Free Nichiren Buddhism
Ms. Gardot feels she has emerged from near death with an intense awareness of the fragility of life and a greatly heightened sense of what really matters. "I'm truly confident that I'm a better person," she said, then added, "Not that I was ever a really bad person."
Full article here.
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3 comments
I'm thinking that's an unintentionally specious title. Especially since the article points out, as you did, that it was her near death experience that influenced her appreciation. Nothing wrong with that. My niece had a brain tumor at 11 and feels the same way. But my niece doesn't have to be evasive about her "school of hard knocks" because she's not trying to imbue a product with an elusive broader meaning. I apologize for falling over the skeptic rail to the cynic side. I just have an negative penchant for those who market cliquey indicative dabbling. The way the story reads is that she has a lot of musical talent and is pseudo spiritual. "Sipping tea in a Midtown Manhattan hotel last month, flanked by a cane she jokingly nicknamed Harvey Wallbanger, with a Buddha and a bell on the table beside her, Ms. Gardot mused about her phoenixlike resurgence...""Evasive about her background, Ms. Gardot describes her education as "the school of hard knocks." Born in New Jersey of Polish and Austrian descent and the only child of parents who were both artists, she was raised Roman Catholic but is now a Soka Gokkai Buddhist.""Glenn Barrett, the producer of her debut album in 2008 for Verve, "Worrisome Heart," marvels at her "Zen-like poise" during the initial whirlwind of attention."Nichiren would love that.
How do we know she's a chanter? She doesn't really talk about chanting.Being a "Soka Gokkai" Buddhist isn't exactly the same thing as being a Nichiren Buddhist.I'm assuming you said "chanter" as sort of a catchall. But she sounds like just any other celebrity with "Buddhist" affectations.It's amazing that she survived that crash and is able to function somewhat normally. I might even check out her music. grin.
I am not sure where to place this comment, having read this post, and the one about sweat lodges, one after the other.Firstly, I do not understand why people feel drawn to extremes of danger and difficulty to feel "spiritual." As this young woman's story indicates, there are plenty of real circumstances in life that can run over us, quite literally, leaving us broken on the street.Secondly, I find it disappointing that the interviewer did not probe more deeply into the correlation between Buddhism, the accident, her healing and her music. Perhaps there was nothing to probe.Thirdly, much as I object to Buddhism being reduced to a marketing strategy, this is the world in which we live. This is the course that the largest Nichiren-related group on the planet (SGI) has set. Celebrities are proud to be SGI in the same way many are proud to be Scientologists. All our grousing won't change this.