Back to the story by the SGI person, who claimed that the house of the deceased person was untidy.

After a person dies, their next of kin, and Executor are the only ones who are going to be involved, and it a complex process. [www.capehart.com]

For example, if there were valuables in a person's home, anyone entering that home would have to be the Executor of the estate, and there are processes for that.
The Executor would have to be accompanied by a bank officer, for example, to retrieve the Will from a safety deposit box.

So this "story" from an SGI person about rummaging around in her home, sounds entirely fabricated by SGI.
Perhaps if anyone can post a direct link to where that appeared online, it can be looked into further.
The entire story sounds like a smear job concocted by SGI, and in this case it might be able to actually prove this person simply was lying for SGI.

Here's the link to her former blog. Wendy “Byrd” Ehlmann
A Byrd's Eye View [www.fraughtwithperil.com]


This actually proves that SGI does "approve" of the main blogs about SGI, even the ones where they post a disclaimers saying they don't approve of it.
Why? Because SGI-USA monitors SGI members blogs, and if they don't approve of the blog, they do what they did to Byrd, they move to KICK THEM OUT of SGI, ban them from meetings, to try and block the blog.

So these other blogs/websites promoting SGI by SGI members, are approved of by SGI, as if they were not, the person would not be an SGI member!
More mind-games.

But looking at how it unfolded with Byrd and SGI, this woman's division leader from SGI, the one who came down on Byrd, shows that the SGI higher-ups took notice of the blog, and wanted it to come down.
The way to do that, is to try and strip the blogger of their SGI friends by group SHUNNING, to use that as leverage. They didn't want to kick her out right away, as then the blog could get worsefor SGI.
Instead, they use the SOCIAL PRESSURE from the SGI social networks to close the blog down. They would know an SGI person enjoys group meetings, so they tell them if the blog stays up, they are banned from group meetings. GROUP SHUNNING.

Its also quite threatening that SGI-USA would tell Byrd they want a man to come and visit her in person in her apartment. That is an attempt at intimidation.
Someone in SGI-USA must have taken note of Byrd, and ordered the SGI locals to get her blog shut-down, and they moved against her.

Those vile comments from SGI, literally sound like crude SGI propaganda copied from the methods used in Japan on superstitious people. SGI does use the word "cobwebs" in other material.
It would be very useful to find out the SGI-USA person who actually posted that, or where it was posted. Some cross-referencing can turn up information very rapidly.


Below is a comment from a neighbor of Byrd whgo lived in the same building Co-Op, who says very nice things about Byrd. [www.fraughtwithperil.com]
There are very decent comments from people on the blog.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2009 03:59AM by The Anticult.

So is this message board is now totally controlled by SGI loyalists?

SokaGakkaiUnofficial · Soka Gakkai Unofficial
groups.yahoo.com/group/SokaGakkaiUnofficial [groups.yahoo.com]

Its the identical pattern of SGI. Make something sound "unofficial" yet totally control it with your SGI members.
Even their "rules" state posting is "enforced by volunteer moderators".

Here's a test, anyone from that Yahoo group, try to post a link to this thread.
Or say to search Google for these two words:

SGI cult

Yes beautiful, honest thoughts about Ms Ehlmann. Not pretentious, not aggrandizing, just warm. Kinda wish I knew her!

-----Beginning of quote, www.fraughtwithperil.com, "Real Life With Ryuei," December 18, 2008--------------------------------------------------------

Just yesterday I heard two apalling examples of people who think they are Buddhists but who obviously don't get not only the Dharma but basic human decency and sensitivity.

One example is that for the last three months or so I have been visiting one of the "pioneer" Japanese women who in the 60's had brought over a form of Nichiren Buddhism to the USA. Her husband called me in to the hospital because she had a terminal case of cancer and he felt it would really help her spirits to have someone come in to chant with her. She had long since (ten years or more) become disillusioned with her previous affiliation. I was happy to do this for her, and so made several hospital visits and one home visit before she passed away. At least one of her old friends, a fellow pioneer who was also a disillusioned former member of the same organization, came to visit her in the hospital and chanted with us, as did her husband and occasionally my daughter when she was with me. There is much I could say about her, her unflagging spirits, dedication, kindness even in the midst of a terrible sickness. She was truly an inspiration, and as I said to her husband I wish I could have met her earlier.

But here's what this blog is about - when her husband called me to inform me about her passing, he also mentioned that finally, towards the very end, some of her former compatriots in that organization she left finally showed up. When they heard that a Nichiren Shu priest (myself) had been coming to visit and chant with her their reaction was - "Well, that's all wrong. He wasn't chanting correctly." This woman's husband couldn't believe that these people would raise such an issue, and at such a time. The meaness and pettiness of was apalling.

My second phone call yesterday was from a member of my Sangha who called to tell me about the spiteful words being said about Byrd (who was, however, not named but it was clear it was about her) by another member of this same organization on a yahoo newsgroup. This person had been one of the people who was involved in banning Byrd from the activities of her chosen Sangha. One reason was because she dared to attend a retreat I was leading and had pictures of her and myself together at the retreat on her blog here at fraughtwithperil. Byrd died a few weeks later of a heart attack, but her body was left undiscovered for something like two weeks. None of her ostensible Sangha members ever thought to check up on her - afterall she was persona non grata due to her association with me. The apartment was later swept by a Hazmat team and for quite a long time sealed up. When these psuedo-Buddhists finally came in they found that Byrd's butsudan had been knocked down (it could have been by her abandoned cats or later the Hazmat team) and was collecting cobwebs (supposedly - and even then not surprising as her apartment had been sealed for quite some time). This psuedo-Buddhist posted that everything Byrd had ever written was questionable because due to the condition of her butsudan she had been neglecting her practice). So much presumption here! I don't even know where to begin. But to impugn the reputation of a woman who has passed away, furthermore a woman who the poster was instrumental in alienating and isolating before her death due to some misguided sectarian agenda and paranoia!

It is so obvious to me why people are scared of Nichiren Buddhism. No wonder they don't want to have anything to do with us when this is the kind of pettiness, meanness, sectarianism, and total lack of compassion that has come to characterize Nichiren Buddhism.

What drives me nuts of course is that it is not Nichiren Buddhism per se, it is a certain group within a certain group or some individuals within certain groups (though they all seem to be members or ex-members of the same group) that acts like this. But they manage to scare off everyone else by creating a really horrible reputation for us all.

Do Zen Buddhists ever act like this? I have never experienced any Soto or Rinzai people ever acting with such spite and malice.

Do Won Buddhists ever act like this? I have never experienced any Won Buddhist ever acting with such spite and malice.

Do Thich Nhat Hanh followers ever act like this? I have never experienced any admirers of Thich Nhat Hanh ever acting with such spite or malice.

Do followers of the Dalai Lama ever act like this? I have never experienced any followers of the Dalai Lama ever acting quite this spiteful and malicious. Occasionally I have met some that are arrogant and condescending as all get out yes, but I know the Dalai Lama has never condoned such attitudes.

But there is one Buddhist group, or group that claims to be Buddhist whose members do act this way - and it isn't even a matter of surprise. There are some good hearted members of this group - but I guarantee you that they are either on the fringes, have found a small bubble of sanity within that group, or they have to some extent compromised their principles or at least keep their own counsel to themselves to the org at large. And in the meantime, no one else who comes into contact with Nichiren Buddhism bothers to differentiate between the various kinds and ways of being Nichiren Buddhists. We are all tarred by this behavior.

Once I brought my good Dharma friend Rev. Bokin Kim to a meeting of this other group so she could see for herself what they were like. They spent the meeting telling her (a lifelong Buddhist, the daughter of the 3rd Prime Master of Won Buddhism, and a very dedicated Buddhist nun) that only they knew "true Buddhism" and that if you chant you can get anything you want - money, promotions, relationships, cars, etc... Afterwords, Rev. Kim sadly shook her head and said "those people are very confused."
----------------------------------------------End of Quote----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes Tsuki I heard many times about the "fortunate" or "unfortunate" deaths of members. Some members even took it upon themselves to visit bereaved families to "collect" the Gohonzon. Yes, without any right what-so-ever, they would bully the persons to return the Gohonzon of the deceased. They even did this to me; my mother died shortly after having received the Gohonzon. I wanted to keep it and chant to it as it was at my father's house whom I visited frequently. NOOO, they said it belonged to SGI and I had to give it back. It broke my heart. My mother chanted sincerely to that Gohonzon for the sake of her family and husband, and they made me give it back No questions ASKED.

They do this claiming they are protecting the deceased's life by taking the Gohonzon back. What superstition.
Maybe this is what they did to Byrd. They probably made someone let them in and fished around for the Gohonzon from a person they didn't even respect. Shameful idiots!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2009 04:56AM by sushigrl.

It might be possible to prove that SGI was spreading concocted stories about Byrd after her passing.
For example, a friend or a building Co-Op member could see those SGI comments, and get offended and want to set the record straight.

After the authorities leave the home, the buildings management is not going to open up a person's apartment to a bunch of people to snoop around in a deceased person's belongings. That is illegal.
Perhaps a next of kin with proof, and then whoever is handling the Will process.

It sounds exactly like more SGI fear propaganda.

Many of the lower end SGI people are just regular people, who are getting conned by SGI. Its the SGI division leaders, and the deep SGI loyalists who are the real problem, like the SGI division leader who went after Byrd. Those are the SGI fanatics.

It could be that same SGI division leader who tried to spread that malicious comment about the cobwebs.

It is certainly possible to find out if SGI is lying about entering Byrd's home.
And it might even be possible to find out the specific person who tried to concoct that story about the cobwebs.

SGI would then turn that into an SGI propganda story, used to try and install fear in SGI members.

Of course, the state of the altar has nothing to do with someone dying of a heart condition, its just coincidence. Many people pass away in the same way, without warning.

SGI really makes an effort to propagate these stories about horrible things happening to SGI people who don't do what SGI tells them to do. That is very old-school propaganda and brainwashing, just superstitious fear-mongering, that has worked for centuries for many sects and demagogues.

@ Anticult

The yahoo-unofficial is not that unofficial anyway. It used to be called Soka Gakkai ... (don't remember), anyway SGI objected (including threatening with legal actions) as it made an official appearance - wich is a joke being a yahoo group, afterwards the "unofficial" was added and moderation got closer. Before that you had NST-members, Nichiren Shu followers and independent Nichiren-Buddhists disussing issues (sometimes heated debates). I mentioned the word cult and got kicked of the yahoo group myself.
When you follow the thread these days its all quite "civil" (from an SGI perspective).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2009 05:08AM by Rothaus.

The thing about Byrd is - and even after some time has passed now - it makes me so angry. As Anticult pointed out its those kind of stories that circulate in SGI circles. This time however the birth of this myth can be traced back quite good here in the internet. SHAME on Soka Gakkai for trying to undermine someones reputation after their passing - SHAME ON YOU. Sorry folks but just reading those articles made it all come back.