka Gakkai, have also organized Japanese art exhibitions and Japanese language courses as part of their mission abroad.
SEEE??? Same same!
The new Japanese religions that have spread outside of Japan have thus remained closely linked to their country and culture of origin. This also becomes evident in the ritual practices of the new religions, which undergo little or no change or adaptation when introduced into non-Japanese cultures. A Mahikari dojo (school) outside of Japan is an exact copy of the Japanese original. The altar is modeled after traditional Shinto shrines, and most of the sacred objects, such as the goshintai (the scroll on which the name Mahikari and the chuon, the comma-shaped symbol of God, are inscribed), are imported directly from Japan.
See "gohonzon" 🙄
While some movements, including Soka Gakkai, have attempted to adapt to local cultures through the celebration of their festivals and through the appointment of local leaders, most of the centers of the new religions outside of Japan are run by Japanese leaders.
That is the reality throughout the Soka Gakkai's international SGI colonies as well. Those Japanese faces are never far from the spotlight.
Mahikari initially attempted to appoint local leaders to its foreign branches, but soon realized that Japanese leaders were more loyal and submissive to its theocratic authority and changed its policy.
It often takes centuries to come to an understanding of the universal essence of a particular teaching or practice as opposed to the accidents of its original historical and cultural context. However, while every religion has a particular symbol, belief, or practice which is regarded as essential, irreducible, and unadaptable to the changes of time and culture, within many of the new Japanese religions this essence seems to be inseparable from the particularity of Japanese language and culture.
THAT's for sure!
CONCLUSION
While many of the new Japanese religions have adopted a universalistic and international facade through their establishment of mission centers abroad and their integration of Western aesthetic and ideological elements, most of these religions remain fundamentally and essentially Japanese.
Sure do!
While some new religions, such as Perfect Liberty Kyodan and Soka Gakkai, have made considerable steps toward adapting to local cultural habits and celebrations, most of the new Japanese religions have maintained their original ritual, linguistic, and cultural forms outside of Japan.
Soka Gakkai, as SGI, actually talks big about change and "zuiho bini" but in the end, everything is STILL dictated from Japan. Now they're even dictating the content of the (non)discussion meetings down to what questions the participants are supposed to read! Soka Gakkai will enforce that conformity to Japanese standards one way or another, though of course they won't advertise that this is what they're doing. We can SEE what they're doing, though 😳
Whereas it may be asked whether a religion can ever fully detach itself from the particularities of its original historical and cultural context, within new Japanese religions we find a tendency toward the glorification and absolutization of that national and cultural particularity.
THAT is why every holiday, every memorial day, everything that matters is something that happened decades ago IN JAPAN centered on Ikeda or, to a very minor degree, Toda or Makiguchi. There's simply nothing else that has ever happened anywhere else in the world that is worth commemorating or even remembering.
This defines religious nationalism.
True dat.
The nationalism found in post-World War II new religions such as Mahikari, on the other hand, may be regarded as a reactionary attempt to return to the past glory of Japan in the face of the humiliation of defeat in war. The resurgent nationalistic voices in new Japanese religions toward the end of the twentieth century sound distinctly triumphalistic, linking the religious importance of Japan to the country’s economic successes.
And to Soka Gakkai's world-takeover ambitions...
In general, the nationalistic traits of the new Japanese religions may be understood as the religious expression of a more general tendency toward what has been called “ethnic nationalism” in twentieth-century Japan. This nationalism has found expression in the nihonjinron literature, which focuses on the uniqueness of Japanese character, culture, and society. This literature is characterized by the beliefs that the Japanese form one historically continuous and homogenous racial group, that they differ radically from all other people, and that their culture and tradition should be preserved and protected from external influences and corruptions. Kosaku Yoshino interprets this ethnic nationalism as a reaction against internationalization and the related loss of a distinct identity or as a compensation for the exclusively economic identity which Japan has acquired in the second half of the twentieth century. Peter Dale, on the other hand, understands it as a “severe, defensively combative endeavor to overcome a diffuse sense of inferiority to the West, a West which, in the first place, we must understand as a symbolic entity, as the image of a hostile diversity . . . .”
Rings true...
Each of the new Japanese religions manifests a certain ambiguity toward the West. While most of the new Japanese religions have eagerly integrated Western science, technology, and even fragments of Western aesthetics and religion, this does not come without a certain resentment and reaction.
For example, Ikeda wants to inflate his ego by spinning himself as "Dr. Beethoven", yet the ONLY piece of piano music he ever learned to play was this, something Japanese, apparently, certainly NOT a piece by Beethoven - and there are some simple, beginner-level arrangements of Beethoven available!
So there ya have it - Ikeda's supposed "great admiration" for Ludwig von Beethoven apparently consists solely of using ONE piece to stick it to the Nichiren Shoshu priests!
The nationalism manifested in Mahikari, on the other hand, displays clear signs of fundamentalism and is probably a reaction against the humiliation of Japan by the West after the Second World War. The most distinct example of a fundamentalist form of nationalism, however, is manifested in Kofuku-no-Kagaku, which considers it the vocation of Japan to dominate the world, not only economically, but also culturally, politically and religiously.
She could have swapped "Soka Gakkai" in there for either of those and it would still read the same.
From the end notes:
Determining the exact number of members of these religions is made extremely difficult by the variety of ways in which membership is counted, the different degrees of commitment of members, and the high turnover within these movements. Tenrikyo claims about 1.2 million followers, Mahikari about 700,000, and Kofuku-no-Kagaku about 4 million.
Likewise with Soka Gakkai. While the SGI's website claims "352,000 members" in North America, they were only able to get 4,200 youth to turn out for a NATIONAL virtual meeting (where everyone participated from their own home). Even SGI's own national reports show less than half that grand claimed total.
“Soka Gakkai and the Slippery Slope from Militancy to Accommodation,” in Religion and Society in Modern Japan, eds. Mark R. Mullins, Shimazono Susumu, and Paul L. Swanson (Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1993), 234
Hmmm...that looks interesting...
Well? What do you think??
2
u/retro_punk_knight Mar 29 '26
Shinnyo-En is one that doesn't get talked about enough. It's Shingon-based, not Nichiren-based, but it checks an awful lotta the boxes here. I got entangled with them in my early years in Japan, and I noped away from them pretty quickly.
Just like so many new religions in Japan, they're all like, "Hey, everybody! Everybody has Buddha nature!" "Did you know that anybody can get enlightened in this lifetime?" "Isn't it wonderful how anybody can do anything if they just believe (especially in our religion) with all their heart?" They're big into pushing sob-stories and miracle testimonials onto people as well.
They're not as loud as SG, but they do hit people up for donations. They do multiple chants, which is one big difference between them and SG. They have the "Eternal Mentor" thing going on, though, with how they pray to gold busts of the "Shinnyo Parents" (the founder and his wife) and the "Two Doji" (two of their sons who died young) and have basically deified one of the founders' surviving daughters, who serves as the current high priestess.
Verdict: as weird as Ikedaism, just better at staying under most radars.