Ouchi says, usually, people start chanting or join the movement because they have an unresolved problem. Sometimes when the issue is sorted out, they don’t come back.  “The dropout rate is just 20 per cent but people return whenever they feel the need at any point in their lives,” he says. To join a chapter, an existing member has to recommend you, and he has to have known you for six months at least. “We don’t allow people to become leaders of their groups for a year, nor do we permit donations for two years,” says Ouchi. The practice involves earnest chanting twice a day for at least ten minutes.

As the faith grows, members are given the Gohonzon, a double-door wooden cabinet, the altar of Nirichen Buddhism. The secret to enlightenment, they say, lies in the three pillars—faith, practice and study.