I have bad news for you Nichiren Buddhists: SGI Poobah Daisaku Ikeda is 82 years old, older than John McCain. He will have to give up his charade of leadership at some point within the next few years, whether because of failing physical and mental faculties, or because it is time to go to the great Sho Hondo in the sky.
SGI built itself into a cult of hero worship of Ikeda. SGI members see him as reincarnation of Nichiren. The great savior. King of Nichiren Buddhism. They don't even call it Nichiren Buddhism. They call it SGI Buddhism, a frankenstein of self-help and charismatic fundamentalism with Ikeda at the center.
What happens after Ikeda?
My contempt for what SGI is and what it has done to Nichiren Buddhism is obvious. It is similar to my contempt for what George W. Bush has done to America. We can go 25 rounds about whether it is Buddhist or unBuddhist of me to criticize The King. One thing is clear today: All presidencies come to an end.
What will Gakkai members do? No leader will be able to take the place of Ikeda. Ikeda has humiliated leaders who challenged him in popularity (George Williams) and held down everyone else. Gakkai members are permanent subordinates to The Mentor King. The army of successors is an army of sycophants.
Will SGI die of attrition? Will members go to more democratic places such as Nichiren Shu? Will former members go independent or practice with informal groups? The shift is already happening especially in California. After Ikeda we will see more.
A power struggle will happen in American Gakkai leadership. People with leadership talent have been purged, hammered down, marginalized. There are still ambitious men among the go-along-get-along Gakkai leaders, divided into two camps, the racial, native Japanese and the non-Japanese American-born. There will be a war. The Japanese will win. It is a Japanese company.
Soka University of America might last because they are sitting on a billion dollar endowment. Long term in America, SGI will not endure. Nichiren Buddhism will.
2 comments
I kinda don't know what to say to this diary, except maybe So What. I don't think the Bowling Club is going to disappear. Scientology has thrived since the death of L. Ron Hubbard. I imagine it will be similar with the Bowlers. We'll just have to wait and see, right?A couple months ago I was talking with another person who sometimes posts on this site. His sense is that a lot of people will soon feel disenfranchised, estranged or somehow dissatisfied with the major Nichiren-related organizations. These people will be looking for a lifeboat, something to help them to the next stage in their practice. That sounds about right to me.I don't doubt that changes will occur over the next ten years, but I hope they will be changes that lend themselves to greater harmony among chanters. The sooner we can get past all the One True Sect rhetoric and posturing, the better. The Bowling Club is the chief purveyor of this propaganda, but not the only one. Even if the Club were to dissolve tomorrow, hardcore attitudes about "correctness" of practice aren't going to disappear as easily.
When Mr Ikeda shuffles off his mortal coil what will happen?Not Much!There may be a few kiss and tell stories due to Slander and Libel not being an issue to corpses.The guys who are Gakkai may suddenly decide to save the world a bit more, and then they will simply fall back into the well trodden rut that they have followed for years! Without the figure head they will be like flowers without a Sun. The only option will be to run to seed! The Bowling Club will wind down and it's lights will dim more and then one day, just like the Titanic, the last survivor will expire - except without any news coverage. Thank heavens there won't be a Movie!