SGI and the "Secret" to Happiness

CLICK (sgi-usa.org)

Some say Sokka Gakkai ("value creation") it is not "Buddhism." Some say it is a cult -- a brain-washing (mind control through ritual mind-numbing chanting), family-rejecting, money-worshiping devotional movement that originated as a shortcut to buddhahood in Japan then became a very savvy organization with outreach. It might be.

It is also alleged to be the fastest growing form of Buddhism in America among Hispanics and African Americans and college students. That is reason enough to merit consideration. Buddhism is open to all, but not all national forms of Buddhism are as inviting as SGI.

[Chanting] The Secret of the Lotus Sutra

The Secret to Happiness

The secret is that there is no secret! Buddhism teaches that a universal Law (dharma) underlies everything in the universe. This is the very essence of life. One could also think of it as the fundamental rhythm of life and the universe. Nichiren [the Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism] identified this Law or essence as [the chant] Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. He taught that by correctly carrying out the practice of [this form of] Buddhism everyone is able to bring his/her individual life into harmony with the greater life of the universe. More

The infamous daimoku/Tina Turner chant

• Cult Awareness Network complaints about SGI
  
• RickRoss.com is an Internet archive of information about cults, destructive cults, controversial groups, and movements. The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey (RI) is a nonprofit public resource.
• Need to be deprogrammed?
  

Sold out "Burning Man" begins (watch live)

Madeleine Brand (KPCC)

Nighttime glimpse of Burning Man 2010 (Michael Holden/cc by-nc-nd/Flickr.com)

BLACK ROCK CITY, Nevada - Economic austerity? Not when it comes to entertaining distractions. More than 50,000 people are converging this week at "Burning Man" for the annual arts festival. It reaches its zenith on Labor Day. Among the attractions are a 15 foot tall Pez Dispenser with a giant yellow chicken head and a giant fire breathing dragon that doubles as a Viking ship.

WATCH LIVE

The festival culminates with the torching of an enormous effigy. For the first time in the festival's 25 year history, tickets are sold out. Scalpers on EBay are charging as much as $800 for tickets [for those afraid to show up and get in for free or for much less], causing some to suggest that capitalistic interests are overshadowing this year's communitarian gathering.

Jessica Bruder joins Madeleine Brand from the desert. Bruder is the author of Burning Book: A Visual History of Burning Man, writing about the gathering's growing pains for the New York Times.

• LISTEN: "Burning Man" begins!

More

• Burning Man (official website)
• Burning Man Buddhists
• Lotus in a Sea of Fire: Burning Buddhist Questions
• While reflecting on Buddhism and Burning Man, I learned of a wildfire encroaching on a meditation retreat. It's an analogy... Of the many things for which San Francisco is notorious, Buddhism and Burning Man are undoubtedly near the top of the list. Home to the first Buddhist temples in the US, the city has attracted several waves of Asian immigrants, a handful of Zen masters, and a bunch of Beat writers that together have fostered dozens of sanghas representing an array of Buddhist traditions (Reality Sandwich).
• Buddhist Hoola Hoop: Burning Man, Markawasi, Peru
• Burning Man Buddha (Tricycle)
• Buddha Camp: Bringing (Nichiren) Buddhism to Burning Man since 2007: They're baaaack for their fifth year on the Playa! Their 2011 address will be the block of 4:30 and Coming Out (approximately). All chanting is done American Gongyo style. BuddhaCamp@theLotusDome is a Burning Man theme camp that was started by a small group of Burner Buddhists in Seattle, Washington.

The Four Truths of Recovery

(thesun.co.uk)

Amy Winehouse was a Jewish-Buddhist. But it was a first when she pulled out of a festival [Rock En Seine Festival in Paris] because she was in a state of Buddhist relaxation. The singer has been trying to find peace in her chaotic life by chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.

For those who have alcohol, illegals drugs, or engage in addictive routines to unwind, Amy found a better option: Nicherin Buddhism, perhaps the most questionable form of devotional "value creation."

The Sun quotes a source as saying: "One of her musicians introduced Amy to Buddhist chanting. She chants for ten minutes in the mornings and just before she sleeps.

"Amy has also been watching the interview clip of Tina Turner chanting on YouTube [on Larry King Live] and she reckons it's already affecting her in a positive way.

"She has a string of Buddhist beads that she chants with, which she keeps in a red silk scarf.

"She says chanting is filling her life with positivity while she is trying to sort herself out." More

Buddhist 12 Steps

AgainstTheStream.org

1. Addiction is Suffering.

• Understand, acknowledge, admit, and accept all of the ways drugs, alcohol, and so on have caused suffering in our lives. Action: Write an in-depth and detailed inventory of the suffering you have experienced in association with your addictions.

2. The Cause of Addiction is Craving.

• Understand that all forms of addiction have their roots in the natural human tendency to crave for life to be more pleasurable and less painful than it actually is. The substances we have craved and become addicted to must be abandoned and renounced. Action: Investigate, analyze, and share the inventory with your mentor or teacher and come to understand the cause of your addiction/suffering.

3. Recovery is Possible.

• Freedom from the suffering caused by addiction is attainable, IF we are ready and willing to follow the eightfold path. Action: Study and apply the Buddhist teachings on enlightenment (awakening) and eventually you will come to a verified-faith in the path of recovery/enlightenment through the actions you take on the path.

4. The 8-Fold Path to Recovery.

• The eight factors or folds of the path are to be developed, experienced and penetrated. This is a path of action not blind faith, recovery will only come from taking the right actions. This is not a linear path, it does not have to be taken in order, rather all of the factors will need to be developed and applied simultaneously. This is a guide to having a life that is free from addiction, not a process that we go through once or twice, the eight folds of recovery will have to be maintained through out one's life.

Buddha nature (Soka Gakkai Int'l in India)

Sakina Yusuf Khan (Times of India, March 24, 2011)

Soka Gakkai is Japanese for "value creation." It is a sect from Japan that is growing in popularity in India and America, especially among the young.

Soka Gakkai International (SGI) was in the news recently when Motilal Banarsidass, publisher of spirituality-related books, conferred the first MLBD Indology Award for Indic research and Oriental wisdom on SGI President Daisaku Ikeda, who resides in Japan.

So much enthusiasm
At the award function in New Delhi, their infectious enthusiasm to reach out was striking: Young SGI volunteers were waiting to eagerly welcome everyone....

Value creation
As the "society for value creation," members try to live the philosophy of "humanism." They follow Nichiren Buddhism. Nichiren Daishonin was a Japanese Buddhist monk who lived in the 13th century. Nichiren asserted that every individual has the power to become enlightened, to overcome life's inevitable challenges, to live a life of value, and to become a positive influence in the community, society, and the world.

Today with 12 million followers worldwide, SGI focuses on developing positive human potentialities for hope, courage, and altruistic action. Its Indian affiliate, the Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) has over 50,000 members, mostly in big cities, but the movement is spreading to small towns. More