Finding refuge in personal and social change

Are you looking for a Buddhist community of people who study and practise the Lotus Sutra in the UK?
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Welcome to RKUK

RKUK has come to London to share the true spirit of Shakyamuni Buddha. The precious and ancient scriptures of the Lotus Sutra are our guiding light. We are usually referred to as Nichiren Buddhism.

Rissho Kosei-kai (RK) is a global Buddhist movement of people who hope to manifest the Buddha’s teachings in our own lives, applying them in our homes, workplaces and local communities – working towards a more peaceful world. We join hands with the followers of all faiths and none, and with people from all walks of life to take part in peace activities at home and around the world.

RK was founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1938, and its representative body Rissho Kosei-kai of the UK (RKUK) in Oxford in 1998.

‘Rissho’ means establishing the teaching of the true Dharma in our hearts and minds; ‘Kosei’ means aspiring to perfect oneself through interaction with many people, learning together and encouraging each other, and ‘kai’ means ‘society’ or ‘organisation’.

Our main scripture is the Threefold Lotus Sutra. Our Gohonzon, or focus of devotion, is the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni—Great Benevolent Teacher, World-Honoured One. We have a Buddhist centre in West London as well as online programmes, which are open to anyone for practice.

Friends of our faith

For a number of years now I have been very happy to have had the chance to invite the representative of the UK branch of Rissho Kosei-kai (RKUK) to take part in our annual Ceremony at Three Wheels Temple to Pray for World Peace and Reconciliation. This ceremony regularly brings together both clergy from the Church of England and monks and nuns from traditional Buddhist organisations within the UK, along with a number of eminent diplomats from the Japanese and Myanmar embassies and representatives of several international reconciliation groups. Our special encounter with RKUK has enabled profound interfaith insight and deep mutual understanding to blossom between our two Buddhist communities. It is my sincere hope and belief that this will lead to the most wonderful realisation of Harmony within Diversity, the quintessence of Mahayana Buddhism.

Rev Prof Kemmyo Taira Sato from Three Wheels Temple,
Member of the Board of Directors of The Buddhist Society

Our perspective

The Lotus Sutra was written in India to end sectarianism and go back to the true spirit of the Buddha. It is revered throughout history as ‘the king of Buddhist sutras’ but is also inclusive and unites other sutras, finding the bodhisattva practice as the key to all living beings attaining buddhahood.

We see ourselves born as such One Vehicle movement for today in a direct line of Shakyamuni Buddha. We harmoniously integrate various Buddhist practices from basic to Mahayana Buddhism in accord with the true spirit of Buddhism permeating the Lotus Sutra. We actively engage in interreligious cooperation and other peace activities with other non-faith organisations such as UN agencies.

We are usually referred to as Nichiren Buddhism. Chanting o-daimoku as a practice, we revere Nichiren as a great bodhisattva and practitioner of the Lotus Sutra. Through his teachings and practices infusing new life into the Lotus Sutra in the 13th century, we can understand Shakyamuni’s teachings correctly and more profoundly.

If you want to discover Buddhism’s gifts and values for yourself, we are open to anyone who wishes to learn and understand our faith.

Once you have decided to be part of our family, for only £1 a month you can become a member of our centre in West London. At any point, it’s OK to change your mind and withdraw your membership.

We hope to enjoy practising the Dharma together!

Nichiren Buddhism

Nichiren Buddhism has come to have a certain presence in the UK today, to which Rissho Kosei-kai (RK) is usually referred. On the other hand, there is no uniformity in the faiths and practices of Nichiren Buddhism.

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Prayer and action for peace in Ukraine

In response to the hostilities of the ongoing war, Rissho Kosei-kai European Sangha respectfully vows to make progress toward peace together with the people of Ukraine, Russia and every country in the spirit of revering buddha nature of all living beings. We also pray for an immediate end to the hostilities and a restoration of peace in Ukraine, offering memorial services for war victims from the heart.

Shall we join this movement together?

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