"He [Daisaku Ikeda] "is a devil, he is an 'evil monk'"

Date: Tue, October 18, 2011 11:23 am     (answered 21 October 2011)

From: "David"

Subject: Sorry to take so long getting back.

This is David. I am usually on my laptop but I happened to be on my mothers computer today and I saw that you replied to me, thank you by the way. I should have given you my email address (it is xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com ). True, my former attachment to AA is in big part my need to socialize with people, but it is possible to overcome that by changing the parameters inside of us to what we want to need. IE:needing to be around X number of people X number of nights per week. Literally changing X just like a math equation.

I also agree with the assessment of SGI, they are a cult of personality and they are NOT a Nichiren Buddhist sect — they are a chanting club that worships Ikeda. I don't know as much about the Nichiren Shoshu, I knew enough from SGI's teachings to stay away from them (SGI contradicts Nichiren's teachings and Nichiren Shoshu also distorts the teachings — IE:Dai Gohonzon is not mentioned anywhere in the Gosho).

"The Nichiren Shoshu Buddhists (Sokka Gakkai) believe that a printed scroll, called a Gohonzon, will grant all of your material wishes if you chant to it enough. It's a real Santa Claus cult."

While this is true, they are a cult, the Gohonzon doesn't grant anything because it is a piece of paper. SGI doesn't actually talk about what Nichiren teaches, they cherry pick. According to Nichiren, practicing in accordance with the Lotus Sutra gives the practitioner the same benefits as practicing the 8 fold path. IE:breaking attachments, behavior modifications, changing beliefs, etc etc — in the end attaining Buddhahood. SGI doesn't talk about that, but that is what it says in the Gosho. Nichiren did teach that the sufferings of birth and death are Nirvana, his teachings were about attaining enlightenment NOT about getting material possessions. We don't discard our desires, this is also not about fulfilling desires, this is about USING desire to attain Buddhahood. SGI erroneously believes that simply by chanting for a big screen TV, a person can attain Buddhahood. This is foolish, and it is a fallacy because a person has to want to attain Buddhahood (which is different than wanting a big screen TV). The only reason they get a big screen TV is the practitioner gives themselves the behavior modifications to get the TV in accordance with the Law of cause and effect (wiccans can also give themselves behavior modifications in a similar way, but again, that is NOT using the practice to attain enlightenment). But I could go and get a big screen without having to chant for it (in fact I did — without chanting for it). It is such a waste of time for people to practice like that, and it doesn't line up with the teachings. The Gohonzon is a pictoral representation of the "Ceremony in the Air" from the Lotus Sutra and it works on the same premise as if you were trying to learn a difficult piece of music and you had a really good recording, you automatically start over time playing like the recording. If you have a bad recording, you play like that. If you chant with a pictoral representation of the Ceremony in the Air, the "Treasure Tower" swells up from inside the practitioner as they hear the Sutra being spoken out of their mouth. SGI doesn't really talk about that aspect of the teaching either. They prefer "Human Revolution" over authentic Lotus Sutra teachings. Humanism as opposed to Buddhism.

I used to use NLP (self talk, affirmations, visualizations, etc etc), I have also tried other mantras with other mandalas, but nothing else I have tried allows me to manipulate reality like these teachings do (this quickly). Doing breathing exercises and practicing mindfulness (like what Thich Nhat Hanh or the Dalai Lama would teach) are good things to do, and traditional Buddhist meditation has been scientifically proven to work, the way this usually goes is something along the lines of observing how I am feeling, trying to line up the Chakras, observing my beliefs, etc etc, and over time I "reprogram" myself which is changing Karma. That still won't in one day or one sitting break an attachment — I suppose it could, but in my experience it doesn't work that way. I spent six months trying to deprogram my desire to drink (without AA). I felt like I was at the carnival doing whack a mole. Yet I chanted in front of a Gohonzon for 2 hours and I made the desire to drink disappear. I did the same with the cigarettes (and no withdrawals). But that is why Nichiren taught what he did. Also bearing in mind what the end result that a Zen practitioner is trying to achieve, the state of "no mind". Nichiren had taught that Zen is nonsense because if a person eliminates all of their thoughts and desires, how will they have the desire to attain enlightenment?

"Their core belief is that if you just chant the name of an old book of Buddhist wisdom, that you will get all of the benefits of the wisdom in the book. You don't bother to actually read the book or practice the philosophy; you just chant the name of the book: "Nam myoho renge kyo"."

This is also not what Nichiren taught (isn't it funny how bad SGI makes this religion look). Actually if you ever study any of the indigenous religions (the Lakota, the Yoruba-Santeria and Voodo, to a point Wicca, Shinto) — the traditional indigenous worldview is that when the sacred is spoken it is here. Again, a person must want to attain enlightenment before that will ever happen. Even Buddhist teachers from other non-Nichiren sects teach that. Most SGI members have never even read the Lotus Sutra. Most don't even read the Gosho and they put the Gosho on par with the Lotus Sutra (it is a commentary, it is not the Lotus Sutra). The two main principles from the Lotus Sutra itself are that men and women are equal (women can also attain Buddhahood), and that ANYONE (even Devadatta who tried to murder the Buddha) can attain enlightenment in one lifetime. If I don't practice those principles, and I chant the Daimoku expecting that I will attain enlightenment, I am a hypocrite and a liar. Putting Ikeda's writings on par with the Lotus Sutra, ignoring the Lotus Sutra, having 30 foot pictures of Ikeda instead of preaching from the Lotus Sutra in public is slandering the Law (according to Nichiren). But why does this matter? Why is it a big deal? Again, if I as a practitioner can get the same results by chanting as I would using NLP (right thinking), observing my mind (right mindfulness/concentration), making amends (right action), etc etc but in a fraction of the time(instead of spending a month or more quitting smoking, getting the nicotine out of my body, not being around the smoking section, etc etc and then maybe STILL going back to it as opposed to simply chanting for two hours and it is gone), why would I in a million years make the two equal in efficiency? That would be like comparing a Cray super computer to an Apple 2e. SGI also slanders the teaching by putting it on par with Christianity. In Christianity it is up to "the will of God" for fill in the blank desire to go away, yet if I chant, I make the desire go away when I want. I can go chant and get the results that day(as far as behavior modification-might take three hours, but I'd like to see a Christian do that on their time, not "Gods"). The trick after that is maintenance until I no longer need to focus on hanging onto the new behavior(usually after about a week, then I focus on other behavior modifications and the old one sticks). Christianity also slanders the teaching by calling the Gohonzon evil. According to the Levitical laws, Nichiren Buddhism IS idolatry. I love shoving that in the face of Christians and demanding an explanation for why all of the years that I laid the cigarettes down at the altar would I be outside 45 minutes later smoking and yet in one sitting I eradicated the desire to smoke. According to Romans a person can't make a sinful desire go away by sinning. Even if the devil answered my prayer, why would he prolongue my life only to give me more chances to repent and go back to Jesus if a house divided against itself can't stand? For that matter I gave Jehovae ample amount of time to fix me, and why would he not fix me when he knew I was going to go down this path and how much damage I would do exposing all of the contradictions in the Bible living to be a stumbling block to Christians(with the right knowledge to make it so). SGI won't call Christianity out for this, but Nichiren would. If a person is going to call themselves a Nichiren Buddhist, they are under obligation to rebuke slander of the Law. Same type of work that you do exposing AA's lies and contradictions.

"They also believe that they can achieve world peace if one third of the people on Earth chant their chant. They offer no explanation of how this will happen; it is just a given. They happily ignore the obvious possibility that even if one third of the world does chant peacefully, the other two thirds can continue to gleefully slaughter each other and blow each other off of the planet, just the same as usual, not at all inconvenienced by the chanters."

While they do believe in Kosen Rufu and claim to be an organization for the attainment of Kosen Rufu, they are misguided as to what this even means. All it means is the wide spread propagation of the teaching (closest English translation that I know of). That is a world apart from attaining world peace. This is Samsara after all, the realm of suffering. True, if everyone on the planet attained Buddhahood, there would be peace on earth and good will to men. Even if everyone on the planet chanted, they are not all going to agree and they are not all going to attain Buddhahood. Some would even kill each other (delusion and Buddhahood exist in each person). Again, they make the practice look bad. They won't rebuke slander of the Law. They are accepting of Christianity. They don't do like the new Atheist movement does (demand an answer from the churches as to why there are contradictions and historical errors in their book and why the churches lie to everyone claiming it as an infallible word of God when there are contradictions in it). When I used to be SGI, I had leaders who didn't like the idea that I wanted to do just that. Nichiren went so far to say that if a person doesn't rebuke slander of the Law, they won't attain enlightenment (as it is an act of compassion to free a person from this burning house-Samsara). But he had done his homework. He would point out contradictions in other scriptures. Had I not seen the contradictions in the Bible, I would still be a Christian. It's the same type of work that you are doing just that you are predominately debunking AA (again, I applaud your efforts and I will probably use your material if I am ever in a debate with people who are still in AA when I see them out in town).

Fortunate coincidences are accepted as proof that God favors the Guru and his cult: "The Big Man upstairs is really looking out for us."

Good and bad BOTH happen to everyone. There have been people who chant who were murdered. The real "proof" is that we can attain enlightenment by chanting Daimoku, not by getting a recording contract, or getting a car, or any material possession. SGI encourages their members to chant for fame and fortune. In the Gosho, Nichiren told Shijo Kingo NOT to be attached to fame and fortune. Wow, SGI contradicts the teachings-imagine that.

They are a money grubbing cult, they slander the Law, they make the practice look bad, they are just as bad if not worse than AA. I would keep going here, but I think you get the picture. Sorry to be so long winded and I am truly sorry for any bad experiences you had with the practice itself. I have walked away from it numerous times to try other things, mantras, the eight fold path, NLP, etc etc, and although I would get some small results it would end up being an exercise in frustration. Actually, I would try other things to debunk SGI leaders who were assholes. I knew if I could prove something worked better than chanting, I could shove my success in their face. On the other hand if I was wrong, I would "comply" because I would have proven through trial and error that the practice worked better, not because some asshole at an SGI meeting demanded that I agree with them. Anyone who walks away from the Gohonzon due to the drama and bullshit within SGI, I lay blame for that squarely at the feet of Daisaku Ikeda-he won't rebuke SGI members for worshipping him. He is a devil, he is an "evil monk", and I will rebuke him till my dying breath.

Anyway, have a nice day,

keep up the good work debunking AA (Assholes Anonymous lol:)

David