Editing SG31SBE-T (section)

=== The Rejection of Established Buddhist Institutions and Capitalism ===
'''B:''' I hear that you’ve recently given up on Nichirenism<ref>Nichirenism (Nichirenshugi 日蓮主義) was a modern ideological formulation of Nichiren Buddhism that emerged in the late Meiji period under the leadership of Tanaka Chigaku 田中智學  (1861–1939) and became influential during the Taishō and early Shōwa periods. Seno’o was an active proponent of Nichirenism before breaking with it and establishing the Revitalized Buddhist movement.</ref> and are starting something called the Revitalized Buddhist movement.<ref>Revitalized Buddhism (Shinkō Bukkyō 新興仏教) was Seno’o Girō’s term for the new Buddhist movement he launched in 1931—technically, the Youth League for Revitalizing Buddhism (Shinkō Bukkyō Seinen Domei 新興仏教青年同盟). Shinkō literally suggests something newly arising or emergent; “Revitalized Buddhism” is used here to emphasize Seno’o’s conception of the movement as a renewal of Buddhism rather than the establishment of a new Buddhist sect.</ref> Is that true?

'''A:''' It is.

'''B:''' What’s the purpose of it?

'''A:''' First, I want to attack the corrupt established Buddhist institutions and demonstrate the true value of Buddhism in the present age. Second, I want to unify a divided Buddhism and put an end to these ugly sectarian quarrels. Third, I want to participate in the movement to transform the capitalist economic system, which runs contrary to the spirit of the Buddha, and realize an ideal society of love and equality.

'''B:''' Isn’t that impossible? Won’t it end up as nothing more than a fantasy?

'''A:''' It’s no fantasy. I believe that both the destruction of established Buddhist institutions and the collapse of capitalism are now simply a matter of time.

'''B:''' Leaving aside the transformation of capitalism, couldn’t you simply pursue Nichirenism more thoroughly instead of starting an entirely new religious movement? Especially since you’ve devoted yourself all these years to building up Nichirenism—don’t you feel some regret at abandoning it?

'''A:''' It’s not in my nature to make calculations when confronted with the truth. There was no path left open to me except to launch a new movement. Nichirenism as we have known it has reached an impasse in all sorts of ways. Of course, the other Buddhist institutions have as well. At this point, I don’t think Buddhism can be revived without undertaking a fundamental revolution. Just as capitalism cannot be fixed through a few minor adjustments, the corruption of the Buddhist institutions has penetrated to the very marrow.

'''B:''' But isn’t this just a sudden impulse to go along with the times?

'''A:''' You know how long my life of faith has been.

'''B:''' It certainly has been a long time. How many years has it been, anyway?

'''A:''' I embraced the faith of Nichirenism in 1911.

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And it was in the autumn of 1920 that I began publishing the magazine ''Youth''<ref>Wakōdo 若人 (“Youth”) was a Buddhist journal with which Seno’o was closely associated and in which he published extensively during the 1920s and early 1930s. It became an important venue for the development of the ideas that eventually led him beyond Nichirenism and toward Revitalized Buddhism.</ref> and advocating Nichirenism. So I have spent twelve years in public propagation and fully twenty-one years in my personal life of faith. And I don’t think I’ve ever been second to anyone in the intensity of my faith. I have devoted my entire life to that faith and to spreading it right up to the present day. After all that, surely this isn’t something I could simply switch away from on a passing whim.

'''B:''' When you put it that way, I suppose so. They say that even after living with someone for only three days, you don’t easily forget them. So you must have thought this through very seriously. Still, it’s quite a decisive step—to go so far as to abandon Master Nichiren himself.

'''A:''' Nothing could be further from the truth. My reverence for Master Nichiren only grows stronger with the years. Looking back now, my past life of faith seems to have been nothing more than a game. The more deeply the spirit of love enters my heart, and the more I strive to put even a little of the bodhisattva practice into concrete action, the more deeply Master Nichiren’s life and words impress themselves upon me, right down to the bone. I truly believe there has never been a greater person.

'''B:''' Then why give up Nichirenism?

'''A:''' If you call it “giving it up,” I suppose that’s how it may look. As I see it, I am casting off Master Nichiren’s old forms precisely in order to revive his spirit in the present. The more single-mindedly I devote myself to reviving Master Nichiren’s fundamental spirit in the present age, the more firmly convinced I become of the possibility of this Revitalized Buddhist movement—and that this alone is the form of salvation most suited to our age. Indeed, I have come firmly to believe that the revival of Buddhism as a whole is to be found in this movement.

'''B:''' Calling it “casting off the old forms” makes it sound reasonable enough, but whatever words you use, in practice you are rejecting Nichirenism, aren’t you?