Shakubuku "break and subdue" (折伏) is a term that originates in the Chinese version of the Buddhist text, Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra.
The term has historically been used to indicate the rebuttal of false teachings and thereby break negative patterns in one's thoughts, words and deeds.
[2][3] However, shakubuku had begun to be de-emphasised by Soka Gakkai leadership by the end of the 1960s, in part because it was leading to an excessive number of lukewarm or undedicated conversions, with many new members soon falling off.
[4] Although often associated with the teachings of the Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren, the term appears often in the SAT Daizokyo and the works of the Chinese Tiantai patriarchs Zhiyi and Zhanran.
[5] Another method of propagation mentioned by Nichiren is shōju (摂受), which underlines the individual's own insight on Buddhism.