Editing Soka Gakkai (section)

===Gohonzon===

The ''Gohonzon'' Soka Gakkai members enshrine in their homes and centers is a transcription by the 26th High Priest Nichikan Shonin.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Seagar|first1=Richard|title=Buddhism in America|date=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-231-10868-3|page=131}}</ref> The central main [[syllabary]] of characters reads ''Namu-Myoho-Renge-Kyo'' ([[Kanji]]: 南 無 妙 法 蓮 華 經). The lower portion reads "[[Nichiren|Nichi-Ren]]" ([[Kanji]]: 日 蓮).  On the corners are the names of the [[Four Heavenly Kings]] from Buddhist cosmology, and the remaining characters are names of Buddhist deities reputed to represent the various conditions of life.<ref>{{cite book |editor=J. Gordon Melton |editor2= Martin Baumann |title=Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices|isbn=978-1-59884-203-6|page=2658|year=2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref>

The organization teaches that in contrast to worshipping the [[Buddha]] or [[Dharma]] as [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]] personifications, Nichiren deliberately made a calligraphic mandala, rather than Buddhist statues as the central object of devotion.<ref>{{Citation |last=Morino |first=Ted |year=2001 |title=World Tribune |publisher=World Tribune Press |location=Santa Monica |page=2 }}</ref>  American author, Richard Seager explains the following:

{{Blockquote| "...In total, it is not a sacred image in the traditional sense but an abstract representation of a universal essence or principle.<ref>{{Citation |last=Seager |first=Richard |year=2006 |title=Encountering the Dharma |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |page=33 }}</ref>
[[Nichiren]] wrote: "I, Nichiren, have inscribed my life in sumi ink, so believe in the Gohonzon with your whole heart."<ref>{{Citation |last=Nichiren |year=1999|title=The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin |publisher=SGI-USA Study Department |location=Santa Monica |page=412 }}</ref> He further stated: "Never seek this Gohonzon outside yourself. The Gohonzon exists only within the mortal flesh of us ordinary people who chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."<ref>{{Citation |last=Nichiren |year=1999|title=The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin |publisher=SGI-USA Study Department |location=Santa Monica |page=832 }}</ref>|}}

The Soka Gakkai often uses Nichiren's metaphor of a mirror to explain its faith in the Gohonzon.  The Gohonzon "reflects life's innate enlightened nature and cause it to permeate every aspect of member's lives". Members chant to the Gohonzon "to reveal the power of their own enlightened wisdom and vow to put it to use for the good of themselves and others".<ref>{{Citation |last=SGI-USA Study Department|year=2013|title=An Introduction to Buddhism |publisher=World Tribune Press |location=Santa Monica |page=32 }}</ref> The organization teaches that a member is considered to be practicing the [[Lotus Sutra]] when chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ikeda|first1=Daisaku|title=The Significance of the Expedient Means and Life Span Chapters|journal=Living Buddhism|date=September 2014|volume=18|issue=9|pages=52–53}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Upholding Faith In The Lotus Sutra|url=http://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/wnd-1/Content/73|website=Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism Library|access-date=2014-11-03|quote=This Gohonzon is the essence of the Lotus Sutra and the eye of all the scriptures.}}</ref>