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400
Shakyamuni was Born
Shakyamuni was the founder of Buddhism. He was born some 2,000 years ago (around the 5th century BCE). His teachings, at the core of which were always wisdom and compassion, were compiled into a number of sutras. One of the last of these was the Lotus Sutra. -
Apr 6, 1222
Nichiren Daishonin is Born
Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan and taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra. He is the founder of Nichiren Buddhism. -
Jun 28, 1272
Nichiren inscribes the Gohonzon
He established the practice of chanting Nam - myoho - renge - kyo and inscribed the object of devotion, the Gohonzon. -
Oct 13, 1282
Nicherin dies
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Aug 17, 1540
Conflict
Nicherin Buddhism steadily grew in the 14th and 15th centuries and by the 16th century the practice had a large following in Japan. However, at this time dissagreements between the emperor and followers of the practice grew and it was estimated that tens of thousands of Nichiren Buddhists lost their lives in conflicts. -
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi is born
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the first president of the SGI is born. He went to school and became a primary school teacher, and eventually a principle. He wrote and published many works. -
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi embraces Nichiren Buddhism
Makiguchi discovers and embraces Nichiren Buddhism. -
The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy
Makiguchi publishes his work The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy which outlined Makiguchi's ideas about the nature of value and about how education should serve to enhance learners' capacity to create value (happiness) from the challenges and opportunities life presents. -
Soka Gakkai International
This date is also considered to be the date of the founding of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, later renamed the Soka Gakkai International or the SGI. -
Imprisonment
Makiguchi, Josei Toda and other leaders of the SGI are imprisoned for refusing to propogate the national religionof Japan during WWII, Shintoism. -
Makiguchi dies
Makiguchi dies in prison and Toda becomes the new president of the SGI. -
Toda released from prison
Josei Toda was released from prison in July 1945, just weeks before the end of the war. Toda went on to rebuild the organization he and Makiguchi had founded, renaming it the Soka Gakkai. -
Daisaku Ikeda
Daisaku Ikeda became president of the SGI. He founded Soka Junior and Senior High Schools in 1968 and Soka University in 1971. -
Conflict
The SGI separates from the priesthood, becoming a completely lay organization. -
The SGI
The organization currently has an international membership of over 12 million.
