"I Have known some people who are in SGI who have some "issues" in the mental health area, and some of them really went overboard with the SGI-chanting. One person was chanting, and not getting what they want out of life, and things were getting worse. So this person was getting more and more anxious, and started to chant longer, and faster and faster. Eventually the person had a mental-breakdown.
Now obviously chanting by itself won't trigger a mental-breakdown, but if someone is vulnerable, and obsessive, perhaps with some OCD, they can get into a SGI chanting-loop like that person, and there is no way out. Think about it. You are having mental health issues, and you are a SGI true believer. Instead of seeking help from a mental health provider, SGI tells you that chanting more and harder will cure your problems. So instead of getting diagnosed with OCD, bipolar, or anxiety disorder, you start chanting morning to night, every time you get anxious. Of course it doesn't work, so you chant longer, harder and faster. There is no way out of that, probably other than a mental breakdown. You are caught like a gerbil in a wheel.
Meanwhile a mental health provider, would probably tell you that "chanting" alone is not going to solve your problem. On top of that, there was also a strong bias against taking medication for anxiety or depression, or seeking counseling from a mental-health professional. Leaders constantly gave members guidance not to do these things -- that medication or counseling would not change the root of the problem, your karma. Only chanting or working for SGI would do that -- according to SGI.
I think that part of it is the Japanese culture, where mental illness is seen as a shameful weakness, to be denied, and seeing a counselor is almost unheard of. The mentality seems to be, "Life's hard, just work harder and tough it out." How is that working for the Japanese? They seem to have very high rates of suicide and alcoholism.
And of course, for SGI, if you are spending money and time going to a psychiatrist, that's less money and time you have for SGI. Not to mention that a professional counselor will probably get you questioning your involvement in SGI. It is simply not in SGI's interest for members to become happier, calmer, and clearer-thinking. Unhappy, fearful people are so much easier to control." -- anticult
Response: Karma is but one cause of illness. There are other causes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, immoderate eating, drinking, smoking, disorders of the four elements, autoimmune disease, collagen vascular disease etc. A karmic cause of disease can only be cured by the excellent medicine of the Lotus Sutra [Namu Myoho renge kyo]. Diseases without a karmic cause may be cured by physicians, healthcare providers, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, oxygen therapy, acupuncture, manipulation, surgery etc. Since SGI destroys the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, it destroys the ability of Buddhism to cure karmic disease.
"A karmic cause of disease can only be cured by the excellent medicine of the Lotus Sutra [Namu Myoho renge kyo]. Diseases without a karmic cause may be cured by physicians, healthcare providers, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, oxygen therapy, acupuncture, manipulation, surgery etc. Since SGI destroys the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, it destroys the ability of Buddhism to cure karmic disease."
ReplyDeleteThank you for stating this so clearly. As a former psychiatric nurse, who became a whistleblower in 2009, (after 20 years) I can attest to sham of psychiatry-- it is a cult in its own right, masquerading as a specialty of medicine and in the U.S. endowed with the legal power to strip any of us of our basic civil and human rights. Fortunately there is an anti-psychiatry movement and many alternatives now in progress. If you are interested in an introduction to *rebuking psychiatry*, this is an excellent website
madinamerica.com
I have chanted with and for many young people whom I have assisted *out of the mental health system*-- I chant *for* more than I chant *with*, but I never tell anyone that this daimoku- *alone* is the cure--. Why? because the practice of correct faith is not *add water and stir*. I teach chanting as the immediately accessible means for alleviating the suffering that leads to negative behavior. The results are a process that deepens bonds built on compassion, and trust. The spiritual component of what are called "mental illnesses" is disconnection from one's own humanity and inability to connect with the humanity in others. I can say with confidence, that I have always been successful *connecting* with those who are suffering mental, emotional, spiritual anguish-- because I chant daimoku with faith in the Lotus Sutra--. I seek the teachings of Nichiren first. I don't preach like a zealot-- or make conversion to Nichiren Lotus sutra Buddhism my main focus-- (unlike many leaders I have witnessed -- and the disastrous results of their zealotry)
The important message is that ALL of the teachings in the Lotus Sutra are TRUE, as Nichiren implores us to accept them , exactly as the Buddha taught. SGI & NST discard the Buddha and the Lotus Sutra-- cutting Nichiren's practice away from its very basis in the teaching and example of Shakyamuni Buddha. Put in the simplest terms:
No Buddha+No Lotus Sutra = NO BUDDHISM
It is worth noting that the slanderous practices of SGI NST will worsen the illnesses of the mind that are essentially rooted in our past sins of slander.
Now, SGI & NST are advocating psychiatric treatment--Ay yi yi !!
I continue to work in advocacy for those suffering harm from psychiatry-- am outspoken, both writing and offering support to families whose children have been harmed by psychiatry. Though I lost my 40 year nursing career as a result of my whistleblowing -- [Harvard affiliated hospital], I have gained a deeper appreciation for Nichiren's teachings and a stronger sense of mission as his follower.
~Katie