The Soka Gakkai Revolution has revived Buddhism in the lives of millions of Japanese, changed the course of Japanese government, brought creative new ideas to the field of education, and impacted the worlds of culture and art. Metraux has written a comprehensive work on this integral actor in Japanese society and politics that analyzes the Soka Gakkai's rise to political power, its participation in the Hosokawa coalition cabinet, its highly publicized split from Nichiren Shoshu, and its plans to transform Japanese society. Also included is a secondary study of the Soka Gakkai movement in the United States. Contents: The Soka Gakkai Revolution: Blueprint for a New Society; The Soka Gakkai: History and Doctrines; The Soka Gakkai and Politics; The Dispute between the Soka Gakkai and the Nichiren Shoshu Priesthood; The Soka Gakkai's Revolutionary Approach to Education; The Soka Gakkai Abroad; Ikeda Daisaku: Religious Savior or Diabolical Dictator? The Significance of the Soka Gakkai.

Soka Gakkai is Japan’s largest and most influential new religious organization: It claims more than 8 million Japanese households and close to 2 million members in 192 countries and territories. The religion is best known for its affiliated political party, Komeito (the Clean Government Party), which comprises part of the ruling coalition in Japan’s National Diet, and it exerts considerable influence in education, media, finance, and other key areas. Levi McLaughlin’s comprehensive account of Soka Gakkai draws on nearly two decades of archival research and non-member fieldwork to account for its institutional development beyond Buddhism and suggest how we should understand the activities and dispositions of its adherents. McLaughlin explores the group’s Nichiren Buddhist origins and turns to insights from religion, political science, anthropology, and cultural studies to characterize Soka Gakkai as mimetic of the nation-state. Ethnographic vignettes combine with historical evidence to demonstrate ways Soka Gakkai’s twin Buddhist and modern humanist legacies inform the organization’s mimesis of the modern Japan in which the group took shape. To make this argument, McLaughlin analyzes Gakkai sources heretofore untreated in English-language scholarship; provides a close reading of the serial novel The Human Revolution, which serves the Gakkai as both history and de facto scripture; identifies ways episodes from members’ lives form new chapters in its growing canon; and contributes to discussions of religion and gender as he chronicles the lives of members who simultaneously reaffirm generational transmission of Gakkai devotion as they pose challenges for the organization’s future. Readers looking for analyses of the nation-state and strategies for understanding New Religions and modern Buddhism will find Soka Gakkai’s Human Revolution to be an especially thought-provoking study that offers widely applicable theoretical models.

Through this novelized history of the Soka Gakkai—one of the most dynamic, diverse, and empowering movements in the world today—readers will discover the organization's goals and achievements even as they find inspiring and practical Buddhist wisdom for living happily and compassionately in today's world. The book recounts the stories of ordinary individuals who faced tremendous odds in transforming their lives through the practice of Nichiren Buddhism and in bringing Buddhism's humanistic teachings to the world. This inspiring narrative provides readers with the principles with which they can positively transform their own lives for the better and realize enduring happiness for themselves and others.

Human revolution--the inner transformation of the individual that produces actual change in their lives--is a defining concept of Nichiren Buddhism, practiced by millions worldwide. In this series of lectures, Daisaku Ikeda breaks down twelve key aspects of human revolution and provides inspiration and guidance for people to find peace and happiness for themselves and others.“Changing our heart is not a matter of doing something that will only temporarily lift our mood or make us feel better, without changing our reality,” he writes. “A true change in our heart is more profound; genuine inner change produces actual change in our lives. Deepening our 'heart'—our life state—is the true value of our religion of human revolution. When we speak of obtaining benefit through our Buddhist practice, we are ultimately referring to our inner transformation at the deepest level.”

Through this novelized history of the Soka Gakkai—one of the most dynamic, diverse, and empowering Buddhist movements in the world today—readers will discover the organization's goals and achievements even as they find inspiring and practical Buddhist wisdom for living happily and compassionately in today's world. The book recounts the stories of ordinary individuals who faced tremendous odds in transforming their lives through the practice of Nichiren Buddhism and in bringing Buddhism's humanistic teachings to the world. This 23rd volume looks at events that occurred in 1976, including the founding of a new Soka kindergarten and the Division of Correspondence Education at Soka University, as well as many of the heart-warming stories of correspondence students from all walks of life. This inspiring narrative provides readers with the principles with which they can positively transform their own lives for the better and realize enduring happiness for themselves and others.

Through this novelized history of the Soka Gakkai—one of the most dynamic, diverse, and empowering movements in the world today—readers will discover the organization's goals and achievements even as they find inspiring and practical Buddhist wisdom for living happily and compassionately in today's world. The book recounts the stories of ordinary individuals who faced tremendous odds in transforming their lives through the practice of Nichiren Buddhism and in bringing Buddhism's humanistic teachings to the world. This inspiring narrative provides readers with the principles with which they can positively transform their own lives for the better and realize enduring happiness for themselves and others.

Chronicles the efforts of Jōsei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai, to construct this Buddhist organization upon his release from Sugamo Prison at the end of World War II.

Through this novelized history of the Soka Gakkai—one of the most dynamic, diverse, and empowering Buddhist movements in the world today—readers will discover the organization's goals and achievements even as they find inspiring and practical Buddhist wisdom for living happily and compassionately in today's world. The book recounts the stories of ordinary individuals who faced tremendous odds in transforming their lives through the practice of Nichiren Buddhism and in bringing Buddhism's humanistic teachings to the world. This 24th volume looks at events that occurred between 1976 and 1988, including the progress of several Soka Gakkai groups designed to help people develop their potential and contribute positively to their communities and workplaces. This inspiring narrative provides readers with the principles with which they can positively transform their own lives for the better and realize enduring happiness for themselves and others.

Through this novelized history of the Soka Gakkai-one of the most dynamic, diverse, and empowering Buddhist movements in the world today-readers will discover the organization's goals and achievements even as they find inspiring and practical Buddhist wisdom for living happily and compassionately in today's world. The book recounts the stories of ordinary individuals who faced tremendous odds in transforming their lives through the practice of Nichiren Buddhism and in bringing Buddhism's humanistic teachings to the world. This inspiring narrative provides readers with the principles with which they can positively transform their own lives for the better and realize enduring happiness for themselves and others.