Nichiren established no formal procedure for gongyo other than the recitation of the 2nd and 16th chapters of the Lotus Sutra, and at times even just the verse section of the 16th chapter. Hence the format had changed from time to time through the centuries. At the time the Soka Gakkai came into being, Nichiren Buddhist laity were not expected to do gongyo themselves; priests did it on their behalf. The first two presidents of the Soka Gakkai, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda, taught members "not to hire priests to chant, as had long been customary, but to chant for themselves, a change they found both disarming and empowering"