SGM members practise Nichiren Buddhism as espoused by the Soka Gakkai, which is based on Mahayana scriptures and the Lotus Sutra in particular. The Buddhist tradition that we uphold has its origin in the teachings of Shakyamuni (Siddharta Gautama). SGM is engaged in activities in society that manifest the compassionate spirit of the Lotus Sutra in contemporary society.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi, India, said to house the relics of Shakyamuni Buddha [Photo by Udit Sharma CC/BY-SA]
The Soka Gakkai is a community-based organisation upholding the Buddhist tradition that originated with Shakyamuni (Siddhārtha Gautama) and developed as it was inherited by Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu in India, Zhiyi (the Great Teacher Tiantai) and Miaole in China, and Dengyo and Nichiren in Japan.
The specific Buddhist tradition embraced by the Soka Gakkai is based on the Mahayana scriptures and the Lotus Sutra in particular. The Soka Gakkai is engaged in faith practices and activities in society that correspond with the compassionate spirit of the Lotus Sutra in the contemporary world.
Soka Gakkai
The promotion of human dignity and ultimate equality continues an effort—ongoing since Shakyamuni’s times—to overcome the deep-seated and destructive nature of egotism that erodes human life and society. Today, the members of the Soka Gakkai, based on the teachings of Nichiren, have inherited this mission.
Read MoreNichiren
Nichiren, who lived during a time of great conflict and upheaval in 13th-century Japan, empathized greatly with the plight of the people and searched for a way to overcome suffering. His intention was to become a true disciple of Shakyamuni, who taught Buddhism as a way to realize the genuine happiness and dignity of all people.
Read MoreLotus Sutra
The Mahayana Buddhist movement about 500 years after Shakyamuni’s time constituted a kind of Buddhist Renaissance. It was a time during which many new sutras were compiled over the course of several hundred years, the Lotus Sutra being one of them.
Read MoreShakyamuni
The founder of Buddhism, Shakyamuni, was born some 2,500 years ago to the royal family of an area in what is now Nepal. Shakyamuni observed the sufferings of aging, sickness and death and, although he was then young and healthy himself, perceived that they were unavoidable aspects of human life. He renounced secular life and embarked on a quest for a true philosophy that would elucidate the meaning of life for all people.
Read MoreSource from Soka Global
