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discourse as it transcends on the one hand the interest of the individual or
individual groups, while on the other stays squarely focused on the conduct of
the individual as the ful
ller of such common good objectives. It is the
'
c
action and living according to such an ethical position derived from inter-
pretations of cause and e
mixing
'
of philosophy and politics. Contradictions between taking speci
ect expounded in the Lotus Sutra of course exist,
but it does make it a powerful living philosophy that expounds a particular
political attitude.
There is clearly always a gap in how the Buddhist law and religious ideals
translate into speci
c policies. This also means that Soka Gakkai members
who support Komeito more naively, perhaps, have to trust that their political
representatives as social, economic and political experts will work out the
better way to bridge this gap. Buddhism is not another ideology that describes
the
of certain material conditions; only other forms for information
can do that. On the other hand, philosophy here also clearly creates com-
plexities in understanding external conditions as not necessarily the deter-
mining reality. A quote from Ikeda captures this inherent contradiction and
complexity:
'
reality
'
One who has mastered himself is truly free. Freedom lies in the
heart of the sage, servitude in the heart of the fool [someone who is enslaved
to their own desires]
'
(Ikeda 2006: 255). While Soka Gakkai members support
Komeito to improve the social and economic conditions of the poorer mem-
bers of society who may indeed be themselves, it is di
'
nd Soka
Gakkai members identifying such external factors as the conditions that need
to change in order for them to be happy. As Buddhists, they try to view the
reality from the point of view of Buddhism as the summoning forth of
reserves of inner strength, courage and hope to take action to transform their
material reality. This means that although their political aim is to facilitate a
fairer society that supports people, the approach to life they learn in Soka
Gakkai transcends the viewing of external conditions ideologically. It is
interesting, therefore, that while they try to believe that they have the power
to transform their own circumstances, they nevertheless engage so actively in
transforming external societal conditions. These young people are clearly
socialised on narratives that make them want to display human nobility, that
make them create a counter-culture where the imagining of an altogether
di
cult to
erent sociality becomes possible. This leaves us with an interesting con-
undrum as to the practice of a philosophy that on the one hand empowers
people to change their circumstances, but on the other still advocates the
necessity of engaging in changing wider social conditions. This is especially so
when it would have been a lot easier and less controversial to simply focus on
changing one
is own circumstances. However, perhaps it is this dual aspect
that makes it empowering, that makes life exciting and meaningful (while also
sometimes exhausting), as seems to be the case for many of the active young
people in Soka Gakkai. An individual
'
is state of mind is seen as ultimately
being the determining factor in procuring democratic processes, just as it
determined individual conduct in Ibsen
'
'
s play, An Enemy of the People.
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