This story, called "Aprils Storm" first came out in 1997 at the news group alt.religion.buddhism.nichiren, it was posted by Terry Ruby, who has posted it ever since repeatedly where-ever he's been active. I could corroborate parts of the story, because I was at Maryland at the time, and I voted for Marc Strumpf to become student council President there. I also knew April Omara, periphrially. She was a passionate student, and a passionate and brave member who never failed to question leadership of the Gakkai when something didn't seem to be right. I remember that campaign, and the oceanic rush it gave me to think that there were so many members of the Gakkai at Maryland. I was thinking (deludedly it turned out) that we'd be achieving Kosenrufu in no time -- we were on a role. I had my own "benefits" of a kind with April's Storm.
The Rest of the Story...
When I heard she had died I was sad. I still don't know all the facts about what happened. But I do know that I cannot stand hearing the "April's Storm" story for the way it turned out. It makes me sad every time I hear it because I know the "rest of the story" and it is different from this nice beginning. I heard, almost immediately after the story first came out, that April had committed suicide. Terry now says that she died of a "heart attack" and calls any stories about other things "misinformation" -- but that is not the story first put out on the Internet and at the time he would not answer queries. Steve and Bruce put up a story that she'd committed suicide. It was pretty ugly. Later I heard other people fill in gossip about what happened. But I'll never know exactly what happened. Gossip has all the accuracy of, well Gossip. There were allegations and counter-allegations.
This guy Bruce eventually left Buddhism and wandered off to other-lands. The point is, whatever happened to April in her life, her story got tied up in the nastiness that occured in the US, and about the "temple issue" between the Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu, and third parties. Bruce was a pioneer with the Kempon Hokke and a bit of a trouble maker sometimes. Another member put up an anti-Kempon Hokke website and that started flames. Anyway I'm just writing this down because my memory is getting old, because some people are still trying to milk the original and "protect" themselves from the truth, and I wanted to document the subject before it is too old to bother with. The point is she didn't die of just a heart attack, the poor soul took her life as I reported. Marc Strumpf was there. She may have been surrounded by love, but like all suicides she couldn't resist the darkness closing in.
The rest of the story is that the kinds of cheap miracles told in stories like "April's Storm" aren't as important as doing "human revolution" or changing ones thoughts words and deeds. That is where religious work is.
Posted by cholte at July 26, 2006 11:29 PM