Jesus is wonderful, and a route to Buddha

SGI seems to have a policy of reaching out to other religions. President Ikeda has had uncountable meetings with religious leaders of other faiths. Many other religions do not have this great level of tolerance. What is behind the position of SGI?

I can not speak for SGI; I can only try to figure it out by logic and investigation. I think the key is the invention by Buddha of expedient teaching. If someone already has beliefs that encompass part of the Buddhist thought, then why not build on that part? The beliefs that the various Christian sects have many aspects that agree with Buddha’s teaching. Buddha’s eightfold way and the tremendous organization of ideas within Buddhism are certainly clearer and more logical than any Christian teaching, but that only means that the step to Buddhism should be easy for more logical people.

On the other hand, there are aspects to some Christian sects that clash with Buddha’s teachings. For example, lack of tolerance for other sects is common. SGI has had its share of disagreements with the Nichiren temple sect, so it is familiar with such things. SGI has put this schism behind it and struck off to build a lay religion, quite successfully. For some Christian sects, the conflicts have gone on for centuries. Instead of pointing out differences like this one, SGI ignores them. SGI writers and speakers do not attack Christian sects for any of their beliefs, as that would undermine the willingness of believers in these sects to listen to what SGI speakers have to say. Instead, SGI members doing kosen-rufu (conversion) stress the building blocks of common beliefs.

The idea of expedient teaching is to understand the context of belief that the listener has, and then frame Buddhist ideas in that context. If the Christian believes in supernatural creatures like angels and devils, the ancient Buddhist sutras involving various supernatural creatures might fit right in. If the Christian believes in repeatedly praying on rosary beads, chanting with our beads might be a natural and small switch. If the Christian sincerely believes that Jesus was opposed to killing people and therefore opposes war, SGI’s work toward world piece should be a natural bridge. These are just three linkages between various Christian beliefs and SGI’s and Buddha’s ideas.

Thus, a sincere belief in Jesus and Christian teachings makes a person more likely to be receptive to kosen-rufu than someone who is simply giving his life over to materialism. Materialism has little in common with either Buddhism or Christian beliefs. Thus, the statement that Jesus is the best way to Buddha means that, for Americans in that religion, their sincerity will help them understand what Buddha has to say. As we all know, many people claiming to be religious are not sincere. These people may be disguised materialists, and pose a bigger challenge to kosen-rufu than sincere believers in a Christian sect, or in any other religion for that matter.