Diary of a Chapter Leader

Learning amd Realization

Last time I talked about wondering why I am cynical when it comes to SGI. Why do I question everything? I thought it was self-knowledge - that's who I am. But that could just be rationalization. Every time I hear that mentor disciple talk, I can't help but roll my eyes. It's not the Nichiren Buddhism that is the problem. That makes complete sense. It's the interpretation that gives me pause. Then... last weekend I watched a TV special about Jonestown.
For those who don't know about Jonestown - it is where the phrase "Drink the Kool-aid" came from. The 70's were the decade of the religious cult. These were the type that took young people away from their families and lived in communes. Jim Jones was the leader of one of the biggest "cults" The Peoples Temple. It was started in the San Francisco bay area. As Jim's drug addiction worsened, so did his paranoia. In the mid 1970's he moved his congregation to a plot of land he owned in Guyana and it was dubbed Jonestown. He stock piled guns and started his own security force to keep his people in and everyone else out. In November 1978, a group of government and media folks took a trip to Jonestown. At the end of the second day, the group was attacked on the airstrip. Four people were murdered and several more were wounded. Meanwhile, back at Jonestown, Jim knew he was done and his paranoia led him to force every member of Jonestown to drink poison laced Kool-aid. Almost 400 men, women and children died in camp. Five adults escaped.
At that time I was 20 and just getting involved in the news. Also, I lived in northern California and most of the dead came from northern California, so there was no escaping the news. As I watched this program, I suddenly realized why I get so cynical. Jonestown - The Peoples Temple and coming of age in the 70's in the bay area.
Jim told his group that the government was out to get them and there was no way they could go back to the US and there was no way out except death on his own terms. Scary stuff.
Lately the SGI gosho studies have been dated around the time of great persecution of Nichiren's followers. We are supposed to talk about being willing to die for our faith. Am I willing to die for my faith? It is a foreign concept since we have freedom of religion in the US. But after listening to Jim Jones order his group to commit suicide, I wondered (out loud to my kids) - What if Pres. Ikeda told members to commit suicide? Could he convince some members to do it? It scared the hell out of me. Not me - I'm a cynic!

Of course, I don't think PI would ever do anything like that. But one of the former Peoples Temple members talked about how all the members signed papers giving up rights and confessing to wrong doing. When ask why would they do something so stupid, she replied, "If you are in a room with 120 peers who are all signing this paper, you're going to do it , too." That smacked of the Code of Conduct. I was at a meeting one night where the Code of Conduct form was passed out to everyone, including my kids, and asked to sign. I saw many members blindly signing. Had they read the code? Did they know what they were signing? Did they even read the form before signing? Not the members around me. They just signed what they were told to sign. I know it;s not the same, but it could be.
BTW, I did finally sign the Coda of Conduct a few weeks ago. I have read the code and I have read the form I signed. I decided that if I was removed from my position, it would be devastating to the local organization. I didn't want to put my leader friends in the position of removing me. My house is the meeting place for district and chapter meetings. If I was removed, I would have to quit and that would suck for me and my friends. So I signed the form because I do agree with the code even though I still have questions.

On another subject...

Monday night I was at my friend's house for our usual Monday night chanting session. While talking, I found out that she has one of those impossible obstacles. She has about 3 weeks to overcome this challenge. So we decided to employ the Strategy of the Lotus Sutra and chant everyday to over come this. The next day she already had one of those out of nowhere benefits and is on her way. We have talked about doing this before, but never committed. It's been four days - that's a new record! Our goal is to have an experience - one of those faith building experiences that we can share at a meeting. Those are completely absent from our district and chapter meetings. We are determined to keep this going. Every night we plan the next night. I don't have a huge obstacle to overcome in 4 weeks, but I'm working on it. I'll let you know how it goes.