Lisa Jones: First off, who are you? Some might remember your experience in Living Buddhism dead link about overcoming a health challenge, but some background info about you and your practice would be helpful.

Charles Atkins: You could say that from the age of awareness of around four or five, I was a total non-believer. In other words, as I was being schooled in the Lutheran church, I kept thinking, "This isn’t right. This is ridiculous!"

In the late sixties and after my stint in the Army, I experimented with psychedelics and sought out a philosophy that could guide my life. I took a job as a sports writer for a daily newspaper and wrote some very bad poetry. My spiritual quest led me to the formal study and practice of ceremonial magick and divination. I went so far as to hitchhike to Los Angeles to study and practice Kundalini yoga in an ashram.

In 1970, someone introduced me to Nichiren Buddhism, but I didn’t recognize the value of the practice at that time. In 1974 it reappeared just when I needed it the most – many people have had that kind of experience. I then joined what was known as NSA and became a member of the youth division. I had just turned 23.

With a lot of encouragement, strict guidance and a strong desire to take the practice to the limit, I gave it my all. I became a Chicago bureau correspondent for the World Tribune in 1975. Since I was a boy, I had always dreamed of writing a book and wrote volumes of fiction and nonfiction stuff, but my work was too unpolished for any publisher to take me seriously. I just kept chanting and working at my craft, getting rejected, licking my wounds, and then trying again.

In 2002, my book was published, opening the door to a whole new career.

Lisa: What's the gist of your book? Is it about Nichiren Buddhism and healing, or also other forms of Buddhism? What sources of information did you use?

Charles: The book is about using Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and creative visualization to combat any type of illness. There is a wealth of information in Nichiren’s writings on the causes of illness.

When fourth-stage Hodgkin’s disease struck me in 1987, I applied some guidance given by SGI vice president Tsuji that suggested that each syllable of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo corresponded to a specific region of the body. I later called this technique of chanting and visualization the "Tsuji Method." It worked for me. After a long, protracted battle with cancer and the rigors of treatment, I had a near-death experience and a couple of days later, the cancer, which had spread throughout my body, was gone.

Five years after my remission I wrote an article for the World Tribune. During those five years, many people looking for any tidbit of advice I could offer sought me out. This got me to thinking about something more ambitious.

I dove into the whole gamut of healing from cutting edge allopathic medicine to Tibetan Medicine. I studied most every field of healing and put the results of that research into an academic paper that I presented on behalf of the SGI-USA at the fifth annual Engaged Buddhism and Christianity conference held at DePaul University in Chicago, back in 1996.

Even before the academic paper was published I had a completed book and had secured an agent. It took me four years of submission and rejection before someone took a chance on me. But it paid off for both the publisher and me, as the book was a critical and sales success.

Lisa: Did you discover something about Nichiren Buddhism that somehow makes it uniquely suited to healing?

Charles: I discovered that daimoku (chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo) is, in my opinion, the ultimate power to induce healing -- even more powerful than the greatest medical doctor.

I’m not one to take a sectarian position. I’m more interested in the truth and actual proof than what some scripture says. This is an area, though, that I’m a bit touchy about. We make a lot of claims in the SGI about our prayer and the power of faith in the Lotus Sutra and how daimoku can conquer any illness.

If we are so sure of this (and I am) we should have daimoku put to scientific scrutiny. A prayer research group known as Spindrift dead link scientifically investigates prayer with double blind studies and trials. We should, as they say, put our money where our mouth is. Until we do, our claims are just anecdotal. We need to be scientific.

Lisa: How have readers responded to your book -- both chanters and non-chanters?

Charles: My book has done extremely well on the international scene. It’s one of the top-selling books on Buddhism and healing in the UK and I have gotten letters from people all over the world. The reception in the US has been so-so to my standards. It’s hard to grab the attention of the general public in the competitive market. People need Modern Buddhist Healing and a practical way to challenge illness; instead they get Cancer Schmancer.

What’s excited and intrigued me most is that libraries from all over the world have been adding my book to their shelves, giving non-Buddhist people an opportunity to learn about Nichiren Buddhism. I would also say that the vast majority of people who have bought this book have been non-chanters, and that is very gratifying to me.

Lisa: Has the SGI supported you? Your book sounds like something that Middleway Press, SGI-USA's publishing group, would publish. Did you approach them or have they approached you about future books?

Charles: That’s a difficult question to answer. I believe that the mercy of the Gohonzon caused me to go this process alone. I originally presented my manuscript to the SGI-USA thinking who better to publish my book. They were not interested and I accepted that as I did the rejections from the other publishers who took a pass on my book. There were no hard feelings.

When I finally had an offer, I set about getting copyright permissions and the SGI in Japan were extraordinarily helpful to me. They were absolutely amazing in their support and professionalism. They even critiqued my manuscript and made invaluable suggestions.

The SGI-USA, on the other hand was wholly uncooperative and, in my opinion, unprofessional. I was not allowed to advertise in our publications, I couldn’t get a review in our publications, but the Tibetan Buddhist magazine Shambhala Sun dead link reviewed it. SGI-USA wouldn’t even run a story on the book as a news item -- and let’s face it, the publication of a book on Nichiren Buddhism by a mainstream press is big news. SGI-USA wouldn’t even print the story of my experience with the book.

Of course it was mildly upsetting to me, but whatever their real motives for ignoring it, the book has still done extremely well. One of the reasons given was that the SGI-USA can’t show favoritism and must remain neutral. Personally, I don’t like that policy, but can accept it. However, it seems that they have made a recent exception to that policy by allowing another author to use the SGI’s podium and line organization in promoting his book and book signings. [Ed. note: This is a reference to Lou Marinoff who received a commendation from President Ikeda and spoke at the World Peace Ikeda Auditorium in Santa Monica in May. His books have been promoted by SGI-USA leaders.]

Regardless, whatever the SGI-USA does with its considerable publishing muscle doesn’t affect me a one bit because I have built my own audience and reputation. Thank you, Gohonzon.

The reprint rights for Modern Buddhist Healing were sold to a publisher in India and it will be published there in 2004.

Lisa: What are you working on now?

dead linkCharles: Right now, I have a few irons in the fire. First off, due to the success of Modern Buddhist Healing, I have a new book coming out sometime in 2005 on Buddhist prayer and visualization that will go far deeper and appeal to an even greater audience. This book will be far less sectarian than my first. (I’m not looking for an organizational sanction.) I’ll explore healing, visualization, the unconscious, the mind, and the mysteries of life and death. I intend to go as far as a writer can go. It’s all very exciting and I’ll use sources far removed from a typical SGI bibliography.

In the very near future, I will launch a career in fiction. I have five completed novels ready for submission. Four are spiritual adventure novels about Buddhism and the occult, and one is a psychological horror novel. Right now, my plate is pretty full. One of the great things about chanting is that your true human potential emerges. It’s truly amazing.