Forbidden Japan

• Shinto (indigenous shamanic animistic kami religion)
• Shapeshifting kami are not demon-monster yōkai
• Mahayana Buddhism in Japan
• Shingon Buddhism (Japanese Vajrayana)
• Nichiren Shōshū: way of devotion to other-power (tiriki)
• Zen Buddhism: the self-powered (jiriki) way

Chant for stuff: Soka Gakkai Buddhist CULT

Namu myōhō renge kyō (南無妙法蓮華経): Devotion to Mystic Dharma of Lotus Flower Sutra

Pseudo-spirituality books like The Secret, Passion for Profits (Family Guy's Brian writes a bestseller 

Dharma Vlog: Cults and weird Buddhism

(Doug's Dharma) Dougie discusses some experiences with a teacher who was in a couple of cults, plus an example of "weird Buddhism" that provides a bit of a life lesson.

• Why Buddhism isn't a religion (Doug's Dharma)

Beneficial? Lend a hand in exchange for fun benefits. Check out Doug Smith's Patreon: dougsseculardharma. Donate: paypal.me/dougsdharma. Visit the Secular Buddhist Association webpage: secularbuddhism.org. Doug's material: secularbuddhism.org/author/doug.

How to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo | English

(Soka Gakkai Official) Is "wishcraft" real? What does Nam-myoho-renge-kyo mean? [Don't worry about it. That's not important. Just chant it, and don't stop!] How can I start chanting? This short film introduces the daily practice of "Soka Gakkai Buddhists" and demonstrates how to chant [their magic mantra].

• Other power over self-power (tariki over jiriki)
• Who made up the magic Lotus Sutra?

The Soka Gakkai is a global community-based Buddhist[-ish] organization that promotes peace, culture, and education centered on [faith, not asking questions, and suspending critical thinking, but you get stuff] respect for the dignity of life.

The CULT of Soka Gakkai

(Prophet of Nonsense) The Many Cults of Japan: Soka Gakkai

The Many Cults of Japan: Soka Gakkai

(Prophet of Nonsense) Formerly Shinto Japan is full of religious crazies. Here are the Buddhist ones.

Its members in 192 countries and territories study and put into practice the humanistic philosophy of [blind faith-based] Nichiren Buddhism. Soka Gakkai members strive to [make money and material riches by magic and] actualize their inherent potential while contributing [tithing it to the cult and] to their local communities and responding to the shared issues facing humankind.

No wonder Japan hates religions

(Let's Ask Shogo) How Japanese people came to hate religions

The conviction that individual happiness and the realization of peace are inextricably linked is central to the Soka Gakkai, as is a commitment to dialogue and nonviolence.

Subscribe to channel: sgivideosonline. Website: sokaglobal.org, Facebook (sgi.info), Instagram (sgi.info), Twitter (sgi_info).

• Doug Smith (secularbuddhism.org), Aug. 10, 2017; Prophet of Nonsense, Oct. 31, 2020; Let's Ask Shogo, Nov. 1, 2023; CC Liu, Sheldon S., Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Buddhist colleges in the USA: Soka U

Soka University of America

See Soka University photo gallery  (Niche)

Soka University of America (SUA) is a private, non-profit institution in Aliso Viejo, Orange County (next to Laguna Beach), Southern California.

It offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in liberal arts and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in educational leadership and societal change.

Each offers a unique curriculum that emphasizes leadership and contributive citizenship. SUA was founded on the Buddhist principles of peace, human rights, and the sanctity of life. The curriculum, however, is entirely secular.

• Soka University of America (Niche)

The study of sciences (STEM)

Undergraduates are required to study a non-native language and study abroad for a semester in a country where that language is spoken. (The cost of this is included in tuition).

Undergraduates with a family income below $90,000 and who have demonstrated financial need have their tuition covered by a combination of grants and scholarships from the university, federal and state governments, and private agencies.

SUA also offers generous needs-based aid to students whose household income is greater than $90,000 as well as scholarship opportunities that are not based on family income.

• Soka University of America (soka.edu)
• Soka University of America (Wikipedia)
• ADDRESS: 1 University Drive
• Aliso Viejo, California 92656
• PHONE: (949) 480-4000
• EMAIL: info@soka.edu

• What about the school's name? It is from the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist Movement
• Worship through chanting of Japanese mantra: Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō
• Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley, California (1949)
• Shambhala founder Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Naropa University (1974)
• Taiwanese Buddhist Dharma Realm Buddhist University (1976)
• University of the West, Buddhist college, San Gabriel Valley (1990)
• Wat Phra Dhammakaya with Buddhist college in Azusa
• Maitripa College Tibetan Buddhist College of Oregon (2005)
• Won Institute of Graduate Studies Pennsylvania (2001)
• Ewam Buddhist Institute – located in Arlee, Montana
• Go vegan and supplement with Vitamin B12 to avoid deficiency and dementia (The Hearty Soul)
• Japanese mountain town is known for lacquerware — tradition goes back centuries
• Buddhist universities and colleges in the United States
• Soka.edu; Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Tina Turner (RIP): Nam myoho renge kyo

Tina Turner: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo (two-hour Nichirin Buddhist mantra)

(Tina Turner Blog) The great American singer has succumbed to old age, sickness, and death, as many (but not all) of us will someday other. Wait, who won't succumb? The awakened (the noble ones known as the arhats have made an end of rebirth and therefore also of death; they do not die but recline into final nirvana, the "deathless state" or amata, unending bliss, the "unconditioned element"). Back on Dec 15, 2015, Turner released this profession of her Buddhist faith in a fringe kind of Buddhism that's about as far away from the Teachings of the historical Buddha as one could get and still call it "Buddhism." But Japan came up with many deviant-innovations to the religion and secular philosophy of early Buddhism, distinguishing tareki and jariki, "other willed" and "self-willed." In this form of Buddhism, one is going to get all of her wishes by simply chanting a magic mantra over and over again, but not just to any. It has to be chanted at this magic box one purchases. It's like the Law of Attraction with the universe as a big ATM Gift Machine when we put in the work of wishing and wanting and not doing direct action (karma) to get it but rather a kind of indirect pleading/ordering by the secret code of Nam myoho renge kyo, which might translate to something like "I pay homage to this magic box [so give me all that I want, and hurry up as I've already repeated the mantra hundreds of thousands of times and I'm in a hurry to have all my wishes fulfilled already." #TinaTurnerBlog #TinaTurner tinaturnerblog.com.

From the first Beyond CD, Tina Turner chants the mantra Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Here is the original text of the full mantra chanted with English translation/signification:

Myoho Renge Kyo — The wonderful Law of the Lotus Sutra 

Ho ben pon dai ni: Skillful Ways

Ni Ji Se Son — There the World Honored One 

Ju San Mai — Quietly came up 

An Jo Ni Ki — From his stillness (samadhi)

Go Shari Hotsu — And said to Shariputra [foremost in wisdom]: 

Sho Bu' Chi E — The wisdom of the buddhas 

Jin Jin Mu Ryo — Is profound and cannot be measured 

Go Chi E Mon — Its gate is hard to understand 

Nange Nan Nyu — And difficult to enter. 

Is Sai Sho Mon — No shravaka-disciple 

Hyaku Shi Butsu — Or self-taught buddha 

Sho Fu No Chi — Can understand it. 

Sho I Sha Ga — Why is that? (It's because) 

Butsu Zo Shin Gon —the [present] buddhas attended on many 

Hyaku Sen Man Noku — hundreds of thousands of billions 

Mu Shu Sho Butsu — Of [past] buddhas, 

Jin Gyo Sho Butsu — And practiced the many teachings 

Mu Ryo Do Ho — Of those buddhas bravely and energetically 

Yu Myo Sho Jin — To their far-flung fame till they attained 

Myo Sho Fu Mon — The profound Law 

Jo Ju Jin Jin — Which you've never heard before, 

Mi Zo U Ho — And also because they are exposing 

Zui Gi Sho Setsu — The Law [Dharma] according to the capacities 

I Shu Nan Ge — Of all living beings a way that the intention is hard to understand 

Shari Hotsu — Shariputra! 

Go Ju Jo Butsu I Rai — Since I became the Buddha, I also 

Shu Ju In Nen — Have been stating various teachings 

Shu Ju Hi Yu — With different stories of previous lives, 

Ko En Gon Kuyo — Various parables, and various similes. 

Mu Shu Ho Ben — I have been leading all living beings 

In Do Shu Jo — With countless expedient means 

Ryo Ri Sho Jaku — In order to save them from materialism, 

Sho I Sha Ga — Because I have the power 

Nyo Rai Ho Ben — To employ skills, 

Chi Ken Hara Mitsu — And the power to perform 

Kai I Gu Soku — The perfection (reached goal of wisdom) of insight 

Shari Hotsu — Shariputra! 

Nyo Rai Chi Ken —The insight of the Tathagatas [Wayfarers or Thus Come/Thus Gone Ones]

Ko Dai Jin Non — Is wide and deep. 

Mu Ryo Mu Ge — They have all the [states of mind 

Riki Mu Sho I — Towards] countless [living beings], 

Zen Jo Ge Da's' San Mai — unchecked [intelligence], powers, 

Jin Nyu Mu Sai — Fearlessness, absorption-concentrations, 

Jo Ju Is Sai — Liberations and samadhis. They entered 

Mi Zo U Ho — Deep into no limits, and attained the Law which you've never heard before 

Shari Hotsu — Shariputra! 

Nyo Rai Nyo Shu Ju Fun Betsu —The Tathagatas divide the Law 

Gyo Ses Sho Ho — Into various teachings and state 

Gon Ji Nyu Nan — Those teachings so gently and skillfully 

Ek Ka Shu Shin — That living being are delighted. 

Shari Hotsu — Shariputra! 

Shu Yo Gon Shi — In short, the buddhas attained 

Mu Ryo Mu Hen — The countless teachings 

Mi Zo U Ho — Which you've never heard before 

Bus Shitsu Jo Ju — No more 

Shi — Will I say 

Shari Hotsu — Shariputra,

Fu Shu Bu Setsu — Because the Law 

Sho I Sha Ga — attained by the buddhas 

Bus Sho Jo Ju — Is the highest Truth. 

Dai Ichi Ke U — Rare [to hear] and hard 

Nan Ge Shi Ho —To understand. 

Yui Butsu Yo Butsu — Only the buddhas attained 

Nai No Ku Jin — The highest Truth, that is

Sho Ho Jis So — The Reality of All Things 

Sho I Sho Ho — In regards to:

Nyo Ze So — Their appearances (form? shape? size?) as such, 

Nyo Ze Sho — Thier natures (essence) as such, 

Nyo Ze Tai — Their embodiments (present rebirth) as such, 

Nyo Ze Riki — Their powers (potentiality also possibilities) as such, 

Nyo Ze Sa — Their activities (function or role) as such, 

Nyo Ze In — Their primary causes (obvious cause) as such, 

Nyo Ze En — Their environmental causes (process) as such, 

Nyo Ze Ka — Their effects (latent or hidden effect) as such, 

Nyo Ze Ho — Their requital (final outcome or return) as such, 

Nyo Ze Hon Ma' Ku Kyo To — And the combination of these [factors] as such (over and over again)

"Wisdom" in Nichiren Buddhism (SGI video)

SGI Quarterly, January 2003 (sgi.org); edited and expanded by Wisdom Quarterly

Is chanting the magical mantra "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" wise? (© iStock.com/A330Pilot)

Bodhi leaf from the Tree of Wisdom

A buddha is characterized as a person of profound wisdom. The idea of wisdom [prajna] is central to Buddhism. But wisdom can be a vague and elusive concept, hard to define and harder to find.

How does one become wise? Is wisdom something that we can actively develop, or must we merely wait to grow wiser as we grow older?

Perhaps it is because wisdom is such an indistinct concept that it has lost value as a relevant ideal in modern society, which has instead come to place great store in information and the attainment of knowledge.

Josei Toda, second president of the Soka Gakkai ["Value Creation Association International," in Japanese, (SGI) a populist form of Nichiren's Mahayana Buddhism], characterized the confusion between knowledge and wisdom as one of the major failings of modern society.

What is SGI? This is an abbreviated version of "Our Shared Humanity"

SGI transforming lives

His critique is starkly demonstrated in the astonishing progress of technology in the last century. 

While scientific and technological development has shown only a mixed record of alleviating human suffering, it has triumphed remarkably in its ability and efficiency in unleashing death and destruction.

Toda likened the relationship between knowledge and wisdom to that between a pump and water. A pump that does not bring forth water (knowledge without wisdom) is of little use.

Wisdom is that which directs knowledge toward good -- toward the creation of value.

This is not to deny the importance of knowledge. But knowledge can be utilized to generate both extreme destructiveness and profound good.

Wisdom is that which directs knowledge toward good -- toward the creation of value.

Buddhist teachings, such as the concept of the five kinds of wisdom, describe and analyze in detail the dynamics of wisdom and how it manifests at different levels of our consciousness. More 

• Trying to understand Mahayana Buddhism's Lotus Sutra
• What are we to make of Good and Evil in the view of SGI?
• Observing the Precepts (Soka Gakkai International, SGI)
• Why does Soka Gakkai (SGI) worship the Lotus Sutra?

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

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.

"Jackass" star becomes a Buddhist (video)

"Jackass" star Steve-O is a Buddhist
The newly, successfully sober but still crazy stuntman Steve-O practices Nichiren Buddhism. He mentioned his conversion without going into further detail in the introduction to a new interview in the Miami New Times. Tina Turner will be overjoyed:

The best nam myoho renge kyo ever (Larry King)

Rebel Buddha: On the Road to Freedom
Wisdom Quarterly
Maybe Steve-O has been reading this new book (Shambala, $21.95)? Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche is a Seattle-based Tibetan Buddhist monk who discusses how we can eliminate fear and unhappiness by awakening the "rebel buddha" within -- the "sharp, clear intelligence that resists the status quo," according to the publisher. The Vajrayana author is the founder of Nalanda West, a Fremont center dedicated to fostering American Buddhism. DailyOM review

• Miami New Times on Buddhism

Finding the way to enlightenment

Linda Leicht (news-leader.com 7/11/09)
ROGERSVILLE, Missouri -- Joanne Banks sits on a low stool in front of an elaborate cabinet of enamel black and gold that serves as an altar. Her face is soft, punctuated only by a tiny dimple in her right cheek, as her lips barely move:

"Nam Myoho Renge Kyo," she chants in a voice that reveals more power than her serene look implies.

Banks is a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism and an active member of a lay organization called Soka Gakkai International.

The daughter of a Japanese mother and American father whose military career took them around the country and the world, Banks has tried many religions. "I kept searching," she says.

After moving to the Ozarks in 1997, she decided to "reconnect" with her Buddhist roots. She began studying, met some other SGI members, and learned the most important lesson of her life: "I have all the answers within me." More>>

Tina Turner chants (Amy Winehouse listens)

Larry King interviews Tina Turner about her Buddhist affiliations and the meaning of Nichiren Buddhism. The best rendition of the mantra (nam myoho renge kyo) and first prayer to be found anywhere occurs between 2:40 and 3:56.

Amy Winehouse: Buddhist

Award winning popstar Amy Winehouse (askmen.com)

Singer and "Rehab" aficionado Amy Winehouse has taken up Buddhism, apparently being inspired by singer Tina Turner to seek solace in the religion.

The Buddha-Dharma is open to all, and all have something to gain. Whether it's meditation and liberation...or values (sila) and self-discipline..or just trendy tee shirts and a sensible worldview, Buddhism has it all. Even if it's the antithesis of the Buddha's principle message, immediate material benefit, there's a popular mantra to chant straight out of Japan. The Buddha's overarching message of love, tolerance, and self-improvement invites all to "come and see for themselves."

Amy Winehouse is feeling Much Buddha
BANG Showbiz/The Sun (9/02/08)

Amy Winehouse has taken up Buddhism. The troubled star -- who doctors reportedly fear could be brain damaged after a recent cannabis overdose -- has been inspired by singer Tina Turner to seek solace in the religion. The 24-year-old singer chants Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, a form of Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism [Soka Gakai International].

A source told Britain's The Sun [link to tabloid coverage here] newspaper: "Amy was introduced to Buddhist chanting by one of her musicians. She chants for 10 minutes in the mornings and just before she sleeps. "Amy has also been watching the interview clip of Tina Turner chanting on YouTube [as seem on WQ] 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." Amy has endured a turbulent 2008. She has been in and out of rehab, involved in several drunken brawls, seen her husband Blake Fielder-Civil jailed and suffer numerous health problems, including scarring of the lungs. The "Rehab" singer is planning to dress up as a mermaid for her performance at the Bestival music festival on the Isle of Wight this weekend, for the "30,000 Freaks Under The Sea" fancy dress theme.