Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
was widely portrayed as a
(quoted
in White 1970: 6), by that presumably meaning that most members were poor.
The promise that inner transformation would bring positive personal and
social transformations is likely to have been attractive in the trying circum-
stances of early post-war Japan and must partly account for why such a large
number of people joined not only Soka Gakkai, but also other popular
religious movements that emerged during this time. The 750,000 house-
holds that the organisation claimed to be practising at the time of Toda
'
conglomeration of lower social elements
'
s
death in 1958 (an increase from a few thousand in 1951 when he became
president) consisted principally of people from such impoverished commu-
nities. Thousands of articles published in the Seiky
-
Shinbun over the years
bear out how followers through the chanting of nam-myoho-renge-kyo and
the study of Nichiren Buddhism found a way to overcome their spiritual
and social impoverishment. Attributing their changing social and economic
situations to an inner transformation they were experiencing gave rise to a
sense of self-empowerment among people who had previously been despair-
ing of their circumstances. Sugihara Mimpei, a social activist of the time, said
of the organisation and contrary to the extensive negative press it was
receiving that:
'
The Gakkai
s greatest achievement lies in unleashing the power of the
people, of those at the very lowest strata of society, and in revitalizing
their lives. This, actually, is something that I have also devoted great
energy to
'
…
ering
emotional or economic distress as a result of physical disabilities, illness,
the loss of a spouse and so on. Determined to help them in any way I
could, I went to villages to o
[After World War II] there were so many people su
er assistance and undertake various volunteer
activities
it foster genuine independence
in people merely through charitable deeds or donations of money. But
helping people become self-reliant is precisely what the Soka Gakkai
has done.
…
But it was to no good. You can
'
(quoted in Ikeda 1998: 145
-
46)
Certainly this sense of independence made Soka Gakkai members active in
telling others about the bene
ts they had experienced from their Buddhist
practice. They were well aware of how they were stigmatised as
'
lower social
elements
, but despite the increasing media criticism of the movement, this
largely served to fuel further commitment. There was a strong sense that
while outsiders might criticise them for proselytising there was also little
understanding of the improvement they had made through the Buddhist
practice they were learning in Soka Gakkai. Criticism was likened to the
persecutions Nichiren faced when he tried to spread the Lotus Sutra, which
gave the organisation a high moral stamina. Studying Nichiren
'
s tumultuous
life, many members came to feel proud rather than frightened by the media,
and it came to be seen more as a kind of badge of honour that they had to
'
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