What is Kosen Rufu?

Now I Entrust It To You

I used to have a very vague idea of what kosen-rufu was and just had some image of world peace. During kosen-rufu gongyo (an hour of daimoku for “kosen rufu” on the first Sunday of the month in the UK) I would chant "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo" and think about politicians hugging or people of all different nations holding hands in a circle and kids playing without a care in the world.

 

2011 was a terrible year for news and many people were being blown all over the place between Hell and Rapture in response to the news and events around the world on a nightly basis. The riots across London in August made people feel that life just didn’t seem worth living. They thought what the hell is going on. And at times, even I wondered if the SGI really could make a difference in people’s lives and deal with problems on this scale?

 

A few days later the broom brigade came out. People had gathered together through an internet campaign to clean up the streets. Life seemed much brighter and people started to feel more hopefully about the future. They realized, as did I. that people could make a difference within their communities. We can pick up a broom. We can volunteer to help with various causes. We can make donations to relief funds and charities. All of these activities can make a difference in our communities and make us feel better, but they are often short term fixes. We need long-term solutions to the problems in our communities and around the world. It was then that I really started thinking about the importance of kosen-rufu. I had a look online and found this quote by President Ikeda:

 

“For the members of the SGI, kosen-rufu means the ceaseless effort to enhance the value of human dignity, to awaken all people to a sense of their limitless worth and potential.”

I know it’s impossible for me to awaken ALL people to their limitless worth and potential, but I can influence the people around me.

We all know the phrase charity begins at home and the same is true of kosen-rufu. Kosen-rufu begins with us. It’s the example we set in our lives. The way we shine in our families, workplaces, schools and communities. It’s treating the people around us with respect and relating to them as individuals who possess the same potential to reveal their Buddhahood that we do. We smile warmly at the people we meet, and say a few words of greeting to a neighbour. This shared humanity creates value in our communities. Other people start to feel good about themselves and this good feeling will spread through the lives of the people they come into contact with as well.

People will pick up that we have something different about us. We seem to flow through life, riding the waves of the obstacles that come up. It doesn’t mean we don’t suffer at the break up of a relationship, the death of a loved one, being made redundant, etc. Everyone experiences loss in their lives, but it’s the positive way we deal with it and the growth in our personal development and faith that makes us shine.

 

In Chapter 22 of the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni says “Now I entrust it to you. You must accept, uphold, recite and broadly propagate this Law”. Joining the SGI and receiving our Gohonzon is like getting married and it’s a lifetime, eternal commitment. By receiving our Gohonzon we are promising to accept, uphold, recite and broadly propagate the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra in accordance with the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin to fulfil our vows as Votaries of the Lotus Sutra. We are committing our lives to the Mystic Law, our individual human revolution, shakubuku and kosen rufu.

 

KOSEN RUFU = HUMAN REVOLUTION + SHAKUBUKU

Kosen rufu needs both of these. There’s no point improving ourselves if we don’t also tell other people how to tap into the unlimited potential in their own lives. It doesn’t matter how good the teaching is, if we decide to keep it to ourselves. Similarly, there’s no point in telling others about our faith if we all decide to accept our own fundamental darkness and flaws, settling for anything less than being the best we can be. We need to work on our own weaknesses to become outstanding members of society and teach people about Nichiren Buddhism while we are doing it.

Changing Society One Person At A Time

How do societies change? They change because people change. As people change they change the way they vote, the way they relate to others and the things that are important to them. John F Kennedy said, “Our problems are manmade – therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants.”

 

Our mission as Bodhisattvas of the Earth is to rise up and help ourselves, and other people, to be as big as they want to be. To help them awaken their fundamental enlightenment, improving their lives and leading them to a state of absolute happiness. And then to join us in our mission to spread the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Buddhism far and wide.

You don’t need to be scared of talking to others. Just do your best to teach them about the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra and how to achieve happiness in their lives. If people are encouraged to embrace the faith straight away that’s great. But, even if they don’t, what’s important is that you have stirred up their life. You have spoken to their Buddha nature and planted a seed of compassionate wisdom and absolute joy in their lives. When they are ready for it to grow, it will be there waiting. They may not appreciate it at the time, but talking to them about Buddhism will be the greatest gift they will ever receive.

To be honest, we have no idea how far-reaching our words could be. President Ikeda was invited to his first meeting by an old school friend. I don’t know where that school friend is today, but we can clearly see the effects of his shakubuku on our organisation. All of President Ikeda’s achievements over the last 60 years came about because a friend invited him to a discussion meeting. When we talk to our friends and invite them to our meetings we have no idea how far this invitation could take them personally or to what extent it could benefit society.

2012 has had its share of positive news, such as the London Olympics and the Queen's Jubilee, but there has also been a fair share of negative news as well -floods, hurricanes, corporate tax evasion, predatory paedophiles, a new war bubbling under in the Middle East, etc. As depressing as these news stories can be, as Nichiren Buddhists we are filled with hope.

This practise is not about having no reaction to bad news and disasters, it’s about dealing with those emotions in the higher life states of learning, realization, bodhisattva and Buddhahood. It’s about focussing our emotions on taking action and bringing about real lasting results in society by changing one person at a time.

 

WE CAN DO THAT. WE CAN TALK TO ONE PERSON. AND THEN WE CAN TALK TO ANOTHER. AND ANOTHER …

 

We are not helpless. Kosen-rufu is about knowing we can do something. We can talk to people about our faith. We can change people’s attitudes, one by one. Together, we can change our communities. We can change our cities. We can change our country. We can change the world.

Kosen-rufu is going on right now. It’s not a state of world peace in a hundred years time. It’s not some fuzzy image of people all over the world holding hands or politicians hugging. It’s the clear, bright flow of Shakyamuni’s wisdom (as revealed in the Lotus Sutra) in our lives today. Kosen-rufu IS the life-force of Nichiren Buddhism.

 

“Kosen-rufu is not merely a campaign for expanding the membership of the Soka Gakkai. It is the process whereby people who have changed their own lives through human revolution, influence their families, their local community and ultimately the nation. … Soka Gakkai members who have revolutionised their own lives, will display their abilities in their daily activities creating great waves. The waves will gradually form a new tide surging towards the next century contributing greatly to the eventual change in the destiny of all humankind.”(The Human Revolution: Vol. 9, p120)

End of the World?

Based on Mayan calendar predications, some people believe that today is the end of the world, but according to Jesus Gomez, head of the Guatemalan Confederation of Mayan Priests, “There is no concept of apocalypse in the Mayan culture.”  December 21^st 2012 is not the end of the world, but the end of a 5,125 year cycle called the Long Count and they believe that a Mayan god, called Bolon Yukte, will return to earth to signal a new age. 

We can already see the beginnings of this new age.  People are tired of politicians lying about expenses, deceiving us with their speeches and scandals.  People are tired of companies like Starbucks and Google trying to evade paying tax.  People have had enough of bankers and other financial institutes gambling with money, being bailed out by the government and still rewarding themselves with huge bonuses.  People are getting tired of greed, ignorance and selfishness.

People are ready for change and they are looking for new solutions to the suffering and inequality in their communities.  The Soka Gakkai International is on the threshold of great growth in many countries all around the world.  The U.K. is seeing a great increase in new members at the moment and as we become more noticeable, people will start to see that there is hope for the future.  There are statesmen and leaders who care about all humanity and are not just looking out for their own selfish interests.  We are those statesmen and leaders.  We can lead the people to a new world.  A world on our doorsteps filled with compassion and hope for the next 10,000 years.

The world is not ending, it’s only just beginning and Nichiren Buddhism holds the answers that people are looking for. 

Want to know more about the Soka Gakkai International?  Check out my first post http://nichirenbuddhist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/our-shared-humanity.html for an introduction to Nichiren Buddhism and any of my other posts for further information.

Soka Gakkai and Politics

The second president of the Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda, initiated the involvement in politics by appointing members in certain districts to run for local and national elections.  This was seen as another strand to ensure the flow of kosen-rufu and the peace of the nation.  In Nichiren’s day, the local lord’s had the power and control of their regions, but nowadays power resides with the people that vote for their political leaders.  After the war, the political landscape was changing frequently with a seemingly endless cycle of elections, corruption, votes of disapproval or lack of confidence, and new elections.  Consequently, Toda realized that rather than trying to gain favour with those in power, especially as they were only in power for weeks or months sometimes, the Soka Gakkai should appeal to the public directly.

In its early days in 1955, the political wing of the Soka Gakkai was called the Komei (Clean Government) Political League and one of its selling points was, as the name says, its focus on clean government.  This hasn’t always been possible, due to the over-enthusiasm or misplaced focus of some members, but on the whole the Komei Party has avoided a lot of the scandals and corruptions that have affected other parties.  As the party grew, and as more people became wary about its connection with the Soka Gakkai, President Ikeda decided to clearly separate the two organisations, and in 1964 the Komeito (Clean Government Party) became independent from the Soka Gakkai, although its policies are still based on the humanistic values of Nichiren Buddhism. 

In 1969 it became the third biggest party in Japan’s political scene and while it has traditionally voted on bills in support of the number two party, the Japan Socialist Party, it has also supported bills by the leading party, the Liberal Democratic Party.  During the mid 1990s there was some movement in the Komeito Party, which split into different groups.  Some of these split again and some of them disappeared, until finally in 1998 all of these different factions reformed to create the New Komeito Party.

Even though the Komeito Party became independent from the Soka Gakkai, it is still seen by many as the Soka Gakkai's Party and many people in Japan worry about this religious connection.  Despite this worry, the Party has continued to grow over the years.  In most cases, these politicians would not hold their positions if they relied solely on Soka Gakkai members’ votes, so why are non-members electing and re-electing them? 

It’s because the Komeito Party follows humanistic policies which focus on making life better for all citizens.  They are not campaigning for schools to have morning gongyo, compulsory human revolution or for other religions (or atheism) to be outlawed.  They are working on grassroots campaigns that are bringing real change to the lives of people at a local level, or working on a national level to improve conditions in the workplace, education, healthcare, etc.  They are not acting solely on behalf of Soka Gakkai members (although they have represented the rights of the organisation and its members), and they are not even trying to just please the people that voted for them.  They are fulfilling their mission of kosen-rufu and trying to make life in Japan safer and better for everyone.

Nichiren's Successors

After Nichiren Daishonin died in 1282, his six senior priests and one of his disciples started their own schools of Buddhism teaching Nichiren Buddhism as they saw it.

The five main schools were:

The Fuji School established by Nikko Shonin

The Minobu School established by Niko Shonin

The Hama School established by Nissho Shonin

The Ikegami School established by Nichiro Shonin and Nitcho Shonin (who 20 years later joined Nikko Shonin’s Fuji School)

Nichiji Shonin also established a school, but after he moved to Asia his school is thought to have died out.

Another school, The Nakayama School, was started by Toki Jonin (one of Nichiren’s disciples)

Nikko Shonin, founder of Nichiren Shoshu, is the legitimate successor of Nichiren Daishonin, although the other schools dispute this and claim Nichiren left his teachings to all of them equally.

In the late 1950s, the four remaining schools (Minobu, Hama, Ikegami and Nakayama) merged together, changed their name to Nichiren Shu (Nichiren School) and established their head temple at Mt. Minobu.  They chant “NAMU Myoho Renge Kyo” instead of “NAM Myoho Renge Kyo” and still believe the object of worship can be a Gohonzon, an inscription of "Namu-myoho-renge-kyo", statues of Shakyamuni Buddha and statues of the four Bodhisattvas of the Earth.  Nichiren Shu claim that Nichiren’s ashes are still entombed at Mt. Minobu, but Nikko Shonin is supposed to have taken these with him to Taiseki-ji when he left.

One of the other older schools of Nichiren Buddhism is Kempon Hokke Shu (literally The Lotus Sutra Revealing The Original Buddha School).  It doesn’t have a direct lineage to Nichiren Daishonin, but was founded in 1384 by Nichiju.  Nichiju (often referred to as the Master) was part of the Tendai school but after being introduced to, and studying, Nichiren’s teachings decided to become a follower of Hokke (the Lotus Sutra).  He believed that the existing schools of Nichiren Buddhism had deviated from Nichiren’s true teachings and established Myomanji-ha, which later changed its name to Kempon Hokke.  Like Nichiren Shu, they chant "NAMU Myoho Renge Kyo" but their object of devotion is, like Nichiren Shoshu,  exclusively the Gohonzon.  Their main text is the Lotus Sutra which is supported by the writings of Nichiren Daishonin that they consider authentic. 

 

The two major schools of Nichiren Buddhism today are Nichiren Shoshu and Nichiren Shu and, apart from Kempon Hokke, all of the other Nichiren Buddhist schools generally come from lay organisations or spin-offs of these two groups from the 1930s onwards.   The Soka Gakkai is a lay organisation of the Nichiren Shoshu / Fuji School of Buddhism and we believe, as do all of the other schools, that we are correctly following the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin.  (See also http://nichirenbuddhist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-single-truth.html  )