III. Sample Questions and Answers, Part Three: History

 

“The Life of Nichiren Daishonin” (An Introduction to Buddhism, pp. 51–66)

 

18. What was Nichiren’s initial reason for deciding to become a Buddhist monk?

 

Nichiren resolved to grasp fully and embody in his own life the deepest wisdom of Buddhism, so that he might lead his parents and all people to overcome the fundamental sufferings associated with living and dying. To accomplish this, he decided to become a Buddhist monk and to thoroughly pursue the Buddhist teachings (p. 52).

 

19. What was Nichiren’s main conclusion after many years of intensely studying the teachings of the major Buddhist schools of Japan?

 

As a result of these studies, Nichiren concluded that the Lotus Sutra constituted the highest teaching among the Buddhist sutras and that the Mystic Law to which he had become awakened was the law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the very essence of the Lotus Sutra. Regarding this as the teaching capable of saving all people of the Latter Day of the Law from suffering, he determined that it was his mission to spread it widely. He also confirmed the method by which he would propagate that teaching. Prepared to meet the great difficulties and persecutions that would certainly arise along the way, he determined to commence propagating the Mystic Lawn (p. 52).

 

20. What took place on April 28, 1253?

 

Then, around noon on April 28, 1253, at Seicho-ji, he spoke publicly, refuting the teachings of the Pure Land and other major Buddhist schools of Japan. He chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo in a strong voice, and declared it to be the one and only correct teaching capable of saving all people of the Latter Day of the Law. This event is known as Nichiren's declaration of the establishment of his teaching. On that occasion, at age thirty-two, he set forth for the first time the essential elements of his teachings and gave himself the name Nichiren, composed of the Chinese characters for sun and lotus (p.53).

 

21. What prompted Nichiren to write “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land”?

 

Natural disasters and climatic disturbances such as extreme weather and earthquakes, as well as famine, fires and epidemics, had struck Japan at the rate of nearly one such calamity every year. In particular, a major earthquake struck Kamakura in August 1257, causing widespread destruction. This disaster and its aftermath served as an impetus for Nichiren to resolve to illuminate, through Buddhism, the fundamental causes for the miseries besetting his society and to clarify the means to eradicate those causes (p. 54).

 

22. What was the significance of the Tatsunokuchi Persecution for Nichiren?

 

The persecution at Tatsunokuchi constitutes a profoundly significant turning point in Nichiren's lifelong efforts to spread his teachings. That is, at the moment he emerged victorious from this attempt to execute him, he cast off his transient identity as an ordinary person and revealed his true identity as the "Buddha of limitless joy from time without beginning." This is referred to as Nichiren "casting off the transient to reveal the true" (p. 58).

 

23. What was the Atsuhara Persecution?

 

On September 21, 1279, twenty farmers from the Atsuhara area who had embraced faith in the Daishonin's teachings were arrested by authorities on false charges and taken to Kamakura. At the residence of Hei no Saemon, the farmers were harshly interrogated, tortured and threatened with death should they not renounce their faith. Every one of them, however, refused to give in, each standing by his beliefs. In the end, three of the farmers…were put to death, and the remaining seventeen were driven from their land (p. 62).

 

24. To whom did Nichiren entrust his teachings before the end of his life?

 

In September of the following year, Nichiren entrusted the entirety of the teachings he had expounded and spread throughout his life to Nikko Shonin, charging him with the mission and responsibility of accomplishing kosen-rufu—the widespread propagation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo (p. 63-64).

 

“The History of the Soka Gakkai” (An Introduction to Buddhism, pp. 67–85)

 

25. What does the word “soka” mean?

 

Soka means value creation—a term derived from discussions between Toda and Makiguchi. Soka encompasses Makiguchi's long-developed theory that the purpose of education and of life is to create happiness, and in order to do that one must know how to create value. He writes: "We begin with the recognition that humans cannot create matter. We can, however, create value. Creating value is, in fact, our very humanity. When we praise persons for their 'strength of character,' we are really acknowledging their superior ability to create value" (p. 69).

 

26. While in prison for upholding his beliefs, second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda deeply contemplated the significance and meaning of the Lotus Sutra, and eventually awakened to two essential messages of the sutra. What were the two messages, and how did his awakening affect him?

 

After deep prayer and contemplation, Toda came to the realization that the Buddha is essentially life itself; this life of the Buddha exists within himself and all people, as well as in the vast universe. Then, in November, after chanting more determinedly than ever, he awakened to the truth that he himself was among the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Toda, through the enlightenment he experienced in prison, awakened to his mission as a leader of kosen-rufu. This profound awakening became the starting point for the Soka Gakkai's development in the postwar era (p. 72).

 

27. What did the young Daisaku Ikeda do on Aug. 24, 1947?

 

Ten days after attending his first discussion meeting and meeting Josei Toda, on August 24, Daisaku Ikeda joined the Soka Gakkai, vowing to regard Toda as his mentor (p. 74).

 

28. What did SGI President Ikeda set out to do on Oct. 2, 1960?

 

Determined to fulfill second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda's wish to spread Nichiren Buddhism worldwide, on October 2, 1960, five months after becoming president, he visited nine cities in North and South America. In each country he visited, President Ikeda encouraged the Soka Gakkai members living there, most of whom were Japanese immigrants (p. 79).

 

29. What has President Ikeda done every year on Jan. 26 since 1983?

 

On January 26th, 1983, President Ikeda wrote his first peace proposal to the United Nations, offering a perspective and detailed suggestions on issues such as nuclear abolition, the environment and strengthening the United Nations. He has submitted a peace proposal each year since (pp. 79-80).