Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

l 14 ElizabethBowen

intermsol'

propagation

and

caring

forthe

membeiship.

mentendedtoleadmost

meetings.Compellingaspects

werethe

genuinely Friendly.caring

membersand

thevibrant

sincerity

ofthe

Japanesepioneering

women.Withtheirlimited

English

theyencouraged

Australian

members.

whoofienheldidealizedviewsofBuddhism

and introducedthementorand

disciplerelationship

7

acentral

underpinning

of

Nichiren

Buddhism.

SokaGakkai's

heritage

andsuccessful

expansion.

Discussion

meetings

heldin

people‘s

homes.

although

stiltcd

by language

barriers. formal

agendas

andthe

tendency

tobe

presided

over

mostly by

men.did,

however.

provide

asenseof

belonging.

Itwasneverthelessacultureshockfora

young

westernwomanlikeme.

Despitemy

initial

hopes

for

lifertransformingenlight-

enment.

myperception

wasofarather

quaintcommimity

outof

place

in the

cultural

landscape

ol‘Australiaot'the19805.

Justwhenl

began

tothinkthiswas‘notforme'.

significance

was

placed

on

the

study

of56]Presidentlkeda'sworkas

conveying

the

universality

ofNichiren

Buddhism.Thisenabled

young

Australianmembers.

including

me.to

gaindeeper

insight

intothe

contemporaryapplication

ofBuddhist

teachings

and

pm

ticc.

We

learned to

distinguish

betweenculturaltraditionsand

religious

formalit

'

and

ofNichiren‘s

reading

of

Shakyamuni‘sexample

asan

empowering

humanistic

expression

thatcouldbeemulatedin

dailyliving.Exploring

the

meaning

ofthe

Japanese

Buddhist

termsand

greater

in

depth

discussiononthe

philosophy

enabled

the

application

ofBuddhismtohavemorerelevanceinAustraliaandmove

away

froman

organizational

structure

andactivitiesthathadoftenbeen

copied

fromthe

Japaneseexperience.

As

younger

members

grew

intheir

confidence,

a

perception

that

Japanese

members

automatically

understoodmoreaboutthe

practice

and

teachings

was

challenged,

thus

enabling

localAustralianstotake

upleadership

roles.Confidenceina

deeperunderstanding

ofthe

philosophy

becamethe

inspi-

rationforamorerelevant

expression

inactivitieswithin 561 Australia.

As

Shakyamuniessentiallyproposed.enlightenment

isanever

presentpotential

thatcouldberevealed

by

all

people

amidtherealitiesof

daily

life.

Nichircn.

aflerextensive

study

of

Shakyamuni‘steachings

andvarious

Buddhistscholars"

interpretations

ofthem.reafiirmed

thiscore

message

oftheinherent

dignity

of

all

life.

He

encouraged

individual

practitioners

that

they

couldenactthisbelief

and

highlighted

thebehaviourof

Shakyamuni

asan

example

of

compassion

and

wisdom

expressed

inactionsmadetowards

relievingsuffering.

DaisakuIkeda's

writingsgivecontemporaryexpression

tothis

lineage

ofBuddhisthumanismThe

Soka

Gakkai.

through

its

lay

activities.in

particular

its

emphasis

on

discussion

meetings,

gave

NichirenBuddhism is

practicalexpression.

connecting

working

inthe

community

fora

peacefulsociety

withinner

transformation.

that

is.

human

revolutionascoined

by

second SfikaGakkaiPresidentToda.

However.

while

maintaining

tiestotheNichircnShoshu

priesthood,

theSokaGakkai

expanded

extremelyrapidly

asa

layorganization.

Tensions

developed

betweenidealsof

a

contemporary

humanistic

approach

toBuddhismversus

emphasis

on

organiz-

alional

structure.

religiosity

ofthe

priesthood

aswellasSokaGakkai‘s

(cultural)

expression

through

itsactivitiesinthe

community

asitestablished

organizations

inothercountries.

• 
  

StikuGait/mi

International 1

l

5

Soka

Gakkai hadreached

eight

millionhouseholds

in

Japan

whenI

joined

the 600

membership

of

theAustralian

organization

inthemid-l980s.

Thesheer

magnitude

ofSfikaGakkai's

size

begat

a

large

bureaucracy

with

many

character-

isticsof

a

Japanesecorporation.

Leadership

wasbased

onacultural

traditionof

seniority

(where

newroles

and

positions

neededtobe

createdtoallow

for

fresh

leadership

totakecentralroles)

andwas

clearlypatriarchal.

Numerous

specuil

interest

groups

such

aschoirsand brassbandscreated

an

imposing image

of

grandeur

fora

fledgling

Australian

organization.

Despite

these

challenges-the

strength

ofSokaGakkai

was

positively

attributed

totheroleofwomen.

mainly

home

workerswhoconducted

abundantactivities

during

the

day.

For me.

patriarchy

was and

always

has been

the

elephant

in the room.

Shakyamuni

acknowledgedequalpotential

for

the

enlightenment

ofwomenand

men.

Nichirenreferred

tohisfemale

disciples

inhonorificterms

inanerawhen

womenwerenot

given

namesand

played

no

significant

rolein

society.

Daisaku

lkeda has

promoted

the

twenty~first

century

asone where

women will take

centre

stage.Japanese

organizational

culture

is

patriarchal

and

gender

roleshave

been

clearly

delineatedwithintheSokaGakkai.

ForAustralian

women

7

often

combining

work.

family,

56]activitiesand

education

7

one

challenge

hasbeento

notmake

comparisons

withamodelset

by

their

Japanese

counterparts.

who

tradi-

tionally

are

notin

paidemployment

and

wheremenincentral

rolesare

supported

by

women

whostilltakecareofthe

majority

ofhomeduties.

Althoughchanges

are

occurring.

the

bureaucracy

and

organizational

culture

has

lagged

behind

the

grassroots

movementintermsof

providing

leadershipopportunities

forwomen.

n

The need

for

adaptation

tolocal cultures

became

apparent

asSokaGakkai

expanded

from easterntowesterni'lcd

culturesandAustmlia

wasno

exception.

Asthird

president

ofSokaGakkai.Daisaku

lkedaembarked

onextensivetravel

io

establishinternational

organizations:

promoting

theneedto

beawareofcultural

differences

and

engage

in

dialogue

rather

than

conducting

oven

propagation

and

refuting

other

religions.

He

challenged

the

tendency

of

homesick membersof

Japanese

descent

toidealizeandtherefore

copy

howactivities

wereconducted

in

Japan.

However,

a

learning

curveensued

ininteractionsbetween

theSfikaGakkni.

immigrantJapanese

memberswho had

trainedand had

expectations

based

on

their

~experience

of

practising

in

Japan

and a

budding

Australian

home-grown

membeiship.

During

thelate 1980s.incremental

changes

weremade

tothe

way

inwhich

members

practised

inAustralia;such

aschairs

beingpurchased

forthe

community

centre

(instead

of

kneeling

in

prayer)

andtherewasno

longer

a

requirement

for

shoesto

beLakenoffbefore

entering

themainhall.

Young

Australianmembers

began

taking

the lead in activities.

women took the

lead in

prayer

(tradi-

tionally

always

led

bymen)

and

discussion

groups.

whileculturefestivals.

that

were

not consideredso

appropriate

in theAustralian context.

were

relegated

tofaded.

pre-digital

photo

albums.

These

changes

enhanced

the

diversity

of

the

membershipparticipation

andcontributedto

minimizingculturallyspecific

expression

emanating

fromits

Japanese

heritage.

which

hadalienatedsomeofthe

localmembers.

again.

including

me.