To anyone:

RE: "Patent application SGI
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo I
In January 1972, the Soka Gakkai, at the request of its President, Mr. Daisaku Ikeda, filed several patent applications at the National Office of Industrial Property, concerning the trade mark “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo.”


This was before my time. Why would they do this? did they chant that way back then (sounding out full Namu)? I know it was part of gongyo up until they shortened it. Were they protecting it or controlling it? Fill me in.

thanks

For Sure I hate to go here – but earlier in the year on separate occasions I was hearing that some Sr. Leaders were going to Districts and given words of encouragement – Of course staring off and finishing with IKEDA – however @ the end they tossed in that IKEDA was equal to Shakyamuni – Nichiren and added that it was a great time to be in the SGI with our Mentor IKEDA…….. And members if asked will tell you that they are not in a cult!!! WHAT UP WITH THAT – brainwashing the YD - Ikeda Youth Ensemble – WHAT!!! Telling members that IKEDA is just like Shakyamuni or Nichiren – WHAT!!! These are troubling times indeed : (
AND yes when I started in the 70s' we chanted Namu Myoho Renge Kyo - dropping the U we were told would be like dropping a Buddha .........

It has been my experience that, in the context of one's spiritual life, events occur with a sense of synchronicity. I have been contending with an almost overwhelming degree of doubt about the SGI since my joining the organization late last year. Until recently, I've always been able to suppress that doubt in favor of honoring whatever (self-imposed but externally coerced) obligation to the organization I perceived, but, no matter how "valiantly" I fought against the Devil King of the Sixth Heaven (to use the terminology favored by those who would mindfully dispense guidance), I just couldn't dismiss that nagging sense that something wasn't right. Now, as I feel most strongly compelled to act upon that aforementioned doubt, I've unintentionally stumbled upon these boards. Synchronicity.

I am truly appreciative to have found an open forum to express my grievances with this organization. Because there is no such thing as constructive criticism within the ranks of the SGI, and because of the depth of loyalty evinced by most fellow members, it has been difficult for me to find sympathetic ears to my plight. Suffering in silence has been the name of the game. I think I've reached the end of my rope, however, and there is a strong internal guidance that keeps whispering for me to do something about my unease. As a first step along that path, you have my first post as a member here.

Before coming to the SGI--or even Nichiren Buddhism as a whole--I'd studied the traditional/Theravada and Tantric/Tibetan schools of Buddhism through their respective sutras and I developed a healthy respect and admiration for the philosophy/religion. I was and still am convinced that most of my spiritual development will be accomplished through Buddhism. How I managed to migrate from those venerable traditions to the Soka Gakkai's highly questionable version of Buddhism I don't know...but I did. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy Nichiren Buddhism. I find that the philosophy fits into my spiritual toolbox quite neatly, alongside the meditations and other techniques that I've accumulated from other traditions. But the SGI--which I take great care to distinguish from Nichiren Buddhism--is just insufferable.

Here is a summary of the two biggest grievances with which I'm struggling:

1.) Maybe this is just my idealism speaking, but I believe, regardless of tradition, that the leaders of a spiritual community must demonstrate a mastery of that tradition that is superior to my own. Otherwise, what qualifies them to lead me? If my goal is to be accomplished in insight meditation, for example, then my guru/teacher/mentor had better be well versed and competent in his practice and capable of advancing my own. If I have attached myself to the SGI with the intention of summoning forth my Buddha-nature, then those that have been at the practice longer than I and who would profess to be leaders should virtually be in a state of "incurable" Buddhahood. This is not the case, which is especially disturbing considering I'm in Chicago (which gives me a fairly large cross section of practitioners to examine). I interact with leaders that have no discernible spiritual attainment. Nothing in their character is reminiscent of a Bodhisattva and certainly not a Buddha. It's like their "human revolutions" stalled someplace in the past and just never got going again! Elitism, derision, false-attainment, militaristic attitude, cliquishness--it's all there in abundance, though.

2.) Ikeda is not my mentor. Even if I was somehow blind to all of the information pertaining to him presented in these forums, I would still hold the same feeling. Why? Largely because I don't know the guy. Daisaku is just a powerful figurehead for me. How could I attach all of my striving for spiritual gain onto this stranger of a man? Yet, I'm a member of an organization that idolizes him and hangs off of his every word. One would think that Ikeda had somehow transformed into Shakyamuni himself!

Quote
BodhiSeeker
It has been my experience that, in the context of one's spiritual life, events occur with a sense of synchronicity. I have been contending with an almost overwhelming degree of doubt about the SGI since my joining the organization late last year. Until recently, I've always been able to suppress that doubt in favor of honoring whatever (self-imposed but externally coerced) obligation to the organization I perceived, but, no matter how "valiantly" I fought against the Devil King of the Sixth Heaven (to use the terminology favored by those who would mindfully dispense guidance), I just couldn't dismiss that nagging sense that something wasn't right. Now, as I feel most strongly compelled to act upon that aforementioned doubt, I've unintentionally stumbled upon these boards. Synchronicity.

I am truly appreciative to have found an open forum to express my grievances with this organization. Because there is no such thing as constructive criticism within the ranks of the SGI, and because of the depth of loyalty evinced by most fellow members, it has been difficult for me to find sympathetic ears to my plight. Suffering in silence has been the name of the game. I think I've reached the end of my rope, however, and there is a strong internal guidance that keeps whispering for me to do something about my unease. As a first step along that path, you have my first post as a member here.

Before coming to the SGI--or even Nichiren Buddhism as a whole--I'd studied the traditional/Theravada and Tantric/Tibetan schools of Buddhism through their respective sutras and I developed a healthy respect and admiration for the philosophy/religion. I was and still am convinced that most of my spiritual development will be accomplished through Buddhism. How I managed to migrate from those venerable traditions to the Soka Gakkai's highly questionable version of Buddhism I don't know...but I did. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy Nichiren Buddhism. I find that the philosophy fits into my spiritual toolbox quite neatly, alongside the meditations and other techniques that I've accumulated from other traditions. But the SGI--which I take great care to distinguish from Nichiren Buddhism--is just insufferable.

Here is a summary of the two biggest grievances with which I'm struggling:

1.) Maybe this is just my idealism speaking, but I believe, regardless of tradition, that the leaders of a spiritual community must demonstrate a mastery of that tradition that is superior to my own. Otherwise, what qualifies them to lead me? If my goal is to be accomplished in insight meditation, for example, then my guru/teacher/mentor had better be well versed and competent in his practice and capable of advancing my own. If I have attached myself to the SGI with the intention of summoning forth my Buddha-nature, then those that have been at the practice longer than I and who would profess to be leaders should virtually be in a state of "incurable" Buddhahood. This is not the case, which is especially disturbing considering I'm in Chicago (which gives me a fairly large cross section of practitioners to examine). I interact with leaders that have no discernible spiritual attainment. Nothing in their character is reminiscent of a Bodhisattva and certainly not a Buddha. It's like their "human revolutions" stalled someplace in the past and just never got going again! Elitism, derision, false-attainment, militaristic attitude, cliquishness--it's all there in abundance, though.

2.) Ikeda is not my mentor. Even if I was somehow blind to all of the information pertaining to him presented in these forums, I would still hold the same feeling. Why? Largely because I don't know the guy. Daisaku is just a powerful figurehead for me. How could I attach all of my striving for spiritual gain onto this stranger of a man? Yet, I'm a member of an organization that idolizes him and hangs off of his every word. One would think that Ikeda had somehow transformed into Shakyamuni himself!

Dear Bodhiseeker:

I took the liberty to put your experience on my blog. A Japanese speaking commentator wrote:

'1.) Maybe this is just my idealism speaking, but I believe, regardless of tradition, that the leaders of a spiritual community must demonstrate a mastery of that tradition that is superior to my own. Otherwise, what qualifies them to lead me? If my goal is to be accomplished in insight meditation, for example, then my guru/teacher/mentor had better be well versed and competent in his practice and capable of advancing my own. If I have attached myself to the SGI with the intention of summoning forth my Buddha-nature, then those that have been at... '

You will find that if you read the Lotus Sutra and gosho (not the ones translated by the sgi as they change the words...) you will be able to get an idea of what the eternal Shakyamuni's teachings were, are, and will be, and Nichiren's description of them.

'2.) Ikeda is not my mentor. Even if I was somehow blind to all of the information pertaining to him presented in these forums, I would still hold the same feeling. Why? Largely because I ...'

In the teachings of Shakyamuni, there is no mentor. It is up to you and you alone. You take responsibility for your life, from the eternal past, the eternal present and the eternal future. It can be rather intimidating to some that it's all on yourself but that is what the teachings say. There is no pilot. You fly your own plane.
happy searching

Welcome Bodiseeker:

I love this very important point you made:

" . . . . . . . however, and there is a strong internal guidance that keeps whispering for me to do something about my unease."


I hope more and more and more people will be able to quiet themselves long enough to hear the same whisperings. But they keep the leaders and gullible members so busy just so they won't have time to think . . .

@Bodhiseeker, You wrote, "How I managed to migrate from those venerable traditions to the Soka Gakkai's highly questionable version of Buddhism I don't know...but I did. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy Nichiren Buddhism. I find that the philosophy fits into my spiritual toolbox quite neatly, alongside the meditations and other techniques that I've accumulated from other traditions. But the SGI--which I take great care to distinguish from Nichiren Buddhism--is just insufferable" Welcome, welcome, welcome. You have come to the right place. I was an active member for over 20 years, a district leader for about 6. Everything you have said is felt by many in this forum. I started studying Theravada this year so you and I have done this in reverse but arrived at a similar conclusion. I continue to love the Nichiren practice which I do faithfully. I continue to be grateful to SGI and Ikeda for bringing it to me and others. That's where our relationship ends. I had a 2.5 hour heated discussion with a member recently. He called me to find out why I have not been around. He tried to give me the justification for the MDM by giving me a protracted history of Buddhism he got from Ikeda's Flower of Chinese Buddhism. In fact, everything he relied on was SGI approved or produced literature. It's no wonder how he arrived at the idea that since mentor-disc is traditional(I knew that already), Ikeda displays all the necessary qualifications. Every time I tried to reason with him about some of SGI's obfuscations of the truth, its suspicious financial practices, and its super-earthly focus on material gain it was like talking to a sleepwalker, a robot--or a cult member! I even used that word. He is actually quite knowledgeable about Buddhism and he is very educated too but when he admitted that he "worshiped" Ikeda, I knew that I should not have wasted my time. That experience taught me that people are ready when they are ready. You obviously stumbled upon this message board just when you needed to, as many of us here did. Those determined to accept anything SGI tells them are welcome to do so but from this point forward I shall not engage in anymore discussions with current members who contact me. My policy has been to not call any members for any reason simply because trying to open their eyes is not the role I wish to play ("my mission" in Gakkai-speak). Now I am moving to the next level (which is something you may have to do eventually): I will ignore all calls from members because the peace of mind I have been enjoying since I left last May disappeared for a few days.@Nichijew, who wrote, "In the teachings of Shakyamuni, there is no mentor. It is up to you and you alone. You take responsibility for your life, from the eternal past, the eternal present and the eternal future. It can be rather intimidating to some that it's all on yourself but that is what the teachings say. There is no pilot. You fly your own plane." Thanks for that reminder, Mark. I do know that Eastern traditions encourage mentors in faith, but there is a personal relationship, like the one Ikeda had with Toda. Does he ever realize that no matter what spin he and the organization put on it, there is absolutely no reason to call someone whom you have never met and who knows NONE of your issues or level--your "mentor?" By pushing that MDM so hard for the last 5 years, some of us who like and appreciate Ikeda have been forced out of the kool-aid line.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2010 01:45PM by doubtful.

Quote
Nichijew
I took the liberty to put your experience on my blog. A Japanese speaking commentator wrote:

Thank you for your efforts, Nichijew, and I hope that you will pass along my gratitude to the blog commentator who responded to my post.

Quote
blog commentator
You will find that if you read the Lotus Sutra and gosho (not the ones translated by the sgi as they change the words...) you will be able to get an idea of what the eternal Shakyamuni's teachings were, are, and will be, and Nichiren's description of them.

Indeed, I have found this to be true. By consulting source material for myself--including more of the so-called provisional sutras (which I had found appreciation for prior to the SGI) and an edition of the Lotus Sutra written by an author not commissioned by Ikeda--I have furthered my understanding of my Buddhist practice as a whole in a way that I would not have received via the organization. The effects of this enhanced understanding are interesting to say the least. When I hear members of the Ridiculously Empowered Elite (otherwise known as those with higher leadership positions) speaking on some passage that they'd pulled from the Lotus Sutra, the interpretation that they give is almost always in opposition to my own. If I ever needed more of a sign that the time for departure was ripe...

Quote
blog commentator
In the teachings of Shakyamuni, there is no mentor. It is up to you and you alone. You take responsibility for your life, from the eternal past, the eternal present and the eternal future. It can be rather intimidating to some that it's all on yourself but that is what the teachings say. There is no pilot. You fly your own plane.
happy searching

I understand that my progress, when it all boils down, is entirely up to me. No mentor or guru can liberate me; only I can. When I lament the absence of a mentor in this organization, I speak of the fact that, of the Three Jewels, the sangha component is sorely lacking. There is no community through which I might share my struggles and receive encouragement or proper guidance. When a pupil is struggling with some aspect of zazen, the roshi does not step in in place of the pupil and propel him onward; he simply counsels him on a course of action that may spell freedom from that particular impediment. I would ideally want to see those qualities in a "leader" of this organization. If I am chanting to undergo internal purification, and I come across some road-block, it would be nice to have a leader who has gone through such a trail and who can advise me accordingly.

Quote
backnforth
Welcome Bodiseeker:

I love this very important point you made:

" . . . . . . . however, and there is a strong internal guidance that keeps whispering for me to do something about my unease."


I hope more and more and more people will be able to quiet themselves long enough to hear the same whisperings. But they keep the leaders and gullible members so busy just so they won't have time to think . . .

Thank you for welcoming me, backnforth, and it is a pleasure to be here.

That internal guidance is one of the reasons that I continued to practice meditation even after I'd been introduced to chanting NMHRK. When my mind is quiet, and I bring that still focus to some issue that I'm grappling with, the answer often comes to me in the form of a sensation, hence the foreboding that I described before. I don't think that I am unique in this quality, but it is easy to lose sight of it. Your diagnosis of the organization keeping people too busy to hear their internal guidance is particularly apt.

Quote
doubtful
Welcome, welcome, welcome. You have come to the right place. I was an active member for over 20 years, a district leader for about 6. Everything you have said is felt by many in this forum. I started studying Theravada this year so you and I have done this in reverse but arrived at a similar conclusion. I continue to love the Nichiren practice which I do faithfully. I continue to be grateful to SGI and Ikeda for bringing it to me and others. That's where our relationship ends. I had a 2.5 hour heated discussion with a member recently. He called me to find out why I have not been around. He tried to give me the justification for the MDM by giving me a protracted history of Buddhism he got from Ikeda's Flower of Chinese Buddhism. In fact, everything he relied on was SGI approved or produced literature. It's no wonder how he arrived at the idea that since mentor-disc is traditional(I knew that already), Ikeda displays all the necessary qualifications. Every time I tried to reason with him about some of SGI's obfuscations of the truth, its suspicious financial practices, and its super-earthly focus on material gain it was like talking to a sleepwalker, a robot--or a cult member! I even used that word. He is actually quite knowledgeable about Buddhism and he is very educated too but when he admitted that he "worshiped" Ikeda, I knew that I should not have wasted my time. That experience taught me that people are ready when they are ready. You obviously stumbled upon this message board just when you needed to, as many of us here did. Those determined to accept anything SGI tells them are welcome to do so but from this point forward I shall not engage in anymore discussions with current members who contact me. My policy has been to not call any members for any reason simply because trying to open their eyes is not the role I wish to play ("my mission" in Gakkai-speak). Now I am moving to the next level (which is something you may have to do eventually): I will ignore all calls from members because the peace of mind I have been enjoying since I left last May disappeared for a few days

I think that that is a healthy attitude to adopt with respect to the SGI and your time in the organization. You have come to see that the organization, as it stands today, is not for you; having said that, you also realize that your experiences in the organization weren't all negative. What's more, you're able to show gratitude even to Ikeda (which is a strong push in the direction of a Buddhist ideal, equanimity) for bringing you to the practice. I think I'm on the same page.

I've been fortunate in that I haven't had to--yet--explain my dwindling participation to anyone who would challenge the decision in such a way as the member who called you. My district leader is sympathetic to my feelings on the situation, as are the few true friends that I've made through the organization. There will undoubtedly come a time when I'll have to do battle with some head honcho (one in particular comes to mind...but I won't mention his/her name out of respect) who has decided that my practice is insufficient in the eyes of the One Mind, though. I'll draw strength from this forum.

Re: The last detail

Back in the 70's there was a Jack Nicholsen movie called "The Last Detail". In it, two navy shore patrolmen are charged with taking a "kid" across the country to evenutally put him into Leavenworth prison.

At one point in the story, the "kid" meets an attractive girl who tells him she would like to "take him home with her" and as the story went on it turned out she just wanted to do this to Shakubuku him (knowing full well what he thought she meant).

This paired up pretty well with what I'd heard and seen in Japan years before where people (young gals included) that the end justified the means and that it was justifiable to draw people to meetings and to use whatever means necessary to get them to join because "you got a benefit from it".

Since many of the new arrivals claim to have twenty, twenty-five or more years in the practice, I'd lbe interested in hearing their experiences with "the end justifies the means" form of shakubuku. Any takers?

Wakatta1

To anyone:

If you still chant, do you chant for worldwide kosen-rufu? Or, in addition to having deep concerns with SGI's push to worship a mentor, have you lost the belief in this idea of kosen-rufu also?

It was such a noble idea and it felt good to be a part of a movement. But when I compare the 1980's, when I began practicing, to now, there has not been any more "peace" created in the world, in fact, more people have given up on the concept of peace I think. People are keeping to themselves more, trying to create harmony in their own lives, own families, but they pay less attention to the state of affairs in the world than say, the 60's & 70's where public protest was a common occurrence.

So, was it false when NSA/SGI promised we were contributing to world peace by our propagation efforts to help ourselves and others attain unbreakable happiness?


I apologize if this topic bothers anyone since this is a Former Cult member forum, but it is a fact that many of us here are Nichiren Buddhists that are finding our way after recognizing SGI as a Cult.

Quote
backnforth
To anyone:

If you still chant, do you chant for worldwide kosen-rufu? Or, in addition to having deep concerns with SGI's push to worship a mentor, have you lost the belief in this idea of kosen-rufu also?

It was such a noble idea and it felt good to be a part of a movement. But when I compare the 1980's, when I began practicing, to now, there has not been any more "peace" created in the world, in fact, more people have given up on the concept of peace I think. People are keeping to themselves more, trying to create harmony in their own lives, own families, but they pay less attention to the state of affairs in the world than say, the 60's & 70's where public protest was a common occurrence.

So, was it false when NSA/SGI promised we were contributing to world peace by our propagation efforts to help ourselves and others attain unbreakable happiness?


I apologize if this topic bothers anyone since this is a Former Cult member forum, but it is a fact that many of us here are Nichiren Buddhists that are finding our way after recognizing SGI as a Cult.

Dear Backnforth:

Since your questions are basically religious, I will respond in like manor and hope it doesn't offend those who have lost their faith and who have stopped chanting the Daimoku.

Kosen Rufu is the widespread propagation of the Lotus Sutra. It is not spreading Ikedaism, unshakable happiness, social or political activism, or even world peace. The Lotus Sutra chapter 16 teaches, "It is not as the Three Worlds see the Three Worlds. In such a matter of this the Tathagata sees clearly and is without error." It is not as those of the past, present, and future see the past, present, and future, the world burning up, for example. This very moment and life is the Eternal Pure Land of the Buddha where the Buddha goes about spreading the Lotus Sutra. Unshakable happiness is the Buddhism of the True Effect [Buddhism of the Harvest]. We practice the Buddhism of the True Cause [Buddhism of Sowing] whether we are happy or sad. Only a Buddha with a Buddha can exhaustively penetrate the reality of Namu Myoho renge kyo.

Mark



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2010 03:14PM by Nichijew.