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Note: Andy gave me permission to reproduce this letter. He was originally going to send something very close to Danny Nagashima, but he decided against it on the grounds that he'd pretty much lost hope that it would be taken seriously. He told me to explain his reasons as follows:
"..., but he decided against it at the request of some of the IRG central committee members, because the reason to do so would be as a "final swipe" at the SGI-USA, which he felt would have been a petty or spiteful gesture, and which could have made matters more difficult for those reformers who remain with the SGI-USA."
Nichiren teaches us to regard "critics" as our best friends under certain circumstances. In one Gosho he refers to "Hei No Saemon" as his "good friend" (Zenchishiki) for helping him prove the validity of the Lotus Sutra. When I see serious criticism leveled at me I take it seriously. That doesn't mean I take it literally or follow it's conclusions or advice. Similarly, if the Gakkai leadership had taken Andy's letters seriously, including this one, we'd all be better off. But of course any organization is only as good as the worst person in it's leadership. So, it's not surprising that all the wonderful efforts of people like Andy and others, are undermined by others who benefit from the status quo. Nor is it surprising if folks like Andy eventually wander off in disgust. In this case who is the "powerful enemy of Buddhism?" Andy, or the guys with the power to drive him off?
With this letter, our paths part a bit. He has given up on the Gakkai. Recently he was interviewed by "BuddhaJones" in this article:
http://www.buddhajones.com/Articles/SGI/AndyHanlen.html
- Guy McCloskey
- c/o SGI-USA
- 606 Wilshire Blvd.
- Santa Monica, CA 90406
Dear Guy:
I originally thought to write this letter to Danny, and post it to the public discussion boards where I have participated. In discussions with Dana and the IRG founders, I've decided that there is no good reason to do so, and a few good reasons not to. I still feel that it's important that you, and whomever else is interested, hear my thinking as to why I am withdrawing from the SGI-USA, so that there is no misunderstanding. Please feel free to share this letter with whomever you deem appropriate.
On October 10 of last year I returned to the USA, and the SGI-USA, after over two years abroad. A few years prior to leaving the USA I was a founding member of the Independent Reassessment Group (IRG), which as you know is a group aimed at the positive reform of the SGI-USA. During my time abroad I maintained my contacts and IRG activities, and at the time of my return to the USA, many of the IRG issues were still "hot," yet unresolved.
Chief among my concerns was the evidence, seen in the Justice Chronicle "experience" by Kathy Ruby (Justice Chronicle Dec. 15, 2000, No. 63), and later in SGI-USA Memo No. PLN-030, dated April 30, 2001, that the national leadership of the organization was "officially" not only uninterested in issues relating to reform, it was okay with, and participatory in, dishonesty, lies and misrepresentations about its own members. You should know that history, so I won't repeat it here. Since that time, as you also know, more has happened that added to my concerns, including the Tariq Hasan teleconferenced speech of May 22, 2002 and subsequent events. In that same period of time, and despite repeated efforts by myself and others, nothing has occurred to mitigate those concerns. Instead, the SGI-USA has made it increasingly clear that, not only would the leadership refuse to engage in open and honest dialogue about these matters, it has and will continue to attempt to stifle dialogue about them, and engage in lies and misrepresentations about the reformers in an attempt to discredit these "messengers."
I value my integrity highly, and I respect and honor it in others. I think that I may value it more in myself because it's something I have struggled over the years to achieve. I know, from my own youth, what it is to be a liar, and I have worked hard in my life to actualize the Buddhist principles contained in the Lotus Sutra and the Gosho so that I am able to say today, to anyone, "I do not lie." Certainly I can make mistakes and errors in judgment, but I do not engage in falsehoods. A character in a novel I read recently says, "Stand and be true." I do this, to the best of my ability.
The reverse is also true: I have little respect or time for dishonest people...or organizations.
I've been actively working toward meaningful reform of the SGI-USA for over five years, and on October 10th of last I year I promised myself that I would give it one more year, during which time I would participate in the organization as best I could, and then decide whether or not I feel it is worthwhile for me to continue these reform efforts, and whether or not I wish to remain associated with the SGI-USA. That year is almost over, and my path is now clear.
I disagree with the direction the organization seems to be going doctrinally (i.e. its distorted interpretation of the master-disciple relationship, eternal leaders and eternal external enemies).
I disagree with the authoritarian and undemocratic nature of the organizational structure.
I disagree with the SGI assertion that it is the "only" group correctly practicing Nichiren Buddhism.
I have elucidated and expanded on the above views many times, both in writing to you and other leaders at SGI Plaza, and in discussions with members across the country, so my arguments do not need to be repeated here. They are a matter of public record. I could live with all of these disagreements of mine, if I could maintain hope that the organization was, at minimum, open to dialogue about these essential issues. All indications are that it is not. Knowing what I know about the institutionally imbedded belief that the end justifies the means, and that dishonesty is okay for the "right" cause, I am forced to accept the evidence in front of me.
There is no longer any question in my mind that the organization itself, as manifested at SGI Plaza, and reflective of Japan, is stuck in a flawed operating mode. By this I mean that it is systemically locked into a Japanese-style paradigm where lies and dishonesty, if judged to be for a "good" cause, are okay. I would not condone such behavior in my child, and I can no longer support an organization that behaves this way.
I have spent many hours in private discussions with you, Matilda Buck, Ian McIlraith, Margie Hall, Mrs. Zaitsu, and others. I have spent many more in written communications with these and other good folks. I come away from all of that convinced that, despite individual good intentions, this paradigm - this institutional dishonesty - will not change. When I initially got involved in reform efforts, a large part of my concern was the dishonest way in which many aspects of the temple issue were handled, and in broader terms, the way the organization revises history to suit its perceived needs. Since that time this same basic lack of ethical integrity has been turned on me. I don't say this by way of complaint: I knew going in what was possible; even likely. I say it because it's become so much more real to me now, and demonstrably intractable. I have come to understand that what I initially saw as a problem that (I thought) needed only to be identified and rectified, is actually a core organizational paradigm, and one which the leadership chooses not address.
I am left asking myself if I can, in good conscience, continue to be associated with an organization that behaves this way. In calling myself a member of the SGI-USA, even though I raise my voice in protest, I am giving it my tacit approval and support. I have often been asked how I can do this, and my answers are wearing thin. "I stay with the SGI-USA because I hope to change it…" is ringing mighty hollow. I believe that the evidence points to the truth: the SGI-USA has no desire to change this unethical and un-Buddhist behavior any time soon, if ever. I believe that participation with it is not essential to my own journey of faith, and actually runs counter to my personal sense of integrity. I cannot comfortably introduce new people to Nichiren Buddhism under the auspices of the SGI-USA.
I must conclude that I do not need what the organization offers me. I have my Buddhist faith, and that deepens every day. I have friends and an extended network of fellow Nichiren believers, both in my own area and around the country (and the world). That won't change. I can and do introduce others and help them practice. Most importantly, I have an aching heart as I see what the organization is, and is becoming, and a creeping embarrassment at being a part of that, knowing what I know.
I do not need what the organization offers me, and it is not interested in what I offer it.
Looking at the recent events in Houston involving the secession of a group of long-practicing SGI-USA members, I think the final decision those folks reached, after many years of struggle, was very interesting. They determined that the majority of the members in their area were fine with SGI-USA policies in their entirety, lies and abuses included. They realized that they had no real reason, or right, to demand that all of the members agree with them about those issues, so they left and formed an independent group, and are happily continuing their practice of this Buddhism.
Makes sense to me. I don't have any particular desire to join another sect, nor do I care to start one, but I also do not see how I can maintain my personal integrity and credibility while continuing to support an organization that is, in my view, teaching incorrect Buddhism and unethical behavior. I am not a personality type comfortable with "looking the other way." I don't need to oppose that anymore. I need to leave it behind.
This is not bad news. It does not in any way affect my practice of this Buddhism, which will continue until the day I die. Neither does it affect my bodhisattva mission to widely spread and teach this Buddhism.
For any problem, conflict resolution folks teach that there are three possible outcomes:
- Change the problem.
- Live with the problem.
- Leave the problem.
I am of the opinion now that I cannot change the organization's fundamental erroneous positions and unethical behavior, nor can I live with them. Although I cannot know, since I have no access to the mainstream of SGI-USA members, I must assume that these issues are not significant to a lot of the membership. Certainly this is the case in my area. Rather than continue to bother people who don't want to hear about these matters, or beat my head against the stone wall of official policy, it is time for me to leave this particular problem and move on. In doing so, I do not leave this Buddhism, but rather only a particular organization which aspires to promote it. This Buddhism will endure, regardless.
I do not leave the SGI-USA as an adversary, or in anger. I leave with fond memories and deep appreciation for the organization where I was introduced to this Buddhism and where I, for many years, "grew up" in faith. I leave in good conscience and with a sincere prayer for all of my dear friends in the SGI-USA, hoping to maintain good relations and connections with them all. I do not want to lead anyone away from the organization, nor do I want to harm it. I have no further issues with the SGI-USA, just as I have none with Nichiren Shoshu.
Obviously, my efforts at reform of the SGI-USA will cease, as I can have no legitimate voice in an organization to which I no longer belong.
I look forward to exerting as much effort as I have in these reform activities toward actually helping others to practice this Buddhism, without rancor, and without having to make excuses for any organization. In addition to doing what I can to support the national network of Nichiren Buddhists with whom I am in contact, it is my intention to continue my involvement with the fine people in my local SGI-USA area and district, where these institutional issues rarely intrude, although I will do so henceforth as an independent Nichiren Buddhist, and not as a member of the SGI-USA.
The bottom line for me is that I cannot see, at this time, any indication that the SGI-USA will choose to address and resolve the fundamental issues about its own integrity and core ethics, and unless it does, it can never become the mainstream American religious movement that it might. It will certainly continue to exist, but I believe that, without reform, it can not realize its potential as a great vehicle for the propagation of Nichiren Buddhism in this country. This is just my opinion, of course. I believe that, with this decision, I am stepping out of a still pond and moving into, or at least actively seeking, the flowing river that will lead to the essential realization of that mission. Perhaps in the future we can dig a channel that connects the pond to the river.
For what it's worth, Guy, and having no further investment in whether or not it is followed, I offer this advice: please look long and hard at the inherent hypocrisy in the organization you work for. You cannot promote goals and slogans like "The Year of Expanded Dialogue" while stifling and restricting dialogue, and expect everyone to just go along. Some will, perhaps many, but in the long run you must realize the basic truth of Buddhism: that all causes generate effects. The dishonest and hypocritical causes being made by your organization, even if well intentioned, can only generate commensurate effects. The true parasite in the bowels of the SGI-USA is not, as many assert, a handful of reformers who simply want to address some obvious problems and help to advance the organization. The cancer that is destroying its unity is the lack of ethics and integrity at its core, and the individuals who engage in lies and dishonesty for a perceived "higher cause." You don't need me to quote Daisaku Ikeda, Richard Causton, the Gosho or anything else in support of the ideals of equality, democratic process and fair play, and the fundamental law of causality. You have all the data, and I can only advise you and the rest of the leadership to conduct a serious reassessment, and act accordingly. Cause and effect isn't just an abstract concept, it's the Law.
I will always be available, should you or anyone else care to discuss these matters. Please feel free to contact me at any time. I wish you the best, as I wish the best for the SGI-USA.
With respect and affection I am,
Your friend,
Andy Hanlen
This was Andy's letter. He sent me a copy. I have reproduced it here for anyone who might be interested in his reasons for leaving the Gakkai.