History of Pilgrimage

The Justice Chronicle, provided by Soka Gakkai International-USA, is a free monthly e-mail in support of the Soka Spirit movement. Soka Spirit is the SGI's educational effort to create value and deepen our understanding of Nichiren Buddhism through increased awareness of issues surrounding the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood and the spiritual foundation of the SGI movement.

1) FROM A JOURNEY WITHIN: REFUTING NICHIREN SHOSHU'S CLAIMS ABOUT PILGRIMAGE

This article appears in the new pamphlet entitled A Journey Within: Refuting Nichiren Shoshu's Claims About Pilgrimage.

HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?

Although the priesthood promotes pilgrimage to its head temple as essential or fundamental (Nichiren Shoshu publication The Group Tozan Handbook), the institution of pilgrimage, that is, periodically organized group pilgrimage, dates back only to 1952 when it was initiated by second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda in order to support the destitute priesthood.

The Nichiren Shoshu temples sustained significant damage during the war: Much of the head temple burnt down, and many branch temples were destroyed in air raids. Furthermore, in December 1945, Taiseki-ji (the Nichiren Shoshu head temple) lost its farmland in the postwar agrarian reform, which the government was promoting as part of the nation's democratization. This agrarian reform was instituted between 1946 and 1948. Nichiren Shoshu had owned a vast tract of farmland donated by its patrons, which it had rented out to farmers for hundreds of bushels of rice per year. The head temple had long depended on the income from this farmland for its operation. So when it lost that farmland in the postwar agrarian reform, the priesthood faced severe hardship. In this dire financial situation, the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood appealed desperately to its parishioners for more financial support.

In November 1950, the priesthood decided to promote Taiseki-ji as a tourist attraction to generate additional income and held a conference at the reception hall to discuss concrete plans to promote tourism at Taiseki-ji. Conference participants discussed a scenic road, a tourist information center at the head temple's Sanmon Gate and a new lodging facility, for example.

President Toda was enraged to hear the priesthood's plan, stating that tourists who were not seeking the Gohonzon must not be allowed on the head temple grounds. His strong opposition prevented the plan from being realized. Instead, to relieve the head temple of its financial burden, Toda organized group pilgrimages of Soka Gakkai members to Taiseki-ji. This was in spite of the fact that the number of Soka Gakkai members at the time was relatively small, and their financial prospects were no more hopeful than that of the priesthood. (At the end of 1951, the Soka Gakkai's total membership was reported as 5,728 households.)

While the Soka Gakkai membership steadily increased and continued to spread Nichiren Buddhism through the 1950s, it also began making many contributions to the priesthood. On the head temple grounds, Soka Gakkai members' financial contributions made possible the restoration of the Five-Storied Pagoda, the repair of the Somon Gate, the construction of the Hoan-den, the construction and renovation of lodging temples, the construction of the Grand Lecture Hall, and so on. Furthermore, numerous branch temples were constructed and donated by the Gakkai. With the rapid progress of propagation by the Soka Gakkai, the priesthood soon attained an unprecedented level of prosperity. The postwar restoration of the priesthood was made possible solely through the Soka Gakkai's efforts. On New Year's Day in 1956, Nichijun, the 65th high priest, stated: When I look back over the last 700 years and compare them with our circumstances today, it is apparent that we have undergone a great transformation; a new era in history has been created (Complete Works of High Priest Nichijun, p. 1620).

(For more details on the postwar condition of Nichiren Shoshu, see The Untold History of the Fuji School, pp. 125-128.)

2) LET'S STRIVE TO FULFILL OUR ORIGINAL VOW

This is an excerpt from a speech by SGI President Ikeda given at a conference for representatives of the Kansai Region, held in Osaka, Japan, Jan. 24, 1994. It originally appeared in the March 21,
1994, World Tribune.

COMPOSURE IN ADVERSE OR FAVORABLE WINDS

The other day (Jan. 17, 1994), I met with American civil rights advocate Dr. Vincent Harding and his wife, Rosemarie. The Hardings were close friends of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and fought together with him to bring an end to racial discrimination in the United States.

Dr. Harding, reminiscing about the great civil rights leader, stressed that people had been inspired by the courage that emanated from his entire being.

Words that are not backed up by action will not move people's hearts. It is one's sincere spirit that stirs others' hearts. It is courage that gives courage. A leader must be a person of unparalleled courage.

Dr. King once (in 1956) traveled by propeller plane from New York to London and back. The flight from New York to London took nine-and-a-half hours, and the return leg took 12-and-a-half hours. Why did the return flight take three hours longer, King wondered, even though the plane was traveling the same distance?

When the pilot was touring the passenger cabin, King asked him to explain. He recounts the incident as follows: ''You must understand about the winds,' he [the pilot] said. 'When we leave New York, a strong tail wind is in our favor, but when we return, a strong head wind is against us.' Then he added: 'Don't worry. These four engines are capable of battling the winds.'

In any social revolution there are times when the tail winds of triumph and fulfillment favor us, and other times when strong head winds of disappointment and setbacks beat against us relentlessly. We must not permit adverse winds to overwhelm us as we journey across life's mighty Atlantic; we must be sustained by our engines of courage in spite of the winds. This refusal to be stopped, this 'courage to be,' this determination to go on 'in spite of' is the hallmark of any great movement.

Dr. King lived his life in accord with this belief. He was a great revolutionary. We, too, must brightly ignite the engines of courage.

And, whether in adverse or favorable winds, we must ever continue flying toward our destination with dignity and composure. Possessing the courage to not be defeated by anything is proof of one's victory as a human being.

Part one in a series.