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Agon-Shu or Agama School claims to have rediscovered and reformed Buddhism by returning it back to its original form through the agon sutras which supposedly contains the words or scriptures of the Buddha. However, even thou these writings are quite ancient, scholars are doubtful over its origins having attributed its production to a group of editors instead.

Anyway this movement was established by its founder Kiriyama Seiyu also known as Kiriyama Kancho or Seiyu Kiriyama Kancho who had formally created another religious sect known as Kannon Jikeikai that is based on the Kannon Sutra for the worship of the bodhisaatva Kannon which calls to question how credible this new religious movement or shinshukyo is in light of his chameleonic ability to change in adapting to yet another supposedly superior religious view.

Furthermore it claims to be the “original” Buddhism but has deviated from the teachings of Gautama Buddha or Shakyamuni as incorporating various other beliefs by accommodating esoteric buddhist symbolism and practice through the expression of Shugendo and Shingon tradition.  I have previously written about Shingon and you can view my post at

Shingon Buddhism

It has also departed from traditional Buddhism by overcoming and surpassing historical practices in adapting to a more contemporary approach of meeting the needs and issues of the practitioner in making Buddhism more democratic and accessible to others.

Other non-orthodox practices is the goma ritual in which requests or petitions are inscribed on sticks or wood that are burned while invocations are chanted to eliminate negative ancestral karma and transform or terminate the suffering of the spirits of the dead resulting in jobutsu or buddhahood. Conclusively, this superstitious practice has no validation within original Buddhism and seems to be an attempt to deal with the continual problem of pain and suffering as taking on an unorthodox approach apart from the central teaching of Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.

Other divergent behaviors is the veneration given to the principal object of worship, termed the “true buddha relic” or shinsei-busshari, which is said to be an entombed bone fragment of the Buddha which supposedly corresponds with the mystical belief as housing his spirit. It is believed that when conducting the noyi hoju-ho in conjunction with this relic; one is able to achieve happiness, good fortune, and the insight to break free from karma which again challenges the orthodox Buddhist position which sees these emotional desires as attachments in producing craving which is incongruent towards the process of being liberated in order to achieve nirvana by breaking the cycle of rebirth.

Another controversial practice is a process that is said to deliver an individual from karma through the attainment of supernatural powers of awakening by the means of chakras or spiritual centers within the body in practicing kundalini yoga which some professional psychologists claim can cause mental problems in certain cases or individuals known as the kundalini syndrome.

Finally I do applaud this groups effort to establish projects for the pursuit of world peace but I respectfully challenge the notion that this religious vehicle is a necessary means to the ends in accomplishing this agenda as there are secular organizations which are also attempting to accomplish this very same goal. In conclusion I personally do not see the overall benefit of this particular religious worldview especially if it does not convincingly correspond with reality and thus it appears to merely be just another preference among many of the other varieties of religious expressions or fads that is cropping up on this fertile and diverse religious landscape of Japanese soil. In closing I apologize if it seems that I have been overly critical of this establishment but I hope and pray that you become consciously and intuitively aware of some of these internal inconsistencies and shortcomings of this sect as questioning its validity towards making absolute truth claims.

Lastly I would like to offer you another opportunity towards an Asiatic and Eastern person who has given compassion as speaking truth in establishing unity with God not under the task of upholding to the rigorous and elaborate religious practices but in such a way as to freely liberate others in healing them not only from the practical aspect of social ills but more importantly in bringing us peace with God as removing the barriers and hindrances of evil. In closing I would simply ask you to  meditate on this saying of Jesus as opening your heart up to Him along with reading my post on “How to have a relationship with God”

Mt:11:28-30

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

How to have a relationship with God

How to know God

Other related links

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2010/03/13/buddha-the-enlightened-one/

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2009/05/17/pain-suffering-and-evil/

Agonshu Buddhist Resources

Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.2, pg.631, Manabu Watanabe

Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.12, pg.8352, Richard K. Payne

Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices/ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, editors; Todd M. Johnson, World Religious Statistics; Donald Wiebe, Introduction-2nd ed., Copyright 2010 by ABC-CLIO, LLC. Reproduced with permission of ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA.