Word: nichiren
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...Soka Gakkai, or "Value Creation Society." An odd blend of militant Buddhism, the power of positive thinking and showbiz uplift, Soka Gakkai in the U.S. has grown from some 30,000 members in 1965 to more than 170,000 today. The sect, which is known in the U.S. as Nichiren Shoshu of America (The True Church of Nichiren), claims to be gaining at least 2,000 converts a month. In the New York general chapter alone, there were 552 converts during October. Moreover, more than 95% of the new converts are not of Japanese origin...
Clean Government. Soka Gakkai was founded in Japan in the early 1930s by an evangelizing Japanese schoolteacher named Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, who blended the theology of a militant 13th century Buddhist monk named Nichiren with a philosophy of this-worldly benefit that stressed personal success. The sect now claims a membership of at least 16 million in Japan, and its Clean Government Party is the third largest political group within the Diet. In the U.S., Soka Gakkai at first concentrated on winning converts among Japanese-Americans or G.I.s who had married Japanese girls. About 1967, because the movement had virtually exhausted...
...sect has collided with labor unions as well as police. Three years ago thousands of Soka Gakkai coal miners refused to join a strike because it would mean a violation of Nichiren's teaching that work is a blessing. The issue was compromised: union leaders promised not to interfere with the conversion of workers and Soka Gakkai agreed to recognize strikes aimed at "bettering the workers...
...current sect leader, Takashi Koizumi, 52, explains that the move into politics is "simply insurance. Several years ago we began getting official interference, and that was when we decided we must have our representatives in the Diet." As a happy afterthought, Koizumi adds: "Besides, having men who believe in Nichiren's teachings in the Diet will influence the ugly character of politics and make it clean and pure...
...disputatious, 13th century Buddhist holy man, Nichiren's criticisms of other sects led to frequent persecution. He lived in the streets and preached to the poor, reportedly foretold the Mongol invasion of Japan and its defeat, was famed for his litany: "I shall be the pillar of Japan. I shall be the eye of Japan, and I shall be the great vessel of Japan." He died in Tokyo...