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Copyright 1993 by the Christian Research Institute.
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"I was A Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist For 14 Years" (an article from
the Christian Research Newsletter, Volume 3: Number 1, 1990) by
Jim Stephens.
The editor of the Christian Research Newsletter is Ron Rhodes.
From the TESTIMONY column:
The personal testimony of Jim Stephens.
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The accident report read, "Cause: Act of God."
I was in a train station in Japan, making a pilgrimage
to the head Buddhist temple Daisekiji at the foot of Mount
Fuji, when a young man -- in perfect English -- warned:
"Beware the winds of Himeiji!" Three and one-half hours
later, I was leaning over to put some postcards into my
travel bag and heard someone yell a warning in Japanese.
The next thing I knew, a sign weighing nearly 200 pounds
came crashing down on my back. I was in shock and my right
arm was paralyzed. I couldn't believe this was happening
to me!
The railroad authorities didn't want to take
responsibility for what had happened. They offered me
money as a bribe; they wanted to forget the accident had
ever happened. But I refused the offer, after obtaining
advice from the U.S. embassy. Had I accepted the money,
the embassy told me, that would have relieved the railroad
authorities of all obligations and responsibility.
This episode caused me to become very discouraged, and
I desperately needed someone to lean on. In a wheelchair
and all alone, I decided to seek help from leaders at the
Soka Gakkai Buddhist headquarters in Tokyo. But my efforts
were in vain. They had no compassion whatsoever for me or
my unfortunate turn of events; they simply urged me to
continue my pilgrimage, even though I was confined to a
wheelchair.
I remember asking myself at the time, "Why? Why don't
these Buddhist leaders help me? Don't they see my
condition? Don't these Buddhists -- who have been
practicing _far longer_ than I -- have any compassion at
all?"
After this experience, I had no desire to finish the
pilgrimage. All I wanted to do was go home to my loving
family. So I flew back to the United States. To say the
least, I was beginning to have major doubts in my mind
about Buddhism.
Accidents have a way of bringing us face to face with
life's precious realities. As a Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist,
I had for fourteen years invested my energy, prayers, and
hopes for a better life in the philosophy of Nichiren
Daishonin, a thirteenth-century Japanese monk who claimed
to have found the "true Buddhism." In the United States
his followers are organized by the Nichiren Shoshu Academy
(NSA), also known as Soka Gakkai. The main goal of NSA is
"Kosenrufu," or "world peace through the propagation of
Buddhism." And for years, I had enthusiastically sought
Kosenrufu.
As I reflect back on those years, it strikes me that
my commitment to NSA could be questioned by none. As a
young Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist, I became a member of the
Brass Band -- a musical group founded specifically for the
young men's division of NSA. The band was intended as a
training activity for developing character in young men.
As a member of this band, I attended a multitude of
conventions and was often called to the headquarters for
musical performances for overseas dignitaries.
I also helped build the Malibu Training Center and
Santa Monica headquarters (both in California). I became a
senior leader (or elder) of the young men's division at
the Santa Monica headquarters, and was a graduate of the
Nichiren Shoshu study department. By this time, my life
had become thoroughly and unconditionally committed to
Kosenrufu.
It was not long after this that I decided to make a
pilgrimage to Japan -- a decision largely motivated by my
yearning for truth. I had become deeply involved in my
commitment to see Buddhism spread throughout the United
States, but I found a tremendous lack of translated
material. As a result, I began to search. Little did I
know that I would soon uncover some things that would give
me a new perspective.
Open forums and meetings with fellow Buddhists began
to shed a new (and negative) light on the Buddhist
religion for me. During these sessions, like-minded
Buddhists began to ask questions like, "Why must we have a
picture of sect President Daisaku Ikeda on the wall?
Doesn't that make it look like we're worshipping him? Why
must we wear white? Why can't men wear beards? Why must
men and women sit apart from one another? And where is all
the money going in NSA?" We felt that we should have a
little more control over what was going on.
During one period, some of the Japanese leadership
attended the meetings and were later overheard behind
closed doors saying, "these meetings must be stopped." And
so, one by one, the meetings _were_ stopped. This caused
me a great deal of disillusionment.
As a senior leader in NSA, I encountered more and more
hypocrisy in the upper leadership levels and made sincere
attempts to resolve organizational and philosophical
deficiencies. However, these attempts were only met by
deceit, jealousy, power maneuvers, and even threats
against my life. I made a last-ditch effort by talking
with top Soka Gakkai leaders, but it only confirmed my
need to talk to President Daisaku Ikeda, "master" of the
sect, who is praised and glorified by Nichiren Shoshu
devotees. (Ikeda's picture is prominently placed near
Nichiren Shoshu altars worldwide.)
I tried to make legitimate appointments with President
Ikeda by letter, by phone, and in person -- only to be
denied and pushed aside. But -- undaunted -- I was
_determined_ to see him. One day he was coming out of the
World Culture Center in Santa Monica (which is the North
American headquarters for NSA), and was heading for his
car behind a wall of Buddhist bodyguards. I rushed across
the street to within just a few feet of him and cried out
to him. I _know_ that he heard me, but he refused to even
look my way. I was coldly shunned as he got into his
limousine and sped away. At that point, I was a
spiritually broken man. I felt totally lost.
Even after that incident, I was unwilling to abandon
fourteen years of Buddhist practice, and yet I was
noticing in myself more and more depravity until I could
scarcely identify with a pure conscience anymore. The
leaders were not the only hypocrites. I, too, was living a
lie. I was painfully lost in a spiritual wasteland and was
weighed down with sin. I realized that while Buddhism had
benefited me in many ways, it ultimately led to a
spiritual dead end. As a great wise man, King Solomon,
once said: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but
in the end it leads to_ death_" (Prov. 16:25).
But God was soon to show me the way to _life._ One day
a young Christian architect friend of mine, Laurie, who
had been sharing with me earlier, came into the blueprint
store where I was working. My spiritual hunger prompted me
to confide in her that I was seeking spiritual truth. She
responded by saying, "I've got a present for you that I'll
bring by tomorrow." As she left, she looked back at me
behind the counter and said, "I've been praying for you."
I was deeply moved by her concern for me.
The next morning, there was a package waiting for me
with a card on top which said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom
of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be
added unto you." There were also two books: one by J.
Isamu Yamamoto called _Beyond Buddhism,_ and another by
Josh McDowell, _More Than a Carpenter._ After reading
these books, I wondered, "Could this be the perfect Master
I was seeking, but didn't know?"
Soon after this, another Christian friend named Craig
saw my spiritual confusion, and challenged me to "go home
and get down on my knees and pray and ask God whether I
ght in Buddhism. Often top Nichiren Shoshu leaders would
mockingly exclaim, "Can you believe a religion that
worships a dead man on a cross?" But here in this book was
the Living Master -- the One my heart had sought so
desperately in men.
I was then introduced by my father to a pastor from a
church in Santa Monica who shared the truth of the Living
God with me. He read to me the words of Christ: "I am the
bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he
who believes in Me shall never thirst." Convicted of my
sin against a holy God, I laid down my burden at the
Savior's feet and gave my life to Him. That night, my wife
-- a Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist for 16 years -- also
believed. What grace!
Nichiren, the self-proclaimed Japanese True Buddha
that we had followed for so many years, said that if he
found a teacher greater than himself he would follow him.
In our case, _we_ were found by a greater Teacher -- the
Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal God,
before whom "every knee shall bow." Hallelujah!
(_Editor's Note:_ Do you know someone involved in
Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism? Would you like help in how to
share Christ with this person? If so, Jim Stephens would
like to hear from you. Write him at: The Institute of
Buddhist Studies, P.O. Box 4796, Panorama City, CA 91412.)
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End of document, CRN0009A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"I Was A Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist For 14 Years"
release A, July 6, 1993
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their
help in the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS
circulation.)
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