Report From Brazil

Report From Brazil

by Reverend Nyodu Isormura Chief Priest of Itijoji Temple Brazil

To all Hokkeko members and temple direct believers around the world, I wish you a Happy New Year from the midsummer of Brazil in South America.

Because Nichiren Shoshu is making a clear distinction between heretical interpretation and fundamental, correct doctrine, last year was an eventful one for us in Brazil. Chief Priest Reverend Ogasawara and his assistants were forced to leave the country because of visa problems. Since I was the only priest with a Brazilian green card, I returned from Japan and reassumed my position as Chief Priest of Itijoji Temple. Brazil Soka Gakkai International (BSGI) also attempted to take over the non-profit corporate structure of Itijoji Temple in Brazil last year. Moreover, the BSGI members frequently harassed and threatened the priesthood and obstructed propagation of the religion.

In order to explain the history of these matters, I would like to begin in January, 1983, when High Priest Nikken Shonin was invited to South America for the first time. While he was in Brazil, a Grand Opening and Gohonzon Enshrinement Ceremony was held for the newly-constructed and relocated Itijoji Temple.

In the latter part of 1983, because of the effort and determination of Chief Priest Reverend Shinsho Abe, the temple, which had previously been under NSB's non-profit corporate jurisdiction, formally became an independent entity registered as NSTB (Nichiren Shoshu Temple Brazil) or, to use its Brazilian name, Sociedade Budista Nitiren Shoshu Templo Brasileiro. However, in the midst of the current problems between Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai, what we at the temple now know is that when NSTB had incorporated, NSB's President,

Roberto Saito, anticipated that problems would inevitably arise between NSB and the temple. President Saito, therefore, devised a plan of action.

The Articles of Incorporation for Nichiren Shoshu Temples as a matter of course require that the Chief Priest be the Director of the Board. In this case, the Director should have been Reverend Shinsho Abe.

However, President Saito stated that the regulations in Brazil were different from those in Japan and explained that, under Brazilian law, all documents pertaining to incorporation had to be signed by the Director of the Board and that the Director had to be a citizen of Brazil through birth or naturalization. As a result, the Articles were drafted so that the Chief Priest of the temple was empowered only with religious authority for the temple, and President Saito, himself a naturalized citizen, was given full legal control as Director of the Board.

At the time, the temple trusted NSB President Saito completely. Never was there any doubt of his word. Therefore, there was no reason to use other means to question his statements. The fact was, however, that President Saito had lied to the reverend and deceived the Head Temple.

The following year in 1984, I, the assistant priest to Reverend Abe, became the chief priest. Once again President Saito asserted control over the Board of Directors.

The first non-profit organization's special board meeting took place in June, 1984, after I became the chief priest. I had resided in Brazil for one year as the assistant priest, and conducting the affairs of operations for a foreign temple was a task I admitted that I did not know too much about.

President Saito took advantage of this and at the special board meeting stated, "Reverend Isomura has resided in Brazil for only one year. He does not know anything about Brazil. As Chief Director of NSTB, I will assume the responsibilities of the chairman for all board meetings that are conducted from now on." The motion was put to a show of hands and the board members were found to be in favor of this modification.

I reported this event to the Head Temple and was immediately reprimanded. The temple's Articles of Incorporation state that the High Priest must approve any alteration in the Articles. I did not have the authority to approve those changes.

I telephoned President Saito and told him what the Head Temple had said and requested that he inform the other members of the board. President Saito was quoted as saying, "The Articles of Incorporation are composed like that. I understand. I will inform the other members." But, in reality, at this time he and the others chose instead to unilaterally rewrite the Articles of Incorporation and submitted the revised Articles to the Registry Office.

For the next five years, special meetings and regular board meetings were held as usual. I was restored as chairman for those meetings and carried the title of President of the non-profit corporation of the temple.

In May,1990, Reverend Raido Ogasawara took my place as the Chief Priest of Itijoji Temple. He did not encounter any difficulties until the current Soka Gakkai problems arose.

Under the existing provisions of the NSTB Articles of Incorporation, the Board of Directors consisted of a minimum of fifteen members and a maximum of thirty. At the time, fifteen members had been appointed to the board, including fourteen from BSGI and one from the Hokkeko. The BSGI had virtual control. Prior to the meeting, however, the temple had requested permission from the High Priest to enlarge the board membership to thirty and place fifteen Hokkeko believers in those positions. Under this arrangement, NSTB would then have the majority.

When the meeting convened on June 30,1991, and as Reverend Ogasawara was about to act as chairperson, President Saito and the other BSGI members began conducting business in the vernacular language, Portuguese, in spite of the fact that these meetings had always been in Japanese. They ignored Reverend Ogasawara's request for an interpreter. In fact, they ignored Reverend Ogasawara. Also, President Saito objected to Reverend Ogasawara conducting the meeting and otherwise operating as chairman, citing revisions to the Articles of Incorporation which the BSGI members had made in 1984. He added that the Chief Priest of the temple had in the past held the chairmanship only out of custom. When Reverend Ogasawara tried to certify one of the new board members, the BSGI board members objected, citing the bylaws and bringing up the members list, saying that they could not approve anyone not recorded on the members list as lay believers. However, such a list had never been produced prior to that time. It was discovered afterward that, although the BSGI claimed a membership of 70,000 households, the list they provided showed only 1,188 people on it. Also, we later found out that a few days before the board meeting, they had drafted and approved bylaws and had registered them on June 28, 1991. This set of bylaws stated in part: 1) All new members must be approved by at least three existing members (inspectors).

2) Members must have their names entered on the list which is signed at the beginning and end by the Chief Director of NSTB (BSGI President Saito). Screening members in this way would in effect not allow Hokkeko members to join the board. With this revelation the meeting became disorderly, and the BSGI members walked out and reconvened at their headquarters, with only BSGI members present. The Itijoji Temple board members resumed their meeting and elected the new board members in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation.

At a subsequent meeting of board officers on July 2, 1991, and at a special meeting held on July 6, 1991, the BSGI (without the priests and their supporters present) discussed and amended the Articles of Incorporation by drafting provisions which annexed NSTB to BSGI, deleted the section which required the approval of the High Priest for any changes in the Articles, and limited NSTB membership to BSGI members only (under the original Articles, members of the temple could be either a member of NSB or a direct believer of Nichiren Shoshu Temple of Brazil). With these amendments, the BSGI attempted to gain complete legal control of the temple.

A few days later, NSTB's official record of the proceedings at the general meeting was submitted to the Registry Office, but we found that BSGI's version of the meeting had already been submitted. The Registry Office informed the temple that submission of two versions of a minutes book for the same meeting was strange and that they would consider the matter. The temple's minutes book was eventually rejected.

Because of our persistent efforts for clarification in this matter, the attorney for the Registry Office informed us that the BSGI had previously registered not only their version of the general meeting minutes but also the amendments to the Articles drawn up at their meetings from June 30, through July 6, 1991. The attorney also informed us that the temple's version of the June 30, 1991, general meeting minutes could not be registered because there was not sufficient documentation to demonstrate that the BSGI's registration and amendments were improper. Consequently, they had to accept the minutes book and amendments from the BSGI, which President Saito had signed as Chief Director of NSTB.

The Nichiren Shoshu Overseas Bureau then provided us with foolproof documentation that I had full authorization from Nichiren Shoshu to be Chief Priest of Itijoji Temple. These documents were translated into Portuguese for the Brazilian authorities and submitted to the Registry Office. After studying these documents and meetings with temple members, the Registry Office rejected the BSGI minutes book. On November 25, 1991, the temple's minutes book for the June 30, 1991, meeting submitted by the priests and the Hokkeko, was approved. As a result, we finally regained control of the temple.

There is another aspect of this entire situation which I also would like to discuss. After Reverend Ogasawara's deportation in July because of the visa problem I mentioned earlier, we received permis- sion from the High Priest to change the sponsorship and extensions of visas for priests. Due to the takeover attempt by the BSGI, it was hardly likely that they would sponsor a new visa or assist with an extension on the old one. But it would be possible if Hokkeko members served as sponsors instead of NSTB, which was, at that time, legally controlled by the BSGI.

In an attempt to thwart this endeavor, however, and to prevent the Hokkeko believers from protecting the temple, the NSTB directors filed a lawsuit to evict me and the Hokkeko, and then seize the temple. One of their allegations was that the Hokkeko for this temple had never existed, that it was a bogus entity. However, based on our registered minutes book of the temple board meeting, the court ruled in favor of the temple. In so ruling, the judge expressed astonishment at the blatant fabrications made by the BSGI. During these proceedings, the SGI was formally expelled by Nichiren Shoshu, and this nullified their contentions.

During my tenure as chief priest in Brazil, I have remembered how often SGI President Ikeda praised the members of NSB as being the model for worldwide Kosen-rufu. I construed President Ikeda's praise to mean that NSB members' way of doing shakubuku and protecting the Gohonzon were second to none. In light of the current Soka Gakkai problems, I can see now that this is not at all what he meant. If the Soka Gakkai's organizational structure can be divided into three hierarchies, it would be with the Soka Gakkai at the top, the temple next, and the lay members at the bottom. In reality, this is what President Ikeda meant by worldwide Kosen-rufu.

The Soka Gakkai states that previous high priests in the past have praised them for their actions. They ask, "If this is so, how could we be so wrong now?" But they have only used a portion of what has been said. Actually, the Sixty-Sixth High Priest Nittatsu Shonin, in his guidance said, "Even if one claims, 'Kosen-rufu, Kosen-rufu,' if what is being propagated throughout the world is different from Nichiren Shoshu doctrine, that is not true Kosen-rufu."

The guidance from the Soka Gakkai is now the opposite of what it once was, and as one member advises another based on the advice mentioned above, I know that each of them must personally feel the contradiction. The SGI members must also know what they said and did in the past when individuals wanted to resign from the Soka Gakkai and become direct believers of the temple, and must fear the same action may be taken against them if they, too, should leave the Soka Gakkai. My heart goes out to those members at the bottom of the organization who have the purest of hearts but do not know anything about this problem.

On April 24, 1991, the High Priest Nikken Shonin approved the establishment of a Hokkeko organization at Itijoji Temple. On July 7, 1991, a Hokkeko Inauguration Ceremony was held here in the Gohonzon Room. This ceremony was the culmination of a struggle that began in 1977 when individual believers, out of true devotion to Nichiren Shoshu, severed their connection with the Soka Gakkai to become direct temple members. They endured years of harassment from BSGI but courageously remained steadfast in their faith. There are now four hundred families who have received guidance from the High Priest and are correctly practicing Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism. They are "refuting false doctrines and bringing out the truth" and working toward Kosen- rufu in itai-doshin.

Nichiren Daishonin stated, "...many evil forces are vanquished by a single great truth." (MWN vol. 1, p. 154) No matter what action one conspires to commit, he will not destroy the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin.

Itijoji Temple, along with South American Hokkeko members and direct believers of the temple, regardless of what happens, and with faith based upon the Gohonzon, will absorb the High Priest's guidance and strive to fulfill this year's Hokkeko motto: "The Year of The Manifestation of Correct Faith and Kosen-rufu."

Let us make it a goal to shakubuku those members who have yet to learn the truth and who still cling to false doctrines. From the bottom of my heart, I pray for all the purehearted believers worldwide who are practicing correctly because of the courageous shakubuku of Nichiren Shoshu believers. Thank you and have a very Happy New Year!

This concludes my report from South America.