The Austria Soka Gakkai International (OSGI), a recognized order of the Austrian Buddhist Religious Society (ÖBR) since 2001, is a Buddhist lay order and as such an independent part of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), which is represented by its members in 192 countries and territories. The order bases its religious practice on the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, a monk who founded his school in Japan in the 13th century and is assigned to Mahayana Buddhism. After studying the various Buddhist schools, Nichiren Daishonin formulated his own teaching based on the Lotus Sutra. His teaching is characterized by the fact that he attaches the greatest value to the dignity of life, as well as by the recognition that one's own happiness and the happiness of our surroundings are inextricably linked.

The main practice in Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is the repetition or chanting the syllables Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo (Nam means to devote oneself; Myoho-Renge-Kyo is the title of the Lotus Sutra). Simply put, Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo means: dedicating our life to the universal law (Dharma), or striving to bring our life into harmony with the rhythm of life in the universe.

Nichiren explains: Reciting only the seven syllables of Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo may seem limited. But since this law is the master of all Buddhas past, present and future, the teacher of all bodhisattwas in the universe and the advisor who enables all people to attain Buddhahood, its practice is immeasurably profound.

A central point in the practise and activities of the SGI is the principle of the Human Revolution. This is the idea that the self-motivated inner change of a single individual positively affects the larger web of life and results in the rejuvenation of human society. It is this dynamic process of self-reformation — from fear to confidence, from destruction to creativity, from hatred to compassion — that forms the essence of SGI's vision of a peaceful world.

SGI President Daisaku Ikeda says about this in his novel (of the same name) The Human Revolution:

"A great revolution of character in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will cause a change in the destiny of humankind."