coolshyone and Luz, welcome, this MB is pretty cool too.

Luz, you won't be happy until you leave the org, don't believe that superstitious crap for one minute. It is the orgs loss, not yours. No more of your free labor or money.

The other religious orgs I belonged to (non-cult) paid their janitors, security, office help, etc., even if the positions were held by members! None of this exploitation of free labor to enrich the "leader". SGI exploits people and makes them think it is for their own good! Cleaning those community center toilets is a good cause..what baloney. The org must think members are saps.

Hei everyone,

I took all the buddhist material I have at home and put in a box, I feel so much better now I do not see it every day.
We talk more and more with my husband and both of us have the feeling of a new start...

Here in Europe, giving money to SGI is more discreet, even if everybody does it at some point. It feels good to be leaving this brainwashing system...

Thanks to all the people who posted on this thread, it was very very helpful...

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SGBye
Yes, Hitch, we do seem to think alike! I think we were both fed the same amount of SGI Kook-Aid that didn’t sit well with our equal amount of rebelliousness. But I promise not to infringe upon your trademark of posting awesome Youtube links (well, unless I find something really really good!).

Speaking of which, I just saw the “Oh Daisaku, I Wanna Be Like You Hoo Hoo” video. Wow…. I realize he’s doing that with tongue firmly planted in cheek (at least, I truly hope so), but just think about how many SGI-ers would sing that with zero irony or humor if it was announced as the new Gakkai song. Scary thought.

That Daisaku-cu-cu-ckoo jingle is stuck in my head now, too. Very fitting.

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Freeheartandmind
The other religious orgs I belonged to (non-cult) paid their janitors, security, office help, etc., even if the positions were held by members! None of this exploitation of free labor to enrich the "leader". SGI exploits people and makes them think it is for their own good! Cleaning those community center toilets is a good cause..what baloney. The org must think members are saps.

I wanna be paid back wages for all my soka-han and gajokai time. What a glorious waste.

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coolshyone
Does that ever hit home with me. That never set well with me how we could be out there busting our you know whats, all these activities, unpaid labor the whole f***ing nine yards and for what. So these arrogant leaders could pat each other on the back and get a pay raise also while everyone else busted their butts for free. Anything for kosen rufu even if it is all a bunch nonsense. Since when does any of this have squat to do with if you gain benefit or not from practicing buddhism.

You know, a lot of the leaders did indeed strut around inside and around the kaikans like a bunch of arrogant little pricks (and I do emphasize the world "little", literally here). The head gajokai/toban would often be trailing them at their heels, like some kind of lap dog shadow following the alpha-leader around. Anything that needed to be done was carried out running and if there were any problems or perceived mistakes going on, the lower gajokai would get torn a new one. Lovely "golden" memories - all for Cousin Rufus.

I remember well some of "strict" guidance sessions of some of these leaders. Boy were those always a blast. I had a top level one time scolding all us YMD in a group type setting. Aparently we weren't being strict enough with ourselves (being good littlte boys I guess) and told us that anyone who didn't want to be there and do this kosen rufu thing to get the F out. Those were his words. If I hadn't been such a lap dog back then, I would have given him my middle finger and left. I can't imagine today being treated that way, damn sure wouldn't put up with it. All kinds of compassion I tell ya. This leader is one of those that's certainly etched in the memory bank as he treated me like human excrement. Arrogant prick indeed.

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coolshyone
I remember well some of "strict" guidance sessions of some of these leaders. Boy were those always a blast. I had a top level one time scolding all us YMD in a group type setting. Aparently we weren't being strict enough with ourselves (being good littlte boys I guess) and told us that anyone who didn't want to be there and do this kosen rufu thing to get the F out. Those were his words. If I hadn't been such a lap dog back then, I would have given him my middle finger and left. I can't imagine today being treated that way, damn sure wouldn't put up with it. All kinds of compassion I tell ya. This leader is one of those that's certainly etched in the memory bank as he treated me like human excrement. Arrogant prick indeed.

Many of the kinds of compassion that I remember from my time in: fear mongering compassion, humiliating compassion, manipulative compassion and guilt compassion. As in, don't ever stop "practicing" or question your leaders, you're not doing something right or enough as you can or should, you need to try harder/do much, much more, and you are letting the members, yourself and the dear leader down - respectively.

YMD getting scolded in a group type setting was just about as common as breathing. It was just about an EVERY ymd activity occurrence. It got to the point where we would anticipate, "what's it going to be this week?"

We put up with it because we were good kids who respected authority. In this case, manipulative cult authority, unfortunately.

I often think back, shake my head and wonder how I ever tolerated some of the things that were done to me (and others). Would never stand for it a single second, now, as a clear thinking, rational adult.

Many of the ymd leaders were drunk on their authority and power hungry in wielding it over others. They were often modeling what they saw from the top leadership, down.

Being the strict "compassionate" leader for cousin rufus, was what they all aspired to.

Empathy is being able to put oneself in another person's shoes. I never found empathy in the Soka Gakkai because the organization takes precedence over the individual. They would often quote President Toda, "The organization is more important than my life" or leaders were always placing the blame on the failures of the organization by placing the blame on you, "you are the organization" or "the organization is a mirror of your own life condition." This last assertion particularly is all wrong from the standpoint of the Lotus Sutra teachings of the oneness of person and the environment and that of Thusness or reality. It is actually a type of Buddhism called Yogacara or Mind Only, where all phenomena are purported to derive from the mind of the individual. This being the case, there can be no empathy and no acknowledgement of others because everything derives from one's own mind. It is a selfish way to view the world. Despite their rhetoric of caring, they embrace the ignoble and selfish teachings of pre-Lotus Sutra Buddhism rather than the actual caring and respect of Nichiren Daishonin towards his disciples and believers.

Nichijew

I never experienced a single episode of empathy from any leader (or member) in the sgi cult, either. When you succeed in something, they are eager to jump in and try to take credit (even when the org. and the practice were in reality a hindrance to that success). When you fail at something, as we all do at some point in our lives, they are just as eager to try and reframe it as something being defective about you, your faith and your practice. Just as your successes are exploited for propaganda purposes, your failures are also used against you in the same manner and the word is spread around that this particular member is experiencing this or that for these or those reasons (meaning = lack of faith, negativity, weak practice, or anything else they can come up with simply to manipulate you to do more for the cult org.). It really is a sick psychologically manipulative type of behavior, just like a predatory parasite looking for new victims to infect merely to enrich and perpetuate itself.

I agree. It's all me me me in the Gakkai and thinking themselves superior or inferior to others. The good ones arejust into themselves and their own "Human Revolution". The bad ones are down right malevalent. The exceptions are the new members who just want a respite from their problems and are excited about a new philosophy/religion that falsely promises them the world.

The true nature of the SGI organization is the internicine conflicts that arise like new fire lines in Colorado. In the US, in the 70s it was the NSB connected to the Shoshinkai, then there was the IRG in the 1990s, Victorious America, the fall from grace of various high level leaders like Mr Williams and the rapid shuffle of General Directors such as Kudamatsu, Zaitsu, etc. Then there was Italy, the apple of SGI's eye in europe where nearly half the active members and mid-high level leaders either began criticizing General Director Kaneda for financial irregularities and left or were excommunicated. Now in Singapore a group of YMD leaders are rebelling the top down authoritative org:

[www.hosshakukempon.com]

Nichijew

You can find much more on the SGI Italian schism at No Alla Soka Gakkai: [www.noallasokagakkai.eu]