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New
Books
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David Machacek,
lecturer at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and
Bryan Wilson, professor emeritus at Oxford University, have
published a new study of the Soka Gakkai. Global Citizens:
The Soka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the World is a unique
and objective study of the lay Buddhist movement. Divided into
two parts, "Origins and Changes in Japan" and
"International Appearances," the work breaks new
ground in research in English on the Soka Gakkai because it is
comprised largely of material contributed by Japanese
scholars. The book includes perspectives on the movement's
evolution, its political endorsement in Japan, the influence
and role of women, and analyses of SGI organizations in varied
parts of the world such as the United States, Brazil and
Europe.
Another recently published work is The International
Expansion of a Modern Buddhist Movement by Daniel A.
Metraux of Mary Baldwin University. The first English-language
study of the SGI movement in Southeast Asia and Australia, the
study investigates the reasons for the success of the movement
based on interviews and surveys of local members. The findings
include the changes practitioners experience in their personal
lives, the organization's emphasis on community and respect
for local culture and individuality, as well as the favorable
reaction given to a Japanese religion that opposed the
militarism of Japan's wartime government.
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