Richard Causton
(17 February 1920 - 13 January 1995)
Richard Causton led a quite remarkable life. Born in England in 1920 and educated at Dulwich College, by the age of twenty-four he was fighting in the Second World War as a Brigade-Major against the Japanese on the borders of India, and in the jungles of Burma. The atrocities he witnessed there were later to play a part in his decision to dedicate his life to working for peace.
In 1958 he had the chance of early retirement from the army where, in his last post in the War Office, he was compelled to face for the first time the use of nuclear weapons and their appalling potential. Thus, at thirty-eight he began a new career - in business - which in the 1960s took him back to the Far East . Whilst in Japan he met a woman, Mitsuko, who introduced him to the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, and who later become his wife. Wrestling as he then was with severe doubts about the Christianity with which he’d grown up, he was fascinated by Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings and, with a little encouragement from Mitsuko, in 1971 became a practising Buddhist.
Through her he also met the man who was to have the most profound effect on his life. Daisaku Ikeda was president of Soka Gakkai, the largest Buddhist lay organisation in Japan, Mr Causton’s junior by ten years, and initially Mr Causton was suspicious: his wartime experience has taught him to distrust ‘charismatic’ leaders, and he had to struggle to understand the principle, central to Buddhism, of the oneness of mentor and disciple. Fortunately, he was able to observe Mr Ikeda at close quarters and before long his scepticism disappeared, to be replaced by trust, respect, and gratitude: he was to say later that Mr Ikeda had taught him everything. He was nevertheless very surprised when Mr Ikeda soon asked him to become leader of the fledgling Buddhist organisation in the UK.
He returned in 1974 and for the next twenty-one years worked to establish the foundations of the UK arm of the Soka Gakkai organisation. Coining the slogan ‘Trust through friendship, peace through trust’, he took the membership of SGI-UK from a few hundred to over 5,000, and encouraged the development of a movement for peace, education and culture. In this he viewed the UK as fortunate to have become a multicultural society, blessed with rich potential and diversity, and always set an example by embracing all people equally.
Ever a man of action, Mr Causton promoted an awareness of the need to work actively for peace in society - especially in Northern Ireland and South Africa - and encouraged members of SGI-UK to contribute positively to their local communities, both as individuals and in groups, as representatives of the organisation. He personally initiated various cultural activities presented by SGI-UK, and forged links between SGI-UK and other humanitarian organisations such as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council. He also left a lasting testament to his life in his book, The Buddha in Daily Life, which, since its publication in 1988, has become a ‘must-read’ for anyone interested in Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism.
In the last decade of his life, Mr Causton became a vice-president of Soka Gakkai International, and supported nascent SGI organisations in countries as far apart as Iceland and South Africa. Following his death in 1995, his mentor, Mr Ikeda, signalled his recognition of Mr Causton’s achievements by granting him the posthumous title of Honorary General Director of the worldwide SGI movement.
