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goodgirl
So I was on youtube and i came across this video. sorry but i dont know how to post the link but it is under
"MLK Chapel: Gandhi, King, Ikeda Video" I think its been posted here before. Anyway It really struck something in me. Am I crazy or something? All of these educated people speaking about President Ikeda being in the same light as King and Gandhi. I mean no disrespect but i wonder what exactly has Ikeda done for peace. Is it just that he does his anual Peace proposal. does meeting with all the people he meets with, world leaders in such make him qualify to be a man of peace. or is that just glorified photo ops. I mean it really sickens me that the hatred toward the priesthood is still alive in the SGI. So how can the SGI really stand under the umbrealla of calling itself a Peace organization when they cant even keep peace with the people they took their religion from.

So I ask you What has Ikeda Really done.... Seriuosly does anybody know? and how is the Sgi a peace movement with soka spirit still very much a part of the organization. how has this went under the nose of all of these educated people. I mean doctors and such or am I the crazy one... Please answer friends

Hi Goodgirl. Thanks to Ikeda the Russians tore down the Berlin wall. It's documented [by more than several brainwashed SGI cult members]. I have heard this on several occassions. He also stopped the genocide in Rwanda, was instumental in ending the Vietnam conflict, and now he is smoothing things out with his Chinese pals over the disputed islands. Lets not forget that thanks to Ikeda SGI there will no longer be nuclear weapons on earth by the year 2000 [twenty years after I first heard this nonsense by a YWD leader in Italy].

Nichijew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2012 11:01AM by Nichijew.

Must say, I honestly don't much recognize the pseudo-buddhist cult org. that I grew up in and was a part of. If anything, it looks to be even LESS about "buddhism" than ever:

1. Something downright odd and strange [www.youtube.com]

2. Stranger yet, rapping for Cousin Rufus [www.youtube.com]

Both videos just put up this month. Interesting to note that the cult org. doesn't even have the courage of their own convictions to even allow comments on their videos / channel.

From where I stand, these clips also have "cult" subtly written all over them.

- Hitch

(Discovered this fellow via Nichijew's site.) General perceptions of $oka Gakkai (International) inside vs. outside the motherland:

1. [www.youtube.com]
2. [www.youtube.com]

I find his observations to be pretty accurate.

When you venture to the motherland with the cult org. (tozan pilgrimages of past, or international "leader" meetings of the present), you are isolated in a manufactured bubble, seeing the country & its people through their fake focused filter. I hate to say it, but you are not really even meeting "normal" people. It's a bit like visiting a bizarre version of cult Disneyland, where nothing is as it appears - fake smiles and over feigned hospitality aimed solely at making an over-the-top impression on you. It's everything in overdrive, to the point that even ordinary (non-member) Japanese people find to be creepy and crazy.

Admitting to being a gakkai member outside of the cult org. circles, will be met with initial shock and a reframing of how you are viewed and even treated. Without exception, you will never get a positive reaction from the outset. They may eventually come around and to tolerate it (but I wouldn't go so far as to say "respect" it), depending on what kind of person you are (i.e., not a whacked out zealot type). Others may be outright negative and never view you quite the same again. Most people prefer to just keep away and not have anything to do with any of it, but all basically view it as a cult of Ikeda, not genuine buddhism, and as a controlling, money grubbing, power hungry, strange and even dangerous "organization." Put another way, it is never viewed in a positive light. This is quite an accomplishment in the homeland where Cousin Rufus is supposed to reside - and speaks volumes.

It sounds like it took 17 years for this fellow to see the light, but once he did, he is pretty much spot-on with his take on things. I think it is also a perspective that current and potential members should take into consideration, investigate and learn for themselves. It all initially shocked me as well, but once you are on the outside, educate and inform yourself with a wider, more balanced view, it all becomes very clear and understandable.

The $oka Gakkai is viewed as a rich and powerful mind-controlling cult by your average Japanese non-gakkai member citizen.



- Hitch

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Hitch
(Discovered this fellow via Nichijew's site.) General perceptions of $oka Gakkai (International) inside vs. outside the motherland:

1. [www.youtube.com]
2. [www.youtube.com]

Hitch, thanks so much for posting these links, they are incredibly informative. i really like the guy's reasoned tone. IMHO They should be required watching for anyone applying to receive Gohonzon from $GI.

SF

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Hitch
Must say, I honestly don't much recognize the pseudo-buddhist cult org. that I grew up in and was a part of. If anything, it looks to be even LESS about "buddhism" than ever:

1. Something downright odd and strange [www.youtube.com]

2. Stranger yet, rapping for Cousin Rufus [www.youtube.com]

Both videos just put up this month. Interesting to note that the cult org. doesn't even have the courage of their own convictions to even allow comments on their videos / channel.

From where I stand, these clips also have "cult" subtly written all over them.

- Hitch

Awkward moment at 6:02 of video 1: One of those "Wow, that was great" moments reminiscient of someone reading the Daily Guidance and being not really impressed by it but saying "That was great" anyway. Daily Guidance always made me cringe, especially when the reader was asked to read it again. I guess that was to build consensus with more sh*t eating grins.

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rattyboy
Awkward moment at 6:02 of video 1: One of those "Wow, that was great" moments reminiscient of someone reading the Daily Guidance and being not really impressed by it but saying "That was great" anyway. Daily Guidance always made me cringe, especially when the reader was asked to read it again. I guess that was to build consensus with more sh*t eating grins.

I can relate fully, rattyboy. The "reading" of "Daily Guidance" was treated like a sacred and honored opportunity for the person reading it. It would also be read in BOTH Japanese & English. It was almost never re-read in Japanese, but commonly re-read in English --> translation: the lack of reaction and applause was unacceptable, so it had to be repeated with a mandatory over-the-top response. Many of The Dear Leader's lame writings and especially so-called "poetry" was often met with such uncomfortable lackluster emotions, much to the offense of the more brainwashed members and leaders present.

The "poem" in question in this instance, in full:

"Springing from the Earth" [From The Human Revolution, by The Dear Phantom Leader]


"Traveler,
From whence do you come?
And where do you go?

The moon has set,
But the sun has not yet risen.
In the chaos of darkness before the dawn
Seeking the light,

I advance
To dispel the dark clouds from my mind
To find a great tree unbowed by the tempest
I emerge from the Earth."

*********


Yawn. Zzzzzzzzz.

The "emerge from the Earth" bit is a classic canned gakkai cult-speak slogan that is often heard parroted by members.

I always found The Dear Leader's "poetry" to be lame, pedestrian and ignorant.

Oh, I forgot to add, I also often got a kick out of the way the person reading the "guidance" or gosho was "trained" to hold the book or paper: with both hands, using all their fingers, as if holding a precious jewel. Again, this kind of behavior is emulating the Japanese formalities used for ceremonies, etc.. Being good with these kinds of small details (not being told), would translate into you being viewed as a "stronger" member, with the "correct" attitude and "proper" faith ---> which meant promotion up the cult ladder and more manipulation opportunities (or translated back into cult-speak: "more responsibility, a chance to change your karma, gain benefit, a chance to save / help people and respond to President Ikeda").

Sorry for all the cult-speak, but I mention it specifically so that people reading this mb can hopefully begin to see the cult org. for what it is. For anyone who doesn't believe it, I recommend trying to question or, better yet, criticize President Ikeda. You will swiftly feel the wrath of members around you and have to deal with the repercussions of your behavior for weeks or months to come, until you either leave or start singing a different tune and come back into the automaton fold / way of thinking.

Sigh. I have to throw a few things off my heart. I loved participating in SGI-USA, I did. I loved the discipline of chanting and doing gongyo, not that it was ever performed rigidly regular, but, hey. I loved it. Felt like the vast majority of my prayers were answered. I was happier then. Yeah, I'm saying I was happier then.

Now I'm unhappy again. But not totally. Because I could no longer continue to chant (I still like the chant) and attend meetings and pretend that I was down with the Program. I could no longer spread the word with a complete heart about Kosen-Rufu. Could no longer push down the unease at seeing the deification of Daisaku Ikeda, as if every little thing, good or bad, was dependent upon accepting him as your Master in Life. And as Hitch said above about trying to question and/or criticize---Lord, if ya can't do that as a human being.....

So yeah, I'll take a little wobbli-ness and confusion and misery going through this process---because ultimately, it's being true to oneself. And I know happiness is in there.

Just Shavoy giving a share.

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Shavoy
Sigh. I have to throw a few things off my heart. I loved participating in SGI-USA, I did. I loved the discipline of chanting and doing gongyo, not that it was ever performed rigidly regular, but, hey. I loved it. Felt like the vast majority of my prayers were answered. I was happier then. Yeah, I'm saying I was happier then.

Now I'm unhappy again. But not totally. Because I could no longer continue to chant (I still like the chant) and attend meetings and pretend that I was down with the Program. I could no longer spread the word with a complete heart about Kosen-Rufu. Could no longer push down the unease at seeing the deification of Daisaku Ikeda, as if every little thing, good or bad, was dependent upon accepting him as your Master in Life. And as Hitch said above about trying to question and/or criticize---Lord, if ya can't do that as a human being.....

So yeah, I'll take a little wobbli-ness and confusion and misery going through this process---because ultimately, it's being true to oneself. And I know happiness is in there.

Just Shavoy giving a share.

I have known those who were very happy snorting $6000.00 dollars worth of cocaine a week, until they ended up like Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse. I have also known or known of SGI leaders and members who continuously praised their ephemeral happiness in the Soka Gakkai but who fared no better than Whitney and Amy. If you like the chanting, continue to chant [without the SGI] and you will enjoy far more happiness than the President of the slanderous Soka Gakkai.

Nichijew



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2012 02:16PM by Nichijew.

Hi there,

got a call lately from a cult-member. I was asked if I want my name being being part of the foundations of some sort of a culture centre for "peace" in the cult homeland.
It was strange in a way as I was confronted with the cult lingo again --- I asked that my name shall not be mentioned. Strange thing ...

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Rothaus
Hi there,

got a call lately from a cult-member. I was asked if I want my name being being part of the foundations of some sort of a culture centre for "peace" in the cult homeland.
It was strange in a way as I was confronted with the cult lingo again --- I asked that my name shall not be mentioned. Strange thing ...

That reminds me, does anyone know what happens to all those endless group photographs that we had to endure after every trivial activity and training course? I'm guessing this is a Japanese cultural thing, as I've seen Japanese tourists taking lots of apparently random photos, but is this also a cult mind control bonding exercise as well? There must be millions of these photos from all over the world.

SFY