SLW vs His Holiness The Buddha Maitreya (part 2)

Last week at the Mind Body Spirit exhibition, I saw an amazing demonstration of psychic powers.

It shouldn't be surprising that staff at the Buddha Maitreya Soul Therapy Meditation Center [sic] are capable of such feats - after all, their spiritual leader is the living incarnation of the other Buddha.

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As I approached the Center's stall, hoping to snatch one of their flyers, I was accosted by one of the staff.

For some reason, she wasn't at all keen on the idea of allowing me taking one. Odd behaviour for a registered charity, you might think. Did the lady use her psychic abilities to divine that I was an evil sceptic?

Or did she simply spot the 10:23 campaign t-shirt I was cheekily wearing under my jumper?

Whatever the case, her colleagues weren't so alert to the danger, and I was soon in possession of a handout (available here and here) advertising the Center's Buddha Maitreya Etheric Weaver.

Regular readers will already be familiar with this trinket, but for noobs, here's a picture and a deeply moving testimonial.

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"...I wanted to relay to you my experience with the Etheric Weaver in treating a close friend [who was] critically ill... I arrived at his bedside to find him much sicker than I could have imagined -- his heart, lungs, kidneys and liver were all failing. The situation was very grim and it seemed likely that he would not survive. I decided to use the Etheric Weaver... After the first treatment, his condition perceptibly stabilized and then continued to improve within [sic] the next several days. So fast was this recovery, that at the end of seven days he was off heart medications and off the [ventilator]. There were many contributions which promoted the recovery of this individual. Clearly, one of those contributions was the use of the Etheric Weaver... I am a physician who cares for just this type of patient in the Intensive Care Unit at a large university. The recovery of this man was, in a word, miraculous..."

I wonder if a single word of this "testimonial" is actually true? ASA complaint follows!

"I'm writing to complain about a handout for the Buddha Maitreya Soul Therapy Meditation Center [sic], which I picked up from a stall at the 'Mind Body Spirit' exhibition in London on 26th May.

The handout promotes the health benefits of the advertiser's "Buddha Maitreya Etheric Weaver" which, according to the advertisers, can cure critically ill hospital patients.

1. "Testimonial - I wanted to relay to you my experience with the Etheric Weaver in treating a close friend [who was] critically ill... I arrived at his bedside to find him much sicker than I could have imagined -- his heart, lungs, kidneys and liver were all failing. The situation was very grim and it seemed likely that he would not survive. I decided to use the Etheric Weaver... After the first treatment, his condition perceptibly stabilized and then continued to improve within [sic] the next several days. So fast was this recovery, that at the end of seven days he was off heart medications and off the [ventilator]. There were many contributions which promoted the recovery of this individual. Clearly, one of those contributions was the use of the Etheric Weaver... I am a physician who cares for just this type of patient in the Intensive Care Unit at a large university. The recovery of this man was, in a word, miraculous..."

I'd like to challenge whether this testimonial claim is misleading.

I can confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser or with the alternative medicine industry in general."

SLW vs His Holiness the Buddha Maitreya

It's not every day that I get to lock horns with a God, so keep reading!

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This is His Holiness the Buddha Maitreya who, I am assured, is the American incarnation of the other Buddha.

(You know, the famous one.)

An advert appeared in the summer issue of Kindred Spirit magazine promoting a rather enticing piece of jewellery called the "Etheric Weaver".

It looks like something a Bejoran character in Star Trek would wear on their ears, but according to the advert, it is a "simple tool for personal & planetary healing."

I hope someone at the ASA has a good chuckle when they read my carefully-phrased complaint.

"I write to complain about an advert appearing in "Kindred Spirit" magazine, Summer 2010 issue, p20.

The advert, for the His Highness the Buddha Maitreya, promotes a piece of jewellery called the "Etheric Weaver".

I suspect that the advert may be in breach of two sections of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code. I can provide an original copy of the advert by post, if required.

1. The advert contains the text:

"H.H. Buddha Maitreya's Etheric Weaver...a simple tool for personal & planetary healing...Visit ShambhalaHealingTools.com to view our entire line of personal & planetary healing tools".

2. Under Sections 3.1 and 50.1 of the CAP Code, I challenge whether His Holiness can substantiate His claim that the "Etheric Weaver" is a "tool" capable of "personal and planetary healing".

3. I confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser, the magazine or with the alternative medicine industry in general. I confirm that I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser or the magazine."