Proud Black Buddhist World Association

Memphis, Tennessee, September 2, 2015 (Newswire.com) - When ​Dr. Martin Luther King died in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 Anthony "Amp" Elmore was 15 years old.  Not a day goes by in the life of Elmore where he does not think of Dr. Martin Luther King. If you speak to Elmore he will tell you the one thing that he shares with Dr. King is that they both are "Bodhisattvas of the earth."  The story of Bodhisattvas of the earth was preached over 2,500 years ago by one known in the world as "The Buddha." 

A 13th Century Japanese Sage by the name of Nichiren condemned all of the Mahayana Buddhist sects in Japan by declaring all of the Buddhism taught in Japan was erroneous and only the Lotus Sutra was the correct Buddhist teachings for a modern society.  Elmore was introduced to Nichiren Buddhism by a Japanese Nichiren Buddhist sect called NSA in Memphis 1974.

There should be no discrimination among those who propagate the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo in the Latter Day of the Law, be they men or women.

Nichiren Shonin, 13th Century Japanese messenger of the Buddha

Many in America can recall that queen of pop Tina Turner also joined the NSA Nichiren Buddhist sect in 1974.  Tina Turner is perhaps the most noted Buddhist in the world. One thing that is absent in Tina's life and Elmore's life is the fact that they are no longer associated with Japanese Buddhist Sects.

On July 4, 2013 Tina Turner married longtime friend Erwin Bach. One Conspicuous aspects of Tina's marriage is the fact that while Tina is a dedicated Buddhist she did have a Buddhist Wedding Ceremony. This shows the failed cultural state of the Buddhist religious sects inability to integrate with American culture.  In 2014 Tina recorded the noted Christian song "Amazing Grace."  Tina today calls herself a "Baptist Buddhist." (Elmore Buddhist Lecture on Amazing Grace.)

Elmore explains the spirit of the Buddhist website that he started in 1998 called the Proud Black Buddhist. Our website and now organization is tantamount to the number one movie in America called "Straight out of Compton."  The movie 'Straight out of Compton" depicts the story of the 1980's rap group NWA and how their music helped to change the culture in America.   Elmore in a Buddhist lecture on the  movie noted that the theme of the movie was young African/Americans fighting for the right to express their art as a reflection of their reality.

Elmore notes; like NWA we as Black Buddhist must express our Buddhist Faith via our Reality. Elmore notes that the reality of the Buddhist religion is the "Root and start of Racism in our World." The story of Buddhism is the ultimate  war between the "Buddhist and Brahmans."  The story of the Brahman and Buddhist is best told by British Historian Godfrey Higgins in his 1833 book titled "The Anacalypsis."  Higgins names "A Brahman" who later became known as Abraham as the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  The  roots of these faiths start in India with the "Brahman Religion in India." 

Elmore explains that the Brahman religion is known today as Hinduism that is recorded as the world's 1st Sanctified racist religion based on varna or ones skin color, whereas  one's skin color put them into a "Cast."  The Hindu Buddhist, racist cast system is a religious codex that  became so "warped and perverted that in time they produced a theological paradigm that not only affected India, their model affected the world with the "Birth of Racism."

The Buddhist religion holds the worlds most absolute window into ancient Black history and culture than any other physical evidence in the world. Historian Higgins points out that all of the ancient icons show the Buddha was Black.  Gupta King Vikramaditya created the Golden age of Hinduism where Buddhism and Buddhist were expelled from India.

Harvard, MIT, and the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad did a genetic study that proves the cast system in India started 1900 years ago. India whose name means "Black" was known in ancient times as "Eastern Ethiopia."  Their light skin population is the result of 1900 hundred years of endogamy where light skin people dominate their brothers via wealth, politics and religion.

Elmore who is a 5 Time World Karate/Kickboxing champion started practicing Buddhism as a teenager in while in high school in Memphis. Elmore as a youth was a "Community activist"and a student of Eastern Philosophy. Elmore joined the Buddhist sect Nichiren Shoshu of America in 1974. Buddhism for Elmore was what he thought was the "perfect fit."  We were like the Barack Obama cultural movement of diversity in the 1970's.

In the words of the "Hood" these Japanese "Flipped the script" and moved into "Centralization mode" whereas they moved from a "World centric Buddhist Culture of diversity" to a mode of Cultural "Japanese imperialism." Elmore noted; "if I did not know better, I would say that Japanese are using Brain washing tactics."  Our association was borderline "Cult worship."  Moreover, Elmore noticed his association with the Japanese Buddhist sects were at best "un-American."

While Elmore notes that the Nichiren Buddhist sects of the SGI, Nichiren Shoshu and Nichiren Shu were "un-American" the teachings of the 13th Century Buddhist Sage Nichiren was as "American as Baseball and more contemporary than tomorrow."

True Buddhism is a teaching of equality whereas science partners with religion. Science clearly connects  Buddhism and Western culture.  when Buddhism moved into Greece there emerged "Graeco-Buddhism" which is a blend of Buddhism and Greek culture which came to be known as "Hellenism."  From Buddhism emerged the King and High Priest of Judea Alexander Jannaeus who was a Buddhist who started a group called the "Essences."  They later became what is known as Christians. Christians and Buddhist were one and the same people.

The Brahmans and the Buddhist fought serious battles with the Brahmans winning the battle in 325 A.D. when King Constantine a Brahman used the power of the State to support the Brahmans at the Council of Nicaea.  In India the Brahmans beat the Buddhist via incorporating the Buddha into the "Hindu Pantheon." The Brahmans incorporated the father and the Son into the religion of the "The Brahmans." In the Christian faith this became known as the "Old testament and the New Testament. The man from Turkey known as Saul latter became St. Paul introduced Brahman teachings with Buddhism, that today we call Christianity.

Buddhism was in Africa over 1000 years before it arrived in Japan. The Buddhist were known in Africa as Gymnosophist (naked philosophers). Buddhist were Black people in India called the Naga.  In Africa they were "Nubian" people in Ethiopia, Egypt and Nubia.

Dr. Alexander Francis Chamberlain Americas 1st Anthropologist  wrote that Japan's 1st Shogun Sakanouye No Tamuramaro was Black in 1911.  History and anthropology notes how Blacks or Africans were the 1st people of Japan. The world's largest indoor statue made of Bronze and Gold is housed at a Temple in Japan called Todaji.  This is  at Japan's ancient capital of Nara.  Sakanouye No Tamuramaro the Black General founded a Tendai Buddhist temple in ancient Japan.

Elmore tried for decades attempted to connect the Black history of Japan with his Buddhist practice in America.  We Blacks and Japanese are family.  Elmore received a painful and rude awakening from the Japanese Buddhist sects.  In essence the Japanese via action expressed to Elmore "you are Niggers and we have no historical association with Niggers."  While the Black history of Japan is rich, Nichiren Sects of like the SGI, Nichiren Shoshu and Nichiren Shu all teach a Buddhism that not only extricates Black History from Buddhism, Japanese will not acknowledge Black Buddhist history. Elmore wrote a letter to the Nichiren Shu Buddhist sect in November of 2013 asking their policy in regards to Black people and he was told by their Memphis representative that he was no longer welcome to come to Nichiren Shu Buddhist meetings.

Elmore whose history in Memphis as a "Community activist" organized "The Proud Black Buddhist World Association in January of 2014.  The "Proud Black Buddhist website" that Elmore started in 1998 is the number one Black Buddhist voice in the World according to the Google Search engines.

In the movie "Straight out of Compton" the White Jewish man asked the rapper what does the name NWA mean and he was told "Niggers with an attitude." Elmore notes that we Proud Black Buddhist are "Niggers with an Attitude" if that means fighting discrimination.  We believe in diversity and cultural inclusion of all people in our Buddhist faith.

Elmore took Buddhism to the streets like the rappers and has recorded over 15 Buddhist rap songs and over 250 videos teaching Buddhism.  In 2013 Elmore traveled to Kenya and met with President Obama's Grandmother Sarah Obama who agreed to come to Memphis to promote a project called the "Safari Initiative" whereas Elmore is asking the Country of Kenya to honor Black Americans with a "State Reception." Elmore notes that Buddhist faith is family. Elmore is using his over 40 years as a Buddhist to introduce Buddhism to the Black community.  The Buddhist prayer book includes prayers from "Social Reformers  Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and Indian leader Dr. B. R.  Ambedkar.

Elmore notes that a "Social Reformer" is the same as a "Buddhist Bodhisattva."  The Lotus Sutra teaches that the Bodhisttavas will change the world. Elmore is using social media to change the World and wake up the Bodhisattva in humanity via the Buddhist teachings.