Komeito’s Soka Gakkai Protesters and Supporters: Religious Motivations for Political Activism in Contemporary Japan The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 13, Issue. 40, No. 1, October 12, 2015 Levi McLaughlin
Thanks for sharing this interesting and informative link Mark. I found this bit particularly telling:
"At the end of our conversation, the (SGI USA) administrator expressed serious concerns about the onerous responsibilities placed on Gakkai adherents in Japan during every election. “Kōsen rufu is a serious undertaking. Constantly asking everyone to drop everything to focus on an election – this is like asking an athlete training for the Olympics to stop training every six months to spend two or three months on something else.” Up to now, political activities have been understood by the Gakkai as a component of kōsen rufu, as integral to the spread of their religious mission. “But is this really the case?” he asked. “Is this [electoral politics] really in line with what we’re doing?”"
The disconnect between the SGI Japanese senior leaders and their members and it would seem some in other countries is sticking. In relation to this quote “Is this [electoral politics] really in line with what we’re doing?”, I might ask the same of the mentor-disciple teaching that the Gakkai has been foisting on it's members...
I wonder when the penny will start dropping with SGI members, as it seems to be slowly doing in relation to SGI electioneering?
Or will Mr Harada & co manage to 'win the "'rank & file" over' with a new wave of Accenture inspired business oriented double-speak that's dressed up to masquerade as correct faith?
Thanks for sharing this interesting and informative link Mark. I found this bit particularly telling:
ReplyDelete"At the end of our conversation, the (SGI USA) administrator expressed serious concerns about the onerous responsibilities placed on Gakkai adherents in Japan during every election. “Kōsen rufu is a serious undertaking. Constantly asking everyone to drop everything to focus on an election – this is like asking an athlete training for the Olympics to stop training every six months to spend two or three months on something else.” Up to now, political activities have been understood by the Gakkai as a component of kōsen rufu, as integral to the spread of their religious mission. “But is this really the case?” he asked. “Is this [electoral politics] really in line with what we’re doing?”"
The disconnect between the SGI Japanese senior leaders and their members and it would seem some in other countries is sticking. In relation to this quote “Is this [electoral politics] really in line with what we’re doing?”, I might ask the same of the mentor-disciple teaching that the Gakkai has been foisting on it's members...
I wonder when the penny will start dropping with SGI members, as it seems to be slowly doing in relation to SGI electioneering?
Or will Mr Harada & co manage to 'win the "'rank & file" over' with a new wave of Accenture inspired business oriented double-speak that's dressed up to masquerade as correct faith?