We should request help and however the help comes, accept because sometimes the help does not come the way we want, because the way we want may not be beneficial long-term although short-term it might look pretty good. There is absolutely no harm and it only can benefit. Most important is consistency — consistency in doing the practice. It is not your offerings, it is not your mantra, it is not your elaborate altar to him. What pleases Dorje Shugden the most is the transformation of our minds from that of a self-centered person to that of a person who focuses out and brings benefit to others and sees the faults of samsara.
Why does that please him? Because a Dharma Protector protects us from samsara to reach the Dharma. And when he protects us, he or she protects us from samsara to achieve Dharma… that person becomes an enlightened being and free from samsara. The ultimate protection of a Dharma Protector is to protect us from ourselves. How does he do that? By blessing our path, our lives, our environment with what we need to achieve enlightenment. So… we need to be poor, by doing his practice we will remain poor. It is not Dorje Shugden making you sick, poor, rich or healthy.
It is Dorje Shugden opening up the karma that you need to experience to purify you of those karmas so that you can go to the next step. That would defeat the purpose of a Dharma Protector. So therefore, what pleases Dorje Shugden? Kindness, compassion, generosity, meditative stabilization, effort, consistency, respect and gaining Bodhicitta and realization of shunyata.
This is what pleases him. Why does this please him? Because his whole purpose to arise as a Dharma Protector is to protect us from samsara to achieve Dharma. Hence, he is a Dharma Protector. Again it is impossible that Dharma Protectors of an enlightened nature could harm another sentient being because they have no karma to harm, they have no inclination to harm… hence, they are enlightened. Therefore the graphic nature of some of the prayers you see in the Dharma Protector practices, such as in Dorje Shugden, will seem very violent but all the violence is directed symbolically to our inner ego and self-centeredness.
So therefore, this Protector practice, in short, has been compiled by myself from traditional sources. I have watered it down to a very simple form, to a very easy form, easy to follow. So therefore, you do not need initiation, you do not need permission or oral transmission to do the practice that I have here. I have provided it for you to do at your convenience so that you can gain the protection of a great Dharma Protector such as Dorje Shugden. I wish everyone good luck in their Dharma practice and in order to enter the practice of Dorje Shugden, make a good motivation to achieve the highest attainments to become a fully enlightened being.
Dorje Shugden is a fully enlightened being. You can be who you are, as you are, and whatever religion you are in, whatever lineage or sect or practice you are in and still contact Dorje Shugden. I would like to stress very, very strongly: Dorje Shugden is not for one group of people, one school of Buddhism or one sect of people.
That is absolutely impossible. Dorje Shugden is for anyone who wishes help, assistance, blessings, wisdom and clarity. Therefore I wish everyone good luck. All of us here are very happy to revive all this information and write-ups and compilations for all of you. Now, if you take the short retreat manual and the long one that I have provided, they are different from the actual traditional ones done in the monasteries or done by traditional practitioners because they will allocate time and energy and place to do it.
All of us may not have the time or the energy or the help to do it. So, I have done it in such a way that it is simple, short and easy. So, I have done this with the motivation of saving everyone out there time. You have to work, you have to pay your bills, you have to take care of your family, you have to even take care of your attachments.
So in between, we can allocate some time to do Protector practice. Or you can just do the prayer that I have composed to Dorje Shugden every single day and the retreat sadhana you can do on special allocated times. And then, the very, very long one, if you have any issues or questions, you can contact any of our qualified pastors. On my blog, you will see a section on the homepage to the right: You may ask them, there are many qualified pastors and students who can explain more, who have done the longer retreats, and who are well-versed in the longer retreats for any questions.
Any mention of page numbers in these videos do not apply to any material provided in this blog article. Click here to read the video transcript. The kusha grass must be placed in the center of the Buddhist swastika. Place the longer kusha grass on top of the Buddhist swastika with the stem facing inwards and the tassels facing outwards. Place the shorter kusha grass horizontally, perpendicular to the longer kusha grass.
The kusha grass can be taped onto the Buddhist swastika to keep it in place. This diagram shows the recommended minimal offerings for the short retreat. If you wish to make additional offerings for the collection of merits, you can do so. Click on the image to enlarge. Overview of the sensory and commitment offerings to be made. Buy an assortment of biscuits and cookies for the above tormas.
Fill the jars with the biscuits and cookies, and place each jar on a plate. Fill each plate with more biscuits and cookies to surround the torma jars. If you have an issue with pests and insects, you can use individually-wrapped biscuits and cookies for this. Stick the tear-drop and round shaped cuttings onto the respective torma jars Click here to download the tear-drop and round shaped cuttings.
The biscuits and cookies on the plates should be replaced after each retreat session whereas the biscuits and cookies in the jars can only be cleared upon completion of the entire retreat. The torma jars should not be moved throughout the entire retreat. Overview of the Torma Offerings to be made. As on all days, finish with the completion dedication. These Retreat Practices does not require empowerment or initations. It can be done by anyone]. A Commentary Based on H. Click on image to download the high resolution image of this Dorje Shugden thangka.
Telo Rinpoche left , H. Khutughtu Khalkha Jetsun Dampa center and H. Yes, you may turn it on now. All rituals, all practices, things of Tantric nature are not allowed to be recorded unless they have my permission. So, do not take it very lightly, do not put your things away sarcastically or slowly because the Lama has told you to put it away. You put it away immediately because it will be a downfall on your Tantric commitments if you were to record or to write or do anything without permission.
And as usual, some of you will not believe me. You look at any Tantric text at the front… English: So, by doing that, you create a downfall in your own vows. So, be very alert and very aware for Tantric teachings. And those of you who know me more than one day or one year, you should know that also. So, do not play the fool with Tantra with me. Any recording, any type of writing, any type of… anything you want, even video, you must have my explicit permission — explicit. Alright now, can I have the list of things I want to talk about? You can get lost now.
Erm, could you rewrite it neatly real fast? Alright, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. Did everybody see Joe having a drink without my permission? Take a look at him, David.
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Come on, give him one of those looks. Oh my, my, my! They do that at some of the Dharma retreats we had in America. She still is, as far as I know. She was extremely smart. You know, she can do mandalas, she can do everything like a real Tibetan, you know, Lama, and she did it perfectly; she did the rituals, she did the sadhana… everything she did perfectly. But she was very uptight and a lot of anger. So, in the center, it was very strange because here you are attending Dharma talks, and doing mantras and serving your Lama, and behind, you are shouting and screaming away.
So, I thought… weird. So, she wanted to see him, she had to go through me. And she was very passionate. She was very, very passionate. And you know what, I forgot to tell you, she speaks perfect Tibetan, and reads and writes perfectly in Tibetan. She memorized the language just like that [Snap fingers], perfectly. I went upstairs to ask Zong Rinpoche and then, Tenzin Wangchuk came down, the assistant… and blah blah blah blah blah… and she went up there to have an audience with him for about 45 minutes.
So one day, she came and slapped on a whole bunch of makeup on me and took pictures of me outside… like that, like that, like that. Can you believe that? Sneaking by, I caught her. And I have this karma, I always get into situations with people like that. Very, very, very uptight and very, very intelligent, extremely angersome, extremely volatile and oh my God! Oh god, she would shout and scream, shout and scream at the most petty, stupid, ridiculous things.
And then, we became very good friends. We became very good friends. Do you know how she did it? Oh, she translated for the UN also, now I remember. She worked with the United Nations. I wonder where she is? Very powerful Vajrayogini lady, very powerful Vajrayogini energy, very, very powerful. Actually, you know, she was a great Vajrayogini practitioner as far as I can remember.
The obstacles for it to grow are over, so whether we do business, whether we expand the center, whether we expand the temple, whether we expand our retreats, whether we expand our personal work for the Dharma, it will definitely grow. The ingredients are consistency — stable consistency — and knowledge, behaviour, outlook. There is no reason why our organization will not grow now. Five years, I was given by the great Protector who told me, literally all of us to lie low. What we need to do is, very important is the way we dress, very important. The way we talk, the way we act and the example we give other people.
The only reason it will be delayed is by our own actions and by the way we behave. And the most important is how we behave with each other. How we behave with each other is going to make us grow. A It starts with people, with our families, with our wives and husbands, with our brothers and sisters, with our kids, with our partners, with our co-workers. How we behave with each other is very, very important.
I mean, to break the habituation of the way we usually talk. And that will not add to our practice. As I said many times, practice Dharma at home. Dharma starts at home. Ourselves and the people around us. With people that we see once in a blue moon? With the people that we see once in a while? We have to start talking very nicely and very kindly and very respectfully. You are denying who you really are. Each time you sink down into the low depths, you deny who you are. But in the end, you get it because you deny who you are.
You will never be able to bring your family members and people close to you into the Dharma. People who are not acting… even people they just meet on the streets, they can bring to the Dharma. You see, you can eat dinner with the person, you can shout at the person, you can have sex with the person, you can fight with the person, you can punch the person, you can slap the person, you can tell the person off — if your motivation is Dharma, those people will come to the Dharma.
It is not the action, it is the intent. So, some people shout, they bring people to the Dharma; some people shout, people run. No, no, no, no, no. Not once or twice. He will beat you and slap the crap out of you. But you will become MUCH better after that. Of course, those kinds of wrathful Tantric actions, we cannot do in countries such as Malaysia or America — outside of Tibet. But there are lamas who have wrathful Tantric actions, who can shout at you and purify your karma, and who can slap you and beat you — literally punch you or slap you — and make your mind clear.
Because of their intention.
It will be faster… from a high Tantric practitioner to get a slap very hard than to do a Vajrasattva retreat. It will be like staying in a Vajrasattva retreat. Imagine Vajrasattva ,, how long that takes? How do they know? So, you do a retreat instead… The next step and the next step and the next step. Why is wrathful tantric action able to do that? Because of your connection to the Lama. And if you have created pain for someone, the pain comes back to you any way, but the Lama can make it manifest very fast. Very, very fast and very, very quickly.
Nobody will put up with lies. In business, if you lie, you get a bad reputation. In a relationship, when you cheat on your relationship, everybody will know. Not only you, your whole family, down. So in business we cannot lie, we cannot break our commitments, we cannot break our promises. Samaya is a promise you made — nobody respects you. Whatever you do will have more obstacles. Because you keep breaking your promises. Because your commitments that you keep in one life is just for this life. What about commitments to Dharma? This life and future lives. And not only that, remember something: You have to understand something very clearly.
Some of us got Yamantaka, some of us got Vajrayogini, some of us got Heruka, some of us got Manjushri, some of us got refuge, some of us got Bodhisattva vows, some of us got Kalachakra… No one twisted your arm! No one twisted your.. Your bad reputation, whatever your motivation. Your actions become worse.
So they just look on the outside. So, if you break a commitment in business, you will lose. You will lose your reputation, you will lose your name, you will lose your fortune, you will lose your fame. And you know what? You know why they get you back? And you may have broken your commitment because your grandmother was in the hospital, your father was in the hospital, your mother, your wife, your kids — everybody is in the hospital.
And you know, you have to take 1 billion dollars out and pay for their medical bills. And you know, it is like that if you… Some places… Singapore? Nobody thinks about that. You have to understand that it is YOU. And we have to actually do practices to purify, meditations to purify.
And let me tell you something. When our broken commitments are very big and very strong, this is what happens, alright? When you break your commitment, you bind the hands of your Protector, and you cover his face, and you put some kind of… something strong over him; he cannot move. Yes, you can write it. And next time, raise your hand.
The name is JP? A lot of this is not allowed. You guys are not allowed…. The practices that please any Dharma Protector and especially Dorje Shugden… and you listen very carefully, alright… [Tibetan phrase] Although I have had many Gurus who have shown the path of Sutra and Tantra, I am impure in thought, in action. And thus, and so by a rain of downfalls which I tearfully regret. And I purify now.
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How do you confess your vows? And the word here is doengoe lamrim lama ngachupa… Lama is Guru, Ngachupa means 50 Verses. Why is it secret? Completely oppressed by my obscuring ignorance and thus powerless, my mind stood up by violent attachment, aversion and thus unconscientious, each of my massive sins and downfalls and faults, I confess them from my heart, quickly cleanse them please. Torn asunder the limits of my Pratimoksha vows, received before the eyes of Abbots and masters and the Sangha.
When the Lama gives you vows, you have to understand something. So, when you break a commitment to your Lama, you break it to all the Three Jewels. You please all the Buddhas by keeping your vows. It is trying to help you. We can apologize the next day, the next hour — the vow is broken. Let me read it again, together. All this is not to be written down [Inaudible] …. Torn asunder the lineage of the Pratimoksha vows, received before the eyes of the Abbots, Masters and Sangha, transgressed the precepts of Bodhicitta, vows taken before the eyes of the Gurus, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, thrown away the close bond of our commitments received, which were witnessed by the Gurus and deities of the mandala, the whole mass of proscribed and naturally evil downfalls and faults, I confess from my heart, quickly cleanse them please.
Let me tell you why. When you break your vows, when you break your samaya, you throw away the closeness you have with the Three Jewels. You just go away. And then, negative things that kill your time… Not negative things, normal things that kill your time, you get distracted away very easily. Go see a movie, go to sleep, cannot stay home, cannot relax, cannot read… even when you want to read, you fall asleep. Everything is to prevent you. You can see yourself not advancing in your practice. Every day, it is broken again and again and again. And you know what happens? When you have Vinaya vows, Bodhicitta vows and Tantric vows, let me also tell you, not only is it broken for that day, the vow that you broke yesterday becomes double.
So, if you have a hot temper, it becomes more. Let me tell you something. About one third of the people in our center, after they die, will go to the three lower realms. It could be the most innocent person you think, the nicest person. One third of the people in our center will go to the three lower realms. I guarantee and I promise you. You go ask the Protectors, you go ask the Dalai Lama, you ask someone high. I have no fears. I will not say things [Snap fingers] like that. And within that one third, there are a few who are actually Tantric practitioners.
They will go to the three lower realms when they die. About five to six people in this room, when they die, they will go to the lower realms. Five to six people in this room, when they die. And the people who go to the three lower realms are the ones I keep very close to me. How can that be? You see, sitting there and doing nothing and feeling sorry for yourself is negative karma.
You let that ego grow. You can sit in your room and feel sorry for yourself and be complacent and do absolutely nothing. Sitting in a room with attachment, you collect negative karma on a very subtle… [Tibetan phrase] … means very subtle karma. And that negative karma is very subtle. Do you know why? Everything comes out of me, me, me. So you may be a very nice housewife. You may be a very nice househusband. You may be a nice son, daughter, whatever. You are, according to the world.
On the absolute realm, on the absolute level, on the absolute, feeding your self-cherishing mind can only bring one action, one result — more circumstances for your self-cherishing mind to act upon itself. I fight with my wife and girlfriend or I fight with my boyfriend and husband once in a while. Yeah, yeah wonderful, you are. But you see, those are good and bad made by culture and people who are not with wisdom. You come from ignorance. You come from desire. And you come from attachment, and you live within it, and you create it.
You are a good person but that is just on a very basic, basic level. But on an absolute level — absolute means what? People say they want advanced teachings. When you break your commitments, when you break your samaya — now listen carefully — when you break your Guru Devotion, when you break your samaya, you break the tantric vows, you break the Bodhicitta vows, you break the refuge vows, when you break all these, it indirectly affects the absolute.
I have to work. You know, they said this to me! You know, they make all kinds of excuses. But you have to understand something. These are good for us, but our karma and existence is not on this level, it is on an absolute level. Existing creates negative karma. The very fact that a baby gives pain to its mother by suckling her breast is already a sign of its nature.
And for some of us, our whole lives we suckle our mother. And you may think it is their responsibility… [Inaudible]… understand something: But on an absolute level, each time we break our vows — and what are vows? Vows are not something you swear in front of Buddha and then you never do it again, or you swear on the Bible.
It is not that. They can drink sake all day, they can be drunk all day, they can have sex with two women openly. Why does it not apply anymore? Only a few people can understand that. Oh, a lama disrobed. Oh, a master uses money and buys furniture. I saw the master in Ikea! Oh, I saw Lama in a disco! But at our level, action is the point, which leads to no action.
The absolute level is beyond us right now. You know nothing about Dharma or Buddhism at all. Absolute means things that exist on its own accord without us having to put rules on it, or projections or barriers and borders and colors. You have to marry at this age. These are rules made on a very basic, fundamental level by people who are blind — us and our forefathers. These are all blind rules.
A Teaching on Dorje Shugden’s Retreat Practice
There is no happiness in samsara — none. And in fact, it increases your vows — your breakage. What is the seal? One third — maybe a little bit more — of the people in our center will go to the three lower realms. Some places is in hell. I know the scriptures so I can look at their actions and I can see how they operate. In this room, I can point to the people who are going to go to the three lower realms , very clearly. Just like someone who knows cars very well. Because they trained themselves for years.
How did you know that? So, some lamas, they trick you and pretend they have clairvoyance. You know, he calls me at the right time, he does this at the right time, he does everything just like, wow! Do not underestimate me. You can even take rebirth in horrible places… [Inaudible]… horrible. You can enjoy yourselves now, you can be as nasty as you want, or you can be as nice as you want. You can be as hypocritical as you want. You can keep fooling yourselves and fooling who you really are.
Live it up for a little while, be happy for a little while. Every single day you live will be one day closer to that next existence. The good part about our existence is that, our suffering is to the point where we can still rise above it — a little bit for a short time — to do Dharma work, Dharma actions.
Time is of the essence for some of us now. Time is of the essence. Many of us will take negative rebirths. Then what are you doing, Rinpoche? So, during the age of Maitreya, it will open. Shake it to yourself. Can you give me some food? Can you give me a house? Can you give me this? Can you give me that? A complete thangka featuring the lama — H. Let me give you another example. Our previous lives and the karma we have accumulated is like the Pacific Ocean — from California all the way to China; from the North, all the way from the North Arctic to the South, Antarctica — that huge body of water.
How you can check is, you check your mind. How often does it abide in self-cherishing on the very absolute level, and on a fundamental level? That proves to you that your ocean maybe is double or triple. And then you do a little bit of sadhana — just a little bit of sadhana, a little bit of writing for Rinpoche — little bit, and even that little bit took so much coaxing, and your little bit of prayers, your little bit of cheap retreats, and your little bit of cheap mantras, and then once a year, maybe you do your sadhana because your Guru is nice to you and you decided to do it.
That is just one little cup of merit and you pour it into the black ocean. How do you expect to become enlightened? And even what we do for the Dharma is stained by the eight worldly faults of pride, recognition — the Eight Worldly Dharmas. So, what do you think will happen to all of us? A lama or a guru is likened to a butterlamp in the dark, in a windy room. Paul, please stay awake. For some of us who have 50 Verses of Guru Devotion, a lama is like a blowtorch in a room with wind. For a person who actually surrenders himself to the Lama — surrender means what? Surrendering to the lama is on many levels but on a fundamental level is you see immediate improvement in yourself when you surrender.
Two, on the absolute level, when you surrender to the lama… on the absolute level — listen carefully — you surrender to the real lama inside your self-cherishing mind. The vows become effortless for you. You see, Lama Yeshe says in Heruka Vajrasattva, you break the vows not by action and not by object. Can you please get that book? You saw it just now… Heruka Vajrasattva on my desk by Lama Yeshe. So, monks can wear beautiful clothes, you know, robes… action, wonderful, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah… and everything is perfect from the outside.
A monk can steal. They run and… you know, during a war, they go and steal money and bread and bring it back to the community to eat. It is not the object, it is NOT the object. It is very important to know. So to us, they look wrong. There are very few people who operate from the absolute. Now, it says here, I was reading through it… Now, some of you might be wondering, what does this have to do with Dharma Protector practice?
The way that the Dharma Protector can help you is by samaya alone. If you break your samaya, the Dharma Protector will be percent ineffective for you — for your business, for your family, for protection, for your attainments, for retreat, for money. Anything you want, it will be ineffective. You can do all the black teas you want. You can take the statue and drown them in black tea, nothing will happen. It is totally on your commitments alone. No effect, very little. You may be pouring an ocean of black tea but it becomes like one or two drops. You are an absolute hypocrite.
You see, some of you have been with me for many years. Some of you have been with me for many lifetimes. Some of you have been with me for a few years but many lifetimes. So, when I teach you these things, it is in hopes of helping, assisting, and knowledge. Many times, the Dharma Protector said: I advised until I cough blood. All four components of the action — motivation, object, action and completion — must be present for breaking the vows to be complete.
The key component is the motivation, how much you are grasping. This is Lama Yeshe alright, this is not Tsem-stupid-Rinpoche. Lama Yeshe is a Mahasiddha, a real Gelugpa Mahasiddha. How much you grasp… What is grasping? When you live with them, they burden you. Self-grasping mind, so strong. It is so strong. Going to hell or living in hell or being in hell or the three lower realms is totally from grasping, not the action.
And what makes you break the vow is grasping. From grasping arises the four motivations — intent motivation , action, object and completion. What it is, is they exist on an absolute level. Their self-grasping mind has been eradicated. So therefore, whatever they do is just doing.
You know, when we make a movie, it looks very real. And we idolize all this. We idolize people who can bring these emotions to us. Because we can relate to that. How can we relate? A beautiful painting of Wu Tai Shan, also known as the holy abode of Manjushri. The real Yamantaka, the real Vajrayogini is on an absolute level — no form, no taste, no touch, no sound, no tangibility… yet existence from non-grasping. Why are we happy? I did a good thing! Like I told you about that lady earlier in the Dharma talk, she goes everywhere, she knows everything, she does everything right.
But you know what? During a Dharma talk… Mamie told me, it was so funny. I talked to Mamie the other day for two hours. A brand new Dharma student came for teachings. Mamie was there and she had a beautiful… well, everybody had these cheapskate little bead mandalas, you know. But she was rich, in America 20 years ago.
She had a silver mandala, not three layers but four. She had all these jewels and all of it, wow. And she did it perfectly, the mandala, perfectly. We were all like… Huh? Give it to me. I was thinking like that. I would sit at the back so you have more compassion because I have quite a loud voice… fold your hands to the planet around you. Anyway, she turned around. Your mind is like space, Shantideva says. When I heard that, my memory became fabulous. All of a sudden, I realized that there are no borders to my mind. Look, he bought one of those for the Pakistanis.
In Japan, I bought one almost everyday and I wore it everywhere. I want to tell people how politically correct that was. Another action that brought me to the three lower realms — another self-grasping action. So, what happens was this is, but then if you keep it, you show people, it is good too. Not the action, but about the motivation. Anyway, we talked about lunchhhh and David and richhhh.
Paul is just doing meditation on violin. When I said that, he went like this… Evil… I love it. Anyway… Hi Daddy, how are you? This is my daddy. In the middle of the mandala, she got flustered and she was upset. That one action threw her off the Dharma. That one action, they never came back again. Because of their habituation of self-grasping. Does everybody understand that? Every Dharma center, every place, every church, every synagogue, every mosque, every community, every family, every… even you yourself have politics.
You know, you yourself make politics. Nothing on this planet can ever hurt His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Second, nothing can bring Tibet back or make Tibet lose. It has its own karma. We can do all the prayers but nothing will happen. How can I harm a holy monk? You know, if I want to go and beat up the Buddha, you think I can? So, I want to give this message to the assassins and all these people who carry guns to the Kalachakra. Yeah, His Holiness caught people with guns in the Kalachakra. Dalai Lama cannot be harmed. You can put a torpedo on him, nothing will happen. You know like, nothing.
Because that happened in Tibet. When they threw bombs, they shelled Gaden, Zong Rinpoche sat there in meditation and did puja to Dorje Shugden until the monks all escaped out of Gaden. You can read his biography. All three walls fell, the wall behind him stood… Everything fell. And he did Dorje Shugden puja until the monks were safely out of Gaden Monastery. And the fumes from the shells — the toxic fumes — Rinpoche breathed in, he accepted it and his voice became hoarse.
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He breathed in the fumes. But Kyabje Zong Rinpoche single-handedly stayed in Gaden and did the repulsion puja of Dorje Shugden to hold back harm until the monks finished. That is well documented. He accepted the harm, he accepted everything with his Tantric powers. You can read it in his biography. Some lamas, trees will blossom. Bodhi trees, wherever the lama is, the Bodhi tree will just grow and blossom.
Some lamas, you hear beings, you hear sounds. Bodhi trees will appear, very very common. Wherever the lama is, naturally a Bodhi tree will grow on its own, always. See, what I do is, wherever I go, I just get a little Bodhi tree and plant it. I am, I am a lama. But nobody knows that I go out there every night and weed it, you know, put manure, I pee on it myself.
I do all kinds of things… [Inaudible]… I pee on it you know, just the right amount, not too much…. You know, they say when you talk to plants, it grows? So, you better grow. When you show a lot of love, they grow. Just ask the rainbow girl Tashi, you know, she talks to everything except Andee. Anyway… [Inaudible]… So, what happens? If on an absolute level, no karma is to be made; on a relative level, plenty to purify.
And are we really changing our attitude because of our habituation? So every time this habituation is measured or helped kept in check for ourselves from an absolute level to a relative level, it manifests in vows. Vows are a manifestation of the absolute.
Let me explain why. These rules are applicable anywhere, any planet, any universe. Absolute means [Tibetan phrase] — all-pervading. There is no maybe. So, the vows are a manifestation or a taste of the absolute. Rinpoche always comes up with these lines, one-liners that are absolutely, totally contradictory yet totally meaningful.
So gimme another praise. I shit lotuses according to him. He has this view about me. But anyways, Maple of course, oh my goodness. You ask her, is Rinpoche a Buddha? You mean higher than Shakyamunu got? You wanna go higher? He is Guru Rinpoche. And then you ask Mr. Is he a Buddha? Can I go back to sleep yet? And Irene, of course! Not related but just a relative. Not a relative but relative. Previous life, not this life! So, vows are a taste of the absolute and it leads you to the absolute and it is manifested in the absolute. What is the absolute? You guys all know that from previous teachings.
See, when we listen to Dharma talks, we can listen to more Dharma talks. And then, and then, on the absolute level, how much self-grasping is how much negative karma we create even when we do nothing. Buddha perceived these rules through his enlightenment on the last watch of the night and explained it to us. So, the vows are a glimpse of the absolute. When you hold your vows so well, you become absolute. So everything is just, everything is just a show for people… [Inaudible]… and whether they can see the show or not, is if they bought the ticket.
Some people buy the ticket and fall asleep at the theatre. Some people lose their ticket. Some people arrive at the theatre late. So, when we talk about esoteric practices, the absolute, very few people will attend, very few people can attend, very few people will make it. And the few people who make it, very few will understand and very few within that will be able to practice. And that is the rarity of enlightenment and the Buddha. So when we look back at our lives now, how much are we actually practicing?
Look at how much your self-grasping mind has reduced. Because somebody has to be in your firing line. Get the cross out. Make sure my love handles are gone. The Jesus Christ of Buddhism. After the meeting nobody would talk to her. They just love bombed a person who was a more obvious target. It is either you are one of them or not. They actually believe that getting new members and helping others with their practice brings them benefit which is why so much love bombing goes on. They are only following their leader who.
Please tell me how any organization who believes that they have the only true buddhism and every one else is wrong is ever going to attain world peace. If chanting namyohorengekyo to gohonzon helps you that is great. But please I am actually telling this to help you. Do not get too involved with sgi or it can really do damage to your life. It actually distorts many Buddhist concepts. I agree with a lot of what you say here because I have experienced the same thing. They just feel that they will get more benefits if they try and help you and recruit others.
I found that so weird and cultish. Please respond back and contact me so we can talk more. What specific violations of free choice through manipulation, coercive control and undue influence has the SGI harmed you with? The ax never fell. However, this practice is all about being self-sufficient. I have a very busy life outside of the SGI and only attend activities when I can and am never shamed or beaten for it. Other than that, we have a May giving campaign as a major fundraising push but even that is based on what you are able to give. I was raised Catholic and my parents donated monthly and dropped checks and cash in the basket that was passed around and held bake sales and mini-carnivals to fundraise.
The SGI is a not-for-profit c 3 and is very transparent as to where its money goes. Being a non-profit, those records are public so feel free to scrutinize them all you like. It requires taking action to steer your life in the direction you truly want. Ikeda is a controversial business figure in Japan but with a little investigating, anyone can find the facts. Like many, I ultimately decided that the organization was not for me Calling it a cult is a bit extreme in my opinion, most popular world religions have an insular feel where the practitioners should spend much of their time with each other.
The people I met in SGI all wanted to be a better version of themselves and were using the practice of Nichiren Buddhism as their guiding light. The real lesson in taking advice from fellow practitioners is to know thyself and critique those around you and decide whether their individual advice is valuable. Ultimately for me, the group was too closely knit for the lifestyle I lead so I chose to move on.
I still believe that the time I spent with SGI provided me important lessons and ways of thinking to help me succeed. I personally find it amusing that people could blame a whole religion for their own personal inability to discern what they want for themselves and how best to get it. Thank you so much for this beautiful article. I liked learning about your unique experience. May I recommend a follow up? Go to the source. That would be the path to the truth.
Otherwise, you would never know if your feelings were just deceiving you. SGI does not teach Nichiren Buddhism correctly. The materialism and simplicity of their religion comes from Toda and Makiguchi, mostly Toda. That is purely a cult teaching invented by Ikeda. So you would not be finding the flaws in SGI by looking at Nichiren, since they teach two different versions of Buddhism.
Real Nichiren Buddhism, the real meaning of ichinen sanzen and Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, which are the things Nichiren contributed to Buddhism, is the deepest and most sophisticated philosophy on the planet. You are the only person who made any sense here! Intention is not necessary. I also do not see how anyone who has studied the Gosho could discard the priesthood, as Ikeda has done. He has replaced the profound Gosho with his trite, saccharine guidance. Tagore Peace Award [78] India: World Prize for Humanism Macedonian: Rizal International Peace Award [82] Philippines: Gusi Peace Prize[84] Russia: Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation [85] Singapore: That is not Buddhism.
What really put me off was the chanting for material gain. I knew people who chanted for new apartments, new dishwashers, etc. I was also very much put off by how much of a cult it was and still is.
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If you feel that chanting NMRG to the Gohonzon on the wall enriches your life, spiritually that is, then more power to you. The person who wrote this has very little knowledge of Judaism and the Jewish people. If you are referring to the State of Israel, well yes that is our country, but we are also all over this world. And most emphatically no, we are not a cult. Perhaps Chassidic Judaism has some cultlike attributes, but not Judaism as a whoie. From Wikapedia Soka Gakkai Japanese: It is the largest of the Japanese new religions and holds the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhist groups.
So, in a nutshell. It was even said that it was helping people to renew and strengthen their own practice. Nothing was mentioned in the article about the beads. I asked what is the point of them….. I also had that experience someone mentioned that 2 women — one of them my friend — came to my house and were asking where I intended to put it. Then the Japanese woman asked me to close the doors of the Butsudan that contained my downloaded Gohonzon because it was actually quite distressing for her.
When they came they brought a membership form for me to complete. Why did I have to give all my details to an organisation to become a member in order to benefit from chanting. If chanting is the most important thing, which they constantly say it is, why does everyone decide to become members. In fact, I am the kind of person who wants to be very much my own person, an individual who does things in my own way. Plants, candles, paintings, rugs, furniture, everything has to be in the ideal place to enjoy the full benefit of each thing. I did for over 45 years. However, the organization in my opinion is only interested in bringing in new members and increasing their numbers.
The other issue I had was the total and complete adoration towards Ikeda. He can never be questioned and he can never be wrong. Williams and all he did for the growth of the SGI in America. He was erased from the history books and never talked about or referred to.. The man was blacklisted! Stay away from SGI and Buddhism in general.
You need a savior and that is only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ! If the SGI is so awful, what kept you there for 45 years? I find it hard to believe you adopted Mom forced you to stay for 45 years….. So you practiced for over 45 years and then went back to Jesus Christ? I was born and raised Catholic but been SGI member for 30 years. Jesus never did much for me. With the SGI I do see some of the things you pointed out.
If they were temple members the SGI would have had a field day from this scandal! They have been largely successful in hushing this up in the US. I read it in his speeches on Seikyo shimbun Japanese Soka newspaper. The book is mainly for youth. He says the ones who bully someone is in frustration and taking it out on someone with no fault.
He talks more in details, also about individual cases. If you lack something, it never can be a reason someone can bully you. If lacking somethings is bad, the ones who bully are the worst as human.. Is there any good person with Japanese langage around you? At meetings and on SGI publishments.
Once I said so to a member who live far from my town. As my life stage is very low, I gather mean members around me. Chant for certain time and the mean members will be disappeared. Chanting, prayer, visualization, faith are the mind and spirit working together and somehow manifest results in any religion…. Positive thinking, gratitude, and love for our highest good are all a part of the chemistry of life that seems to provide results.
All religions, can be manipulative, brainwashing if the person is receptive…. SGI has offered many wonderful insights to Buddhism, however, it is not the only one, there is never the only one of anything. Religious organizations of every kind are made of people, who are just that, people who bring to it whatever they are already. So go easy, we are all seekers trying our best!
Peace and love to all! Well no one is forcing you to do anything. It really depends of the people in your area and above all it depends on your own seeking spirit, will to learn and put it to practice in your daily life as you see fit. No one is forcing a real Christian to go to church and pray, if it works for him perfect, there are plenty of great Christians. Same thing with Buddhism or any other religion. I have been chanting for 38 years now and the practice has been very helpful. At the worst time of my life those who wished to protect their own positions effectively turned their backs and by example encouraged others to do so also.
This is understandable, the history of the world and religion. The only problem is SGI today pupports to be different. Nichirens Buddhism is great, it really is and it saddens me that a corrupt few can turn people off so. Their is a solution ie dont give them money and dont empower them and then resent when you are shunned.
Noone quite does shunning as well as the SGI. Does this make them a cult? No I dont think so but they are highly organised and do exhibit some wacko behaviour probably due to cross cultural dichotomies. It it a good cause to support such behavior? Thats ones own personal call. My fear and expetience is that SGI has lost its spirit and the abilty to review itsef. It has become self centred and judgemental. There should be no discrimination but when people have bills to pay…they will do anything and this concludes my view of the paid leadership of SGI and their aspiring cronies. The Soka Gakkai International comprises a global network of affiliated organizations.
As of , the SGI reported active national organizations in countries and territories with a total of approximately 12 million members. National SGI organizations operate autonomously and all affairs are conducted in the local language. While the national organizations are run autonomously, the Tokyo headquarters of SGI disseminates doctrinal and teaching materials to all national organizations around the world. I was a member for five years, but left four years ago. The best thing about the SGI was the members I met.
I could not have wished to meet nicer people. For me, that was its strength. As for the practice, it seemed to me to have little to do with Buddhism I had studied it for some years before joining the SGI , unless of course you believe that Nichiren was indeed the Buddha of the Latter Day, etc. As I got further into the practice the differences between it and the Buddhism I knew from non-SGI sources became ever more apparent.
There were various things that made me increasingly uneasy and resulted in me leaving. One was the unquestioning adulation I saw from a lot, but not all members towards Ikeda. Watching his videos, with a rapt audience of identically dressed people in Japan, with fellow memb0res here who seemed equally enamored and unquestioning, gave me an uneasy feeling. This, to me, was the cult element, but it was not shared by everyone. Another issue was the dismissal of the four noble truths, eightfold path and other key Buddhist practices as being irrelevant.
I felt uncomfortable hearing people being told that although they had not got whatever it was that they wanted some of this smacked of a prosperity cult, which seemed to me to have nothing to do with Buddhism , they could get it if only they strengthened their faith, chanted more, undertook more activities and did more studying.
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If something good happened to someone it was due to the practice. Confirmation bias, rather than evidence played a key part here, supported by groupthink cheering and clapping at discussion meetings, with people being congratulated for the actual proof they had shown of the practice. I could recount many conversations I had with members where, just like people who are members of Abrahamic faiths, they insisted that prayer worked and had given them what they wanted. However, when they were resolved, it was down to the practice.
If it was good it was down to the practice. There is a massive amount of research showing that prayer does not work, e. It became apparent to me that if I spent the time I would otherwise have spent chanting, taking some concrete actions, I could change things. Sitting there chanting might give me hope, but that was it. I do not think that the SGI is any more of a cult, or any worse than many other, for want of a better term, mainstream religious organisations. It gives people hope, comfort and community, just like other religions. That does not make a religion true, however.
In common with other religions there is a profound lack of objectively verifiable evidence for its claims and practices, which may be why they are called faiths, i. It will come as no surprise to anyone reading this that the SG was my gateway to atheism. Who really needs any form of religion when you can base your life on evidence, reason and your own judgment? If you want to travel the Way of Buddhas and Zen masters, then expect nothing, seek nothing, and grasp nothing.
Enlightenment is not a state of being that any person in the modern world can achieve. You must own nothing. No preconceived notions, no judgments of good vs bad, no favored possessions. The true path towards the Buddha nature lies in the abandonment of myriad things and the realization of the impermanence in the world. The only enemy that we face on the path to an enlightened life is our own ego.
The sgi mixes buddhist concepts with their own personal agenda and distort many of the concepts. I was a member for many years and now that I am out I can see how all that group thinking really was so detrimental to my mental health. They pass advise that can be very dangerous. I think that this organization is actually training people to be narsisist and that underneath Disaku Ikeda humble facade is a huge narsisist as well. He has gotten more degrees than all of the famous people he talked with combined and at every meeting you here this.
Yet hardly anyone you know in you work place even knows the name Ikeda. How can you not see something wrong with this? There is a huge pink elephant in the room. I totally think that this organization is about mind control and manipulation and not healthy. Im just trying to help. I wish someone woke me up before I wasted so much time with this organization. I practised for 15 years and was a committed member who had leadership responsibility. I went on courses and was deeply involved in the local group and even went to Japan to visit places like Sado island.
But when I left I was placed under extreme pressure to come back to the organisation with leaders visiting to say I would lose all my benefit and good karma and then other members were slandering me because I became a Christian and the things being said about me were designed to blacken my name and question my mental state. All my so called SGI friends disappeared into the woodwork and not one of them showed themselves to be a true friend who would unconditionally support my decision to leave and practice a different faith.
Leaving the SGI was the best decision I ever made and 12 years on I can say that I am happier now than I ever was then so all the stuff about bad karma if you leave SGI is a load of bullshit. Yes, this would completely be my definition of cult. I was recently introduced. But chanting for others. I left after 30 years. On the whole I enjoyed my time in the Sgi until I started questioning the use of finances, the increasing deification of ikeda and some of the senior leadership and thier authoritarian conduct.
I had a leader above me who was essentially a sociopath and they delighted in trying to ruin my good name. I finally had enough of the politics. I meet two people from SGI and i think they full of bullshit, they both said it not about money and later on ask me to give them money to join this bullshit. Both of the people seem unhappy but act like they happy. This was two different times in my life that people came to me with this bullshit.
This is a cult that asks people for money when they already has millions of dollars, i wish i saw this site before they got my money, scam artist. Those were either not real SGI members or you just made that up. Please embrace your inner Buddha nature, as everyone attains it from deep within. I met a lovely women on a bus that introduced me to SGI, She was warm and caring, I received my Gohonzon, I met other nice caring people. I found it hard to focus on chanting and going to the Centre, place of wosrhip. The biggest problem was the pressure to recruit family. They assume your husband and children should be recruited.
I find that stressful. The seasoned members offer to come to your home but think they can put pressure on your family. I think people should realize that all couples have different interests and it is not right to expect your husband to participate. I am not a member now. I was a member for about 2 years. I think people should realize that all couples have different interests. Have you every tried Nichiren Shu. Just look them up.
I have never been one for organized religion and my parents would never indoctrinate me into their own belief systems. I joined with much skepticism, and basically read the chant through in english multiple times to understand what I was being told to recite. Overall one has to look at the intention of the organization — human revolution.
That is what kept me interested; the sacrifices the founders made. For me, the teachings and practice have been life changing. Thoughts and words affect create? My first objective when I went back to new york was to keep those guys a little closer; I make it a point. I feel that with a level head, one is able to reap the benefits of the teaching and steer clear of the pitfalls of human imperfection, or the mob mentality, in group settings.
Overall I thank my lucky stars for SGI, but feel as well that noone should stop their spiritual growth with any particular practice. We have to keep things in perspective and realize these are only tools or pointers to enlightenment, and be open to growth. We also have to remember that people are not perfect, and not ascribe our negative experiences with beings on the path to the entire organization or to fault the doctrine itself. I had a brush with in in The monks and nuns who arrived in the UK to build the pagoda were fervid and loyal more than to life itself.
They all sported fourth degree burns on their limbs, caused by tying bunches of burning joss sticks to their bodies. I concluded at tgevtime that they had been ordered to self-inflict those burns, and fled. A few years ago I learned that they had indeed been ordered to burn themselves. Nipponsan Myohoji reckon that Sokka whatsit I cannot pronounce it is a cult. Well methinks it takes one to spot one. Yup took me 7 years to get out as well.
And my life has changed because ive cut out abusers. Still a work in progress but glad i took the step and got out! Thank you very much for posting. You nailed this on the head. I and my siblings were raised with the practice. My mom went in and out of the practice through my childhood and at 17 I received my gohonzon. For the sake of discipline it was a good experience. I practiced gongyo each night and finally had it down without the book within 3 months. Pretty soon i was a chapter leader.
Couldnt be that no one else wanted the job cause it was pointless. I became indoctrinated rather quickly and remember being invited to other Buddhist type meet ups but feeling that this would somehow bring on negative karma or that it was forbidden. Namely the Shoshu priesthood. By the time I was 20 I fell out of the practice and periodically came back to it.
I remember seeing the looks on members faces when I would tell them I had tried other spiritual practices in between. Finally when I was 25 I had had enough. I heard a woman at KR gongyo say at the mic that she had essentially prayed to Daisaku Ikeda and at my next district meeting I sat astonished as everyone listened wide eyed to a man talk about how much money he made. Not how happy he was or spiritually connected he felt.
They never talked about that. It feels good to put the organization in the past. Now if I could just remove this tattoo of their logo.. I left the organization because it became increasingly controlling as my ten-year stint wore on. At one point, our European-American leaders were replaced by Japanese citizens; a move I thought was racist and demeaning. The new leader was so poor at reciting the Sutra, I could not follow him!
My interest in the finer points of the priesthood and the teachings were discouraged. I always found street proselytizing deeply offensive, no matter how much I participated. With such a cold reaction from leaders I knew for almost 10 years, I was really heartbroken. It was at that moment that I realized I could no longer follow an organization that only cared about recruitment and conformity.
I stopped attending meetings. No leaders contacted me. Only one close friend inquired about my well being. It was obvious that the organization I had joined was no more. Hearing about the bizarre worship of Ikeda makes me very glad I left when I did. Nothing horrible happened to me, I got the professional counseling I needed, and went on to have a happy marriage and a good career.
Is there a way to do that? I live in Portland, Oregon. Where the only paid employees are those with administrative functions. Nichiren a 13th Century Japanese Buddhist monk established he practice of chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon in order to raise ones life state and attain enlightenment in this lifetime. However, the Gohonzon is not to be viewed as an external object, but a mirror into ones own mind and inner life.
For me, the practice resonates deeply. It has seen me through incredible obstacles a successful and hard fought battle with cancer, deep financial and emotional crises, and ultimately to a life of peace and contentment — though there is always room to improve and become a better person, friend, father, partner and member of my wider community. Yes, I hold Daisaku Ikeda in high esteem, because his take on Nichiren Buddhism and the way he encourages me through his writings to become a better member in the society in which I live. Worthy of honor as my living mentor?
But because I deeply respect the man and value his philosophy. Is the organization perfect? Is it like a church? There is a concerted effort to remain true to the concepts of Nichiren Buddhism and to promote study of the precepts in order to learn more about the deep and rich philosophy backing it all up.
However, it is all up to the individual. Unlike a church, there is no external god or force that will the individual. It all begins and end with you. I love this philosophy and practice and no one has paid me or coerced me to write this. I was just searching the internet trying to find out how to tie a knot in the pesky string upon which the Gohonzon hangs for a new Gohonzon confederal ceremony for a friend of mine.
When I ran across this article. I have practiced this Buddhism for almost 20 years on and off. But following my battle with cancer I resumed practicing with renewed vigor and determination after noticing the tremendous difference the practice made in focusing my mind and life force halfway through my struggle with cancer. I live on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. I have several degrees and have studied a host of different religions. And boy do I have stories to tell there of how a little boy was terrorized his entire life because he was slightly different from everyone else and asked questions.
Blame our mistakes on others. Externalize our failures or unhappiness. It is no more a cult than belonging to the Girl Scouts. Thanks Stephen for your beautiful comments. I disagree with calling it a cult.
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They definitely do get together to chant a lot though. My mom ran into an old friend and decided to give it a shot. She was pretty much cult-proof and was able to leave. Alex, are you trying to bamboozle people by posting, what, 16 times? I think one or two comments when well founded are enough to make the point. I understand your allegiance to SGI. This included questioning the Wikipedia page you quote so liberally, which I believe is heavily edited by SGI. I now have a totally different view from the SGI party line on everything, including their history. Cramming the comments section with your refutations seems disrespectful.
All best to you. I recetnly completed 33 years practicing Nicheren Buddhism. Almost 30 years as some sort of leader in SGI. But, no, its not a cult, not by a long shot. Ikeda is admired and appreciated, not worshipped. The organization is wealthy because as our financial fortune grows, we naturally want to contribute to this great world peace effort. They tell you HOW to practice to see a breakthrough in your life. Agsin, SGI is a wondetrful organization, even though i,too, have issues with some individual leaders and members.
So thankful for SGI. Fault and blame are explosive words, so I want to explain. Most of us are not aware of how much we are locked up with feelings of inadequacy, lack of confidence, and past hurts that generate actions that can be classified as greed, anger and foolishness. Along with positive qualities of kindness, generosity and affection, this becomes the ME that we present to the world. Or so society says. But a human life is complex — like a Garden of Eden, a pit of snakes and a long winding road, all wrapped up into one.
We are OPEN to solutions, we can SEE things for what they are — temporary situations, we can fix by changing our attitude and approach. Problems go away, new problems come up for us to battle. That happens solely because we allowed ourselves to change rather than expecting the other person to change first. This is the message of Nicheren Buddhism. The purpose is to create a happy life and help others do the same. I advise people who had a bad experience with SGI to give it one more try, one last effort to practice correctly, observe the workings of your mind and to see the problem solving process through.
If you have chosen another path, then do it to the max, get all you can from that practice. Not much can be gleaned from half-hearted attempts and scurrying back into a shell. Life has to be lived with courage. This is an interesting topic. My white American mother converted at that time, and I was three. The rest of my family was Catholic or some kind of Christian.
At an early age, I greatly disliked NSA. If you do not practice the SGI way, then you are doing it wrong. How many human pyramids is enough? Best article i read so far on the topic…i was associated with them for 11 years…since my teen years…phew. You have no idea what the definition of a cult is clearly.
No intelligence what soever. I began practicing again sometime after and have continued to do so. He is the 12th century monk who founded the school of Buddhism named after him. The SGI is not a type of Buddhism contrary to what the author said. The fact that the author could have practiced for as long as she apparently did and have misinformation and lack of understanding about foundational aspects of Nichiren Buddhism, Buddhism in general, and the Lotus Sutra is the major reason why I left the SGI. This reliance on an external interpretation of Buddhism is at exact odds with what Nichiren and the Buddha, as quoted in the Lotus Sutra, advocated.
Time and time again they both urged their followers to find out the truth for themselves. To rely on no person but, to instead, rely on the Law the fundamental truth of life. The true practice of Buddhism is one than anyone can engage in. This capacity — the action a Buddha, an enlightened person — is universal. No one gets left out. They just make it easier. Plenty of people, in fact, most people who lead enlightened lives do so without chanting or ever seeing a Gohonzon. Feel free to follow me on FB, or not.
Total transformation and continuous growth comes from not just chanting, but from the combined three-chant, practice, study. I still chant, as I said. I really enjoyed reading this whole article and commentary on SGI. As a practicing Buddhist to date. I have a strong belief that everything you encounter in life has a significant meeting for whatever it is your life purpose is!! I too have felt the same way, in many of the comments I actually thought I was the one writing the comment.
The human emotion we feel when we can relate is amazing, and it can also be harmful!! SGI, is an organization made up of people humans , as like any other religion or philosophical developed institution. What we choose to believe and allow is completely our own responsibility! Bottom line is if you want to understand Buddhism, go to the basics. It is true that there are lots of schools out there. Was a member of SGI, but somehow all this asking advice to a senior leader did not speak to me.
The only truth is in your heart, if you can expand your heart and be receptive you will find the answers and you do not need to be in any religious group or chant for that to happen. Life is this amazing thing. Brilliant in its profound beauty, tragic too in all its sadness and wickedness. We of the SGi fight for life as we are and we will always continue our mission, our vow as Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Please embark or re-embark on a path of life that holds in the most highest regard the great phenomenon that is life, our lives, a treasure to all living beings on this grand stage of life.
Chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to resonate and bring forth the truth and greatness of our life and its realtionship to our own unique realities. And change that what you must for your own happiness. Lets take our planet to higher grounds, for us human beings and for all living beings and for our home, our Earth. I want you to understand the subtle workings of the mind. How you orient your mind, the kind of attitude you take, greatly influences both you yourself and your environment. Through the power of strong inner resolve, we can transform ourselves, those around us and the land in which we live.
I am an SGI member and have found it tremendously beneficial for my life. I have severe depression and anxiety, and let me tell you that this practice is keeping me alive. It is the only thing that has worked for me. Ive tried so many things and this is the only practice that offered real change and provides me with a sense of empowerment, and opened my eyes to my ability to help others through my own struggles. Some people remain members and never become leaders, which means they have very little responsibility, except to go to a meeting every once in while. I understand why certain outside people looking in might see the SGI as having cultish tendencies, but if you actually practice the right way, you will see benefit in your life.
If you have been a member and had bad experiences, I am sorry. The more I challenge and push through this discomfort, the more it goes away and the happier I am. Now the SGI is my 2nd family. When I have faith, engage in study and practice correctly, I am so happy. I feel good about what I am doing for myself and others. We are not cult members. Our goal is always encourage others to do their very best. Our goal is to teach and show others they we absolutely can change their paths and manifest our destiny. Our faith revolves around the laws of the universe.
Chanting and saying that you will change your life around does not happen without actual belief. You may be able to fool other humans, but you can not fool the universe. The universe consists of energy; everything is energy. Move forward with conviction. I also would like to know what district you were assigned to? That is absolutely false. We do not discourage others especially not other memebwra.
Most distric leaders take this a step further and meet with you. I will definitely be chanting for you in my morning session. Chanting that you join this wonderful organization again. Chanting that you take the advice given to you as encouragement and not as belittling judgement. I did consider leaving about 7 years in because I did not understand why I did not see President Ikeda like many other members. I had planned to keep my Gohonzon and keep chanting, but practice Buddhism by myself. I also never tried to understand Daisaku Ikeda.
My husband has made major positive changes too-like so many! I still have problems for sure. I have to fix me through chanting and my own effort. Leaders in the SGI are volunteers and ordinary human beings doing their best to encourage one person at a time. The SGI does not exclude anyone, does not extort its membership, or require anything of its members—not even to chant every day. Practicing Buddhism is a lifelong journey.
We are encouraged not to give up on ourselves no matter what. I definitely feel there is a different approach from different national organisations. And I feel that the Ikeda worship is something which has to be questioned and kept in check. I want many mentors in life not just one, everyone is a mentor in some capacity, can learn from everyone and every situation. So this mentor disciple relationship is a little too much for me, but other aspects I love and keep on practicing.
I spent three weeks learning about their organization and their teachings, just before leaving for University abroad. He taught me a great deal about Karma, life existences, Ichinen Sanzen, White Juzu beads, the history of the Head Temple and the importance of the Dai Gohonzon as central in our practice. It turned out that this has been done many times decades before I joined SGI for membership control purposes. I spent a great deal of time listening to SGI pioneer members, and most importantly the person who introduced me to this practice but in the end. As a fair-minded person, I now heard both sides of the story and I have sympathy for the priests who believe they were given the sacred charge to guard this Orthodox Buddhist practice even at their faults of arrogance or accusations of superiority, and on the other hand, SGI members who felt betrayed that their Lay Organization and their modernised efforts were being invalidated by the Head Temple without consideration of their feelings.
I get both sides, and for my own accord, I felt duped, manipulated, lied to and forced to accept a brand new set of SGI tenets that was not what I learned years before. Then and now, I honestly thought that was a lousy excuse to change the doctrines I learned in and I refuse to accept it using common sense. I also went to Nichiren Shu and was disappointed by their inconsistencies on doctrine and religious syncretism. Now at that point, I did my extended research and compared the teachings at the Nichiren Shoshu temple nearby. I met the Chief priest, assistant priest and a lady who I would consider my friend for life.
In addition, I have had the numerous opportunities to see the Dai Gohonzon and I am truly affirmed and moved by this practice despite times of slander, questioning and doubt. On the other hand, the mental therapy, religious affirmation and nostalgia on SGI restorative belief et cetera were my main reasons for retaining my practice in Nichiren Shoshu. As a westerner, I think Soka Gakkai is entitled to have their own religious version of whatever they teach but they should finalize their doctrine as to not mislead people like myself and others who feel betrayed by what they were once thought.
I myself am a newbie SGI member, having joined just last September, so my first year is coming up. I am not here to bash the SGI nor am I here to praise it, at this moment I am a little upset and skeptical about the organization…I too was recruited during a difficult part in my life, when I was depressed, taking medication and felt like nothing good was going to happen. Just like everyone else, I received my Gohonzon, was told to chant morning and night, come to meetings, go to the center and chant, take the exam, and meet with other members to chant at their homes…everything has been okay, up until recently.
That is SO disrespectful. I have this one member who will honestly message me several times a week asking to chant, if I signed up friends and to go to activities. My father just beat cancer, a miracle that I shared with SGI and they have taken the credit for it. I have barely been chanting for my father during these past couple of months, only a few times. So…explain to me how my dad beat cancer?
It bothers me that these people think they cured my dad. No, my dad is a strong mother-F with good genes and the oncologists under his care did the most aggressive form of chemo and radiation…together, THAT is what beat this cancer. I may not have long until I get out myself. President Ikeda made it his mission to spread this practice world-wide. When he came here in and saw how cult-like it was like Jesus and Gautama Buddha, he never meant to be worshipped, but to show the way to others , he fired everybody!
You have to keep in mind that a lot of the people who joined, came from backgrounds with very strict but even more dysfunctional religions and that is often what they are passing down to you. Stick to the literature, get close to the older, wiser members. I would hate to see anyone deprive themselves of it. There are still things that are creepy — some of the songs etc.
But these have nothing to do with Buddhism. Follow the law, not the person. Indian ashrams, Scientology, Happy Science. If you want to find spirituality or seek the divine, go inside and go within. Walk in nature and be by yourself for a while. The way I see it: Soka Gakkai is a tight-knit, Japan-centric and wealthy Buddhist sect group with political connections not just in Japan, but around the world. This is so interesting. The Soka Gakkai was ridiculed initially for being an organization of the sick and the poor. Through transforming their lives with hard work and determination, through overcoming immense obstacles, they are now being ridiculed for being successful because historically the Buddha had taken a vow of poverty, as did subsequent monks.
But the chanting and the study are the basis of my practice. They are a lousy cult. Chanting is free, Buddhism and enlightenment are available to all equally and cultural exchange is healthy — dialogue is one of the great ways to achieve peace. Before labeling the SGI a cult, It might be helpful to look at its history. This was considered an offense to the government who wanted to control people with its own state religion. Our second president, his disciple Josei Toda, voluntarily went to prison with him.
Our current president Daisaku Ikeda has also fought injustice his entire life and separated from the priesthood which still teaches that only through them can one achieve enlightenment. Nor have I found any other information or articles that show any proof of this being a cult. Please show me some solid evidence or proof that points to this being a cult. They only wish good for everyone. Makes no sense why anyone would consider this bad. I have been watching this happening with some one very very close who is part of SGI and behaves like a zombie in real life… Due to this, there is no time left with the person for the family which is almost at verge of breaking up due all this..
I just wanted to say that I am a perfectly normal person with a healthy dose of skepticism. I am also perfectly sane and in my right mind. I am also a member of the SGI. Now, David Koresh is a completely different ball of wax. He DID claim to be the second coming. I have never once felt like I was forced to do something I did not want to. They are normal, everyday problems.
I am a Chapter level leader, but all that means to me is that I have more to do behind the scenes than regular members; it bestows no special powers upon me. Since, I am older, I have been there and done that, and act as nothing more than a mentor or someone who gets where a younger member may be at in their life.
One youth member and I have bonded over a love of rock music. Yes, I agree the videos are creepy, and sometimes I question how much Ikeda really has written, but the man is 90 years old. Does that make him a cult leader? No, it makes him a prolific writer. Quite frankly, having studied many religions while taking my Sociology degree, I have concluded that most, if not all, religions have cult-like features to them.
So, singling out the SGI is pointless. If chanting nam myoho renge kyo makes you feel better and more in control, then go for it. Wow they were disappointed. They seem as indoctrinated as a church and I was really turned off. I do like and appreciate aspects of Buddhism , but not how they try to convince you that this is THE one and only path.
The chanting is also incredibly hypnotic and you have to assert that you will NOT fall into any trance where you lose your autonomy. Peter or all other saints. If you mention meditation they were all shut down. I was a member of the SGI for about 6 years. At first I thought if he was so evolved and compassionate it must be because of his practice. Turns out he was an alcoholic who yelled at me and was controlling and emotionally abusive. My first doubts were really solidified by viewing the videos begging for money, Jerry Falwell style. Even if I was broke if I sent them enough money all my problems including my financial ones would be erased.
Oh along with more chanting. Nichiren Buddhism is a cult. You chant for what you want… hey, I want a BMW , not for enlightenment. I am an SGI member and it has changed my life for the better. What I do get from my practice is a sense of undeniable consistent courage, hope, confidence and joy.
I feel that some people can have a bad experience with the membership being too pushy. There are all different types of people from all walks of life in the organization and their personality traits can mirror traits of the large society. I would distance myself from those people but not give up my practice and not decide that the organization is a cult based on negative interactions with some members. The practice has given me as a Black Woman the confidence to do things, have experiences and go places that I would never have gone or done elsewhere because of the confidence and hope that I have gained through chanting and practicing with the members who I feel are supportive and not toxic…..
In a church perhaps where I would be judged for this or that reason or another.. Different Strokes for Different Folks……. It works for me and makes me happy and that is what counts to get me through life…. Without sharing their own personal experiences based on their guidance about how your life circumstances could have improved…..
The many community centers around the country and the world are maintained by the financial contributions of the members. He is wealthy from his own efforts and not from the members donating to him to have a nice lifestyle. The rest who longer practice and are feeling negative…. I wish you well and please let us know what you found that has made you happier….. I have met some very nice people through the SGI. This is not just about my ex-boyfriend. I guess it was or when at the May giving time they showed a film about a woman who had cancer, her husband had lost his job, and their house was going to be foreclosed on.
They decided to go ahead and contribute as much as they could.