Dear Stace:
Lets not forget the SGI’s bizarre “prime point” of the Lotus Sutra [the oneness of mentor and disciple]. Some of us grow up to be adults. We refuse to be treated as children and actually read and study the Lotus Sutra and Gosho. Some of us actually believe that those who chant Namu Myoho renge kyo with strong faith in the Gohonzon, Lotus Sutra, and Shakyamuni Buddha are emanations of Shakyamuni Buddha and are Three Bodied Tathagatas in their own right. I believe that the Soka Gakkai will continue to hemorrhage unhappy members. Fortunately, we are willing to galvanize these broken human beings and repair their injured faith and practice.
Spot on Mark. It still beats me though, how seemingly sincere and articulate SGI senior leaders in the UK, who used to give crystal clear explanations of the Gosho, Gohonzon and Nichiren could accept the SGI change to enlightenment through the mentor. Going from crystal clear talks to babbling, gushing "Sensie, sensei, sensei isn't he great" talks that barely mentioned Nichiren, Daimoku and Gohonzon and which didn't mention faith at all, as one did, is no mean feat. Did she have a really poor memory? Did she at any point understand and retain anything of what she'd previousy lectured on? Did she somehow forget whay she shoukd have absorbed more deeply by preparing her lectures in the first place? Or was she simply insincere all along?
ReplyDeleteKnowing the individual, I'm not so sure it was the last, although they do say the best liars are those eho actually believe their own lies. Whatever the reason, it just underscores that we should not rely on the person (apart from The Buddha) but rely on the Law as Nichiren advocated.
People are unreliable, they make mistakes, they forget, they change and sometimes they deliberately set out to decieve.
That's the fundemental flaw in the mentor-disciple teaching SGI puts forth.
One can set up a mentor-disciple pipeline but whether it carries the pure water of the Law or sewage is quite another matter.
Being a Doctor, you'll know only too well that pioneer medical scientist John Snow (1813–1858), in 1854, found a link between cholera and contaminated drinking water.
By talking to local residents he identified the source of a London (UK) cholera outbreak as being the public water pump on Broad Street (now Broadwick Street).
Although Snow's chemical and microscope examination of a water sample from the Broad Street pump did not conclusively prove its danger, his studies of the pattern of the disease were convincing enough to persuade the local council to disable the well pump by removing its handle. This action has been commonly credited as ending the outbreak,
In like manner, I think you've been very effective at removing the handle of the SGI pump, thus helping to end the transmission of the contaminated and damaging teaching that's carried through that corrupted but high profile SGI network.
And the same to all here who've spoken out and worked to spread Nichiren's actual teaching and direct back to direct study of the Sutra and Gosho.
You're right though, SGI members are getting sick, eventually the lucky stumble out of the organisation that is causing their sickness.
It's good the can find good medicine and those who know how to administer it.
Thank you - I don't think it's an over statement to say that lives have already been saved. :)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow
His answer
Excellent analogy to John Snow, what we do. Thank you for your comment.
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