Thoughts on Makiguchi's theory of value

November 18, 1930 is considered the day Soka Gakkai was founded. We honor that day as the starting point of the modern movement to spread peace, culture and education through Nichiren Buddhism.

What happened that day, 84 years ago, was the publication of Mr Makiguchi's book The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy. Mr Makiguchi had wanted to publish a book for a number of years, but was unable to, because he was a poor school principal without resources. It was his protege, Josei Toda, who single handedly compiled, edited and financed the publication of The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy .

Mr Makiguchi identified three values – beauty, gain and goodness. He thought that the purpose of education; schools, families, and society's purpose in raising children, should be to teach how to create values.

What do we mean by values? Values are the underlying beliefs that influence all our thoughts, words and behaviours. Our values lead to our thoughts. Our thoughts lead to words, then to deeds, and have a profound effect on our experience. Values are the things that are important to us, what we prize, what we find precious.

What we choose to value is important. I say choose because if we aren't choosing what we do, if we simply react the same way over and over to stimulus, hurting ourselves and others, then maybe we don't have values. Maybe we have addictions. If what we find precious is pathological, such as a magic ring, we may find ourselves in a lot of trouble and create trouble for others.

The value of beauty is that which appeals to our senses. Aesthetics. Sights, hearing, taste, smell, touch. Daisaku Ikeda has said the value of beauty indicates transforming reality, to change our circumstances, and in so doing find meaning and purpose.

In our society the value of beauty has been completely corrupted. Society has created a fixed externalized model of beauty that all must adhere to. In truth, beauty is what appeals to our senses. It is our experience of beauty that matters. What is truly beautiful is the ability to find meaning. But our society dictates standards of beauty that become rigid rules. This is leading to the destruction of our sense of personhood, our body-hood – a kind of daily, insidious, incremental rape.

In 1993, in Vancouver, Ikeda Sensei taught us that true beauty is found in sincere and diligent striving. Beauty is in our earnest efforts, not in externalized referents.

The second value, gain – that which enhances the whole person not just senses. Ikeda has identified the value of gain with changing our destiny to enhance our own existence. You think gain, or benefit, is getting what you want. But Sensei says true gain is the capacity to transform ourselves and so enhance the totality of our self.

According to the heretical philosophy of our times, gain lies only in the accumulation of things, money and consumption. We think all problems can be solved through consumption.

In 1993, in Vancouver, Ikeda-Sensei taught us that true wealth is in living with latitude and generosity. Having a little bit of room for others is to be truly wealthy.

The third value, goodness, means that which contributes to others well being. Again, Sensei identifies the value of goodness with working for others' well being, regardless of our circumstances and regardless of their circumstances.

In our world goodness is only vaguely sensed as a judgemental moralizing. All our behaviours are judged by nebulous sets of rules that shift with the demands of the production/consumption society. Basic activities, such as eating, working, exercising for example, are seen as moral choices, rather than demands of nature.

The three values of beauty, gain and goodness are not equal. Gain is greater than beauty because gain enhances our entire life, not just our senses. Goodness is greater than either beauty or gain because goodness enhances the lives of others. However do not think this is a ladder. You do not advance up a ladder from beauty to gain to goodness. You have this mistaken belief that you can only act for others once you have a basis of a strong self. You think you can only share the greatness of the Mystic Law on your good days. You decide who to give an experience based on who is not having trouble. This is completely mistaken; there is no evidence for this position in the Daishonin's Gosho or the guidance of the founders of our organization. The fact is we experience beauty and gain only by developing goodness. We experience beauty and gain only by contributing to others. It is our actions for others that is the cause for our own transformation.

I will tell you a short story to emphasize my point that every person, no matter their circumstances, no matter how low they appear to be, can make a tremendous contribution to others well-being. This is the true story of Philip Gonzales and Ginny. Philip is a big guy, a steam fitter, a man's man. He had a horrible accident, was disabled, lost his job, became depressed. He lost all hope and ultimately refused to leave his apartment.

Philip was exactly the kind of person that you think of as needing help, powerless, a victim. Philip, you think, needs a whole lot of help, before Philip should even think about helping others.

Philip lost all his friends, except one. That friend said, Philip, you should get a dog. Philip thought, I can't take care of myself, how can I take care of a dog? Very reluctantly Philip went out of his apartment. He went to the local shelter. Philip thought, I am a big strong man who has lost my strength. I will look for my type of dog – a big, strong dog, so when I go out no one will pick on the cripple. Philip was still a macho dude.

Now, there is one thing lower than a hopeless, powerless person. That is a hopeless, powerless dog, waiting to be destroyed in a cage in a shelter. We feel pity for them, we try to help them, we contribute to the local humane society. We do not expect abandoned animals on their last hours and minutes to help anyone, certainly not change the world.

Philip did not find his big strong macho man's dog. Instead Ginny found him. Ginny was an abused, abandoned Schnauzer-husky mix. Ginny was neither large nor strong. She was sick and about 48 hours from being destroyed. The shelter people said, take Ginny for a walk. Philip said, I don't walk so good. They said, Ginny will help you. So Philip, who because of his disability did not walk very well, took Ginny for a walk. Within a few steps he sensed something about Ginny, some energy. Within seconds Phillip started feeling better, moving better. Philip took sick, broken Ginny home.

Slowly Ginny's love and caring started to work on Philip. Philip knew Ginny was special and felt it his purpose to help Ginny. He became healthier, stronger, more sociable.

Now the story really begins. There is one thing lower than an abandoned, sick, abused dog – feral cats. Cats left on the street to return to their wild state. We despise them as a society and fear them when we meet them.

One night Philip and Ginny were walking when Ginny found an abandoned, feral cat. Philip thought, this is not going to go well, someone is going to get hurt. The cat and Ginny did not fight. Ginny started licking and caring for the cat. Ginny, the dog, acted like the cat's mother.

Ginny and Philip started taking care of feral cats. They went out, night after night. They rehabilitated abandoned cats and found homes for them. Ginny loved cats, no matter how damaged they were – blind, legless, deaf, sick. She not only rescued them from fields and streets, but also from hard-to-find places such as drain pipes, dumpsters, and the glove compartments of abandoned cars. Ginny, the dog, was even named Cat of the Year, for her uncanny skill and bravery in rescuing and caring for cats. One time at a construction site Ginny threw herself against a vertical pipe, using her little weight to topple it and reveal kittens trapped inside. Another time she dug through a box of broken glass, ignoring her own cuts to find an injured cat inside.

Ginny finally died in 2005 after rescuing over 8 hundred cats.

What happened to Philip? Philip has written two books about Ginny and has established a foundation in her name to care for abandoned cats. He gets up at 2 every morning to make the rounds of nineteen colonies he and Ginny built in abandoned fields and alleys, where he feeds approximately 320 cats. He has since adopted other dogs but none of them have the slightest interest in caring for cats.

Moral of my story, moral of the three values is not to get a dog. It's not to get anything. It is to stop thinking about what you can get and start thinking about what you can give.

The three values have a social implication. When people work together to create beauty, we call it culture. When we strive collectively to teach how to truly gain, we have education. When goodness is a social value, we achieve peace, the highest value of all. This collective action of peace, culture and education is called the Soka Gakkai International.

Experience at world peace prayer meeting July 6, 2014

Thank you everyone for this opportunity to share my experience. When Shirley asked me if I could tell my experience I told her I am always ready, always eager to talk about how great the philosophy of Nichiren is, how great is our objective of kosen-rufu and how great is our mentor, Ikeda Sensei.

My experience is long and a bit strange. It is the story of the unlikely meeting of a lonely sickly boy and the greatest philosopher of our time, in the world's most beautiful city. If you've heard it before, if it does not interest you, or if you fall asleep I will not be offended.

I began my practice when I was 13 years old. My oldest brother introduced me when we lived in Los Angeles. This was the pioneering time of our movement in North America. Most of the members were young but none as young as me.

I do not remember exactly how Peter started. But he came home one night with some others and they enshrined his gohonzon. He began to tell me about chanting and about the philosophy of peace of Daisaku Ikeda. Pete told me that Ikeda had an idea that world peace could be achieved through individuals transforming their lives.

I was interested in peace, possibly because I did not know peace. My family was not happy. My parents fought constantly. It was not a home of love or trust or nurturing. In fact our friends told us that some of the worst times of their lives were when they visited us. I longed to live in a place of happiness but had no idea what that looked like.

My family moved a lot, always because of my father's career. We followed him wherever his career took him. I went to five different grade schools, two junior highs and two high schools.

Also I had no peace internally. I was sick constantly. My body was at war with itself. At the time I did not know the name but I have Crohn's disease. My body is allergic to my own digestive tract and tries to expel my intestine.

Pete and his new Buddhist friends taught me about Ikeda's ideas. And so I started my own practice. Unlike today there were no activities for children so I tried to go to the regular meetings, often hitch-hiking for hours across Los Angeles, even at night. My parents, of course, were vaguely concerned, but too preoccupied by their own troubles to pay much attention.

In those days the members would go to Japan for pilgrimage to the head temple. But when they came back they mostly talked about Ikeda. They would talk about how happy Ikeda was; they even said he glowed. I tried to learn from them more about Ikeda's ideas, but I had my doubts about the glowing bit.

I wanted to go with them to Japan and meet Ikeda, but they always said I was too young or I was too sick. Also it cost a huge amount of money and, of course, I had no money.

Now the bizarre part of the story begins. I heard that Ikeda-Sensei was coming to America. I was over-joyed. Finally I would meet him. Then my father told me he was going on sabbatical. My parents were going to the Middle East and Europe for a year and I had to go with them.

My joy was immediately crushed. I thought I must be the most unfortunate person alive. Ikeda was coming to Los Angeles and I would have to leave. Of course, most young people would be very happy at the idea of travelling around the world for one year. Today that would be a dream for me. But at that time, for me, it was my worst nightmare come true.

I phoned a guy I knew who worked at the organization's headquarters. He said Keith, you have to go to Europe. You can not live on your own in L.A. He said, next April, go to Paris. He gave me an address, 64 rue du Lycee, Sceaux, France.

So I received my own gohonzon and I graduated from high school early and I flew to meet my parents in Israel. In a tiny shop in Jerusaleum, once a Crusader's horse stall, Arabs sewed me a container to protect my Gohonzon. I travelled all over north Africa and Europe with my quarrelling parents. I was lonely and sick and scared.

Then in April 1972 I left my parents in Geneva and got on a train to Paris. I spoke no french, did not know anyone and only had my gohonzon and few American dollars. And I had this address my friend had given me. It was the headquarters of Soka Gakai in France. I went there and a man met me. He naturally asked what was I doing there. I said I have come from America to meet Ikeda-Sensei. He said, “Sensei is not coming.” I said, “that is ok, I will wait for him.”

So I found a tiny place to stay. Most every day I went to this place in Sceaux. I had very little money and the place where I stayed took most of what I had and so survived on one loaf of Baguette a day.

I was hungry, lonely and sickly. When I wasn't at Sceaux I either chanted or slept or wandered the streets of Paris. I saw many beautiful things. I loved the museums, parks, monuments, libraries, streets, everything. I am a bit odd, as you probably know, but although weak I had a passion inside. Something burned in me, despite me.

I met another man at the place in Sceaux. He was a doctor and the leader of the French organization. He spoke English very well and asked me why I was there. I told him I wanted to meet Ikeda-Sensei. Unlike the first man, the doctor said, “great, please help us!” I liked the doctor better.

And so, in my own stumbling, clumsy way, I tried to help the French members prepare for Sensei's arrival. Likely I caused more problems then help.

Finally Sensei and his wife were coming. The French put me in a room where I could chant. There was a big room upstairs that Sensei would have a meeting. They put me in a small room downstairs that Sensei would not go.

After the big meeting Sensei and Mrs I came into the small room where I was. He walked up to me and shook my hand. He was so happy. He glowed, just like the members said. I'd never seen anyone so happy to be where he was, in the moment. He moved with his wife with incredible grace and beauty, like a beautiful dance.

Now I will tell you why he was there. As you know Sensei has conducted dialogues with the greatest thinkers of our time. Together with dozens of great scholars and philosophers he has written many books. The dialogues are all about how to create a peaceful world. Through these dialogues Sensei and those great thinkers have identified the necessary steps out of the crises our planet faces. Over 1600 dialogues have created a kind of philosophical and practical structure for transforming humanity's destiny. Our bookstore has many of those books. If you are interested in the future of our society and our planet I heartily recommend you visit our bookstore and talk with Bokin and Sachiko and start learning.

The first of those dialogues was with the great British historian Arnold Toynbee. All the dialogues and collaborations and public work for peace that SGI engages in today grew out of that first dialogue with Toynbee. Their discussions have been translated into 28 languages. Ikeda-Sensei first met Arnold Toynbee in May of 1972 in London, england. Before going to London to meet Toynbee, Sensei and Mrs I came to Paris for one week to prepare, to celebrate May 3 and to celebrate their anniversary. It was his first May 3^rd outside Japan.

At the time I knew none of this. All I knew was he and I were together in this amazing city of light. I spent a week with Ikeda and his wife. We did gongyo together every day. In my own stumbling, clumsy way I fought with all my might for that week to help him. His secretary, a man named Harada who is now president of Soka Gakkai, assigned me various tasks. People came from all over Europe and Africa to meet him. He and Mrs I tirelessly encouraged members and non-members, children and VIPs. Mrs I put on a simple, beautiful kimono and they visited the Louvre. One morning after gongyo Sensei patiently taught two hundred people how to perform the Japanese tea ceremony. And all the while he quietly prepared for Toynbee. During that week I made a pledge. I decided that whatever else I did with my life I would try to help him in his work and protect him from his enemies. I was seventeen years old.

After that experience I returned to Los Angeles. I thought my life would soar, but actually my life declined in every respect from that time. My health deteriorated severely. Finally I had surgery and they removed a huge portion of my intestine. I was in the hospital for over six months. I lost my job and dropped out of university. I lost my girl friend. I lost my car. I started stealing things to sell. I was thrown into jail twice.

I thought I was so smart, seen so much, done so much. But just like John Snow in Game of Thrones, I knew nothing. I was a mess.

Eventually I came to Calgary and met my one true love.

Now life is long and has many twists and turns and many ups and downs. I have done many stupid things and met many wonderful, interesting people and had many amazing experiences. I have seen great beauty and witnessed tremendous ugliness.

But not for one day, no matter how low or how high I've been, not for one day have I forgotten the pledge I made that spring in Paris. And in my own stumbling, clumsy way I have tried to be true to that decision. Hemingway was absolutely right – the feast has moved with me.

And very slowly, slower perhaps than necessary, I have built peace inside me. Together with the love of my life, my dearest Yoshiko, we have built a family and a home where people can come and be refreshed, be encouraged and find hope.

Last Tuesday, we celebrated Canada Day. Yoshiko and I had guests from Saskatchewan, a wonderful family. A beautiful man, his wife and three lovely bright children stayed at our place for a holiday. They are not members, never heard of SGI. But on Tuesday, Canada day, something happened. The man's mother passed away in Saskatoon. His celebration turned to anguish. His holiday in Alberta turned to regrets for not being with his mother. So we took him to our prayer room and together chanted and prayed and grieved and found hope.

Thank you for listening.  

On practicing the Buddha's teaching

I am very happy to join Heartwood district in studying “On Practising the Buddha's Teachings.” Thank you for inviting me. It gives me a chance to deepen my understanding of this wonderful writing and remind myself of why Sensei wants us to study it.

We began studying “On Practising the Buddha's Teachings” in October last year. So we are now in our sixth month. You may be deeply inside the writing by now, every month enriching your understanding. Or you may be tired of it – why do we have to study the same thing over and over? Wherever you are at, congratulate yourself if you are seriously using this opportunity to directly connect with Nichiren's words and to grasp Sensei's vision for our movement.

Thank you for this opportunity to refresh my practice through this important writing. In Sensei's introduction he mentions the crucial occasions that “On Practising the Buddha's Teachings” has been tapped. Mr Makiguchi used “On Practising the Buddha's Teachings” in the final section of his landmark book, “On Value Creation.” Toda-Sensei and Sensei too, used this writing often, notably at times when they were beginning something new, times of transition, times of initiation.

Nichiren wrote “On Practising the Buddha's Teachings” while in exile on Sado island. He wrote it soon after completing his monumental thesis “The True Object of Worship.” “On Practising the Buddha's Teachings” is also a thesis. It is not a letter to one follower. Letters of encouragement often have been given titles by later scholars. The original letter did not have a title, other than Letter to Nanjo, or Reply to Shijo Kingo. This is like letters we write. They normally do not have titles. Nowadays we write emails and give them subjects to distinguish one from another. So Nichiren scholars have assigned titles over the years to distinguish one letter from another.

“On Practising the Buddha's Teachings,” however is a thesis. It is written to the world. Nichiren himself gave its title. Let's spend a minute looking at the title.

“The Buddha's teachings” means the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra teaches the absolute conviction in our own Buddhahood and in the Buddhahood of everyone else. Each person possesses the inner capacity for transformation. Every person has the potentiality for wisdom, life-force, compassion. Every person is equally worthy of dignity and respect.

To practice the Lotus Sutra means to activate our own Buddhahood and to awaken others to their inner dignity and nobility.

You might think that practising means chanting and gongyo and such. You are wrong. This writing and others make it clear that practice means shakubuku. 

This writing. “On Practising the Buddha's Teachings” is about five pages in your Major Writings. Sensei wrote that he read it “countless times.” The postscript reads, “keep this writing with you at all times and read it over and over.” It clarifies that “Buddha's teaching” means only the Lotus Sutra and that “practising” means shakubuku. But it most of the thesis is concerned with another question – who is practising exactly as the Buddha taught? Whose actions are in accord with the Lotus Sutra? This question of who is at the core of this writing. Nichiren answers this question in two ways. First he identifies himself as the only one who practises exactly in accord with the Lotus Sutra.

Second he says that his followers could also be practitioners. So this second meaning is especially significant as we look to young people to inherit the mission for kosen-rufu.

Because Nichiren identifies these two practitioners – the teacher and the proteges, Ikeda-Sensei sees this writing as especially important to our understanding of the oneness of mentor and disciple.

How does Nichiren know that he is the only true practitioner of the Lotus? What is the criteria for identifying the practitioners? This is the question of this gosho and, I believe, the major question of our time. The answer can be found in the effect of the practice. The Lotus Sutra makes it clear that the practitioners will meet great and powerful enemies. Great forces will arise to block their path.

You might think that the proof of the practice is in wealth, health and benefit. You would be wrong. It is a mistake we make over and over. So and so can not tell their experience because they are having difficulties. Such and such a leader keeps their troubles hidden until the final happy ending. This kind of thinking is very pervasive. It contradicts Nichiren's words and actions.

It is something like the person with the broken leg who can not go to the doctor until his leg heals.

Makiguchi Sensei said that until we meet powerful enemies we can not call ourselves practitioners. We can only call ourselves followers.

Do we want to be Ikeda fans, Ikeda followers? Do we look to him to make us feel better, as a kind of spiritual salve for our wounds? Or do we want to be practitioners, fulfilling our mentor's great vision and living lives of depth and purpose?

Turning to this month's material, we find a discussion of shoju and shakubuku. The Daishonin states that shakubuku is the practice for this time.

Over the years a lot of words have been written and spoken about shoju and shakubuku. What actions get dropped into the shoju bucket? Which into the shakubuku bucket? Is shoju a 'softer' form of shakubuku? Sometimes we hear we should do something like shoju with shakubuku spirit. If we meet this 'kind' of person we should do one or the other.

Occasionally we may hear language like over here we do do shoju back over there they do real shakubuku. This language takes us out of our place. Or we hear something like, back in the day we sure did shakubuku, but now it is more like shoju. This language takes us out of our time.

The Daishonin's Buddhism is concerned with the issues of this time and place. And his writings make clear that shakubuku is the practice of this time and place. I, for one, am fairly easily distracted. It takes rigour and discipline for me to stay in the present moment and current place. Time and spaced shifting are traps well worth avoiding.

All these discussions about shoju and shakubuku are worthwhile, although occasionally confusing, and I am certain they will continue in the future.

Here are my thoughts: Shakubuku is compassionate action to awaken and activate others' great inner trans-formative power. This compassionate action is based on absolute conviction that both we and others are Buddhas. Shakubuku is behaviour that helps others elevate their own lives. This is what is means to practice.

Shakubuku is not informing another person about the existence of Nam myoho renge kyo. Nor is it bringing them to a meeting, or getting them to join a group, or having beads.

To practice as the Buddha teaches is assist others to awaken their inner nobility and dignity.

Too often the debate contains false choices between “hard” and “soft,” between “you can't push people” and “they will come to you,” between absolutism and tolerance. Shakubuku is compassionate action, based on absolute respect for others great potentiality to help them raise themselves.

Unfortunately chanting is not enough. We practice the mystic law, not the magic law. There are people in the world today who chant Nam myoho renge kyo and are actively engaged in trying to destroy the Buddha's teachings.

The gosho and sensei's lecture refer to provisional teachings. Provisional teachings are not in some distant place or ancient time. Provisional teachings are any philosophy that does not enhance life, that does not respect the equal potentiality of every person. Provisional teachings can include consumerism, authoritarianism, militarism and all manner of thinking that pervade our culture. Provisional teachings are here and now, within us and around us.