Reader letters to BuddhaJones.com, collected from June 2000 through February 2004. Letters within each period are presented as originally published. Letters from August 2002 through August 2003 were not recovered for this archive.

Goal Vehicle

I did enjoy Fiji Konstanzer's explanation unavailable of the vehicle concept. I would like to interject that what characterizes a goal vehicle is a fused understanding of the absolute and the relative. In The Daishonin's Buddhism, this is sometimes referred to as the fusion of the objective and the subjective. When one's path is itself one's goal, then one is cognizant of the absolute Buddha nature in every moment while at the same time fully participating in the affairs of daily life. As the Daishonin wrote, "Base your heart on the ninth consciousness and base your practice on the six consciousnesses." This is my two cents.
Derrick


Buddhist Humor?

I finally got a chance to check out your site. M. Simon's scholarship is to be commended. I'm glad there is a place for Buddhist humor.
ps nellhaus


Is this a joke?
Don T.


Would you please stop this site? It is so disturbing. You may be upset by this email. But I can't stop telling you. The internet is not proper media for your opinion. Participate SGI activities, face realities, and you won't go wrong way. I admit that I don't know you at all, so I may be totally wrong to say this to you. But most readers do not know you, right? Please stop!
AZ


Hulllo Dalai

I questioned the wisdom of you expressing interest unavailable in the Dalai Lama since Tibetan Buddhism is almost totally different than Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. It is a little like a Southern Baptist finding validity in something the Pope says. Strange. I gave this some thought then and concluded that the operative word is not Tibetan or Nichiren. The operative word is Buddhism. In the Gosho, Sessen Doji was willing to give his life to hear a single verse of the Buddhas teachings, even though it was a frightening demon who was going to teach him the verse! We should seek the Buddhas teachings from those who know them, as the Dalai Lama does to some degree. Stay centered on the Gohonzon and be firm that you are a disciple of the Daishonin.
RGranada


Ben Hillcrest and Shantideva

Ben Hillcrest needs to get a clue. The verses he "did not write" were written by Buddhist saint of the Eigth Century, Shantideva. The verses are famous and I'm surprised that Mr. Hillcrest, as an avowed Buddhist, did not know this unavailable. Maybe he was trying to be funny. Ha, Mr. Hillcrest, ha. Some of us are religious about our religion and study its pertinent texts. One suspects that the curriculum one studies as a Nichiren Buddhist is, shall we say, shallowly neglectful of classical texts.

I am not laughing at your web site. I refuse to laugh. There are some funny things but I will not laugh at them because to do so would be to admit that there is something here that has power over me to cause this reaction in me. I don't want to give you that kind of credit since Mr. Hillcrest is so shoddy in his scholarship that he would not know such a famous passage.

I also do not think that Urth Caf serves the best lattes in Los Angeles. Haven't you people ever been to Peet's? The clientele at Urth is positively insufferable chock-a-block full of film industry snobs and yoga instructors. I did have a good wedge of pie there once. Do you want me to write an article about the Bodhi Tree bookstore? It will not be funny and it will be thoroughly researched unlike the detestable tripe vomited into cyberspace by Mr. I'm-so-witlessly-funny Ben Hillcrest.
Cha-cha-cha,
Marcus


Ben Hillcrest responds: Shantideva? Cool. Thanks.


To the gentleman who criticized Ben Hillcrest. I do not know Mr. Hillcrest but I think you were too harsh with him. Please watch your word choice and tone, especially when making criticism. People can be very fragile, their feelings are tender sometimes. It takes a thick skin to put your writings up for all the world to see and get criticism. You don't need to throw rocks. How would you like it?
Donna


Math Problem

Three guys in a hotel call room service and order two large pizzas. The delivery boy brings them up with a bill for exactly $30.00.Each guy gives him a $10.00 bill, and he leaves. That's a fact! When he hands the $30.00 to the cashier, he is told a mistake was made. The bill was only $25.00, not $30.00. The cashier gives the delivery boy five $1.00 bills and tells him to take it back to the 3 guys who ordered the pizza. That's a fact!

On the way back to their room, the delivery boy has a thought... these guys did not give him a tip. He figures that since there is no way to split $5.00 evenly three ways anyhow, he will keep two dollars for himself and give them back three dollars.OK! So far so good! He knocks on the door and one fellow answers. He explains about a mix up in the bill, and hands the guy the three dollars, and then departs with his two-dollar tip in his pocket.

Now the fun begins! Remember $30-$25=$5 Right? $5-$3=$2 Right? So what's the problem? All is well, right? Not quite. Answer this: Each of the three guys originally gave $10.00 each. They each got back $1.00 in change. That means they paid $9.00 each, which times three is $27.00.The delivery boy kept $2.00 for a tip. $27.00 plus $2.00 equals $29.00. Where the hack is the other dollar ??? Solve it ?
Teh Terik


Teh Terik's math problem is not a problem. He's got where the money came from and where the money went all confused. It's like getting subject and object confused or maybe heaven and earth or something. Here's where the money came from: $9 from each guy (how come all the guys are guys?) $1 back to each guy. This makes $30 Here's where the money went: $25 to the pizza place $ 2 to the pizza 'guy' (this 'guy' thing seems a wee bit suspicious) $ 3 back to the three 'guys' (see what I mean?) this makes $30 why does there appear to be missing $1? I think it has to do with the power of the number 3. Three is significant. A lot of important terms have the number three -- three great secret laws, three obstacles, three blind mice, three musketeers, etc, etc. Now, there is also "Sansho tremis," the three paradoxes. This 'guy's' math problem appears to be a paradox, but isn't. That's the third paradox -- there is no paradox.
HTH --
A guy


Guys

I work with a bunch of very manly guys. They drink, swear and have the world-views of neanderthals. They are hard workers. I kid you not: there are two signs above the toilets. One reads 'Please flush after use.' The other reads 'Piss in toilet.' One of the guys has a big problem. His ex-girlfriend had his baby a few days ago and she won't let him see it. Now, when you deal with daily life by filling yourself with alcohol and fighting strangers what is left to deal with serious problems like this? Here is what he did. There are three fellows at work we call the ninjas. They each have black belts in a whole bunch of martial arts. They are strong, smart and nimble. So the guy got the three ninjas drunk and ordered them to beat him up! That's how he dealt with his feelings about his ex. For some reason they all like and respect me. They must think I landed from another planet.
Keith


The Site in General

Buddhajones is a Buddhahoot. How did you get my first women's division chapter chief to give guidance? The author's name is obviously a pseudonym, because the compassionate spirit is unmistakable. I was going to submit an article! However, your Buddhist ethic against attachments dissuaded me. Please thank Coco-san for that time she gave the YWD leader in my chapter guidance to move into my apartment so she could save money for Tozan.
Regards,
Thomas Ultican


I LOVE THIS SIGHT...
Fortune Baby in Hartford, CT.
Victor

Suggestions

I wish you would appeal more to my consumer instincts. Throw in some e-commerce or a shopping cart widget so I can feel that I am shopping as I read the articles. Can I have Brooke's phone number?
Abe

I forgot my other request. Can you please post a recipe for coconut flan or some Leonard Cohen lyrics? Your choice.
Abe

The Editor responds: Please click here. unavailable


Top Ten Reasons to Chant

Right on target, Terri Moore unavailable! Good job!
Maggie


Sex or Love?

Thanks everyone who sent me messages about "Nichiren the Lover." unavailable The statement that I want to make at this time is this: Love and sex have very little to do with each other. The minute you say "love," why do some people act as if you said "sex"? Is that a guy thing? Same with the word "passion."

Equating love and sex sounds to me like a Christian-ish way of "legitimizing" one's sexuality. Mentally merging sex with love somehow sanctifies the sex part of it and makes it OK. But sex is OK all by itself, without mixing it up with love. One's sexuality does not need to be legitimized. I am talking about natural sexuality, like natural hunger -- I do not mean the artificial appetite of dulled sensitivity and crass commercialization. Gay, straight, whatever -- sexuality is what it is -- and it's a good thing (as Martha-Stewarty as that sounds). But it is NOT love.

If you love a tree, do you want to have sex with it? If you love a work of art or a beautiful sunset, do you want to have sex with it? Do you feel like you have to possess it materially in some way? If so, I think that's a sign of delusional thinking. People always say, "But there are different kinds of love! There is love between friends and family and there is love between lovers, all these different kinds..." But no, there is only one "kind" of love -- and I do believe it is synonymous with compassion and kindness. Sex is something else.

This is where I'm coming from when I say that Nichiren was a lover -- I do not mean to suggest that he was a swinger. (yeah baby) Thanks again for all the feedback on this topic -- I look forward to reading more!
Brooke St. G



Positive Reinforcement

Aaaahhhhhhh.....
Barbara Pettitt


Hi, Just wanted to say I love the web site. How can you go wrong with a site named "Buddha Jones"? (Speaking of names, I do not for a second think that guy's name really is George Spelvin. I've seen a lot of '70's pornography.) Truly hilarious. Keep up the good work.
Peace, Amber R.


It's refreshing to see a bunch of Buddhaheads poking fun at themselves! If people are uptight about this site, they are taking things way too seriously. Yes cause and effect is strict, and yes there are major, medium and minor causes, but I don't think this is "sacrilegious". Some of the funniest people I know are the one who have the strictest personal practice. You've got my vote.
from a YMD Yankee now in Hong Kong


thanks for the lift. very enjoyable. my site is also a money losing venture, but I love it anyway
Dixon Hamby
http://www.idixon.com/



Buddhism Is Inclusive

Your site was not the first place I have heard the notion that such-and-so is not part of Buddhism. I have heard people say, "Guilt is not a part of Buddhism." And "God is not a part of Buddhism." And, most recently on your site, "Love is not a part of Buddhism." Here is a rule of thumb, should a similar discussion arise in the future: If it exists in the human heart, it is a part of Buddhism. If it exists in the phenomenal world -- even beyond the abilities of our five senses to fully apprehend -- it is a part of Buddhism.

The primary teachings of Buddhism are about the nature of life itself, and specifically, the nature of human life as both microcosm and macrocosm. To say that Buddhism is inclusive is not expansive enough. Buddhism excludes nothing. As Nichiren Daishonin so sagely observed: "No affairs of work or daily life are in any way separate from the ultimate reality."
Tony Alamo


I did a search for the word "love" in the writings of Nichiren Daishonin on www.gosho.net. He uses the word love, mostly in the context of talking about a mother's love for her baby. He compares a Buddha's feelings toward common mortals to the way a mother feels about her baby. There were other instances too. Next I will look up "long," "longing" and "yearn." Hope this helps.
Deborah C.


Hanlen in Spain

I was surprised to read the travel notes by Andy Hanlen. I recognized his name because I have seen it on the Internet, mostly in articles that lambaste the SGI-USA. I have often wondered if he and I practice Buddhism within the same organization. To hear him tell it, the SGI-USA is a terrible place full of authoritarian leaders and mindless followers. Now it all makes sense! He's not even in the USA. I like Mr. Hanlen's sense of humor and hope he will write more amusing anecdotes and less invective.
Robin P.


Great Personages at the LA Sports Arena

This Hillcrest fellow hits the nail on the head unavailable. It is not President Ikeda who encourages his own idolization. It is those who run the show (figure of speech) in this country who oversell this business about "making sensei's heart our own." No doubt they are sincere in their respect for the man, as am I. But I do not trust that they practice as they preach.
BtMoore


I thought Ben made a fine point. I wonder simply if he has sent this letter, exactly as is, to President Ikeda, and to the local (USA) leaders.
TL in Seattle


Ben Hillcrest replies: Your suggestion makes such good sense that it never even occurred to me! Last year, I gave up hope that anyone would listen. Maybe it is time for me to dust off my letterhead.


Regarding "Nichiren the Lover"

What's all this about Nichiren shagging?
ChaBella1


I just read an article on your site about Nichiren the Lover unavailable at Urth Caffe. It was a sweet article and I am happy to have found your site. I practice Nichiren's Buddhism in Bristol UK. The article once again opened up a subject I ponder much upon. In all the Buddhist sutras and treatises, goshos and major and lesser writings, we do not find this word 'love'. It does not exist in Buddhism.

Love is an oft misused word here at the Western world. We use it to infer romantic love, lust, longing, compassion, even pity. But in the east there is no such thing. Buddhists have 'Jihi' which is compassion for all things. To call Nichiren 'a lover' is perhaps to confer on him attributes which we share as humans but we describe using this word exclusively here at the Western world.

Considering the only representations of him (statues) I have ever seen, Nichiren was somewhat akin to Quasimodo in appearance. This does not go down well with the girls :-)

Like that unfortunate up in Notre Dame, Nichiren must have known that to "go there" as you Americans would have it, would cause much suffering. No one talks about the physical desires of sages because they aren't supposed to have any, but he was a man and as such, Buddha or not, must have had to deal with these longings. That he was lonely is probably undisputable, although he had his long term friend and disciple Nikko Shonin as a constant companion, even on Sado.

No, I think Nichiren was not a lover as we understand it in the west; As he wrote in his Gosho, 'of all the millions of tears that one has shed for wives, girlfriends, lovers, and mothers in countless lifetimes, not one have you shed for the Lotus Sutra.' (paraphrased sorry). That he was a very emotional person is also I feel without doubt, but his emotion was from such a high life state, that 'physical love', the attraction of the opposites in flesh, did not enter into it.

My feeling is that Nichiren was in 'love' or felt 'jihi' for all life, including his own and especially those of his followers and disciples, but most of all, he 'loved' the Lotus Sutra and that fundamental energy that resides within it, expressed as the Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws, the power of which can save all *people* (hey girls, not just men, you know ! )from the suffering desires such as 'physical Love' inevitably bring.

The East, after all, always considered physical love as simply an act of 'friction' which, when blood and sperm are mixed, produces more humans (and lets face it there are more than enough of those right now). I'm not going to go into the hundreds, ney thousands of treatises and sutras written on how to raise the powerful and restless energy that resides in the loins up through the spine to the brain (Kundalini Yoga etc etc), a most dangerous passage, frought with peril and terrible side effects if not handled properly, but hey, as Nichiren Buddhists we don't have to worry about that, since we are Buddhas exactly as we are :-)

OK I've gone on too long already but I'll conclude by asking everyone not to confuse our western notions of 'love' with Jihi or compassion, since I really don't think the two are in any way similar. I would be interested however, to hear from anyone on this subject as you can tell by my writing this that I'm not quite enlightened on this subject and would welcome anyone's comments :-) Neener, neener to you too.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Marco

 

I Love This Website

On behalf of Manchester SGI-UK Buddhists, thank you Lisa. You're welcome here anytime.
Thomas Benson

Lisa replies: Thanks, and cheers to all readers in the UK!


More Dawn After Dark

The dialogue between Ikeda and Huyghe (ISBN 0-8348-0238-4) is full of treasures that are overlooked by most of the people I practice Buddhism with. Here is a gem that I hope you will publish to your site.

"...Religion must adapt to the diversity of human means. Addressing people whose stage of development is not advanced requires a variety of dogmas and ceremonies. In the case of people demonstrating greater development, rites, dogmas, and precepts give way before the mystical drive presented to human beings as their essential vocation.

"It must be said, however, that at a still higher level certain beings can -- and, as a superior duty, must -- try, on their own initiative and through the exclusive effort of their own personalities, to continue the forward journey and attempt to reveal the point on the horizon toward which it is directed. The journey is actually an ascent. And, as in the mountains, whereas less-experienced climbers must be attached to guiding ropes, the one lone climber responsible for his own actions is all the more praiseworthy for remaining alone.

"Each individual must have the ambition to travel far and the prudence not to make excessive demands on himself. Within the full range of possibilities, the human being must find the level most efficacious for his own full flowering."
Tara Green


Regarding Ben Hillcrest

I like Ben's articles because he sounds a bit stupid yet makes a smart point.
With love,
Ben's Sister

Ben replies: Are you still a vegetarian or can I just serve turkey at Thanksgiving and not mess with vegan nut loaf? Call me.


Freedom Is the Future

I would just like to share a few paragraphs of Dawn After Dark I read this afternoon.

"We must not abuse the future in our prejudgments. While I approve of forecasts in principle, I mistrust excesses in making them because they all too often attempt to make the future conform with the present in a dictatorial fashion. Human beings must be free. And the greatest human freedom is the future. Of course we must attempt to foresee dangers, in order to avert them, and tasks, in order to fulfill them; but we must respect the liberty of the future since, in doing so, we will be respecting the liberty of humanity.

"The future does not exist to continue either us or the ideas we have of ourselves. Its purpose is to complete and sometimes to correct us. Consequently, we should not attempt to impose on it our more or less simplistic and arbitrary doctrines. We should pay more attention to what it can teach us than to what we pretend to inculcate in it through planning."

I know where I've been. I know where I'm at. I'm chanting to fulfill my dreams!!
LA from WeHo


Driving It Home

Great article on commuting unavailable (except for the biker). Ironic, traveling so much every day and not going any further in the universe until you stop.
TD


From Frank the Certified Devil

Dear Editor,
I am a devil. I know that because I have letters (certified!) and oral denunciations from various and sundry hi-u-muckey-mucks of several Nichiren 'groups' attesting to my devilish nature and behaviours. At first, when I was excommunicated from my first "lay organization," I was so sad and lonely. Then i noticed that I still had a copy of a Gohonzon, so I didn't feel so sad and lonely any more. My simple devil mind concluded that since the Gohonzon did not burst into a ball of flame in my presence, even devils can chant. And since I had a lot of time on my hands when the lay organization terminated my employment, I could chant a lot more than when I was running around to lots of meetings, and behaving in a most obsequious and fawning manner -- ie, kissing ass, on the job, and otherwise behaving as a twit.

When I began my new career as a certified devil, I initially felt lonely and sad when others with whom I had chanted side-by-side for 10 years, actually crossed the street when they saw me coming. This being NYC, you can imagine that crossing streets is a very dangerous activity, especially when in the vicinity of a certified devil, and of course, NYC Taxi cabs.

Soon after my first devil certification, I received a second! This time, from the Nichiren Shoshu, because, as they hurriedly explained, since I was identified as a devil by the lay group, well, then I was a devil to them. Friends of my enemy are my enemy, so to speak. In the 19 years since my first certified "devil-hood," I have received many more devil certifications, from various and sundry "Nichiren schools." These certifications usually followed my asking one or more apparent (to them) "devil-questions." such as: "If Nichiren Daishonin actually taught that his believers should '...discard all thoughts of self or other, this or that, and practice Myoho Renge Kyo as if with one mind, teaching and spreading Myoho Renge Kyo far and wide throughout this world to all people...,' then I asked, why the hell are you folks fighting among and between yourselves, with each 'group' claiming to be the 'chosen people?' Haven't we had enough of that chosen people crap?" Hoo, boy...immediate devil-certification, persona-non-grata, etc.! Parasite in the lion's bowels, for sure....sort of devil-certification, with honors.

So, here I am, 19 years after my first devil-certification, and still chanting despite the many decrees of buddha-fatwas. It will soon be 29 years since I began chanting...19 of them as a certified devil. How mystic. How sublime.

Oh, and thank you for the hearty laffs while reading the many postings to your website. Obviously, certified devils, such as myself, have a wicked sense of humor. I also possess a goodly amount of patience, tenacity, and determination never to let the bastards wear me down...as we say in the old tongue, "Nil illigitamae carborundum." Cheers and thanks.
Frank Recchia, C.D., NY

Editor's note: In Islam, a fatwa (pl. fataawa) is a legal ruling -- based upon the Koran and the words, actions and tacit approvals of the Prophet Muhammad -- made by a scholar in response to a question.


Dear Brooke St. George

The interview with the tooth unavailable was great. I have had many questions over the years about that tooth, and your article cleared them all up for me. I was particularly delighted at Onikuge's candor and willingness to finally reveal the truth, even at obvious risk to his own career. Congratulations to you for a great interview, and please pass my regards on to Mr. Onikuge.
Andy Hanlen


Thank You, Dr. Rancy

I followed Dr. Rancy Greg McJames' Amazing Three-Day Gosho Diet unavailable. I can now hold the water of a great ocean in a single pore of my skin. My tongue now wraps around Jupiter. I am currently levitating over the state of Michigan like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade float. I feel more expansive than I have in years, and the view is spectacular. Thank you Dr. McJames. (Please print this as a testimonial to encourage others.)
Rhonda C.


Pseudonyms Anonymous

You can't fool me, Lisa Jones. I know your writing style, having been an avid reader of your articles in the World Tribune. I'm blowing the whistle! I've found you out! You are using pseudonyms on your site. You wrote lotsa this stuff, didn't you? Disguise yourself to get people to focus less on you and more on what is said. Come on now. Fess up. Were you fired from the World Tribune for writing that article about Buddhist formalities? Then good for you. When you're a journalist and no one wants you fired, you're not trying hard enough! LOL. Love your site. Please keep writing.
Pseudononymously yours,
Arlo Winesap

Editor's response: Thanks for your note. Some contributors (including me) use pseudonyms. (Many thanks to the many contributors!) I was not fired from the World Tribune, but that article did rile some folks. I will try harder. Please click here to read the offending article. unavailable


Daily Scolding

Thank you for my daily scolding! Today is Wednesday, so I chose Wednesday's scolding. I laughed and was inspired, so I had to read all seven. I now feel empowered and enlightened --and I'm not even a Buddhist. No offense, but I think your message transcends religious boundaries. Maybe you think this means that I am a closeted Buddhist and if I could just admit my true Buddhist leanings I would find happiness. Maybe you're right --and maybe you're not. I'll be the judge. But I will definitely come back for more of your wacky, yet sensible, philosophy.
DJ
P.S. I enjoyed the letters to the editor as well. Smart people do surf!


Did my letter to the editor make you mad? If so, I'm sorry. I just meant that, like Shakespeare (yes, Mr. Armstrong, I did learn something in high school), your message is both specific and universal. I actually printed out a few of the scoldings and changed some of the words and gave them to Huck to read. (Sometimes when non-Buddhists see Buddhists references they think it doesn't apply to them -- especially literal-minded men.) Like Tuesday's scolding,"A winner in Buddhism is someone who wants everyone to win" easily transforms into "A winner in life is someone who wants everyone to win."

My favorite though is Saturday's scolding with a universal spin, "Do not complain that the people in your life are not nice to you. ETC." Anyway, you get the drift. I hope you're not mad, because I am extremely proud of you and your website and your empowering, 'anti-dogma' writings.

And now let's talk about me. Specifically the wedding. Which group of hors d'ouevres sound better to you?

1. Cheeses w/water crackers
Artichoke and spinach gratin
Crab croustade
Beef and portabello brochettes
Spanikopita
Spring rolls w/ginger pineapple dip

2. Warm Brie cheese en croute
Smoked salmon mousse w/crisp flatbreads
Smoked chicken quesadillas
Gorgonzola, apple and walnut croustades
Savory muffin squares w/ caviar
Ahi tartar on cucumber rounds w/ wasabi cream

I think I can mix and match too, but then there might be more costs. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
DJ

Editor's response: Not mad. Thanks for the note. I'm voting for #2.


What to Think?

I have been practicing Nichiren Buddhism for several years now...or have I? I almost don't know what to think anymore. Have I been practicing incorrectly all these years? What I mean is that in the past several months I have been reading the Gosho and chanting and suddenly it seems not as clear cut as before. I am seeing areas where I may have misinterpreted Nichiren's teachings. I see where maybe I was holding onto the interpretations of other people and not even listening to my own sensitivities. I mean my intuition. That article on intuitive realization unavailable hit me like a punch in the stomach. It almost made me sick because I felt how I had been ignoring this very natural intuitive voice of mine for so long. I don't think that Nichiren's intent was for us to ignore our intuition. I think he wanted us to understand who and what we are. We are intuitive beings, and I am just now starting to explore what that means. Thank you for that article. Your site is funny, but sometimes it's over my head.
T in Mass.

Drinking, Driving and Writing

I certainly hope "H. Milton" didn't DRIVE to the 7-11 for that beer run unavailable. Probably can't tell from one try, but H. and I have something in common: We think we're a lot funnier that we really are when we're "in the bag."
peace (really)
jw

On Reform

B.W.F. makes an interesting suggestion (below). As one of the creators of one of one of the sites mentioned (www.daimoku.com), I, too, think we are too damn serious a lot of the time. I would greatly enjoy seeing BuddhaJones' particular brand of irreverent humor aimed at the issues of reform (and, if you must, at me unavailable). For what it's worth, I do have some specific ideas of what changing our organization "for the better" entails, but I see no point in cluttering up your dedicated bandwidth here with such tripe.
Cheers!
Andy Hanlen

Fun with a Religious Figurehead

Forgive my typos but I have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at your most recent movie unavailable. My sides hurt too. This chump is the personification of evil? Maybe your movie will help him get a role on South Park. He can play Mr. Hanky's mentor.
danny (not that danny)

Symmetry

Fiji forgot to connect a dot in his symmetry article unavailable. He states that when we chant for others, we ourselves benefit by virtue of the law of universal symmetry. By the same token, (and this is what I would like to make explicit, tho it was implicit in his article) as we make efforts to improve ourselves and become happy, others are affected positively. His article reminded me that I don't live in a vacuum. My life is closely interconnected with the lives of others. A change for the better in me is a change for the better in the world. Thanks much.
Stan

Scoldings

Hi!  I finally got my 2001 Scoldings!  Thanks!  And aren't you cool, right there at the top of the AltaVista search engine!  Now I have search engine envy!  (But don't let that kind of shit bury you, if you know what I mean! ha! ha!)
DJ

Organizational Reform Hullaballoo

I subscribe to several Internet discussion groups. In each one there has been a terrific hullaballoo regarding reform of the SGI-USA. Most of the debate centers on two websites, www.daimoku.com and www.victoriousamerica.com. I am a dedicated reader of your website and would like to request your analysis of this movement toward reform. It seems ripe ground for irreverent humor, although I am in support of changing the organization for the better. The big problem as I see it is that no one can agree on what "for the better" entails. Yours in cyberspace,
B.W.F.

Abuses in Tibet

A news section should be added to the site. There's stuff going on with regard to religion and persecution of Buddhists. I know there are Nichiren Buddhists who care about the situation in Tibet and others who think the Tibetan Buddhists are going through karmic retribution. (How do you judge if persecution is retribution for incorrect practice or if it's persecution befalling a true votary as described in the Lotus Sutra? Either way, how dare we be complacent or smug about the sufferings of others?) Here is a news item to post, from the Associated Press, Jan. 7, 2001.

DHARMSALA, India -- Human rights abuses by Chinese authorities in Tibet increased in the last year, in a campaign to break Tibetans' loyalty to their exiled religious leader, the Dalai Lama, a monitoring group said Saturday.

"Beijing's obsession with stability and control in Tibet was the predominant theme of the year 2000," said the annual report by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and democracy.

The independent group is based in Dharmsala in northern India, where the Dalai Lama has been living in exile since 1959. Its report is based largely on accounts by Tibetan refugees arriving in Dharmsala.

During 2000, the government expanded a ban on possessing pictures of the Dalai Lama from public workers to the entire population, the report said. Raids conducted on private homes resulted in fines and the destruction of altars, said Lobsang Nyandak, the group's executive director.

The report said 715 monks and 147 nuns were expelled from monasteries and convents as part of a "patriotic reeducation" campaign meant to quash political activity. Four institutions were closed during the year, bringing the total number of closures to 22 since the campaign began in 1996.

"One of the core objectives of this campaign has been to combat the deep devotion of the Tibetan populace to the Dalai Lama," Nyandak said.

Oh, please -- don't tell me that the Chinese government is trying to get the Tibetans to follow the Law, not the person. I will rant more about this later!
Ben H.

Resolutions for the New Year

My resolutions are as follows:
1. Read the Lotus Sutra cover to cover aloud and in English at least once.
2. Win the respect of my peers through meritorious conduct and devastating witicisms.
3. Pay my bills on time and still pay myself first out of every paycheck for smart, long-term investments.
4. Eat no more cheese logs.
Kindly publicize my resolutions to hold my feet to the fire.
Robert Robert (that Robert Robert)


Bravo

Great job with the buddhajones.com website. We at the EverLife Foundation salute your effort in contributing to an adult and contemporary mood in the Nichiren space on the web. Opening the windows into our beautiful religion will allow lots of fresh air to come.
Harvey Kraft
http://www.everlife.org


Thirty Seconds of Sacrilege

Hello dear devoted readers. Ben Hillcrest here. Thirty Seconds of Sacrilege unavailable got wacked out of sync and I am trying to fix it. In the meantime I have taken it off the site. Sorry for the inconvenience. Maybe we are getting too techie for our britches. Thanks for the mail we have gotten about the spot, both supportive and damning. See you again in the new year.
Ben Holly Jolly Hillcrest


Respect the Gohonzon

Your Sacrilege movie unavailable has been playing on a loop on my computer for twenty minutes (that song! I am hypnotized) as I am trying to decide whether you have committed outrageous slander, or if you are commenting in an ironic way about unauthorized use of the Gohonzon. (For Newbies, the Gohonzon is the object of devotion in this Buddhism.) My first impulse was to laugh out loud at your ballsy flick. Then I got to wondering what in the sam hill you mean by it. All I ask is that you respect the Gohonzon, which I think you are doing, but I am not a hundred percent certain.
Your webpal Al


On Judgment (which can also be spelled judgement)

Having had a good look at this website, I have noticed a lot of anger. This isn't a bad thing, because Buddhahood exists in all life-states, and all life states can create lasting value. However, I have also noticed that a lot of this anger has it's roots in judgement, eg. of Nichiren Buddhists, and of contributors.

I would say that all the world's great religions (and people) have said that no-one is perfect. However, the same religions/people also state that all human beings have a great potential to lead amazing, rewarding lives. It therefore follows that even if certain people appear to be making 'mistakes', they never lose their potential to lead the best life, for themselves and for the world.

Also, can judgement of individuals who practise a certain religion be the basis of judgement of the religion itself? In ND's Buddhism, you try to always improve yourself, which means that there will always be imperfections in the members. Does this make the religion invalid? I would say 'no'. I can say this easily, because I have seen countless examples of people using this religion to improve their lives, to become happy, to contribute to world peace, and to generally 'do good things'.

If we really can't see examples around us, then what about looking at the lives of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Josei Toda? I would confidently say that being prepared to go to prison for your beliefs, and then, in Makiguchi's case, dying for them, is proof of a genuine religion. And Toda, having been through one of the worst prisons ever, having lost his treasured mentor, then continues to actually create the organisation that he believes will be an engine for world peace. These examples ALONE convince me that this is a great religion, and my personal experiences reinforce that conviction.

In any case, the only way to discover the true worth of any religion is to try it yourself, and to determine to get to the source of the spirit of the religion. To do this, I believe that it requires every effort. So, instead of critising others' imperfections, maybe we would be better off looking for our own inspiration, our own wisdom being the source.

To sum up what I'm trying to say:
1) Nothing/no-one is perfect (including this article)
2) Let's make efforts for happiness and peace!
James Pelham

Algebraic Ponderings about the Gohonzon

Very well put! Math was my major a hundred and two years ago in college. But my love for math began in 9th grade when my Algebra teacher, who was famous/notorious for a traditional homework assignment she gave every year -- one that I loved so much and still to this day recall it and its effect on me. The assignment was to write an essay describing all the math functions and theories that Lewis Carroll used in his story of Alice in Wonderland. Reading your article unavailable took me back to those days and that assignment that I loved and caused me to realize my love of and ability for math. Thank you so very very much!!!! Sincerely,
George Jeffus
Charlotte, NC

Prayer Gohonzon

I do not have a Prayer Gohonzon, but I know many folks who do, and I've heard all sorts of versions of "the story" about it. Your article unavailable is the fairest and clearest presentation of the facts of the matter and the issues involved that I have seen. You are to be congratulated for your thorough and honest journalism. Too much of this discussion has been based on emotionalism, sectarianism and prejudice. Your piece is a great "just the facts" offering, and should be read by all who have been discussing this matter. Thank you.
Andy Hanlen

Saxophone

Lisa, I love your article on the saxophone unavailable. I have always told people that we have to be able to separate the seaweed (Japanese formalities) from Buddhism. I am an American and intend to remain so. Also questions are always good to alleviate blind allegiance to anything we are involved with or questioning the practices of such. Keep up the excellent humor. Laughter is always good for all.
Rickey J.

Favorite Buddhist Joke

This is a great site. Don't see a place for my favorite Buddhist joke. I've been saying it for so long I can't remember if I wrote it or I heard it.
How many Buddhists does it take to change a lightbulb? Two, but not two.
thanks!
Sue Chan

Cute Baby

BuddhaJones, I recently visited your site and just wanted to drop you a note telling you how much I enjoyed the article about the cute baby unavailable.

That is one cute baby.

That baby could be the Mayor of CutieTown.

If cute were a convenience food, that baby would be America's number one convenience food, fruit gummies.

Dr. Cutie! Dr. Cutie! This patient needs 10 CCs of sunshine...stat!

Friend of Quinn - SJ


Reproduction of the Gohonzon

Hello, I found your site by doing a search on Nikken Shonin. Just wondered what he was up to. They are making a fuss about your dancing Gohonzons. I couldn't find these but I did see what looked very much like a Gohonzon (although not one I'd seen before) on one of your web pages. I'm sorry to sound censorious but I don't think you should reproduce a Gohonzon in this way, or indeed at all. It is a sacred mandala after all. I can't help feeling that you may be making a rather dubious cause by doing so. I am not a nutcase or a religious maniac but I am a member of the SGI and I do practice Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. I wouldn't want to tell you what to do but I do find this rather disturbing. Yours sincerely
Adam Blake

Hello again, Interestingly enough, as soon as I came out of e mailing you just now, I was immediately presented with your flashing Gohonzons. I am sure you mean well, but this is, I feel certain, a very disrespectful use of deeply sacred images. Interspersing messages such as "It's your thing" and "Do what you want to do" - or whatever - is just too frivolous, and in very poor taste. I urge you to please consider very seriously what you are doing and remove these images.
With respect
Adam Blake

Hi, Adam.
Thanks for your concern. We've gotten lots of mail about this subject. Most people like the Flash movie and many people don't. Some have expressed concerns such as the ones you shared with us. Do you know of a passage in the Gosho that supports your views? I will forward your comments to the person who designed the movie. Thanks for visiting the BuddhaJones site.
take care,
Lisa Jones

No, I don't know of a passage in the Gosho that supports my view that it's not a good idea to flash electronically generated images of different Gohonzons in a strobe-like manner, interspersed with feel-good slogans. This is almost certainly because the Goshos were written over 700 years ago, ie, before the discovery of the internet. I still feel uncomfortable about what you are doing but, of course, you must take responsibility for your own actions. If, however, what you wanted to achieve with this display was to generate controversy and attract attention, then I'm sure you must feel quite pleased about the response. I will consult with a member or two who has been practising longer than I have and canvass their views. I am sorry if you feel that I am making too much of a fuss about this but I do think it's important.
Yours sincerely
Adam Blake

Thoreau's Lotus Sutra Translation

Hello-
Your site is great, a mix of serious and funny! I have been searching for more info on Thoreau's Buddhist ties for a few months now. Where did you find the translation unavailable? I think is is so facinating to learn the extent of Buddhist influence on great Americans such as Thoreau. Also fascinating is the story of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, who also worked at The Dial, was the first to publish Civil Disobedience, and went on to found the first Kindergarden in the US.
Keep up the good work!
Rick Weber
(an SGI-USA YMD leader from Denver)

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Love the site! Just found it and enjoyed looking through.
A new-to-Buddhism person
Arizona

Dear editor:
this has nothing to do with your site but with the gosho writings of Nichiren Daishonin. In my understanding, he says that when a country gets invaded by another country, the reason has something to do with the first country not upholding the correct teachings of Buddhism. This makes no sense to me. I think it is much more shameful for a country to aggressively invade another country. That is worse than being invaded, because killing and aggression is a terrible cause to make in terms of cause and effect.

I bring this up because I am trying to understand the Nichiren view of the Tibetan invasion by China. I have heard Nichiren practitioners say that it happened because the Tibetans do not chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and they teach incorrect Buddhism. The Dalai Lama himself has said that Tibet made the causes that resulted in the genocide there. But I hate to think of the horrible cause that the Chinese are making. What will be the effects?

I cannot believe that a Nichiren believer would say that the Chinese are more correct than the Tibetans. How is slaughter and invasion a sign of correct Buddhist belief? It is not. I do not expect you to reply.
marlee

Nichiren Buddhism is a clean blade that cuts through ages of obfuscatory crud. Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. One phrase. Simple. Clear. Just say it.
DharmaDefender

More Names to Call Andy

Upon review of M. Simon's listing of appropriate things to call me ("Irreverent Humor Aimed at Andy Hanlen unavailable: New Names to Call Him") I thought I would add this, from Guy McCloskey, whom I affectionately (really!) refer to as "Boddhisattva In Your Face" (actually, he told me that's what the Japanese leaders call him). He refers to me on occasion as "Bodhisattva Ever Disparaging." Can't imagine why.
Best regards,
Andy

More on Organizational Reform

Much has been written online about reform of the Soka Gakkai in the states. I lurk on many newsgroups but I do not post. I do not want to be lumped as a reformer or a defender of the status quo. It is getting to the point where if you say "I love the SGI and Daisaku Ikeda!" some people call you a cultie. Then if you say, "I love the SGI but think it needs to change," other people call you a complainer or unity breaker.

In this climate of black-and-white categories, no one can win!

I am coming out of the closet to say that I love the SGI and Daisaku Ikeda and I think the SGI needs to grow and change!

It is heartsickening to me that there are people who will say they love SGI then turn around and condemn the organization for mistakes or engage in name-calling toward the leaders. It is like children who grow up to harbor a grudge and resent their family because they were not given a perfect childhood. (Your family did the best that they could and taught you the best truths that they had at the time!)

Now you are a grown up in faith and maybe you have better truths to share. So share them. We are all interested. Venting your resentment about the cowardice of some leaders (which I do not dispute) doesn't really help anyone.

Everyone can see that the SGI is far from perfect as an organization. The SGI is tremendous, though, because through both negative and positive (expedient!!) means it fosters people who can stand on their own with regard to faith. That is something to shout about!
terri moore

"Animated" Gohonzon

I came to see the animated Gohonzon unavailable movie. By the way it was described on the page providing the link, I feared something pornographic.

I can find nothing pornographic. It is not animated, either, since you use a rapid succession of still images. You have not altered or animated the Gohonzon. You are not offering it for the purposes of worship. I do not see the basis for complaint about your movie.

It would be pornographic to say that certain priests own the Gohonzon or that the Gohonzon does not reside in the flesh and blood of ordinary people.

How we see the Gohonzon depends on our life condition, neh? Happy to have found your site through someone's negativity. Poison into medicine.
SR

Thus I Heard

An exchange overheard at a Buddhist meeting:

Person A: "Can you explain what you mean by time without beginning?"

Person B: "I don't know where to start."

Am I the only one who finds this hilarious?
S.

My sensei says that Buddhism is not about following. It is about leading. Make this practice your own.
JMc.

Broken Symmetry

Thank you for the article by Mr. Konstanzer regarding symmetry unavailable. I do not take issue with it, but I would like to point out that symmetry is not always the rule. At times a small cause can have a large effect, for instance, something as simple as chanting a phrase can alter our karma. There is a seeming disproportion between the action and the result. Can he address this in an article? Please forward my comments to him if he would like to correspond. Thank you.
MG

Luv ta HATE

I HATE this site. Its BAD and WRONG and walks a thin line between stupid and SLANDER. I HATE it so MUCH that I read it EVERY day, sometimes TWICE to make sure NONE of the EVIL escapes my notice. It is SO WRETCHED that I sent the URL to friends and family so EVERYONE can join in a CHORUS of REBUKE. SHAME on YOU for not UPDATING your content MORE OFTEN!
ANONymous


Cracking Wise

Your references are at times obscure yet the wit on this site comes through. After lo these many (yet few) years of Nichiren's Buddhism in the U.S. we at last have people thinking and cracking wise (pun intended) in public. My one suggestion: add movie reviews.
AlexeiA


No Tyranny

please keep doing what you are doing on your web site. the passages unavailable from emerson express well: faith makes us and not we it. i keep singing that line like a song. do not capitalize me. do not subject me to the tyranny of proper punctuation. let me be free in my little ways.
ez

Disappointed

For the first time, I am disappointed with BuddhaJones. I love this site. I love the way you push the envelope. I LOVE that your critics have their panties in a wad unavailable.

BUT I am disappointed in your "coverage" of the "reform the SGI-USA" movement. Like B.W.F. and Andy Hanlen [in previous letters unavailable to the editor] I would like to see a substantive viewpoint about these efforts. I won't ask for irreverent humor, because I think the subject is too serious. It is a serious topic for me. You guys have a sharp critical sensibility so I think you should speak out. That H. Milton piece unavailable was like you are dissing the whole reform movement.
My two cents,
mikee212

Lisa Jones responds: I'm going to pull a Ben Hillcrest and say that my views on religious reform accord with Emerson's Divinity School Address unavailable. If you (or anyone else) would like to write an essay for BuddhaJones about your views on reform, please send me an e-mail.

Genius?

Brooke St. George is a genius. Her recipe unavailable for kosen-rufu is amazing. The critics of this site would be well advised to remove the sticks from their posteriors, sit down and have a big heaping helping!
DJ

A Terrible Cause

For your own sake I hope you will reconsider your sacrilege movie unavailable. It is a terrible cause which I could actually feel in my body when looking at it.
Mari Gorman

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Org Shmorg

Since IRG came on the scene I have witnessed an outbreak of Not-My-Org rash. The symptoms? People say "Oh, bad things don't happen in my org because everyone is happy and nice and we talk about everything." Or people say "My org is tolerant and open to change." Or "My org would never tell lies or mislead me or use me." People who have the rash don't even know it. It took some growing up on my part to realize that the SGI is not an inherently just and tolerant place. No organization or business or agency is!! We have to work to make it just and tolerant. The cream for Not-My-Org rash is called eternal vigilance. Apply it daily.
Bob

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Gawd am i sick of reading the organization this, the organization that. enough already with the organization. here's a quarter, call someone who gives a rat's bum about politics. please sir I want some more buddhism.
Stanlee

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When I joined SGI-USA I was joining an organization for people who don't like organizations. The sense of freedom and open-ness was remarkable, and I have found it in no other religious group. The Gohonzon is awe inspiring, the practice of Nichiren Buddhism is efficacious, and the SGI-USA is (was?) for real. How did the group dynamic change so much for the worst (paranoia, members denouncing members) in just the last four or five years?
Nameless2

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You fault the SGI have no gratitude. Where is you gratitude? What gives you rights to say what you want on a stupid web site? your web site is giving people opportunity to commit slander. You help slander you are a slanderer. you have evil karma
I feel sorry for you

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The Gakkai is NOT a "corporate entity unavailable" even tho they may act like it. It is made of ordinary people who make mistakes. We could all use more understanding and patience.
J.

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Don't let any organization get in the way of your Buddhist practice.

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For obvious reasons, I have problems with the memo unavailable, especially regarding the officially stated positions about the IRG, which are based on false assumptions. It's sadly clear that the author(s) have not read the IRG documents, which is an interesting way to go about forming official policy about a group.

Our web site dead link is public and our positions are clear, for anyone interested. We are also easily locatable, yet none of us were consulted regarding the veracity or accuracy of statements made about us. That's a sad statement about our organization.

I won't take up your space here with a detailed rebuttal or discussion of these matters. Hopefully fairly soon we'll have material up on our web site. I do want to say how encouraging your own statement unavailable was to read, and also how encouraging it is to see the letters you've received. Even many of those who disagree with us understand that the way this was handled was, shall we say, bad form?

In your letters section, Ben said this: "Let the members at least talk about the IRG stuff, because members are smarter than anyone seems to give them credit for. They will be able to separate the BS from the good ideas, but they have to at least have a chance to dialogue about differing views."

Thanks, Ben. That is one of the core IRG positions as well, nicely summarized. Would that it were a core SGI-USA position. Then we wouldn't need the IRG.
Andy Hanlen
IRG central committee member

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The great thing about the SGI is the organization. The only problem is...the organization.

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About the SGI-USA Memo

Wow, I really was stunned by that memo unavailable. The main word was "unacceptable." I don't care for the IRG's position papers and I don't like (what I perceive to be) their lack of appreciation for SGI President Ikeda. My stance on it though is to let these people speak, engage in dialogue about what they are saying (because they're not the only members raising questions) and come to some kind of a place where we can agree to disagree. The main thing is to listen and let people have their say. I think it's a mistake to shut members down. Let the members at least talk about the IRG stuff, because members are smarter than anyone seems to give them credit for. They will be able to separate the BS from the good ideas, but they have to at least have a chance to dialogue about differing views. I love the SGI, there is no other religious organization like it and it can withstand constructive criticism (it has withstood libelous criticism), I have confidence in this.
Ben.

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I REPEAT!!!! If you thumb your nose at the policies of SGI, you don't qualify as an SGI member or a Buddhist. Period.
No Spam

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irgdaimoku has nothing to do with Gohonzons online. They are against it. Your memo is wrong. Please tell the people that irgdaimoku and online Gohonzons have nothing to do with each other.
please do not put my name.

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These "reform guys" rankle with their self-righteous "we know better" attitude. I have read their essays and have found nothing convincing and therefore nothing dangerous about them. I can't defend their position, but I defend their right to articulate it and everyone else's right to investigate if they so desire. Grumble, grumble.
Fij

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Independent Reassessment slandered the Gakkai and are now being slandered by it. They are reaping the negative effects of their actions.
No Sympathy

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Encouraged

I felt encouraged seeing Sue Hutchins' artwork unavailable. I self-censored myself until I read "The Artist's Way". Then I finally did what I really wanted to do at the time, which was photograph some drag performers, which lead to my doing some of the stuff on my website (imagefugace.com dead link). Anyway, I met with Gary Murie at FNCC, showed him a couple of my shots, tried to justify what I was doing from a Buddhist perspective, and he told me not to worry about it, just shoot more photos. I'll leave art criticism to the (Arthur) Danto movement, and just say I responded to Sue's art on an intuitive level.
Peter Nellhaus

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Thank You for the wonderful posting on your website about GLBT unavailable!! I am a relitively new member to the SGI and when I read the article my spirits soard. I recently came 'out' to my family and friends, where's my family are ok with it, i have met a little 'opposition' but when I read the GLBT article It gives me great hope!!
thanks once again,
Michael in ireland

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Whose Thing?

Your Gohonzon movie has sparked discussion in my district. We find that we are divided into two camps. First, there are those of us who agree that <image of Gohonzon> It's your thing. <image of Gohonzon> Do what you want to do. We are the group that likes the movie.

Second, there is the group that has problems with the movie. This group feels that <image of the Gohonzon> It's NOT your thing. <image of Gohonzon> Do NOT do what you want to do.

Group 2 thinks that Group 1 is irresponsible. Group 1 thinks that Group 2 is terrified of life. Thank you for posting such a clear, concise statement about the object of devotion. Someone said that it is a litmus test and I concur.
Bossy LaRue (not my real name, I just think it's funny)

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Tolerance

Who is this "No Spam" person who sent you that self-righteous note about people with the Prayer Gohonzon not being members of the SGI? That person should read the article called Gandhi on Religious Tolerance unavailable. Go Gandhi!
Still enjoying your site,
Diane

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Thanks for posting artwork by Sue Hutchins unavailable. I like her stuff. It is dark but I can see her sense of humor in it. If we could all acknowledge our "darkness," maybe we would learn to be more tolerant and compassionate toward others.
namaste,
Bette

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The GLBT article unavailable on your website encouraged me a great deal. I am glad that diversity is not just tolerated but welcomed in the SGI!!
your webpal Al

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About the Prayer Gohonzon Controversy unavailable

You have to look at the context in which a Gohonzon is given out or embraced. What's the mission and intent of the people giving it out? It sounds great and all -- a Nichiren Gohonzon, from the public domain. How can that be wrong? But why does a person want one? What is their intent? This is the key question, IMHO.
Dan-o

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Hulloh! SGI is not by default the organization of kosen-rufu. That distiction must be earned each day in the conduct of the organization and its members.
<grinning tom>

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If you thumb your nose at the policies of SGI, you don't qualify as an SGI member or a Buddhist. Period.
No Spam!

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We all need to chant to the same copy of the Gohonzon to maintain organizational unity? Since when is unity in the SGI dependent upon external uniformity? I discarded that provisional teaching when I donated my NSA "uniform" to Goodwill. There's no going back. Viva diversity!
R.

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Ooh what a fine mess Don Ross has gotten us into. Bless him.
sign me,
M.H.

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Thank You

Marvelous site, stem to stern. I love it all. But, I'm going to sue Brooke St. George. I cracked my cranium guffawing all the way off my chair and onto the floor over that darned "Interview With Nichiren Daishonin's Tooth unavailable!" If I was still Catholic, I'd say it's a sin you make people laugh their arses off with such obvious glee.
Keep it up, please!
metta,
Ardith Oakes
(non-SGI, & clearly "generic" Buddhist at the moment)
p.s. The more "serious" stuff is top-notch, too. Kudos.

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Thank you, Mr. Wolfson unavailable for reminding me how rich a moment can be. Sessen Doji unavailable is my hero. If I had a website I would post nothing but Gohonzons.
Wert_1999

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Lee Wolfson is a treasure. I have read his articles with great pleasure in the World Tribune, and now on your site. I hope to read more from him.
always,
Desiree

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I wonder if I wrote an article in my sleep and sent it to you under the name Orvy Romanov. His experience with unavailableinternet bulletin boards unavailable is so much like my own that I had to check my "sent email" folder to make sure I am not Orvy. I am not. He is more entertaining than me. Darn.
PST

re - gosho diet unavailable
Dear Mr . Jones,
How can you right such stupid things about Daishonin. Do you think people are fool to follow your guidance. We are fully convienced of what Daishonin is saying in the gosho. Stop this nonsense or you have to suffer because of this for your entire life time after life time. hope you can understand .
All the best . Bye.
Pramoj Kurien

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Dear Editor:
I was reading my June 2001 Living Buddhism and an article entitled "What is Evil in Buddhism?", mostly the result of a letter to the editor from Lisa Jones of West Hollywood, California.

I closely reread my Living Buddhism and I could not find said letter. It's frustrating to read the article when you don't have the letter to make full sense of it? Might you by any chance have this secret transmission and can share it?
Thanks,
R. K.

Hi, R.K. Thank you for asking. Please click here unavailable to read the full text of Lisa Jones' letter. You can also read the article that she was referring to, The Heritage of Atsuhara unavailable.

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hi, to any of the members of SGI who, for various reasons (the memo is one), have left the SGI or are considering that action, i'd like to mention the guidance president toda gave daisaku ikeda. if you do not like the organization, then change it. IMO to do that you should stay in the organization.
thanks,
b.r.

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Sorry, no artless smut - how about this poem? I wrote it for and read it at the Men's Division AGM last year.

Only a Fool

Late! Late! Late!
Through coffee buzz
Throw Sancho
in the general direction
of my Gohonzon.

Stumble crash downstairs
Fumble keys to door
Fumble keys to club
Fumble keys to ignition
Truck won't start.

Kick! Yell! Swear!
Grandfather floats into my mind
Grey, still, and military.

"Only a fool doesn't have time to sharpen his saw."

Grandfather does a special effects fade and I
Look down stupidly at the limp jumper cables
In my shaky hands.

Thanks for a great site. Please keep up the good work.
Buddha fraternally,
Bob Ploss

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It is not easy to be Buddhist. I mean it is not easy to walk the path of awakeness and lovingkindness. In a sense, there is no path, we have to cut our own path through the weeds. My mentor can show me the teachings, can lead me to them, can inspire and correct me when necessary. But no one can understand the teachings for me. I must do this myself. The Lotus Sutra says that there will be three powerful enemies who curse and speak ill of us. We reply, "we will endure all these things." We will endure all these things and continue to learn and teach. We are cutting a path and helping others find their way. There is no easy way. There is no easy solution. Our troubles are our teachers. It is hard but it is wonderful.
Anonymous

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Hey there, from Canada!!!
I am an educator, Elementary school teacher, mother of three, and avid SGI chanter/member. This so lifted my Saturday morning!!! I'm dying to show my husband and kids ages 14, 12, 10 your clips unavailable.....so cute. We could use a little humour up north, sometimes we're so goddam righteous!!! oops I'm not supposed to swear. Loads of fun & thanks keep on with it...
Lorelei & gang from Vancouver, BC, Canada

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Aloha,
I'm pleased that SGI-USA stated as policy unavailable it's reasons for not associating itself with the IRG & why the Gohonzon bestowed by any other means is frowned upon. I like the human warmth of diversity that makes the SGI unique. I also like the NON-FUZZYNESS when it comes to basing it's decisions on the Gosho.
Dave Burke
West Seattle

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I am a Nichiren Shoshu 'Hokkeko' member and find your site, funny, inspiring, truthful, extremely clever in presentation, yet to the point and also sincere. Like lifting a heavy burden. Thank you for your efforts and allowing me to share this interesting approach towards the 'holier than thou' attitudes. Well spoken.
Thank you again,
Mercia Nitzsche UK.

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Our problem is not ignorance, it's all the things we know that ain't so!
~Will Rogers

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Not sure I want to be added to your mailing list, but I love the site and have taken to making a daily trek to lift my spirits and right my mind. I don't practice with Soka Gakkai anymore and don't think I want to. I'm burned out with the ORGANIZATION. Yet still I can't shake that Buddha Jones. I enjoy the freeform nature of your site and look forward to seeing more of it.
Thanks,
D'Mita

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Please tell Miss Guidance she is my constant scourge and inspiration, now part of my daily routine. Your little movie about Human Revolution unavailable started my spiritual awakening (to think I just ambled over to your cinema to see what Salon was talking about). Zap! Revelation!! Revolution!!! I already knew the part about the swamp (life, the world, delusion, constant unpleasant buzzing in the head), but the film taught me about the lotus. From that starting point, I am working my way through all the information on your wonderful site. Kosen rufu unavailable, which I learned about on buddhajones, is the most amazing concept. Talk about a revolution--who knew a religion could be spiritual? or joyful? or real? Thanks so much, to you and your team!
Best,
Micky

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My name is Ernesto Borges Torres. I just wrote the following letter to the group of SGI leaders named below [list deleted].

An Open Letter to the SGI, Re: The April 30th Memo

Greetings, I am writing this open letter in response to the memo unavailable which was released by the SGI for distribution on April 30, 2001. The memo in question is regarding the IRG, a group of loyal members of the Soka Gakkai who love the organization enough to challenge it to live up to its potential, and the fact that some members of the Soka Gakkai have been acquiring, what has come to be called the Prayer Gohonzon, from Nichiren Buddhists who have an independent practice and/or orientation. To say that I am disappointed by the contents and tone of said letter can be nothing other than a gross understatement. Let me tell you a little bit of my history to illustrate why.

I first came into contact with the SGI in the early to mid eighties. Although I immediately fell in love with the practice and doctrine of Nichiren's Buddhism, I had very different feelings for the organization's authoritarian attitude, the control it had over the members (and tried to get over me), and the incredible dependence that so many seemed to have on their leaders for guidance on the most idiotic of topics (my goldfish died, what do I do?) on the one hand, to the most sublime topics on the other. I went and even participated in a number of events, and quite frankly, their similarity to the film clips that I have seen of Nazi rallies during WW II made my skin crawl. Needless to say, I could not get away fast enough from the NSA (now SGI-USA). A Number of leaders tried to get me back, first with kindness, then by insulting my intelligence, and last of all by metaphysical threats. None of these tactics worked and I managed to free myself from the, then, NSA.

Towards the end of the nineties, I began to get acquainted with members of various Nichiren sects over the Internet, and I could not help but notice how different the SGI members were now, from what I remember in the mid eighties. I could not believe how open they were, how they managed to express different opinions on just about any topic without bursting out into flame wars with each other over it. It was amazing to me how free they were, how they supported each other, how they reasoned out their points of view. I began to think to myself, "Could it be, that the SGI has changed this much since its excommunication from Nichiren Shoshu?"

So I began to investigate; I checked out SGI websites where members openly discussed the past and present negative aspects of the organization and really though about how to make it better. Then I attended meetings in peoples homes, again these meetings were open and candid, no power tripping, no attempts at control, a totally different atmosphere seemed to pervade the organization and membership. It was just a matter of time before I agreed with a local Internet friend to go to the Friendship Center and exchange my Nikken Gohonzon for a Nichikan Gohonzon.

On the surface, things were looking pretty good, The SGI even recently had a conference for sexual minorities at the FNCC where some of the leadership even apologized to the attendees for the organizations past oppressive actions and attitudes towards them. Religious bodies that have done this are few, and the SGI is certainly to be commended, no, praised, for taking such a bold step towards justice, equality and freedom.

In the light of the above, the release of the April 30th memo was a crushing blow to said freedom that brought me crashing back to reality. While on the surface, the SGI would seem to be more open and free, this, it turns out, is merely superficial; for at the core, this note shows that the issues most important to the SGI are still control. Control of the minds of its members, and control over the Gohonzon, which is the Daishonin's gift to the whole world. In this, you are no different from Nichiren Shoshu. What a shame. What a pity.

In light of all this, I am informing you of my official withdrawal from the SGI, effective immediately. Many others have done and are doing the same, but quietly. I believe that it is important for you to know why people have left and continue to leave the SGI, hence this open letter.

Now, to paraphrase the words of a certain rebel princes to the leaders of a certain empire in a galaxy far, far away, "The more you tighten your grip SGI, the more members will slip through your fingers."
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ernesto Borges Torres,
Official Ex-SGI Member.

Ernesto -- I am sorry that you have decided to leave the SGI. From my experience, I feel that SGI members *are* more open (it's not just superficial). But there is a small minority of people in "power" in the SGI-USA who don't yet practice what they preach. They are good people, in my opinion, who are doing their best and will one day be as open as they say they want to be. We're all in it together, struggling, etc. So I have a great deal of hope for the organization. Again, I am sorry to see you leave because I appreciate your intelligence and seeking spirit. The SGI-USA needs more of that. I hope that in the near future the SGI will become an organization that you can wholeheartedly, enthusiastically rejoin. But in the meantime, I wish you all the best in your practice and study of Buddhism.
Take care, Lisa J.

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Aloha from Seattle,
Now that May 3, 2001, has almost come & gone, ... Believe it or not, it's still Mappo out there & the need is greater than ever for us to don our Buddha apparel disguised as "Parents, Teachers, & Sovereigns" & Vote wisely by taking action!

My oldest stunningly beautiful daughter recently turned 37 on March 28th, reminding me how young I was when I became a parent at the age of 17. I became a baby buddhist, receiving Gohonzon the fall of 1966.

The last two Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. were spent attending Foster Parenting classes learning among other things the many effects of child abuse & what to expect in caring for them. We've two new people, Cameo & Champayne, 7 & 9, whose mother died not long ago. Being its Mappo, they're having the "TIME of Their LIFE" enjoying SGI Boys & Girls activities, learning gongyo, leading daimoku & asking the best questions some old SGI members maybe forgot! They just arrived home with two 1st Places, 800 meter run & long jump in track.

"Having many different types of nipples on hand" was not something I would have thought of if a baby showed up at our door. Not that I plan on that happening but I learned many things that we as SGI/Buddha/Parents should consider now that so many people are asking ..."What's the 'Gohonzon?"

When the Lotus Sutra describes the Physician who prepared just the right flavor, color, & texture medicine for his children who had lost their minds he still was faced with the problem of "How to get them to take it?"

By the question asked we can determine the understanding of the person who asks it and what reason the question is being asked. Some kids ask "Is the Dai Gohonzon authentic?" Does this question display a lack of understanding of WHAT a Gohonzon is or what (purpose) it's for?

Let's say the baby left on the doorstep not only has been abused, starved & abandoned but poisoned too! Asking if the 'nipple' is authentic could be off the mark if what is needed is food, medicine, love & care.

By 'authentic" are they asking if what Nichiren wrote on the Gohonzon was what he meant to inscribe? Or how he said to use it when he stated, "Never seek the Gohonzon outside yourself," in the Gosho? Are those questioning the authenticity of the Dai Gohonzon asking "How to use it?"; "How to share it?" ; and helping those who don't know "What's it for?" NO?

"Then it really IS mappo & the children have lost their minds. " Dokke jinnyu. Ship ponshin ko."

Will this (Gohonzon) bring happiness if I use it as it was meant to? Will I continue seeking validation outside myself? Will I look outside or blame others as the cause for unhappiness & take responsibility for my own happiness? Will I compare myself with others as a cause of unhappiness?

Is the word "nipple" politicaly correct?

Who cares?
Dave/stoney/Burke West Seattle-SGI & loving it!

From the Founder of EverLife

In the Lotus Sutra (appx. 500 B.C.) the Declarer of the Truth of Everlasting Life (Eternal Buddha) prophesied that in the apocalyptic Era of the Decayed Reality (Mappo), in which we now live, legions of Selfless Volunteers of Eternal Origin (bodhisattva-mahasattvas) will be born. Their mission: to repel the forces of insanity and dysfunction that are unleashed on Earth, and to transform this planet into a place of enlightened peace and joy.

With the success of Nichiren's Buddhism in post-war Japan and its exportation to the United States and other countries, the healing invocation of the Lotus Sutra has gained an increasingly larger audience. Still, taking into account the major belief systems on this planet, the Enlightened Teachings of the Eternal Lotus are relatively small and obscure.

On the worldwide stage, however, the reappearance of the Lotus Sutra teachings coincides with the struggling emergence of a more enlightened human consciousness as to the fundamental value of life. This growing consciousness of goodness throughout the world has manifested in the expansion of freedom and democracy, and the expression of a muffled sentiment for a world where peace reigns supreme -- individually and collectively. From the standpoint of the Lotus Sutra this "desire for awakening" signals the emergence of the Selfless Volunteers in this world, in all walks of life, throughout the human fabric.

According to the Lotus Sutra, the Selfless Volunteers must face the evil poison inherent in the mortal state of being (fear of death). Their enemy is this fundamental cause of all suffering, which has always gripped mortality and can only be cured by the elixir of eternal life.

As suggested in the sutras, in this present era the disturbing forces that will arise from the "poison of mortal madness" will attack all of Buddhism both from the inside and outside. Look around. All the major religions have been pulled in to it -- Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Yes, Buddhism is in it, too. While the Buddhists of the world are pacifists, compassionate, ever resilient and stoic people in their commitment to the enlightened oneness of humankind, and are seemingly untouched by the storms of human conflict, look below the surface and you may see Buddhism's role at the center of it. While the world is well aware of the exile of the Lama Buddhists from Tibet and the recent destruction of the 1,500 year-old stone Buddha images in Afghanistan, what they have not seen is are the ruins of Nichiren Buddhism caused by the entry of the "poison" into the organizations of sincere believers through the vehicle of schism and arrogance.

While many Nichiren Buddhism priests said it was "only a building," the demolition of the Grand Main Temple (Sho-Hondo/Taisekiji) in 1998 represented the escalation of the attack on Buddhism by the virulent "inner" forces. The destruction of the sacred temple symbolized a declaration of war unleashed upon the world. It was an external manifestation of the explosion of the dormant "poison" arising from the essential karma of mortality. From an eternal perspective, it is not a matter of who is responsible or who must be punished. The true enemy is not a person but a mind... it is an ancient negative mind challenged by and reacting to the arrival of the "Selfless Volunteers -- the countervailing inner forces of enlightenment arising from within the eternal core within the mortal being.

In an attempt to make a small contribution in support of Nichiren's effort to transform this world, the EverLife Foundation dead link went on line in 1998 to herald his message of everlasting life's healing power. Our goal has been to be a lighthouse for those who are lost on the sea of life, to shine Nichiren's beacon into the pervasive darkness with the hope that a few wayward volunteers might find their way to an awakened state.

Personally, I did not realize at the time we founded EverLife that the Sho-Hondo was being demolished at the same time. Neither did I understand how powerful and dangerous is the force that resists enlightened wisdom -- even though the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren's writings make that point crystal clear. When in that year I learned that my daughter Lani's heart had been penetrated by an undiagnosable microbe, I still did not understand. And even when Lani died, I did not understand. But I did sense that she was a fallen hero who fought side by side with me on the eternal battlefield. Then when I learned that her illness and death occurred simultaneously with the demolition and destruction of the Sho-Hondo, I understood just how powerful these forces are. EverLife, and me personally have been under siege in one way or another ever since that time. I've heard from many others in the past three years and learned that unusually difficult struggles have descended on good people at every turn. Such are these times and our challenges. Nevertheless, there is no viable choice other than resistance and perseverance.

EverLife began when I was living in the New York City -- where I also worked professionally on projects on behalf of the World Trade Center -- so I carry a personal connection with that place and its people. Regrettably I must acknowledge that the terrorist attack on the WTC has signaled yet another escalation of the war between the forces of mortal darkness and eternal light.

There are no words to express the depth of suffering felt by the children, spouses and families who lost their parents and loved ones in that attack. They are all heroes who have lost their life on the battlefield for the transformation of this planet to an enlightened place...may the departed and the living be united again within the Perfectly Endowed Reality of Everlasting Life [Myoho-Renge-Kyo]. Bless them, bless you and thank you for being here,
Harvey Kraft
http://www.everlife.org dead link

Karmic Links

Dear Buddha Jones,
I'm George Sol Producer and host of an internet pctv series on WABN (www.wabn.net) called Spiritual Playhouse 22. I visited your site and enjoy the layout and information. I put your url on my favorite links page at www.wabn.net/NEWSPH22links.html dead link and would hope that you would add my show url to your links page. The address is www.wabn.net/NEWSPH22episodelist.html dead link
peace and unconditional love,
George Sol

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I wish I could put rose pedals at your feet to make your journey soft sweet.
But I Can't
I wish I could shower you with dollars of large amounts.
But I Can't
So I'll chant for you.
I wish I could find happiness in large jars for you.
But I Can't
So all I can do is Chant NAM-MYOHO-RENGE-KYO for you and all the above will come true for you.

Spooner Gateway group Cape Cod,Ma.

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I would like to see a gameshow for Buddhists called, "Whose Karma Is It?" We've all played this game and are playing it now with regard to the terrorist attacks and counterattacks. "It's your karma to be attacked!" "Yes, but it's your karma to carry out such horrible attacks, making more bad karma!"

Whose karma got us into this mess? Whose karma will get us out? It's *your* karma -- no, it's *my* karma!

This would be a boring gameshow in the long run because in each episode the Buddhists would argue amongst themselves trying to assign karmic responsibility for everything. Meanwhile, insane religious fundamentalists would take over the world.

Ha ha.

Thomas S.

Counterattack

Like Mr. Hillcrest, I support the counterattacks unavailable. Bin Laden is a shitball. We should be more concerned tho that we don't become shitballs ourselves in dealing with this man and threat his followers pose.
DH

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It is discouraging that a fellow Buddhist has abandoned his principles as Ben has done. It's easy to be a Buddhist and a pacifist when everything is hunkydory. In wartime it is much harder. Please do not be tempted to "forget the promises made" at the time when we all vowed to serve the Buddha.
pat

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Ben: you're not the only Buddhist who supports the counterattack.

But I can't go far enough as to agree with the idea that waging war on anybody is in keeping with Buddhist teaching.

We've fallen into a very tricky duality if we accept the axiom that the ONLY possible way to counter Osama bin Laden, or any other terrorists, with bombs, bloodshed and global war. War or "passivity" as my ONLY two options? I can't accept that that's all there is.

Hate will never end hate; violence will never end violence.

We've got to start thinking about alternatives to war that aren't just the "wimpy passivity" you seem to be on about, and as thinking Buddhists the onus is on *us* to to find solutions that fit within Buddhist ethics.

We might start by refusing to accept the dictates of this war as given: bin Laden isn't "evil", and he isn't the "enemy of freedom" as the conventional wisdom would have me believe. He's *seriously* dangerous, and he's pursuing a course of action that can only bring lots of sufferring to lots of people, but some of the responsibility for the attacks on Sept. 11 has to come back to *ourselves*. When shit happens that I don't like, my first, best option is to start looking at my own prior actions that led me to where I've ended up.

It's all karma, and in a deeper sense, not a one of us are innocent victims of anything that happens in life. My life happens as it does as a direct result of my very own actions; my karma is the ground upon which I stand.

There hasn't been a single "holy war" fought in the name of Buddhism in twenty-five centuries. Now isn't the time to break that tradition, no matter how many Buddhas the Taliban have blown up.
metta,
- Ward --
Ward Chanley
http://home.earthlink.net/~wardc dead link
Closets are for clothes.

General Encouragement

Just a note to say thanks for the great stuff you do. I still can't access a good portion of it but love what I've seen. Since the sad, sad events here [NYC] on the 11th - well, nevermind all that's been going on w/me but for our discussion meeting last night, I was asked to explain Nam myoho renge kyo and the Gohonzon.

Because of the importance of the time, it seems to me finally that these explanations are extremely important to get across at a meeting - guests or not. So I usurped practically all of your 'A Perspective on Chanting NMRK unavailable' and a lot of Pat Allwright's (Basics Of Buddhism) Gohonzon explanation for our meeting (couldn't access any of your Gohonzon articles).

There were close to 40 people there, twice what we usually have for a district meeting. Anyway, it was incredible; the feedback was completely positive, the guests 'got' it - everyone loved it. Long-term members remarked they'd never heard an explanation quite as good. Of course, I gave credit to you (and Pat).

Take care, I hope all's well and thanks a million for helping out at our meeting.
Mary

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Your website is the most encouraging thing I have seen in a very very long time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Allan

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Hello, This is my first visit to this site. I practiced Buddhism for twenty-five years. I have lived in Germany for sixteen years and have not had contact with the German or American SGI groups since 1996.

I have always felt that the "rah-rah" and the "personality cult" attitudes were over the top. I dedicated a lot of time but due to my basic hatred of authority, I wasn't "beloved." So, I never attained a position of high leadership -- thank goodness!

I, however, am not the the subject here. YOU are very funny and creative -- much like the "Betty Bowers " web site. After I discovered -- just last week -- that the Shohondo was torn down, I looked on the web for info. All I can say is that this is shocking and that things have really changed in the last sixteen years!!!

But the the real reason I'm writing this note is that I saw a poem by Lee Wolfson. Lee and I knew each other since the early seventies in Pittsburgh Pa. Hi Lee....great poem! Lisa, I'm adding your site to my "favorites."
Best Regards,
Roseann (Gladis)Iles/Heidelberg, Germany

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dear lisa,
i'm writing to tell you how much i love buddhajones.com! it is sooo comfortable...a real relief actually. i have linked to buddhajones instead of sgi as a reference for buddhism. i have a small page that many people visit to read about my unassisted childbirth experience. (and who am i kidding...they go to look at the kick ass pictures of the happy woman giving birth) the story of this birth includes a powerful spiritual experience. for me it was the most vivid example of the power of faith... anyway, you are welcome to go to check out the link and read the story if you'd like to see what a normal birth can look like when it's not made in to an illness.
http://pagina.de/nacimiento dead link
very kind and sincere regards,
josephine joyner
omaha, nebraska
btw, what happened to the mugs and tee shirts you once sold?

Please click here for Consumer Products of Dubious Value unavailable(mugs and t-shirts)

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This is the first time I've visited your website, but not the last! In fact, it will be part of my daily readings from now on. What you do here is great perspective for those of us who attempt to practice Buddhism - or become Buddhas in your words. I belong to Rissho Kosei Kai in Oklahoma City. Yes, we're alive and well here in the buckle of the bible belt, and we just dedicated a new dharma center in July. We're a small group, but we're growing. Thanks again to whoever y'all are who put this together and keep it going. You have some fans here!
Ann Rinehard

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Just a quick hello...
BuddhaJones is becoming a daily stop for me...
I've played and replayed Human Revolution unavailable about a gazillion times (is that anything like chanting a million daimoku? Hmm.)
I have lots of bookmarks that make me giggle.
I have lots of other bookmarks that make me think.
I just have a few that make me do both. :-)
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Ward Chanley
http://home.earthlink.net/~wardc dead link
Closets are for clothes.

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been an SGI member for 12 years... wish I could have "Miss Guidance unavailable" around all the time! keep it up. what fun!
c.

Miss Guidance's Struggle with Homophobia

Dear Lisa,
I read the following paragraphs in the subject article unavailable By Coco Kuroshio on Buddajones.com. Is it a homophobic sarcasm? Pls. clearify.
Thanks, Edward Qi (chi)

Thanks for asking, Edward. Miss Guidance has come a long way. Like most old-time SGI leaders who gave bad advice to gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender members, she's horrified by the homophobic attitude she used to have. So, yeah, I think it's sarcasm.

Exhibiting Poor Taste

Not only is your site unfunny, you have crossed the line into poor taste by mocking President Ikeda with your exhibit satire unavailable. Shame.
Rick

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Now you've done it! You've aimed your pen at the most sacred cow of all! No, not the larger-than-life religious leader. The most sacred cow is Uncritical Hero-Worship. See you in hell.
John E.

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Hi, Lisa--
I know you have an eclectic selection of thoughts on your site, and I appreciate that. I just wanted to comment that your Kennedy-Lennon-Ikeda Exhibit piece gives me a bad feeling. I understand the premise, but the intent seems to be wrong. Didn't Morehouse College set up the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Community Builders Award? I don't know who wrote this K-L-I piece, and for whatever reason(s), but why are you trivializing President Ikeda by publishing this? You make the SGI sound like a dog and pony show. I guess people have every right to think like that, but is this going to further "the change we wish to see"?
Beth

Hi, Beth.
You're right. The exhibit, "Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace," is sponsored by Morehouse College. It has been promoted in the SGI-USA publications and through a video presentation at SGI-USA meetings. The exhibit is currently at Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo.
Lisa

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Thanks for staying on the cutting edge of things with this latest proposal for a Kennedy-Lennon-Ikeda exhibit. Many folks around the country (and probably the world) continue to rely on BuddhaJones.com to lead the way, and this proposal is right at the vanguard of where we need to go. Keep up the good work! As a follow up idea, I would like to propose Shakyamuni-Nichiren-Ikeda exhibit. The parallels should speak for themselves.
Best regards,
H. Milton

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You will no doubt receive letters protesting the K-L-I exhibit article on your site. I am still trying to decide how I feel about it. On one hand, and I'm sure you agree, President Ikeda has made inestimable contributions to humanity, and deserves recognition. On the other hand, honors and awards are ultimately meaningless, so why pursue and publicize them, as SGI-USA does? I would group Makiguchi, Toda, Ikeda. Why isn't there an exhibit about them?
Karen

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The movie unavailable says it all. "Don't worship me. Surpass me!" We are desperate for a hero or a god-man because we believe in our own inferiority. We boost one man up only because we feel it is our place to be never as great as the great ones. Pat a man on the back. Shake his hand. But don't for a moment put him on a pedestal like a statue. To do so degrades both him and you.
T. Jackson

Dr. Obo's Lecture

I read the Dr. Obo articles unavailable and am asking What's the big deal? Isn't it obvious that if you are an "Ocean" person you will love this guidance, but it you are a "Village" person you will hate it? The people who need to read this, won't.
Tammy

Technical Difficulties

BuddhaJones got lots of e-mail in August. Unfortunately, we've been plagued with computer problems. Almost all correspondence has been lost. If you sent us a letter or article that never got posted to the site, we would be very happy if you would consider re-sending it to us.

Thank you for your continued readership!

Sax Appeal

I am told that you promote using the saxophone instead of the bell during gongyo. Where is this on your web page? Can you really use something other than a bell?
William

Dear William: We don't promote any particular thing during gongyo except to recite the sutra, chant daimoku and offer prayers of your choosing. It's your practice, after all. There are people who say that it's their practice, however, and that you must do it their way. (That's OK, if that's what you want.) Here's a link to a perspective on Buddhist formalities unavailable. And here -- in honor of the people who referred you to this website -- is a Flash ditty unavailable produced by the Saxist Sangha of West Washington Park.

Official Position

What are the official views of SGI? I think i may join but i need to know where you stand on gays, death penalty, vegetarian lifestyle, abortion, Christianity, Tibet, Zen, and pets.
Maria

Dear Maria: That's tough to answer. While the SGI may have official views on the topics you mentioned, I'm not sure what they are. Generally, no "organizational" stance negates or supersedes the views of individual SGI members, who are free to hold all kinds of different, contradictory positions. Regarding pets, I'm going to guess that the official position is: Allowed. You can find out more about the Soka Gakkai at sgi-usa.org.
LJ

Realistic Position

While I do not appreciate all of the "humor" on your website, I appreciate that you try to give balance. When people talk about the SGI I find that they either have a highly negative view or an overly positive view. Neither view is realistic, in my humble opinion. Seems that most SGI-ers are very idealistic types, which can be fabulous. But idealism can sometimes prevent you from seeing things as they really are and therefore, working with things as they are. If you are too idealistic, you're in a world of illusion. The same is true if you are too pessimistic or if you denigrate a fine (but real and therefore not perfect) organization like SGI. A little praise, a little criticism -- it's all good. We can stay realistic if we don't get wrapped up in extreme partisanship, either way.
metta-
Jeff

Negativity Spambots?

Whew I am glad I found your internet anger unavailablearticle. I have been reading the Nichiren message boards and was totally negged out. I am convinced that people who post everyday on message boards are not people at all. They are in fact negativity spambots that generate the same five messages over and over changing a word here or there. Top five Negativity Spambot phrases:
That's not Buddhism.
You are wrong.
You are distorting the teachings.
I am insecure about myself and therefore must mock/attack/accuse you (implied).
My Gohonzon is better than yours.
D.w.p.

Victory Over Violence?

Hey I wanted to let Ben know that he is not the only SGI member who is feeling this way unavailable. I think there are alot of members feeling this way. I also think that there are a lot of members who won't say it out loud for fear of being ostracized by thier fellow members. I think that this is a very sad state that severely says something about the SGI that needs to be addressed.

I mean, isn't the SGI supposed to be an organization of individuals who all have thier own individual minds? That being the case, then, to expect everyone to see things in the same way is to take our individuality out of the organization. If we do that then we will become a cult and not the wonderful organization we are that is based on humanity.

I know that Nicherin Daishonin told Shijo Kingo, who was a Samurai warrior, that it was his job to protect his lord and all of his lands. So even Nicherin Daishonin himself knew that violence was necessary at times but that, as humans, it should be the last resort. He also told Shijo Kingo "to regard service to your lord as service to the lotus sutra." So I am having a very difficult time understanding how it is that conquering the evil that is attacking all of humaity is wrong.

To allow the Taliban to continue is to put the brakes on Kosen-Rufu. I also do not understand why people do not understand that it is the Taliban's and Osama bin Laden's karma which they created to get the effect of having the whole world against them. How fortunate for them that they are being able to lessen that karma in a time when the United States didn't automatically just nuke the whole place and turn it into a glass bottom boat to the world. The United States is also acting as a protector to them by keeping them from furthering their negative causes.

Thanks for listening and thanks for the wonderful Web Page.
Stacy Burr

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Well, I used to like Buddha Jones. But apparently not even this formerly-intelligent site can resist giving in to feelings of vengeance and fear. Evidently, it was OK to be non-violent when it was effecting someone else's country, but Americans are so special and worth so much more than other people that's it's all right for us to kill with impunity. How sad that so many profess faith in Buddhism, but practice it only when it doesn't go against the prevailing social climate or their baser instincts.
Amber Rollins

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I LOVED the "Dogmatic Nonviolence unavailable" piece. WOW! I e-mailed the link to all my buddies and some of my leaders. You hit the mark! It is exactly how I have been feeling. I have felt on the outside of the SGI family as of late because of my opinion and support of the military action in response to the massacre of 9/11/01. (I refuse to call it a "tragedy" as some do. A tragedy is an accidental plane crash, NOT an intentional attack to take lives)! I have not even been able to read many articles in the SGI publications because I have gotten the impression that someone else's politics are being shoved down my throat! To survive, I have been focusing solely on my Gohonzon and the Gosho........figuring that I will come out on the other side of my feelings/beliefs, or the war will end and the topics will change. It's a relief to know that I am not some evil war monger! I am a patriot. I am a Buddhist and I really do want a peaceful world, but not at ANY price. I wish you were still writing for the SGI publications.
Respectfully,
Kim Southworth

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Your dogmatic nonviolence article unavailable makes sense. I have been in and out of SGI for several years. I checked back in earlier this year and thought that SGI had changed its name to Victory Over Violence. All members were talking about some big campaign against violence. I was given a handout by a sweet, kind member and it was some sort of pledge that I would stop violence if I stopped watching violent TV shows, stopped listening whenever anyone said a violent word, stopped using any type of violent words or passive violence, which is like second-hand smoke.

In other words, I would have to give up football. I told her I was confused because I thought SGI was about promoting Buddhism, not promoting a thought-police solution to violence.

She explained that Victory Over Violence is the ultimate shakubuku [propagation of Buddhism].

I said Careful! Don't say shakubuku! Shakubuku literally means to break and subdue false beliefs! You are creating violence when you use that word!

She did not think that was amusing and i did not go to any more meetings.

Lance in NY

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Lisa Jones, I don't think you understand the purpose of the Soka Gakkai and the Gohonzon. You spout about world peace when you write for the publications and on your web site, yet you are a betrayer of the true intent of Buddhism. It is you who is twisting the teachings of Buddhism to fit your mentality of western imperialism. Unless you can recognize your own darkness you will never understand the great mission of peace. Americans are too shallow to grasp the greatness of peace and you are spoiled to think that bombs will solve all your problems. You should resign from SGI immediately.

Umi

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If this was a schoolyard brawl i would advise the United States of America to be big enough to turn and walk away. We're talking about a globalized nation though so where are we going to walk to? It is too late to be isolationists. We need to turn and fight these terrorists square on or we may not live to regret it.

Tim

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Thanks for this article unavailable. You have stated the matter more clearly than anything else I have seen about it, and I share your feelings exactly. Like you, while I can appreciate the absolutely nonviolent stance of the Dalai Lama, I believe I am incapable of following it to the extent of standing by while a civilization, and many of the human beings in it, is destroyed. Likewise, as you feel for your nephew unavailable, I feel for my own children.

The example of Gandhi is an interesting one, but we have to remember that he, like Dr. King, was acting in an essentially "civilized" society, i.e. one that would not endure or condone wholesale slaughter on a grand scale. I read an interesting "what if" story recently, that posited "what if" the Nazis had won the war. In it, Himmler was in charge of the occupation of India. Gandhi continued his nonviolent activities, now aimed at the Nazis instead of the British occupiers.

In this fiction Himmler acted as the Nazis had always acted: the protestors were gunned down without mercy, hunted down, rounded up, sent to camps and exterminated. Gandhi was shot in the back of the head, without ceremony, behind an outhouse. End of story; no more protestors.

Recently one of the networks produced a TV movie called "Uprising," about the real-life Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto, men and women and children, who decided to fight the Nazis rather than be led meekly to slaughter. They knew that they were doomed anyway, but they wished to die with honor, and leave behind an example. I think the people on Flight 93 may have been of similar mind. This is more a mind that I can relate to. Call me flawed, but color me human.

The worst form of evil is ideological evil, meaning evil actions based on mistaken ideology. The terrorists who have attacked our nation are utterly convinced of the rightness, even virtue, of their actions, and their ideology supports this belief. Like the Nazis, who believed in the Nazi ideology of racial purity and supremacy, they will stop at nothing to perpetrate their evil, and do not have the ideological base to even acknowledge that it IS evil.

This is, I believe, the kind of erroneous teaching that can lead humankind to misery and doom, as pointed out by Nichiren in the Rissho Ankoku Ron, even though he had never heard of Islam or Islamists. Obviously, as Buddhists we realize that the ultimate solution to such evils is to widely spread and teach the Law, but in the meantime, I would prefer to be identified with the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto, or the brave souls on Flight 93, than the slaughtered Buddhists of Tibet.

Best regards,
Andy Hanlen

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What bugs me is that people keep referring to "the incident of Sept. 11," or "the recent unpleasantness," or "the tragic event," as if some old guy wet himself and everyone is embarrassed to say so.

America was attacked. People were murdered. Let's not dance around it.

L.

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Bravo Lisa Jones! Well said. We have to live within the reality of our lives while striving to change them for the better.

JLJ

Diverse Views

Dissent is fine, but Ben Hillcrest is playing a dangerous game when he goes against the SGI position on war unavailable. Violence begets violence. How long will it take for humankind to learn this? How many more people have to die? I am not appalled by Hillcrest so much as I pity him. He is consumed by the fire of hatred that only compassion can quench. More daimoku, Ben.

J.P.

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Dear Buddha Jones:

I have been reluctant to write you a letter because all the letters on your site sound so smart. Lately some of them didn't sound so smart. So I felt maybe it would be a good time for me to say what I have to say since I won't sound so stupid by comparison.

Your site has helped me. I do not mean to single out any specific article because there are many good ones. What has helped me most is seeing that there are still many viewpoints in SGI-USA. I am one of the people who enjoy letters to the editor. I remember when the World Tribune and Seikyo T... I mean Living Buddhism used to print at least half a dozen letters in each issue. That has all come to an end and I think we are worse for it as an organization.

Thank you for reminding me what diverse, smart people practice this amazing Buddhism.

Marilyn

Hey you know, it's one thing to express you feelings about how you view your religion, but it's another thing to treat it like shit. If someone dessacrated a Jewish Temple, ripped up a Torah, smashed a statue of Mary or Jesus, wouldn't you be angry? Wouldn't you care? How then is it that you take the Gohonzon, our only religious object save ourselves, and treat it like a dick in a porn flick? This is not a whimsical, jolly, iconoclastic video unavailable, it is a hostile toilet for the trashing of the most treasured feelings of other people. It's not funny.

and another thing

You need to re-think what you actual purpose is here. Is it to inspire people to be honest? Is it to encourage open discussion? Is it to make people laugh a little at themselves? Or is it to take the very thing that people hold dear, and treat it like garbage, without respect for what it means to them? If it is that, then this is no different from any other anti-religious, hate site.

Kate (kdances)

Our response: Kate, if anything is being mocked it's the ridiculous superstition with which many Nichiren practitioners view the Gohonzon. You interpreted the piece to mean something that it does not mean. Are you interested in exploring the topic of the Gohonzon based on the Gosho? (For example, according to Nichiren, the Gohonzon is found only in faith alone -- since this is the case, can the true Gohonzon ever be desecrated?) Or are you only interested in defending what you believe instead of examining what you believe and why? How we see the Gohonzon (and how we see the world) depends on our life condition. Frankly, your angry message suggests that you may be clinging to a view of the Gohonzon that is not in keeping with what Nichiren taught.

[Suggested links on this site: What Nichiren wrote about the Gohonzon unavailable and The Prayer Gohonzon Controversy unavailable.]

Kate responds: Dear Editors, thank you for your reply. I read the Gosho quotes that you suggested, however I find no evidence to support your claim that protecting the Gohonzon is a, "ridiculous superstition". I find your interpretation of the Gosho to be opportunistic and incomplete.

For example, on that web page, you began a Gosho quote with this sentence: " The Gohonzon was never known, let alone inscribed by anyone in the Former or Middle Day of the Law." Why did your quote omit the sentence that preceded it in that same Gosho? Perhaps I can shed light on this omission. The sentence proceeding your quote reads: "Always cherish this Gohonzon that I gave you some time ago for her protection." It is clear that the Diashonin is speaking of the physical object of the Gohonzon, and has instucted the beliver to, "cherish", it. It is ludicrous that you attempt to use the Gosho to support your defamation of the Gohonzon.

Yes, I'm angry. Sadly, I'm not too eloquent when angry. I apologize if my vulgarity was a bit much, but I'm not a bit sorry for being angry. You ask if the Gohonzon, which is found in faith alone, can ever be defiled. Since human beings are the source of faith, you are really asking if people can be hurt by your actions. The answer is yes. You have attacked the one object that countless numbers Buddhists have cherished throughout their lives. Perhaps you didn't intend for this to ridicule the most private feelings of these people, but that is exactly what you have done. Your own assumptions about the worth or value or location of the Gohonzon aside, it is an act of hostility to defame the sacred objects of any faith.
Sincerely, Kate

LJ responds: Kate, the Gohonzon belongs to you. It belongs to me. It can never be taken away. It can never be spoiled. Nichiren Shoshu High Priest Nikken does not own the Gohonzon, nor can he turn a Gohonzon on or off with an eye-opening ceremony. Nichiren was the first to inscribe the Gohonzon, but it has always existed and always will. That's what he himself said.

I hope you are able to understand the difference between the Gohonzon and an image of the Gohonzon. The Gohonzon is something to which we offer daimoku, and it's not merely a scroll in a box. An image of the Gohonzon is just that -- like a photograph of a person. Surely you can understand the difference between a person and a photograph of a person.

Nichiren made no prohibitions against copying/photographing the Gohonzon, and most Nichiren sects have no problem with images of the Gohonzon being displayed in books, on websites, and even on clothing. Perhaps your sect has a problem with this. Nichiren Shoshu's prohibition against photographing the Gohonzon, for example, is rooted both in superstition and a self-serving interest in maintaining total control over an object so it can be used as a tool to manipulate believers.

Superstition is not only ridiculous, the fear it incites does grave injury to people's faith. Superstitious fear and self-righteous anger in the name of religion are the ultimate desecration of the teachings, in my view.

Apparently, you feel that the Gohonzon is primarily a material object that can best be protected and cherished by attacking people who have a different view of it than you. I personally feel that the Gohonzon is best cherished and protected when people embrace it as their own and live their lives as they choose, with the understanding that they themselves ARE the Gohonzon.

Regarding the physical object of the Gohonzon: In some passages of the Gosho, Nichiren refers to it as the banner of propagation of his teachings. Banner -- as in flag -- as in something to display proudly, joyfully. It's YOUR thing. Do what you want to do. Maybe that's too literal a reading of the Gosho.

While we both may be guilty of "incomplete and opportunistic" interpretation of the Gosho, I think it's safe to say that anger regarding this matter "protects" nothing but a narrow view.
Best, Lisa Jones

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I practice in kansas, have for 26 years, right now am experimenting with different Sutra recitation formats combined with daimoku chant to see what works best for me. My goal is to recite more diamoku than reciting of the sutra. I will let you know how it works out. Also I am having may Nitatsu Gohonzon encase in glass to preserve it as I have been using it for almost thirty years. To do this I am going to have to take some the trim off the paper and the wood also, but I feel the Gohonzon part itself wil be preserved better and protected better by being encased in glass. It is now a family heirloom. So deserves to be treated at least as well as other antiques of family art we have. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks for listening.
Dave Halverson

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What a joy to see your variously serious, funny, and seriously funny site. If ever a bunch of grims deserved to have their chins tickled, it's us members! Go taking the piss, my dears, you've got my support and blessing!

As Orwell said: Keep the Aspidistera Flying!

-- With kind regards
Aleksandr Wilansky
(in Zurich)

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Thank the great Buddhist deities for Jonathan Wilson! Thank you for making his magical photographs available online. I selected one of the larger versions unavailable and saved it as wallpaper on my computer desktop. Now each day when I'm at work I can see the bodhisattva sunrise at FNCC! What a wonderful way to start the year. Mr. Wilson has brightened my life!

warm regards,
Jeanne

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Hi, My name is Morris and I've been a member of SGI for a while, even though I haven't actively participated for a while. I feel that SGI is a worthwhile organization and most of the people I've met through it are good, even though I've been put off by certain aspects (such as the "rah rah" attitude as somebody put it.)

However, not having been in contact with SGI for at least the past six months, I was pleasantly surprised to learn it had taken a position against the U.S. actions in Afghanistan. With all the flag-waving I remember, I would have thought the opposite. It is good indeed that someone has taken a stand against this madness. Whether you believe in "karma" or that a man (or nation) shall reap what he sows, I can only shudder at what the ultimate repercussions of this will be. However, my opinion of SGI has gone up immensely because of this position.

Morris Kamelgarn

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More good stuff in the LA Times today that I thought you might find interesting. In an interview with Gehlek Rimpoche, Buddhist lama, who wrote a book called "Good Life, Good Death: Tibetan Wisdom on Reincarnation," he says:

"The act of compassion protects us. It prevents us from developing hatred. We all have anger after Sept. 11. As a Buddhist I shouldn't say it's good. But it is only natural. We all have it. But it's important to make sure that it doesn't become hatred. Because if it becomes hatred, we are no different from those who crashed their airplanes into the towers. (But) compassion does not have to be doormat! You can also stop aggression through compassion. We have to go after Bin Laden, get him, and get done with it. We do this through compassion -- to save him from himself as well as to prevent him from harming others. People think compassion means not to hurt a fly. Sure, it's true you shouldn't hurt a fly -- provided the fly does not kill human beings."

There's more, but you get the idea. See, you're not the only Buddhist who's not all "peaced out."

Love,
DJ3

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A good "Buddhy" of mine e-mailed the gift link unavailable to me as a lark. I've grown a tad jaded about organizational stuff, especially the publications; not that I'm planning on leaving. I've got a district I just love. Just the little I read was encouraging.

I started practicing in '83 during the "Nichiren Socialists of America" phase (someone I sponsored to get the Gohonzon referred to the Youth Division as "the Ikeda Youth" and NSA just scared the crap out of another friend of mine. She learned gongyo in a matter of days, but was put off by the "When are you going to get your Gohonzon?" mentality.) and I was extremely bitter for most of the 90's after Daisaku Ikeda's visit; I was able to let my true feelings of anger come out.

Moving from Upstate, NY to Denver was a pleasant surprise. It's so much more laid back here. Anyway, I feel a little less crusty and crotchety after visiting your site. I liked the section on the formalities unavailable. I had to smile about the sutra book pn the floor; we had a leader in Buffalo who freaked if people put the publications on the floor.

As for my bell, I'm a military history buff-no addict is a better word-and I use a spent 105mm shell casing. It's sound is so much more pleasing than the big bowl-shaped bells.

Keep up the good work!
Sven

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Reading the letters I think you are all in there. Nichiren got wise reading other people's doctrines and making comparisons? The first page of the bible says that "Darkness was on the face of the deep: and God said let there be light and there was light and God saw that it was good. I don't see any answers here in your writings?

When The face of god moved over the waters (still waters run deep) there was no one but himself, therefore when he saw the light, and that it was good, he understood himself, and was no in any way concerned with the Americans.

We should set an example by moving our faces over our own waters and throw some light on our own internals. If for example the American Bosses spent all their time trying to understand and fix us all, How could they ever reach their own enlightenment?

...In the marriage at Cana in Gallilee, Christ converted water into wine. Wine is made of three components Water (neutrality) Sugar (Feminine) and Yeast (masculine) And he says " drink ye this, for this is my blood" somewhare else.

Was he a Christian idiot really? or are you all looking for enlightenment in the wrong place.

All my Love to all at a brilliant site, keep it funny but get real.

magnolia

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Hello, I linked to your site from the reflections e-journal. I love it. It is a departure from the stoic, mainstream course. Kudos to you.

...My practice spans 26 years of which 3 I practiced by myself before receiving Gohonzon in Norfolk, VA in 1978. Most of my practice has been in a leadership capacity (district MD and chapter YMD) in Southeast VA. I made all the conventions in the 80's (Chicago 81, tozan 83, Hawaii 85, NYC 86, Philadelphia 87, Atlanta 88) plus countless cherry blossom parades in DC. When Sensei reorganized NSA in 90 I was so relieved. I went back to school in 96 and degreed in photography. I traveled a lot and attended activities throughout the USA and Canada. I treasure the friends I have made in SGI.

In 1998 I journeyed to Sedona, AZ and was inspired to relocate out west after living on the East coast all my life (NYC, VA). I also dabbled in supposedly "New Age" ideology. The younger members back in VA were interested in Deepak Chopra and similar forms of thought. The older members rebuked them and some fell by the wayside, discouraged.

Being a district MD leader I opened the door to all thought forms (UFO's, ET, Edgar Cayce, etc...). I journal my dreams and often times, I will chant in my dreams if I dream that I am in danger.

Anyway, I resigned from my 24 year Top Secret communications career to explore the country, my photography and myself. ...Two years, four girlfriends and five cars later I am in Seattle via Canada and AZ. I enjoy being a regular member now and have not taken publications in over a year for the first time in my practice. I may again, I don't know.

I do not agree with the official SGI declaration of Sep. 11 being the act of a separate terrorist entity. I am careful to share my views with my fellow members but those that know me understand I do not agree with the gov't at all (gee, I used to work for them). I do not get caught up in the campaigns anymore and have not felt obliged to attend FNCC until now (for the artists conference if they don't cancel it next time after I get my tickets).

...Thank You again and I look forward to perusing the rest of your site.

Thanks again,
Michael G. Jones

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I am one of the many people who discovered Nichiren's Buddhism in the sixties. I left Nichiren Shoshu of America in the mid seventies when George Williams was the General Director. I came back in the early nineties to find that Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakai had split, and that George Williams had been replaced. I practiced actively in SGI for several years but then, as a matter of conscience, decided to boycott SGI because I believed, and continue to believe, that the "cult trappings" of SGI make SGI a hostile environment in which to practice Nichiren's Buddhism as I understand it, particularly in regard to conducting shakubuku.

The "cult trappings" to which I refer are the hierarchical method of organization with a strong central authority and the tendency of some members to be dogmatic in their views about what constitutes the "correct practice" of Buddhism.

I continue to do my best to practice Nichiren's Buddhism as I understand it. I am on friendly terms with members my old local district and sometimes get together to chant with them on informal occasions. When invited to attend meetings, I try to explain, as tactfully as possible, that I am trying to make a point by boycotting all "official" activities. Many district members are sympathetic and share my concerns. I am respectful of the fact, however, that many people need to practice in a group and would suffer greatly if they did not have SGI. I therefore never attempt to incite others to participate in my boycott.

I miss the fun of practicing in a group and the energy and inner clarity I feel when I chant with other people. I feel that in many ways, I maintain a better practice when I align myself with other people who take Nichiren's Buddhism seriously. I have come to believe, however, that SGI is unlikely to change from within, primarily because many of its members like it the way it is.

If there are other people like me, who believe that the essential practice of Nichiren's Buddhism is daimoku, gongyo and shakubuku, but feel that SGI is not a comfortable place in which to hold meetings and conduct shakubuku, I would like to suggest the establishment of a new, very loosely organized lay organization....

If any readers [are interested], I invite them to contact me directly by email at rad@sprynet.com.

Thanks for your interest.
Rick Diamond

 

Dear Buddhajones,
Thank you for Christian Oaks article, "Gandhism over Buddhism unavailable." I have been expressing my concerns to a number of people that Gandhi's teachings can't change ones karma. (It has kind of fallen on deaf ears). Gandhi, himself succumbed to the reality of separating the Muslims and the Hindus with the establishment of Pakistan. If world peace could be attained by positive thoughts, self discipline, dialogue, and keeping a list of my daily acts of violence, why would I need to practice buddhism? Something else must be going on. The SGI is transforming from a religious lay organization to a "world peace" organization. What this means, to me, is that the SGI is becoming more political. I find myself being among those that are selected to be "dialogued" to. Please convey to Mr. Oaks that he is not alone and that I deeply appreciate the courage of his writing. I love the Gohonzon, the Gosho, and my freedom. As a woman, I do not want to live anywhere else in the world. So highly do I esteem my country and it's people, good and bad.
Sincerely, K. Southworth

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I enjoy a lot of what is on your site. Interesting and diverse opinions. The only thing that concerns me is the flash movie unavailable of Gohonzon reproductions. I was taught early in my practice that this was not a wise practice, and I do think the flash movie is disrespectful at best. The other movies kind of cracked me up tho. Continue inspiring thought.
Bob Mack, proud to practice in the Soka Gakkai spirit of the Daishonin.
Santa Monica, CA

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Well my Nitatsu Gohonzon is in a beatiful frame on acid-free paper behind non glare glass. Had my first meeting with it on march 16, most people were positively impressed, others appeared to be quietly non opinionated. I did gongyo useing a Nichiren Shu litergy, with the english printed just below the traditonal wording.

I email my sgi leaders that I had downloaded a NShu Gohonzon for my niece to have and so far have had no negative response.

What has the effect on my daily life been so far? Well with all the new and different information I have been finding about all the different schools of Nichiren denomination I have only been able to come to one Sure conclusion, and I will print this in all caps to emphazise. THE ONLY FOR SURE THING THAT AFFECTS ME IS WHETHER OR NOT I CHANT SUFFICENT DAIMOKU, RECITE THE SUTRA DAILY, STUDY AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. wow what a concept.

No, I don't think all Nichiren schools are equal, some are downright scary, but I am not in a postion to be the judge of that for someone else. We all have the ability to make up our minds, I feel we just need to support anyone who is trying practice and create a better world for themselves and others.
thanks for listening.
dave.

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Hi Lisa:
Finally got around to reading the latest Buddha Jones. Christian Oaks article was interesting, especially as I have been contemplating such thoughts as "Does SGI resemble anything that Nichiren Daishonin had in mind", and "Does this organization promote a superficial understanding of concepts such as fortune and actual proof"? I also feel troubled by the Victory Over Violence campaign because it appears that some members use it to be critical of all artistic representations of violence. For myself, I feel that some of the films that have emerged since "Psycho" provide apt metaphors for these days of unexplainable and unexpected horrors. Hope you're doing well.
Peter Nellhaus

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IMO, the Pearl family tragedy has sucked the whole SGI community into a big mess. First off, any homicide is tragic. My most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Daniel Pearl. Now, I've just got to ask, what the hell was a nice Jewish man with a pregnant wife doing traipsing around Pakistan interviewing Islamic terrorists? What was he THINKING? You read stories all the time about the family pit bull who "never bit anyone" or the pet python that was "ever so gentle with the kids". It is down right moronic to play with dangerous animals and then complain when you get hurt. And don't give me any "dialogue" crud. There can be no real dialogue with committed ideologues. So what IS the value of giving these human monsters a platform? It is not just an interesting coincidence that Pakistan and the rest of the Muslim countries lead the world in poverty, illiteracy, misogyny, warfare, and corruption. This is a belief system that takes zero personal responsibility. There is no room for cause and effect and Law is an abstract concept. "When two hydrogen atoms combine with one oxygen atom the will of Allah creates one water molecule." For dialogue to occur, there must be a fundamental openness on both sides. In Pakistan, and much of the Muslim world, a Muslim person who practices another faith is put to death. Some dialogue. So the SGI ends up in knots about saving this guy, his pregnant wife is a poster girl for dialogue and, IMO, no useful purpose is served by any of it.
Bob Ploss

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Re: girls kick bodhi unavailable

Can you add in a photo of Mariane Pearl at the end? If you dont know who she is, let me know. She deserves to be in there.

Arlene

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Editor:

I am a stained glass designer and glasspainter... a member of SGI, the same lay Buddhist organization as photographer Jonathan Wilson unavailable who is featured on your Buddha Jones site.

Almost every piece of my art is commissioned; therefore, few pieces' subject matter is generated by me. I create according to my customer's needs. One of my goals is to paint icons from every World Religion (where theologically allowed/permissible) and to concentrate on human portraiture. Bennett Stained Glass of Memphis Tennessee, one of my stained glass studio customers, surprised me by offering the opportunity to create a window of the historical Buddha's Mahasamadhi. The window below is featured in their stained glass gallery.

We at SGI are not prone to use representational imagery; however, as a visual artist I relished the opportunity to create this piece. My client had a window frame approximately 34" X 5" and asked that I design the window (now featured near the top of my gallery page on web site below). I decided to add elements from various regions (and disciplines) throughout Asia, from a hand-held stupa, to hands holding flowers and prayer beads, to the temple at the Bodhi tree in India.

Thank you for inviting artists to share their visions with you - whether published or not. I will be traveling to Memphis within the next month or so to attend the dedication of a fully painted 1904 restoration window, Christ with revealed Heart which I helped restore by repainting much of the glass.

The Buddha window pieces were shipped and assembled there in Memphis and I plan to take several new digital photos of that piece too. Please take a moment to click on the image on my web site as well which shows part of my original "cartoon" drawing and pattern as well as close-ups of individual painted pieces on the light-table.

www.BiggersGlassPainting.com
Thanks again. Blessings.
Wil Biggers

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dear buddhajones.com,
i have just stumbled across this site for the first time. i found it quite informative and hugely entertaining. i so enjoyed the e-movies namely the "new york groove". super funny! it had my 8 year old son in stitches. i have printed several of the short articles to bring to work and share with my non-buddhist friends. it was very refreshing to read something spiritual and humorous at the same time. keep up the great work.
thanks,
jen decker

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Dear editor:
I put an essay titled "Happy New Day" in my web site http://www.georgehwang.org dead link quoting a few sentences from BuddhaJones articles.

About me:
SGI participation: I moved from northern Virgina (Annadale district) to Bayside district in Queens in 1999. Currently I am living in Manhattan (Upper East Side/East Harlem). My parents in Taiwan started their practice when I was a teenager but I did not become serious until a few years after I moved to U.S. in 1994.

Professionally: I am currently an employee of a small management consulting firm serving clients in the financial industry. Previously, I taught finance and economics for one year at St. John's University and Pace University for one year after receiving his Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in 1999.

Academically: A long-term objective consistent with Kosenrufu is to invent and implement a peace-keeping system through financial markets.

Best wishes,
G. George Hwang

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My name is Amanda Davis, i have a personal website which can be found at www.sherbicide.com dead link I was hoping to get permission from you to reproduce one of the Flash Presentations found on buddhajones.com The one i was after is the "Song of the Open Road unavailable" piece. My first viewing of this was on your site almost 6 months ago, and i was deeply touched by it. Please be aware that my site is a personal page only, and has a very limited audience (only a dozen or so people regularly visit it, all of whom are my friends).
...Kind Regards,
Amanda Davis.

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Well so far in my experiment reciting the whole sutra one time in the morning and chanting more daimoku instead of repeated reciting the sutra appears to be working just fine as far as keeping my life condition stable and my daily life activities seem to be reflecting this. I have not yet place my Gohonzon behind glass. I have been very busy planning for my upcoming wedding, my bride is a Christian, and we do have some discussion on our faith but are mutually supportive. Any other Christian/Buddhists out there living happily while still stongly practicing their faiths? ...I have been sharing some of the articles and movies on your site with my fiance and she has been impressed with some things. Thanks again, look forward to hearing from you again.

Dave Halverson
Topeka, Kansas

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Kathy sent this link:

For women mostly ...

It's the Online Pre-Date Confidence Builder -- check it out: http://www.zefrank.com/ dead link

Letters about SGI-USA reform unavailable

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Hi, That has to be the best disclaimer ["Dense, Important Text unavailable"] I've ever read. Probably the first I've read in its entirety. I enjoy much of the rest of the site as well.
-Ted Kloba
[Chicago, IL]

PS- I've always said "5 & 3" Gongyo and intend to continue, but I would never disparage those who choose otherwise.

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Lisa....... again, again........how do you do it? You are one lady chanting a lot of sincere daimoku. Great site this month. Rife with good stuff! I could hear the sparks and crackles! Keep it up.......enjoying it all.
Lisa Faye Pranger
and congrats on your book!

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I very much enjoyed discovering your site. Once upon a time I was an NSA member (1965 to 1975 ish) before choosing the path of the lone bodhisattva and eventually moving more towards a orientation. At one point I held senior leader status ( I was married in the temple , President Ikeda named my first child, etc etc etc) I began to find it increasingly difficult to balance my liberal mind-set with a (Japanese) cultural overlay that dictated a strict adherence to their organizational 'values'. In trying to be a true pioneer and foster an environment where dialogue was encouraged , I was repeatedly shut down and shamed. You can imagine my amusement years later to discover that all my concerns about 'cultishness' and 'territoriality ' have seen to come to light. I wonder how Nichiren would feel about all this?

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Thanks, buddhajones, for the fun and insight. I think all religions would be vastly improved (and not so likely to resort to violence) if they could just laught at themselves! The recent "Funny Times" includes a cartoon about chanting. I decided that was OK -- we need to accept (embrace?) how humorous we may appear to others. A lot of things human beings do are kinda funny if you are not the one doing it. Let's all lighten up!
More anon.
Diana

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Namaste, oh fellow independant Nichiren Buddhist! I enjoyed looking at and reading your website. I have been practicing Nichiren's Buddhism for 33 years in the San Francisco and Santa Rosa area of California. I knew Tariq Hasan when he was a baby Buddha and now he's way up there in the SGI-USA organization. Keep up the good work and don't expect the SGI-USA to change too quickly. Japanese culture has been around for eons. Please keep me updated on any new developments. Thank you for your time and effort.
Joseph Grumich

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In reply to the question regarding the special contribution made primarily in May, this is a very brief explanation. Prior to 1990, at this time of year, contributions were made to the temple. SGI members would contribute money along with the names of any deceased persons they wanted the priests to chant for. While I feel certain that the temple got money, I don't know if the priests actually chanted on the behalf of the deceased.
Peter Nellhaus

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Dear Buddha Jones,
I have only been practicing this Buddhism for a few months now and still have a lot of unanswered questions. I was recently introduced to the concept of the special contribution [SGI-USA's annual fundraising drive]. I'm a little puzzled with this one. Why does this donation need to be collected in such a timely manner? Why just the month of May and the first week of June? I don't get it. Also, there seems to be an underlying pressure to donate or else my fortune will somehow be affected. I have been told that it is not the amount of the donation that matters, but the spirit in which it is given. Still, I get the impression that the more I contribute, the greater my fortune for the following year. What if I can't afford so much good fortune all in one month? I'm rambling a bit here, sorry. Essentially, I just want to know why just May and is the amount of each person's donation recorded and available for discussion? Please forgive me for sounding so suspicious.
J. Waters

Does anyone have a good response to J. Waters' questions? Please e-mail it to the editor.

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Lisa -- I just discovered your website. It is way too good. Stop it. I need to get some sleep. When we were kids, my brother and I used to say to each other "Peace Hippy Style!" because we thought Peace and Hippies were cool. (We were right.) I thought you would appreciate knowing that.
Peace Hippy Style! -- Verzonni

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This morning, when I first heard of Rick Diamond's letter in Buddha Jones, I was appalled at the very concept of guidelines for independent groups of Nichiren Buddhists. Is this not an oxymoron? (Actually, my language on a certain yahoo group was even more colorful than this...;-) At first, I didn't even want to bother to read it. However a good friend chastised me for my narrow-mindedness and so I came to your site to read the letter for myself.

Perhaps it is due to the colored lenses through which I view my former affiliation, the SGI, but after reading the letter I am still of the same opinion. How can one person presume to create guidelines, even just proposed guidelines, for all the many different groups which have and are in the process of breaking away from the Gakkai? Common sense, of course, dictates that such would be impossible. Furthermore, for a presumed set of guidelines for Independent practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, it sure does spend a lot of time talking about sectarian politics.... more than half of the document! How is that being independent? It is not. It is simply reactionary.

In closing, I would like to share the guidance of Shakyamuni Buddha (found in the Pali Canon) during the time of the first schism in the Sangha at Kosambi, just before he himself left his community of believers to practice alone in the woods:

"If you can find a trustworthy companion
With whom to walk, both virtuous and steadfast,
Then walk with him content and mindfully,
Overcoming any threat of danger.
If you can find no trustworthy companion
With whom to walk, both virtuous and steadfast,
Then, as a king who leaves a vanquished kingdom,
Walk like a tusker in the woods alone.
Better it is to walk alone:
There is no fellowship with fools.
Walk alone, harm none, and know no conflict;
Be like a tusker in the woods alone."
(Source: The Life of the Buddha by Bhikkhu Nanamoli)
--Don Ross,
a former Gakkai member still working on "know no conflict"

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I've thoroughly enjoyed your website. Keep up the fine work! meredith
from Tennessee

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Miss Guidance's posting unavailable came at an great time for me. I've felt awkward about about the part of President Ikeda's peace proposal where he refers to Khatami (spelling), the current head of Iran, calling for dialogue between civilizations. Just to make sure my concerns had some foundation, I watched Frontline last night on PBS. In addition to support of terrorist organizations, primarily Hezzbollah, the government continues to imprison and torture its own citizens if they express opinions of dissent, especially calls for a secular democracy.

So here's my thought: Is it possible, based on what we are observing both within and outside of SGI, that by their very nature, religious organizations are at best un-democratic, or at worst, anti-democratic? Even the colonies that eventually became the original United States were founded by groups that sought religious freedom for themselves, excluding other forms of faith on their particular turf.

Maybe I'm asking the wrong question or not asking it in the best way. I'm even missing the World Tribune from many years ago, where the emphasis seemed to be on members' experiences with the practice, even though it made Buddhism appear "magical." The issue from a couple weeks ago made me feel like I was stuck in a fun house where mirrors reflect each other, with various people giving each other medals. Sorry for this long rant. Hope you're well.
Peter

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Dear Lisa....I very much enjoyed perusing your website. I also enjoyed hearing the honesty and integrity in many of the e-letters people sent in. It is a great forum, and overall your site is pretty balanced....definitely something for everybody.

When I was asked recently by a dear friend (whom I consider family) about re-subscribing to the World Tribune I told her flatly no. She knows my reasons--for many years I took the wt because I was in a leadership position even though I found the content extremely uptight and boring. The most I have seen of it in the last year has been great coverage of youth division activities. I failed to mention I am a full time college student in my mid-thirties, and I don't have much spare time to read anything but textbooks, but I told my friend that I felt that the only way I could express my dissatisfaction (after talking to several people on the WT staff, etc) was to simply not subscribe. Exercise my rights as a consumer, and I also told her...ya know, it wouldn't hurt them to be experimental with at least one quarter of the current S.G.I. publications! She heartily agreed, and also expressed several of her own thoughts, (albeit very funny) and she sent me the link for your site.

So, this forum of yours I sense is very healthy. I may not agree with all of it, and I certainly have gotten a good laugh at a bit of it! (as well as some nice insights, and thought-provoking reading done online.) It is nice to see that the adventurous spirit of yours that was hard at work before (in an attempt to bring the SGI organization into the 21st century) is hard at work on something excellent. Please keep it up! It is good that someone is also attempting to offer something for everyone in cyberspace, which is about the only place I can be reached (along with many others) these days. This website is much appreciated.

Lisa Pranger, Bellingham WA

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Thank you for your site it is insight as well as funny. I am practicing in Phoenix AZ. Where are you? Keep up the great work and maybe we can have a Q&A; set up you and some Jr/SR High School students since the humor and information is a great tool for people to learn from.

Alex Aliberto

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To: All People Interested In Establishing Independent Nichiren Buddhism Practice Groups

From: Rick Diamond

Subject: Proposed Voluntary Guidelines

Date: March 17, 2002

(Note: The following is an attempt to set forth some general guidelines for people to follow if they are interested in practicing Nichiren's Buddhism in a group setting, but who wish at the same time to avoid belonging to an organized religion due to some of the negative implications that this can imply. The model for the idea of a "non organized organization" is borrowed directly from the Twelve Step movement to which a debt of gratitude is acknowledged. Please feel free to revise and circulate this draft.)

Proposed Guidelines for Independent Practice Groups

Preamble

Nichiren's Buddhism is based on the daily practice of chanting "Nam-myho-renge-kyo" and reciting portions of an early Chinese translation of a collection of teachings known as "The Lotus Sutra." The practice of Nichiren's Buddhism was elaborated by a Buddhist monk in 13th Century Japan. In the centuries since its founding, and particularly after World War II, many thousands of people have discovered that practicing Nichiren's Buddhism has enhanced their lives in various sometimes subtle and sometimes dramatic ways.

There are various organizations dedicated to the practice and proliferation of Nichiren's Buddhism. The two major organizations are the Nichiren Shoshu Temple, which is a religious organization, and the Soka Gakai, which is a lay organization. Both of these organizations are headquartered in Japan and have affiliated organizations in many countries throughout the world. In the past these two organizations usually enjoyed a cooperative relationship with each other. However, starting in the nineteen eighties, differences between the two organizations have caused them to become sometimes bitter rivals.

Many of the people practicing Nichiren's Buddhism in the United States were introduced to the practice in the late nineteen sixties and early nineteen seventies when the religious and lay organizations had a much more harmonious relationship than at present. During this period the lay organization assumed responsibility for organizing members and teaching them how to practice, while the religious organization concerned itself with preserving religious relics, officiating at religious ceremonies and distributing scrolls, known as "gohonzons," which serve as the visual center of attention that people focus on when chanting.

Following the split between the religious and lay organizations, each of the organizations began to assume functions which had previously been performed by the other. For its part, Nichiren Shoshu became more active in organizing lay activities and demanded that its members resign from Soka Gakai. The lay organization, on the other hand, with assistance from some of the many temples that renounced their affiliation to Nichiren Shoshu due to their disagreement with the head temple's policies, began to manufacture and distribute its own gohonzons, thereby taking over one of the main functions previously considered a religious rather than a lay function.

There are probably as many different explanations of how and why chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo gives positive results as there are people who chant. One point that has traditionally been emphasized is that it is more important to understand that chanting Nam-myoho-renge kyo does lead to positive results than understanding why. For most people, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a personal matter that they sometimes do in the company of others. It is not necessary for all people who chant together to necessarily agree how or why chanting works for them.

One of the main reasons that people have meetings is to make it possible for new people to learn the mechanics of chanting so they can apply the practice to their own lives if they chose to do so. Traditionally, this is referred to by the phrase, "doing shakabuku." Sharing the practice with others is considered by many to be an indispensable part of the practice.

There are many doctrines and principles associated with Buddhism in general and Nichiren Buddhism in particular. There are, however, no codes of belief which one must adopt in order to practice Nichiren's Buddhism. The general concept of Buddhism is that all people possess an inner condition of enlightenment. When one is enlightened he or she enjoys a state of harmony between the self and the environment.

The practice of Buddhism might generally be described as a method or technique that is used to to increase one's wisdom and strengthen one's life force. It is also a method whereby people discover and resolve the sources of conflict in their own lives in a manner which promotes peacefulness in society and the eventual attainment of world peace.

Some people believe that the practice of Nichiren's Buddhism within the traditional organizations is sometimes overshadowed by concerns that are more peripheral than central to the practice of Buddhism. This makes it difficult to participate in group activities and also makes it difficult to introduce new people to the practice.

The following guidelines or suggestions are put forth with the idea that people may establish independent practice groups so they can practice together with little or no organizational constraint. It is based on the principle that all human beings are essentially equal and that no person has a right to dictate to another on matters of faith.

Guidelines

1. Local groups are autonomous.
The practice of Buddhism is essentially personal. People who practice Buddhism may join together for a variety of reasons. One of the most important reasons is to facilitate the propagation of Buddhism by teaching people the basics of practicing if they have a desire to learn. Other reasons include chanting for joint goals or just to socialize. If people want to have meetings together they should determine what, if any, organization is necessary based on their unique needs. They may want to form a "home group" that meets periodically to determine organizational matters such as when and where to hold meetings, and how the meetings should be organized.

Leadership in this context is practical, not doctrinal. In other words, someone chairing a meeting is fulfilling a necessary function, but it should not be implied that they have any special knowledge about Buddhism or that their opinions about Buddhism are necessarily better than anyone else's. One of the goals of Buddhism is to spread enlightenment from person to person on a local level. This is one reason why it makes sense for the fundamental unit of organization to remain the local community meeting.

People may wish to conduct certain activities that require cooperation among several groups. Each group potentially involved should make its own decision whether participation in such activities is in balance or out of balance with the importance that the group places on holding meetings and conducting propogation within the local community. Independent groups might find it useful to establish a service organization to be involved in matters concerning publications and/or communications.

If this becomes the case it should always be remembered that employees of the service organization have no special rights or privileges and are not official spokespersons for Nichiren Buddhism. Neither the independent groups nor their service organization should ever endorse any person as a leader or authority in Buddhism and should never endorse any publication as containing an "authorized" statement of Buddhist principle or doctrine.

2. No dues or fees should be collected except voluntary contributions to defray actual expenses.
No one should ever exploit Buddhism for the sake of personal gain at someone else's expense. Anyone with a genuine interest in learning how to practice Nichiren's Buddhism should be assisted to the fullest extent possible by other Nichiren Buddhists residing within the community. No one should be charged for attending a meeting. People look with justifiable distrust upon religious organizations that acquire wealth. Independent practice groups should be careful never to acquire or accumulate more than the minimal degree of funds necessary to conduct their meetings and activities. No funds should ever be sought or accepted except for small voluntary contributions from regular group members.

3. Independent practice groups should adopt no official positions.
It is unncessary and potentially damaging for any independent group to adopt an official position with respect to matters of Buddhist doctrine, politics, current events or any other matter. Members of a group will naturally be free to hold whatever opinions they deem correct. The group itself should have no official positions. If people wish to take collective stances with regard to political or other issues, they should do so outside the context of the local independent Buddhist group. No person should be made to feel unwelcome at a Buddhist meeting due to their personal views. On the other hand, if a person should state views that others find offensive, there is nothing to prevent them from stating their own personal views in rebuttal, so long as it is understood that people are speaking their personal views and not speaking as spokespersons for Buddhism.

4. Buddhist propagation should be conducted in a respectful and responsible manner.
It has been mentioned that many people feel that propogation of Buddhism is an indispensible part of the practice of Nichiren's Buddhism. Propogation should be conducted in a manner that will not unnecessarily alienate people from practicing Nichiren's Buddhism. Categorical claims of what Buddhism will or will not do are probably not well advised. Many people who now chant daily originally tried it on an experiemental basis. If we share our experiences honestly with other people we are not likely to offend them. On the other hand, making grandiose claims that cannot be defended on the basis of logic or our own personal experience are not likely to inspire others to try chanting.

Rick Diamond

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being, n : one's fundamental nature, fulfillment of possibilities; essential completeness. 6. in philosophy. that which is, is possible, or can be logically conceived.

possess, to have as a piece of property, to gain strong influence or control over; to dominate.

So I'm driving these kids home from the Boys & Girls activities at the Culture Center when I hear, "WoW! He must be rich!" from one of ''um in the back seat. Knowing they're referring to 'Lil Bow Wow' on the cover of his latest CD, I ask, "How come you say that?" The answer comes back...."Because he's wearing three bracelets & all those rings."

"Oh, I seeeeeeeeeee." as I begin to share with the kids some things I learned at the "How to practice correctly" AKA 'Soka Spirit/Couragous Hearts' meeting, while they were making sushi.

When Nikken claims all should make a pilgrimage (tozan) in order to experience what only he inherited (the True Life Blood of Faith) this brings into question the argument of correctness based on those who possess the DaiGohonzon. Nichiren said 'not to seek this Gohonzon outside ourselves, yet the Nikken/temple translates the meaning of pilgrimage using a dictionary;{ a journey to some distant place, sacred & venerable for some reason, undertaken for devotional purposes.} Our 'human revolution',(2)figuratively, the journey of human life, is closer to what Nichiren taught then one accessed via a passport.

Back to the 'bracelets & rings; Nikken's prayer based on ego (possession of the DaiGohonzon) & our, SGI's daimoku based on being dedicated to ending suffering (kosen rufu), challenges societies current view of true value: Being honest, noble, courageous Nichiren said are treasures of the heart.

Appearance,( nyo ze so) does not mean only the number of shiny objects I possess, but also BEING aware of why dedicated actions like those described in the Gosho define why the SGI has now appeared. Not that I don't enjoy a slick screen-saver{Tyra Banks} on my PC at work , but when my faith is based on dependency (feeling powerless) or based on fear (what if ???), instead of self-reliant faith,{faith based on joy, my journey within) then 'being' is like possessing a membership in Nikken's Buddhist club: To be or not to be excommunicated? that's NOT a question. stoney

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There have been several discussions and comments made about the war in the Middle East at various internet sites. The result of war everyone can see: the crying and destruction of lives and homes. It is something that is so obvious that we do as humans and is so bad. War becomes an opportunity for individuals to participate in something larger but clearly human: We can protest it, support our country, be a soldier and so forth. It becomes a Big Event versus all the little nasties that happen in each individual's life. In can even become a diversion for an individual. That was point 1.

In the Middle East, there are two major world religions that believe in an apocalypse. Both of these religions have been influenced by Zoroastrian literature and beliefs. They are Islam and Christianity. The Koran is full of apocalyptic imagery and so is the New Testament. The Jews are not immune to this, either. So we have billions of people with a belief that humans are sinful and a belief in Armageddon.

Belief is a cause. Constant belief in a thing is an accumulation.

Now I am sure that each mother does not think while giving birth: Here is a new sinner who will bring the Zoroastrian/Christian/Islam end of the world that much closer unless they repent. (sarcasm coming) Of course, all must repent and do certain rituals to prevent the end of the world. If one person does not believe in this, then the end comes. Hence by the sword, we must convert. (end sarcasm) Usually a mother naturally loves her child.

There are many things that counterbalance this negative apocalyptic belief: Parents wishing the best for their children and grandchildren, farmers wanting a good profit from crops in order to live another year or two and so forth. Then many Christians and Moslems take what good is in their religion and generally go about life. Not wanting sex from another's spouse becomes the focus (God help me, he's got good buns), not Revelations. But at some time, these constantly held negative beliefs come home to roost.

This is my belief based on observation of causes, results and when they come to be manifest. (I have had a while to observe myself.) When the majority of the human race is wanting a new way and an end to the old ways of hatred and the results of hatred, all these old causes that have been deferred due to natural desire for a good result, come back to roost, in the region of origination. In the case of Zoroastrian beliefs, then I think it is Turkey or Iran/Iraq.

To top it off, these areas have been really bad to Buddhists. The people who might help them in some way with all these negative causes over the centuries, they killed and expelled and burnt the temples. The people who originally propagated this belief may even have been reborn in the present so they could reap the results. I look at Afghanistan and all of the Middle East as a exercise in causes and manifestation of results. Hatred and war, not to mention destruction of what little Buddhism was in Afghanistan, has made so many negative causes.

The United States has been attacked and so it is involved. I would rather let the cause take it's course and we stay out of it as much as we can. We can only help to pick up the pieces when it is over.

If I seem a little detached in all of this, I am 50 and have seen a lot of causes, results and manifestations. I can feel sad and realize that there are going to be a lot of suffering people, but they have to want to end this. They have to see that negative only begets negative. And causes can sometimes be so illusive. A man deeply wishing to fly in the 13th century may result in a rebirth now, where he may be a pilot or a soldier flying in a transport to fight.

Until all of my ignorance ceases, I cannot just look into the eyes of someone and say "justice is served". I just have to go on my experience. May everyone make good causes

Jeanne in the desert

...I read with interest the article on Jackie Stone unavailable as I knew she use to do translations for WT. Just a thought, as it is totally up to you, but maybe you can create a page with an amazon link that lists writings by members, fiction and non, outside of SGI. I'm assuming some members are actually interested in other members literary accomplishments, and a central list would help. Take care.
Peter

[Great idea. If you or someone you know has written a book and would like to be included in such a list, please send an e-mail.]

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Hey, Kiddios. Love the new stuff. Wanted to drop a line to Fiji K. re: the bylaws unavailable. Those bylaws are for Japan. America has its own bylaws that you can ask to view at your SGI community center. And nope, that excerpt is not all that the bylaws say...but who cares about the bylaws in Japan?! Wanted also to make the point that just because the SGI bylaws say that we are the true inheritors of Nichiren's spirit, that just won't cut it. We gotta walk the talk, as someone else on your site said.
keeeses all around.
Malvy71

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I am overjoyed to see the writings of two SGI members on your site: Ms. Berry unavailable and Mr. Semilian unavailable. At first I struggled with the length and sly wit of the Semilian piece, but was ultimately rewarded. It is actual proof that two such talented writers are working in America today, trying to inspire empowerment in others.
Deepest thanks,
Tammy in Dallas

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I had no idea there was something fun, informative and which went to the HEART of correct practice on the internet.
Who are you?
Who funds you? (I mean, all that nice "free" animations expensive.)
I'm thinking about establishing a SIG for MENSA... an organization I joined and found to be a boor and quit. They do have SIG's listed in their monthly publication and it would be a great way to shakubuku people.
What a wonderful discovery... I was looking up Alessandra-Davila's web site and stumbled across you.
Regards, Steve

[I assume SIG stands for special interest group rather than Soka International Gakkai. It took me a minute to figure that out. I'm obviously not in MENSA. As for funds, we have none; we've always relied on the kindness of strangers.]

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Whence I was told to die
I threw myself into the sky
And instead of death I found life anew
I found empowerment.
Now I love sky diving
But I am told severely it is against Buddhism
And I am disdained.
But I fly on.
Actual Proof @ http://www.waszir.htmlplanet.com
Ps. Sky diving with my determined Daimoku to get me out of despression has cured my severe ulcerative colitis. But I must fly ASAP. Lest I bleed soon again!
Am I a sinner?
---:) Who cares?
I'd rather be sky diving

[Hi, Waszir! Glad you're still with us.]

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Hi there, I'm not sure if you are having problems with your site or my Macintosh is having attitude again. I am unable to load any of the new articles and many of the older stuff. Looking forward to reading the site... I've been told the new stuff is especially good.
M.

[If you're trying to access BuddhaJones using an AOL browser on a Mac, our site appears to be only semi-functional. It's the kiss-of-death combo for us (AOL & Mac) and we can't figure out why. We're planning to re-design the site in a few weeks and hope that will solve the problem. Sorry!]

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I have one thing to say.
Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo
David G.
P.s., nicely worded writing from you sir.

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Li-sa Jones. I see you have not published your long-ago-promised article about why the World Tribune is lame or NOT lame, depending on how brainwashed you still are. I wrote you once when you were working at the paper to tell you that your articles are shallow and stupid. You sent me a cheerful reply that had no sarcasm. I laughed my ass off. Then you ran away from the paper and the members. I don't care why you left your post. You QUIT. Adios. The paper went to hell, little by little, right after and you wont take responsibility. Now you sit there and mock us with Weird Tribune unavailable. I bet you won't ever say that in your article. IF we ever see this wonderful article of yours. I won't hold my breath.
XX,
P.O.

[Loving you is starting to hurt, P.O.]

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The juxtaposition between President Ikeda's message unavailable to the World Tribune and your send up of the Weird Tribune unavailable was absolutely heartbreaking. When I re-read President Ikeda's vision for the paper I was struck by how we have fallen short. It is as if the paper has been hijacked by people who think that a smiley face equals faith. Your parody was biting, and I didn't laugh, I groaned. It is painful to have reflected back to me how weird we must look to those outside SGI. As a satirist you have done your job because I feel now that the World Tribune has been an "inside joke" that we all put up with, but it has to change. We must change it to be in tune with President Ikeda's mandate. My grudging thanks,
Sal

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Liking Buddhism unavailable. Now that's funny. The organization department will be sending you a cease-and-desist letter any day now.
Luv,
Scott

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Dear Lisa:
In regard to money within SGI-USA, I think it would be good to have an open accounting before the May contributions. It is my understanding that this is common practice in mainstream christian and buddhist denominations.

If we are being supported by Japan and not pulling our own weight in regard to supporting our community centers, that should be brought out into the open. That may even encourage more donations.

We are a great organization. We have nothing to hide.
Sincerely,
RBK

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Thank you for your site. It is important.

I am 51 years old and have been chanting since 1975. I was really a gung ho-er and a district leader and had done all the stuff; parades, etc. Had to leave the organization to be able to chant for my own on my own. The last 20 of those years were spent unconnected to any form of the organization NSA or SGI-USA as it is called today. I just recently learned of the Sho Hondo and the power struggle that is going on. I was taking a plane ride with a friend who also chants and he said that he was going to do Gongyo before dinner and I said "me too, I guess". At that moment I realized that I hadn't done Gongyo with another human in those twenty years. I had also become stagnant in my life. But that's my situation and is not meant to reflect anything to anyone else. (Unless it actually does and then "cool").

But that moment changed my life and I am grateful. I am connected again. Better. Stronger. To my buddha. To the other buddhas in my life. My wife is one. She doesn't chant but man what a boddhisatva! She has become the conduit for all my diamoku. And like the Gohonzon, she is my mirror too. I guess what this is leading to is that I needed people to connect. And I am grateful to be chanting and moving forward again. You and your site are part of this. What you have accomplished is important and is creating value and affecting the world in a positive way. Your writings reflect your courage in the face of your doubts.

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo can overcome even the organizations that prosilitize it. Because, afterall, like Soylent Green, it's made of people.
David Leisure

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Dear Buddhajones,
I am from a country far away from yours -- India. Your website is truly refreshing. The reform issue in the US has really got me thinking. Being an SGI member I do believe that in true Buddhist spirit the organisation just like a human being has to continually evolve (what we call human revolution). Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the spirit of many of the leaders. All over the world.

At any stage when we look at critcism of fellow members in isolation of their individual suffering and our own self-reflection-- we are going against both, the Daishonin's and President Ikeda's spirit. Surely these members (those who have signed the reform decleration) have suffered a great deal or are talking on behalf of those who have truly suffered at the hands of certain leaders or because of certain behaviour justified by some seemingly harmless guidelines. They don't seem to be against the organisation -- but the fanaticism it is breeding.

I have been to the US a number of times recently. And I have personally interacted with the most wonderful people (SGI members). I have observed that the sincerest of them (sincere about their practice and seeking true Buddhism) are definitely isolated and treated very shabbily for unbelievable reasons.
1. They ask questions that challenge both a leaders open-mindedness as well as knowledge.
2. They expect rational explanations for any sudden changes made in the organisation.
3. They have the courage to accept that their meetings are not inspiring and suggest innovative ways to make them more effective...

While I do not subscribe to the method of an organised reform declaration. I strongly believe that it is not brought about by members trying to mislead others. It is definitely a result of leaders who are resisting their own human revolution and in the process damaging the organisation more than any reform declaration can.
AA.

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Nichiren was known to be an example of courage and wisdom. If you follow Nichiren, courage and wisdom will emerge in your life. When he wrote "On Securing Peace of the Land" Gosho, he was accused of being "political". If your concern is to end your society's and other people's sufferings, as Nichiren wanted, you'd use your voice, invite for debates and present to the authorities your vision, call it also Peace Proposals. There is nothing new in complaining against the SokaGakkai, and critics will never match the aggression of the militarists who, during the II W W - themselves being War Criminals -, banned the organisation and imprisoned its leaders as being "Thought Criminals".

Buddhism is concerned with removing sufferings from people's *current* life. it is concerned with peace and security of the society, and holds high esteem for all human beings as carriers of the Enlightened Law of the Universe. Whether we like it or not, the SGI is a function in society which works for peace according to Nichiren's teachings, and the word dialogue is another expression of the principle of the Sutra : "Voice does the Buddha's work". Dialogue requires also high culture of interested people, and here you find that peace-culture and education are inseparable.
Darshams

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Dear Lisa,
Thanks for your thoughtful response to the Reform Declaration. I was one of the original signers of the Declaration and I too find points that I disagree with and points that I don't care about. Some are the same as those you bring up some are different. I put my name on the Declaration for many reasons but primarily because there are some points that I agree strongly with, and because I wanted to show by example that disagreement with the SGI does not necessarily lead directly to the Avichi Hell, or loss of all benefit. My hope is that by taking the all or nothing position that we did, we will make it easier for people to speak up about their individual concerns.

In retrospect I wish we had made the Declaration less dogmatic. I don't think there's a single signer of the Declaration that agrees with every point. What we all agree on is that the SGI-USA needs to foster an atmosphere where open dialogue can occur, and members with differening opinions are respected not refuted. The declaration says we are concerned about the "my way or the highway" one true sect rhetoric of the SGI. The declaration sounds alot like that too. I want to personally apologize for that tone.
Bill Anker

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Are you a fan of the tv show Buffy the Vampire Slayer? I bet you'd write a great episode of this show.
Mike Rudnick
Bedminster, NJ

Brooke is so very Buffy.

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Dear Lisa,
Congratulations on the June 26, 2002 issue of BuddhaJones. I greatly enjoyed the two articles on the reform movement by you and Mr. Hardey. For obvious reasons I don't agree with everything in them, but I most heartily applaud your publication of them and your support for ongoing dialogue on these issues. In a very real sense, that is at the heart and soul of the reform movement within the SGI-USA. In your article, referring to the recently published Reform Movement Declaration, you wrote:

<< Part of me would like to sign in solidarity with the people who wrote it, because they're now being slandered and dissed. I'm disgusted that some leaders want to drive the reformers out of the organization. That's just not right. But, no, I wouldn't sign the declaration. Going through it point-by-point, there are too many things I disagree with.>>

...which makes me think about a very important (in my opinion) shortcoming of the Declaration. It can be taken as containing a list of "all or nothing" demands, which is not its intent. In retrospect, I would preface the "signed by" section of names at the end with something like this:

"Although we do not necessarily agree with all of the points in the Declaration, we lend our names in support of open and honest DIALOGUE AND DISCUSSION of these issues, confident that such exchanges, coupled with sincere faith, can lead to meaningful reform of our organization."

If we can publicly and reasonably discuss these issues, we can move forward. As long as the leadership fears this and tries to stifle it, no real growth is possible, and we are at risk of failing of the promise that our great organization offers. This would be a great shame. Certainly discussion and debate can be uncomfortable at times, but as Mr. Hardey said in his article:

<< I hereby declare that I am in favor of increased discomfort among members of SGI-USA! >>

And as the Daishonin said:

"Take suffering as suffering, enjoy pleasures for what they are, and whether in suffering or joy, continue chanting Namu-myoho-renge-kyo. How can this not be the joy of the Dharma received for oneself? Muster the strong power of faith all the more."

...nobody said it would be easy!

At the end of your article you wrote:

<< I think that the reformers sincerely want the SGI-USA to be a great place for everyone to practice Buddhism. Their views about the problems in SGI-USA are not the only views, of course. And their suggestions for improvement are not the only ones worthy of consideration. Instead of blasting these members or pretending that the declaration is not "pertinent," I think SGI-USA should thank the reformers for presenting a good springboard for dialogue. >>

Well, I thank YOU for having the courage to address these issues and encourage discussion of them. In further praise (I think you can handle it! >8^), I think that what BuddhaJones offers, in its diversity of views and equal representation for all opinions, both serious and frivolous, should be a model for a reformed publications policy at SGI Plaza. Would that the World Tribune would publish alternative and opposing views, reinstate and expand its letters section, and actually promote "expanding dialogue," rather than simply using those words as an empty and meaningless slogan.
Best regards,
Andy Hanlen
-- contributor to the Reform Movement Declaration
-- founding member of the IRG

 

Letters from this period were not recovered for the archive.

Reader letters to BuddhaJones.com, collected from September 2003 through February 2004. Letters are separated by a centered asterisk (*) and presented oldest first.

Fasten your seat belt, Lisa Jones. You're going to be the target of misdirected outrage. Instead of being angry at SGI for lying about President Ikeda's excommunication, the die-hard blinder-wearing SGI members will instead be angry at you for exposing the lie.

The fact of SGI's fallibility is something that fragile SGI-dependent people simply cannot process. Their self-esteem depends on the infallible greatness of SGI. If SGI is not great...uh-oh! They will attack you, trust me.

I experienced something similar myself, having done my own financial investigation of the SGI. I planned to list SGI as the beneficiary of my 401K plan, thinking the org needs money, but one of my co-workers urged that I look into it more. Instead of being outraged that SGI-USA has misrepresented its financial condition all these years, never saying a peep about their multi-million $$$ real estate portfolio, I was angry at myself for ever having trusted the SGI.

There's enough anger to go around in SGI, but little of it is directed where it is deserved. I often wonder if by re-directing enormous rage at Nikken and Nichiren Shoshu, the SGI leadership dodged the just anger of SGI members. Our disgust at Nikken's profligate ways took the heat off SGI leaders, whose behavior and distortions of Buddhism have been every bit as bad as Nikken's.

The organization insults our intelligence by telling dumb lies like the excommunication lie, and someone's going to pay. Unfortunately, that someone is going to be you. That's how we do it in SGI: we shoot the messenger, we curse what we see in the mirror and set out to destroy it, not realizing that we are destroying ourselves.

Dani

*

Hi Lisa,

I stumbled upon your site by accident. I punched in sgi/usa in a search
engine because I couldn't remember if it was .com or .org, and your site
showed up and I checked it out. Amazing.

I have been practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism since June 13, 1973. Over the last 30 years it has been fascinating to see all the changes in life in general. If it were not for the common sense of Nichiren Daishonin's writings, things would make no sense. Seeing reality from the perspective of the Gosho, everything falls into place like one big puzzle.

On this note, sites like yours didn't exist in America when I first started
practicing, but I'm sure, through media before the internet, they were
prevelent in Japan. This is all documented in the Gosho from 700 years ago; that opposition to true reality will appear. Getting mad yet?

Actually, I am not writing to you to piss you off. It just seems that
entities that devote their time to dogging true buddhism seem to have an
attitude problem. If this is not the case with you, sorry I mentioned it. I just know by personal experience that your facts are misleading, based on hearsay rather than getting to the root of things; such as: NSA was the original American organization and the SGI/USA developed out of that, after the 1975 Gaum conference when all the countries adopted the umbrella SGI format. What's so hard to understand about that? And Mr. George M. Williams was the head of the North and South American organizations back then, but now holds an honorary position, because he is retired.

Soka University is not a branch of the SGI. It is a university founded by
President Ikeda. So what? What's your point?

I think gathering comments by ex-members who were too chicken-shit to face their own karma does not constitute a true picture of the SGI.

I think your video of the Dancing Gohonzon demonstrates slander of the Law in the highest extreem, and shows the intelligence of a low grade moron. You haven't got a clue what the Gohonzon is, obviously.

And if you haven't noticed, the video of President Ikeda fighting with the
counterfeit High Priest Nikken is obsolete because the SGI has better things to do rather than bicker with an idiot, who, by the way, destroyed the Sho Hondo - I notice you don't mention anything about that.

Why do people like yourself waste your time slandering Buddhism? What's in it for you? I just don't get it.

Of course, I didn't get the Vietnam War either,and why thousands of
Americans were lied to by our President(s). Dying for a liar: it's a
worldwide problem still today. All over the world people are sacrificing
their lives for a lie, in one form or another. The poor idiots who slammed
those planes into the Twin Towers thought they were fulfilling a noble
mission.

It's about time the people of the world woke up, don't you think? The basic root of grief all over the world is believing in something that is not real, promoted by seemingly enlightened individuals.

This is all in the Gosho. I recommend that you read The Opening Of The Eyes, one of the Daishonin's top five major writings. If you do not
practice the chanting of Nam myoho renge kyo, you will probably have to read it about a thousand times before you get anything from it. This is because Nichiren Daishonin's writings are deep, and people are shallow, but even shallow people can attain enlightenment, more so than intellectuals who are hung up on false teachings.

Anyway, good luck with your mission to destroy the true teaching, the only needle in the haystack that makes any real sense on this planet. However, the Lotus Sutra says that even people like you can attain enlightenment. Now that's deep.

- Gene Lee, Seattle.

*

Hi, I liked your show of Gohonzon’s with the “do what you want to do” song playing in the background. It could be seen as kind of blasphemous or whatever, but it was funny. Shows your spirit. When I first joined I wanted a Gohonzon right away, and one day when I was chanting just couldn’t stop until I had one in front of me. So I printed one out I found on the web from a restoration project going on for Nichirens last Gohonzon. I kept it taped to the back of a painting I had of “Pandoras Box”. On the day my Gohonzon was enshrined I basically said thanks, and told them I wouldn’t be needing my other one anymore, and at that time showed it to them and gave it to them to dispose of for me. It was surprising and funny, nobody had any hard feelings about it though.

I don’t know why you do all this stuff, don’t understand this rebellious approach you seem to take towards SGI, but to each his own I guess. I guess you feel like you’ve been lied to a lot? I’m an SGI member, been one for about 6 months now. I don’t care about politics or whatever these issues are; I just belong to a practice that “does it for me”, and one that I feel can “do it for the world” as well. I don’t think that everyone in the world is going to have to join SGI before kosen rufu will ever happen, but I do think it will be a major contribution to such an actualization within society. It’s the embodiment of a truth that has always been a part of me, which I spent about 12 years searching and preparing for.

People have problems and feel a need to “find things” out about SGI to expose some deep dark secret about them. SGI has its “issues”, the temple issue in particular, I’ll admit…... Different people have different feelings about it. It’s a practice that’s trying its best to carry on a certain principle/ teaching though; nobody’s perfect, everyone’s just doing the best they can. Anyway, I was wondering what your feelings about the “Individual Reassessment Group” are (if any). Also, if you can (or want to), briefly share with me what you think about the Nikken sect… or the Nikken/ temple issue in general. I’m Gajokai, and want to understand from people like you “what the problem is” between you and SGI; “What’s upsetting you?” Just some dialogue; no hard feelings or mail bombs.

Regards,
Chris D. Wheeler
San Jose, CA
SGI- USA

Lisa responds: Hi Chris. Here's an analogy that may be apt. Suppose you join a club of people who are devoted to dental hygiene. As a member of this club, you start to brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day and study about good oral health. In no time, your dental health improves remarkably. Is it the club that caused the improvements, or your efforts to care for your teeth? Granted, the club encouraged your efforts, and that's great. But if you slacken in your efforts, just being a member of the club won't clean your teeth for you.

It's natural for you to feel gratitude for the person who perfected the practice of brushing and flossing, and to thank the people who sincerely teach others about the practice, whomever they may be. It would be strange, though, if the club were to claim sole ownership of the practice, claim all credit for the benefits of brushing and flossing, and assert that belonging to the club is what keeps your teeth clean.

In short, it's your effort in faith, practice and study of Buddhism that benefits your life. To the extent that any organization supports this, it's a great organization. To the extent that an organization co-opts this beneficial practice to amass wealth, aggrandize its leaders and pursue public recognition and political power, it's an organization that invites public scrutiny.

Best wishes,
Lisa Jones

*

Hey LJ.

Regarding your flash of the Gohonzon; I love Linus [whose letter is posted lower on this page], who wants you to chant for forgiveness to your inanimate paper scroll so you can be relieved of your sense of humor and irony. “Please, Gohonzon, I’m so sorry, please don’t kill me!”

What would the Gohonzon’s response be? “Say ten Hail Senseis and ten Nikken is Evils, give 40% of your yearly income in Zaimu, and never do it again.” Why do I hear Robert DeNiro’s voice as the voice of the Gohonzon? Go figure.

Superstitious is indeed the appropriate song for that flash.

Gabrielle [whose letter is posted lower on this page], while not so superstitious, still seems to miss the point. The Gohonzon exists to make people happy. The person is what’s paramount, not the scroll. The person is the Law. The Law serves the person’s happiness. The point is to relieve suffering, not “get it right.”

Does something’s meaningfulness to people make it sacrosanct? Does Gabrielle’s relationship to the Gohonzon mean that yours has to be the same? Does your sense of humor mean that the Gohonzon is not sacred to you at the same time? I know that for me, the sacred IS funny. In fact, the sacred is absurd, and the absurd is sacred. So sue me for seeing the Buddha nature in dancing Gohonzons.

It reminds me of the old young women’s division vice group chapter vice district zone hancho leader who told me not to chant in my boxers in the morning. (Control freak much?) She said that I should dress up, that I would get out of the practice what I put into it. When I nodded and said, “Exactly. I’ll have a familiar, comfortable life,” she stood there silently, eyes glassed over, clearly at the end of her Soka Programming and devoid of any ability to actually think critically about what was being said. That’s because she was used to being told what her (and everyone else’s) values should be. She didn’t know how to deal with someone who respected his own values.

Ah, the Soka Experience.

One last thing; I noticed that two people, both on the pro and con side of the Gakkai, mention your personal safety in your letters section (you sneaky girl). I know this feeling myself. I personally don’t think any of these yahoos are any danger to you, unless they bore you to death.

Luv ya
Peter D. in NYC

*

Lisa,

You're being too kind to SGI. You say that the organization "fibs" to us. Honey, they lie like a rug. SGI claims to be sooo humanistic and respectful of individual dignity, but SGI has no compunction about deliberately misleading its own members and the public. That's not indicative of an organization that loves people. That's a sign of total contempt.

Are you feeling all the Soka Love yet? If you're not, you will, and I worry for your safety. What makes me sickest is that I myself used to do SGI's bidding. I closed my eyes and swallowed my conscience -- and was rewarded for it.

You ask why the organization promotes fibbing? Because we are afraid to look at SGI and see that the emperor has no clothes, after 15, 20 years of devotion to SGI. An organization that lies, distorts and misleads is not based on the teachings of Nichiren. I don't think that you have fully come to see this yet, maybe hanging on to your last shred of denial and wishful thinking.

Name withheld on request

*

Hi Jones,

My name is Linus Seet from Singapore, I was wondering, how long have you been a practitioner of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism? How is you life right now? Are you truly happy in your life right now?

I've been practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism for close to 15 years and after looking at your website, I cannot help but feel that I must speak out in the way you've done your website. But first, before I proceed, I appeal with you from the Bottom of my heart, to remove and delete the flash presentation of the Gohonzon from your website and your computer. How did you create that flash? BY scanning the Gohonzon itself or drawing it out? I'm entire appalled by the flash presentation, to the point of being frozen on the spot when I saw it. If you truly respect the Gohonzon with your entire life, and you understand that you yourself possess the Gohonzon in your life itself, please remove the flash presentation!! Slandering of the Gohonzon is definitely slandering the law itself!!! Please, for your own sake, truly respect the Gohonzon! I do not wish for you to suffer the consequences of your own actions. I truly fear for your own life.

I hope that you will be able to chant to the Gohonon for forgiveness for what you've done, because clearly judging by the contents of your website and the purpose of the website, you are not practicing in accord with Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism at all. You begrudge alot, though you may not admit it. Please take it as your own personal responsibility to create a better SGI by helping others truly overcome their problems, illnesses, marital problems, not merely using a website to shoot down problems with regard to the organisation itself. That is not value creation, that's simply airing your grudges, and has entirely no concrete value creation to those who are reading it as well as your fellow members.

Please bring happiness to your own life by truly moving with the organisation as one, and with Ikeda Sensei in your own heart, and working for the happiness of others. If you truly want to see what SGI is like, please have the initiative to truly talk with your leaders, study the Gosho with great detail, and read Sensei's lectures on the Gohsho. You'll in time to come understand the true meaning of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism and come to truly understand that the SGI is the only organisation in this world that is living up to the true will of the Buddha.

Please reflect on what I've written so far, I truly want you to be happy by encouraging you to practice this Buddhism in the truest way!! Please be open-minded enough to try to understand why have I written all this. There is so much I want to say, but I don't think I can say it all in this mail, except I encourage you to truly look deep into your own life and ask yourself, am I truly happy? Am I truly practicing this Buddhism the right way? There are many things and facts in the SGI that we can argue about, but the bottom line is still the same question I've posed to you time and again, are you truly happy practicing this Buddhism? If you are not, the next question to ask is, do you have the courage to find out why?

I'll pray for your protection and your own realization Ms Jones. Please feel free to contact me regarding whatever that I've said so far.

With deepest Sincerity
Linus

*

Hi Lisa,

I'm no reactionary priss and I adore this web site, but I think you went too far with the flash presentation of the dancing Gohonzons.
I agree with you being excessively seriousness in faith and in organizational matters is missing the mark. I enjoy your humerous offerings -- the punching puppets and the Weird Tribune are a hoot. So, I was surprised at my immediate reaction of plain sadness when I viewed the dancing Gohonzons. After 16 years of nurturing a personal relationship with the Gohonzon and seeing it's wonder, it broke my heart a bit to see pulsing images of it interspersed with a glib slogan as in some cheesy television soda commercial. Perhaps if I knew your reasoning behind this creation I would view the matter in a different light, or at least agree to disagree. Still, I like what you do here and I look forward to reading next month's fare.

Happy Sunday,

Gabrielle Wise

Ed. note: There are now two Flash clips that people refer to as the "Dancing Gohonzons." The first is 30 seconds of Sacrilege, and the new on is called Superstition. The creators (Flashmasters?) offer only this in their defense: "Enjoy!"

*

Hi!
I am an SGI member here in Denver... I came across the BuddhaJones website thru a series of weblinks that I don't even think I can retrace! It all started with updating my yahoo ID, then a faulty link, then a wierd article..... Either way, I got there... call it fate, call it destiny, call it karma.... My first impression was neither negative nor positive... it actually made me stop and "consider the source" for each individual
article. Some of them were 'slanderous' to my views, others humorous, and still others I agreed with wholeheartedly. So I bookmarked it!
I am a WD District leader, whatever that may mean, at SGI. I have been practicing the entire 35 years, although, I did take that detour through college to explore other options, while continuing to practice. None worked as well for me as Buddhism did, so here I am, with my gongyo beads and book in hand!

I did find, though, that generally, religions are all offering the same thing: Hope, a view of a peaceful world, integrity, a set of morals and values... you know.... all those things that we believe we are and have in our lives, but we need to be attached to some organization to make other people believe these things about us too. I do believe in these things, as do many people in the world - SGI just gave me my soapbox to stand on.

ok.... I tend to write a LOT, and let my thoughts flow, and I can see I've gotten away from the reason I decided to email you! My thoughts on your site are mixed, but they must be leaning more towards positive, or I would have just moved on without a second thought, or email! I enjoy the satire, and different points of views.

I wish I could ask that you just negate all the anti SGI articles, but then that wouldn't be fair to all the anti-SGI folks who enjoy the site too. So, thanks for some fun, thoughtful, debatable, slanderous, controversial, funny and unusual points of view. May each person receive the articles with a little sense of humor, and an open mind. The advice I will be taking from the site today is listed on the '6 Ways to World Peace' article.... I'm going to just start with a bowl of cereal!

Ursula

*

Another T-shirt idea (to the tune of "Me and Mrs. Jones"):

Me and BuddhaJones, we got a thing goin' on.

I sing this whenever I sign off.

Nellda Gallagher, Fort Worth, TX

*

Lisa,

Pursuant to your comment in the August editor's notes on Bill Aiken's statement and his statement itself, there's one more little fib I'd like to mention. Mr. Aiken claims to speak on behalf of 300,000 members. Never until I had joined the Soka Gakkai had anyone ever dared speak on my behalf without my permission. It happened in the SGI several times. This is one among many reasons I have been practicing independently for close to a year.

Unfortunately, I am still being spoken for without my permission, as they have not adjusted their numbers for my (or apparently anyone else's) departure. I don't appreciate (and never did) being negated as a sovereign, thinking individual in this manner.

I am happy to report that I have not noticed a tendency toward this kind of behavior by anyone in the independent movement. On a side note, as long as they're going to lobby the government, why doesn't somebody lobby the Justice Department for the enforcement of article six of the SGI charter, which forbids control of the SGI-USA from Japan?

Thank you.

Eric

*

Hi
Since I found your site I have spent all my evenings in front of the computer reading all the articles. It's really great!
Good job and keep it up! Thank you for it.

Oana, a Romanian Buddhist living in London UK.

*

Dear Lisa,

Remember the old 'What if a war was held and no one showed up?" I agree the thought is potentially naive, but it would free up so much energy from what strikes me as tedious excuses to miss opportunities for positve-value -creation .

I am 50 years old and a member of SGI Canada. The more I listen to folks worrying about the temple issues and the money concerns, the more I become convinced that all of us, who chant are being wilfully distracted from 'the things that do count,' i.e. water, air, living things-- Kosen-rufu!

Nick Kent
T.O.
aug 21 03

*

Lisa,

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for BuddhaJones. Although I know this isn't the intent of the site, the rational, unbiased commentary here greatly helped me in making my recent decision to leave SGI and return to Unitarian Universalism.

I joined SGI about two years ago. I was looking for a Buddhist practice to complement my UU beliefs, and from the outside SGI appeared to be just the thing. I wasn't aware of the baggage that came along with becoming an SGI member. From "Mentor/Disciple" to "Soka Spirit," it seemed SGI dealt less with Buddhism and more about supporting Daisaku Ikeda in his personal war against Nichiren Shoshu. With all its talk about world peace, I was confused why SGI devoted so much energy into attacking a relatively obscure Buddhist sect and seemed to offer little, if any, opinion regarding issues such as the war in Iraq, human rights, etc. As a newbie, it seemed the Temple Issue--with all of SGI's claims that Soka Spirit was vicariously supporting kosen-rufu by fighting the erroneous teachings of Nichiren Shoshu--was the organization's way of convincing members that it was indeed doing something to promote peace and happiness, all the while actually doing nothing but promoting itself.

Being ecumenical--that is, being that spiritually I believe in the concept of "One River, Many Wells," I see no reason for me to continue down this road. I made some good friends in SGI, and I have no hard feelings against the organization, but there is just too much baggage and not enough spiritual enrichment for me to find it a beneficial venture. So--even though it's a "do it yourself" religion, I'm heading back to my local Unitarian Universalist church, where I can read the latest book by Thich Nhat Hahn, practice chakra meditation or burn a Yule log and not be told that I'm slandering the law or not practicing the "one true religion." Heck, I may even renew my subscription to "The Humanist" magazine!

D from Missouri

*

Dear Lisa

I would say that your site rocks, but then the pezzonovante in SGI would probably use the approval of a "danto" as proof of your site's intrinsic "eeevil".

Plus - the dancing Gohonzons suck.

Being British I appreciate the irony of the SGI leadership's comments about the priest's attitude towards evil. The SGI memo states:

"condemning the priest’s offensive remarks, which included such pronouncements as 'Islam is a false religion and only Nichiren Shoshu is a true religion,'and other comments defaming Allah and the prophet
Mohammed."

Are we then to assume that SGI regards Islam as True? Does the leadership feel that the concept of Allah is true and that Mohammed was a genuine prophet? That all doctrines are immune from critique?

How does this square with Mr Ikeda's words:

"Our enemies are the evil religions. Evil religions drive people to hell. True Buddhism makes Buddhas out of all people. Nichiren Daishonin said the source of all unhappiness and misfortunes of people is evil religion."

Okay - so Nichiren Shoshu believes that other faiths are not "true religions". That they don't lead to enlightenment or salvation. That Allah (God) doesn't exist and Mohammed, Jesus Christ and other so-called
prophets weren't propagating true doctrines.

It is our right to hold beliefs - even if they deny the validity of other religions. It is also our right to teach these concepts to each other.

These two rights are normally known as "freedom of religion" and "freedom of speech". I don;t care what the leaders of SGI think, these rights MUST BE PROTECTED!

If people from other religions don't agree with us, then fine - it is a free country and they have every right to express their viewpoints - although not by harrassing believers with pickets (which I hear some Gakkai members joined).

The Gakkai condemn us for expressing thess viewpoints, but surely the Gosho backs it up.....

...if the Gakkai leaders think our doctrine is wrong, they can have a go at refuting it, but they shouldn't try and pass themselves off as beacons of religious tolerance when their leader is describing people of my faith as "rapacious locusts"!

Paul

*

I joined NSA in '71, went to the Sho-Hondo opening in '72, made various leadership positions I can no longer pronounce, went bonkers with all the org pressure in '78 and bailed out - sound familiar?

Really like your site, just finished reading Cris Roman's stuff and
everything came flooding back like the tide.

I just discovered a small temple near where I live, some type of
Nichiren sect. The priest chants daimoku and recites gongyo twice a
day so I have started to join him occasionally. We don't discuss much
because his english is limited. It feels really good to be chanting
after a 25 year hiatus. There is a large paper Gohonzon so it feels
like home. I'm thinking about trying to get him to pick up the pace a
little, priests chant pretty slowly don't they? On the other hand, perhaps I will leave well enough alone. The slow pace actually leaves more space
in the head for contemplation than the frenetic prayers of a gakkai meeting.

Thanks again, I really like the irreverent stuff and please push Cris
for more of his book.

Bob in PacNW

*

23 July 2003

Dear Editor,
I really enjoy reading the letters to the Editor. Is there anyway you can date them, so we have some idea about when they were composed and when people replied to them? I just think it makes a difference to know when people write the words they do and that is why many magazines, newspapers, etc include the date a letter was written. It places the message and its sentiments in time and is important with regard to the content.

Thanks, SokaGitano.

Dear Lisa,

The non-linearity essay by Hank Fukui is marvelous and inspiring. More!

Julian

*

Thank you to everyone at Buddha Jones...Lisa, Cris & Julian are the only ones I've read so far because I've just discovered you. But you are making practice so much better & easier for me as a new member (April 6, 2003).

I only found out the other day what Mother Jones is & so I finally visited your website. At first I thought it would be a humourous site (which it is, of course, & that is wonderful in itself...love the boxing puppets, because the Temple Issue was my last straw...forget the SGI website for all the reasons Julian cited). I was really searching & humour could wait. The Buddhas just had to hit me on the head, though. Thankfully they did that! I watch Bill Moyers & still didn't know what Mother Jones was. So the next time I did a search I realized what you're all about. See, I'm most definitely Soka Underground & just an all around quintessential Spiritual Renegade. My SGI group doesn't like me!!! But that's ok. We all have the karma thing going on from the past, I'm sure.

The only thing that has kept me practicing is former spiritual experience. I knew my Spirit would never lead me to do something harmful because I'm a shaman. Love chanting the Lotus Sutra excerpts, like Cris. Have been doing daimoku for a few years, being introduced to it at an Interfaith gathering. But the Lotus Sutra chapters I truly love. And since no one in my SGI group is very helpful when one starts, I misunderstood & thought that the entire chapters were recited in the morning (the first meetings I attended were at night) & got used to doing it. Once I found out, I just said, screw that, I'll do it my way. And I continue to, no apologies.

Thank you for all that you do!

Metta,
Kelley Price

*

Lisa,

First of all, I'd like to say that I have been watching your web site evolve over the past couple of years into what it is now and I think you are doing a wonderful job, the points of view expressed are much needed and greatly appreciated.

I was introduced to the practice and SGI around 1985 in Boston and received my Gohonzon. I practiced for about one year and became disillusioned with SGI and stopped my practice.

A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C genotype 1 which is incurable. There is a therapy that involves a drug called Interferon that has a 50/50 chance of eradicating the virus and is much like Chemotherapy in its side effects and my Dr wanted to put me on the treatment. At the time my liver enzyme levels were AST 400 GGT 150 and ALT 90 which are way above normal and indicative of severe damage taking place, I was extremely fatigued and having anxiety attacks that made me fear even leaving my apartment and going to work.

I decided not to go with the Interferon and instead changed my diet and supplemented it with certain herbs like Milk Thistle. After one year my enzyme levels were still high, I needed nothing short of a miracle.

I found out about Mr Atkins book and started chanting again about 6 months ago and using the visualization described in his book. I just had a blood test done, all my enzyme levels are normal and the anxiety and fatigue are gone. I practice alone, independently and I do not affiliate myself with the SGI.

I would like to thank Mr Atkins for his help, does he have an email address ?
If not, would you be kind enough to convey my profound gratitude to him for sharing his visualization technique with the rest of the world ?

Thank you in advance for any effort on my behalf and your wonderful web site which I check weekly.

Peace,

Guy

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Hi Lisa,

Maybe I'm a fink but I guess I'd say SGI has a right to determine who receives their support through their bookstores. (I sniff a heavy handedness here though, which really isn't Buddhist at all.) Are all the facts really in on this book thing?

I will probably never join the SGI hard-liner lobby, but I am starting to believe that SGI must always act in a legal and ethical manner to the best of their ability, but that the preservation of SGI is also paramount. There are many centrifugal forces which can quickly pull an organization apart and, once broken, SGI would be hard to reconstitute.

Ikeda is essentially right when he says that SGI must save the world... or that it is the hope of humanity: the Kosen-rufu thing. This may look wacky to most people but I am so locked in to this that I will spend the rest of my life introducing people to this practice, as well as fighting to reform the SGI. My friend Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick dead link would tell me that I have the "frog at the bottom of the well" mentality, meaning that I only see a little disk of sky.

There is a German word for this too, though I don't remember the spelling; weltanschaung, or something... meaning to embrace a welt "world" view from an all encompassing standpoint. Isn't this what Nichiren did? Isn't this what enlightenment is all about? Meditation is to seek the Buddha's mind, with both embracing and excluding all other realities simultaneously!

Anyway, the key is for me to take care of my own backyard. I know you already know this, so it may be unnecessary for me to express it again, but you have my appreciation and support for your web site. Disagreements I may have with some of the things I see on buddhajones are just quibbles. I generally find it refreshing and sometimes eye-opening.

I do though feel sorry for so many people who see SGI as a cause of great hurt in their lives. There is some truth though in both points of view, that SGI sometimes needs to clean up its act and also in that some people have not been able to overcome their own suffering and wish to blame SGI. There sometimes is a bit of a "shoot the karmic messenger" mentality; i.e. the SGI and Ikeda. So, if we have dirt in a jar of water, are we to blame for shaking it up? Would we all be better off to let the "dirt of our lives" sink to the bottom of the jar? The trick here is to create real Soka (value) so that the practice is not just a tautological exercise in self-worship. It must become real and, in this respect, human revolution becomes our lives and is not just a slogan which can be used to manipulate others.

So, quote me on my support for what you are doing and tell the world I said so! Anyway, my job is to clear a path so that other people can become comfortable with the practice of Nichiren Buddhism. I know some friends of mine don't believe that SGI practice even is Nichiren Buddhism. I'll leave it at that, I guess. All I can do is look ay my own life.

Your friend,

Steve Swanson

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Ah, Cris,

You've nailed it. That feeling I've had since 1974 (I've never missed a celebration of "Gongyo" even though I've been accused of being a "fanatic").

I've made the time; in doorways, in my car (not driving), in a closet (once), in the woods, hiding, (once, also), in a plane (quietly), in my mother's home, in my father's home, in various friends' homes, in my home.

Now I have a home and a place to invite friends to learn Gongyo or Sacred
Services, which is what I now use in my daily services.

I've never missed it because it's like chocolate or the best cup of coffee you ever tasted or the great book you're in the middle of. I love to recite the sutra. It gets my mouth ready for the day. I'm reminded of unkind things I've said while I recite it (and can correct my speech). I'm reminded of when I could have been more encouraging (and I make a note). Yup, it's like yummy chocolate with a surprise filling -- self correction.

This feeling didn't come because I was afraid of "punishment". This feeling came from love of the sound and meaning of the Lotus Sutra. I was determined to learn this recitation in 1974 and often ran out in a field and screamed with frustration when my tongue got tangled. Patience and practice, patience and practice. Screw up and correct, over and over. (Like our Buddhist practice to become a better person).

I want to write "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" on the cliffs and trees but changing
the world isn't so easy. So...tomorrow, like all the other days, no matter
what else I do, I will offer my deep appreciation to the Lotus Sutra...out loud.

Please continue with your book. Looking forward to the next chapter. Thank you so much for your creative link to the rest of us with the practice!

Patty Musgrove
Smithfield, VA

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Dear Lisa,

I’m confused. Why shouldn’t Gohonzon dance? Are they Baptist or something?

– Brian Holly

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Lisa,
My husband is a musician and i've survived a number of recording projects--sometimes involving the best of talents & lovely budgets, etc., or, others, with unsure players without an audience or bucks. In the past decade, he's drummed on at least 30 CD's, and to an album, the ones with the pro's fundamentally and artistically sucked. Boring. As it turns out, the only real jewel came from the great unknowns and took ten years to record. Everyone grew from the process, gained confidence and even had some fun. The pro's, it appears, were in it mostly for cash and career perks, while the of the unknown talent just wanted to make some music and sing. (The CD release is a month away, tentatively, and already it's been picked up by a Canadian retail chain. Go figure. They don't even have a publicist). Ergo, etc., my wisdom is: The spirit of a production is what decides if it's gonna sink or soar. Hang tough, kiddo. There are no flies on Buddha Jones. You understand your mission better than anybody, dear Lisa. Please, do not give the Org's latetes hissey-fit the power to distract you-- in the slightest. T'aint worth it. Your mission is crucial. More than ever, Kosen-rufu needs BUDDHA JONES' Website.

Cheers,
Kathryn and Nick

*

Thank you for writing this. I'm a recent recruit of the SGI and I'm alarmed by its increasing insidousness in my life. I can't say anything is quite as severe as "cult" but some attitudes, such as the "sheep" attitudes written about in these article, are very disturbing to me.

I appreciate that there are members who can appreciate chanting and the beauty of Buddhism without losing their individuality to this "sense of community." I really do think you did a great thing writing this article. I don't
want to stop chanting, but I confess the SGI makes me feel that I should
chose between them (and the Gohonzon) or a life without chanting, and that is
unfair, because I really feel uncomfortable and impeded in the organization.

Are there alternatives?

chrm

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So this is the web site that is destroying SGI. My leader advised me to never come here or else my mind would be influenced by you mixing true and false, leading me down the path of ruin. So I had to see what the fuss was about. To everyone who writes for this site let me say thank you for having a personality. I can see why SGI leaders are shocked -- they are not used to seeing anyone talk about SGI except in phoney SGI-speak. Originally I thought i might find tawdry charges about the sex lives of leaders. You offer something more dangerous, the truth, and thank you for giving the links and reference sources so I can see for myself. No wonder SGI fears you. Can you say B-U-S-T-E-D?

Keep chantin' Jonesers. Nichiren Buddhism is bigger than SGI.

Jon in SF

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Lisa,

Hi. Please give my regards to Cris Roman and his wonderful chapter of his new book regarding Gongyo/Intense Personal Symphony. I found the article a wonderful analysis on gongyo and its relationship to the Buddhist individual. I am personally captivated by his words especially when he declares "I feel that when I recite gongyo, I am saying "I can be a Buddha, I have always possessed Buddhahood within and what the Buddha does is to chant 'Nam-myoho-renge-kyo."... this statement is paramount. My respect increases truly as I read more of Cris Roman's work. You can say that I feel enlightened. I truly do, because as I read his article, questions pop in my head which makes me think the causes I make and how I can relate them to the effects that is happening in my life. Best of all, reading about gongyo allowed me to persist on realizing the nature of Buddhahood by recognizing the significance of the 2nd and 16th chapter. I'd also like to suggest to him writing a chapter on the Juzu beads and its significance to Buddhism in general, and particularly the nenju beads we use in the Nichiren tradition.

I strongly agree with Cris's point that Gongyo should not be looked upon or done out of obligation. It is just another individual opportunity that we can utilize to better our lives, depending on what level in life we are in. I'd like to testify that I've changed my life from small points to bigger steps by studying the meaning of the 2nd chapter and its relevance to my life. Anyway, If we start looking at chanting, gongyo as something we have to do... it looks like we are forced into something that we do not truly understand... but we rather do it as to follow the sheep. This can turn into a misconception. I personally believe that ALL the chapters in the Lotus sutra are compiled statements of life and Buddhahood, which can be utilized in our lives, as Nichiren himself is reputed to have studied and recited. Of course, the 2nd and 16th chapters are significant because it is more direct on the ten factors and the supreme goal of Lotus Buddhism.

I'd like to recommend a book by Nikkyo Niwano titled "Buddhism for Today" and "A Guide to the Threefold Lotus Sutra". His analysis on the Lotus Sutra is amazing, and I feel that this work is very clear to the reader. My personal favorite is A guide to the 3-fold Lotus Sutra because of its compactness in size, (mine is paperback book I carry in my jeans from school to work). I try to read it whenever I have a break, and my highlights and pencil marks are just all over it. I hope this shows you my high interest in his work.

In my opinion, you and Cris are excellent examples of the votaries of the Lotus Sutra, dedicated to preserve its true meaning for the people. Your mission is beautiful, so please continue.

Every time I visit your site, I think of a reason to be grateful for your work and your efforts to open Nichiren Buddhism as something altogether useful to every individual. To my surprise, I have found myself grateful every time. Today, I am sincerely grateful on how you've compiled different thoughts on Nichiren Buddhism or Buddhism in itself (Don't like the labels =( ), allowing your viewers to study, analyze and conclude for themselves what works best.

Muchas gracias,

Lloyd B.

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Dear Lisa:

Thank you for posting the Shambhala Congress dead link' paper on "Shambala Care and
Conduct" (dealing with internal dispute resolution and complaint procedures) on your web site. I read it and found it very interesting. I was particularly pleased to read about their desire to limit "unsubstantiated and harmful gossip" when conflicts occur, and their recognition that gossiping has a tendency to make members unlikely to confide in anyone. This is a problem which has caused many members - including me - a great deal of heartache and frustration. I wonder if something like this process could (over time, of course) be woven into the fabric of the SGI-USA? Well, we shall see. Thanks again for an
interesting and provocative website. I don't agree with everything everybody says, but hey, who does? Buddha Jones is serviing an important function.

Best regards from LA, Byrd Ehlmann

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Lisa,
Just curious if you are working on any more books? Loved UP. . .love your articles like Road is Guru. . .and the one on "shaping" up is great. "I don't want a hot ass, I want a wise ass." is such a classic line! I love the way you write. . .want more.
john

Lisa replies: I have projects cooking, including a comic novel drawn from experiences in SGI-USA. Comedy, irony, pathos...SGI has it all. The working title is Sincere. ;-)

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Hey Lisa!

I enjoy the site, but my favorite place, w/ the macromedia animations still has a lot of broken links! I can't get of any of my favorites! (Or any of them for that matter...) Also, What happened to the one concerning the one that featured "I am Woman" as it's theme song?

Please fix them, and bring back ALL of the animation shorts!

Thank you.

Stanley D. Seba

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Hi, I am an SGI member in San Francisco and just wanted to thank you for this great site. I apreciate the different views and also the great humor, the one about Nikken was hilarious! We all need to stop taking everything so seriously and chill out a little. I have always been one of the renegades that want to question everything but i learned years ago that even if I did not always agree with the organzations views I do need to practice for my own life-it has been the only thing that has worked for me. So nice to know there are other people that see things the same way I do!

cray

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Hi Lisa, Wow...I just read a few of your articles. You sparked my curiosity. Are you a member of the SGI? Not that this matters but I believe you mentioned that you have been practicing Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism for 23 years. I hope I'm not asking too many questions...How did you get involved? When did you feel and observe conflict of the SGI practices to your spiritual practice?

Just being curious George... Thanks!
Linda Shimazaki

Lisa replies: Hi Linda -- I've been practicing with the SGI for 13 years. The person who introduced me to chanting was with the SGI, so that's why I ended up in SGI, but that person no longer practices with the SGI. I think conflict arises when people see discrepancies between Nichiren Buddhism (as it is explained in the Gosho and by academia) and what SGI teaches. Many people learned everything they know about Nichiren Buddhism from the SGI, so many people see no discrepancy, and thus don't understand why there's conflict for some people. Hope this helps -- Lisa

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Howdy,
My name is David A. Vidato. I live in Oklahoma City, OK and I am a 29 year
old second generation practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism. I recently came across the BuddhaJones site and I must say "YOU ROCK". I would like to request to have my name added to the Loyal Opposition list on your site.

Thank You for your time and efforts.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo'
David A. Vidato

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Only a Fool

Late! Late! Late!
Through acrid coffee buzz
Throw Sansho
in the general direction
of my Gohonzon.

Stumble crash downstairs
Fumble keys to door
Fumble keys to club
Fumble keys to ignition
Truck won't start.

Kick! Yell! Swear!
Grandfather floats into my mind
Grey, still, and military.

Only a fool doesn't have time to sharpen his saw.

Grandfather does a special effects fade and I
Look down at the limp jumper cables
In my shaky hands.

Bob Ploss
Vancouver, BC

*

I have to say that after reading and re-reading Cris Roman's article on gongyo I am cracking up laughing. Not because because it's funny, although there is humor in it. I am laughing at my own simplicity. I do so enjoy reading Mr. Roman's writing because I love they way he paints his canvas. I am inspired by his compassion. But I got so caught up in trying to find the answer to the riddle of gongyo that I forgot the title of the article. It's "personal." Hmmm? Trying to describe something that can only be experienced. Hmmm? Of course, I couldn't
describe how to clip a toenail, so I think he did a damn fine job with something so...what? Indescribably personal? I "personally" decided to shorten gongyo a couple of years before it was "officially" mandated. It just made more sense to chant more than recite. For me anyway. And what about the prayers? I'd loved to hear Mr. Roman, or Ms. Lisa, or et al wax on about those little focal points. But they're just guide lines, right? Hmmm? Or how about an explanation on the the well worn phrase "deepen your faith". Or the concept of "faith" Nichiren style. For me it lies somewhere between "one person can change the destiny of
a nation", and "I won't commit suicide today". Hey, I just answered my own question! Thanks again Lisa.

David Leisure

PS How many m's in a "hmmm"? My spell check only has two. That just
doesn't seem like enough. Wax off

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Lisa, have you noticed that people in SGI are OBSESSED with SGI? That is the worst problem about your org in my mind. How much better it would be if you were all obsessed with the Dharma. SGI contradicts the teachings of Nichiren because SGI teaches that the SGI itself is an object of devotion with which one must form and maintain a "positive relationship" to be considered a "correct practitioner." The organization is SGI's honzon. How pitiful. Unlike SGI, a real sangha requires no membership pledge other than "I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha." Think about it.

Your "heretical" friend Pamela

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Hi Lisa.

Thank you so much for posting the new prayer format for SGI’s practice. As a person who believes in the workings of cause and effect, it gives me such deep gratification to see the Gakkai so openly and flagrantly tout their leaders, dead and living, as being in some way universally emulatable.

I made the conscious decision to step back and let the universe and the Gakkai conspire, through the workings of cause and effect, to expose the Gakkai as what it is; an organization that aggrandizes itself and its living leader who earns million of dollars a year through the purchase of literature on the part of its membership. This prayer format is a perfect example of this. To me, that is cause for celebration. The truth is out a little more.

Lisa, I know that you personally feel grief at the creeping fascism of the Gakkai and what it is becoming. For that, I am truly sorry. I’m so sorry that they lied to you for so long. I’m sorry if my glee at watching them dig more deeply into their own pit of blindness makes you angry or uncomfortable. Just, please know, that I always got much less from my time in the Gakkai than you did. Maybe it was just further along in the process of become a boldfaced cult when I joined. Perhaps the gulf between what SGI practices and what it preaches was bigger and starker here in NYC at the very end of the 20th century than it was a few years earlier in L.A. I dunno.

Keep on webbing.

Peter D. in NYC

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Your website is a hideous abomination and perversion of the wonderful SGI. You have no gratitude for your seniors in faith whom you ought to obey. You must already be in hell for your slander. I think of myself as president of SGI and as president I am kicking you out, loser Lisa. Burn in hell. Not so funny now is it?

Christopher

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How refreshing & encouraging your words are. I have been searching the web
to find other SGI members (former and/or present) talking of their feelings, thoughts of the org. I am 64 yrs. I joined with my husband, who has been deceased since 1979, during the Viet Nam war. We received our Gohonzon at Myohoji Temple in Etiwanda. I have through the years practised strongly within the NSA & then the SGI-USA, but on returning to the US after a 7 yr. stay in So. Mexico, I have many, many doubts. I am still drawn to the practice of Nichiren Daishonin. My doubts started when I used to get miffed with Pres. Ikeda's 2 page poems in the W.T. It seemed arrogant to me to take up so much space when other members could have been putting their input. I went to the Victory Against Violence last year in our city, & I wondered what Pres. Ikeda was thinking of to put himself on a program with Ghandi & M.L. King. Again I felt it was so arrogant. Why is he constantly promoting himself with many high profile people? We were always told that if someone made anger against us (such as many women abused by their husbands were told), they should chant more, do shakabuku, do activities, give Zaimu & change our karma. If the high priest was so mad at Ikeda, what causes did he make for that to happen. For that matter, what causes did we members make to have our donations put into a much awaited, with hope & anticipation, ShoHondo, only to have it demolished?

Since returning to the USA from Mexico, due to illness, I have desperately wanted to find someone I could tell my thoughts & feelings to. I have some dear, old Japanese women friends who were so caring when I was a new member. (Actually I was the only American woman at that time in our area). They are all devout followers of Mr. Ikeda, & after all these years I don't want to upset these dear, old friends with my doubts.

..........So that is why I am so glad I found Buddajones. You have helped me already to return to my spiritual journey....I will continue to follow your website. I'm so glad your're here. What a jewel you are to give us this place to be & think. It has been awhile since have attended an activity. I got so I just couldn't sum up the rah, rah anymore and I am sometimes too ill to go out. I dropped my sub. to W.T. & Liv. Bud. due to finances, but I really was tired of reading the same things & the glorification of Mr. Ikeda. Perhaps the org. just got to be to big of a corporation....and all that power! Hard for anyone to deal with.

...........Well, I have ambivilent feelings toward Pres. Ikeda. I trusted him as my mentor for so many years. I still do admire him in many ways.

...........Thanks for giving me the opportunity to express how I feel to others who have some of the same feelings.

Nov. 6, 2003 Ann in Texas

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SGI is great! It is a great Real Estate Investment Trust! Think of the advantages! Purchase prime coastal property such as Malibu Training Center for $1.4 million then sell it for $14.5 million (which is a true fact for you to check dead link, Jones) making millions in profit and they need not tell anyone what they do with the proceeds! They get tax advantages the whole time because they are a church! And it is ALL LEGAL!!!!! Is it not GREAT?! SGI is in some kind of business but I do not think it is the religion business because they are very bad at that.

Andre the Giant

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Lisa, you must be aware by now that SGi people are complaining about your Web site. I very much appreciate statement on your SGI page that reads "Please consult several sources of information and draw your own conclusions." This is exactly what all your readers should do. There are more than 2 sides to every story, and no one should ever be a blind consumer of organized religion, and that includes SGI. I am sorry that people have insulted you personally for sharing your opinions rather than critiquing your opinions and points on their own merits. I hope you are not too discouraged by some of the SGI members who want to live like mushrooms in the dark and in the @#$%. There is a Soka Underground of people who are not afraid of free expression.

Masked Chapter Chief

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Dear Lisa,

Regarding the latest pronouncements from SGI-USA High Command, a few
comments:

First of all (not that most SGI members seem to mind) this Memo, like others before it, was delivered as a fait accomplis. No one I have talked to (which is quite a few Gakkai members) was consulted, or even informed that all of this was in the works. The Powers That Be had their confab(s), decided what was best for the kids, and delivered the Word. Business as usual.

<< Second Silent Prayer: Appreciation for the Gohonzon. I offer my deepest praise and most sincere gratitude to the Dai-Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws, which was bestowed upon the entire world. >>

While this has the appearance of referring to the wooden object at Taiseki-ji, it's not specifically stated in the text. It seems like a transitional wording which might appease (and string along) current Nichiren Shoshu doctrinal adherents, while leaving the door open for future (and correct) abandonment of any assignation of special significance to that mandala. Unfortunately, this hope is dismissed in the supporting material:

<< "We embrace with faith the Dai-Gohonzon of the Three Great Secret Laws bestowed upon the entire world. The Daishonin inscribed the Dai-Gohonzon in response to the Atsuhara farmers' unrelenting faith in the face of governmental persecution, embodying his great vow for kosen-rufu. >>

Oops! Never mind that there is no mention of such an inscription happening, or such an object, anywhere in the Gosho. Too bad. It looks like Nichiren Shoshu Lite is here to stay.

<< The Dai-Gohonzon was bestowed upon the entire world and embodies the
Daishonin's compassionate spirit to lead all people to happiness. Based on the concept of emanations of the Buddha's body [the principle of the Buddha projecting emanations of his or her body to various lands and teaching the Law leading the people there to enlightenment], to "embrace with faith" the Gohonzon that is a transcription of the Dai-Gohonzon is to embrace the Dai-Gohonzon itself. >>

Thus you have a guarantee that SGI Gohonzon must always contain the benefit/punishment inscriptions (found on no authentic Nichiren-inscribed mandala). This is a perfect set-up to definitively condemn any non-SGI Gohonzon, including any that are reproductions of Nichiren originals (and, I guess, actual Nichiren originals?). Makes sense, since their earlier Memo on the subject was pretty wimpy and did not amount to much more than "be true to your school colors." With this new dogma in place, any Gohonzon that is not a Nichiren Shoshu-inscribed mandala can be dismissed. Good ploy. Gotta give someone credit for paying attention to the critics.

Next step? Look for an Ikeda-inscribed mandala (based, of course, on the Taiseki-ji "Dai" Gohonzon). It's probably already been transcribed, and is waiting for the appropriate moment to be revealed. Maybe Mr. Ikeda's compassionate final gift?

<< I offer my most sincere gratitude to the three founding presidents Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda for their eternal example of selfless dedication to the propagation of the Law. >>

I guess "eternal example" beats "eternal leader." Maybe this is progress? Elsewhere they mention "eternal models." I kinda like that one. I wonder at Mr. Ikeda's complicity in all of this, though. It is inconceivable to me that he did not have input, or at minimum, final approval. Note that Mr. Makaguchi and Mr. Toda were yanked from the Fifth Prayer (for the deceased) so that they could be included with the still living Mr. Ikeda in this enshrinement of the Gakkai Holy Trinity. The cultish appearance of this is so obvious it almost needs no mention, except that most of the Gakkai true believers I have spoken to about it don't see it as such. But then, they wouldn't, would they?

At least one argument is firmly laid to rest by this new decree. In the new by-laws (interestingly enough, adopted last year - anyone seen them before this?):

<< Quite simply, we firmly believe that we are the only body existing today that can be considered true votaries of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law, true Mahayana Buddhists and true disciples of the Daishonin. >>

So, do I get yelled at if, seeing the "only" and the "true" words above, I state that the SGI is clearly stating that it is (in its opinion, of course) the One True Nichiren Sect? How much more clear can it be?

I could object, of course, but what's the point? I believe that when Nichiren pointed out that only Bodhisattvas of the Earth could chant the Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, he meant it. I, like many other non-SGI Nichiren Buddhists, do this, and study, and propagate the Dharma, and yet, by the Gakkai's definition, we are not true votaries of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day ofthe Law, true Mahayana Buddhists (ya gotta love that expansion!) or true disciples of the Daishonin. This smacks of necessary intermediaries, yes? Seems to me another Nichiren Buddhist group makes a similar claim. Who was that? Oh, yes, Nichiren Shoshu. Act surprised.

In conclusion I should note that I don't have any real objections to all of this, on a few levels.

First, it's not my organization, so aside from the curiosity factor, it does not really really affect me. I am sorry for the anguish it is causing many of my Gakkai friends, though.

Second, it's no surprise. The organization has been moving in this direction for years.

Finally, and most importantly, this finalizes a lot of issues for me. One of my ongoing gripes, while I was still a member of the SGI-USA, was their fuzziness on doctrinal issues. Depending on who you asked, and when, you could get multiple views on any given core doctrinal point. Now the organization has clearly and unequivocally enshrined certain beliefs, going so far as to incorporate them into the by-laws of the religious corporation. No more wondering. Now, SGI members by definition:

-- Believe in the Nichiren Shoshu "Dai" Gohonzon mythology, minus the Nichiren Shoshu "super power" aspect.

-- Believe that only a Gohonzon based on the "Dai" Gohonzon is legitimate, meaning, currently, only mandalas transcribed by a Fuji School/Nichiren Shoshu chief priest, post-Nichiu (the ninth Taiseki-ji chief priest) and containing the inscriptions about benefit and punishment (which are not found on any Gohonzon inscribed by Nichiren himself).

-- Believe that only SGI members are correctly practicing Nichiren (or even Mahayana!) Buddhism today.

-- Focus on Nichiren as the "Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law" while downplaying (no mention in the by-laws) Shakyamuni.

-- Accept, when there are discrepancies, pronouncements by the organization as trumping actual basis in Gosho or Lotus Sutra.

-- Place the three Gakkai presidents in some kind of special category. (I'll grant that this one's still a bit mushy. Stay tuned and it will become clear, I'm sure.)

Given all of this, it's very easy to choose. I prefer my Buddhism to be based on Gosho, Lotus Sutra, and fact. Now that the SGI has so clearly defined its base beliefs, folks (a) won't have to argue as to what those are and (b) can clearly decide how they feel about them.

Cheers!

Andy

*

Hi Lisa,

Yes, I too have the New Prayer Guidelines and have my own prayers which
I substitute for the published ones. (I too, do not like them). I do take exception though to your comment "Read em and weep" and wish you would just publish them and let people draw their own conclusion, not editorialize.

Sometimes buddhajones seems anti-SGI and it always looks best and is most useful, as a forum which lets people draw their own conclusions, presents facts and opinions, etc.

To some degree you (and buddhajones web site) look strongest when you don't offer your editorial "spin" as you did in this instance.

Regards,

Steve

Lisa replies: Steve, I'm the editor. I editorialize. My editorial choices and biases are plain for everyone to see, infer or speculate about as they wish. I think the new prayers reek of politics and that's sad in my opinion. Never do I pretend that my commentary is anything more than *my commentary* based on what I know and what I think. Read it and weep, read it and sleep, take issue with it if you like, but this is a forum for opinion and I see no reason why mine should be excluded.

But I generally agree with you: Why use canned prayers when you can make fresh ones from scratch each day?

Lisa,
I've been re-reading some letters between yourself, David Tempest, and Cris Roman's article on Dancing Gohonzons. A friend pointed out to me that the only thing Nichiren warned about was slandering the Law. Which is, unless I am mistaken, contained in every particle of the universe, all inclusive, ichinen sanzen, etc. Otherwise, what's the point of inscribing a Gohonzon wood or paper or pixels? The more I read Nichiren's writings, the more I realize that my friend is correct. I have yet to read where he told Shigo Kingo not to be a warrior and put up his sword. So where does slander come from? Where does compassion come from? Where does enlightenment come from? The pixels or the person?

David Leisure

PS Your readers letters and articles, from all points of view, continue to inspire and challenge. Thank you and thanks to them.

*

Dear Lisa,

First off thanks for giving my spiritual renegade husband (Charles Atkins) a forum to speak his mind on your site. As I'm sure you can imagine we have some highly spirited discussions at home.

It was delightful to read in your letters page your delicious conversation with David. Thank you- oh thank you- for pointing out the ridiculous hypocrisy of SGI supporters claiming supremacy in dogma, when they profess to be disgruntled with the priesthood for the exact same sins of arrogance and justifying dishonesty for the sake of agenda.

Besides the truth I also appreciate humor. Who can be happy if they can't see the lighter side of all things?

Life is beauteous.

Jennifer DuBois Atkins

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First of all I would like to commend you for putting together a great site and a humorous one at that. I also like the way you are not put off by the power of the SGI and report what you see. However, I recently read the Mokuren piece written by Charles Atkins and find it to be both unrealistic and disgusting. This is not satire but an overt attack on the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood by someone that obviously doesn't have a childs understanding of Ichinen Sanzen.

If you read through the article you see at its root a person that doesn't understand that if you chant in anger, your anger will be turned into rage. Once your anger is turned into rage you have effectively lost control of your mind. This is nothing but cause and effect and I learned this the hard way myself, although it was sectarian circumstances in my case.

The whole piece holds the priesthood as the villian even though it was clearly Mokuren who had lost control. The colorings used to describe the priest and the people around him attest to this. They are seen through the eyes of a person who is not in control of his life, and are not to be trusted. In fact, they are disgusting to me because they are an outright lie, and extremely slanderous. The fact that this person hadn't been seeing benefit in his life, but only disaster was not Sansho Shima, but a warning. One that he should heed, because only the virtuous at heart get these warnings. Evil people do not! You can reference that in Letter to Horen.

Thinking that the end justifies the means is basically just making bad causes. If you believe that good comes from bad then your thinking is erroneous. This piece is no good cause and if you are truly Buddhist you will remove it from your site.

Thank you,
Mark Porter

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Lisa,

What in hell is Mokuren doing on your web site?!

That was my first thought.

Then I thought some more.

Satire? This is not satire of Nichiren Shoshu. This is satire of SGI's Soka Spirit campaign against Nikken and Nichiren Shoshu.

Then again, it's not satire at all. It is a faithful recounting of how many SGI members think, feel and act (and acted in the 90s) toward Nikken and the Temple, with no exaggeration.

Where is Charles Atkins going with this story? What is he trying to say? I will keep reading.

Julie

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I have been an interested observer of SGI ever since one of my grown children expressed a desire to join. While I am convinced that Nichiren Buddhism is a valid though obscure version of a genuine wisdom tradition, I cannot recommend anyone join SGI.

I read your site and your internet message boards, I have read your SGI publications including books and materials that I have searched for at the library. In other words, Lisa, I have done my homework, and what I see is a Japanese corporation with its own set of political and secular aims, hiding behind sincere, dedicated people who just want to practice Buddhism.

SGI members remark on the disconnect. They say "SGI is like two organizations" or we are like "ocean culture versus village culture" or "corporate versus individual." I see sincere people tie themselves up in knots to try and rationalize the dissonance. They say, "I need to chant more, and be more positive," "I need to be the change I wish to see." Would you give the same advice to a person in an abusive relationship, which is exactly what membership in SGI is?

Every time someone says they want to quit SGI, other people rush forward with advice to "hang in there." You are all duping each other in order to convince yourselves, like low-self-esteem emotionally abused spouses. If you would listen to your real intuitive sense, instead of your fellow brainwashed victims, you would be out the door. Your years of reading endless repetition in Ikeda's speeches to love and support SGI "no matter what" have made it hard for you to see any alternative. "Until death do us part."

SGI is all about Obutsu Myogo. When was the last time your leaders in Japan talked openly about it with you? They don't tell you what the real aims of SGI are, because you would be appalled. These people have exploited your sincere idealism. Just like Mao and the Chinese communists whom SGI admire and honor. If you do your homework you will find that SGI is dedicated to the spread of global communism, justified by their fascistic interpretation of Nichiren Buddhism. They talk incessantly about peace, without actually doing anything to help anyone but themselves. Read Mao, then read Ikeda. You'll see what I mean.

You have to dismiss what I'm telling you to protect your mind from the dissonance of seeing SGI for what it really is. So don't listen to me, look at the facts. Look at your own SGI member rules, posted on SGI's Website. First you have to pledge allegiance to SGI and agree that they are the only ones in the world who are correctly practicing Nichiren Buddhism. You have to promise to practice as SGI says:
http://www.sgi-usa.org/thesgiusa/aboutsgi/membership.html#pledge dead link

What do you get in return? "As an SGI-USA member you are entitled to make tax-deductible, non-refundable, voluntary contributions to the organization which will be used to support the kosen-rufu movement."

In other words, you agree to sign over your powers of critical analysis, free thought, your religious life and soul to SGI. In return, you get to give them money, the use of which you are not entitled to know, and SGI refuses to disclose. Only a sucker would agree to this deal. Only a sucker would defend SGI. Sorry if this insults you, but you have to wake up and get out.

T. Bergman

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I am very grateful for your website. The new look is wonderful and I'm anxious to read more of your articles soon. I am writing this email to suggest Jackie Stone for a website interview! Her research on Nichiren Buddhism is fantastic and well-thought out. I am not aware if she is related to SGI or any Nichiren Sect, but her knowledge of Nichiren Buddhism is nonetheless profound.

Thank you
SGI-member, Lloyd B.

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Dear BuddhaJones,
As always, I greatly enjoy Cris Roman's views, and I liked what he had to say about "dancing Gohonzons." I don't share his objections, but as usual, he states them beautifully and makes a good case. I heartily applaud and concur with his interpretation and application of Nichiren's admonition that all believers should "transcend all differences" and get over the petty sectarian nonsense.

Anyway, Cris was at a bit of a loss on one item, and I thought he might appreciate a clarification. He asked:

<< When did our democracy begin to transform into fascism? When did "the pursuit of happiness" get translated into "free enterprise?" I'm afraid I missed school that day. >>

I'll pass on the comment about fascism, except to say that a little research into the fascist societies in Mussolini's Italy, Franco's Spain and Hitler's Germany should disavow anyone of the notion that the United States today, for all of its problems, is heading in that direction, although the advance of gun control legislation does give one pause (all of those societies FIRST disarmed the populace - a requirement for rule by force and violence).

But regarding the second question above, Cris should not feel too badly. He is not unique, and it's most likely that "that day" did not occur in his school, as it did not in mine or most American schools, sadly.

"Pursuit of Happiness" is a quote from the Declaration of Independence, of course, but Mr. Jefferson derived it from John Locke. The Declaration says this:

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..."

This was a direct lift from an earlier phrasing as an inalienable right to life, liberty, and property by John Locke. Thomas Jefferson put this small spin on the phrase, but in no way meant to change its intent. That intent was to ensure that the foundational economic system in America was a free enterprise system: capitalism. Jefferson felt, and the Founders agreed, that the right to property, which includes the right to acquire it, dispose of it, alter it and so forth, without interference by any government, was as fundamental a right as life and liberty, and was indeed inextricably linked with them to the extent that liberty was not possible without it. This is what free enterprise is all about.

If Cris (or anyone) is interested, don't take my word on this; there's a lot written about it, starting with John Locke, and including other early economists and libertarians like Adam Smith. Anyway, the "pursuit of happiness" hasn't been "translated into free enterprise," it derives from and depends on free enterprise.

School's out.

Cheers!

Andy Hanlen

*

Dear Ocean Culturalists, Village Scribes, ET All:

If you're reading this:

- Sign off the Internet. Now.
- Go park your precious Buddha-self in front of your Gohonzon.
- Get chanting for Peace.
- Check out today's news blurbs.
- Chant MORE daimoku for Peace!
- Take yourself for a stroll through your neighbourhood.
- Chant daimoku for Kosen-rufu in your community!

Back so soon?

Mother Nature's ecological response to the poison and obscenities of war are plainly visible in our environment. On each day of the half century that I've drawn breath, human beings have continued killing each other, living amid misery, poverty and abject wickedness, suffering the violence of wars.

The time has come to consider that in SGI, we are indeed full of ourselves. Yes, We, who are in the 'Biz' of peace, culture and education--who refuse to get along with each other! Where's that at? For 13 years, i've scratched my head and asked myself, "Where is the Gohonzon in 'all of this'?" Sadly enough, the answer is the question.

How about we forego the pedantic detail to personalities at loggerheads and declare a moratorium on suburban gossip? As 'Earthians,' we can ill afford the self-perpetuating wind-ups inherent to the politics of power resultant from our growing pains as an organisation. Our 'in house' squabbles and immature rivalries have blinded us not just from our essentials as Buddhists, but also from what's important to the world we all share.

Mr. Abe is a goon-devil. So what? Isn't it true that 'the negative' only has the power we give it?

Daisaku Ikeda most certainly numbers among the majority of many splendid individuals who belong to SGI. My life is decidedly enhanced because of them. I enjoy a happy affection for most fellow practitioners. Besides boring me stiff, it's not my job to keep tabs on the body-politique of the Gakkai. I've always 'choked' on the 1980's-style marketing engine driven by SGI's executives. It's unseemly, at best. There are leaders and members, whose conduct I simply hate. This doesn't prevent me from appreciating the very real and human dramas taking place within their lives, nor does my intense dislike for unacceptable behaviours cloud the significance of my own life's connection to such individuals. Why? Because, I won't let it. After all, isn't the basis of our SGI relationships the Gohonzon?

I'm compelled to remark on the "Slander of the Law to highest extreme" phrase by pointing out that looking down one's nose at the precious children of the Buddha who chant his name is indeed slander. It is individual human beings who live the will of the Buddha, not organisations. A vigorous defence of our administration's current policies speaks more for personal ambitions than to actual faith. The sincere expression of individual perceptions of SGI is hardly 'slandering' Buddhism. Members speak from heartfelt pain in an attempt to make sense of 'things.' Intent counts. Every one is 'right' from his or her own standpoint. Hence the necessity for tolerance, which is not the same thing as cultural indifference. Unlike Japanese society, where pain tends to be dealt with stoically, we westerners shout it out! Which is wrong? Can we at least agree Nichiren inscribed the DaiGohonzon with his very life for all of humanity? That the 'Treasure Tower' resides only within our mortal flesh and not on a piece of paper? That, it is oneself who activates the Gohonzon in one's life?

I first encountered the controversial 'Dancing' video last year and recently ran across the LotusSutra.Net, which contains links to SGI community, centres, temples and sanghas in Asia and Oceania-- where photographs of both the Nitatsu and the Nichikan Gohonzon are posted. I'm the oddball who believes that the responsibility for the actual care of the physical DaiGohonzon is of grave importance for all Earthians. It is curious to note that Chris Wheeler [in an earlier letter] wasn't scolded for his 'other' Gohonzon. "It was surprisingly funny, nobody had any hard feelings, though, " he wrote.

How does SGI reproduce the Gohonzon?

Respectfully,
Kathryn Kennedy-Kent
Toronto

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Lisa,

Having visited your website on several occasions, and noticed that much of the tone and content of the site is one of anger toward SGI, attacks on SGI, and trivializing the philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism I felt compelled to write and take you to task.

There are very few rules in Nichiren Buddhism, no "ten commandments." However, there is one cardinal rule which is not to disrupt the harmonious unity of the believers. And yet, whether on purpose or inadvertently, your web site does just that. Rather than providing people with answers to problems they are facing, or guidance to help them rise above their interpersonal concerns, it becomes a forum where disgruntled members and non members alike can vent and reinforce their anger - without encouraging them to rise above it and try to create value from the situation.

Remember that phrase "to create value" which is the English translation of Soka? Based on what I have read on Buddhajones.com, new members and people interested in SGI would, from my perspective, probably visit the site and begin to harbor doubts about SGI. Long time members who are facing an impasse - rather then finding encouragement to become "the change they wish to see" might decide to simply leave the organization, their mistrust being fed by the negative comments and triviality that dominates Buddhajones.com content. By helping to distance people who are already frustrated, angry and suffering from the SGI, how are you hoping to create value?

I have been an SGI member for fifteen years and I have seen the organization change and grow through dialogue and consensus. It has responded to the valid concerns of members, and I have been impressed by the sincerity of the leaders to explain issues that I didn't agree with. Make no mistake, SGI is not infallible. How could it be, it's an organization of people. People who are themselves all too human. However, as an organization of people, we are all trying to do our human revolution, part of which is staying engaged, and being the change we wish to see.

By disrupting the harmonious unity of believers, and helping to drive a wedge between people and the SGI - a collection of people working towards a lofty goal, you are committing one of the gravest sins in Buddhism. Unless this was your original goal, you might want to seriously reconsider the purpose and content of your website.

Sincerely,
David Tempest

 

Hi David --

Does the Buddhism you practice teach that faith in the SGI is paramount? Does the Daishonin teach the importance of having faith in an organization? Maybe to you the SGI equals the Lotus Sutra and vice versa, but I think you will have a hard time supporting this point of view with the Gosho.

The community of practitioners (sangha) is one of the three jewels and is therefore to be respected. My commentary on and reporting of facts may shake a person's faith in the corporate spin that SGI injects into Nichiren Buddhism, but that's hardly the same as disrupting the sangha. After all, if the sangha's "harmony" depends on misrepresentation, fibbing and keeping information from members, well, how harmonious can it actually be?

With regard to certain happenings of late, the facts do not flatter the SGI. In some cases, when people realize that the SGI has fibbed to them, they feel angry. You may not like this response, but it's an honest response. Your advice may be that people should rise above their indignation and redouble their devotion to SGI. My advice is for the SGI to stop fibbing and redouble their devotion to teaching Nichiren Buddhism. There's no incentive for the organization to stop fibbing if the members are unaware of it or don't mind being fibbed to. Both of our approaches create value, and they are not incompatible.

In the real world, organizations get sued for misrepresenting themselves. That's what happened with the Southwell case, and SGI ended up having to fork over millions of dollars of the *members'* money to settle the claim. If one really cares about SGI, wouldn't one be doing everything within one's power to keep the organization from making mistakes like this in the future?

The SGI publications have yet to report anything to the members about the troubles at SUA (which is intimately connected with SGI.) Leaders have told me that SUA and Southwell are simply "not newsworthy" and members don't care. The OC Register, PBS, the Chronicle of Higher Education and Associated Press all found it newsworthy. How can one justify the SGI's refusual to inform members about something so relevant to their own organization?

My point is that if one cares a whit about SGI-USA's future then one cares about how we are perceived by American society. If you are uncomfortable with the way I call SGI on its shit, for lack of a better phrase, you are really gonna hate it when actual hard-boiled journalists start sniffing around. If our organization is truly going to become a major influence in this country, we will need to expect intense public scrutiny. Therefore, we need to get our house in order.

If we claim to be an open, dynamic, democratic, spiritual organization, then we'd better *be* exactly that. The inconsistencies and misrepresentations from the highest, most official levels in SGI-USA just won't wash with mainstream America.

As an American, I see it as my job to subsume Nichiren Buddhism into American culture rather than force-feed it to or graft it onto the culture. Zen and Tibetan Buddhism have been infused into the American psyche and expressed through pop art, humor and consumerism. I want to see the same thing happen with Nichiren Buddhism. You may call this "trivializing Nichiren Buddhism," but I call it my personal mission. You may have a different mission, but I help reveal Nichiren's teachings no less than you do.

The Nichiren sangha includes the SGI, but it is not limited to the SGI. Nichiren Shu and, yes, even Nichiren Shoshu believers are part of the Nichiren sangha. Until we can harmonize these disparate schools, I don't think that we can credibly claim that any real "harmony of believers" exists.

David, in short, we can look at SGI through rose-colored glasses and pretend that everything's wonderful and changing in a positive direction all by itself without anyone speaking out -- but that's not harmony, that's just wishful thinking.

Thanks for taking the time to drop me a note.

Best,
Lisa Jones

 

Lisa,

I'm not sure if you took time to really read my letter. For one, I do not believe that SGI is infallible, which I made sure to point out in my letter. I do however have a deep sense of gratitude to SGI for enabling me to find out about Nichiren Buddhism, for teaching me how to practice correctly based on the gosho, and for the community of people working for a common cause. No other organization has been able to share Nichiren Buddhism worldwide - not the Nikken sect, not Nichiren Shu, not any other organization. My sense of gratitude and appreciation outweighs any shortcomings or mistakes that people within the organization may make. This I learned from the example of Nichiren who never forgot his mentor, Dozen-Bo, even though Dozen-Bo never outwardly accepted Nichiren's teachings.

In many of the letters and commentaries I have read on your website, I get no sense of appreciation or of taking responsibility to make positive changes from within - only complaints, negativity and subjective opinions, rarely substantiated with facts. Even regarding the "Southwell case", I doubt that you or anyone else except those immersed in the case are fully aware of all of the facts, and I'm not sure what value there is from trying to bring it to everyone's attention - the newspapers are doing a good job of that.

I deeply care about SGI's future - my attitude is "I am the SGI". Therefore, with president Ikeda as my role model, I'll do my best to "teach other's to the best of my ability", raise capable people who can make a positive contribution to society, and when I see injustice, I'll speak out to the appropriate people and try to resolve it with those same people. In many of President Ikeda's speeches, he has pointed out that when the SGI organization goes through difficult times, for whatever reason, people with shallow understanding will be the first to turn their backs on the SGI, and begin to criticize our efforts. That is yet one more lesson from President Ikeda that I can now confidently say "he was right".

Also Lisa, for your information, Gohonzon means object of devotion worthy of our respect. By including dancing Gohonzon on your website, you demonstrate that you have no respect for it, or for Nichiren himself. I find your statement that "the Nichiren sangha includes the SGI..... Nichiren Shu and, yes, even Nichiren Shoshu" too aptly demonstrates your lack of understanding. How can any organization that has twisted Nichiren's teachings be part of the Nichiren Sangha?

If you recall, after Nichiren died, there were six senior priests. Five of them betrayed Nichiren's teachings and started their own sects. Only Nikko Shonin remained true to his mentor. For this reason, I believe, SGI makes no claim to be a "democratic" organization. If the six priests had applied democratic principles to the preservation of Nichiren's teachings, who knows what distorted form it might exist in today.

I appreciate your engaging me in dialogue but it's clear you have chosen your path. For obvious reasons, I hope you are completely convinced that you are on the right one.

Sincerely,
David Tempest

 

David --

FYI, Nikko left Minobu in disgust and started his own sect. Regardless, you're in complete agreement with Nichiren Shoshu about Nikko's supremacy. Also, you are in perfect accord with Nichiren Shoshu priests in your views about the so-called Dancing Gohonzon.

You say that you see the organization for what it is, warts and all, and you admit that it is fallible. So can you face the fact that SGI is fallible in the realm of doctrine as well as organizational dynamics? Apparently not, because SGI is right and all the other schools are wrong as far as you're concerned. Your belief that critics of the SGI are shallow slanderers is straight out of the Nichiren Shoshu Authoritarianism Handbook. It's amazing to me that you can't see that.

I don't need to be completely convinced of the rightness of my path, as you say. Nichiren frequently doubted himself and questioned whether what he was doing was right. Being convinced of your rightness and righteousness is basically the opposite of faith, IMO.

The Gohonzon exists within the lives of people who have faith in the dharma, not on a scroll in a box, David. Think about it: if a fifteen-second movie clip of dancing Chinese pictograms on a Web site disrespects everything you stand for, well, maybe you don't stand for much after all.

Take care,
Lisa Jones

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Dear Lisa

I'm a regular here at your site because I also have continuing distrust of organisations of all kinds.

But being a musician has also taught me the neccessity of collective action. And finally it is the Soka Gakkai that has given us the real and only structure for practicing the Daishonins Buddhism in a collective way. And world peace is certainly something that can only be achieved collectively.

I have often thought that value creating also meant karma changing. Changing karma necessarily means looking into the hell of each and every one of our own lives. And if we start with just the SGI that means a whole lot of hell. So what we need is to respect the fact that we are, each and every member, trying to change our karma in the only way that mankind has been given, by chanting NamMyoHoRengeKyo. This is how Nichiren says we can do it. My own experience (and I'll bet yours and anybody elses who has given it a serious try) has born out the correctness of this teaching.

The experience of having overcome tremendous obstacles and becoming more and more satsfied with my life has given me the FREEDOM TO BELIEVE !! To believe firmly that what I am doing is the correct and only way to change karma and attain Buddhahood in this life. And it would be good for EVERBODY !! Bar none !! Now what does this mean in the real world. That we must create a Kosen Rufu Army and go out and conquer the planet the way the USA is trying to do these days with its religion of democratic liberal capitalism? That we can force people to chant and become happy? Of course not ! How ridiculous !

We all know that attaining Buddhahood can only come about by the creation of deep faith. Nichiren says this over and over. It is our faith that changes that piece of paper into our Buddha nature. It is not magic, it is an act of faith. This why we have the freedom to believe, because we believe that the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin is the only correct path to attaining Buddhahood in the Latter Day of the Law but that you can't force it on anyone. We have the right to believe this and to try to persuade others that we are right but when the others don't follow we must always, always come back to our own faith and its strength thereof. The logic inherent in True Buddhism shows us that lack of belief is not a sin and not punishable. It just bars you from Buddhahood. Everone makes their own choice. The senior leaders (so disparaged at this website) where I live and practice (Belgium) say that when shakubuku doesn't work its a sign to do more daimoku, not to blame some one else.

And thats what hurts about seeing the dancing Gohonzon. It is as if some one making foolishness out of something that is so dear to me. Something that I have struggled so hard to understand and that has given me so much liberty. I'm thinking that maybe if I was really a Buddha, I wouldn't care. I'm not so sure. I'm also thinking of all those people who are trying to understand. And thinking of the meaning of "respect". I share Linus' (from Singapore) fear [expressed in an earlier letter]. It is very deep lack of respect that has gotten mankind into the fix it is currently facing. The Gohonzon is not "sacred". It is simply worthy of the deepest respect as are each and every one of our lives. When you understand that maybe you won't want to see a dancing Gohonzon either.

When I first came upon this site I was fascinated to find a place where dissidents could air their views. The more I visit I began to ask myself "What are these people really angry about?" Everyone seems so frustrated. Its like there is a karmic constipation of some sort. Mr. Toda (1st SGI president for those that don't know) used to prescribe shakubuku as remedy for this problem. It always works for me. What is your answer to the question "Are you really happy?"

So lets calm down, stop being so mistrusting and put our faith in the Gohonzon (like Nichiren says) and practice for all those who have made mistakes in the SGI to help them understand their roles better. Lets send tons of daimoku all over the place epecially to those that get on our nerves and develop the wisdom to carry out Sensei's wishes for us and for humanity.

Thanks for letting me bend your ear. I hope these rambling thoughts make some sense.

Garrett List

 

Hi Garrett --

Thanks for your note. Yes, I am very happy -- I live in a place I love, surrounded by family and friends who love me, and I get paid for doing the work I love. So my life is working out pretty well these days. I hope the same is true of you.

Sorry that you are upset about the Web site. Maybe it's best to take it all with a grain of salt and not worry too much about it. I mean, it's just a Web site. There are others that you may find more encouraging, like gakkaionline.net and happyjeanny.com.

Thanks again for writing. I hope you are well.

Take care,
Lisa Jones

 

Lisa

Thanks for getting back so quickly. Don't worry, I'm not worried. Just trying to understand.

My life is working out the way I need it to work out. I also am surrounded by much love from family and friends and colleagues. But I must tell you that having a good job, and being surrounded by loving family and friends is just the start of creating the life state that cannot be destroyed. The Buddha nature is within the reach of every one. Our job is to polish our life state and open our hearts and perceive MyoHo in our lives and with the accrued wisdom, to help others to do the same. After all the years of your practice you must know this. There is no way to take lack of respect with a grain of salt. Believing in the true law is not psychotherapy (although many findings of this discipline are found in True Buddhism as well) Your site is not "just a Web site".

I can see by this exchange that I need to augment my daimoku, which in truth I have let up on in the last couple of weeks. I practice every day but sometimes I lose the fight with my own fundamental darkness. How about you ?

Garrett

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Thank you for taking time to have such an interesting website. I was a very involved NSA leader from 1967 until 1981 when I quit the practice and resigned my position. Many of your comments and articles on the website we questions I though but didn't speak. The one time I spoke out and questioned the organization was at a meeting in 1985 when I was trying to practice again. The leader of the meeting was so confrontational and awful (having been forwarned that I, a senior leader drop out, would be attending) he was ready to bounce on me. I had brought a guest. I was so upset & angry with this guy I burst into tears of frustration. I have practiced on and off for ab out 10 years and am still confused about the religion and more so the organization. Too much religion & pep talking and not enough realism for me. I have always wonder about the money angle. I donated thousands of hard earned money even borrowing to go on conventions and Japan. My kids were named by Pres. Ikeda. I was encouraged to stay in an abusive marriage (chant and he will change, yeah sure). Now I am in a good loving marriage and sucessful business without NSA. So many stories. I love your site!!!
Rochelle Zatkin

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Dear Lisa,

My question pertains to the placement of stinkweed on the altar. I feel I have been squarely placed into the category of this odoriferous plant by the infamous poem of Daisaku Ikeda,
http://www.sgi-usa.org/thesgiusa/membercorner/poems/may32001poemsbyikeda.htm]
which so characterizes organizational critics such as myself. Once the impulse to anger (i.e., "no one calls me a stinkweed and gets away with it") subsided, I thought it might be appropriate to place some there, owing to the oneness of life and environment and the reflection of the self in the altar. Indeed, I have already done so, and though the effect has been pleasing visually, I've had to double up on the incense to maintain a tolerable aroma. When the neighbors complained, I patiently explained the foregoing but was met with looks of silent perplexity. The heathen can never understand the enlightened!

I think I've also figured out where President Ikeda was during the debacle at Soka University, the split in the Italian SGI, the apology for which is at this site, and the dishonest and frankly illegal crushing of sincere reform movements in the SGI-USA and SGI-UK [http://daimoku.com/memo4-30-01.html]. He was ruminating poetically on the pernicious effects of stinkweed on the buddhist order!

I'd like to close with a poem dedicated to you and all your broad-minded readers. Here it is:

I'm a stinkweed,
You're a stinkweed.
Isn't it great to be a stinkweed,
too?

Do you like it? I hope so, because I am a messenger of peace, and critics of my poems are slime-molds!

Sincerely,

Flora Malodorous,
New York City

P.S. I am enclosing under separate cover a slime-mold sample, which you may place on your altar, if appropriate. Never forget that the worlds of slime-mold and of stinkweed mutually possess each other and that infinite potential lies in each. Indeed, the myo-ho of the daimoku is simply the miraculous transformation of the tiny spore into a full blown stinkweed, which gives rise to other spores, in an endless cycle of death and regeneration. Behold the wonder, and realize that our lives are stinkweed itself!

Thanks for another interesting article on Cleaning up the Crap, by Charles
Atkins. Now, let's all stand around him in a circle and stare at him to see if he contracts white leprosy.

Byrd in LA.

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Dear Charles,

I enjoyed your article 'It's Time to Clean Up the Crap'.

You stated, "My opinion on what’s wrong with the SGI-USA is that we have moved away from Nichiren and Shakyamuni as the prime sources of inspiration and doctrine and replaced them with President Ikeda." I can agree with the first part of your sentence, but when it comes to the latter half, "and replaced them with President Ikeda", isn't this merely an effect of a deeper causality?

I will suggest that the root cause that gives rise to the aberrations such as the worship of the Organization over the Gohonzon, Ikeda over Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra, is to found in the SGI's religious doctrine, as cause, and resulting practices, as effect, which in turn give rise to the aberrations.

Nichiren explains it this way: "The votary of the Lotus Sutra is certain to be obstructed by the Devil of the Sixth Heaven. Among the ten objects of meditation, this corresponds to the object of diabolical functions. It is the way of the devil to delight in obstructing good and in causing the production of evil. Concerning those whom he cannot force to perform evil acts, he is helpless and is capable only of allowing them to create good. Those who carry out the practices of the bodhisattva, he hinders by encouraging in the direction of the practice of the two vehicles. And lastly, if there is someone who practices the pure and perfect teaching exclusively, he will topple that person into the perfect teaching that is combined with the specific teaching."

http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/Nichiren/Gosho/ThirdDoctrine.htm dead link

I understand this passage, 'the pure and perfect teaching exclusively", as saying 'good medicine works on it's own': i.e., the daimoku.

As for "he will topple that person into the perfect teaching that is combined with the specific teaching", if you follow the footnotes in this gosho you will find that 'combined with the specific teaching' means Bodhisattva practices as a formal precept while embracing the daimoku.

If you want to reform the SGI, start at the doctrine, as Nichiren did. The behavior of the SGI is the refection on the pond.

Sincerely, Chikushonin
Daikudoshin, myokaku, myojisokukyo/
Namumyohorengemyojisokukyo

*

My goodness, what an interesting morning I've had with Buddha Jones! I
really wanted to say thanks for the Cris Roman piece on changing karma
and doing sange. An awful lot of people still confuse taking responsibility with accepting blame. I've done a lot of work with battered women, and they're trained to take blame as a way of apeasing their batterers (even if the blame is totally irrational). It can be very challenging in doing shakubuku with these women to clarify that karma is not just another way of saying "you're bad". Please keep up the good work with more chapters as interesting as this one.

Byrd in LA.

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Dear Lisa:

Thanks for a website that continues to challenge our ideas and attitudes as Nichiren Buddhists...As one might expect, your site provides a forum for everything from vitriolic crap to insightful personal revelations...with lots of irreverent, even "heretical" humor along the way...in other words, it works for me...and if you're going to Hell in a handbg, I'll tag along with my tasteful rhinestone clutch!...

As to my resolutions for the coming year...

1. I resolve to LICK BUSH in 2004! No, I'm not dabbling in heterosexuality...and get your mind out of the gutter!...I feel a personal responsibility,as a global citizen, to make sure that the Texan with no particular qualifications whose family bought him the White House and stole the election is thrown out on his behind this year...Of course, now that Saddam has been captured, the media thinks "Dubya" pisses ginger ale...But the fact is that he's promoting mass murder for the sake of corporate
profits for his white male buddies...and I feel an obligation to stand against such actions...(Your mileage may vary.)

2. I resolve to continue to engage in "death defying" dialogue...
A top SGI leader recently wrote me: "...Engage people in dialogue, genuine dialogue, dialogue that President Ikeda calls "death-defying".... Death-defying in the sense that one's commitment to dialogue in the search for truth and value-creation includes the willingness to have one's own ideas, beliefs and assumptions "die" if, under wider scrutiny and closer examination, they are no longer viable...If we cannot sustain this kind of engagement then there is no rising above our differences and uniting together with the same mind..."

I am quite taken by this expression...and honored to practice a religion that clearly believes that ideas which cannot withstand "scrutiny and closer examination" deserve to die...This stands in stark contrast to the antiquated dogma and downright superstition of other religions...including our parent Nichiren Priesthood...and this is the essense of Nichiren's teachings...Of course, I think our own organization needs to follow this guidance as well.

3. I resolve to continue working for change as a critical but loyal SGI
member...People who say the SGI doesn't change just aren't looking closely
enough...In fact, we undergo constant change...and I'm convinced the
vocal criticism of loyal, engaged members ARE helping to reshape our organization as I speak...

Look at the whole "Keep Nikken out of New York at any cost" campaign of
this summer....We spent the entire previous year ranting almost paranoically about the great DEMON Nikken...in every issue of the World Tribune, it was
"Nikken,Nikken, Nikken...EVIL, EVIL, EVIL...blah, blah, blah..."

It got so crazy that youda thunk the East Coast was going to fall into the Sea if he stepped foot on our sacred soil...we announced official Daimoku campaigns to "keep him out of the country"...and when he arrived here we kept him under constant photographic surveillance...in case he tried to give us the old "evil eye", I guess...Well, what happened was that many reasonable members realized we were behaving like idiots...we were becoming our own worst enemy! We made
ourselves look small and petty because we cowered before this one shriveled
up old man of no importance....WE empowered HIM through our own fear and
lack of conviction...we forgot the true spirit of Nichiren...which would be
to say "Bring Him On!".... (sorry, Dubya..)

Anyway, there was a big split in attitudes among not only the members
but among the top leadership...some were totally "gung ho" on the campaign...others were quite repulsed by our language and behavior...and this is where something truly great and trancendant happened to the SGI...NOTHING HAPPENED!

We disagreed with each other about how to conduct a big campaign...even to
the point that some refused to follow it...and NOTHING HAPPENED!...The
harmonious unity of our Sangha was NOT threatened...in fact it grew exponentially, because we finally saw that dissent and disagreement are NOT
disunity at all ...We reminded ourselves that "trancending differences" does not mean suppressing them, but rather embracing them! ! We took a giant step
forward as the result of the whole ugly damn mess! We turned poison into
medicine!...That week, we met at Lincoln center, and Danny Nagashima stood
before thousands of members and said, at long last, that "NIkken is insignificant !"... The change has been obvious since then... just look at the "World Tribune"
BEFORE this summer and NOW... In the latest issue in front of me, for example...December 5, 2003...as I scan the pages I count the following references to:

1. Nichiren...13
2. President Ikeda.....11
3. Lotus Sutra.......11
4. Shakyamuni...5
5. Nikken...0
6. Soka Spirit...0
7. "Fighting Evil"...0
8. "King Devil of the Sixth heaven"...0

I challenge anyone to apply the same test to any issue from this year preceding the "Nikken" episode...I think you'll agree that there have been some changes made! And I, for one, am happy to applaud those changes...and resolve to
continue to work for the sake of the SGI in the coming years!

Happy New Year, everyone!

David Johnson
New York

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Dear Lisa,

I am new visitor to your website, www.buddhajones.com. I am finding it
fascinating. I fully support the democratic right you are exercising in holding an
open forum for debate on the Daishonin's Buddhism and its varied interpretations.

I wonder if the concerns that are raised are mainly aimed at SGI-USA? I
am a member of SGI Australia and am yet to experience what you and the other authors write about. I deeply share all the concerns raised about the
grave consequences that exclusivism and elitism hold for this wonderful
Buddhist movement that was started by Nichiren Daishonin. Fortunately, from what I can gather, most of those who practice in Australia uphold the virtue of
including all. When I ever experience otherwise I make it my responsibility
and mission to uphold the Daishonin's virtue of respecting everyone.

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to comment the articles posted on the
website and most importantly the opportunity to open a new dialogue with someone in the land of the free!!

Yours sincerely,
Bjorn Jonsson :-)

*

Resolutions for 2004:

• Appreciate the value of my life more
• Fear/hide from social interaction less
• Continue to overcome my 20 years of obesity (self abuse)
• Love more
• Anger less
• Feel happy everyday
• Learn all I can

I know that success in these and all other pursuits begins with the attitude I choose, my actions, etc. You know-- the eightfold path. All the power I need is within myself, and I will succeed.

All-right, this is getting silly...because I'm good enough, smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me.

Happy New Year!

Jennifer DuBois Atkins

*

Hi. My name is Eric Allen and I'm an SGI member from New Mexico. I
happened upon your site a while back while doing some research on Nichiren
Buddhism and other forms of medieval forms of Japanese Buddhism.

First, let me tell you. I am incredibly intrigued by your website and I like reading nearly everything I find there. Do I agree with many of the opinions I find there? No. But some I do. And also, I have not experienced that which many of you have experienced. Perhaps I might say the exact same things if I had.

Before going on, let me give you some of my own background. Having been born into this practice, I've been with SGI/NSA for over 25 years now. Some would say that I'm a "fortune baby", but I've never like that terminology. I don't like it because that phrase puts me in a different (higher?) category than someone who was not born into the practice. Though, in a sense, I am a fortune baby. I would not have been born if my mother and father didn't chant their asses off. After my half-brother was born, my mother was to never have children again lest she could die. Add to that the fact that my father was infertile. So, by all logical accounts, I shouldn't be here. And for that, I am fortunate... and grateful. That being said, I remember the days of street shakabuku and aggressive conversion tatics. I also recall the strictness and publically ostracizing of various members, etc... A great deal of horrible things went on in SGI (then NSA) just here on a local level.

Despite all of that, and even despite the things that are done wrong currently, I remain a strong supporter of the SGI for one reason: member's happiness. There are a lot of people who put their faith in the Gohonzon, Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism, and the SGI. And it is for them, that I became a leader (ymd area). The sole purpose of this organization, or any organization professing to represent the Daishonin's Buddhism, is to create true happiness among all people. This is a hard road to walk. So it is no surprise to me that many (in SGI and NS) have failed. Do I excuse the actions which have jaded so many of you and others that I know? Absolutely not!

I never quote President Ikeda and I also think too much focus in centered on him. However, there is one quote from PI that has always stayed with me and it partly why I still am an SGI member today. He said (and I'm just paraphrasing) that the reason he is a part of SGI is that there is no other organization in this world more dedicated to helping people create happiness in their lives. He went on to say that if he ever found such an organization, he would abandon SGI and join that other group.

Now, I realize that many people may not feel that the SGI is so dedicated. But, I do know that PI was sincere in that message, and I do know that Soka Gakkai was founded with such a goal in mind. Thus, I feel it is my mission to bring that about, even if it's just here in SGI New Mexico.

I have received some very good guidance from my ymd leaders over that past few years. Upon first becoming a "big time" leader, James Herrmann explained to me that "being a leader means absolutely nothing if your members aren't happy. As leaders, our job is facilitate our member's happiness." My region ymd leader has always told me, "if you don't like the way something is in the organization, change it! Make this organization how you would like to see it!" Now, whether my ymd leaders practice this or not is irrelavant to me because I have vowed to practice in such a way.

As stated before, there are some things on your site with which I disagree. Perhaps some people feel that we are the "chosen ones" predicted in the Lotus Sutra to propagate the World Honored One's message, but I do not, nor have I felt that from other people, at least here in my area. Rather than feeling like I'm a "chosen one", I feel as though I am "one who has chosen". If you recall, the bodhisattvas of the earth, at that moment, chose to propagate the law in the latter day. If the Buddhist idea of reincarnation is true, if karma is true, if the Lotus Sutra is true, then the life I live is one that I have chosen for myself. If
this were not true, I would not exist, especially when one considers the obstacles of my birth.

Another thing I sort of disagree with: financial accountability. Sure, it would be nice if the SGI had that. But tell me, what other nation-wide or international church, and make no mistake about it, SGI is a church, has such financial accountability? The Catholic Church sure doesn't. I think the spirit of giving should be just that. If you don't feel comfortable giving money to the church, don't give money. It's that simple. Contribute in other ways. But also, you shouldn't get offended when they ask for contributions. All churches, everywhere ask for contributions. In fact, nearly from day one of Buddhism, those who practice have depended on "contributions" for lay supporters. Did not monks have to beg for food in ancient India, China, Korea, and Japan? Did not they face doors slammed in their faces and being beaten away with brooms? Now, obviously times are different and the SGI is a far cry from a monk begging for food. But churches do require money from its body of believers to stay "in business". If you don't want to give money, don't. But if it turns your stomach so much to even be asked, then I would think that there is no church anywhere suited for you.

So what am I saying with all of this? Well, keep doing what you're doing. But know that, as in the life of each individual, change must come from within. Even from my earliest years, I saw many things go on in SGI/NSA that most do not because my parents were high up leaders. Many things were pretty bad. But also, there were many good things that went on too. I implore you (whomever you may be) not to criticize the SGI from the outside, but rather... do it from the inside. And while that may bring on very difficult struggles, and you may face fierce opposition, isn't that what ND's Buddhism is all about? Isn't that the essence of the Tathagata's Unsurpassed Way?

Irrespective of what happens, I will always focus on the happiness of my members. And that's how I plan on making any neccessary changes.

Feel free to post any or all this that you want on your website. If you do so, please give me credit and please do not alter my words. I trust that you wouldn't seeing as how I do see the objectiveness of the site. Though, there are places where it's not as objective as one would like.

Thank you for your time.
Eric

Hi, Eric. My mom attends Catholic mass every Sunday. In the church bulletin, her parish publishes info on how much money was collected each quarter and where it is being allocated -- how much is needed to run the school, how much goes to pay utilities, etc. Maybe not all churches disclose their finances, but to say that the whole Catholic church doesn't have financial accountability isn't entirely correct.
Take care,
Lisa J.

*

Hi Lisa

Being a confirmed Nichiren fan with a seeking mind about Buddhism I appreciate and enjoy the informative and entertaining thoughts put forward by your talented and open minded correspondents on this absolutely splendid website.

I've noticed an SGI tendency locally and internationally to concentrate huge resources on image creation seemingly at the total expense of any real effort to undertake truly Bodhisattva-like compassionate activities.

In view of this emphasis I've always been curious what the REAL membership of SGI might be. So far I've relied on Andy Hanlen's guestimate in an NSA post in December 2002:

US 40,000
UK 8,000
France 6,000
Italy 25,000
Netherlands 400
Denmark 200

I thought that the Italian figure might be generous but overall this total could be about right. I recall from somewhere in your pages that Cris Roman was thinking even lower figures.

However imagine my concern about the integrity of our leadership when I noticed the following figures quoted in President Ikeda's address at the 32nd Soka Gakkai HQ Leaders' Meeting at the SGI Friendship Hall in Sendagaya a few weeks ago on November 13.

(Quote) "Here I would like to take an opportunity to share with you our present membership statistics overseas:
North America - 350,000;
Central and South America - 240,000;
Asia and Oceania - 860,000;
Europe - 40,000;
Africa and the Middle East - 10,000;
for a total of 1.5 million.

Our movement has grown to comprise a magnificent network of global citizens totaling more than 10 million people in 186 countries and territories, including Japan. Today wherever you go in the world, there are SGI members. I hope all of you will someday go to visit our friends overseas.” (End Quote)

WOW! Can you believe it?

I have always admired PI for his remarkable leadership and organizational skills, for SGI's provision of excellent study resources and most of all for bringing this marvellous Buddhism to me.

Because of this I have tried to be a non-judgmental Buddhist, trying to make allowances for angry and arrogant, certainly not Buddha-like behavior which I have seen in his personal relationship with his staff and so often in his printed words.

This has knocked me right out of my comfort zone. Please help me - I want to be a believer.

Happiness to all in 2004

Ivan

*

Greetings!
I stumbled upon your site, and spent most of my morning reading what you have to offer. Congratulations! Buddhajones is just what the doctor ordered!
I, too, have been thru the "wars". Former member of NSA ('72-'84) former member of Nichiren-shu, who received initial ordination at Seichoji, then left with ...well, let's say that I wasn't happy with what I saw on the 'inside of things'..., was taken as the personal disciple and finally successor to the iconoclastic Nichiren independent, Nichijo Shaka.

It is sooooooooooooo nice to see a Nichiren site without all the anger and political games! Let's just DO IT! Working together would make things so much more interesting. I'll keep reading. Again, thank you and may you all be blessed a thousand times (Grasshopper:-) for your efforts.
Gassho,
Yaso Nichijo

Hi. Thanks for your note. I have to confess my ignorance: Who is Nichijo Shaka? I am interested in learning more, and I think many readers would be interested too. So I'll hope you'll write back and tell me more about yourself.
Take care,
Lisa Jones

Greetings! Nichijo Shaka was my teacher, my friend, my (spiritual) "root" Master. He was many things to many people, but I (and my family) loved him dearly and miss him greatly. There's a little about him (and the now defunct
Buddhist School of America) in Rev. Daniel Montgomery's "Fire in the Lotus".
Some of the information presented is correct, some isn't. But, Bishop Nichijo
would be the first to point out....it's the message that is important, not the messenger. A messenger merely delivers the message; a teacher points the way
and guides the student as far as he/she can.

Your life, as it unfolds, is both your "path" and your "practice". Every incident is a teaching....a lesson to be learned and practiced. Every being (ujo and hijo) is your teacher: every encounter an opportunity... Ah, but words get in the way; the written word can be especially treacherous, but, here goes:

Chant Namu Myoho Renge Kyo with your whole heart and mind;
LIVE Namu Myoho Renge Kyo;
BE Namu Myoho Renge Kyo!

When you live/practice (there is no separation) this way, a "knowing", a "certainty" will slowly come upon you. Then, the teachings will all make sense...it will ALL be understood....words will just be words...because you will KNOW. There will be no need for disputation. Like a pebble in a quiet pond, your "knowing" will make a positive impact upon all you encounter. You will see the face of Buddha in everyone and everything you meet. You will KNOW who you REALLY are, WHY you are, HERE and NOW. Go for it, my friend. As another of my respected teachers is fond of saying "Don't think. Just DO!"

I am (as I mentioned in my first note to you), Nichijo's personal disciple, chosen successor and Dharma heir. I am the Bishop of an independent order of Nichiren Buddhists in Northern California. Just another signpost along the Way :-)

I send you prayers of metta and abundance.
Gassho,
GyoBoIn Nichijo ("Yaso")

*

Hi Lisa,

No reason to go into too much detail... and I will be as brief as I can be, still getting my points across. Recently I've been carrying a heavy load of burdens: a job where I have responsibility but no authority, where I supervise a group of people generating commission income for me which has turned out to be only one-third of what I was lead to expect when I took the position six months ago. Further, recently the rug was pulled out from under me at work as I was blamed for the failures created by people over whom I have no control. The company is a high-tech start up, stock options and low base salaries.

Individually, I carry a history of depression and have, until recently, held a deep inner conviction that Buddhism (Nichiren's version as SGI practices it) worked for others, but not for me. The net result of all this was a feeling of hopelessness and despair which I have continued to confront since I returned to this practice some 18 months ago.

I started challenging this two weeks ago with 3 or 4 hours of daimoku a day and was generally chanting about an hour a day prior to that. I increased the amount of my chanting because I had gotten to the end of my rope, at work and in my life overall. I also had set up an appointment to meet with my boss on Tuesday (12/9/03) to discuss my employment situation. Again, I was suffering greatly inside. Still, I had "scoured out" great gobs of karmic suffering with my daimoku campaign. My mind was empty of illusions but I still hadn't found the hope or confidence I was seeking. I did not feel any assurance that my efforts were anything other than wishful thinking! I didn't know what else I could do to
change the situation... I was acting honorably and correctly within my daily life and pouring myself into all aspects of Buddhist practice... really giving my life away without recompense, or so I thought.

Anyway, last Tuesday I woke up about 2 am in the night... but actually to be more specific, I became aware of a blazing white light within my mind which blotted out all other senses as I drifted up from deep sleep, through the dream state, into full consciousness. Then being entirely awake, I lay in bed for I am not sure, how long. Maybe it was a minute or just a few seconds, but this white light continued to fill my mind and senses in my darkened bedroom. I could se or sense nothing else. After a minute or two I went back to sleep feeling slightly disoriented, but sensing that something profound had changed.

The next day I felt lighter than I had in years. My life felt like it had been washed clean by a Spring rain. I thought little but felt intuitively perceptive as to everything around me... people, the physical world, everything! The control of karma in my life was lessened greatly, as well. I had a great meeting at work and, while not feeling euphoric, have felt myself to be on a different psychological/spiritual plain for the last four days.

Now here's what is really interesting... I was given a tape by of Linda Johnson's lecture on correct practice to the Gohonzon, which she gave in Japan, the next day. She explains how our suffering becomes benefit, when we persevere. Deeper than anything I've read in SGI publications, it is masterful. It reminds me of the great SGI mentors I've had... Izumi, Dr. Yamazaki in Europe, Dick Causton, and Sensei Ikeda. (The tape is poor quality and the audio isn't very good and everything she says is translated into Japanese).

Anyway, when I combine Cris Roman's writings (Chapter 13 is excellent) with what Linda Johnson had to say and add my recent experiences of the karmic lessening (tenju kyoju), I feel like I've really discovered the Rosetta Stone of this
practice. I believe that I have a much deeper understanding of Nichiren Buddhism and with Cris Roman's help, an understanding of the organizational wackiness I experienced as a thirty-three year member of NSA/SGI. I everything that happened, had to be, no exceptions!

My spiritual journey's really moving quickly now. Based on esho funi, I change inside and my environment becomes a reflection of it. There are literally dozens of other experiences I've had recently, all positive, evincing amazing changes in my life. I could be discouraged that I accomplished so little and am now in my fifties, but many of us have stories which parallel the experienced of Ch. Atkins as well. (Ex hippie, drug using baby boomers, who thought they were beyond karmic impediments, but eventually found themselves slammed up-against-the-wall by life and had to delve deeply into Nichiren Buddhism (the real version, not the SGI P.R. version), to find out who they are.

I have no doubt that my inner changes will manifest in my environment. As Linda Johnson points out this is the requirement of the law of esho funi. So, in response to this, my situation has changed 100% since last Tuesday!

Regards,
Steve Swanson

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There is a fine line between "Nichiren Buddhism with a grin" and plain old fashioned ridicule. You just crossed that line with your attempt at a humorous question: "But will Honmon Butsuryushu soon enter the booming bottled-water market with clear, refreshing Okozui dead link? Holy BS!"

The practice and theory of Okuzui comes straight from the Gosho, in this case the Houki ko gobo goshosoku, a letter from Nichiren Daishi to Nikko Shonin in February 25, 1282. According to Don Ross' directory http://campross.crosswinds.net/gosho.html dead link , the original exists in Nichiren Daishi's handwriting. Although no English translation exists, it is found in the Showa Teihon, pages 1909-1901, #428. Nikko Shonin had asked for advice concerning a sick parishioner of his. The person is thought to be one of the Nanjo’s. In it, Nichiren Daishi advised to burn to ash a passage from the Lotus Sutra from chapter 23:

"Just as a torch dispels darkness, this sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma saves all living beings from all sufferings, from all diseases, and from all the bonds of birth and death"

After reducing this passage to ash it is to be mixed with water and taken by the sick person. Nichiren goes on to recommend certain auspicious hours that
this practice is to be done, especially in the very early hours of the morning.

This is the root of the healing practices of HBS, Nichiren Sho Shu and other branches of Nichiren Buddhism. The idea is that the merits of the Sutra are infused into the water and taken into the body. In HBS we say that by placing water on ones altar the mercy of the Buddha infuses the water and heals the faithful. In Nichiren Sho Shu a small part of a cloth that is used to clean the "Dai-Gohonzon" is burned to ash and mixed into water for a very sick believer to take.

As the treasurer for HBS USA, I can state categorically that we have never, and will never charge anyone for Okuzui. The very notion is absurd, because anyone can have access to Okuzui by offering their own water to their altar and chant their own Odaimoku. Further, we find the money making practices of other unnamed Nichiren related groups to be abhorrent and shameful. Therefore, the implication you made in your remark above we find to be extremely insulting.

Kind Regards,
Richard Torgerson
for Honmon Butsuryushu USA

*

Thanks for turning me on to Okozui dead link. See, this is the kind of Japanese-inherited hocus pocus that we should be guarding against in America. Please, guys, let's not import bullshit along with the profound teachings of Buddhism. It's truly frightening to me how willing people are to externalize the source of benefit (or in this case "meritorious merits.")

I grew up saying grace over every meal I ate, and I do believe that prayer can enhance the nutritional value of food. But not because it somehow makes the food holy. It's because an attitude of gratitude is conducive to health. To recognize and praise the blessings in one's life increases one's blessings.

Things such as food (and this bottle of beer at my elbow) are holy only because our heart of faith infuses our being with medicinal joy, and everything we consume becomes beneficial -- Not because chanting makes water turn into magic juice.

Geesh.

Thomas Down South

*

Hi. I went to an SGI center here for the first time this week, by pure
accident. I had attended a led meditation by Noah Levine and became
more interested in Buddhism. I was looking at Tricycle Mag's website and
typed in Tina Turner and an article came up about SGI. Sounded interesting. I
knew nothing about SGI. Called thier center up, they said they would have
someone call me. OK, no problem I thought and I received a call by an
overly friendly person......Anyway, the next day I went to the center, was
greeted and led to chanting room. Chanted w/ this person for 15 minutes, but
we talked about nothing about the tenets of buddhism or meditation or compassion......

Well, it all seemed cultish to me. Especially in the bookstore where it was just SGI publications and everything seemed to be about Ikeda or whatever the president's name is. So, I came accross your website which I found after typing in "cult SGI" in a web search. So now before I write off this type of Buddhism
altogether, I found you guys. There seems to be something there in Neicheren (sp?), the chanting, etc, but I felt like I had walked into a Scientology place at
the SGI center. Advice, insight, or should I just keep on walking?

- jbreauxnyc

*

Hi Lisa,

In response to Jan Tyler's article, "Why Members Should Care about Financial Disclosure"...

HEY, GO FIGURE … IT AIN’T THAT HARD FOR SGI TO RAISE A BILLION DOLLARS

… and it’s a no-brainer to come up with the numbers. Assuming SGI has 10 million members (the last I heard, it was thirteen, but for now I have no brain, right?), and each pitches in on average a hundred dollars per annum in contributions, that makes a cool billion per year. Of course, how many active and contributing members there are, in the present state of affairs, is pretty hard to determine. To go minimally, really minimally, if those ten million supposed members were to give on average a mere 20 dollars per annum, that would still amount to $200 million, quite enough to buy a few choice properties in California. Most of the members are in Japan, one of the world’s most powerful economies and currencies. Many, as we know, contribute thousands. In this estimate I’m not even considering proceeds from subscriptions, sale of books, religious articles, etc. So enormous the total must be, I really doubt that exceptionally shrewd (let alone shady) investment is necessary to augment the sum… I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the organization’s investment strategy were as simple as a bank account, land purchases and the occasional resale.

And yet, how are we to know? As joyful it can be to express our gratitude and strengthen the dare to improve our karma through a generous zaimu pledge, there will always be an aura of uncertainty (should I call it mistrust?) as long as the organization doesn’t trust us enough to divulge the details of it’s financial dealings. Daddy doesn’t tell his kids how much money he makes; nor, it seems, does Father Ikeda (OK, the leadership). While it's never good to let this kind of thing interfere with our Buddhist practice, allowing ourselves to remain like ignorant children vis-a-vis an issue of such major importance is certainly not what this practice is about. As contributors, we’re shareholders in a way … doesn’t the SGI corporation owe us an annual report?

My thanks, therefore, to Jan Tyler for her article “Why Members Should Care about Financial Disclosure" and to BuddhaJones for publishing it. The article turns up the volume on a constant annoying background noise that has been all to easy to ignore, to unwittingly allow to be covered up by the beautiful music of our practice. Now at least we may be better aware of what that noise consists, so that we can take steps (baby steps?) towards eliminating it from the organization and our lives. Perhaps by then SGI will truly be able to speak with a “pure, far reaching voice…”

Brian Campbell
(SGI member in Montreal, Canada)

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Hi Lisa,

Here, on the lighter side, some scintillating pearls I've thought up over six years of highly assiduous practice.

NICHIREN BUDDHIST RIDDLES

How does a cow chant?
Namooo myoho renge kyo.

How does Santa Claus chant?
Nam myohohohoho renge kyo.

When a ballet troupe gets together to chant, what is it called?
A twinkle toso.

What is a favourite takeout meal of Nichiren Buddhists?
Nyorai chiken and fries.

What is a favourite activity of complainers on the BuddhaJones site?
Shakaboohoo.

Brian Campbell

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Dear Lisa,

I'm back on line with skynet.be. The Antwerp Info page can now be found at:
http://users.skynet.be/fa699318/sgiainfo/index.htm dead link

Tnx and have a nice day.

Kind regards,

Patrick

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I'm sitting here wondering why SGI-USA didn't announce it's "New New
Gongyo" with the same fanfare for when it announced members no longer needed to recite the "B" section? The SGI-USA website got a nice graphic and link back then.

Now, when one views the silent prayers online it's as if they have always been
that way. There's no obvious indication that the prayers were only recently changed to include Daisaku Ikeda. Other than tea socials with international
figures, repetitious rambling writing and making a lot of money off his members
who buy his books in mass quantities, I'm still not sure what it is I'm supposed to be thanking him for. Maybe that's why I'm quitting.

D
Politte

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The Non-Linear Freedom essay truly moved me, and I'm happy to read someone's work with a succinct analysis on how our perceptions shape our own reality, then back it up with a historical overview as to how Shakyamuni taught the path to Enlightenment many centuries ago. Buddhism truly is the universal approach to life, combining the ideal forces of Cause and Effect and the Law of Karma which states the intertwining relationship of each individual makes to his own self and others to have continuing effects from lifetime to lifetime. Karma runs through the countless of lifetimes from the past, onto the present and eventually the future. This principle can be found in other religions in one form or another. A universal truth, if you will. The reference to Amida Buddha and angels floating away from the ever-binding gravity is a perfect example of how our minds deviate from the logical, but "allowing us to fly into the vast non-linear universe." To me, this means that we all have our individual perceptions on how life takes on itself, and it is proof that we can take matters into our own hands and seek for our path to happiness.

Another example from the Lotus Sutra to go with this is the Hoto of Chapter 11, same chapter, where Taho Nyorai sits with Shakamuni within the stupa to represent the fusion of Objective Reality and Subjective Wisdom. In this particular chapter, Taho states that his body will only show when all wisdom of Buddhas have come together. What a unifying thought that can apply to all our differing Buddhist sects today.

And what better ending than to quote from the Lotus Sutra in regards to the Treasure tower! “If there is any place where the Lotus Sutra is preached, then my treasure tower will come forth and appear in that spot.” If we can apply this to all Nichiren sects or any Buddhist denominations, I think we will grasp a harmonious bond with others rather than bicker and fight among our petty differences.

Always grateful,
Raheim

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I "stumbled" upon your website today and have been having a wonderful time exploring it (...for hours now). To be sure, I have only scratched the surface in exploring it. I primarily read a smattering of Cris's writings. Thank you, Cris! For me, your writings resonate. Very awesome stuff! I am a "new" convertie to this Buddhist practice. New only in that it is only recently I've found this organized religion/philosophy that mirrors the belief system I have held for many decades (but didn't know the practice of Nichiren Buddhism existed). Personally, I appreciate the humor of the site! Humor in and of itself (except at someone's expense) resonates. Off the top, this website strikes me as upbeat with definite kosen rufu capability. Kind of like coming in with a back door concept. I think its great. Whatever it takes!!

Just wanted to express my positive feelings since apparently (based upon what I read) there has been some negative reaction by some "leaders."

Peace and Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, - dpomin

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Hello,

Announcing the Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing website. . .with beautiful images from the movie.

www.mermaidssinging.com dead link

Coming Soon. . .the film based on May Sarton's 1964 novel.

Linda

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Been to your site many times and like it, but you're missing a forum. You could either add one to your site or I offer my Lotus Forums for use. I get a lot of people that have been using the study materiels but everyone seems afraid to post. You can take a look at http://perltng.com/lotus/ dead link . I just recently reset everything so no messages are posted, not like there were very many anyway. This software cost $150 so I don't want it to go
to waste. §:-)

Mark Porter
CCNA
Web Application Developer (Perl, mod_perl, PHP, Mason, MySQL)

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Hi Lisa:

For the past two years I have found your site a breath of fresh air in what has increasingly become for me an oppressive organization. At the same time, I am grateful for this practice and the wonderful trajectory my life has taken as a result. And, many SGI members are among the most incredible, admirable, evolved people I have ever met. However like many other SGI members, I feel my trust has been broken along with my heart. But, in true Buddhist fashion, the discrepencies between organizational behavior and the Buddhist way have been catalysts for realizing that, "a good believer is one who does not depend on persons of eminence..." (Those Aspiring to the Way, WND 880.) I realize that my practice and my life are all up to me, and revealing my Buddhahood does not correlate with obedience or towing the party line.

Further, I wish to remark how discouraged I am by the recent changes in the prayers which accompany Gongyo. (who decided this anyway? Who are these mysterious people?) I have to admit I am infuriated by the chosen language. While I understand the value of active appreciation in our lives, I question the motive behind the repeated phrase "i pray to repay my debt of gratitude" ...The words "repay" and "debt" are most commonly used in this society in financial terms. How much do I "owe" Ikeda? Who decided that I have a debt to repay? Is this a lifetime debt? I can't imagine expecting or suggesting to anyone I have introduced to this practice that they "owe" me anything. Is this simply a phrase plugged into a different culture, or something more sinister? I can't help but think that these words (repay and debt) have tremendous political, and perhaps psychological implications. Moreover, I question the wisdom of instituting the phrase in the manner outlined in the new prayer booklet. If I were newly introduced to this amazing practice, I'd surely run like the wind!

Thanks for creating a forum to air my views honestly. Therapeutic really! I would be interested in how other SGI members really feel about this.

Sincerely,
BB

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Hi there,
I have a newbie question:
Are there any other chants? Other than the lotus sutra chant? For example are there chants specifically devoted to success, or family, or health? Or do you place the intent for sucess/family/health into the chanting of the lotus sutra?
And where's a good place to learn about how to chant?
Thank You.
Suraya

LJ responds: Other traditions have other chants, but in Nichiren Buddhism, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo does it all. :-) There are many Nichiren groups online that you can contact to find chanters near you.

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Lisa and the BJ gang:

I've spent a couple hours of unplanned perusal of your site. I love it. I would like to share some thoughts, but I must disclaim that the hour is late and I am not editing very carefully as I go.

Since 1990, I've been a somewhat conspicuous dissenter of high magnitude, having witnessed firsthand the dressing down of Mr. Williams at the WPIA that finally freed my practice. What I saw and heard that day was liberating to me. I had been a good little NSA soldier for 5 years, never questioning anyone with more years than me, often going against my natural inner-rebel. That February morning, it all changed. In an instant, everyone became my equal and was therefore, "fair game". I found that not only did I challenge the antiquated leadership in my chapter and headquarters, but also I actually began to listen more to the common sense coming from my fellow members, and viewing my own position as a district leader as mostly an advocate on behalf of the membership for which I was responsible.

Now, I don't think of myself as "underground" because I am very vocal with everyone when it comes to SGI and how it does business. I still feel it is the best place to practice, and I am dedicated to doing whatever I can to keep it that way unless or until there is some place better. I plan to visit your site from time to time to check in on the underground though.

I currently reside and practice in Scottsdale, AZ in a district that has fought the good fight and grown in leaps and bounds as a result. We are mostly mavericks, like yourself. Our discussion meetings are always spirited and never “status quo”. It has taken us a few years to get to this point. But we must be doing something right because we had 21 new members join in 2003. I also direct the Phoenix Chorus. This has been another progressive piece in our area as our group performs for the general public as well as the local membership, also very involved in Interfaith activities. I invite you and your readers to visit our website at www.members.cox.net/arizonacactuschorus dead link

A few random thoughts -- regarding contributions. Here Here! Now that I’ve gotten over that whole guilt thing, I don't plan to give any more money for general contributions until there is a regular and comprehensive financial statement issued. My contribution is my sweat (for which I receive continuous and plentiful benefit). This is not an issue of trust for me. It is an issue of responsibility of the corporation to its shareholders.

In regards to G. Williams, I had the opportunity to speak to him one-on-one, getting some personal guidance in 1994. I've read many things about this man that are both blindly praiseworthy and unfairly over-critical, when it comes to his tenure as the leader of NSA. I've always tried to base my judgment of an individual on personal experience if possible. Because I practiced for 12 years in LA, I was around this man on many occasions. Was he imperfect? Of course. Misguided? Often. But I never felt that he was insincere. He truly and deeply cared about the members. Many of the activities that we all took part in (some that altered lives through overcoming seemingly impossible odds in the process of mounting the ever-increasing gargantuan events) were because of his passion for kosen rufu. Many came to idolize him, not as a god-like figure, but as an inspiration of the possibility of the human spirit. It did go too far, venturing towards a cultish manifestation.

So, 1990, we (and he) got our cold shower. I remember sitting in the auditorium, very impressed as we all watched him take his medicine with a smile and a nod of total acknowledgement and acceptance. (I also remember my bitter disappointment when the version of that speech was printed in the WT, totally omitting portions and watering down the actual content. What were they afraid of? I wondered at the time. Only those who were there or who were listening on remote bear witness – thus its now legendary status in SGI lore) In 1994, when I met with him for guidance, I was so moved by his compassion. I was in so much pain, feeling as though my life was falling apart. He listened to my woeful tale without judgment, and spoke to me from his heart, from his own life. For the next two months, he called me every morning just to help me face the day and chant, encouraging me in his limited but always upbeat English with something like, "Let's go!" or "Go get 'em, Greg." That brief, profound relationship helped turn around my life. All the culture festivals in the universe couldn't produce that kind of result.

At a follow-up meeting several months later, I shared with him the victory he helped me realize. During the course of our dialogue, he apologized to me. At first, I was confused. Apologize for what? He explained that his apology was for the confusion and misunderstandings about Nichiren Buddhism that had developed under his leadership and this, like his guidance to me earlier, was heartfelt. How wonderfully cleansing it would have been for him to have shared this with the membership in print, I thought, but didn't say. Perhaps he was doing this in his own way, one-on-one, whenever he had the opportunity.

Last thing for now -- I find myself in agreement with your assessment of the WT. Although I renewed my subscription recently, I find myself reading it less and less. If SGI-USA is ever to have a meaningful weekly publication again, it must re-invent itself completely. Your website provides a good model for what could be. The important thing is that you are doing it. I hope more people will discover your site and contribute. A true, grass-roots movement, perhaps inspiring more sites in the process. Thanks again for your effort and humor.

Greg Amerind

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My name is Raffaella Di Marzio from Italy. Chikushonin quotes my article about Soka Gakkai at this URL:

http://www.buddhajones.com/Nichiren/Issues/EndingSectarianism.html unavailable

I have a Portal System at this URL:
http://www.dimarzio.it

There is also an english section at thi URL:

http://www.dimarzio.it/srs/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index dead link

Regards,

Raffaella Di Marzio

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We hope you wil pay a visit and consider a link to the Tibetan Photo Project at http://www.tibetanphotoproject.com

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Hello Lisa,

Firstly, I would like to thank you for tunring me onto Nichiren Buddhism. I am new to the study and the teachings and have really enjoyed finding my way around your site. It has been very informative.

Also, thank you for turning me onto the band you featured a while ago The Mad Housewives dead link. I got their cd and I found it very inspirational. It is so good to hear music being written with depth, thoughfulness and meaning without the navel gazing that often tunrs me off music. Anyway I look forward to more articles and links.

sincerely
Roger Allen

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Dear Lisa,

A short note about N.Y. Peter’s article The Value of Cultural Relativism. My question is only this, how does one determine which cultural values or choices are to be followed? (All societies contain a plethora of often contradictory views within.)

Let’s get close to people’s “hot button” and look at several issues, including some concerning individual or civil rights and others concerning sexual choices or mores.

For example, in parts of Africa clitoral circumcision is a commonly accepted practice. Should a woman be forced to undergo this procedure? Where is the ethical choice here and why is it possible for people of good will to fall on either side of the argument?

What is the ethical choice for people within that culture and what right do we have, being outside of that culture, to have an opinion one way or the other? Are we morally bound to keep silent or concomitantly, do we have a moral obligation to not keep silent?

An even stranger situation is the existence of NAMBLA, or the North American Man Boy Love Association. Facing threats of criminal prosecution, individuals within this organization have struck out, couching their desires for sexual relations with male juveniles in the lingo of civil rights and portraying themselves as victims of discrimination. Could one say that I am oppressed if I don’t have the right to rape a child?

Some other questions:

Are Afghanistani’s oppressed if they don’t have the right to grow opium poppies and how does this tie in to issues of economic justice? Are the two issues in any way related? What creative philosophical and ethical arguments can be used to answer such questions?

The indefinite detention of non-US citizens in Guantanamo, Cuba by U.S. authorities or the detention of individuals with violent sexual histories, long past their dates of prison release, raise civil and legal questions of momentous import.

Or, is it ethically acceptable for a pregnant HIV-positive mother to refuse simple non-dangerous drug treatment which would assure that her unborn child not contract AIDS? What rights does the mother have? …and what rights the child?

How far does this all go? Sometimes liberals make the gravest errors and may seem to be the least compassionate. In the 1950’s and 60’s the advent of new pharmaceutical compounds created a revolution in the treatment of the mentally ill. In the name of compassion but with an eye on state budgets and more than a bit of an unrealistic attitude “that things will sort themselves out,” hundreds of thousands of patients were released from state mental hospitals. While the hospital care system extant at the time was often a disgrace, this non-solution, couched in the language of “rights for the mentally ill,” solved nothing. The result was the creation of a generation of the emotionally Ill left untreated.

Lastly, could genocide be a form of cultural _expression which we are morally required to defend?

Where are the ethicists who can help us make these choices. What do we see when we ask the Buddha within? I am proud to say that

I belong to an organization known as a Society to Create Values, or Soka Gakkai in Japanese.

Soon, I believbe we will begin to see the flowering of Buddhist ethical studies, compassionate and relevant to the current times.

So, how do we parse the ethical issues here and who is the arbiter of what cultural values apply within a given society?

Does the majority always right and what is to be done when they are at cross-purposes with minority opinions?

Are all societies capable of implementing the highly legalistic views of Western democracies? When is authoritarianism necessary to maintain order within a chaotic situation where a society is on the brink of chaos or civil war, famine or genocide?

How do we move from our current economic structure toward something more equitable, but how can such a system be structured without a “market mechanism?”

I want to understand this so-called value of cultural relativism but I need to see that it helps, rather than hurts society as a whole. At present,

I really don’t see where this point of view stands up to close examination.

If it does, then please show me how and please don’t waste my time with fuzzy-headed theory and arguments I can’t apply to real life. I am not interested in supporting genocide or pedophilia as a minority rights issue. I have my problems with “anything goes” philosophies as I see how destructive they have been within American culture.

I look forward to an age where the light of Buddhist thought will open a pathway where ethical compassion and not blind egotism become the driving force for humanity.

So, N.Y. Peter, send me a syllabus and I’ll read what seems worth my consideration and will open my mind to some new concepts… but remember, it must stand the test of application in the real world!

Regards,
Steven Swanson

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You would do well to reread

http://www.geocities.com/bukkokukai/

Thanks in advance

Mark No SGI/NST/NS BS Rogow

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To whom it may concern:

I clicked on the link that reads Unlocking a good read: Philly Mike likes the new book from Middleway Press and was astonished at how fast he goes into an anti-SGI diatribe. Why don't you have a link that is more to the point such as "Philly Mike likes the new Ikeda book, but vents at the SGI" or "Philly Mike reviews new Middleway Press book, but still bitter."

Sometimes I don't know who's worse, some SGI members or former SGI
members who can't let go.

Michael

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Thanks Mike for the solid review of the "Ikeda" book. It's refreshing to see a review that turns a critical eye on the implications of what SGI teaches. I read the book and agree with your comments. It is truly excellent. This book is different from other Ikeda fare. I have noticed that other SGI members are treating it differently. They are not mindlessly slobbering all over themselves to tell everyone how great the SGI is, and how this book "proves" it. For the most part, members are hushed about it. The book is about Buddhism and what it means to be a human being, not how great it is to be an SGI member. This books shuts up even the loudest Ikeda cheerleaders. Why? Because for the first time in a long time there's some real substance to a Gakkai book -- most of the new SGI members are shocked right out of their comfort zone because they thought SGI was about feelgood "world peace" not hard existential questions. Even the leaders aren't touting the book. They don't want the truth to get out: no, membership in SGI will not exempt you from birth, aging, sickness and death, even if you fight the evil Nikken with all your might.

No longer doubting Thomas

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The purpose of the independent movement (indies), as I understand it, is to enable people to practice the buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin in an autonomous context, i.e., where the parameters of the practice are determined by them. In light of this, how shall we understand the following traditions:

1) The mentor-disciple relationship

2) Interpretation of the gosho

3) The boundaries of the practice, i.e., if we can essentially "do what we want", what justifies our being part of a common group/sangha?

I would like to offer my own reflections on the foregoing, and equally I would like to hear how others would respond. Hopefully, we can work together to form a common sangha where we can all practice this faith and advance our lives together.

Mentor-disciple is certainly one of the traditions of the buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, emphasized more in certain sects than in others. It is a very eastern concept. Not that westerners don't have the idea of a teacher, but the concept of mentor-disciple is sometimes understood well beyond this, such as that the mentor is the prayer, the disciple is the action to fulfill it. This interpretation lies in stark contrast to the western idea of individual conscience, where the practitioner determines a truth that resonates for him or her.

By way of reconciling the mentor-disciple relationship with the primacy of conscience, I would paraphrase an insight by the Greek philosopher Socrates, who once said that all learning is recollection. He is referring to the so-called eternal truths and implying that they don't need to be taught, but merely uncovered. They are already within us, and it is the function of the teacher, in conjunction with the student, to uncover them, so they can become a living reality in the lives of both.

This mode of learning particularly conduces to interactivity, where the process of discovery is a joint enterprise. It also contains a built-in defense against any excesses by the teacher (whether intentional or not), i.e., the student can refuse to go along when the teacher is wrong or when the teacher's ideas are not resonating with the student. The teacher, being human, will inevitably at times make mistakes, and it is important to have an understanding of the relationship which facilitates their identification and correction. When the teaching relationship is unidirectional with no remediational mechanisms, the shortcomings of the teacher are multiplied by the number of students, creating, in certain cases, a cult-like effect.

Another question is, "who is the teacher?" In saying a sect traces its lineage to Nichiren Daishonin, it is strongly implied that the teacher is Nichiren himself and that he will be held as the standard by which other teachers or interpreters are measured. However, Nichiren himself equates the buddha with the common mortal, not exempting himself. If a common mortal can be wrong, then why not the buddha? Inherent in his teachings, then, is the paradoxical justification for interpreting them flexibly, not fundamentalistically.

Viewed another way, Nichiren has said that no essential difference exists between ordinary mortals and the great buddhas like Shakyamuni. One way of denying this equivalence is to deny our own buddha nature. Another way is to deny the lower nature of our teachers, i.e., Shakyamuni, Nichiren, etc.... Again, a flexible interpretation of their teachings is implied.

The foregoing would be true even if the teachings of buddhism were not adaptable to the place, time, culture, and audience. However, since buddhism is compassionate, it makes no sense to dump it on someone with the admonition, "you figure it out," and walk away. On the contrary, it behooves those who would share the benefits of this beautiful practice to ask, "what is the best way for me to do so?" Sometimes the best way is to say nothing and merely to be the best person one can be. Other times, it may be to quote verbatim from the scripture. In between are many ways in which one can interpret or convey buddhist truth, again militating against a fundamentalistic interpretation.

Who are the valid interpreters of buddhism? Since its purpose is internal transformation, anyone who has achieved this effect is qualified to share their process. People will naturally vary in the extent of the transformation, the method used, and the ability to articulate that process to others, but the important point is that we are all, in some capacity, capable of sharing our experience. This is akin to the Quaker interpretation of Christianity, on the left wing of the Protestant reformation, that all are qualified to understand their faith. So they did away not just with priests but with ministers and the church, too, leaving them with wooden pews and people offering their insights into faith.

This is an overview of how I see the independent movement fitting into the tradition of buddhism handed down through the ages, from Shakyamuni, through and beyond Nichiren, to the present. Even Shakyamuni, genius that he was in the minds of many buddhist and non-buddhist teachers, was simply human, capable of error, a product of his age, and influenced by the people who came before him. This does not even address the question of how authentically the sutras record his original teachings, or for that matter how many of the so-called gosho were really written by Nichiren Daishonin.

I think the important thing, in adapting these teachings to this place and time, happily possessed of a philosophy of pluralism and tolerance, is to do our best to understand them in our own way and relate them to our own lives. Then we can come together, compare notes, and hopefully come to a fuller, more complete, and more successful integration of these ancient teachings into our lives for the benefit of all concerned. There need be no supreme leader for achieving this effect, but a strong ichinen to learn and to share is as important in this as it ever was.

EricNYC100

P.S. I just received feedback on this article from a friend who said words to the effect that there are some who need guidance in the beginning of their practice. I wrote back that I agree entirely, and that a democratic system is intended not to replace but to facilitate this process. In my own case, I might learn faster when I am learning from people with whom I really can participate as an equal, so I don't feel like I'm resisting control structures.

P.P.S. I wrote this a while ago, and my view has evolved to the point that I'm not sure I even want to call what I practice buddhism or nichirenism. I'm reminded of the first line of the Tao Te Ching, "The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao." By the same token, as soon as a name is attached to this practice of chanting the daimoku, it becomes about the ism, the doctrine, the org. I think I've had enough of this. I want it to be about the human being, nothing else.

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