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Swastika
FairyFeller
Veteran
I have a friend who is a Natural Born Buddhist (i.e. he was born to a family where Buddhism is a way of life rather than a choice) who claims that it is compulsory for him to wear a swastika necklace.
I know there are precepts that are strongly recommended but has anybody heard about an avenue of Buddhism where it is compulsory to wear a swastika? Especially in a western society where there swastika has the obvious negative connotations.
When I ask him which branch of Buddhism he follows he answers "the one that hasn't been changed".
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Comments
Sounds like he may be taking liberties there.
How in depth is his understanding?
Is there a Bling School of Buddhism? I hadn't heard of it.
The swastika has been so defiled and vilified by its unfortunate connection to the Nazi Germany that once was, that retrieving it and reclaiming it as a bona fide Buddhist symbol - at least in Europe - is still a controversial pipe-dream...
I attempted to use a swastika as an avatar on another forum and had to explain its significance several times...
And I have a wonderful photo on my phone, as a screen-saver, of a beautiful image of the Buddha, sporting an unmistakable swastika on his chest...
However, you do not mention your friend's provenance... is he Asian?
It is difficult as @federica mentions and frankly unrequired.
The swastika is an ancient and powerful symbol that is associated with a supremist political death cult. However not everyone has those associations and I still find it commonly used by Jains, Hindus and Buddhists.
I did try and break some of these associations with a Ganesh (elephant headed protecter/deity) that innocently incorporated two swastikas but it is almost hardwired into my psyche with negativity ...
http://opcoa.st/0YpX7
Actually, it's more of a Hindu symbol. The only Buddhist region I know that regularly uses that symbol is south Korea. Pointing in one direction, it's a Buddhist symbol; pointing in the opposite direction, it's a shamanic symbol.
I've seen it in the context of Tibetan Buddhism, but haven't heard of or seen it being worn, such as after an initiation ceremony, or such. There's a chance it could be from Bon Buddhism, the oldest form of Buddhism in Tibet, and one that some scholars say is the result of Tocharians (the "Arya") migrating into western Tibet and Ladakh, bringing their early Buddhism from the Tarim Basin oases through Tibet to Afghanistan and northwest India.
@Lobster said, "It is difficult as @federica mentions and frankly unrequired."
So true. To me, this 'requirement' as per the OP makes me think of the Christian no-no as to the graven image thingy...whether it's 'god', virgin mary or a cross or swastika. I boil it down to don't make a big deal of it/them.
Yes @dakini
I admit, before exploring Buddhism and also other Eastern paths, I was biaised against the Swastika and it's meaning and origin. I'm Jewish and I can now differentiate between the "true" Swastika and the perversion used by the Nazis. However many people don't understand, or don't WANT to understand the difference and sadly that makes it very difficult for those who use the Swastika.
I actually get quite upset for Hindus and others who should have every right to wear or display a Swastika and can't because of what was done to it. It's not fair.
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Not to mention what was done to other aspects of the cultural kit and caboodle that the Nazis researched in Tibet and claimed as "their" cultural heritage. And now, we can't even discuss archaeology and use the term "Aryan" in proper historical or pre-historical context. It's basically just a tribal name, like Lakota or Zulu, but it has such horrible associations, that people can't handle it even in appropriate context, except among archaeologists and Buddhologists. Same with the term "Prussian". People immediately associate it with Germans of a certain era, and are not aware that there was a tribe of people that were non-Germanic, non-Slavic, that the Germans did their best to exterminate when they first entered the land called Prussia.
Native Americans had to remove the swastika from public buildings after it came to have a negative meaning for Europeans and North Americans.
This BBC article is interesting "How the world loved the swastika until Hitler stole it"
I find what @dhammachick very insightful and pertinent.
Personally when using this symbol or for example the skull and crossbones (used by pirates - allegedly, templars/freemasons and Pastafarians) I am very emotionally and mentally reminded of its negative press.
In other words I am wary of its potential misuse. 
It is why when travelling to the hell realms my trusty steed is ready ...
A horse with a lingam on his head?
I think of it as a kebab skewer for rescuing the Mahayana Boddhisatvas ...
Go 'My little Pony'. To the hell realms and beyond ...
OM MANI PEME SIZZLE ...
Symbols convey information by a very simple means, but they are effective only when (and because) the audience shares the background information. If I wear a cross, people know what Christianity is, and what it means. The symbol Identifies me as an adherent. If I put an Apple sticker on my car, people know that I love my iWhatever, because the whole background concept is well disseminated in our culture and the symbol is readily recognized.
Unfortunately for the family of the Natural Born Buddhist, the concept of the Nazis is well disseminated in our culture and the symbol is readily recognized. If the intent is to display adherence to a tradition of peace, meditation, understanding, and compassion, a swastika would be rather low on the list of useful choices.
So, this sect can't claim to have not changed. Historically they used a symbol associated by society with enlightenment. Now they use a symbol associated by society with intolerance, violence, and genocide. Hence, they have changed their branding, from a functional perspective, and changed it most significantly indeed.
In India we can see swastikas drawn on doors and walls especially around the festival seasons.
Exactly @Swaroop
It is common, positive, spiritual. I want it back. However for me the negativity is very ingrained. I could NOT walk down the street with a swastika T-shirt in London BUT I do see it in Hindu shops, on adverts, it is about in its spiritual mode ...
These cultural differences/associations can be vast ...
I would certainly feel uncomfortable wearing it. I'm generally not much for symbology, but that one, the six-pointed star and the pentagram do have a few associations for me.
What might look good on a yak might not suit a Western Buddhist outside of a cultural context...
(Ironically, that square below the Swastika is an old Scandinavian symbol!)
Good point well made, @Shim.
Buddhism is all about giving up attachment to things. So attachment to swastika would be a hurdle on the path to enlightenment.