Gorgeous gohonzons, Tap.

I have to say that my experience after leaving other districts has been a bit different. I'm still in touch with folks back in NM and, while we don't email regularly any more, I attribute it more to distance and busy lives. The same has happened with non-members.

Yeah, when I wrote my resignation letter, it removed a HUGE burden.

BTW, the original letter included SCANS of those old gohonzons - I can only imagine that the Ikedabot reading the letter all unawares had his eyes spontaneously combust upon seeing those "heretical objects"!! :D

When I've moved, I've always kept in touch - the overt unwillingness of the Minneapolis leaders to have anything to do with me really surprised me. I kept in touch with a few members, who were typically "fringe" members - sometimes attended meetings, often didn't, that kind of thing. But even those didn't last.

Say, I ran across a Gosho where Nichiren tells his followers very strictly that they are not to visit sites affiliated with other Buddhisms, not even for sightseeing, because "evil spirits will follow them home"! It wasn't too long ago that the SGI leadership came out with a statement that it was perfectly *fine* to go anywhere we wish as tourists. Ha - take THAT, stupid superstitious Nichiren! SGI knows better!!

All-wise-all-knowing SGI! So willing to bend the rules when it suits them.

I can only imagine the apoplexy that ensued after the 'bots in CA saw those dangerous, evil gohonzons! I remember the look on the WD leader's face when we were visiting a new member. The newb was from India and had images of Shiva, Ganesha and others all over the place, and I though K's head was going to explode for sure. She never said anything to me about my statues of Buddha or Quan Yin that I have everywhere, but she sure was unhappy about poor Ganesha! I think she was equally horrified that I could explain who he was . . .

heh heh heh You were obviously demon-possessed for sure!! Early on after I decided to stop attending SGI activities and separate from the cult, I thought about getting THIS Quan-Yin:
[www.hayneedle.com]

It's truly a lovely representation. But now that I've moved farther away, I still haven't taken the plunge. Part of buying "heretical objects" early on was a way of saying "HA HA You can't stop me now!" But now I'm less influenced by such thoughts...

Your link just took me to the website home-page, but they do have some lovely Quan Yins. I've been collecting statues of her for years; there's just so calming about them and the whole idea of "she who hears the cries of the world." Besides, how many other bodhisattvas are there that went through a gender change?

Okay, here ya go: [img2.wfrcdn.com]

The Jade Buddha has been through town (twice!) in the last 5 or 6 years, and that's another sight to see (although I wish they would have left the face plain jade instead of covering it in gold leaf, but that's just me):
[shambhalasun.com]

Escondido, CA, the site of the temple for the Buddha's tour's opening ceremonies, is just about a half hour from where I live :) Some girls have all the luck, eh?

Wow TaitenAndProud I felt terrific reading it too.

In your honor I have put [www.sabinanore.com] as my cover photo today and have quoted "Winning gives birth to hostility. Losing, one lies down in pain. The calmed lie down with ease, having set winning and losing aside." Gautam Budh as my status update on facebook.

I can now enjoy all things related to Buddhism without feeling guilty.

Meh, it's truly 'wonderful to go back to the lovely simplicity of true Buddhism',. Thank you for immense support. Please see the link I have a similar expression on my face the whole time now. Oh God I am liberated.

You know also I had to bring a point up. People in any organization definitely behave in a particular manner according to a certain chain of thought but deep down each of us retain certain traits we are born with.

Education, culture, family etc influences an individual but to a very limited levels and mostly its more of convenience i.e of the exposure we will chose to retain things convenient to us and our personality.

So it not SGI or other cults in which people behave strangely. People are strange themselves and uses such groups to exercise their mindlessness.But in a cult we chose to ignore odd behaviors thinking that we are the very epitome of kindness and forgiveness.

Every where in this world there are good, bad and ugly.

I wonder if you have read a book by Viktor Frankl called Man's Search for Meaning. Its my bible in life (i.e before I got sucked in SGI). And the one phrase that I engraved on my heart is that, “Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.”

Of course SGI manipulated my ambitions and said that the 'why' is definetely my mission as Kosen rufu and 'how' we all know very well.....through assiduous practice of ND Buddhism.

"Man's Search for Meaning" is now on my wish-list.

People are strange, alright, but I guess finding the "flavor" of strange that we're comfortable with helps us to decide who we wish to have in our lives. We are influenced by our families, our cultures, education and so many things that determine who we become as human beings. I spent decades trying not to be like my mother only to realize that while she was one of the toughest women I'd ever known (in a good way, surviving tremendous hardship earlier in her life), she was governed by fear. That gave me a great deal of compassion for her. She was also an example that we can overcome what we view as negative aspects of our up-bringing to have a happy and successful life.

Maybe we're all seekers for our own ultimate "truth"; we thought we'd found those answers in sgi, realized that we hadn't and now we're seeking further. Those that stay with the org (or any other) are either content with the answers they've found, are too afraid to question further or have truly given up. I suspect that sgi doesn't have any more weirdos than any other fanatically religious group; there is a lot of weirdidity out there - plenty to go around (look at some of the American politicians!)

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“Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'.”

I love that you brought this up. It seems that some people have so little tolerance for ambiguity that they will latch onto any explanation given, even if it gives them no knowledge and no information. Does it really make a difference if we say the universe was spoken into being by a god or sneezed into being by a winged unicorn? Neither provides us with any answer as to how. In fact, the "how" remains just as unknown as if we were to say, "Frankly, I don't have any idea." But some people seem to regard "I don't know" as some sort of evil spell or who knows. They simply can't bear it!

At the same time, you have people who defend their belief, whatever it is, by asking an unanswerable "why" question. "Why does something exist instead of nothing?" I never ask such questions, regarding them as pointless. One can make up any answer he wishes and say it's the right one, you know? I chalk it up to a low tolerance for ambiguity, and the persistent "whys" are symptomatic of the cognitive dissonance that can't be avoided when one checks one's brain at the door and accepts the first "answer" offered.

Meh I am glad that you could appreciate your mother for her essence. And I send good wishes for the two of you. I have attached the painting I wanted you and TaitenAndProud to see. The link just takes you to the artists homepage. .

Yes surely we are influenced by our surrounding but we have greater opportunities to perfect that influence within our own little brains but our personality largely remains unique, its again something you are born with.

The mindless people in SGI who thinks they know better than anybody would have been the same had they not been practicing. And similarly I have come across some very thoughtful people in SGI who do not dart out guidance and tell people what to do and what not to do.

Just in the evening I was fuming remembering all the crap most self righteous people in SGI do. who the hell has given them the right to go about messing peoples lives and ideologies.

By profession I am a counselor and I was recalling how much caution we have to take while counseling people because we are there to help them and not ruin them through suggestions and putting on them our personal thoughts on whatever it is that they are struggling with.

Yet SGI and such other organizations experiments with these self obsessed guidance so callously. And what is worse about these guidance are that had it come from a friend or a counselor we might look at it in a different light and decide on our own whether to accept it or not. But coming from a senior in faith makes such so much more open to it whether it truly suits us or not.

There is a YWD in my district who is an over enthusiastic SGI member and has been suffering from acute asthma all her life. According to others she was the prime person because of which I became so strong in faith because she had chanted profusely for me. :( I know.

However she had moved out of the district a few years back and has just returned and was after me to meet her. (I presume others might have informed her about my decision. Also when I stopped attending meetings I had told my chapter leader that I do not want to be contacted for a few months till I figure out my course of action.....well we already know all about their confidentiality policies).

Nevertheless I went to meet her for old times sake but I was well prepared to deal with her pushiness this time and had decided to make her as uncomfortable as I can.The moment I step foot in her house she started about how through chanting her acute and life threatening asthma has become so much bettter.

While in reality breathing for her till date is very difficult her mother has passed away because of the same problem a few years back.So I asked her ok chanting has helped her tremendously but what are the real methods she is employing to overcome it in terms of Yoga and medication.

Quite quickly and quite bitterly she asked me whether I do Yoga myself before suggesting it to her. To which I told her but I am sure to be able to breath properly should be a greater motivation for you to practice it rather than for me to loose a few pounds.

She had the audacity to compare her life threatening disorder with my weight loss issues just because she does not approve of my ashram ideas. She told me what am I doing practicing Yoga when she can't see much of a difference in me.To which I very politely replied that isn't it surprising that in SGI on non fulfillment of prayers we quickly label it as inconspicuous benefit while for everything else you want to see immediate results. You should have seen her expression. She knew deep down that it makes sense but thanks to Sgi she will not admit it and neither would work towards it because NMRK is a skilled physician in SGI. What sickness can hail a practitioner then.

Now she would have been the same over enthusiastic, judgmental fool outside Sgi also thats her personality.And this time when I was judging her as an outsider I realised how unsure she sounded of her own victories, she had poor attention span and was faking so much of friendliness.Also in spite of suffering from acute asthma her house was full of dust and quite unkept. But please don't talk about allergies and cleanliness they know the powers of Gohonzon everything will work out.

Plus I realized another thing. All of these strong YWD in my area, specially those who are really striving in faith are way beyond YWD age in their late 30's hoping to find their kosen rufu partners through chanting.(uhem uhem I was one of them).

But tell me how are we suppose to find our partners. All our leisure time is consumed in the activities thats the circle you move in mostly and in the outside world we are the self righteous people who know much more than anyone. Ofcourse we respect the buddha nature in everyone but we are simply very choosy about who we want to get married to. All expected qualities that we want in our partners we have already made a list of them and kept it near the Gohonzon. What?????? What about following in love ?????? When the Gohonzon will deem it necessay the right partner will emerge.

Another very strong YWD leader though she is a sweetheart and a gem of her person shared with me that her father was diagnosed with cancer at the last stage and nothing could be done about it. On their way back to their respective hometown her father fell really ill and they had to take an emergency landing in another city where her father passed away within hours. They didn't get any morgue car well fitted with ice to preserve the dead body and drove for close to 2 days before they reached their hometown.Then she tells me but its because of Gohonzon's protection her fathers body remained fresh.

I felt so sad for her. She herself has not been keeping well for a long time. On top of it she had to deal with all this alone. Had to travel in a car with her beloved father's dead body and manage things on her own.

If the protection was really there and I accept death is inevitable couldn't her father pass away at his hometown amonst family and friend. But just see how brain washed she is.

I am ok with SGI in such cases however if it makes people cling to some hope what so ever.

But for me its ok to face harsh realities now rather than be misguided.

Now again this person is blinded by SGI but she herself is someone who would see the silver lining at the end of the sky. SGI exploits her simplicity and potential.