Bruce Maltz, the 11th World

Mark Rogow is a sincere person, but sincerely wrong

Mark says:

“Buddhism is about taking responsibility for everything that happens within us and to us, both good and bad, and without a single exception.”

This goes along with the first fourteen chapters of the Lotus Sutra, however is this what Buddhism is about? You need Buddhism for this? You can’t take responsibility without Buddhism? Personally, I don’t have to be in a religion to understand this.

We tend to blame whatever happens to us on those external things, but we need to take personal responsibility. I used to say, "I sure hope things will change." Then I learned from my good friends that the only way things would change for me is when I changed.

We cannot change the circumstances, but we can change what we do. Either we design our future or somebody else will design it for us and guess what they may have done for you? Not much. The ability to design our life is in our hands, if we wish it to be.

Mark says:

“This is the difference between the modern Kempon Hokke and the SGI. We don't just pay lip service to this phenomenological reality taught in the Lotus Sutra, we live and breath this reality with awareness and comprehension. How are we able to accomplish this profound realization of Buddhist truth? Only by means of a correct faith and practice in the Lotus Sutra, the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin and staunch unity.”

What is the reality taught in the Lotus Sutra? Ichinen Sanzen is the reality to be understood by all Humans. "Sakyamuni Buddha rose from the seat of the Dharma, and by his great supernatural powers, put his right hand on the heads of the innumerable Bodhisattva-mahasattvas, and said; "For many hundreds of thousands of billions of asamkhya of kalpas, I studied and practiced the Dharma difficult to obtain, and finally attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Now I will transmit the Dharma to you. Propagate it with all your heats, and make it known far and wide." (P.297, L.3.): "In the future, if there is a good man or a good woman who believes in the Thus Come One’s wisdom, you should expound the Dharma Flower Sutra to that person, causing the person to hear and understand and obtain the Buddha’s wisdom. If there are living beings who do not believe or accept it, you should instruct them with another of the profound Dharmas of the Thus Come One, benefiting them and causing them to rejoice. If you can do this, you will have already repaid the kindness of the Buddhas."

When the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas heard the Buddha’s words, profuse joy permeated their bodies. With increasing reverence, they bowed their heads, placed their palms together, faced the Buddha, and said in unison, "We shall reverently carry out the World Honored One’s command. Yes, World Honored One, pray do not be concerned about this." The assembly of Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas spoke in this way three times, saying, "We shall reverently carry out the Buddha’s command. Yes, World Honored One, pray do not be concerned about this."

At that time Shakyamuni Buddha sent the division-body Buddhas of the ten directions back to their own lands, saying, "Peace to all of you Buddhas. Let the stupa of the Buddha Many Jewels be again as it was."

Believe it or not, that is the reality of the Lotus Sutra. It has nothing to do with what Mark is saying. Correct faith and practice? The teachings of the Daishonin? Those are side issues not connected to the Lotus Sutra reality.

Mark Says:

“I left the SGI in 1997 to join what I thought was the Kempon Hokke but was really the Sangha of Bruce Maltz.”

Mark never joined anything, we had nothing to join. He joined Rev. Kubota’s Temple in Japan, he was free to contact him anytime he wanted. Later we learned Kubota was Bukokukokai, and not Kempon Hokke Shu. Under the authority of Rev. Kubota and Myomanji, I had the authority to establish Kempon Hokke Kai (group), but I was never appointed a leader. My wife and I did all the work, sure, but we were not the leaders. Do you have any idea how hard it was to bring a sect to America in 1995 against the waves of the SGI, Shoshu, etc. From 1995 to the time Mark came along, Marc Strump and Mark Herrick put us under constant pressure with Kubota and Lamont, as they wanted Power. Marc wanted to be the controller, Herrick the Priest, Lamont President, and Maltz between 1995 and 1995 put in $100,000 to finance this venture. From 1995-7 and on, there was 24/7 threats and conflict from Strumpf and Lamont. Ask Mark Herrick if you can find him somewhere, he will tell you. Then McCormick the fake priest and his buddy Petry started in, and then.. So, it is easy for Rogow to say the Sangha of Bruce Maltz, he may of thought I was the leader, but I was not, nor did I ever stop him of doing anything. If he says I did, he is not telling the truth. If he wanted to start his own New York Hokke Kai, I would have loved that, he never wanted to, again, it is easy for him to point his finger at me, that is easy.

Mark says:

“ I began to post on ARBN under the tutelage of Bruce Maltz. At the time my life, my families life, and our circumstances were as much a mixed bag as my beliefs. I had begun to earn a very good living, lived in a big house but had a headstrong disobedient daughter and son. My wife's mental and physical health was a mess.”

Yes, Mark did post on ARBN, and we did think it was the right thing to do. But he was not under my tutelage. He has his own style, his own mind, his own set of circumstances. He wrote Stephanie many times for clarification of doctrine.

Mark says:

“On ARBN, I attacked everyone in sight like a rabid dog, along with my mentor Bruce Maltz: The SGI; the Nichiren Shoshu; the Nichiren Shu; the Honmon Butsuryu Shu; and various Kempon Hokke adherents who either opposed Bruce Maltz such as Graham Lamont or those who weren't in total accord with Bruce's doctrines, such as Steve Polito. We schemed and plotted. My life became evermore chaotic and filled with actual proof of the negative variety. My son who never studied but got a 1400 on his SAT's hooked up with a young girl orphan we brought into our house and dropped out of high school. My daughter hooked up with some very bad and dangerous men, although she was only 12 years old. My salary was halved in one year. No matter what we did to the garden and the beautiful flower trees nothing would grow and the beautiful flower trees failed to blossom and bear fruit and just died. This despite chanting three hours a day of daimoku for two months and two hours a day of daimoku for three months. My wife's health continued to deteriorate, my mother broke her femur, the dog went crazy but yet, I only had a vague awareness that I might be doing something wrong and continued attacking, kamikaze like whatever and whomever Bruce didn't like. And since Bruce didn't like them, even if I didn'e see them as a threat or even if I liked them, I attacked them mercilesslessly.”

OK, here is where reality and fantasy dangerously are mixed. First of all, I never attacked anyone, I continually talked about things like the DaiGohonzon was not real, Nikko was not the successor and Nichiren was not the Buddha. We urged people to leave their sects and join the Kempon Hokke Kai as we believed we had Orthodox values. Mark Rogow never was vicious either, he was always trying to point out how people were throwing away the Buddha.

I was aware Mark had family problems, never told anyone about them, I chanted for his family. I remember one time, at one crisis, I said if this don’t get resolved I will quit Kempon Hokke.

About his other allegations, they are just too strange. Schemed and plotted? Against who? Attacking Kamikaze and whomever Bruce didn’t like? Who? If Mark didn’t see them as a threat or even if he liked them, he attacked them? Who? Maybe he picked up on my troubles when my friend started sending me faxes from Kubota’s office that Polito was sending him, and the faxes that Kubota was sending back, but I never asked Rogow to attack anyone? The only one we removed from our mail list was Polito, he was obnoxious, and there was a mutiny if he wasn’t removed, but he was not removed from the Kempon Hokke Kai, he lied about that. Mark would ask about Lamont, and I would tell him that my relations were impossible, but I encouraged him to write Lamont, but he wouldn’t. I hope he doesn’t lie about it, I never stopped anyone. I never took that attitude. I was not afraid of what anyone would say.

Mark says:

“Things got worse. Some people actually fell for Bruce [like me] and to a lesser extent, for his vision of the "Kempon Hokke" and Buddhism, in general. I received several Nichiren Shoshu and SGI Gohonzons and burned them. Bruce began to teach that the Opening of the Eyes Ceremony for Gohonzon was nothing other than the invention of priests to accrue more power over the people. He began to download, copy, and laminate the Prayer Gohonzon and he sent me one of them which I didn't enshrine because I loved the Nichiren Nissho Gohonzon I received from Rev. Kubota. I eventually gave the Prayer Gohonzon to a new believer. My wife Nancy bought a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in Chinatown and I still embraced the SGI teachings that statues of Shakyamuni were evil. I tried to take the statue away from my wife but she held onto it like a baby, carried it around wherever she went, and I had to relent. Thankfully, we still have this statue centered in front of the Gohonzon.”

Fell for me? I am flattered, but so what we were friends. My vision, was telling you what was in the Lotus Sutra, and taking out the Human Practice made up by dumb shits who have put on robes and think they are the Buddha. There is nothing in the Lotus about Opening of the Eyes, its stupid. Its Magic to the highest degree. Don’t start quoting me Nichiren dogma, I know what Nichiren meant, he meant, don’t pray to the HUMAN BUDDHA, pray to the ETERNAL BUDDHA. Most people in the Nichiren Sects still don’t know what the heck that means, and think the ceremony is magical. NO Such Thing.

I NEVER EVER IN MY LIFE DOWNLOADED A COPY OF GOHONZON FROM ANYWHERE and laminated them, and copied them. I was the one who brought them from Japan, because I didn’t want Kubota to have power over me. I never told him to destroy or take down his Nissho Gohonzon, he is making this stuff up. Yes, I did send him one, if he says so, but I don’t remember.

I was the first to post a picture of the DaiGohonzon on the internet, and go the rath of Kahn from everyone because of it, however someone had to show it was just a fraud. I am glad others took over after I left like the Coffeehouse dude and Robin, but they were not there when the going was tough, but they think they are wonderful people now and have the right to spit on me at times, I say, ok they can think that, I am not a Nichiren Buddhist anymore, they are not hurting me, but as a human being, what kind of person are they to not thank me for all the ground work I did for them. This does not take anything away from their own personal work and efforts, I have sent them both emails of how much I think their work is fabulous, and offer them praise and respect.

Mark says:

“Soon, my salary agian dropped by a third, we could no longer afford the big house, my wife continued to drink and failed to watch her diet, my cats were getting killed left and right and my daughter began going out with a Blood. Nonetheless, then, I didn't even have a vague feeling that what I was doing might be wrong and I continued to attack and attempt to destroy the faith of anyone we deemed not a true believer [in retrospect, in Bruce and Stephanie Maltz]. ARBN became even more ugly and I liked it that way, more people would become disenchanted with the SGI and the Nichiren Shoshu and would join us. I thought I was practicing the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, yet had this fear, real fear that Bruce would reject me if I didn't tow the line and then I would have no where to go.

Things got worse, much worse.”

I read this over a few times, and you know, it makes no sense. This doesn’t fit the puzzle at the time. Mark was big major player in the Kempon Hokke Kai. Steve Polito played him like a fiddle. The only real person I had was Mike Zaccaro. We had the same vision, no religion, no leaders, no priest. Mike and I would have 5 and 6 hour talks, we would agree and disagree, he had strong feelings, I had strong feelings, we knew that everyone that came from strong Gakkai roots needed to cut those roots, or they would never be able to understand what was in the Sutra. To this day, Rogow has not cut those roots.

We tend to blame whatever happens to us on those external things, but we need to take personal responsibility. I used to say, "I sure hope things will change." Then I learned from one of my friends, that the only way things would change for me is when I changed.

We cannot change the circumstances, but we can change what we do. Either we design our future or somebody else will design it for us, and guess what they may have done for us? Not much. The ability to design our future is in our hands, if we wish it to be. I think that is what Chapter 22 of the Lotus Sutra is about. That is what I have been blogging about.

As a bodhisattva of the earth, we have to get together and transcend all false teachers and beliefs resulting from those teachers, and bring the world to a peaceful state. That is my dream that is why I keep on blogging.

The Eternal Buddha of the Lotus Sutra was our teacher, who transferred his merits to us at the Ceremony in the Air. The Gohonzon is the Ceremony in the Air. It is not the life of Nichiren, it is the Ceremony in the Air, now why do you think Nichiren inscribed the Ceremony in the Air? Read the Kanjin Honzon Sho, and find out, stop listening to Michael Ryuei-ei-o and find out, stop reading your sects interpretation, get off your ass and do your homework. Oh, sure you will only trust your sects translation. Why don’t you read all the translations? Get some balls.

Maltz

Posted by chogenki at May 13, 2008 12:29 PM