Chapter 16: every tradition · Buddhism
Soka Gakkai International-USA
An SGI-USA Buddhist center: Soka Gakkai International-USA, a lay organization practising the Nichiren Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra, part of a worldwide body founded in Japan in 1930 and led for decades by Daisaku Ikeda. Members chant daimoku, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and recite gongyo (passages of the Lotus Sutra) twice a day before the Gohonzon, a calligraphic scroll enshrined in a butsudan at home and at the center; SGI uses no Buddha images. It has had no priests since Nichiren Shoshu's priesthood excommunicated it in 1991: lay leaders, volunteers paired by men's, women's, and youth divisions, lead at every level, and are appointed from above rather than elected; volunteer ministers of ceremony conduct weddings and funerals. Members' monthly rhythm is the district discussion meeting in a member's living room and the kosen-rufu gongyo meeting at the center, where new members receive their Gohonzon; the game holds the center's meeting each Sunday morning, and the discussion meetings as a ministry. There are no dues: members give to the national organization, above all in the May Contribution, and the national body owns the centers and funds them. SGI-USA actively shares its practice (shakubuku, now through dialogue) and calls itself the most diverse Buddhist community in the United States, with many African American and Latino members. Practice varies by center and region; member counts aren't published.
All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it and what sets its faith apart; How people feel, what every factor is.
At a glance
| Faith | Buddhism |
|---|---|
| Its words | Buddhist center, Buddhist center, main hall; the leader leads the meeting; the study lecture; Sunday; the Lotus Sutra |
| Worship | image focus, chanted, low formality (0.33 of 1); seated on chairs |
| Music | organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; handbells discouraged; chant expected |
| The room's sound | likes a dry room (the band) |
| Its year | soka gakkai; full observance; fasts none |
| Leans | liberal on moral questions, neutral on economic ones |
| Polity | hierarchical; leaders come by none; property denomination |
| Leaders | none leader, unpaid, trained by none; marriage any |
| Belonging | high commitment, formal discipline, admitted by board; a parish of where one lives; exclusive |
| Giving | tithing not emphasised; collected by online, mailed |
| Way of life | alcohol permitted, dress casual, sabbath relaxed |
The week's services
| Day | Time | Service | Led by | People look for it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 10:00 am | Gongyo meeting | the laity | expected |
- Leader: none needed: the laity lead every service, so no leader is missed.
Rites
- Receiving the Gohonzon (per joining, +0.02 to those there): A new member, after months of chanting and coming to meetings with the friend who introduced them, receives their own Gohonzon and membership certificate at the month's kosen-rufu gongyo meeting, and their sponsor and the local leaders help them enshrine it at home.
- Kosen-rufu gongyo meeting (monthly, +0.02 to those there): Once a month the members of several districts gather at the center for the kosen-rufu gongyo meeting: longer gongyo and daimoku, the month's guidance from the national leaders, and the conferral of the Gohonzon on new members.
- Memorial service for the dead (on request, +0.015 to those there): Chanting for someone who has died: on the seventh days after a death through the forty-ninth, and on the anniversaries after, the family comes before the altar, the names are read, incense, tea, and food are offered, and the merit is dedicated to the one who died. The family gives the temple an offering.
- Buddhist wedding (on request, +0.02 to those there): A couple marries before the Buddha: they offer incense together, exchange vows and rings (and, in Japanese temples, the beads of the onenju) before the leader, who chants and gives them a short talk.
Joining
- Joining: a content regular is received as a member after about 12 weeks.
- Joining age: 13.
- Kinds of belonging: members (may hold office); received by its board.
- What it means: being received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home at each of its great days (at most once a month) for ten years.
Giving, and what goes up
How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.
- How it's given: the contribution, by giving online, and gifts by post. With no plate passed, visitors give nothing at the service. Gifts by post or in envelopes come in at the month's start. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
- Tithing isn't emphasised: people give 10% less.
- Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
- Funded from above: each month the offerings go up to the Region, and a budget comes back, $25 for each active person and the building's costs.
The staff and who decides
- Clergy: there's none to come: it has no clergy, and the laity lead its worship.
- Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Buddhist center secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Its boards: the center leaders (advising, over everything).
- Renovations: The members vote, consulting the center leaders.
- New construction: The Region decides.
- Who votes: no kind of belonging votes, so what would go to the members goes to the board.
Life together
What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.
- Ministries of its own: District discussion meetings, Hospital and prison chaplaincy.
- Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
- Fundraisers of its own: May Contribution.
- Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Raffle, Rummage sale.
- Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Wedding receptions.
- Outreach: invitation Sunday, a home scripture study, literature (from a reading room or an office) (Community → Evangelism).
- Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): Through the fence.
- Dilemmas its code of life brings: A matter of discipline, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.
What the building needs
- required Butsudan with the GohonzonMembers chant daimoku before the Gohonzon, enshrined in its butsudan.
- expected Incense burnerIncense is offered before the altar at every service.
- discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
- discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
What people here feel
- Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.052; Modern synagogue +0.034; Gurdwara +0.028; Japanese temple +0.016; Islamic +0.01; Shinto shrine +0.01; Chinese temple +0.004; Dravidian temple -0.002; Nagara temple -0.002; Thai temple -0.002; Jain marble -0.008; Gothic -0.014.
- Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
- Acoustics: it wants a dry room, about 1.5 seconds of reverberation: carpet, padded seats, a low ceiling. Up to ±0.05.
- Solar panels: leaning liberal, it's glad of them (+0.02 at every service).
- The study lecture lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the leader's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
How each study lecture lands
The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.
- Racial Justice & Reconciliation+0.06
- Radical Inclusion+0.06
- Interfaith Understanding+0.04
- Reading Scripture in Context+0.04
- Swords into Ploughshares+0.04
- Compassion for All Beings+0.015
- Gratitude+0.015
- Hope & Comfort+0.015
- Impermanence+0.015
- Interdependence+0.015
- Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
- Suffering and Its End+0.015
- The Lotus Sutra's Promise+0.015
- The Noble Eightfold Path+0.015
- Care for Creation-0.02
- Healing for All-0.02
- Welcome the Stranger-0.02
- Social Justice Call-0.03
- Faith & Family-0.05
- Faith of Our Fathers-0.05
- Resisting Temptation-0.05
- Sanctity of Life-0.075
Every item, for this tradition
Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.
Sources
- About Us, SGI-USA (link)
- SGI-USA Charter (link)
- A checklist for our new members, World Tribune (link)
- 2025 A Financial Overview, World Tribune (link)
- Soka Gakkai, Wikipedia (link)
- Successors and authority, RE:ONLINE (link)
- Members Across the World Celebrate May 3, Soka Gakkai (link)
- Buddhism in the United States, Wikipedia (link)