To
all devotees of Nichiren S=
hoshu
who wish to attain Buddhahood.
Statement by the priests of the Sh=
oshinkai
Introduction
In the fall of 1977, it became a subject= of discussion among Nichiren Shoshu priests that the Soka Gakkai corrupted Nichiren Shoshu doctrine, disregarded human rights, and committed many ille= gal acts in society. In order to correct the Gakkai, various young priests roused themselves to action from a sense of necessity and gradually gained influence. The late Nittatsu Shonin, then High Priest, approved of their movement, called Shoshin Shokaku Undo (the movement of awakening true faith). In addition, two thirds of the 640 priests then in Nichiren Shoshu also expressed their approval.
Soka Gakkai is originally a lay organiza= tion of Nichiren Shoshu. Therefore= , the priests have to lead the laity from the start, and in the same way, the pri= ests have to help the Gakkai correct their behavior as a problem within the religion. While Nittatsu Shonin was alive, it seemed that these problems= were being solved one by one, without a hitch, but after he passed away on July = 22, 1979, and Reverend Abe assumed his position, events occurred one after anot= her that caused us alarm. The Soka Gakkai, seemingly about to take great pains to correct itself, started to m= ove in the wrong direction again.
Essentially, the authority of the High Priest in Nichiren Shoshu is absolute.&nbs= p; A High Priest has greater power than all other priests. The current high priest holding th= is position, Reverend Abe, is protecting the Soka Gakkai. He does not care how = this looks, nor does he admit the shortcomings of the Gakka= i. One the contrary, he declared that= there was no basic evil in the Gakkai’s action, but the true evil lay in pe= ople outside the Gakkai. As a prie= st of Nichiren Shoshu, Reverend Abe should correct the laity’s errors conce= rning the religion and specifically the irresponsible and illegal acts perpetrate= d by the Gakkai. He placed the bla= me, however, with the press and non-believers of Nichiren Shoshu.
Many priests in Nichiren Shoshu were extremely worried about Reverend Abe’s behavior and decided to establ= ish a legal precedent in the religion in order to oppose the High Priest’s control over the Nichiren Shoshu Assembly, which was supposed to reflect th= e views of the priesthood in general. When an election was held in June 1980, ten out of sixteen members of the Shoshi= nkai were elected despite pressure from the High Priest’s side. This result testifies to the fact = that public opinion in Nichiren Shoshu was clearly rejecting and criticizing the stance of Reverend Abe.
At the time, we were fully prepared to o= penly discuss within the Nichiren Shoshu Assembly, the wrongdoings of the Soka Gakkai that the High Priest was trying to conceal w= ith his authority. Many of the ge= neral priests in Nichiren Shoshu were squarely grappling with the High PriestR= 17;s control. During Nittatsu Shonin’s time, when the Kanseikai (Nichir= en Shoshu Court of Justice) election was held, five of the seven priests elect= ed sympathized with us. The High Priest’s control extended only to the administration (Shumuin) branch of the priesthood, not the judicial (Kansei= kai) and legislative (Shugikai) branches. It thus stands to reason that Reverend Abe was inclined to force the opposing priests to leave the judicial and legislative branches of the priesthood.
To accomplish this, the High Priest toge= ther with the Soka Gakkai needed a pretext.&nbs= p; This came with the scheduled meeting of the National Danto Conventio= n, which was comprised of priests and laity opposed to the Gakkai’s acti= ons, scheduled for August 24, 1980. At the order of the High Priest, the administrative branch (Shumuin) issued a notice directing the convention no= t to be held. Reverend Abe made it= clear that any priest who disregarded the notice would be punished. It became apparent that the High Priest’s real intention was not to cancel the Danto Convention, but to punish his opponents in the priesthood. The High Priest gained total contro= l of the legislative and judicial branches of the priesthood through these punit= ive actions, which were carried out against 201 priests. In response, we have created the g= roup called Shoshinkai among priests= who wish to guide the Soka Gakkai to the true faith.
To
All Devotees of Nichiren Shoshu Who Wish to Attain Buddhahood
We must present this important informati=
on
to each member of the Soka Gakkai. At the present time, the Soka Gakk=
ai is
giving guidance to believers to the effect that they should not visit templ=
es
where priests are criticizing the Gakkai.&=
nbsp;
The believers are threatened with the punishment of being unable to
visit the
As a result of this, many Gakkai members=
are
in turmoil. On one occasion, a
member visited a local
On the occasion of a funeral service, a = Soka Gakkai leader fright= ened a member into submission by saying that he would no longer have anything to do with that person if he made a funeral application to a priest who was criti= cal of the Gakkai. He also stated= :
· This priest will never come to perform the funeral rites
· You have to donate more to this temple than = to others
· This priest has become insane
· He lost his position as a Nichiren Shoshu pr= iest
· The temple’s location has been changed=
· There is no Gohonzon in the main hall of this temple
<= span style=3D'font-family:Symbol;mso-fareast-font-family:Symbol;mso-bidi-font-fa= mily: Symbol'>· You will be punished if you go to this temple because the priest is ungrateful to Ikeda-Sensei
The Gakkai perpetrated such abusive lies and tried to instill in members’ hearts that faith means= to protect the Gakkai and Ikeda Sensei instead of the Gohonzon and Nichiren Daishonin.
In reality, faith means to awaken one’s true, prec= ious nature, to cultivate an individual spirit of endurance, to realize one̵= 7;s original mission in life, and to accept honestly, through one’s own h= eart, the will of the Daishonin. Th= e Gakkai continues to give guidance to members indicating that, if they stand up for= the Gakkai, they will all attain Buddhahood even if= they are currently sleeping or crying, and they should follow the Gakkai cheerfully. To cite another example, one piece of guidance form the Gakkai reads, “If you leave t= he Gakkai, you will not attain Buddhahood.” This is completely wrong. The true guidance is, “If you abandon the Daishonin, you will not attain Buddhahood.”
The unprincipled behavior of Gakkai members, who, without
self-identity, self-motivation, and a sense of innate mission, follow just =
like
a flock of sheep, indicates a completely different religious orientation.
I.&n=
bsp;
Nichiren
Shoshu and Soka Gakkai are Separate Religious Organizations
In 1952, the Soka Gakkai, far more than was necessary, devoted itself zealously to = the effort of becoming a separate religious organization, despite the fact that Nichiren Shoshu already possessed this status. The Gakkai explained to Nichiren S= hoshu that the lay organization needed to protect the priesthood from outside persecution,.
Nichiren
1. = To protect the Three Treasures of the Buddha, the Law, and the Priest (Nichiren Daishonin, Gohonzon, and Nikko Shonin)
2. = To follow the doctrine of Nichiren Shoshu’s Head Temple Taiseki-ji (the doctrine of the Daishonin based = on the Three Treasures, and strict prohibition of slander (hobo).
3. = Gakkai members m= ust belong to a Nichiren Shoshu temple.
These three points were agreed upon as minimum, basic conditions. Ho= wever, to this day, the Gakkai has never clearly prese= nted these guiding principles to its members.&n= bsp; Aside from that, the Soka Gakkai broke and completely abandoned these three basic tenets. These violations were exemplified by: the illicit creat= ion of Honzons; the development of doctrine centeri= ng around the Gakkai (Soka Buddhism, Soka Doctrine); the insistence that today= ’s Temples are Gakkai Headquarters, community centers, and training areas; the Gakkai’s construction of its own chapel in Akita Prefecture where lay members conducted services (in 1981); the performance of religious services like Gongyo Meetings for the birthday of Josei Toda, the anniversary of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi’s death, Soka Gakkai day, and other services th= at have no relation to original religious rites of Nichiren Shoshu; the collec= tion and receipt of contributions to the Gakkai falsely labeled “Gokuyo” (offerings given sol= ely to Temples).
These items deserve out consideration as important factors today, since they entail a violation of the three essenti= al points mentioned above, which are necessary not only for the protection of Nichiren Shoshu but for its propagation and strict maintenance. Clearly, much of the Gakkai’= s guidance, asserted as the unquestioned privilege of a religious organization to put forth, were focused on Ikeda and the Soka Gakka= i, instead of the Daishonin. Therefore, we declare without hesitation that the Gakkai violated the Law of Faith (committed slander).
II.
The Soka Gakkai committed many concrete violations (Hobo)
In 1977, the Soka Gakkai’s wronghe= aded behavior reached its peak. Be= fore you note that the Gakkai already apologized for these transgressions, you should think about whether these matters were ever discussed with you at a meeting as a disciple of the Daishonin rather than simply as a Gakkai member. Did top leaders, such= as, chapter chiefs (or group leaders close to you) ever admit their mistakes to each on= e of you and point out what true faith is? Here are a number of the chief violations:
1. = Daisaku Ikeda gave guidance to the effect th= at stated any Gohonzon, by now, is the same. He gave instructions for eight woo= den Gohonzons to be made from a photographic reproduction= of an actual Gohonzon. Addressing t= his issue, YMD chief Nozaki said, “It’s all right because we made it just as it is, not like a fox or badger.”
2. = Using these counterfeit Gohonzons, Ikeda conducted enshrinement ceremonies and Buddhist eye-opening ceremonies= .
3. =
The Soka Gakkai disseminated guidance like
“Soka Gakkai is the foundation and Nichiren Shoshu has its head in the
clouds: and “the Buddhist service of Nichiren Shoshu is no more than a
formality.” After making
these and other similar pronouncements, the Gakkai soon established its own
Department of Religious Affairs, and started to train leaders to do the
ceremonies of
4. =
The late Soka Gakkai president, Hiroshi Hojo
once said, “My former religion is Nichiren Shoshu.” And a senior
leader in
5. =
Mrs. Kurihara, Women’s Division chief =
of
Kansai, said, “The Shiragama Training Institute has become the ‘=
;
6. = Former Soka Gakkai Vice President Genjiro Fukushima said, “The novel ‘The Human Revolution’ is the modern-day Gosho. He also sta= ted, “Let’s devote ourselves to Ikeda Sensei. Let’s strive together with I= keda Sensei in the spirit of Shitei-Funi= (oneness of Master and Disciple).”&n= bsp; Along these lines, Mr. Hachiya, a Men’s Division chief, said t= hat “Ikeda Sensei is a great master who propagates the true Buddhism of t= he Daishonin.” Thereby conferring on Ikeda the same significance as that= of the second High Priest, Nikko Shonin. Also, one of the questions in a Gakkai s= tudy exam printed in the magazine, Daiby= akurenge, is answered by the assertion “Ikeda Sensei has the three virtues of Master, Teacher, and Parent,” thus slanderously giving Ikeda the same honorific titles as the Daishonin and perverting the doctrine of Nichiren Shoshu.
7. = Without the permission of Nichiren Shoshu, t= he Gakkai printed and distributed Gongyo books; circulated also to people outs= ide the Gakkai that severely distorted the Law of Buddhism. (Translator’s Note: These books included prayers for t= wo deceased presidents of the Soka Gakkai and a prayer for the Soka Gakkai to flourish and accomplish the spread of true Buddhism.) Strangely, some members are still = using and hiding these heretical liturgies.
8. = According to the Gakkai, a member had strong faith if he had many subscriptions to the Seikyo Newspaper and had purchased books by Daisaku Ikea. The members were told that, by subscribing to these publications, they were making the cause for benefits. Furthermore, since the Min-On performing arts division was established by Ikeda, many members were convinced that it was their responsibility to supp= ort this activity. This is an exa= mple of the Gakkai’s exclusive society which confuses faith with loyalty to the lay organization.
9. = Members were told that if they persuaded oth= ers to vote for Gakkai-backed candidates in an election, they would receive the same benefit derived from Shakubuku. This is a false interpretation of R= 20;Obutsu-myogo” and the “= ;Rissho Ankoku” that= they used to suit their own purposes. Purely for its own advantage, the Gakkai violat= ed the Law by participating in a heretical sect’s festival, giving the l= ame excuse that they wished to foster “friendship at a local level.”= ;
10. = Gakkai leaders gave sick people a mere piece paper which was dipped in a drink and called it “Go-fu.” It was given especially when members were tired d= uring the time of an election campaign. This form of faith healing is shameful.
11. = The Gakkai went so far as to give Kaikans the same suffix (san-go) that attached to Nichiren Shoshu Temples. At present, many Gakkai community centers have retained this suffix.
Aside from the above-mentioned matters w=
hich
have come out into the open, the Gakkai has committed other violations. The original cause of all these
transgressions, however, is that the Soka Gakkai has placed its own interest
before those of Nichiren Shoshu and has taken advantage of the Gohonzon.
Of course, we must declare that this is = slander, and that members who are guilty of slander can never attain Buddhahood.
III.
The progress of the Shoshin-shokaku (Awakening True Faith) Movement
The Gakkai’s violations of the
Daishonin’s teaching reached a peak in 1977. Sixty-sixth High Priest Nittatsu S=
honin
and other thoughtful priests lamented this situation, and eventually critic=
ism
of the Gakkai’s slander spread like wildfire all over
Although the Gakkai’s slanders originated with a conflict between itself and Nichiren Shoshu, the Gakkai is currently blaming Mr. Takashi Harashima, former study department chief, and= Mr. Masatomo Yamazaki, former Gakkai corporate lawyer, for all offenses in orde= r to hide the organization’s slanders.&nb= sp; Both Harashima and Yamazaki, however, ha= ve simply awakened to a fundamental doubt in whether they should have faith in= the Daishonin or in the Soka Gakkai. The Gakkai’s pronouncements about this matter completely evade= responsibility for its own errors.
If the Gakkai had observed Nittatsu Shonin’s admonitions in 1977, we would never be faced with the task of exposing their misdeeds. On t= he contrary, the Gakkai treated Nittatsu Shonin as a nuisance. The late Hiroshi Hojo said, “= ;I don’t like the Geika (High Priest).” On the local level, priests who we= re heartily advising the Gakkai to mend its ways were subjected to a kangaroo court by young men’s division chief Nozaki, Vice President Harada, and top local leaders. During this time, these leaders demanded that Nichiren Shoshu dismiss the priests in question. They blackmailed Ni= ttatsu Shonin by saying, “The Gakkai has 100,000 members who wish to give th= eir lives for Ikeda Sensei so we will send 5,000 YMD to the Head Temple Taiseki= -ji every day to attack it.”
Deploring the corruption of the Soka Gak=
kai,
Nittatsu Shonin was obliged to say, “I would protect the pure integri=
ty
of the
Nevertheless, many priests led by Revere= nd Abe and including those whom the Gakkai conveniently calls “fine priests” were intimidated and afraid to speak out. In 1977, Reverend Abe, the long ti= me chief of the Nichiren Shoshu Study Department, praised Ikeda and said, “The Gakkai’s study department is perfect.”
Finally, High Priest Nittatsu Shonin mad= e up his mind to excommunicate the Gakkai, and prese= nted to all of the priests two main subjects for discussion so that a consensus = of the entire priesthood could be achieved:&n= bsp; (i) What can we do in order to reach an agreement with the Gakkai? And (ii) what shall we do in case we decide to c= ut off ties with the Gakkai?
Having received the information beforeha= nd, Ikeda came to the Head temple and apologized to Nittatsu Shonin, making a complete about-face. Afterwar= d, Ikeda met with top leaders and apologized. He said that the Gakkai should correct its mistakes. Immediately afterward, secret docu= ments were leaked that exposed the Gakkai’s real intentions. The Seikyo newspaper’s corre= ctions of the Gakkai’s doctrinal misinterpretations, known as the June 30th = and November 7th Agreements, are good examples of the lay organization’s distortions, but do not get to the bottom of the matter. Since Ikeda promised to resign fro= m the presidency in order to accept responsibly for the slander, to refrain from reestablishing a secret power base in the Gakkai, and to keep him out of the public eye, Nittatsu Shonin said, “As long as the Soka Gakkai has corrected its slander up to now, I will forgive them for the time being.
IV.
The Gakkai’s Threatening Attitude
Amid much controversy, Nittatsu Shonin
passed away on July 22, 1979, and Reverend Abe assumed the position of High
Priest without evident adherence to the formal mode of succession. He uses the position to impose obe=
dience
to his authority. He has insi=
sted
that Nichiren Shoshu could not get along withou=
t the Gakkai, and that one may do slander slightly. Reverend Abe has aligned himself w=
ith the
Gakkai’s leaders, claiming that the organization’s problems with
the priesthood were caused by the manipulative behavior of Yamazaki and
Since the man assuming the High Priest’s position is a supporter of the Gakkai, the lay organization = has changed its tune. The Gakkai’s current attitude is that anything they may have done wrong in the past is water under the bridge, finished, apologized for, and forgiven. Notwithstanding, th= ey are, in truth, going against the will of the Daishonin.
Every time the late Nittatsu Shonin had thunderously exhorted the priests, “If you cannot correct the Gakkai’s errors, you are not worthy of the title of Nichiren Shoshu priest,” Reverend Abe would lower his head, turtle-like, into his hun= ched shoulders. Now, like a small = man acting arrogantly through borrowed authority, he announces that it is the H= igh Priest who decides what is slander, and if he says that something is not slander, then it is not. He a= lso maintains that anyone who acts contrary to the High Priest’s dictates= is a slanderer. In the present s= tate of affairs, some are led to believe the High Priest instead of Nichiren Daishonin. By sticking like g= lue to the Gakkai, the current Nichiren Shoshu administration is about to forgive = and forget everything that has passed into history, and is at the point of putt= ing pressure on the priests who admonish the Gakkai to desist. They attach minimal importance to = true Faith, and devilishly concern themselves only with their own lives and not = the life of the Daishonin’s Buddhism.&nb= sp; Similarly, the Gakkai cries, “religious persecution,” “subversive plans.” The Gakkai even has the audacity to shirk responsibility for its leaders’ wrong-headed guidance by declaring, as they have since early times, “= Even though a Gakkai leader makes a mistake in giving guidance, you should liste= n to him attentively and follow him as hard as you can. At least general members will never suffer punishment.” To present the Gakkai’s true stance, it turns out that leaders never make mistakes, and members opposing a leader are likened to members opposing the Gohonzon. According to this paradox, no matter what error a leader makes, he is okay and does not need = to apologize to the members.
However, in reality, the punishment for slander is such a heavy burden for each offender that even a leader cannot assume their punishment. When= we consider that the Daishonin stated, “If you slander even a little, you will descend into the hell of endless suffering,” we have to admonish Reverend Abe for his assertion that one may do slander slightly, or that “fundamentally there is no slander if a person believes in the Gohonzon.” These pronouncements are definitely a deviation from the Daishonin’s teachi= ngs.
Therefore, we have been claiming first a= nd foremost that Reverend Abe does not have the lineage to promulgate the DaishoninR= 17;s will because he has twisted the Daishonin’s teachings in order to safeguard the Gakkai. Further= more, it stands to reason that, regardless of the accomplishments of individual Gakkai members, there is no lineage of faith extending to each Gakkai member. This exemplifies the concept of slander by association (= hobo-yodosai).
We hereby ask each member of the Gakkai, which one of the three are you going to embrace: the teaching of the Daishonin, the teaching of Reverend Abe, or the teaching of Ikeda?
We should embrace the Daishonin’s teaching no matter what, and should explain faith, practice, and study clea= rly and directly to Gakkai members. If all those associated with the Gakkai at the present time believe that they should use Reverend Abe’s teaching as a shield, then it becomes self-contradictory that they could not follow the admonitions of the late H= igh Priest Nittatsu Shonin to practice according to the Daishonin’s will. Those who are following Ikeda, claiming that one can connect directly with the Gohonzon through his guidance, are clearly depending on a person and not the Law of the Gohonzon= (Enin-fue-ho (following the person not the Law) instead of eho-fue-nin (following the = Law not the person)).
V. Basic Answers to Gakkai’s Cl=
aims
and Criticism
Question: The Gakkai has corrected its mistakes and apologized, hasn’t it?
Answer: If the Gakkai has truly repent= ed, it has to show in its collective attitude that each of its members has made a clean breast of his slanders and now desires to keep faith in the Daishonin’s teaching foremost in his mind. If the Gakkai had genuinely apolog= ized, they would no longer be expressing such wrong-headed thoughts as “Ike= da Sensei is a master of our lives,” or “Ikeda-Sensei advanced to a higher position by becoming an honorary president,” or “letR= 17;s win in the election for Ikeda-Sensei,” or “let’s chant daimoku so Ikeda-Sensei doesn’t have to go to court.
Question: We are doing what the High Pri= est has told us to do.
Answer: If the High Priest at this tim= e has confused slander with the doctrine of Nichiren Shoshu, which is based on the Daigohonzon of the High Sanctuary, strict prohibition against slander (Hobo Genkai), and propagation of the teaching as the common fortune for all mank= ind, then we must discard Reverend Abe’s teaching and admonish him because= he has been desecrating the lineage of the Daishonin.
Question: This temple (affiliated with t= he Shoshinkai) is disconnected from the lineage and is part of another sect.
Answer: We have been quoting from the = Gosho and the documents of the late High Priest Nittatsu Shonin.
The Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary is the precise starting point. With the Daishonin’s Hosshaku-Kempon<= /span> (realization of his true identity) at Tatsunokuchi on September 12, 1271 as a turning point, the Daishonin, Nikko Shonin, and oth= er followers converged at Atsuhara, hastening the inscription of the Daigohonz= on on October 12, 1279. The phys= ical manifestation of the Daigohonzon was inscribed based on the spirit of the Daishonin. It is not simply a material presence. We can positively say that it is the Daishonin’s spirit. We are appealing to your faith to = decide that faith should originate from the spirit of the Daishonin manifested in = the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary. Needless to say, we should all pro= tect the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary and beli= eve in it sincerely.
Judgment about whether one is connected = or disconnected from the lineage is mainly based at this time on the pronounce= ment of the High Priest rather than the Daishonin’s teaching. There is no pure water of the line= age other than what the High Priest keeps.&nbs= p; It is flowing in the stream of faith, which constitutes the oneness = of Master and Disciple (Shitei Funi) and the fusion of Objective Reality and Subjective Wisdom (Kyochi Myogo).
Because the Gakkai has had material acce= ss to the Daigohonzon of the High Sanctuary and the lineage as defined by the = High Priest, there is still a great deal of erroneous guidance today, such as “the lineage is flowing for Ikeda Sensei” and “Ikeda Sens= ei is our master.” If so, = where does his lineage stem from? Also, = the Gakkai is saying, “You people cannot go on Tozan, but we can. Therefore, we have the lineage.” This comment = is based on the notion that they are going on Tozan to exercise their will, ra= ther than praying to the Daigohonzon by revering the Daishonin in their hearts.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The Gakkai should stop thinking of= Tozan as a material acquisition that proves a spiritual superiority or “if you’re able to go on Tozan, you’re right. If you’re not able to go on = Tozan, you’re wrong.”
Question: A Gakkai leader told us that Yamazaki and Harashima set you up to attack the Gakkai. What the devil do you mean by doing that?
Answer: We are not Yamazaki, Harashima, Tanaka, Sato, or Suzuki. As p= riests and men who have been awakened early to the problem, we keenly feel the responsibility to point out that each Gakkai member is committing slander whether or not he is conscious of it. From the start, Nichiren Shoshu priests wish for the enlightenment (Jobutsu) of all mankind, especially all of you. That is out fondest wish and sourc= e of happiness. Even if we become = poor and sick, we will not be in pain if you are doing faith and practice correc= tly.
We regret to see that: you are not returning to the origi= n of the Daishonin’s teaching, you are thinking of Ikeda or Reverend Abe as the prime point of origin, and you are slandering all over again. We would like to offer this letter, praying that all of you will be awakened to the faith of the Daishonin inde= pendent of the faith of the Gakkai, the faith of the High Priest, and the faith of self-satisfaction.
Nichiren Shoshu <=
span
class=3DSpellE>Shoshin-kai
Rev. Shodo Yoshida &= nbsp; Yamaguchi Fukyo-Sho
Rev. Houken Kato &=
nbsp;
Rev. Kyodou Ueji &=
nbsp;
Rev. Houyu Okada &=
nbsp;
Rev. Koudou Hayashi &=
nbsp;
Rev. Ondou Karajima &= nbsp; Mihara Fukyo-Sho
Rev. Raido Hirota &=
nbsp;
Rev. Kaido Inaba &=
nbsp;
Rev. Shouken Mouri &=
nbsp;
Rev. Jiken Seki &= nbsp; &= nbsp; Koufu Dan-Sho
Rev. Reido Ikeda &= nbsp; Koufu Dan-Sho
Rev. Kandou Morita &=
nbsp;
1982