Taitenandproud wrote:

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That's another thing that was always a bit of a pet-peeve of mine - the feigned enthusiasm. I used to think the same think, that it must get tiring after a while to always have to be "on" and a complete fake. Salaried gakkai cult leaders are never allowed to be a complete human in front of the membership, only an entity skewed toward the positive bright light of their "Sun" in life, The Dear Leader, Ikeda.

To maintain this forced enthusiasm, one has to shove aside one's non-positive emotions.

Envy. Anger. Doubt. Sadness. Fear. Disgust. Fatigue.

One holds all those inside and gets stress related physical problems.


Or, at times, people just cannot hold their non-positive emotions inside and might engage in binges of envy, bitchy gossip at someone elses expense.

Such as the sudden change from support to envy and backbiting when someone who has previously been mentored gets a promotion.

Or some person in the group is designated as a scapegoat and will be the dumping ground for all these non positive emotions.


Finally, In some cases a person might turn to alcohol or use of drugs (perhaps by prescription) to suppress doubts. Or engage in habits such as very heavy smoking for the relaxant effect.

Would be interesting to know if covert drug and alcohol trouble is part of SGI life.

One cannot be enthusiastic all of the time.

Most of us have an instinct to make fun of whatever situation dominates our lives and tries to tell us what to do.

Its the instinct that leads humans to make underground jokes, doodle subversive cartoons, make up songs that satirize anything or anyone that takes matters too seriously.

[forum.culteducation.com]

leeduffield wrote"

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Plenty of crazy pot smokers in SGI.How did you stand it for so long?Apart from the organisational crap and weirdness of some members I was troubled by the fact I never once heard the word 'dharma' and noone seemed interested in enlightenment. A Buddhist who is not interested in enlightenment is like a Christian not interested in heaven i. e. not one at all.

corboy, your resposting of leeduffield's observation brought up a good point. The whole Enlightenment goal.

In SGI, the push to chant and overcome all adversities--to WIN! as it were, and also the chant for material comfort and other protections pushes aside The Enlightenment goal. How I heard this goal was that ultimately, if you practice 100% correctly, you should reach this state where nothing bothers you, no matter what muck and sorrow is happening in your life, you are Truly Happy, no matter what!

So it's like a two-pronger: Chanting to always win, never lose! in your daily life AND complete Enlightenment.

Most folks I've known through the years in SGI have never copped to reaching the state of Enlightenment. They were and are, in good faith for them, trying to WIN! in their daily lives.

Honestly, I think the concept of "enlightenment" is a bit too esoteric for most folks. Getting that promotion or achieving a better relationship with a family member are much more "present" types of goals. And let's face it - most people are practical. If this practice promises that they can effect major changes in the problematic areas of their lives - and it DOES - then that's what they're going to be focusing on. Enlightenment shmenlightenment!

I think a lot of people think of "enlightenment" as an afterlifey sort of thing, you know, the whole "We'll all meet at Eagle Peak in the sweet by and by" and whatnot.

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corboy

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That's another thing that was always a bit of a pet-peeve of mine - the feigned enthusiasm. I used to think the same think, that it must get tiring after a while to always have to be "on" and a complete fake. Salaried gakkai cult leaders are never allowed to be a complete human in front of the membership, only an entity skewed toward the positive bright light of their "Sun" in life, The Dear Leader, Ikeda.

To maintain this forced enthusiasm, one has to shove aside one's non-positive emotions.
Envy. Anger. Doubt. Sadness. Fear. Disgust. Fatigue.
One holds all those inside and gets stress related physical problems.

The above quote (pet-peeve thing), was by me, just so there is no confusion.

Salaried gakkai cult leaders will admit to having such emotions, but in the same breath they will tell you that they go straight to the gohonzon (magic paper) or Ikeda's guidance to fix it and they'll never show such emotions to the general membership. There's an expected charade that they have to keep up all the time. In that sense, I really do feel sorry for them.

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corboy
Or, at times, people just cannot hold their non-positive emotions inside and might engage in binges of envy, bitchy gossip at someone elses expense.
Such as the sudden change from support to envy and backbiting when someone who has previously been mentored gets a promotion.

They most definitely do. I've seen all of this with pioneering members and salaried leaders, all the way right up to the general director Williams-Sadanaga (the latter initially shocked me, but makes complete sense now).

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corboy
Or some person in the group is designated as a scapegoat and will be the dumping ground for all these non positive emotions.

This is exactly what happened to Williams-Sadanaga, when all of the "leaders" below him turned on him like rabid dogs once he was on the bad side of The Dear Leader and officially on the "out."

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corboy
Most of us have an instinct to make fun of whatever situation dominates our lives and tries to tell us what to do.

Its the instinct that leads humans to make underground jokes, doodle subversive cartoons, make up songs that satirize anything or anyone that takes matters too seriously.

You just described me in the 80's, after the height of my time in. There were a few of us YMD who would spit the kool-aid out when no one was looking, make inside jokes with each other, give each other knowing glances when certain things happened or certain people reacted in a certain way, and, yes, there were even songs made up about particularly disliked, power hungry cult bosses (Hi Ethee G.!). We did it to shield ourselves from the abuse, to cope and to keep our sanity through all the craziness.


- Hitch

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Nichijew
[www.shinyatomi.com]

The exact quote is not in this video but you can extrapolate from the video that what I say is true. I will find it. I never make anything up about the SGI or I would lose my credibility. There is no doubt he said that he would definitely overcome his illness [a rare type of lung cancer] because "I am a disciple of Sensei." Why disbelieve it? Would it be out of character for one of Sensei's most faithful disciples to believe in the saving power of Daisaku Ikeda?

Mark

Man, that site is dripping with cult creepiness vibes. It reminds me of a big wig Japanese leader who passed away in the orignal N$A cult org. when I was kid, it sent convulsions through the entire cult org. and the guy forever became a mandatory staple in our prayers at the end of gongyo for the rest of our lives (being a kid, I didn't even really know the guy or what was going on, but I had to engrave his name permanently into my prayers anyway).

Just listening to the way he spoke about Ikeda (he sounded like he was in love) and seeing The Dear Leaders golden framed photo in the background in one of the pics, is enough for me to make the leap. I can easily see it.


- Hitch

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Spartacus
There was something else that strangely connected this young man to me. Before this YMD leader died, he had given a beautiful and very expensive new leather jacket with fringed trim to VP gen dir. Kikumura during a guidance tour. After arriving in Dallas the next day, Kikumura promtly got rid of his valuable new gift by handing it to me with a quip, "Hey Texas, you're a cowboy, right? I don't want this jacket, you want it?" I snatched it up. Later it seemed really weird how Kikumura offed a heartfelt gift that was so expensive without any apparent consideration or respect for the orginal intention of the loyal giver. Then after this YMD leader died, there was no remorse or sense of loss from the cult senior staff. Seems he was just another mark to be used up and thrown away, as happens when one no longer serves any useful purpose for the cult.

Spartacus

The above is a very accurate glimpse into the heart of the beast at the top of the feeding chain in the gakkai U.S. cult org.. Secretly, they basically look down on certain strata of members below them, just like The Dear Leader treats them. If it had been a gift from Ikeda, it would have been an entirely different story.

****

Regarding the "gaijin prejudice" - that's an excellent way to put it. Japanese from the motherland or to the Nth generation Japanese-Americans (either complete or partial ancestry), (mis)fortune-babies included, will always be at an advantage and a candidate for the fast-track to leadership positions above just about any caucasian. It all goes back to Japanese psychology and their ingrained mindset; they can always be counted on to tow the Japanese way (in good, and especially, bad, times). It's simply a back-up precaution / safety valve. Under no circumstances whatsoever (and I mean never), will a caucasian ever be completely accepted as, or counted on, as "one of them."

All of the above, JMO.


- Hitch

@Taiten--I am in agreement with your post. Enlightenment is more of a vague concept to Westerners--they want gratification NOW, so their immediate concerns being answered would be more the draw.

Also your observation about the Japanese model failing to ignite en masse in America--spot on! For a guy who wanted world domination and worldwide KR to think that Americans, for one culture, would jump on the bandwagon..weirdly not smart, IMO, for him.

@Spartacus--My jaw dropped a little reading your description of Mike Kimakura giving you that jacket after that young man passed away. Cold-blooded. And this guy was swept under the rug without a sympathetic word. Because Bad Things Happening are Bad Business for the SGI.

Is it solely charisma? What is it that makes people go all mushy deferment to one guy?

Boy, I really don't know! What could enable one person to manipulate THAT many people??

It boggles the mind.

Say, Hitch, the man who died, it wasn't Fred Saito, was it? Before my time, but I remember different members talking about Mr. Saito and how great he was.