This is for my friend Sam (he's the guy in white.) It was taken at an event in 1990. That is Greg with his back turned, Nancy in the white shades, and our sister-in-law Liz in the bitchin' glasses. Greg and I started a first aid company called Earthbound Medical Rescue and recruited all our friends to work (volunteer) for us. This was a mountain bike race in Santa Teresa Park.

Asia was first. All the original members. Carl Palmer looked great and sounded better than ever. His drums sounded great and he really had his chops up. He was having a great time. Steve Howe played in both bands. He doesn't look much different, maybe a bit less hair. Geoff Downs was on keyboard and John Wetton on bass and vocals. Both of them are looking younger than I thought they would. Jon's voice was in fine shape. I enjoyed every minute of Asia. They played Video Killed the Radio Star for Geoff. A solid rendition. Then played In the Court of the Crimson King for John. I didn't remember he was in King Crimson. Then they play Fanfare for the Modern Man for Carl. His drum solo was sweet, even though he didn't run down a roll. Two gongs behind him. You would have enjoyed it.

Yes was a different story. Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White with Oliver Wakeman (Rick's son) and Beniot David who sounds exactly like Jon Anderson - I mean exactly. If you close your eyes, you would swear Jon was singing. They played all older tunes. Owner of a Lonely Heart was the newest tune and the only one from 90125. They were good, but in a discussion with Chris and the guy behind us, we decided there was something missing. We don't know what, but it just wasn't exciting. They played lots of fusion, you would have liked it, but people were leaving early on and continued to leave through out the show.

Kaela and Chris went up to buy shirts and came back with the tye dyed on for me. It was a large, but looked more like a 2X large. So later I sent Kaela & Leia to get me a smaller shirt and they came back with the same one. Chris and I finally went up and I exchanged it for a black tour shirt, They had a baseball shirt with the Yes logo, just like 25 years ago. I didn't get it... but i was tempted.

Asia put out a new CD last year. The first one with all the original members in 25 years. Can you believe it has been 25 years? In my opinion, Asia stole the show. The audience was engaged, clapping, on their feet for Asia. Not so much for Yes. We are waiting for Rush and Peter Gabriel now.

This was Christmas 2006.

The last photo taken of Greg. This photo was taken in his dojo the week before he died.

This is the late 1980's. Greg rescued two kittens from a warehouse. This one was Maggie.

I can't seem to figure out how to put more than one photo here. When I do, I'll put up some more.

Nancy

This brings up some interesting things about Kempon Hokke, for which I hold not criticism for their history, tradition or teachings. It's the people, and by people I mean Graham Lamont and Mark Rogow, because they're the only two, constituting the entire Kempon Hokke sect in the US.

Gentleman, you are both truly tribal in the deepest, most fundamental sense. For years I have head Mr. Lamont express his deep-seated "US vs. THEM" psyche. "Those people", "Them" all meaning SGI.

Graham, I know nothing I say will ever penetrate your injured cult-damaged psyche (the damage done unto him by a myriad of Gakkai culties through the years) but we are not the FLDS. We don't live in a compound. All of us are more or less invested in our SGI activities to different degrees, some very little. Many of us are sincerely looking for a deeper connection with Nichiren's Buddhism

We're not finding it with you bud. You're offensive, you're a fundamentalist in the worst sense of the word, and more so, you're really not a nice guy.

Your interpersonal communication skills suck. You use terms that offend, and you point them to everyone and anyone who has any connection to SGI labeling us slanderers and non-believers incapable of ever accepting the truth. Did it ever occur to you that it's your delivery that makes "the truth" undeliverable?

Through the years I have studied and read your essays and your books constantly reminding myself you're not a hellfire Christian, you're suppose to be a Nichiren Buddhist.

I know I know, you alone have the truth. YOU are right, we are deluded. You alone will attain enlightenment, we will all go to hell.

Graham, the real problem is you're a horrible communicator, and no one would want to be around you or anyone who talks like you. With you it's not about doctrine, or correct interpretation or translation, its PERSONAL.

Let me clarify this, at least to my readers. I don't know you personally, but what you write and how you write it is offensive and ugly. I know you think that all that matters is "being right" but that's not how the real world works. If you can't convey your message in a way that people can hear, there is no message, right OR wrong.

Funny, I wonder if being "right" all the time excuses you from good social behavior?

"I wish Mr. Rogow would stop trying to do battle with these people.
I did not introduce the Kempon Hokke into this country to convert the unconvertible icchantikas of the Fuji-ha. It's a hopeless task and they must bear their karma since they will never repent in this world system.
If this "Frank" rejects the idea of "hell fire" then he rejects Nichiren Shonin since any study of Nichiren Shonin's works would clearly demonstrate that the fear of hell fire is one of his major themes. (In general, fear of falling to "hell” was quite widespread among medieval Japanese Buddhists and, indeed, among many Buddhists now, except for the cocktail party Zennicks, who have succeeded in removing any original meaning in Buddhism to please themselves!)
Hell fire, in any case, is not the same as the eternal damnation preached by the evangelical icchantikas in this country; "hell" (jigoku) is actually purgatory, a place to wipe out by experiencing specific suffering proportional to the karmic offence or sin. No one is ever completely rejected in Buddhism. If Devadatta was given the prophecy of Supreme Buddhahood, even members of twisted evil sects such as the Fuji-ha.
This is the age of struggle, the age of the Latter Dharma, the age of shakubuku (breaking and subduing) in which we should vigorously press the true Dharma and point out the errors of wrong teachings. But this need only done thrice and then even a sage may retire. How much less those of us who are not sages. I have told Mr. Rogow this. He does not have the scholarly training to do this work beyond a simple level and he is preaching to icchantikas who, in the words of the Daihatsunehangy? (Great Parinirvana Sutra), do not believe, hear or discriminate. So there is no more obligation by Mr. Rogow to try to convert these people. In practical terms, Fuji-ha members will almost never really convert; they are unbelievers and truth-deniers.
As to the pseudo-compliment, "I know Kempon Hokke is a better sect than this.", it is an attempt to flatter by a person who appears to know nothing of our history.
The great martyr Nikkyo displayed at the risk of his life in 1597 a banner against the other sects; he in turn was merely following a final directive of our master Nichiju who urged ‘The various sects are the root cause of falling to hell and the Hokke Sect alone shall attain Buddhahood.’ And Nichiju was following Nichiren Shonin's admonition In this age, rather than retreating to a quiet life of seclusion, one should boldly proclaim: "The other sutras have no Attaining of the Way and are the fundamental source of dropping to the hells; the Lotus Sutra alone is the Dharma for attaining Buddhahood!" Nyosetsu shugy? sh? (STN, v. 1, 736) So what more do you want.
So why not argue with these people: Mr. Rogow is not sufficiently trained; I am trained but the people at these websites understand nothing, are stubborn and refuse the proofs of the scripture. This attitude I have found to be universal. The Buddha Shakya's Golden Words mean nothing to these people and the instructions of Nichiren Shonin, Lord Shakya's own messenger, are ignored when they clash with these people's desires.
The kind of expression which is being complained of here by a Gakkai member is precisely the kind of remark that the Gakkai has been known to use repeatedly in the past. (I know many cases where they used to scare people if something bad happened. I remember one case in this country where they threatened a woman with a leg injury that her leg would fall off if the didn't join the Gakkai at once.) So when the Gakkai complains this way about such remarks, its pure hypocrisy! Note the site says it is Buddhism with an attitude but when they get a dose of attitude they can't take it and try to complain to Rev. Tsuchiya.
Mr. Rogow has used this kind of argument because it's the very kind of argument he learned in the Gakkai. Since neither such an argument nor textual proofs will work on these people, I urge Mr. Rogow to stop visiting such sites. Mr. Rogow to his great credit has stated the Truth of the Dharma already and that is enough. Please remember the example of Shijo Kingo, a faithful but hot-headed believer whom Nichiren Shonin had to restrain. I cannot order Mr. Rogow to stop (the Kempon Hokke is not a totalitarian mass movement as the Gakkai is) but I urge him to stop wasting his time on these people; they will not repent and leave their errors and so Mr. Rogow cannot save them from their terrible fate hereafter. "

All this being said, Mr. Lamont has an interesting point - we call ourselves "Buddhism with Attitude" but can we take it when it comes?

Rev. Greg

It's curious to me that people like this could claim divine punishment in a largely Christian nation. I think the Born-agains and Evangelicals would disagree with this, and perhaps another post currently showing on FWP.

Once a fundie, always a fundie. Once a cultie ALWAYS a cultie. Many of those who once drank the koolaid forever lament it and will never be free.

It's just an energy taking thing to continue, I really have no
concept of what you people seem to be 'debating' about.
What "Scholarly" community did you refer to? What I found amusing is
that Ikeda ranted for so long about his "Historic" meeting with the
now deceased Arnold Tornybee,[and now deceased Carl Sagan, and new
deceased.....etc. Everyone who ever met him is 'now deceased'.] -
that the biographer hardly gives Ikeda a paragraph of a 900 plus page
authentic biography - which is a completely different concept to
former NSA believers who simply gobbled up Ikedaisms through book
sales and memorized them until nothing else would fit into their
heads. My practice of over 25 years has helped me to see the forest
for the trees. After the 1992 split, America has had nothing but
hardships, we owe nothing to those people of the SGI. We can thank
them for Katrina, flooding all throughout the mid-west, Missouri
Flooding, Tennesse Tornadoes, including the unprecidented flooding in
England, where virtually everyone gave up their practice to follow
that person, and so forth. Everywhere where there are temple members
as well as correct Gohonzon, is relative calm, normal weather while
elsewhere is a mess. The inability for Ikeda to accept "Guidance"
from the High Priest, while they so quickly dispensed same to
thousands of people daily without regard to personal circumstances
tells me, and others, that he felt he was above listening to anyone
else but himself. One of the first great splits in Nichiren Shoshu
was when the Five Senior Priests left Minobu to do their own thing.
They established their own school and wore purple robes, whereas,
Nikko decided to stay and carry out the Daishonin's written will.
It's really a question of choice to follow one creed over another.
For decades fanatics defended Ikeda's every word and movement;
running around wearing little two-way radios - taking care
of 'traffic control' calling him Sensai and bowing and scraping at
the mere mention of his words. Members were encouraged to 'memorize'
President Ikeda's words and quote him, we watched as male and female
members of NSA stumbled over his concepts using pidgin to talk to one
another until finally, after all of that crap and almost having to
sing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - a completely Christian performance -
it was time to say so long. In the 10 years that I practiced with
NSA I had gone on nearly every major Convention, but was never
allowed to go on a Tozan as all seats were reserved for the so-
called "Leaders". When the leaders of the 21st Century in NSA
stumbled and fell; I was able to attend all temple activities and
interesting was finally able to attend Tozan on several occassions.
If you want to sit at your stupid computer and call Taisekiji names,
while at the same time calling yourself a scholar then I'm sorry, you
will have to find a different audience for your outpourings.

I’m studying Living Buddhism, Mar-Apr 2008, section (12), page 64 which is the study for April. It’s amazing to me how dualistic SGI can be at times. As others have noticed our study lectures are really quite high level, especially in contrast to past era’s Gakkai study efforts.

“Earthly desires are enlightenment, and the sufferings of birth and death are Nirvana” is the overriding theme of this section. I’ve been fortunate to have a WD member come into my district that has stepped up to become our study liaison. She presents very mainstream views on the material at district meetings, which leaves me free to present what I want to present. Without her I find myself grudgingly having to represent the party line more than I am comfortable with.

My Gakkai Buddhism is a Buddhism of partial omission. I simply omit cultism when I run head-long into it. In my area there is virtually none of this function, at least in view of my personal sensitivity.

I believe that the Buddhism of the Soka Gakkai is valid, and real. It’s easy to discard something that appears brand new (in the Buddhist-anthropological time line anyway). This is an important point about our Buddhism.

Mahayana, in terms of scholarship and research, did not come into being until long after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha.

This is a hard thing to grasp as Nichiren fully bases his entire life’s work on the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha’s final and ultimate teaching.

The reality remains that Buddhism can certainly not be viewed as being limited only to “the Buddha”. The teachings of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni continued to evolve and develop long after his passing. In fact it continues to develop today. This is perfectly acceptable to myself in light of the vast socio-political changes through centuries of human devolvement. We simply live in a vastly more complex and complicated world today than that of Nichiren, and certainly then that of prehistoric India.

The Buddhism of the Soka Gakkai remains, in my opinion, the newest and most applicable evolution of those teachings for today’s world, at least the omitted Buddhism of the Soka Gakkai.

What I define as the omitted Buddhism of the Soka Gakkai is primarily our tradition of practice. What I omit is the parts I simply don’t understand, which is the emerging dark cultism of M/D and exclusivism.

Enough has been written about the M/D thing, so let me elaborate on my idea of exclusivism. What I mean is our “we are number one!” mentality. Page 65 of the Living Buddhism states “The Soka Gakkai alone has inherited the ultimate law of life and death from Nichiren, correctly upholding and practicing his teaching and spreading it widely throughout the world in accord with his instructions”.

I have my own personal feelings and beliefs regarding this hard-lined stance. First, I know a lot more about other Nichiren sects than the SGI wishes I or any other member did, which makes it difficult to subscribe to such an exclusive belief.

This paragraph is italicized for the simple reason that it contains two key principles;

1) “belief”

2) “exclusive”

Number one addresses how I feel about much of the cultism that is emerging from SGI. It’s one thing to sincerely believe SGI is the one and only Nichiren sect fulfilling Nichiren’s will. As a personal conviction, epiphany or inspiration, this belief creates powerful images and feelings. As a published doctrine, it’s ugly.

Ugly - “Displeasing to the eye; unsightly. Repulsive or offensive; objectionable: an ugly remark”.

This kind of exclusive group doctrine has not played out well for the Jews. I’m at a loss as to why we continue to push this agenda, in public, for all to see. It’s the kind of thinking that is acceptable among the Japanese perhaps, but not throughout the free world.

I object. I will continue to object. My objection has nothing to do with my personal opinion of whether or not this claim is true, rather with the reality that we, as a Buddhist lay organization, shouldn’t be talking like that. For one thing, there is no metric available to prove it, and therefore it remains a belief, not a fact.

Our cult brothers the Scientologists at least have a metric to gauge one’s progress toward “clear”. They have their E-METER used in their practice of auditing, or “clutching the cans” as I have heard it called. We have no “B-METER” or Bodhisattva-of-the-Earth meter or any other method of proving our claims as fact.

I want the SGI to stop talking like we are the Jewish Buddhists. Please.

Number two is that ugly word exclusive;

Exclusive - Excluding or tending to exclude: exclusive barriers. Not allowing something else; incompatible: mutually exclusive conditions.

This is what we are becoming - exclusive. In western thinking exclusive usually denotes something valuable, such as an “exclusive club”. What good is a club that lets just anyone in? As Woody Allen once said, “I would never want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member”. Exclusive can be a powerful marketing tool, but for the Buddhism of ultimate human freedom, it blows.

We’re Buddhists, not the Freemasons. We should be inclusive, at least in some ways, or to some degree. Instead SGI, in my opinion, is becoming exclusive.

I don’t know why these things are happening. Perhaps we are losing members to the temple groups of Nichiren Shoshu. Problem is, the more we behave like we are, the more we will lose. "Anyone can join" you say? True, but if you aren't with us, you're against us.

MY Buddhism omits these ugly things, and so I won’t discuss them at the next study meeting - this Saturday.

My Buddhism is what I believe to be the real Buddhism of the Soka Gakkai. It’s the Buddhism of daily practice. It’s the Buddhism of “Earthly desires are enlightenment, and the sufferings of birth and death are Nirvana”. The SGI’s Buddhism is the Buddhism for those who never desired to be Buddhists, rather just wanted to chant to be happy. THAT’S what I mean by inclusive Buddhism. Anyone can chant. Simply stated, this is the Buddhism of the Lotus Sutra appropriate for our current age, an age of global universalism, the Buddhism for one world.

Rev. Greg

P.S. I'm still not signing.

Some things are coming to a head as it were, in SGI-USA. First was the Mentor Disciple relationship. Well, it wasn’t really the thing itself, rather it is the suddenly increased, nearly frantic usage of it. Now it’s everywhere and while official publications and video productions avoid telling us that Daisaku Ikeda is OUR personal mentor, no one is stopping the culties from doing so at meetings both large and small.

This and another issue are subtle to be sure. As I’ve stated before Mentor and Disciple is a viable concept, and something that needs to be reflected on in each of our lives. Are we truly seeking out the teachings of Buddhism or are we “making up our own stuff”? M/D is at the very heart of Buddhism as Greg Martin states, but really M/D is at the heart of every religion equally. In it’s simplest form M/D has to do with our own willingness to learn from another person.

Being dictated just who that Mentor is on an organizational level is another thing altogether. Subtly different, it is in fact worlds apart. When we are told who our Mentor is and to whom we have that relationship, we have clearly taken a big step down the road to true cultdom. The Mentor and Disciple relationship is becoming a vow of obedience, and a pledge of ultimate conformity. Conformity is something that the Japanese culture revolves around at it’s deepest core, but not so with our American culture.

Regardless of what our critics say about SGI being a cult, currently we are not identified as a cult in the public eye. Unfortunately so much of what is happening right now may change that for the future. Once we are perceived in the same ranks as Scientology and the Moonies, we will be unable to change that perception - ever.

This Code of Conduct is another frightening thing for me. Code of Conduct is a long time coming in SGI and I applauded it along with the New Leaders Handbook. SGI addressed issues that have long been ignored. The code of conduct signature form bothered me at first, but I wasn’t sure just why. The Code itself basically says that leaders can’t be assholes in the name of Buddhism and SGI. Who but an asshole would disagree with that?

Yet that one sentence - that one brief little sentence, again as subtle as it is, changes everything. It makes the Code of Conduct “something else”. On page 45 at the bottom of the third and final paragraph;

“Not signing, therefore not accepting the Code of Conduct for Leaders, disqualifies one from leadership in the SGI-USA”.

Not signing, therefore not accepting… You’re either with us or against us…

Only the Sith think in absolutes…

Who wrote this? What jackass decided it was necessary or even acceptable to put in this particular sentence? Was it discussed with the SGI-USA legal staff? As I fear, much of these decisions are being made by rank amateurs and those without real world experience in such matters. Even a greater fear is that many of these new policies are being invented by those truly possessing a cult mentality. SGI is still recovering from the 90’s, if you haven’t noticed, and there aren’t lines full of those waiting to take on leadership positions.

I had a long and profitable career in the Corporate world. Being in corporate, as it were, there were many things I had to sign. Confidentiality agreements became common place in the 90’s. They not only said I couldn’t disclose company technology but also routinely stated that if I invented something really cool while I worked there, the company owned it. These weren’t much of an issue really, we all knew that if in fact we came upon some new technological breakthrough, we’d quit first, invent second. There were lots of ways around those sorts of thing.

Also routine were forms stating that we’d received such and such form, read it and understood it. These almost always had to do with legal issues such as sexual harassment, racial discrimination and drug use. These also were no real problem. I had read it, I did understand it. More importantly we signed these things for the simple reason that we wanted to keep our high-paying, well benefited jobs, and there were plenty of people out there who WOULD sign them in order to have those jobs.

No form I ever signed ever said however “by signing you agree you will not shoot meth during working hours. NOT signing it implies that you are shooting meth during working hours”. Or by not signing this form you are admitting you are a racist, sexist bastard intent on destroying the company. There was always a real choice in these matters. The consequences were apparent, none the less there was a choice. “With us or against us” is never a choice.

Wally George was a patriotic American conservative radio and television commentator. He coined the term “Combat TV”. I watched a few episodes back in the 80's when they aired. In a 1983 show Wally demanded that pacifist Blase Bonpane prove his patriotism on national TV by standing up and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance - right there, right then. Blase refused and ended up overturning Wally's desk before storming off the show.

This is a major and critical feature of living in the USA, we don’t have to prove our loyalty to anyone, anytime.

The truth is that I personally support and agree with the Code of Conduct and I prove it through my continued appropriate conduct toward my members. I will however elect not to sign a form that is truly no choice as I am a Buddhist and an American.

Faith in the Gohonzon of the Lotus Sutra does not equal loyalty to SGI-USA, and faith in general does not equal obedience. If we forget those simple realities we ALL will cease to be Buddhists, and in truth will become “something else."

One of the things this did was to provide an umbrella for many very disgruntled members and former members of the Soka Gakkai to hide under. The “Temple Group”, as SGI would later refer to the Nichiren Shoshu (NSS) lay-movement would take on a distinct identity in later years, though in those first few years after the split, the temple was mostly populated by those who simply could never get along in SGI, and those who left because of something some leader said or did that they could not reconcile.

In my recollection, living and practicing in the Sillycon Valley of the San Francisco Bay Area, we had only one or two families disconnect from SGI in order to remain with the Temple, which was Myoshin-ji in Pinole, California. One such family’s mother, we learned later, had aspirations for both her sons to enter the NSS priesthood. This seemed curious to me then, and more so now, as few American’s had even the slightest clue what was involved with entering a Japanese Buddhist priesthood, or if even such a thing was possible. The Father soon was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had to leave the family to seek rest and recuperation in peace with a relative. Looking back, as they were a Hispanic family, I also recall that they had come from Catholic backgrounds and this may have accounted for the priesthood fixation, as it has with many Americans who have, since 1990, sought refuge with NSS under the care and authority of the priests.

What is not openly discussed is the actual history of events, moods and subtle nuances of time as it passed during the 90’s. Our “Soka Spirit” movement, which would become a significant movement within the SGI Youth Division, took many years to form. The temple incident was strictly a hush-hush and taboo discussion topic and was not openly discussed for many years after it happened. American SGI had no precedent to learn from in dealing with such an event, and virtually no appreciation for it’s importance in later years.

Only now in this last year has discussion surrounding the events of the actual beginning of this conflict begun to be openly discussed. The schism between the priesthood and the SGI came to a initial peak in 1979. At that time Pres. Ikeda stepped down, in true Japanese fashion, from his position as President of the Soka Gakkai, and was moved laterally to the Soka Gakkai International. In fact I learned a few years later in a personal discussion with Mr. Yoshimachi, an SGI leader of some weight and importance, that at that time Pres. Ikeda clearly did not feel he had the support from the membership to stand up to the already authoritarian priesthood.

All of these events are poorly recorded, and even my recollection of them is jaded by my personal geographic location and my own individual perspective. No one seems interested in recorded actual events, not without strongly slanting them to one advantage or another. As I have stated in previous articles, the Japanese are habitual liars and lying is an historical part of their cultural heritage.

There was another phenomenon particular to the post-1990 excommunication - the appearance of other Nichiren sects. Interestingly, even today few SGI members understand the proliferation of separate and individual Nichiren traditions. Few SGI members began practicing with an interest in Buddhism at all, rather the desire to experience the benefits of practicing Nichiren’s Buddhism.

The ranks of Nichiren Shu swelled slightly as many of the drop-out Gakkai members claiming to want to have nothing to do with politics and in-fighting between the SGI and NSS sought refuge there. Other sects which previously had minimal presence, such as Honmon Butsuryu Shu and Kempon Hokke appeared in the form of cyber sanghas, groups which only existed as internet forums with members communicating only by way of e-mail and messaging via USENET forums such as alt.religion.Buddhism.Nichiren.

Today yahoo groups and other forums have proliferated in a myriad of different forms all claiming some correct version of Nichiren faith. These have always interested me, for many reasons. The most significant curiosity has to do with the very nature of sangha itself, as the word is used in Buddhism.

Sangha: Sanskrit; a term for the Buddhist monastic community.

I was reminded recently by a post from a Nichiren Independent on one of the many such discussion forums to which I am subscribed, of the implications of practicing Buddhism in cyberspace. The post had to do with a request for experiences to be shared. For anyone not familiar with Soka Gakkai Nichiren Buddhism, the cornerstone of the SGI is the discussion meeting. In the discussion meeting it is the personal experience or testament of the benefit of one’s practice of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo that stands as the pillar of every successful discussion meeting.

Needless to say a cyberspace Buddhist sangha cannot share their experiences in the same fashion as in a face-to-face discussion meeting, rather experiences must be written and posted on a forum. This negates much of the most important qualities of sharing an experience - the non-verbal communication, enthusiasm and other personal human qualities that go hand-in-hand with sharing a personal story.

Most internet users, I believe, perhaps haven’t spent sufficient time “doing the math” of what cyber communication really is. One of the most important things to consider is that without a human being relaying a personal story, the reader is left only with words printed on a computer screen. In order for a persona to be present, the reader must create said persona from their own mind. In essence without knowing the person who posted the experience, the essence of the individual “saying” the words is actually a creation of the reader’s mind, not a true representation of the writer.

This reality sheds what I feel are catastrophic realities on all Buddhist cyber sanghas. In the Soka Gakkai, a difficult aspect of practice in our organization is dealing with all sorts of people, including people we would normally not associate with. We have a cross-section of our US population with representatives of all ethnic racial peoples, peoples of all sexual preference and those from every imaginable life-experience. This makes the SGI a truly international sangha and it is from this wide-based personal association that many inconspicuous benefits arise.

Compare this to the earlier Buddhist sects to come from overseas, such as the American Buddhist Churches of the Nembutsu sect which were present in the US at the end of the 19th Century, and later the esoteric and intellectual American Zen movement. Nichiren Shu made it’s advent in Hawaii much earlier on, shortly after the turn of the Century. All of these groups however and specifically the Buddhist Church were centered around the Japanese community and were virtually 100% Japanese. In this respect their sangha was actually a cultural shelter more than an active Buddhist community.

The cyber sangha, I believe, is destined to the same fate, merely existing as a shelter for the “socially challenged” rather than those sincerely seeking the benefit of sincere Buddhism practice. I do not call a curse on the Nichiren Independents - quite the opposite I wish the best of results from anyone who seeks to embrace the Gohonzon and Daimoku of Nichiren, as well as his writings and teachings.

In SGI there is a bifurcation of Buddhism, in my interpretation. There is both Nichirenism, and the tradition of the Gakkai itself in the form of daily practice, it’s educational tradition and other aspects that are distinctly unique to both the Soka Gakkai and the legacy of the three Presidents. The sooner SGI members come to fully understand this divisional synergy, the better off they will be in the future.

Soka Gakkai has, after 1990, come to recklessly throw about the term “orthadox Nichiren Buddhism”. Many of us parrot such slogans as “just as Nichiren teaches”, and “return to Nichiren's Teachings”.

Orthodox is a hard word and one that has a specific and narrow meaning. I cringe every time this word is used at a Gakkai meeting. I understand it feels good to say it, but our Buddhism is far from orthodox. I hope that as the years unfold we will come to both understand the difference between our Buddhist practice and orthodox Nichiren Buddhism, as well and the inevitability that all things evolve. Orthodox can all too quickly come to mean “stuck” in many ways.

Having spent a considerable amount of time studying the writings of Nichiren, as well as the traditions of other sects, it has become clear to me, since just after our split with Nichiren Shoshu, that its teachings are neither orthodox nor even historically accurate. Additionally it must be made clear in the Soka Gakkai that we still largely attempt to uphold this aberrant form of Nichiren’s Buddhism.

There are Nichiren traditions that fit the label “orthodox”, and Kempon Hokke comes immediately to mind. We in the Soka Gakkai should understand that we are a lay movement, not a traditional Nichiren Sect. SGI members should come to realize that one aspect of the events of 1990 is that we can be free and not enslaved by the authority of a twisted and fantastical tradition, one which more closely resembles the Catholic Church rather than a true Buddhist tradition.

More importantly as Soka Gakkai faithful we are not each obligated to study Nichiren’s teachings in an academic and scholarly fashion. Everyone should strive to find their niche. For those of us who do wish to study, the time has come to begin to sort out that which is real and discard that which has been invented to serve ulterior agendas.

SGI exists to provide a path for every person to become happy through the practice of Nichiren’s Buddhism. Our tradition is one of personal practice and a community which is broad and varied. Whether we like it or not, not everyone who encounters SGI will remain. For those who are fortunate to be able to practice in SGI, we need to make study and personal practice our own personal responsibility and take ownership of our personal understanding of the teachings of Nichiren. Until this happens our Buddhism will in affect be owned by someone else.

Happy New Year

Rev. Greg

You have been kicked off of Zadankai.

Sorry.

Thing is you see Zadankai is for SGI members only. Obviously you were left on for many years after you announced your resignation from SGI because you had been a member and were still contributing. However this last year your only contributions have been negative, and counter-production in any stretch of my imagination.

Truthfully if you had continued to contribute in a constructively critical fashion that would have been one thing - however your knowledge, understanding and opinions of SGI have become outdated, and instead of writing your own posts you basically have just sarcastically supported other negative posts from SGI members.

I'm not mad at you, it was just time for you to go. With you on Zandakai I felt it was not really practical to invite new and hopefully contributing SGI members on. Hope you understand.

We can still be friends though, right?

Greg

Play nice while I am away, and remember, martial arts is like religion; It makes good people better, and bad people worse.

Rev. Greg

Please observe that I am not mentioning his name (actually I don’t know his name), or his e-mail, or the exact name of the forum and I will ask anyone reading to respect his privacy as well, in case they too are on this forum. I do not intend to use my blog to attack individuals.

At first glance the reader may think that I am just holding this post up to show the supremacy of the Soka Gakkai in contrast to Nichiren Shoshu. Nothing could be farther from the truth. There is something about this posts and this individual’s beliefs that deeply disturb me, especially in light of my previous blog entitled “Animal Farm”.

In my supportive opinion Soka Gakkai International continues to behave recklessly, the way people and organizations do when they really don’t think anyone’s watching. Some of what SGI does and says is careless and to a large degree I feel that people like the fellow who wrote what I am about to share are the fallout victims of careless cultish behavior.

In my opinion if Soka Gakkai Internation continues to coddle Japanese culture, we will eventually totally polorize ourselves from the International Community.

I do not believe in my heart the Soka Gakkai outside of Japan is a cult, however I believe there’s plenty of cultish behavior. Whether or not I believe the Soka Gakkai in JAPAN is a cult is irrelevant to me since I basically see Japan as one huge cultural cult in and of itself. I don't even mean that in a bad way - it just is.

The dialog in which the response appeared was a typical sectarian discussion of Nichiren Buddhism. In the ongoing thread such issues were raised politely by myself and others in regards to the historical likelihood that Nikko Shonin only stayed at Taisekiji for a year, and the validity of the Daigohonzon as the supreme mandala over all others and other issues of a historical nature.

This is what followed, as cut and pasted directly from my e-mail account;

This is my reply to irritablegosho - 'scholar'.
It's just an energy taking thing to continue, I really have no
concept of what you people seem to be 'debating' about.
What "Scholarly" community did you refer to? What I found amusing is
that Ikeda ranted for so long about his "Historic" meeting with the
now deceased Arnold Tornybee,[and now deceased Carl Sagan, and new
deceased.....etc. Everyone who ever met him is 'now deceased'.] -
that the biographer hardly gives Ikeda a paragraph of a 900 plus page
authentic biography - which is a completely different concept to
former NSA believers who simply gobbled up Ikedaisms through book
sales and memorized them until nothing else would fit into their
heads. My practice of over 25 years has helped me to see the forest
for the trees. After the 1992 split, America has had nothing but
hardships, we owe nothing to those people of the SGI. We can thank
them for Katrina, flooding all throughout the mid-west, Missouri
Flooding, Tennesse Tornadoes, including the unprecidented flooding in
England, where virtually everyone gave up their practice to follow
that person, and so forth. Everywhere where there are temple members
as well as correct Gohonzon, is relative calm, normal weather while
elsewhere is a mess. The inability for Ikeda to accept "Guidance"
from the High Priest, while they so quickly dispensed same to
thousands of people daily without regard to personal circumstances
tells me, and others, that he felt he was above listening to anyone
else but himself. One of the first great splits in Nichiren Shoshu
was when the Five Senior Priests left Minobu to do their own thing.
They established their own school and wore purple robes, whereas,
Nikko decided to stay and carry out the Daishonin's written will.
It's really a question of choice to follow one creed over another.
For decades fanatics defended Ikeda's every word and movement;
running around wearing little two-way radios - taking care
of 'traffic control' calling him Sensai and bowing and scraping at
the mere mention of his words. Members were encouraged to 'memorize'
President Ikeda's words and quote him, we watched as male and female
members of NSA stumbled over his concepts using pidgin to talk to one
another until finally, after all of that crap and almost having to
sing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - a completely Christian performance -
it was time to say so long. In the 10 years that I practiced with
NSA I had gone on nearly every major Convention, but was never
allowed to go on a Tozan as all seats were reserved for the so-
called "Leaders". When the leaders of the 21st Century in NSA
stumbled and fell; I was able to attend all temple activities and
interesting was finally able to attend Tozan on several occassions.
If you want to sit at your stupid computer and call Taisekiji names,
while at the same time calling yourself a scholar then I'm sorry, you
will have to find a different audience for your outpourings.

From Dai-Nichiren (special edition) “On the Soka Gakkai Problem (II)” - published by the Nichiren Shoshu Bureau of Religious Affairs, an original copy collected by myself during a trip to Myoshin-ji Temple in 1989 or 1990.

“Without a challenging or fighting spirit, we cannot attain Buddhahood. The daimoku of Soka Gakkai members struggling for Kosen-Rufu is the same as that chanted by the three founding Soka Gakkai presidents, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda, to achieve the happiness of all humankind. If we forget this fighting daimoku of courageous lion kings, our chanting deviates from that of our mentors. In that case, our chanting will not produce the sound of the lion’s roar created by mentor and disciple chanting together. And it will not be the daimoku of Nichiren, but rather become the practice of an inferior teaching that has no relation to the spirit of Shakyamuni. (see Study Guide, p. 63, or March-April 2007 Living Buddhism, pp 101-102).