Fresh Air A New Beginning

Fresh Air – A New Beginning (94 - 96, 1485 – 1490)

     ‘For the past few years, there had been too many meetings that did not involve actual shakubuku. The chapter leaders meeting, district chief meeting, group chief meeting, unit chief meeting, and so on – these alone took at least five precious days out of the month. Now they would be reduced to a minimum. A vibrant air, which had characterized the early stages of the Soka Gakkai, would revive, beginning at the grass roots.’

     Soka Shock! The Soka Gakkai’s election success totally surprised the general public. Three unknown candidates had won election victory! A newspaper article called it a “wonder of wonders”. Astounded media people, who wanted to interview Josei Toda, swarmed the Soka Gakkai Headquarters. Their questions showed their thought that the Gakkai had become a political organization. It seemed that they only sought information that could be used to discredit the Soka Gakkai. They could not understand Toda’s explanation of the Gakkai ideology.
     Soka Sad. Toda was stressed out over the despair of members whose candidates had lost.
     Soka Care. Toda decided that he must send a fresh breeze into the members’ hearts. He saw to it that all the chapters had leaders meetings in order to inspire the dejected members. He also prepared for the appointment of a large number of new leaders. As he moved about the country during the past two months, he had met those people who were the mainstay of the membership. He began a thorough study of appointment possibilities.
     Shinichi Yamamoto attended the Osaka leaders meeting on July 12th. He congratulated them on their great victory. He then emphasized that what really counts are our activities from now on. He explained that the road to kosenrufu is long and steep. Sometimes we may win, sometimes we may lose, but, no matter what, we must carry through our faith.
     Various leaders meetings were held in July. At the monthly headquarters leaders meeting top leader appointments were made. Fresh air began to permeate the membership.
     President Toda was the final speaker at the July Headquarters Leaders Meeting. He lamented that three candidates had lost but rejoiced that three others had won. Indeed, the news media were astounded that any had won at all! But, the president said, we shouldn’t rejoice when newspapers praise us nor should we be depressed if they speak ill of us. Rather, we should walk straight along the correct path of faith.
     At a senior leaders meeting held during the annual summer course at the Head Temple, it was decided to form 16 new chapters. Also, the axis of of Gakkai activities would be discussion meetings, with emphasis on those at the unit level.
     Soka Gakkai was, once again, ready to battle for kosenrufu.

Looking to the Future

Looking to the Future (pp 91-94, 1479-1485)

“In any event, Nichiren Daishonin states, ‘If Nichiren’s mercy is truly great, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo will spread for ten thousand years and more, for all eternity. His blessings will dispel the blindness of all mankind and block the path to the hell of incessant suffering.’ We must act precisely according to this spirit of the True Buddha, without the slightest deviation. That is the essence of kosen-rufu and the basis of everything. The question is how, on this basis, we should secure the peace of the country and the world.”

President Toda meditated about the recent election campaign. Although he would have preferred to stay away from politics, he felt that one of the important missions for kosen-rufu was to foster capable and respectable statesmen on the soil of the Mystic Law. But he had forced a hard struggle on many members. Some had gone afoul of election laws and were experiencing difficulties with the authorities. Nothing tormented him more severely than the members’ suffering.
Shinichi Yamamoto arrived; he and President Toda engaged in a discussion of future activities for kosenrufu. They agreed that kosenrufu activities had reached a crucial stage and that Shinichi would carry a heavy burden. They were concerned that the general public would think that the Soka Gakkai was acting solely out of political ambition. Politics could not be entirely avoided but the risk of principle being sacrificed and distorted by strategy must be prevented.
In the late 19th/early 20th centuries several groups appeared that transformed Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism so that the state could use it for manipulating the people. The Soka Gakkai must not follow that distortion of the Daishonin’s teachings but must be constantly aware that the risk exists.
We need much more than an ordinary determination to reach our goal because we’ll meet head-on with the devilish nature of power.
Toda began to speak of the future in terms of statesmen arising from the awakened masses and echoing their voices. Although they were political novices, the new Soka Gakkai representatives could grow into capable and efficient statesmen. The latest campaign brought many people closer to politics. The important thing is to enlarge the sphere of such people. But statesmen alone cannot achieve anything – the prime point is the human being. Man himself is the ultimate objective.
In the future, the Soka Gakkai could spread into all fields of society providing a powerful force for activating man. A capable and efficient statesman, risen from the soil of the Mystic Law, and supported by the people, could usher in a new era.
To Shinichi, Toda’s remarks sounded like an unwritten testament which the president was bequeathing to him.
Toda continued. The Soka Gakkai will undoubtedly become the crown of the religious world. It will be able to send truly capable people into all spheres of society. That is our mission. For the present, the masses will only take an erroneous view of what we do, but the time will come when they will be able to understand the unprecedented undertaking of kosen-rufu and praise it.
Both President Toda and Shinichi Yamamoto were distressed over the fate of the members who had been arrested for violation of the election laws. Toda instructed Shinichi to do everything he could to help them.

Election Aftermath, a New Beginning

Election Aftermath, a New Beginning (86-90, 1470-1478)

“… activities for kosen-rufu must cover all fields of society – politics, education, culture, science, even peace movements.”

After the polling ended, members glued themselves o the radio to hear the election results. The news was good for Kansai, not so good for Tokyo.
On his flight from Osaka to Tokyo, Shinichi reflected on the just finished campaign and on the future growth of the Soka Gakkai. During the journey of kosenrufu, the members would be engaged in political activities. This would lead the public to mistakenly suspect that the Soka Gakkai was some sort of political group; those in power would resort to all kinds of interference. Yet the members must not forget that their faith formed the basis for everything.
Kosenrufu, he realized, must advance within the realities of society. In the society of man, however, there was nothing but contradiction, causing tremendous chaos. He continued to ponder this apparent dilemma. He wondered what would his mentor would say?
In the Headquarters in Tokyo, President Toda, his mood one of gloom, meditated on the loss in Tokyo. His mind became occupied with determination to achieve kosenrufu. Shinichi arrived at the HQ and joined the president. After a brief ‘welcome home’, President Toda suggested that they meet the next day.
In the House of Councilors election, of the six candidates from the Soka Gakkai, three had won, three had lost. During the five years since President Toda’s inauguration, the Soka Gakkai had achieved complete victory in every campaign. This time, though, it was 50% victory, 50% defeat. To most members it had come as an absolute disaster.
Toda, at first subscribing to the total defeat thought, then realizing that the victory in Osaka was a splendid triumph, became convinced that Shinichi Yamamoto could make the impossible task of kosenrufu possible.
Toda continued his meditation: it was vital that the Soka Gakkai remain a group of people who always strove to strengthen their faith. Considerate guidance and fostering in faith was of paramount necessity. Quantity was important but quality was even more so.
Toda began to think about reorganization. The 16 chapters centered on the headquarters was too simple to guarantee that essential guidance would reach every activity center and every individual throughout the country. A bold, drastic restructuring would be necessary.
Kosenrufu must be an undertaking to nurture truly capable and respectable people on the soil of the Mystic Law in every field of human society.