Questions and Answers on the Temple Issue
5. IF THE PRIESTHOOD HAS BEEN MISGUIDED ALL ALONG, WHY
DID THE SGI SUPPORT IT IN THE PAST?
Historically, the SGI supported the priesthood
on the premise that both parties shared a mutual commitment to
the realization of kosen-rufu. Nichiren Shoshu, the Fuji School,
was the order of Nichiren Buddhism that doctrinally recognized
the Daishonin as the True Buddha of the Latter Day and appeared
to revere the Gohonzon as the embodiment of the oneness of the
Person (Nichiren Daishonin) and the Law (Nam-myoho-renge-kyo).
It was the Buddhist school to which the first Soka Gakkal president,
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, was introduced, and through which he and
the second president, Josei Toda, became aware of Nichiren Daishonin's
teachings as revealed in the Gosho.
It was through the spread of his teaching that
Nichiren Daishonin sought the spiritual empowerment of ordinary
people for the purpose of building a peaceful society; this is
the concept of his religious ideal called kosen-rufu, literally,
"widely declare and spread." Kosen-rufu is indeed the
ultimate goal of the Daishonin's life and of his teaching as seen
in his statement:
"If Nichiren's compassion is truly great and encompassing,
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will spread for ten thousand years and more,
for all eternity." (MW-4,272) And: "Only I, Nichiren,
at first chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but then two, three and
a hundred followed, chanting and teaching others. Likewise,
propagation will unfold this way in the future." (MW-1,
93)
In truth, however, the propagation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
and the Daishonin's philosophy had become quite stagnant by the
time Makiguchi and Toda encountered it. Nichiren Shoshu itself
was an impoverished and tiny Buddhist denomination by that time.
Nevertheless, Makiguchi and Toda devoted themselves to its development
and to making the Daishonin's prediction in the above passage
a reality.
This does not mean, however, that they unquestioningly
followed the instructions of the priesthood or the high priest.
This was clear at the outset, when both Makiguchi and Toda refused
the high priest's instructions to follow a governmental order
during World War II that would have them incorporate worship of
an amulet dedicated to the Shinto Sun Goddess into their daily
practice. Both refused because they were deeply aware that this
violated the Daishonin's teachings and spirit, that the Daishonin
himself would never have compromised Buddhism in this way. Based
on the "Twenty-Six Admonitions of Nikko Shonin" -Article
17 of which reads: "Do not follow even the high priest if
he goes against the Buddha's Law and propounds his own views."
- they were convinced that as the Daishonin's disciples, they
must take the same stance. Both were arrested for their stance
and Makiguchi died in prison, a martyr to his convictions.
Both men had grown deeply aware of the Daishonin's
real spirit and intent, and lived that spirit even at risk to
their own lives. As a result, they were also acutely aware of
which priests within Nichiren Shoshu shared that spirit and commitment
and which did not.
Even after the war, Toda frequently and forcefully
chastised those priests who had forgotten the Daishonin's spirit,
were lax in faith or practice, or looked down on the members and
complained about donations. Nevertheless, he was committed to
protecting and nurturing Nichiren Shoshu, which he viewed as the
most orthodox school of the Daishonin's Buddhism, and he dedicated
himself to encouraging the development of priests who could devote
their lives to kosen-rufu and the members.
This, too, has been SGI President Ikeda's conviction.
Despite the awareness that there were many priests within Nichiren
Shoshu who hated and resented the Soka Gakkai, so long as the
priesthood as a whole supported the movement for kosen-rufu, the
Gakkai devoted itself to the temple's protection and development.
The Soka Gakkai had over the years been aware
of abuses or problems with specific priests. At times, the Gakkai
pointed out such abuses, thereby meeting resistance and pressure
from Nichiren Shoshu.
In the late '70s in particular, a group of younger
priests became dissatisfied at the rate at which new temples were
being donated by the Gakkai. They were growing impatient, because
there were more of them than new temples to which they could be
assigned as chief priests. They also railed against what they
perceived as the Gakkai's view of priests and laity being equal.
Some even held that the Gakkai had no right to receive contributions
or build its own facilities for its members, that all donated
monies should be handed over to the temple, and advocated a hard
line of sanctions to put the Soka Gakkai in its place.
Pressured by the demands of these priests, however
unjust they may have been, the Soka Gakkai cooperated with Nittatsu,
the high priest of the time, and took a humble stance, publishing
an "apology" that had to be pre-approved by the priesthood
and endeavoring over the ensuing years to build hundreds of new
temples. Nittatsu had always supported and shown understanding
toward the Gakkai in the past, though he was often pressured by
priests within the temple and others who felt emnity toward the
organization. The Gakkai's concern was to maintain its harmony
with the priesthood and avoid any undue harm or trouble to the
members that might result from further sanctions or denunciation
by disgruntled priests.
It was not until Nikken, the high priest himself,
together with the executive leadership of the head temple, hatched
and began to implement their plan in late 1990 to attack the SGI
that the Gakkai began to admonish the priesthood as a whole for
its actions. In addition, since the head temple had begun to twist
interpretations of the Daishonin's teachings to justify those
actions, the Gakkai began to refute their erroneous interpretations
in the spirit of admonishing slander.
Even then, it was the priesthood and not the
Soka Gakkai that perpetrated the ultimate act of separation: In
November 1991, having rejected repeated requests for dialogue,
they indulged in the final self-destructive act of excommunication,
in effect removing themselves from the body of believers who had
contributed most to their development, and who were working hard
to make the Daishonin's teachings known to the world.
It had finally become clear that the priesthood
and its leadership were oblivious to kosen-rufu and the believers'
needs, and were instead relentlessly denouncing, attacking, defaming
and conspiring to do damage to those dedicated to that goal. The
Soka Gakkai thus found itself with no choice but to strongly admonish
Nichiren Shoshu and call for Nikken's resignation.
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