TO PROTECT AND UPHOLD THE TEACHINGS
In 1945 Japan was a most destroyed country. Many cities were incinerated and eviscerated, two atomic bombs were dropped on the people. And yet in just fifteen years from that extreme desperation Japan exploded into one of the world’s leading economies, with the most advanced transportation systems and an amazingly thriving population. How is that even possible?
It is because of the simultaneous explosion of the propagation of the correct teaching. (Emphasis on correct).
What happened in the early sixties to cause this decline? Nichiren Daishonin tells us:
“Because Buddhism has gradually been turned upside down, the secular world also has been plunged into corruption and chaos. Buddhism is like the body, and society like the shadow. When the body bends, so does the shadow.” A comparison of the Lotus and Other Sutras.
There is no mystery here. In 1960 a Japanese National by the name of Masayusu Sadanaga decided to take charge of the Kosen Rufu movement in the United States. He took the name George M. Williams. He was Gung ho and sincere enough, but there was one very big problem. He was beholden to Nichiren Shoshu, not the Soka Gakkai and President Ikeda. He never regarded Daisaku Ikeda as his mentor, although he made a show of supporting him. And so he spread the Nichiren Shoshu distorted doctrine instead of the Daishonin’s true doctrine, and that doctrine—and that mentality—were deeply embedded in the members of the United States for thirty years.
Although he—and those of us in NSA—had great and even fantastic victories, society began overall to decline as predicted in the Gosho, when you spread a distortion of the teaching. And like Nichiren Shoshu even today, we were taught that the leaders' instruction here in the United States superseded the words and guidance of President Ikeda and the Gosho. And so we were authoritarian. And even abusive.
That authoritarianism came from Nichiren Shoshu who were exactly that way, through Mr. Williams.
In 1990 President Ikeda (Above) came to the United Sates and made a change. He removed many of the top leaders from their “power” and instructed us in constructing a proper organization.
But we—the members—never changed. We continued the mentality of following blindly what the leaders here say—even if and when it contradicted the Buddhist teachings and Sensei's guidance. And so…although we have an organization that no longer has leaders shouting at the members—instruction is done with a smile, we are actually more authoritarian than even NSA! How, you ask?
When I was not even a year old member, as a group YMD in NSA, I led two discussion meetings that had an attendance of about thirty people. Today our attendance is almost always much smaller, and no YMD would ever be allowed to lead a meeting unless they were a senior leader. We have to have a senior leader present at every discussion meeting. Furthermore a government style electronic ID is required to enter community centers. The punchline? We do not even question that. We follow. Because we are followers. Just like Nichiren Shoshu temple members. We might be sincere in our own ways, but a follower is a very dangerous thing. The question is how can you be a follower and a disciple at the same time?
One might argue that the ID is for our protection, but that is ever the excuse for tyrannical control. All throughout history. Anytime a top Leader does not want you in a center they simply turn off your ID. That means that the centers belong to those top leaders not the members. Nothing like that has ever happened before in Buddhism. Whose fault is that? Ultimately it's the members' fault for blindly following. Authoritarian behavior is nothing but an expression of a deviation from the teachings. That last sentence bears repeating, because "deviation from the teaching" is an alien concept to most members in the United States.
And it is a two way street. If the members do not allow corruption, it does not happen.
We believe wholeheartedly that being a Disciple means following direction. In no congruent definition of that word 'Disciple' could it possibly entail simply following direction. Disciple and Discipline come from the same root. A disciple embeds the teachings of Buddhism and Sensei's words in his or her life. (something we have never achieved in the United States). So if there is a campaign legitimately to forward the Kosen Rufu movement a disciple supports that. If any leader gives direction that violates the teachings, a disciple does not follow, but speaks out appropriately to that leader, in private if necessary. A follower will just go along. Which is what we were taught to be and to do. And that is precisely why we often do not know right from wrong in terms of the Buddhist teachings, and are therefore easily led astray.
"Unless people embrace the correct Law, maintain correct faith and carry out a correct practice, they will eventually lead many astray. This is an extremely serious offense, and those who follow such leaders are to be pitied. In this connection, it should be pointed out that the Law, not the person, is to be regarded as the proper standard in all things. Putting the person first gives you an uncertain standard; it is to let that person's mind become your master."
What Sensei says not to do is exactly what we actually do, we follow the top leadership and ignore the Law or the Buddhist Writings if they do not agree with that leadership. We have always done this. Now blindly following is not the same as supporting leader in his or her function. We can support a leader in their function and show them respect even if a leader is off but we must never be swayed by guidance that goes against Sensei's guidance or the Gosho. That requires dialogue. Sensei goes on:
"In contrast, if you establish the Law as your standard, you will become the master of your mind. The great development that we have realized in Japan has been possible because we have exerted ourselves in the practice based on the Gohonzon and in accordance with Nichiren Daishonin's writings. Nichiren laments people's approach to Buddhism: "The people of our time--whether clerics or lay believers, nobles or commoners- all revere persons and do not value the Law. They make their own mind their teacher and do not rely on the sutras" ("Reply to Hoshina Goro Taro," The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol.1, p. 156). If people make their minds their sole standard, they will in due course become self-righteous. But if they carry out faith and practice based on the Law, then they are true leaders of Buddhism."
As the Daishonin says, quoting the Nirvana Sutra, "Rely on the Law and not on persons" which means, as he says to "rely on the teachings of the Buddha and not the opinions of others." This is exactly the opposite of what we do.
There is no mystery here. Time, time, and time again if Sensei says one thing and the Daishonin says the same thing but a top leader states something that is not in accordance with those statements, we almost invariably follow what the top leader states, not Sensei or the Daishonin. That is our fault.
Let’s go to a statement that President Ikeda made some years ago. He said that “…the correct course of action for us lies in Courageously engaging and refuting the Nikken Sect.”
There were then, and are today many members who would question that statement or give little credence to it, and that right there, is the clue. We take the words of Sensei and the Gosho with a grain of salt. We always have. Oh we might read and even "study" The Gosho and Sensei's guidance and we may even get great encouragement from them, but we seldom if ever, follow the strict instructions in them. For example: “But when there are provisional schools or slanderers of the correct teaching in the country, then it is time to set aside other matters and devote oneself to rebuking slander.” Conversation Between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man. Have we taken that passage seriously? In another Gosho he says this:
"This admonition urged me on, and I spoke out against slander in spite of the various persecutions I faced, because I would have become an enemy of the Buddha’s teaching if I had not." Embankments of Faith.
Now read those words and tell me if you really take them seriously, as clear instruction. What does the Daishonin mean when he says “set aside other matters”? Here’s a clue: It has to do with the preeminent importance of the action to correct slander, specifically enemies of the teaching. Why? Because there is nothing worse than allowing a distortion of the teaching to spread into society, as it will lead to great calamity and suffering. And by not taking Sensei's words and the Daishonin's words seriously--one also becomes a slanderer. If one then insists that not taking action is the correct course, one is then guilty of distorting and destroying the teaching.
Does that statement by Sensei to courageously engage and refute mean anything to you today? For example, If there is a Nikken sect, and they are spreading their teachings (and there is and they are) and Sensei said what I just quoted, and the Daishonin said that when there are slanderers of the Law in the country then it is time to set aside other matters and rebuke or refute, do you wait for a top leader to “interpret” the passage for you? And even when the leader says that it is not necessary to do what Sensei and the Daishonin say, or that the Nikken sect has been crushed, do you blindly go along with what they say or do you seek the truth for yourself?
In other words are you a follower or actually a disciple?
I have to add here that "engage and refute" does not mean going to the temple and causing trouble, it means to dialogue with those distorting the teaching, respectfully, in order to clarify the truth.
A follower here goes along unquestioningly with what the top leaders in this country say. A disciple will not blindly go along but find the truth. A follower does what they are told, like a Temple member. A follower will—without fail—lead Buddhism astray at some point. Because they do not embrace the teachings in their heart. They think that following instruction from the top leaders here is the correct practice. In other words the top leaders here are beyond reproach. Incorruptible. Like Mr. Williams was "incorruptible". Like the Priests are "incorruptible". If the members here really did embrace the teachings they would not be swayed by leaders who are off. Any leader that asserts a course of action contrary to the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin and the words of Sensei, and refuses to correct that course is corrupt. And it will show in other behavior as well which I will address below.
There are those who are erasing Mr. Williams' memory. No one erases the memory of a historical figure, good or bad without a nefarious reason because we need those examples to learn from, BOTH good and bad! The fact that that so obvious fact is not recognized shows how easily we are manipulated, and how mindless we have become.
“But it’s all about our inner evil—fighting our inner evil!” Some will say. Which is what many leaders here have taught us. My response is “Would you stand by and watch a grown man beat a small kid to death and claim it’s about self reflecting and your “Inner evil” and let the kid die? You would be absolutely heartless and just as guilty as the man who beat the kid if you made no effort to stop it, to get help, call the police or if strong enough, tackle the man himself. The key words in the last passage I quoted from the Daishonin is “and I spoke out against slander”. He spoke out. He was not silent. He did not simply self reflect. He acted with compassion to those being misled. If he had NOT spoken out, he would have become an enemy of the Buddha's teaching. And we would not have his teaching today.
That is called Shakubuku.
Is this what happens when you merely "Reflect on your own inner evil"? You end by running for your life?
Do you get attacked? Have your head gashed by a sword and your hand broken? Your followers attacked and some even killed? All because you self reflected?
History would indeed be colourful and bizarre if it was assessed that this man was attacked and persecuted time and time again and exiled to Sado island to die by freezing and starvation....all because he actually had the audacity to reflect on his own "Inner evil", his Inner Nikken" or "Inner Devadatta".
In reality I believe you will find that this man suffered harsh interrogation, lived in extremely harsh conditions, lost almost half his body weight--which is significant since he was a slim man to begin with, because he and his Mentor actually spoke out, they did not selfishly just "Self Reflect".
Well you might say we have to unite. Ok, so with whom? Mrs. Kasanuki said that Unity in Buddhism is that first and foremost we unite with the Mentor. If we go against the Mentor but instead unite with the top leaders here when they are off, guess what happens? We ourselves are then spreading a distorted teaching, a teaching at odds with Sensei and the Daishonin, and that makes us enemies of the Buddhist teaching.
Read that last sentence again.
Again, you can still support a leader who is off in their function, you can even respect them as a human being. But if you are swayed by incorrect guidance and just go along then you are a devilish function. Makiguchi said that the "constituent members of an organization must direct the actions of the leaders.” President Ikeda quoted him as saying that. But we do not believe that, do we? We know better than Makiguchi and Ikeda Sensei, right?
There is much guidance from Sensei and the Daishonin we don't really believe.
This is not complicated. This is why we have gone from a height of 84,000 districts at one time in this country to 2,500 today. Do we need more actual proof? How about the calamity in society? Those numbers come from the current (2025) General Director, by the way.
This is why, when some people were thrown out of the organization—the members just went along. The removal of Shinji was correct, because he was violating the teaching (At least three doctrinal violations), and his followers (it's that word again) went along because of a lack of study. Of course he was not removed for his violations of the teaching. Most--almost all members were not even aware of his violations! Of the rest of the members that were removed from the organization, none that I looked into were removed with any justification. These people were thrown out for speaking out against bad behavior on the part of certain leaders. And I am not the only one aware that there is something very wrong. Again it's ultimately not about the top leadership it's about our mindless, unthinking compliance, our belief that whatever anyone in a top position says must be the truth. We do this in society also--except we have different sides, each believing they are correct, with very very few doing any independent study or research to verify the truth. It's the very same principle. Nyo Ze Honmatsu Kukyo to.
And this means what?
We are all of us responsible to a degree because of our inaction. Responsible in greater ways than you might imagine.
What also happens when we do not fight great slander of the Law? Well.....
Just for a start, there were the national riots...
....that cost Billions of dollars in damage to property and business, ruining many lives...
....and costing the lives of between 35 and 100+ people, all justified by the killing of one man...and the people responsible have not been brought to justice and people still praise these groups for this evil and despicable act.
Many of our members support this type of action. No you say? Then why hasn't anyone spoken out? At many meetings these very people have been praised. Why have these members continuously voiced their support for the people who murder and inflict violence?
I am shocked that I have to explain this but no matter how much you believe that a political leader is bad, or that a group of people--like cops---are bad, the moment you advocate for and or commit violence and murder you become exactly what you claim to despise. Actually in some ways worse because you claim to be good and you claim to be Buddhist. So you end by soiling the good name of Buddhism.
Such a person is not a disciple of Daisaku Ikeda. Also people who refuse to see the truth, refuse to dialogue (The cornerstone of peace) to try to clarify the truth a situation but instead blindly follow their "Accepted" Authorities are not disciples. They become the worms in the bowel of the Lion. These are the same people who blatantly ignored Sensei and the Daishonin when they said that we must refute and dialogue with slanderers of the Law, and we must eliminate this Priesthood evil. These images here are the tiny tip of the iceberg of murder, violence, war and hatred perpetrated and supported by the very people claiming to be against violence and claiming to be pacifists.
They are neither. These "Pacifists" have become inverted.
But that can change.
Wars overseas. This Ukrainian war we blame Russia for, although our (popular) leaders more than any other have been responsible for it by first breaking the promise to Russia not to move NATO "One inch to the East" and then moving it over a thousand miles to the east. Then one popular leader in 2014 helped to overthrow a Russia friendly Ukraine government and in replace it with a NATO friendly one....
....and in 2020 that same leader later forced Zelenskyy to tear up the treaty he had with Putin, using a British Prime Minister as a Go-Between. The war has cost officially over 450,000 lives (Really closer to two million) and has cost Americans untold Billions... And then we have
A Pandemic that affects the world.
And how many lives were lost and how many more were destroyed by it?
Then we have Drastic increase in prices. More hardship. Partly because of the war.
Now in light of the teachings of Buddhism what do these things represent?
In the Great Collection Sutra, and in Nichiren Daishonin's writings these constitute the Three Inauspicious Occurrences. Now what is the cause of these Three Inauspicious Occurrences?
To which I would quote the Daishonin in his most famous Treatise, Rissho Ankoku Ron, or Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land:
"The Great Collection Sutra says: “Though for countless existences in the past the ruler of a state may have practiced the giving of alms, observed the precepts, and cultivated wisdom, if he sees that my teaching is in danger of perishing and stands idly by without doing anything to protect it, then all the inestimable roots of goodness that he has planted through the practices just mentioned will be entirely wiped out, and his country will become the scene of three inauspicious occurrences. The first is high grain prices, the second is warfare, and the third is epidemics." (My emphasis)
So these things--warfare, high grain prices and epidemics happen when the practitioners do not protect the teaching at the crucial moment. Is the what happened? Yes, that is exactly what happened, and it is amazing how accurate the Buddhist teachings are at predicting these things.
You might argue that the "epidemic" was International, not a United States thing. The response to that would be read Sun of Jiyu over a New Land. We were/are supposed to be the Kansai of the world. We hold the key to the world.
That is, if you take the words of President Ikeda seriously....
It is not a coincidence that the one country that directly slandered the Daihonon's Buddhism is the very country and only country whose population was attacked by a nuclear weapon. Actually two.
The Daishonin says: “This admonition urged me on, and I spoke out against slander in spite of the various persecutions I faced, because I would have become an enemy of the Buddha’s teaching if I had not.” The Embankments of Faith.
And now we are the ones directly slandering the Daishonin's teaching.
I have to say that the most alarming thing is that almost no one I know recognizes distortions of the teaching--which means that almost everyone is in danger of destroying Buddhism and laying calamity to themselves and to society. The Daishonin explains in his most important writing that violations of the teaching cause immeasurable suffering and calamity in society. And yet the members blithely go along completely unaware of any violation!! It is a recipe for catastrophe.
SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
FIRST, We must really learn and take the teachings of the Daishonin and Sensei seriously. Do NOT put the words of anyone--anyone over and above those the Buddha's teachings. The Daishonin says:
"But in matters of Buddhist doctrines one cannot jump to conclusions simply on the basis of the eminence of the person involved. The words of the sutras are what must come first. Do not make light of a teaching just because the person who preaches it is of humble station." Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man
But what the Daishonin tells us not to do is exactly what we actually do! We ignore the Humble messenger and put blind faith in those in eminent positions.
Right?
I have refuted well over a hundred statements and allegations by Nichiren Shoshu against the SGI so I have a good idea what a distortion of the teaching looks like and when is happening. It is. We need to remove that slander and base our actions on the Gosho and Sensei's guidance, or the consequences will be dire.
SECOND, Have Daimoku campaigns to reveal the truth. These are not to be half hearted Daimoku meanderings but a great struggle. With a clear goal.
THIRD, Learn to dialogue. Especially with people of opposing opinions. Dialogue is not an argument or a clash of words it is the art of really listening and then responding respectfully. People who refuse to dialogue when there is a dispute as to a correct course of action are not practicing Buddhism. When those after Shinji were thrown out they were not dialogued with, they were home visited and told that if they did not do X,Y, and Z they would be thrown out. That is NOT dialogue. That is giving an ultimatum, which is totalitarian behavior.
But most members just went along, didn't they? Funny it is how the one person who was correctly removed from the organization is the one many members staunchly objected to being removed---but the same people made no objection to those who were unjustly thrown out! What does that say about us?
Dialogue is hard, isn't it? But it is essential. Without it there is no Buddhism.
FOURTH, Learn to unite by first uniting with Sensei and the Daishonin. An example I use is that if Nichiren Shoshu were to truly unite (trust me they have a hard time with that)--we would be in much worse trouble than we are today---because they would be uniting behind a false premise, a distortion of the teaching. Which is why the Daishonin says that upholding the Buddha's teaching not the opinions of others is the most important thing. It is the very foundation of our practice. All other things, such as having faith in your prayer and truly uniting, and all activities, have to rest on that one essential point or we will be destroying Buddhism.
Exactly as we have been destroying Buddhism. That is in no way an idle statement. I will provide a documentation of proof of that. The Daishonin states:
"The Nirvana Sutra states: “If even a good monk sees someone destroying the teaching and disregards him, failing to reproach him, to oust him, or to punish him for his offense, then you should realize that that monk is betraying the Buddha’s teaching. But if he ousts the destroyer of the Law, reproaches him, or punishes him, then he is my disciple and a true voice-hearer.” You should etch deeply in your mind the two words “see” and “disregard” in the phrase “sees someone destroying the teaching and disregards him, failing to reproach him.” Both teacher and followers will surely fall into the hell of incessant suffering if they see enemies of the Lotus Sutra but disregard them and fail to reproach them. The Great Teacher Nan-yüeh says that they “will fall into hell along with those evil persons.” To hope to attain Buddhahood without speaking out against slander is as futile as trying to find water in the midst offire or fire in the midst of water. No matter how sincerely one believes in the Lotus Sutra, if one is guilty of failing to rebuke slander of the Law, one will surely fall into hell, just as a single crab leg will ruin a thousand pots of lacquer." Essentials for Attaining Buddhahood.
For those who say that they do speak out against slander, referring to Onshitsu or common negativity I will point to the part where the Daishonin says “If even a good monk sees someone destroying the teaching and disregards him, failing to reproach him" and also the passage that states: "Both teacher and followers will surely fall into the hell of incessant suffering if they see enemies of the Lotus Sutra but disregard them and fail to reproach them." I draw attention to the words "Destroying the teaching" and "Enemies of the Lotus Sutra". One who has general negativity and Onshitsu is not an enemy of the teaching just because of that. They are just people going through their ten world processing and Karma like all of us do. An enemy of the Lotus Sutra is one who destroys the teaching. Why? Because that would be the worse thing you can do. Deliberately going against the Buddhist teachings, (for example refusing to address and refute people who are destroying the Law) makes one an enemy of the Buddhist teaching.
Is this really difficult to understand? Nichiren Daishonin spoke out, the Three Founding Presidents did spoke out, which is why they were persecuted. It is actually part of the Buddhist practice!
It is understood that the vast majority of members are sincere and even good hearted people. However, that has little to nothing to do with whether one is upholding or destroying the teaching, and the consequences of going against the teaching is the same whether you are good hearted or not. Many Temple members I met with were "good" people, and a few became friends. Even Jeff Silver, the Lay Leader at the time for Southern California Nichiren Shoshu was a nice guy. We had quite a few great conversations. From the standpoint of Buddhism however he would be considered an important enemy of the teaching. President Ikeda himself Said that the Nikken Sect (Nichiren Shoshu) was committing "the ultimate evil of trying to destroy the Kosen Rufu movement". His own words were "ultimate evil". Committed by mostly nice likable people. At this point we are no different in that way.
We have to change course, and that has to happen now. The leaders are 100% responsible for their actions--but the real culprits are those who let them get away with it.
As V said in "V for Vendetta":
"But truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty you need only look into a mirror."
If anyone wants to dispute this we'll talk.
Sensei said:
"The Bodhisattvas of the Earth are described as “ clever at difficult questions and answers, their minds knowing no fear”
"Afraid to interact with others, people often put up barriers in their hearts. But the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, with their wholehearted belief in the supremely noble Buddha nature inherent in each person’s life, courageously surmount all such barriers and engage others in dialogue.” Daisaku Ikeda WT October 18 2024, p 2.
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