Someone other than me, that is. The odious Gandhi, King, Ikeda exhibit has been touring the world for, what?, a decade now. I am extremely heartened to see someone in the larger Buddhist community say, Whuh? Go check out the entry on Barbara's Buddhism Blog. She doesn't understand how SGI's Daisaku Ikeda can be held alongside such greats as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi.
Here's how. SGI has spent millions of dollars touring the exhibit and greasing the palms of academics and GKI "award" recipients, including Dr. Lawrence Carter. Check out the comments section, where SGI VP Ian McIlraith chimes in to praise Dr. Carter and GKI without disclosing that he's on the SGI payroll. Pretty slick.
30 comments
Does Ikeda deserve the same honor as King or Ghandi? Probably not even though in my opinion both are highly over rated. And if it wasn't for the SGI Ikeda connection the whole non-violence displays wouldn't be going on at all. Kings legacy has been stripped of all social justice and is only about civil rights for black americans. Ghandi is just a name other than being an icon what did he achieve, he's known for liberating India from Britain but thta was never the whole story. Yet they are famous for being proponents of non-violence.So I certainly could agree with Barbara's article right up until she mentions the Dali Lama as a better choice. The Dali Lama is a politician first and foremost concerned with Tibet's continued existence. Tibet the corrupt theo-fascist state that it was before the chinese took over and improved life for the people there. The Dali Lama who cut deal with Mao then reneged when he thought he had a better offer from the CIA and as a result committed himself to terrorism. Running to safety for himself he has done nothing to imoprove the life of Tibetans.So now looking through that lens what a wonderful champion for peace and non-violence Ikeda has been. And barbara doesn't have a clue.
I am astonished at the vehemence of anti-Dalai Lama sentiment among SGI members. Clown hidden, I do not know your organizational affiliation, but your remarks are similar to those I have heard before from SGI members.Anti-Dalai Lama sentiment in SGI is attributable, in part, to the organization's warm relationship with China. SGI leaders anticipate that by currying favor, somehow Chinese officials will grant SGI the privilege of being the official form of Buddhism practiced in China.Further, the Dalai Lama is seen by SGI members as a competitor of Daisaku Ikeda. This is a my-guru-is-better-than-your-guru mentality. Some SGI leaders and members will never forgive the Dalai Lama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, when Daisaku Ikeda "deserves" it more.Clown hidden, I have attended speeches by the Dalai Lama on several occasions and have read several of his books. His words have inspired and illuminated my practice of Nichiren Buddhism.
Clown is no fool and from my readings of his viewpoints over the years, has a keen ability to uncover the nuance of many circumstances. When it comes to politics, his opinions come off, to me, as too exteme.My take on the the GKI exhibit is that it is a tool to equate the SGI movement and it's supreme leader as fushion of the ideals of non-violence as inittiated my Gandhi and King. I was fortunate enough to do set-up on the GKI exhibit here locally, a number of years back, and am intimately familiar with its content. It seems to me that the SGI is trying to portray president Ikeda as a modern day champion of human rights in the the tradition of Gandhi and King. This effort is based on the SGI's perceived assault by slanderers and opponents out to discredit its movement for world peace and its mentor. The problem, as I see it, is that the SGI's persecution has emerged in large part because of its militant behavior toward other sects and religions, and celebrity construct of the mentor. Mr. Ikeda has never really experienced the kind of persecution for his cause that assailed Gandhi and King. His persecution has come forth because he is the head of a cult that grew quickly, entrenched itself in politics, and became fabulously wealthy. Although Mr. Ikeda and his followers may believe he is a champion of human rights and has been wrongly persecuted, it seems that may have experienced these things by virtue of the SGI's agrressive actions and his fame.In regard to the Dalai Lama, I believe that the venom of many SGI members comes from the fact that they view Tibetan Buddhism as heretical. This hatred, for lack of a better word, is in small part a jealous reaction because the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Prize and PI never will. I do not believe that the Dalai Lama is a politician, first and foremost - I belive he is a holy man that has done an amazing job in promoting his form of Buddhism to the world. It seems to me that the better candidate for the exhibit would have been Nelson Mandela. I do think what the SGI has done to aid refugees has been wonderful and I do believe they are well within their rights to try and make the case that Mr. Ikeda is the rightful heir to the Gandhi, King legecy, I just don't believe it.
I agree with Auntie, although I am not astonished at all by the anti-Dalai Lama sentiment. What do you expect from people who have been indoctrinated with a us vs. them mentality? Comments such as the one posted here demonstrate a complete lack of understanding about not only the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism, but perhaps, Buddhism in general. Commentators such as this might be better off sticking to their absurd ongoing debates with shills from Kempon Hokke and other fringe Nichiren groups. You cannot reach people like this because they are far too stuck in their pre-conceived notions and their adherence to a dogma that has very little to do with Dharma. As anyone who has ever attended teachings given by the Dalai Lama knows, he gives extremely deep explanations to Buddhist philosophy. He gives his listeners meat, not fat, and the Dalai Lama would never go on and on about how great he is and all of the honors he has received.But the point is not about who is the greatest leader. There are many paths which lead to awakening and those who a deep understanding of Buddha-dharma do not feel threatened by any of these other paths.
Neither do you, as "Kings legacy has been stripped of all social justice and is only about civil rights for black americans" demonstrates. Only about civil rights? Is equality for black Americans, or any Americans, merely a trivial pursuit then?
I don't think the SGI really hold any other religious leaders in any type of real regard. But thta has nothing to do with who the Dali Lama is all by himself.
I recieved Medicine Buddha transmission from him. So what? Don't change history.
Nelson Mandela might be the perfect third to join the pair. But if the idea is that the candidate should be buddist then I would say Thich Nhat Hanh.
I see Martin Luther King as being murdered for being an anti-war socialist more than fighting for equal rights. I don't think I'm trivializing anything to say that his legacy has been white washed and sanitized.
About five years ago Dr. Carter was speaking about adding Shirin Ebadi, a Muslim, a woman, a lawyer, a civil rights activist in Iran, and a Nobel Laureate. (Of course Nobel will give a peace prize to a dumb ass like Mother Teresa too.) But nothing ever came of that either. Not enough lobbyists?
Do you have a point, besides bashing a dead woman? You people have no respect for anyone outside of your cult. I feel sorry for pathetic little minds.
She has her detractors. Christopher Hitchens wrote a whole book about her. But then, Hitchens has his detractors, too. He doesn't have much use for religion of any kind, so whatever.I wouldn't call Mother Teresa a "dumb ass," but I think her opposition to birth control/family planning was unhelpful. Did her views negate the work she did on behalf of the sick and poor? No.
if I offended anyone who admires Mother Teresa, Linda Johnson, Ayn Rand, or Nadya Suleman.
I haven't seen anything he has written that is in the least profound. I've got a clearer understanding of reality than he has, but I don't nominate myself because it doesn't matter what I say, no one understands Buddhism until they begin to incorporate it in their life.
Is this the Olympics of Competitive Buddhism?I really enjoyed Thich Nhat Hanh's book about the Lotus Sutra, Opening the Heart of the Cosmos. I wrote about it in a diary last year: How To Take Action in a Hospital Waiting Room.I won't restate here what I wrote back then, but I stand by it.
I'm not in a competition with anyone, but I don't see any Buddhist leader right now that knows how the Ten Factors work in their own lives, and I can tell by what they write and teach; that includes the priests of the Nichiren sects as well. I can only hope that there is such a priest, but I haven't seen one yet.I just read your diary, and while I think it is quite good, Thich Nhat Hanh still doesn't impress me at all. If people want to learn Buddhism then they should study the masters, especially Chih-i. There are no masters in todays world.
I'm not trying to be argumentative but. To Markp's point that there are no true masters any more.What if this is true? What if there never were any so-called masters other than Shakyamuni? And what if even he was exaggerating?Does it matter? Does it invalidate the path/practice of Buddhism?Essentially, we each have to figure out life for ourselves. So maybe it's unrealistic to even expect someone to be a "master" of Buddhism.
Just because there are no masters in todays world does not invalidate the contribution to Buddhism that the current leaders are making to society. Because of the Dalai Lama and others, including Thich Nhat Hanh, the stranglehold that Christianity has had on the west is finally breaking. People think they'll never see a day when Buddhism will become the main religion in the west, but the foundation is now cracking thanks to these leaders. They may not be masters, but they are playing a significant role in the overall scheme of the spread of Buddhism, even if you don't think their teachings are correct. This includes Ikeda ironically!This is the way of cause and effect and the interdependence of life. This is how the foundation is laid.The masters of Buddhism are still there to be read. They haven't gone away.
Here is what Timothy Harada posted in reply on his blog:I spent much of the day writing a response to this blog: http://buddhism.about.com/b/20...But when I went to submit the comment, they blocked any further comments.So here is what I wrote:Thank you Barbara for your interest in trying to understand why a son of a seaweed farmer, who fought 20-plus years to overcome tuberculosis in his 30s, whose older brother died in WWII, who was falsely jailed in Osaka (in the 50s), later to be fully exonerated, who has given his life for over 60 years, traveling the world, trying to touch so many ordinary people's lives (Buddhist and non-Buddhists alike) could be thought of as someone who ranks up there with great people like Gandhi and King.I was first introduced to the writings of Gandhi and King as a young punk-rock, stoner kid in Huntington Beach, California, when I decided to supplement listening to Jello Biafra (from the Dead Kennedys) and Johnny Rotten (from the Sex Pistols) by occasionally picking up some of Daisaku Ikeda's books from my hippy mom's bookshelf.Not only did I start to learn about Gandhi and King from his writings at the time, but I also started to learn about Jose Marti, Nelson Mandela, Socrates, Thoreau, Tolstoy, Victor Hugo, and many other thinkers throughout time, who I had never learned about in the Huntington Beach Unified School District.It was through reading Daisaku Ikeda's writings in the early 80s, as a junior high student, that I realized it doesn't take just leading salt marches and civil rights marches (though those are extremely important) to have a drastic effect on this very messed up world. In all of Daisaku Ikeda's dialogues with such people as Nelson Mandela, Linus Pauling, Hazel Henderson, and hundreds of others, I learned about how the great revolutionary people of all times were still normal, everyday people, who despite their many struggles, decided to try to do something different, to try to affect the world in a positives way. I learned from him (a normal everyday person) that we all (normal everyday people) have infinite worth and we all have infinite ability to do something in a small way, that will ripple out into the world and cause positive changes in a world that desperately needs it (see how your little small question has rippled out?).The greatest thing that I have learned from Daisaku Ikeda is a quote he often repeats from the Lotus Sutra, from the historical Buddha, "Shariputra, in the beginning I made a vow to make all people equal to me, with no distinctions." The reason I chose to take Daisaku Ikeda as my mentor in life (in my preteen years) and not my favorite singers at the time, (David Bowie, Johnny Rotten and Jello Biafra) was because of his belief in me as an ordinary person, that I could, through my small actions, affect the world positively, the same way he has.When I first read his writings on music at about the age of 10, "How unfortunate that the level of modern music has led youth on the path to delinquency. When music plays such a role, its functions must be called evil (from the Precepts for Brass Band)," it took me a few years of reading it, to finally realize that music for me at the time, though it was helping me vent my anger at a very unjust and screwed up world, wasn't helping me create any value in my life or in the world.It was then that I decided I wanted to be a singer/song writer and create music that inspires young people to realize their unlimited potential as human beings.I tried learning every kind of musical instrument I could get a hold, since then, but for some reason, it took me about 14 years to break through my writer's block and write my first complete song. Despite those 14 years of suffering to try to realize my true potential as a song writer, I was forced to never give up, by continually reading Daisaku Ikeda's many books. Also during those 14 years, and for another 6 years after I wrote my first song in 1994, Daisaku Ikeda and the SGI were battling many groups that were trying to keep Soka University from opening a university in my home town of Southern California.I made a goal to go to Soka University of SanDeigo when I was a jr. high school student in the 80s, but unfortunately due to so much opposition in the area of San Deigo, where that site was being planned, it was never able to even start construction. Then when I was in high school in the late 80s, I was glad that the 4-year university that was planned for San Diego in the early 80s was replanned for the new site that was opened in Calabasas, Los Angeles. So again I made a determination to go to Soka University of Los Angeles, once it opened as the 4-year university it was supposed to become. However, for another 10 or more years, the Sierra Club, along with a whole host of other interest groups fought and fought Soka University from opening up a 4-year university in Calabasas.Despite my dream to be a singer/song writer, for some reason, I still wanted to go to Soka University in California, but because of reading Daisaku Ikeda's writings over that time, I realized as he often writes that 'I have to create my dreams wherever I find myself, no place is better than where you find yourself at any given moment to create your dreams and to change the world for the better (my paraphrase).' I re-thought about what it was that finally helped me break through my 14 years of writer's block and finally write my first song. It was only after I read the first 8 volumes of Daisaku Ikeda's Human Revolution (his autobiographical novel of his struggles to build the Soka Gakkai, under his mentor Josei Toda, now over 30 volumes, when combined with the New Human Revolution). So I thought, why don't I write an autobiographical novel, like he has done; maybe my writings could inspire other young people to also break through whatever blocks are holding them back from changing their lives. Like my 14-year struggle to write my first song, the 2-year struggle to finish my first novel, was only accomplish by reading many of the books Daisaku Ikeda had written (and published in many languages) during that time.I have read many critics of Daisaku Ikeda, but for the over 25 years that I've been reading his books, I have never found an educated criticism of any of his over 100 published books (maybe some exist, but I've never found them). I've always found this to be quite odd, that the most prolific writer of our time doesn't have any educated books written critically of any of his bestselling books. I'm a critic of many famous writers (read my blogs), but I always try to read their books before I critique their writings. I have tried to have a debate on my podcast (Peace From the Far East) with anyone who has read any of his books and would like to debate some of his ideas, but I have not yet found anyone to take me up on it (still waiting).Luckily, if you believe the conspiracy theorists that he is part of some big "World Government Cabal," you don't even have to buy his books to read them (thus you don't have to offer any financial support of any imaginary cabal). Just go to any university and you will find his books in most of the libraries. Or take a Buddhist class at many universities and you will be assigned one of his many books on Buddhist philosophy or Buddhist history as part of the class curriculum.Luckily, in my hometown of Orange County, California I was finally able to study at Soka University of America, from 2001 to 2005 (but I didn't read any books on Buddhism there or any of Daisaku Ikeda's books there, because it's not a religious school), but I did realize that like the 18-plus year struggle Daisaku Ikeda waged to open up Soka University of America, normal people like him have to fight hard and long to have anything great accomplished in this very unjust world. This has given me the courage that despite my 25-plus year struggle to be a singer/song writer (professionally) and 15-plus year struggle to be a writer of books (professionally), it might take me many more years before I can quit my day job (working for the Japanese government), but because I continue to read Daisaku Ikeda's great books, I gain the courage to never give up on my dreams.I know if you are serious about knowing why over 200 universities around the world have given Daisaku Ikeda honorary doctorate degrees and why the Dean of Morehouse College (a Christian) and the director of the Gandhi Institute (a Hindu) both consider Daisaku Ikeda their mentors, you are never going to find out by asking the many Daisaku Ikeda critics and fans. It would be like someone trying to tell you why some people in Japan eat natto for breakfast and why others throw up just smelling it. You are going to actually have to open up his books and find out for yourself. I will be happy to send any of them to you and then have a debate about them on my podcast. Please contact me.Timothy Haradawww.timharada.com
Have you seen that Gatorade commercial where pro athletes sweat Gatorade?Tim, you not only drank the Kool-Aid, you sweat the Kool-Aid.I'm not even going to try to disabuse you of your crazed hero worship. Most prolific writer of our time??? Why do you Ikedabots believe assertions that are so easy to disprove? Off the top of my head, um, Isaac Asimov wrote more than 500 books.Oh, and there's the matter of Ikeda's ghostwriters.Say, have you met Mark Rogow? You two would have plenty to discuss.
I don't need to speak for Timothy, but I'm sure he would be happy that you just proved his point since the only writer you listed that lived, in Timothy's time, being that he wasn't alive what the other writers you list were a live, is Steven King. And since Daisaku Ikeda wrote more books than the books you listed by Steven King, you just prove that Daisaku Ikeda is the most prolific writing in our (Timothy Harada and people born of his generation) time. And since you didn't list any educated critiques (books publish by educational publishing companies) writings for any of Daisaku Ikeda's books, you proved his other point. Good job. Joe Isuzu. The other commenter's comments are not even worth commenting on.
Only about a 3rd of the books President Ikeda has published in Japanese have been translated into English. It will be years after he has gone on to another part of the universe that even half of them will be able to be translated. But some of my friends in Japan have over 200 of his published books in Japanese and that is not even half of them.
If you go to the rare books section of the Soka University of America library, you will be able to read the Complete Writings of Gandhi it is over 100 very huge books, much bigger than each volume of Nichiren Daishonis's writings published now in English in 2 volumes (each about 1,000 pages).The volumes of the Complete Writings of Daisaku Ikeda which are available in Japanese are much bigger and he's writing new books everyday and only a 1/3 or so of his over 100 dialogues have yet to be published.
OrNot,"I don't need to speak for Timothy,"And yet you do because apparently he can't."the only writer you listed that lived, in Timothy's time,"But he said "our time" which would also be "my time" because that statement included me because he just spoke for me. Thanks Tim. The problem I have with a myopic statement like Tim's as he tiptoes through a time that he would like to expropriate for his use, is that he is painting the phrase "our time" so that it speaks to only a generation or two. But I think what Tim wants to really, really, really say, my turn putting words into his mouth whom ever he is, is that Daisaku Ikeda is "timeless" in his writings, speaking not just to the capacity of the people that are experiencing him within their personal parameters, but beyond to where his writings will appeal and have impact to future generations yet unborn. Come on Tim, your meaning was right there in between your prolific lines. Does Tim exist in real life, or is he a metaphor for love?"And since Daisaku Ikeda wrote more books than the books you listed by Steven King, you just prove that Daisaku Ikeda is the most prolific writing in our (Timothy Harada and people born of his generation) time."You might have ended that with a big "Ha! So There!" OrNot. The other point I didn't make clear or made so poorly that you didn't get it, is that someone maybe prolific, as the list shows, but who cares because they write pap. I much rather read Ikeda or Dumas than John Creasy or Steven King even though Creasy and King may have them outnumbered. I know you are saying that Ikeda wrote more than King. Prolific doesn't necessarily mean having any positive impact, just as the name on a book jacket doesn't necessarily reflect the true author.
Please, for the love of god, do not copy whole pages from the web and re-post them here. If you want to cite a web page, copy only a portion of text and include a link to the page so readers can see the rest.I know that many bloggers are in the habit of reposting whole articles, often without linking to the source, but this is beyond NOT COOL. Don't do it here.I got to this conversation late -- I should have deleted joeisuzu's comment yesterday and posted this note then. But I didn't, and now the conversation, such as it is, has continued. I apologize.Also, when quoting others, please use the "quote" button below the comment box. (There are only 5 buttons - bold, italic, quote, preview, post.) This makes it clear to readers that the quote is something that someone else wrote, not something you wrote.
Anonymous/pseudonymous participation is encouraged on this board. If participants don't want to reveal their real names, that's totally OK and understandable considering the nature of some of the organizations and individuals monitoring the discussion here.And actually, you know what? On second thought, I am going to delete a portion of the comments above.If your comments were deleted, I mean no personal offense. No one involved has been blocked or banned. You are free to re-post your main points, keeping in mind:1. No long cut-and-pastes from other websites.2. If you quote from another site, include a link.3. No trying to guess or divulge the identities of people who choose to participate here anonymously.
I will try to learn how to use this site and exercise more brain matter before I jerk my knee. Is there a way to alter or cancel something posted? I'm sorry.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...
Apparently, I missed all the commotion. My personal preference is that moderators not delete comments at all, but simply explain why similar things should not be posted in the future. This is more instructive for everyone, I think, and it doesn't interrupt the flow of discussion. Now I wonder what I missed! I am able to make edits on diaries/articles I have written, even after I have posted them. I assume this applies to you, too. Moderators can also make changes to diaries, to fix links and the like.However, comments are different. It is impossible to edit your own comments after they have been posted. Not even moderators can edit comments. The only thing that can be done with a comment is deletion.So those are the choices: delete a comment or let it stand. As I said, I am in favor of letting comments stand.
OK so I overreacted and used my moderation powers for darkness rather than light.Next time I won't be so quick to delete, because auntie when I read your reply, I wanted to go back and re-read what I had deleted. But I couldn't. Once it's gone, it's gone.Also, I discovered that if you delete a "parent" comment, all the replies connected to that comment get deleted, too.Joe, I am still learning how to use this site. Please bear with me.
Don't worry about deleting the past. Just move on to the future. There are no accidents in Buddhism.