Robin Beck

Thanks for posting this, Robin - you saved me the trouble! I, too, am very interested in following what is transparent "religion-building" on the part of the Gakkai. It's not often that one gets to watch this kind of thing going on.

I agree that this M/D thing may be a big seller in Japan, but that it will become a strange sort of import curiosity in the West, like manga or anime(which is actually a huge teen market), or underwear vending machines.

We shall see. Thanks for the interesting post. Wahzoh

Dear Bruce:

Bruce, you don't seem to understand, Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin are butting heads with the SGI, continuously. The Lotus Sutra and the Gosho bear out my assertion.

Mark

If you really practice what the Buddha said, you would leave your Nichiren group, and tell people they have Buddha Nature, realize there is no religion only people who think there is religion. Then Mark, you would get persecution, like you have never experienced. Would Buddha rub beads, chant, and fight with the SGI? wrong road.

Maltz

Hi Robin:

It is easy to tell if persecutions are result of a correct faith and practice. If you are practicing as the Buddha and Nichiren teach, preaching with Sutra in hand, and you have a correct faith in the Three Treasures, persecutions are proof. If you are not practicing as the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin teach, preaching some other teaching, and yo have an incorrect faith in the Three Treasures, you are receiving punishment.
Mark

There are major and minor persecutions. Nichiren Daishonin suffered five major persecutions and the minor persecutions were to numerous to count. I was referring to major persecutions. I don't really know anyone personally who has suffered major persecutions but I'll tell you, I have suffered dozens of minor persecutions in the last several months. Today, I was thereatened again by an SGI member for contacting him via e-mail. I first contacted him and explained that the mentor disciple relationship as taught in the SGI is mistaken. He wrote me back that I was worse than a fundementalist Christian and in derision he stated, "I can't stop chuckling." I then sent him the Letter to Oma Gozen Gosho (Atata, Ahaha, Arara) and told him he wasn't chuckling, that was his teeth rattling residing in one of the icy hells. Then he becomes very fearful and sends me an e-mail that if I ever contacted him again he would notify the authorities. I responded, "phony SGI member." Probably he will notify someone. When confronted with the Lotus Sutra and Gosho it really brings the world of animality out of them.

Mark

Rogow has a good heart, but, if you understand that the bodhisattvas from the Earth have already practiced the way and learned from the Buddha, and should spread the secret of the Sutra, the Lifespan of the Buddha, in the language of our country, and not chant or do anything in Japananese, he might find an answer to the reason there is so much fighting. If you stop reading Nichiren, and just read the Lotus Sutra, over and over and over it will finally get to you that all this is wrong. You are creating a bigger mess. Still everyone has Buddha Nature, the merits of the Buddha. Nothing describes the Bodhisattvas, but Chapter 10 is the Precher of the Law, so read all about it folkes... you argue about a branch, but the trunk is healthy.

Maltz

Rogow, how can we tell whether persecutions are actual proof of correct practice, or the result of obnoxious behavior? When good SGI members had bad luck, it was actual proof of expiating karma, or persecutions. When Taiten members had bad luck, it was batsu.

r

Mr. Meyer:

The only real proof of the practice is severe persecution, exile, or the threat of death at the hands of authorities. You just don't get it. You have been defeated by the King Devil of the Sixth Heaven: Believing that the rapture and insignificant events in your life are equal to the Enlightenement of Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin: Mistaking the mere pebbles you received for the great treasures of the Buddha and his disciple Nichiren or the beefits of the true votaries of the Lotus Sutra. More correctly, your belief in the sanctity of these trifling material benefits is actual proof of the vacuity of yours and the SGI's faith and practice. Everything you have been taught by the sGI is all wrong and goes against the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin.

Mark

In our local Soka gakkai group, we all came to a similar conclusion.....that when doing Shakabuku, our emphasis would be on the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, and that all of the SGI stuff would be of secondary importance.

The Soka Gakkai asks us to accept their version of Nichiren Buddhism without question. That I cannot do, and won't do. I keep my eyes and ears open, and maintain an open mind. I know little about the other Nichiran schools other than the rather one-sided information we get regarding Nichiren Shoshu, and what I absorbed from reading "The Untold Story of the Fuji School". To this day, the temple issue leaves me unsettled, and if had the opportunity to visit with and experience other forms of Nichiren Buddhism, I might not have felt the need to ask for actual proof.

Mike, I am pleased that your practice works so well for you. I find that encouraging and gratifying. I would not change a thing! Like you, I measure my benefit by the amount of happiness and satisfaction I experience from my life. I am aware of the criticisms of Soka Gakkai characterizing it as prosperity Buddhism, and I hesitated to quantify my benefits by my material well being. However, my material posessions are modest, and the greatest source of frustration in my life is the never ending task of keeping my household afloat, and keeping my financial situation satisfactory. Aside from this, my life is almost carefree. My health is good, I have a wonderful wife who loves me dearly, two great sons, a job I love performing, and I live in what I perceive to be paradise. I'm a happy camper, so the only real way to objectively measure my benefit is through financial criteria. It IS a bit crass and shallow, but aside from the everday irritations of life common to us all, it is the only part of my life that leaves me wishing for greater things.

I also apologize for my arrogance in assuming that with sincere chanting, one would draw the same conclusions as I did. Please chalk that up to enthusiasm for the practice. I often lose touch with the concept that what is good for the goose is not necesssarily good for the gander. However, this I do know.....that for me, the answer to my queries is to remain with Soka Gakkai. Even though I have chanted since the eighties, my study of the Lotus Sutra, the writings of Nichiren Diashonin, and the other important disciples has been lacking. It's only been in the last year or two that I have gone beyond the realm of gongyo and the occasional meeting, and begun to delve deeper. In our community, the only game in town is SGI. If I were to take the plunge and go independent, I would really and truly be on my own.

Solitary practice seems to limit one's opportunities to advance towards enlightenment, which, in the greater scheme of things, is why we practice. I try very hard to remain cognizant of this biggest picture. Although it seems as though many roads lead to this goal, the only one that offers easy access to me SGI.

Perhaps, for my personal set of circumstances, SGI is my best option currently. All I know is that when I asked for actual proof that I was doing the correct thing spiritually, it was forthcoming.

Mark M.

Chuck wrote:
"What an interesting comment. What was of keen interest was the equation of material gain with a change in perspective - I assume, based on the SGI way. Where the irony is for me, is when those same efforts and shifts of perception produce continued suffering, perhaps even more profound suffering, which are then attributed to the challenges of our deep/heavy karma."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is an independent Nichiren Buddhist who runs
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GohonzonInfo
Copies of Gohonzons inscribed by Nichiren himself may be downloaded from the files section. Additional Nichiren-inscribed Gohonzons will be uploaded, as they are digitized and cleaned-up, on an on-going basis until all 128 extant Nichiren Gohonzons have been uploaded.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GohonzonInfo/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
He reports that his regular business has grown so much he has very little time to work on his Gohonzon project.

Thanks for your comments Mark. My objections to Soka Gakkai have nothing to do with the practice itself, nor blessings, whether these are financial and material, or spiritual in nature. I have seen plenty of actual proof that the practice itself works, whether one is a member of Nichiren Shu, Kempon Hokke, Honmon Butsuryushi, Nichiren Shoshu, Honnom Shoshu or the derivative new religions like Rissho Kosei Kai, Reiyukai, or Soka Gakkai.

I appreciate that Soka Gakksi had shown some distance from the teachings of Nichiren Shoshu. I do not hear much about Nichiren as the True Buddha, the Dai Gohonzon, or even the transfer Documents. Scholars within Soka Gakkai know that these teachings simply do not hold up to peer reviewed scholarship. I would however, like to see some acknowledgment that we / they accepted those teachings in the past and were wrong. Instead, they put out the prevarication that Nikken somehow changed the teachings. Still, I could deal with that, and have dealt with it.

Now, in an effort to rationalize the exclusive mentor-ship of Ikeda, and the superiority of Soka Gakkai, they came up with a new spin. They are saying that Nikko Shonin was the superior disciple because he alone upheld the Master-Disciple relationship. Of course, since Nikken changed the teachings, that leaves Soka Gakkai as the sole legitimate heirs of Nikko Shonin.

I see a number of problems with this. For one thing, it is less than a half truth; it is a spin based on a kernel of truth. The Nikko Monryu of Nichiren Shu likely agrees that Nikko was right on this. The other Elder Ministers should have put more effort into tending Nichiren's grave. However, they apparently see no need to slander the other 5 senior ministers, and by extension, all of the other modern lineages. Those issues had all been settled by 1317. They also appear to appreciate the efforts of all the Elder Ministers and others in transcending differences, protecting their Sanghas from Hei-no-Saemon, and propagating the Dharma.

There is a lot SGI does not tell us. Toki Jonin got so disgusted that he he ecpelled his step son {one the 6 senior ministers}, ordained himself, and founded the Nakayama Lineage, which preserved many Gosho. Key disciples like Nippo Shonin, Echigo Nichiben, and others refused to take sides. Nichiji traveled to China to propagate the teachings and vanished. Nichiro and his bother Nichizo established the mission to Kyoto. The Nissho lineage preserved some mportant documents and original Nichiren Gohonzons. The Niko- Minobu- Mobara lineage preserved many Gosho and protected Nichiren's grave site. Nitcho assisted Nikko at Omosu.

Current Living Buddhism: article on page 82 ("Embodying the Spirit of Mentor and Disciple"), Liz Nobokuni states that she "decided to study some of Nichiren's closest disciples", and states "all except Nikko abandoned their duties and conveniently lost sight of their mentor's spirit." That is simply false. It is a convenient rationale for the "Spirit of Mentor and Disciple." She adds "To put it simply, the mentor serves to connect the disciple's life to the Mystic Law. By seeking to understand my mentor's spirit and make it my own, I can tap my limitless potential to perpetuate the Law."

That may be a fine way to practice. I simply prefer to connect with the Dharma -- the Gohonzon and the Daimoku. Also, in the present context, I think the 14 slanders still apply. The last 4 deal with slander of other Buddhists. I think the slander of the other leading disciples and extant Nichiren lineages needs to stop.

Like you, I am an aging part hippy part cowboy who lives out in the country. Five years ago, I was broke, seriously ill, and on the verge of being homeless. That situation, strangely enough, started in 1991, and steadily worsened until 2002. That, 2002, was when I began practicing "Soka Underground" -- still nominally Soka Gakkai, but effectively Nichiren Shu. Since then, my health, personal relationships, and financial situations have steadily improved.

Hello, Mark -

I wonder how you might characterize my situation, based on your comments above.

I drifted away from SGI starting around 1999 until 2001. In late 2001, I started practicing with Nichiren Shu, and formally took jukai with Nichiren Shu in April 2002. Since that time, I have left a job that was becoming increasingly oppressive and found one with a new firm that has been very lucrative for me. My income has increased to well over 1.5 times what it was in 2001. I have been granted promotions and additional responsibility.

Are these *benefits* a direct result of my switching organizations? Don't they prove that my choice was the right one?

Personally, I don't view the situation that way. I don't measure the correctness of my practice by how my professional life is doing, or what my bank balance is, or any of those types of yardsticks. I measure my practice by how I feel when I do it; and by how I feel when I don't do it. By my yardstick, my decision was the right one for me. I don't pretend to know enough to prescribe for anyone else.

What do you think?

Namaste, Engyo Mike Barrett

What an interesting comment. What was of keen interest was the equation of material gain with a change in perspective - I assume, based on the SGI way. Where the irony is for me, is when those same efforts and shifts of perception produce continued suffering, perhaps even more profound suffering, which are then attributed to the challenges of our deep/heavy karma.

This is circular logic. In fact, no matter what one might believe, there are times of unexpected benefit, windfalls, loss, and difficulty. After decades of observation, one can see patterns of gain and loss which sometimes coincide with targeted effort. When targeted effort fails to produce conspicious effects, that failure is pushed aside to make way for further effort because the original effort must have had something lacking. This is one of the justifications that I have not only observed but also experienced in my SGI life.

"That aside, I have set aside all doubts regarding the Soka Gakkai. They are on the right track."

Your comment, "I am forever a sceptic," seems a bit contradictory. Many of us, myself included, wish you were right about this. My perception is that what you say is the opposite of my conclusion, or I would renounce my independent status and get back there on the front lines "doing kosen-rufu," the SGI way. In fact, I believe that the SGI has veered way off course.

"Before you sever ties, chant for guidance, and chant for actual proof. I am fairly certain that you will come to the same conclusions I did."

I can't speak for Robin, only myself; but you are highly presumptious here. We have thought it out, in minute detail. With all due respect, our conclusions are clearly not the same.

Charles

I envy your knowledge and ability to understand and analyze what I find to be rather dense and difficult teachings. I, too, have moments when I questioned the practices as they are interperted by Soka Gakkai, but on a far more superficial level.

My moments of doubt have come from the cultural differences between our leaders, who are high powered A type personality yuppies, residing in a major US metro area, and our local group, which is made up of aging hippies, living in splendid geographic isolation, with no wish greater than to achieve personal kosen rufu, and pay the rent. Aside from our Buddhist practice, we have very very little in common, and this often makes for a somewhat problematic relationship.

This led me, a few months back, to chant very sincerely, for some sort of sign or message, from outside the insular realm of the Soka Gakkai, that the practice, as interperted by the Soka Gakkai, was indeed the correct path. I was toying with the idea that an independent practice of Nichiren Buddhism might be more appropriate.

The response on the karmic level was immediate and profound. Within a week of my new spin on the practice, I had multiple three and four figure windfalls that continue to this week. Those negative events that headed my way were mitigated by immediate equivilant positive events....that is to say, all the bummers were headed off at the pass. There is no mistake in the path my life my life has taken.

I am forever a sceptic, and I do not posess the ability to have blind faith. I need to see actual proof. I also posess the ability to distinguish between random events and acts of karma.....at least I hope I do. At any rate, the series of events I have enjoyed in the last few months have convinced me that the Soka Gakkai is on the right track, or at least closer to the correct teaching than anyone else is.

I, too have reservations about the mentor-disciple relationship with Dr. Ikeda, but I now set them aside, and chalk up the issues that trouble me to the profound differences between Japanese culture and North American culture. If the directions on how to use a disposable lighter manufactured in Japan become garbled to the point of humor, just imagine how difficult it becomes to express precisely the exact meaning of twelfth century Buddhist philosophy into modern English.

I do not profess to be a good Soka Gakkai member. I am a rough around the edges John Wayne/Timothy Leary amalgam, who is just a little too prone to take matters into his own hands. I am fiercely independent, challenge authority, and have little tolerance for any kind of B.S. However, it is for these these reasons that I seek a practice to balance these often conflicting attributes, and provide a spiritual foundation to my life. I am a work in progress, and will probably be so for the rest of my life.

That aside, I have set aside all doubts regarding the Soka Gakkai. They are on the right track.

Before you sever ties, chant for guidance, and chant for actual proof. I am fairly certain that you will come to the same conclusions I did. Remember, the Soka Gakkai is made up of human beings, not divine creatures. To expect perfection, or even something approaching it is futile. They are the least of all evils, and, perhaps, the best that our human condition can achieve.

Mark M.