Soka Gakkai International

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Soka Gakkai International
Sanshokuki2.svg
Soka Gakkai International flag
Abbreviation SGI
Formation January 26, 1975
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Location
  • Worldwide
President
 Daisaku Ikeda
Affiliations Soka Gakkai
Website sgi.org

The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is an international Nichiren Buddhist lay organization founded in 1975 by Daisaku Ikeda, the Soka Gakkai's third president.[1][2] The SGI serves as the umbrella organization for the Soka Gakkai's international presence, which reports adherents in 192 countries and territories.[3] It characterizes itself as a support network for practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism and a global Buddhist movement for "peace, education, and cultural exchange."[4] The Soka Gakkai International is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with official ties to the United Nations.[3]

History[edit]

International expansion of the Soka Gakkai began after World War II, when some Soka Gakkai members married mostly American servicemen and moved away from Japan.[5] Expansion efforts gained a further boost in 1960 when Daisaku Ikeda succeeded Josei Toda as Soka Gakkai president.[6][7] In his first year as president of the Soka Gakkai, Ikeda visited the United States, Canada, and Brazil.[6] The Soka Gakkai's American headquarters officially opened in Los Angeles in 1963.[8]

The Soka Gakkai International was formed at a meeting in Guam on January 26, 1975.[9] Representatives from 51 countries attended the meeting and chose Ikeda as the SGI's founding president.[9] The SGI was created in part as a new peace movement, and its founding meeting was held in Guam in a symbolic gesture referencing Guam's history as the site of some of World War II's bloodiest battles, and proximity to Tinian Island, launching place of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.[10]

In January 2015, the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo reported that the SGI had been nominated for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, as confirmed by a Nobel Peace Laureate.[11]

The SGI-USA was one of the organizing groups for the first-ever Buddhist conference at the White House, held in May 2015.[12]

In June 2015, the SGI-Italy was recognized by the Italian government with a special accord under Italian Constitution Article 8, acknowledging it as an official religion of Italy and eligible to receive direct taxpayer funding for its religious and social activities.[13][14]

Organization[edit]

The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) comprises the movement's global network of affiliated organizations. As of 2011, the SGI reported active national organizations in 192 countries and territories.[3] The SGI is independent of the Soka Gakkai (the domestic Japanese organization), although both are headquartered in Tokyo.[15]

National SGI organizations operate autonomously and all affairs are conducted in the local language.[15] Many national organizations are coordinated by groups such as a women's group, a men's group, and young women's and young men's groups.[16] National organizations generally raise their own operational funds, although the SGI headquarters in Tokyo has awarded funding grants to smaller national organizations for projects such as land acquisition and the construction of new buildings.[16] SGI-affiliated organizations outside of Japan are forbidden to engage directly in politics.[16]

While the national organizations are run autonomously, the Tokyo headquarters of SGI disseminates doctrinal and teaching materials to all national organizations around the world.[16] The Tokyo headquarters also serves as a meeting place for national leaders to come together and exchange information and ideas.[16]

Leadership[edit]

The election or nomination of the leaders is typically not decided by the SGI's general membership but by a board of directors.[17] Leadership below national staff, however, has been liberalized; in the United States for instance, the nomination and approval of leaders includes both members and organizational leaders in the process.[18] Dobbelaere notes the election of the presidents,[19] as well as a process of "nomination, review and approval that involves both peers and leaders" in choosing other leaders.[20]

Beliefs and practice[edit]

SGI members practice Nichiren Buddhism as interpreted and applied by the Soka Gakkai's first three presidents: Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda.[21] SGI members believe in karma[22] and that the most expedient path to enlightenment is through the practice of Nichiren Buddhism.[15] SGI members identify three basic elements for applying Nichiren Buddhism to daily life: faith, practice, and study.[23]

The daily practice of SGI members centers on chanting the mantra "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo," which translates to "Devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra", or "Glory to the Sutra of the Lotus of the Supreme Law."[24][25] Once in the morning and again at night, SGI members do gongyo ("assiduous practice"), during which members chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and recite selections from two chapters of the Lotus Sutra, "Expedient Means" (chapter 2) and "The Life Span of the Thus Come One" (chapter 16).[22][23] Gongyo is typically performed in front of a Gohonzon, a scroll considered to be the supreme object of devotion on which is written the daimoku (in other words, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) and signs of buddhas and bodhisattvas who are prominent in the Lotus Sutra.[26] The Gohonzon itself is housed in a butsudan, an altar that is opened during chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and gongyo.[27]

SGI members also incorporate social interaction and engagement into their Buddhist practice.[28] Monthly neighborhood discussion meetings are generally held at the homes of SGI members.[23]

Demographics[edit]

The Soka Gakkai International is notable among Buddhist organizations for the racial and ethnic diversity of its members.[15] It has been characterized as the world's largest and most ethnically diverse Buddhist group.[5][7][15][29] Professor Susumu Shimazono suggested several reasons for this: the strongly felt needs of individuals in their daily lives, its solutions to discord in interpersonal relations, its practical teachings that offer concrete solutions for carrying on a stable social life, and its provision of a place where congenial company and a spirit of mutual support may be found.[30] Peter Clarke wrote that the SGI appeals to non-Japanese in part because "no one is obliged to abandon their native culture or nationality in order to fully participate in the spiritual and cultural life of the movement."[31]

In 2015, Italian newspaper la Repubblica reported that half of all Buddhists in Italy are SGI members.[32]

Notable members[edit]

Notable members of Soka Gakkai International include:

Humanitarian work[edit]

In 2007, the SGI created "The People's Decade" campaign to increase public awareness of the anti-nuclear movement, and help create a global grassroots network of people dedicated to abolishing nuclear weapons.[59][60] In 2014, an SGI youth delegation met with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) regarding coordination of the SGI's efforts and UN efforts to increase grassroots movements for nuclear abolition.

The SGI has been in consultative status with UNESCO since 1983.[61]

Criticism[edit]

In its early years, the SGI was sometimes criticized for its use of shakubuku, an aggressive form of proselytizing that was subsequently moderated in the 1970s.[5] The use of shakubuku by the SGI "virtually evaporated" in the 1990s.[8]

In 1998, a report by the Select (Enquete) Commission of the German Parliament on new ideological communities stated that although the German branch of SGI was inconspicuous, it could be latently problematic due to its connection with the Soka Gakkai, which was called significant and controversial at the time.[62] The report was criticized as politically biased and, in 1999, Germany's new government coalition rejected the committee's recommendations.[63]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Soka Gakkai International". Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  2. ^ Okuayama Michiaki (2010). "Soka Gakkai as a Challenge to Japanese Society and Politics" (PDF). Politics and Religion. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  3. ^ a b c Andrew Gebert. "Soka Gakkai". Oxford Bibliographies. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  4. ^ Katherine Marshall. Global Institutions of Religion: Ancient Movers, Modern Shakers. Routledge. ISBN 9781136673580. 
  5. ^ a b c Gary Laderman (2003). Religion and American Cultures: An Encyclopedia of Traditions, Diversity, and Popular Expressions. ABC CLIO. ISBN 9781576072387. 
  6. ^ a b Ronan Alves Pereira (2008). "The transplantation of Soka Gakkai to Brazil: building "the closest organziation to the heart of Ikeda-Sensei"". Japanese Journal of Religious Study. 
  7. ^ a b Clark Strand (Winter 2008). "Faith in Revolution". Tricycle. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  8. ^ a b Charles Prebish (1999). Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520216976. 
  9. ^ a b N. Radhakrishnan. The Living Dialogue: Socrates to Ikeda. Gandhi Media Centre. OCLC 191031200. 
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  15. ^ a b c d e Daniel Métraux (2013). "Soka Gakkai International: The Global Expansion of a Japanese Buddhist Movement". Religion Compass. 
  16. ^ a b c d e Daniel Métraux (2013). "Soka Gakkai International: Japanese Buddhism on a Global Scale". Virginia Review of Asian Studies. 
  17. ^ http://constitution-sgic.org/PDFs/G3%20policy%20on%20leaders%20-%202014%2009%2027.PDF Governance Policy #3 - Leaders
  18. ^ Dobbelaere, Karel (1998). Soka Gakkai. Signat. 
  19. ^ Dobbelaere, Karel. Soka Gakkai. p. 9. "H. Hojo. . . was elected president. Ikeda became honorary president. . . At the death of Hojo in 1981, E. Akiya was elected president. . ." . . 
  20. ^ Dobbelaere, Karel. Soka Gakkai. p. 78. 
  21. ^ Noriyoshi Tamaru. Soka Gakkai In Historical Perspective: in Global Citizens. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-924039-6. 
  22. ^ a b Georgye D. Chryssides; Margaret Wilkins. A Reader in New Religious Movements: Readings in the Study of New Religious Movements. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 0826461689. 
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  24. ^ SGDB 2002, Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law
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  27. ^ Elisabeth Arweck. Theorizing Faith: The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Ritual. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 1902459334. 
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  30. ^ Susumu Shimazono (1991). "The Expansion of Japan's New Religions into Foreign Cultures". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 
  31. ^ Peter B. Clarke (2000). "'Success' and 'Failure': Japanese New Religions Abroad". Japanese New Religions in Global Perspective. Curzon Press. ISBN 0700711856. 
  32. ^ "La Soka Gakkai entra nell'8x1000, Renzi a Firenze firma l'intesa con l'istituto buddista". Repubblica. Retrieved 10 August 2015. 
  33. ^ Mark Sachs (7 August 2009). "Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje not lost in L.A.". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  34. ^ Josh Meyer; Carla Hall; Kurt Streeter (5 November 2000). "2 Lives Shattered in a Moment at the Castle". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
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  47. ^ Bill Broadway (23 March 2002). "Widow's Strength Inspires Faithful: Public Statements Demonstrate Pearl's Buddhist Beliefs". the Washington Post. 
  48. ^ a b Staff (1 December 2011). "Miranda Kerr Chants With Baby Flynn And Husband Orlando Bloom!". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
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  51. ^ Sandro Magister (4 September 1997). "Budddisti Soka Gakkai. Una Sabina vi con convertirà". Espress Online (in Italian). Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  52. ^ Ron Glass biography, RealityTVWorld.com, accessed 7 October 2015
  53. ^ Sandro Magister (2 December 2008). "Buddhisti Soka Gakkai". Espress Online. Retrieved 15 October 2015. 
  54. ^ Minoru Matsutani (2 December 2008). "Soka Gakkai keeps religious, political machine humming". The Japan Times. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  55. ^ Joyce Walder (14 December 2006). "Storming Broadway From Atop a Fortress". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  56. ^ Maggie Farley (26 March 1995). "Japan Sects Offer Personal Path in Rudderless Society". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  57. ^ Performance: Vinessa Shaw, by Michael Ordona, February 12, 2009, Los Angeles Times
  58. ^ Nate Chinen (31 January 2013). "Major Jazz Eminence, Little Grise". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 February 2015. 
  59. ^ "People's Decade for Nuclear Ambition". Poeple's Decade. Retrieved 15 August 2015. 
  60. ^ "Five Million Voices for Nuclear Zero". Waging Peace. Retrieved 15 August 2015. 
  61. ^ "UN OFFICE FOR DISARMAMENT AFFAIRS MEETS YOUTH REPRESENTATIVES OF SOKA GAKKAI JAPAN AND OF SGI-USA ENGAGED IN DISARMAMENT ISSUES". United Nations. Retrieved 15 August 2015. 
  62. ^ Endbericht der Enquete-Kommission Sogenannte Sekten und Psychogruppen, Page.105 (PDF; 6,5 MB)|quote=Some groups have little significance nationally, they are not involved locally in any serious political controversy and/or have attracted little public censure. Nevertheless, they remain a latent problem through being linked to international organisations that are significant and controversial elsewhere. One such example came to light at the hearing with Soka Gakkai, which in Germany is a fairly inconspicuous group, but is highly significant in Japan, the United States, and elsewhere. (Translated at http://www.csj.org/infoserv_articles/german_enquete_commission_report.htm)
  63. ^ Seiwert, Hubert (2004). Richardson, James T., ed. Regulating Religion Case Studies from Around the Globe. Boston, MA: Springer US. pp. 85–102. ISBN 9781441990945. 

External links[edit]

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