Yes it could be simply mailed to SGI with no return address. however, all images of the Buddha should be respected and I don't discriminate between any of them like "this one is beautiful but this one is not or even fake" any more. I don't treat with respect "this one" while neglecting the other one. All old dharma material should be burned. To me this is the most respectful way.

Sure people can choose to treat the image with respect, and dispose of it as they see fit.

Or they can just chuck it out.

Its up to them, no need for any guilt for either decision.

Some people have quite happily burnt their old religious superstitious material, and used treating it disrespectfully as a metaphor for taking their life of rationality back from primitive superstition.

Each person can decide for themselves, of course.

in the end it's up to the individual on how to get rid of the gohonzon. if still buddhist they will find an appropriate way.

Quote
The Anticult
Some people have quite happily burnt their old religious superstitious material, and used treating it disrespectfully as a metaphor for taking their life of rationality back from primitive superstition.

Each person can decide for themselves, of course.

Quoted for truth and seconded.


- Hitch

Quote
rrmoderator
The SGI Gohonzon might also be simply mailed to SGI without a return address.

This might be the easiest and most reasonable way to go without any potential for confrontation.

That's what I did, except I mailed mine to NSA. Seemed plenty respectful to me, considering I no longer believed. To each his own on this one.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/2012 07:05AM by Freeheartandmind.

Thank you everyone. These seem like great ideas. I am getting the sense that whatever decision I make will certainly be the right one for me, and I can trust myself to take my power back from the SGI.

By the way, I couldn't believe some of the ridiculous videos posted by Hitch of the Bhangra KRG, and the woman filming herself chanting. They were something else.

I am realizing that I have blamed myself for getting involved with the SGI, but I am letting go of that self-blame successfully. I wrote out an e-mail to a friend about how I got involved with the SGI, and it really brought clarity to me about how I got wrapped up in the SGI.

I think the biggest thing for me was wanting friends. I thought the woman who shakabukued me also wanted to be my friend, and I am able to see that that wasn't the case. She disconnected herself from me as soon as I received Gohonzon.

I am now learning what it takes to make real friends, and what it means to have real friends.

I also think back to all the love-bombing I received. I normally wouldn't use that term, but that was what it was. If you talk about Ikeda, and the Mentor/Disciple Relationship, then the love-bombing will continue, I guess...

At some point I reached saturation with the cult.org and decided the time had come to end the twenty five year relationship.

Firstly, I had a big butsudan which I gave away to one of the members in the area.

Second - I had one of the big Gohonzons, but I just rolled it up, drove over to the temple (in the western suburbs of Chicago) Knocked on the door at the priests residence, and when he came to the door I handed it to him and asked him to "send it back". I was fine through the whole sequence of events and there was very little emotion involved. The priest, besides being a little taken aback by someone shoving a scroll into his hands, was polite and friendly. I suppose if I'd felt I needed to talk to him about it he would have been willing to listen, but I didn't need to and we said goodbye and I left.

But why did I bother taking it back to the Temple? You might ask...

In my mind, I was concerned about the day when, perhaps in a different state of mind, I might have lingering troubled feelings (remember, none of us know the future, nor do we know where things go eventually with our lives until we get there.) I just didn't want anything lying around in my mind that I could trip over someday. Besides, I didn't have any axe to grind with the Temple or with Nichiren, I just wanted to separate myself from the money-grubbing, two faced, xenophobic drones I had the misfortune of encountering in my final years of the practice with NSA.

So there were really two things that happened that evening:

1. I severed a connection to NSA/SGI with silent prejudice.
2. I closed an episode of my life involving buddhism and the Nichiren temple returning the respect the had always shown me (but without any interest in further contact with them).

Looking back, to this day I still have no regrets, and to a small degree, I'm proud of handling it so cleanly and without any anger, cynicism, etc.

Like my friend Shrek always says - "better out than in I always say"... Good luck with returning your scrolls. If they are the SGI Xeroxed versions, I have no opinion as I believe them to be nothing more than ink on paper.

Wakatta1

Quote
wakatta1
If they are the SGI Xeroxed versions, I have no opinion as I believe them to be nothing more than ink on paper.

I feel the same about all of them (ink on paper / symbols carved into wood / etc.). All primitive superstition, nothing more.

- Hitch

Quote
DrJesusEsq
Sorry I haven't been on lately, been busy with other things . . .

Let me tsukimoto that Nichiren lived in the harsh, bitter conditions while in exile to Sado. In fact, if I were him, I would be tempted to crawl back and say, "No, I was wrong, you guys were right . . ."

But Ikeda, on the other hand, lives in a nice mansion in Tokyo and (as I just found out five minutes ago in this forum) he lives it up like Hugh Heffner once in a while.

At least Heffner publishes a decent magazine (with better articles).

Been digging back a bit thru old posts (lots more to comment on) and found this one.

It reminded me of an incident I had while in Japan, with a fellow (hardcore) YMD gakkai (cult) member.

The Dear Leader's Tokyo house is literally just down the street from The Cult Headquarters in Shinanomachi. I was walked down for the honor to be shown it, from the street. A soka-han guard was manning the entrance outside the wall, watching us. He and the other YMD with me obviously knew each other, based on their behavior. The YMD, standing very erect, ramrod straight, pointing with 4 fingers straight out, thumb tucked in, gestured towards Ikeda's home, very, very seriously. He acted as if it was sacred territory, an honor to approach, see and be near. After a quick utterance of NMRK and a slight head bow, we were off just as quickly as we had arrived. I remember walking away with him, kind of in a daze, not from seeing an ordinary Japanese home, but from his unexpected fanatical behavior and attitude. It caught me completely off guard. The only thought I had for a while after that incident, was ..... "Whoah." It was another signal to me that the boat I was on, was ultimately destined for La-La-Land.

- Hitch



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2012 06:41AM by Hitch.