Climbing Everest for Middle East peace (video)

Wisdom Quarterly
(lancetrumbull)

Narrated by Nichiren Buddhist Orlando Bloom (pictured left) and hailed as a "tremendous achievement" by the Dalai Lama (Tibet's pope-king), "Everest: A Climb for Peace" is no typical Everest film. It is a socially relevant documentary about peace, war, and the human spirit -- an inspirational adventure film with some of the most incredible Mt. Everest footage ever shot, including a dramatic rescue from near the summit of a mountain some regard as Mt. Sumeru (the mountain at the center of the Buddhist cosmology). Tibetans call it Goddess Qomolangma ("Holy Mother"), whereas the local sherpas who frequently climb it call it Sagarmāthā, and the Chinese, who are still occupying Tibet, call it Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng in Mandarin.

View from the Top of the World

• VIDEO: EverestPeaceProject.com
• Everest: A Climb for Peace continues national TV airings
  

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?
  

Chanting "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" didn't save Amy

Amy Winehouse dies in spite of Soka Gakai chanting

Even though she chanted daimoku, she remained addicted, suicidal, and on a self-destructive path. Does that mean daimoku doesn't "work?" That depends what one means by "work." If we think namu-myoho-renge-kyo is a magic phrase that makes us happy and is a get-out-of-death-and-suffering-free card, no, it doesn't "work." Nichiren Buddhism is a life-long practice -- even if our life turns out to be heartbreakingly short. It's not a quick fix or magic cure. More

Just Chant This and That's It?

Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

Is it possible that Brahminical-style chants that mimic Sanskrit hymns (gathas) do not have magical power?

The Vedas gave the ancient Indus Valley Civilizations, which Adi Shankara's Hinduism claims as its inheritance, mantras for everything.

These enchantments first focused the minds of seers (rishis) and were then used by brahmins to enhance their temple-bound priesthood that the Buddha (and other spiritual wanderers or shramans) rejected.

But the technique is sound -- repetition that cuts off normal consciousness and gives way to an elevated state. Simply chanting never works anymore than saying "Abracadabra" or "Open Sesame."

But sincere, persistent, and devoted utterance of special sounds is widely accepted as being effective IF it is consistent and in integrity with one's life. Living one way and chanting another is working at odds with one's professed intention. For example, trying to quit drugs while chanting Nichiren Buddhism's hallmark hymn might really help.

But getting high to enhance the elevation brought on by dedicated chanting is only mocking the process. Or, worse, using the chant as a quick shortcut to material riches -- why, IF that worked, who wouldn't do it? Nichiren goes much deeper than a pretty mantra and a cultish appearance.

• Maybe it worked: Did Amy Winehouse die of alcohol withdrawal?
• What is Nichiren and "Value Creation"? (sgi-usa.org)

Tina Turner chants on CNN's Larry King

• PHOTOS: Drugs ruin a person's youthful looks
• Too much of a good thing: When sex lasts too long
• Amy's parents, public braced for death for years
• Amy Winehouse joins unfortunate 27 Forever Club
• Three-way Los Angeles AdultCon cancels convention
• Squatting (adverse possession) to get a home
• Squatter gets $330,000 house in Texas for $16

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