It’s not easy being Buddhist in a Western society. I ponder this often as I look around at the plethora of Western Buddhists groups, journals, websites and mostly I see Westerners working hard to not be Christian.
It’s natural. There are majority and minority religions in every society.
I’m a Nichiren Buddhist - I am one of those “chanting for stuff” Buddhists.
We catch a lot of flack from other Buddhists who don’t think chanting for stuff is real Buddhism. It’s natural I suppose. Fact is after 20 years of being a Buddhist I’m no more sure of just what it is to be a Buddhist than I was before I became a Buddhist. It’s been easy for me compared to others though, my family wasn’t significantly religious so I had little baggage to offload when I “converted”.
Converted is a weird word for changing or acquiring a new religion, isn’t it? Maybe “upgrading” is better - no, not really. Upgrading means I’m getting something better than before. Well, it was an upgrade for me anyway. As a human being I think often in terms of value judgment. It’s only natural I suppose.
Many people to whom I speak about religion and Buddhism ask me the same questions, questions that appear to be based on the Western perception of how a Buddhist is suppose to behave.
“Are you vegetarian?” some ask…
“No, not really. I mean I hunt and kill stuff, but I don’t eat it, I just leave it lay where it dies” I have replied on occasion. That specific reply usually ends the conversation uncomfortably. People who ask these questions don’t think a Buddhist should employ sarcasm. Anyway, I don’t really hunt.
“So you’re really peaceful, huh?” Buddhists are suppose to be peaceful. Often I am tempted to remind them of the Sohei, the Buddhist Warrior Monks of Mt. Hiei and the havoc they caused in ancient Japan. Peaceful is a value assigned to Buddhism by a modern Western audience. A true Buddhist may dismiss the Sohei as mere mercenaries, but any Buddhist group could be dismissed for one reason or another.
“Do you watch TV?”, “What do you think of the Dali Lama?” “Is that why you have no hair?”
As a martial artist I fit the image of a Westerner converted to Eastern tradition much more satisfyingly than as a Buddhism Minister. Those people who ask those questions loose interest quickly. I fear they are only interested in the fashion of Buddhism and truly there is much fashion to be found in the Western Buddhist world. Clothes, statues, incense, special everything - bells, CD’s, DVD’s, brainwave machines and an unending supply of seminars by Buddhist Masters.
“Are you non-materialistic?” they ask.
I saw a groups of non-materialistic Buddhists once. A pod of them actually. As I watched them I was able to answer many of the questions I had regarding Buddhists and Buddhist life. I don’t know how many there were, maybe four or five, but they were swimming playfully close to the shore of the Monterey Bay beach. I watched the dolphin pod for a half hour before they finally swam too far out to be seen clearly. Of course a Christian may argue that the dolphins may be Christian and not Buddhist. Such an argument is only natural.
Stripping away the culture from the Buddhism is difficult. There’s so much culture, so much cultural fashion in Buddhism and so much human history. To most people, and most Buddhists the fashion is the Buddhism. Pictures of Westerners dressed in Asian and Indian ethnic Buddhist costumes is really impressive to most. It makes one think that these persons have worked hard to earn the right to wear clothes so sacred, or perhaps clothes that are quite common in another Country - I don’t know… It seems unnatural somehow.
We Western Ninjas wear the split-toe tabi shoes when we train. One model for out of doors, another cloth soled design for indoors. Fact is, in Japan the split-toed design is an ordinary and common design, evolving from ancient footwear. Anyone outside of Japan looks at these shoes and thinks NINJA. In Japan, farmers and construction workers wear them routinely.
This same principle exists throughout the clothing fashions of Buddhism. Costumes are very powerful, regardless if they really are the common dress of some other culture. Uniforms are something our culture expects to be given, or issued by an authority, such as the military. One is given or issued a uniform when they join or swear allegiance to a group. This is the general perception of Buddhist costumes I believe. In reality costumes are as often purchased from Ebay. “Did your sensei give you your robes?”, “nah, I got them in a second-hand store in Santa Cruz California”. How disappointing.
So how do we truly live as Buddhists, and not merely consumers of Buddhist fashion? This has been my burning question for some time now. Certainly there are many answers, but the most important benefit should be FREEDOM.
Living free, free from power, power from outside and inside, certainly must be an integral component of living a Buddhist life.
Back in the old days in NSA, Nichiren Shoshu of America, being a Buddhist meant you had to chant and perform Gongyo twice a day, no matter what. To miss or neglect gongyo (recitation of the Lotus Sutra, chanting of Nam myoho renge kyo) was truly a crisis. I myself recall the desperate feelings that if I neglected gongyo even once I would begin to lose my Buddhist faith.
Missing a discussion meeting was also very serious. If a member missed a discussion meeting we devoted Buddhist leaders would begin to lament that the member had gone “taiten” and had abandoned their faith. Missing a meeting was a fine way to get lots of great phone-call attention.
Looking back there were many serious flaws in the way we thought about our Buddhism. I often wonder how many serious and devoted NSA members actually applied their chanting practice to their OCD, or obsessive compulsive disorder. A OCD would have made a wonderful NSA Buddhist. I would think that with such an enthusiastic and consistant practice they would be promoted up the leader chain quickly.
I recall a very senior leader whom I worked with in the same company for many years would often mention, pridefully, that he had never missed a gongyo in his twenty-something year practice. It was interesting to me that before he relocated in our company and moved out of state he had divorced his wife, seemingly without regret, and had no plans to regularly visit his two young children.
I know he had made his wife solely responsible for raising their kids. The final time I heard him mention his decades-long gongyo victory at a meeting, I could only think to myself “yeah, but how many times did your wife miss gongyo while being responsible for your family?”
It’s difficult. We do the very same things, for very different reasons.
That which made us free one day, becomes our prison the next….
It’s only natural…
Rev. Greg Dilley
In the final episode of Star Trek Next Generation, Picard finds himself traveling through three different time periods in his own life with the help of Q. He comes to understand that he is responsible for the end of the existence of all human life. In the Devlan system there is an “anomaly” which he comes to understand has actually grown larger in the past. It’s connected with anti-time. The anomaly grows larger as time moves backwards, or visa/versa.
Q challenges Picard to discover his error by sending him back to pre-historical France to view the actual primordial amino-acid soup that will form the first proteins and basis for life on Earth, a phenomenon that will now fail to occur due to the appearance of the anomaly. Picard finally figures out that it is the use of the takion (sic) ray probe in all three time periods that creates the anomaly in the first place.
In the end he finds himself once again in the cosmic court of Q facing his final judgement, having passed the ultimate test of the Continuum, a test he learns is ongoing and will never end. Q informs Picard that this is the true adventure of human evolution, not the exploration of nebula and other space phenomena rather the journey and evolution of the human imagination and , well, basically the evolving willingness to think outside the box.
The true human adventure, the process of considering new and unimaginable possibilities.
Letting go. Moving on.
These last few years Soke Masaaki Hatsumi, the last living Ninja on Earth, began to teach the principle of Juppo Sesho. Frankly this had us all quite confused and sent us off inventing imaginative and fanciful ideas of moving throughout the 8 direction and back and forth in time. It was great fun.
In Japan someone I trust told me, “Dude, Juppo Sesho is just about moving into a safe place.”.
Oh…
When Soke taught Juppo Sesho a couple of years ago he employed the forms associated with the Jutte, a feudal era weapon which was a trungeon with a hook for catching an attacker‘s sword. The katas were relatively simple, but really just a vehicle for exploring the concept of Juppo Sesho. Hatsumi Soke could have used anything, sword, 6 foot staff, light saber but he simply chose the Jutte.
Well, actually he only used the Jutte forms. He replaced the actual Jutte with a kunai, a Ninja digging tool. Typical of Hatsumi Soke. He does what he wants. But I digress…
Needless to say many in the Bujinkan confused the forms and the kunai with Juppo Sesho itself. Teachers throughout the world began to refer to the “kunai kata of Juppo Sesho”, confusing the vehicle with the journey.
An anomaly in Devlan sector, Juppo Sesho, Nichiren Buddhsim. Q and Soke Hatsumi. The journey vs. the vehicle. The metaphors are endless.
You make the connections.
Rev. Greg, Shidoshi
This, in reply to my previous submission, Pilgrimage
This might or might not be the place and time to ask this question, but Greg's post about the fellow in the shop being a little unkind sort of reminded me of this...
In my (very limited) experience with both Japanese people and foreign ex-pats living in Japan, there seems to be an almost universal opinion that the "people who stand around chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" are kind of freaks apparently obsessed with magic and getting rich by chanting this mantra.
Now I don't mean to imply that this is my opinion. None of these people (in my recollection) ever even used the word "Nichiren" (or for that matter "Buddhist") in reference to these people they were deriding. Only one day when Greg was talking about Nichiren Buddhism did I make the connection between these people and Greg and Nichiren Buddhism.
One particularly noteworthy point here is that none of these times when this rather unfriendly opinion came up were in the context of discussions of Buddhism, religion, or anything of the sort... more often in the context of talking about (to put it generously) "odd people".
Since it seems like everyong who reads this is a Nichiren Buddhist, can anyone explain all of this to me? Does Nichiren really have such a bad rap in Japan? Is it just the people I happen to know? Is there some other group of people that they are talking about, and maybe I am incorrectly associating "those" folks with Nichiren Buddhism?
All of this is just for my own clarification, but it all kind of came back into my mind in a flash when the shop keeper was not too nice to Greg.
So the simple question and answer remain; are we Nichiren Buddhists the same Nam myoho renge kyo chanting hippies and weirdoes you are referring to from your previous experiences?
Sure. Well, sort of.
The general story goes something like this, if you will pardon my general story telling sans real investigation or validation of time frames. My own experience as a Nichiren Buddhist in Japan is too insignificant to draw on, so I'll answer as an American member.
As memory serves, Nichiren Buddhist aka Nam myoho renge kyo made it’s way to US shores some time following WWII by way of the Japanese war brides, whom we refer to as the “pioneer members”. Nichiren Buddhism did not truly witness any significant propagation until later during the Vietnam war era, or more accurately the Hippie era.
There weren’t very many members then and the Pioneer members did their best to spread it as widely as possible. Some stories tell of handing Gohonzons out of car windows to anyone who would accept them. The Gohonzon is the mandala originally inscribed by Nichiren in the 1200’s and serves as the central object of practice, in place of the statue of the Buddha in it’s myriad forms.
NSA, or Nichiren Shoshu of America was created at some time during the 60’s, I believe, and experienced it’s first significant growth during the 70’s. Most of the American members at the time were attracted not to Buddhism as we know it today, rather simply the chanting of Nam myoho renge kyo as a magical mantra to “get what they wanted”. The guy who introduced me, a musician who was himself introduced by Herbie Hancock, told of originally chanting for more and better pot, which he received. In fact he said he had never gotten so much great weed in his life.
Needless to say as he continued to chant his life eventually transformed and was directed in a more fulfilling direction, at least for awhile.
NSA, or SGI as we are now called has suffered from an image of materialistic benefit-chanting weirdoes for some time. Most of this criticism is leveled against us by ex-Gakkai members who quit for reasons usually having to do with being disappointed with the organization in some manner or another. Many of them in the last decade or two have gone off to start rather fundamentalist splinter groups who claim to be more correctly interpreting Nichiren’s Buddhism.
I feel confident stating that those early folk who chanted merely for money either quit, or were able to continue to experience tremendous and significant growth and redirection in their lives. That is the law of this Buddhism, evolve or perish - as it were. No one chants Nam myoho renge kyo and sees nothing happen. Often, very often, tremendous resistance from our lives is unleashed and the weak or faint of heart often runs away screaming. This phenomenon is expressed in the Buddhist principle of Sansho Shima, or the three obstacles and four devils.
Quite a significant number of long-time practicing members make up the leadership ranks of SGI now. These individuals, many whom I know and trust, have gained tremendous knowledge of and experience with the true Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin.
The real question remains - is merely chanting Nam myoho renge kyo to the Gohonzon truly Buddhism or not? Does one need to study the writings of Nichiren (of which there are many) or study Buddhism in an academic or intellectual fashion to be considered to be practicing true Buddhism?
In my opinion and experience true Buddhism as it is taught in the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and later Nichiren largely mentions faith, not intellectual understanding. No doubt however there are those elitists who will advocate that one must understand and master the Buddhist canon along with diligent and serious practice in order to call oneself a real Buddhist.
In the final analysis I choose to refer to the faithful followers of Nichiren himself, written of in his own hand in his personal letters to them, who were the common and probably rather unenlightened folk of their time. They are the genuine models for being a real Buddhist.
I’ve met ex-hippies who chanted Nam myoho renge kyo “for stuff” way back when. I’ve listened to crazy stories of pot smoking after discussion meetings, and group leaders who had combined Nichiren Buddhism with Amway and other multi-level marketing schemes. Even in the last decade I’ve had members of my district in San Jose who had seriously mixed Nichiren with their 12 step program philosophy.
Is it wrong? Depends on your perspective I suppose.
To the Western religious mind having a tangible practice associated with a religion is something unique, perhaps. I believe there are those Catholics who pray the Rosary in a similar fashion. I have been constantly challenged to understand how the Virgin Mary often replaces Christ in the practical application of Catholicism.
In the end people chant, people get benefits. Simple and greedy benefits usually lead to more altruistic and constructive ones. Practically speaking it is hard to really continue embracing our Buddhism without having at least a basic understanding of where it originated and upon what it is based. Certainly Buddhism revolves around compassion and it is certainly compassion for others that is taught in the SGI and Nichiren Buddhism in general.
But it’s all good I believe. I mean, one shouldn’t need a Phd. In Quantum Physics to understanding and find fulfillment from religious faith, should they?
But thanks for asking. Nothing is off limits on Fraughtwithperil, besides spam of course.
Rev. Greg
I’ve returned from my yearly pilgrimage to Japan.
I trained at length with my sword teacher Machida Kancho in Noda Japan. After the last day of training I sat in his Mikkyo temple as he performed (for a lack of the proper term) his Mikkyo Shingon Gongyo.
This of course is a tremendous curiosity to me as this ceremony is both familiar on one hand, completely alien on another. This year his wife played along on the large taiko drum as he recited his sutras. Interestingly she played in 7/8. Prior to beginning he rearranged his mokto (wood bell) and his temple bell in much the same way I may have rearranged my drumset.
Every year I see his temple change, ornate statues and objects rearranged, new ones added, things I was familiar with disappear. It’s all very mysterious.
Following the service were the presentation of various things and then immediately following that - a 6.4 Earthquake.
Was this the almighty cosmic hand of Fudo Myo stamping his approval? Was it a divine admonishment for a Nichiren faithful attending a Mikkyo service?
Fudo Myo is a curious character. An eternally stern individual, he forever wields an ancient Chinese sword, or Ken in one hand, a piece of rope in the other. An administrator of universal justice, he’s like the 911 for the Universe, at least from a certain point of view.
On the previous day I had completed my shopping at the Noda Shrine shop. Many Bujinkan students shop there purchasing their kamidana and other supplies for their dojos. Few are actually Sinto or Buddhist or even truly religious, rather their patronage is based on the Bujinkan. The shop keepers realize this and expect that all Geigin are students of Hatsumi, or another individual (he who must not be named) who also lives in Noda.
I asked the shop keeper “Nichiren juzu doko deska?” (where are your Nichiren Juzu beads). He initially failed to understand what I was asking. I then clarified “Nichiren Buddhist, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo”. He laughed long as he walked towards his storage bins to look. His laugh was not at all a kind laughter. I’ve sensed this in previous years. Apparently there are no Nichiren Temples in Noda…
It just gets curiouser and curiouser…
Rev. Greg, Shidoshi