Chapter Summary
Illustration courtesy of Seikyo Press.
On the night of January 23, heavy blizzards hit Niigata Prefecture, stalling 26 trains, six of which remained immobile until January 27. One of them was a chartered train carrying nine hundred Soka Gakkai members on their way home from a pilgrimage to the head temple. Their train was stuck at Miyauchi Station, one stop before Nagaoka Station.
Hearing of their plight, local members in Nagaoka Chapter worked valiantly over the next few days, preparing rice balls and miso soup through the night and delivering them by foot in the blizzard. Onboard, the young men’s division members of the Traffic Control Group led everyone in Gakkai songs to keep their spirits high.
Some 60 hours had passed before the train could move to Nagaoka Station, and finally the railways resumed normal operations at midnight on January 28. The Soka Gakkai members behaved in a civilized, orderly manner to the very end of the crisis, a testimony to the strength of their faith.
On February 11, Shin’ichi completed “To the Women’s Division,” a message outlining important guidelines for the women’s division. He wrote, “I state that you, the Soka Gakkai women’s division members, are pioneers of the Mystic Law, who champion the cause of true liberation for women” (The New Human Revolution, vol. 7, p. 305).
On April 9, the Taiwanese government ordered the members of Taipei Chapter to disband. The members there persevered, believing that their harsh trials of winter will undoubtedly turn to spring. Twenty-seven years later, the Soka Gakkai was registered officially in Taiwan as a Buddhist association. In the years to come, the organization in Taiwan would win high acclaim for its contributions to society, recognized on successive occasions by the Ministry of the Interior as one of the most outstanding civic organizations in Taiwan.
When Shin’ichi learned that the organization in Taiwan had been forced to disband, he keenly understood that worldwide kosen-rufu had now reached an age of raging waves. Shin’ichi had no choice but to keep steering with all his might for the future of kosen-rufu.
Unforgettable Scene
Illustration courtesy of Seikyo Press.
Winter Will Absolutely Turn to Spring
At a meeting held at his home on April 9, Zhu Qianxun, the leader of Taipei Chapter in Taiwan, announced the disbanding of the Soka Gakkai organization under police supervision.
Making an effort to remain calm, he began speaking in a quiet voice: “Today, April 9, the Soka Gakkai’s Taipei Chapter has been ordered to disband by the government, having failed to gain official approval as a registered civic organization. I hereby announce our dissolution.”
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Just then, Zhu vividly recalled what President Yamamoto had said to him some two months earlier, at Taipei’s Sungshan Airport on January 27, during a stopover on Shin’ichi’s return journey to Japan: “No matter what happens, no matter how hard things become, for the well-being of the people of Taiwan, I hope you will not allow the flame of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism to be extinguished. True victory will be apparent thirty or forty years down the line. You will definitely triumph in the end.” …
Biting his lip and wiping the tears from his eyes with his fist, he went on with a resolute tone: “Our chapter is disbanding, but Taiwan’s constitution guarantees us the freedom of religion. Each of us can still practice our faith without interference from anyone.
“The way to happiness has not been closed to us. As long as we have faith, winter will absolutely turn to spring.”
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The police stepped up its surveillance and crackdown on members. Some members had their homes raided and their Gohonzon seized. Others had their copies of Nichiren Daishonin’s writings and other Soka Gakkai publications, as well as their Soka Gakkai pins and other items, confiscated.
Still others were threatened with imprisonment if they continued practicing the Daishonin’s Buddhism.
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It was Zhu’s firm conviction and resolve that one can uphold faith and live a life dedicated to kosen-rufu under any circumstances.
Zhu frequently made time to visit and encourage his fellow members …
Even during this wintry time for the Soka Gakkai in Taiwan, the correct teaching of Buddhism steadily and naturally took deep root in society . . .
Martial law was lifted in 1987, and in 1990 the Soka Gakkai was at last registered officially in Taiwan as a Buddhist association.
In the years to come, the Soka Gakkai organization in Taiwan would win high acclaim for its contributions to society through its many cultural and other activities and would be recognized on successive occasions by the Ministry of the Interior as one of the most outstanding civic organizations in Taiwan. (NHR-7, 350–54)
The chapter summary was originally published in the April 4, 2019, Seikyo Shimbun, while the “Unforgettable Scene” was originally published in the April 10, 2019, issue.
Key Passage
True lions, Toda asserted, are those who advance, win and fulfill their vows, enduring all adversity with unflinching determination. And it was out of his compassion as a mentor that he tried to teach his disciples the weighty responsibility that falls on those who work for kosen-rufu. (NHR-7, 338)
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