Daisaku Ikeda (池田大作: Ikeda Daisaku; January 2, 1928–) is president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a Buddhist association with about 15 million members in more than 190 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and research institutions. is the 2nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Soka Gakkai International (International Value-Creation Society; also, SGI) is the international umbrella organization for Soka Gakkai-affiliated lay organizations in over 190 countries. ... A statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in Tawang Gompa, India. ...

Life and establishment of SGI

Born of poor origins into a family of seaweed farmers at Ōta, Tokyo, Ikeda's family endured the hardships of the war, as many did. In his youth, he lost an older brother to World War II, which developed in him a strong opposition to war. In his late teens, in August 1947 he learned of Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism through Josei Toda, a Nichiren Shōshū Buddhist, peace activist^{[citation needed]}, and then president of Soka Gakkai. As a disciple of Toda, Ikeda took on Toda's dream and mission to spread the teachings of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism and its principles of developing a peaceful world through the spread of the True Teachings of the Lotus Sutra. Following Toda's death in 1958, Ikeda became president of the Soka Gakkai, serving from 1960 to 1979. This article is about the Tokyo ward, for other uses, see Ota. ... Nichiren ShōshÅ« (日蓮正宗) is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). ... Nichiren ShōshÅ« (日蓮正宗) is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). ...

From its beginnings in the 1930s, the Soka Gakkai was a lay organization whose role was to support the laity in their practice of Nichiren Shōshū Buddhism. After World War II, as Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism began to spread throughout the world, Soka Gakkai responded by developing an international outreach program, the SGI (Soka Gakkai International). Ikeda took a lead role in this development and became president of SGI upon its founding in 1975^{[citation needed]}. In 1979, Ikeda resigned as president of Soka Gakkai to take responsibility for Soka Gakkai’s deviations from Nichiren Shoshu doctrines and the accompanying conflict with the priesthood^[1] and was succeeded by Hiroshi Hojo. He was excommunicated by Nichiren Shoshu on August 11, 1992^[2][3]. Even so, he remained president of SGI, and the position of Soka Gakkai Honorary President, which he still maintains, was created for him^[4]. Soka Gakkai International or SGI is the umbrella organization for affiliate lay organizations in over 190 countries practicing a form of the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin. ... Soka Gakkai International (International Value-Creation Society; also, SGI) is the international umbrella organization for Soka Gakkai-affiliated lay organizations in over 190 countries. ... Nichiren ShōshÅ« (日蓮正宗) is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). ... Excommunication is religious censure which is used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ...

By May 2007 he had received 211 honorary doctorates^{[citation needed]}). He has used the principles of Nichiren Buddhism throughout his own life^{[citation needed]}, and in his role as president of SGI, he acts to support the membership in a number of ways, including providing support and encouragement through his writings and lectures, by striving to promote a dialogue on Nichiren Buddhist principles as they apply to today's global challenges with many of today's world leaders. As such, the SGI membership views him as a great role model for how to apply this practice in their own lives. He is referred to by some members as their “mentor in life” (jinsei no shishō, 人生の師匠)^[5], and is frequently referred to in the third person as sensei (Jp: 先生, “our teacher” or “master”). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Nichiren Buddhism is a form of Buddhism based on the final teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, in what is called the Lotus Sutra. The basic premise of this teaching is that Buddhahood and enlightenment are states of being that are as innate to each and every human being, as are the more commonly experienced states of, say, anger, hunger (as in greed, thirst, or insatiable desire), or tranquility (as in calm, complacent, or satisfied). According to the Lotus Sutra, not only are all living beings equally endowed with the potential for enlightenment, but so are they potentially capable of attaining this state, within the current lifetime. According to Nichiren Buddhists' interpretation of the Lotus Sutra, one may awaken one's Buddha Nature through a practice of chanting the phrase Nam myoho renge kyo to develop one's sense of compassion, wisdom, and clarity of mind, and through the development of a sense of the interconnectedness of all life—the "oneness of man and environment," or esho funi—and the ways in which one's thoughts, actions, and deeds—karma—affect one and one's environment throughout the past, present, and future. Nichiren Buddhism (日蓮系諸宗派: Nichiren-kei sho shÅ«ha) is a branch of Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). ... The Lotus Sutra or Sutra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma (Sanskrit: Saddharma PuṇḍarÄ«ka SÅ«tra; 妙法蓮華經 Chinese: MiàofÇŽ Liánhuā JÄ«ng; Japanese: Myōhō Renge Kyō; Korean: Myobeomnyeonhwagyeong) is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sutras in East Asia and... This article is about the emotion. ... For other uses, see Greed (disambiguation). ... Look up desire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō (南無妙法蓮華経, also transliterated Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō) is a mantra, which is recited as part of the practice of Nichiren Buddhism. ... Compassion is best described as an understanding of the emotional state of another; not to be confused with empathy. ... For the apocryphal book of the Bible, see Book of Wisdom. ... For other uses, see Mind (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Karma (disambiguation). ...

Ikeda and his predecessors in Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, and the founder of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, a 13th-century priest called Nichiren Daishonin, all strove to live according to these and other Buddhist principles and to encourage others to do the same. Through the study of their teachings, the practice of chanting, and the practice of active involvement in the world at large, one is thought to be able to develop the innate Buddha Nature within, leading to a happier, more fulfilling life for oneself and others. Daisaku Ikeda has had dialogs with many people including Arnold.J.Toynbee, Linus Pauling, Rajiv Gandhi, Wangari Maathai, Nelson Mandela, Marianne Pearl, Mikhail Gorbachev, Zhou Enlai, M.S.Swaminathan, Alexei Kosygin, Henry Kissinger, Roberto Baggio and Rosa Parks. Though not a statesman or politician himself, followers credit him with having strengthened the relations of Japan with China and Russia^{[citation needed]} by discussions with their leaders (as mentioned above) with Zhou Enlai and Mikhail Gorbachev and Alexei Kosygin. Second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda(戸田 城聖) was born in 1900. ... Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (牧口 常三郎), Soka Gakkais first president, was born in Kashiwazaki, a small village in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on June 6, 1871. ... Nichiren (日蓮) (February 16, 1222 - October 13, 1282), born Zennichimaro, later Zesho-bo Rencho and sometimes called Nichiren Shonin or Nichiren Daishonin, was a Buddhist monk in 13th century Japan, and founder of Nichiren Buddhism, a Buddhist movement which continues today. ... Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. ... Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American quantum chemist and biochemist. ... Rajiv Ratna Gandhi राजीव गाधीं (IPA: ), born in Mumbai, (August 20, 1944 – May 21, 1991), the eldest son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi, was the 7th Prime Minister of India (and the 2nd from the Gandhi family) from his mothers death on 31 October 1984 until his resignation on December 2... Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai born April 1, 1940 in Ihithe village, Tetu division, Nyeri District of Kenya is an environmental and political activist. ... For other people named Mandela, or other uses, see Mandela. ... Mariane Pearl in 2003. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev[1] (Russian: , IPA: ; born 2 March 1931) is a Russian politician. ... Zhou Enlai (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai) (March 5, 1898 – January 8, 1976), a prominent Communist Party of China leader, was Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 until his death in January 1976, and Chinas foreign minister from 1949... Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (Tamil: ) is an Indian agriculture scientist, born August 7, 1925, in Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu, The second of four sons of a surgeon. ... Aleksey Nikolayevich Kosygin (Алексе́й Никола́евич Косы́гин) (1904 - December 18, 1980) was a politician and administrator in the Soviet Union. ... Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, and 1973 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. ... Roberto Baggio (born 18 February 1967 in Caldogno, Veneto) is an Italian retired footballer, among the most technically gifted and popular players in the world throughout the 1990s. ... Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African American civil rights activist and seamstress whom the U.S. Congress dubbed the Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement. Parks is famous for her refusal on December 1, 1955 to obey bus driver James Blake... Statesman is a respectful term used to refer to politicians, and other notable figures of state. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... Zhou Enlai (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai) (March 5, 1898 – January 8, 1976), a prominent Communist Party of China leader, was Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 until his death in January 1976, and Chinas foreign minister from 1949... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev[1] (Russian: , IPA: ; born 2 March 1931) is a Russian politician. ... Aleksey Nikolayevich Kosygin (Алексе́й Никола́евич Косы́гин) (1904 - December 18, 1980) was a politician and administrator in the Soviet Union. ...

He lives in Tokyo with his wife, Kaneko. He has two sons.

Accomplishments

Ikeda is a prolific writer, poet, peace activist, pianist, environmentalist, photographer^{[citation needed]} and interpreter of Nichiren Buddhism. He has travelled to more than 60 countries to hold discussions with many political, cultural, and educational figures, as well as to teach, support, and encourage practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism living in these countries. Topics he has addressed include the transformative value of religion, the universality of life, social responsibility, and sustainable progress and development. Nichiren Buddhism (日蓮系諸宗派: Nichiren-kei sho shūha) is a branch of Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren (1222–1282). ...

As a mentor of SGI, he has founded several institutions, such as the Soka schools (from kindergarten through university level), the Min-On Concert Association, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, the Institute of Oriental Science and the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research to promote educational, cultural, and artistic activities and to conduct exchanges with like groups and institutions on a global scale. In addition, he has guided the Soka Gakkai's support of, and involvement in Komeito ( a Japanese Political Party which as of 2007 is part of the ruling coalition in Japan together with the LDP, which is currently mired in a string of scandals). Ikeda has also initiated a wide range of grassroots exchange programs and delivered speeches at a number of institutions of higher learning around the world, including Harvard University, the Institut de France and Beijing University. Daisaku Ikeda has even signed the Earth Charter and an exhibition about it 'The Seeds of Change' is being shown by SGI groups all over the globe. Another exhibition is Gandhi King Ikeda which showcases Mahatma Gandhi's, Martin Luther King Jr's, and Daisaku Ikeda's peace activism. This is a good example of how he is portrayed to his followers. The fact that Gandhi and King are household names whereas Ikeda is virtually unheard of outside Japan is not mentioned. Another exhibition is Dialogue with Nature showcasing Ikeda's photographs. He has also produced the documentary film about the environment, A Quiet Revolution. The New Clean Government Party (公明党) or NKP, -- often translated as New Komeito Party, is a political party in Japan affiliated with the religious movement Soka Gakkai. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... A coalition is an alliance among entities, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest. ... LDP may mean: Liberal Democratic Party, for example: Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Liberal Democratic Party (Bangladesh) Liberal Democratic Party (Serbia) Linux Documentation Project Leadership Development Program Laserdisc player Label Distribution Protocol a routing protocol used in MPLS networks Long Distance (Skateboard) Pumping Long Distance Path Livin Dead Productions Category: ... A scandal is a widely publicized incident involving allegations of wrong-doing, disgrace, or moral outrage. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... The Institut de France (French Institute) is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is probably the Académie française. ... Peking University 博学审问慎思明辨 Peking University or Beijing University (pinyin Běijīng Dàxué), colloquially Beida (北大, pinyin běidà), is one of the most prestigious universities in China. ... The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental values and principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. ... “Gandhi” redirects here. ... Martin Luther King Jr. ...

He claims to share his honors with SGI members, saying that they are proof of the outstanding lives that ordinary people around the world are living, based on the practice of Nichiren Buddhism. He also acknowledges that these honorary degrees honor the greatness of his mentor Josei Toda, as well as Toda's mentor Tsunesaburo Makiguchi.^{[citation needed]}

For his humanitarian endeavors in a range of fields, he is the recipient of numerous awards, including the United Nations Peace Award^{[citation needed]}, National Order of the Southern Cross of the Republic of Brazil, Honorary Cross of Science and the Arts from the Austrian Ministry of Education, Medal of the Grand Officer of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture, the Grand Officer award from the President of the Italian Republic and the World Poet Laureateship from the World Poetry Society.^{[citation needed]} Flag of the President of the Italian Republic This is the list of Presidents of the Italian Republic with the title since 1948. ...

Founder of Soka University, the Soka School System, the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century, and the Toda Institute for Global Peace Policy and Research, Ikeda is also author of numerous books and has held dialogs on peace, education, and culture with numerous scholars and world leaders. Each year he authors and submits to the United Nations a Peace Proposal. Most notable are his dialogs, such as Choose Life: A Dialogue (English edition, Oxford University Press, 1976), in which Ikeda and historian Arnold J. Toynbee discuss "humanity's predicament in all its aspects." More recently, in Planetary Citizenship: Your Values, Beliefs, and Actions Can Shape a Sustainable World (Middleway Press, 2003), futurist Hazel Henderson and Ikeda "explore the rise of 'grassroots globalists,' ordinary citizens all over the world who are taking responsibility to build a more peaceful, harmonious and sustainable future." He is also the recipient of the most honorary doctorates awarded to a single individual, including the United Nations Peace Award, the International Tolerance Award of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award. Daisaku Ikeda's many children's books have even been animated into cartoons. Soka University (創価大学, Sōka Daigaku) opened in Japan in 1971 (undergraduate) and 1975 (graduate). ... Hazel Henderson (born 1933 in Bristol, England) is a futurist and an evolutionary economist. ...

Criticism and Attacks

In 1995, Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai were negatively reported on in Time magazine^[6]. In 1999, The New York Times also did a piece on the uneasy rise of the New Komeito party in Japan funded largely by Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai.^[7] The Ross Institute labeled Soka Gakkai as a cult, like many others, and labeled President Ikeda as the SGI God, which goes against the doctrine of Nichiren Buddhism. There have been incidents where extremist organizations have threatened Mr. Ikeda's life and the lives of Gakkai members. The Aleph organization (then known as Aum Shinrikyo), which was responsible for the Tokyo train bombing incident in the 90's, led an operation against the SGI. In one incident, the Aleph gassed one of the Gakkai's buildings known as Makiguchi Hall. Fortunately, nobody was in the building at the time. Makiguchi Hall is where President Ikeda makes his Headquarters Leaders Meeting messages once a month. The gassing was aimed at President Ikeda. is the reconstructed name of the first letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician , Syriac , Hebrew Aleph , and Arabic . Aleph originally represented the glottal stop (IPA ), usually transliterated as , a symbol based on the Greek spiritus lenis , for example in the transliteration of the... Aum Shinrikyo, now known as Aleph, is a Japanese religious group founded by Shoko Asahara. ...

Books

• The Human Revolution (12 volumes)
• The New Human Revolution (10 Volumes)
• Choose Life: A Dialogue with Arnold J. Toynbee
• Dawn After Dark with René Huyghe
• Before It Is Too Late with Aurelio Peccei
• Human Values in a changing world with Bryan Wilson
• A Lifelong Quest for Peace with Linus Pauling
• Dialogue of World Citizens with Norman Cousins
• Choose Peace with Johan Galtung
• Planetary Citizenship with Hazel Henderson
• Moral Lesson of the Twentieth Century with Mikhail Gorbachev
• A Quest for Global Peace with Joseph Rotblat
• Global Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue With Majid Tehranian
• One By One
• For the Sake of Peace
• A Youthful Diary
• The Living Buddha
• Buddhism, the First Millenium
• The Flower of Chinese Buddhism
• The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra (6 volumes)
• Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death: A Buddhist View of Life
• Life: An Enigma, a Precious Jewel
• The Snow Country Prince
• The Cherry Tree
• The Princess and the Moon
• Over the Deep Blue Sea
• Kanta and the Deer
• The Way of Youth: Buddhist Common Sense for Handling Life's Questions (with a foreword by Duncan Sheik)

Arnold Joseph Toynbee (April 14, 1889 - October 22, 1975) was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, 1934-1961, was a synthesis of world history, a metahistory based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline. ... Aurelio Peccei (July 4, 1908 - March 14, 1984) was an Italian scholar and industrialist, best known as the founder and first president of the Club of Rome. ... Bryan Ronald Wilson, (25 June 1926 Leeds - 9 October 2004 Middleton Stoney, Oxfordshire), was the Reader Emeritus in Sociology at the University of Oxford and was President of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion between 1971 and 1975. ... Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American quantum chemist and biochemist. ... Norman Cousins in 1976. ... Johan Galtung, second from left, and friends in Kilinochchi, Dec 04/Jan 05 Johan Galtung (born October 24, 1930, in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian professor, founder and co-director of TRANSCEND - A Peace and Development Network for Conflict Transformation by Peaceful Means. ... Hazel Henderson (born 1933 in Bristol, England) is a futurist and an evolutionary economist. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev[1] (Russian: , IPA: ; born 2 March 1931) is a Russian politician. ... Sir Joseph Rotblat, KCMG, CBE, FRS, (4 November 1908 – 31 August 2005) was a Polish-born British-naturalised physicist. ... A foreword is a literary device that is often found in the beginning of a piece of literature, before the introduction. ... Duncan Scott Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American Grammy-nominated and Tony-winning singer-songwriter and composer. ...

Notes

1. ^ Shimada, Hiromi: Kōmeitō vs. Sōka Gakkai ("Conflicts between Komeitō and Sōka Gakkai"). Asahi Shinsho, Tokyo: May 2007. ISBN 978-4-02-273153-1. p. 114. (Japanese)
2. ^ Mizoguchi, Atsushi: Ikeda Daisaku: Kenryokusha no Kōzō ("Daisaku Ikeda: The structure behind a man with power"). Kōdansha, Tokyo: September 2005. ISBN 4-06-256962-0. p. 396 (Japanese)
3. ^ Taisekiji: Nichiren Shōshū Nyūmon (“An introduction to Nichiren Shoshu”). Fujinomiya, 2002. p. 332 (chronology) and p. 240 (Japanese)
4. ^ Shimada, Hiromi: Kōmeitō vs. Sōka Gakkai, p. 116. (Japanese)
5. ^ Shimada, Hiromi: Kōmeitō vs. Sōka Gakkai, p. 120–121. (Japanese)
6. ^ http://www.time.com/time/international/1995/951120/japan.html
7. ^ http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3081EFE3E590C778DDDA80994D1494D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fB%2fBuddhism

References

Huges Seager, Richard: Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhism. University of California Press, 2006.

External links

• Official Page for SGI President Daisaku Ikeda
• List of Published Works
• Official Soka Gakkai Page
• Time Magazine Online: The Power of Soka Gakkai
• A Sect's Political Rise Creates Uneasiness in Japan