Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Date: May 24, 2013 12:14PM
Two (very) long posts alert. One, of two:
An interesting thesis, from 2007, on the $GI, specifically "Italy", cult movement (but it does also discuss the cult motherland and U.S.A. movements as critical background).
Some (for me) really accurate observation excerpts (My own thoughts / comments, bolded.):
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"The Translation and Domestication of an Oriental Religion into a Western Catholic Country: The Case of Soka Gakkai in Italy." - by Manuela Foiera (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Warwick)
"In his seminal work "Religion in the Modern World: from Cathedrals to Cults Steve Bruce (1996) provides a best summary of the process by which our concept of religion has been transformed and fragmented as modernity developed. . . . . to contemporary new forms of religious organisations, each of them competing to affirm their uniquely legitimate view of the truth. . . . . the sovereign consumers of the modern world "pick and mix" their own religions."
"A movement can "reposition" itself in its adaptive process to different cultures. This is precisely the case of Soka Gakkai."
" . . . . Soka Gakkai's movement began travelling abroad in the 1960's. . . . . During the 1960's, the movement attracted a large number of Caucasian Americans. . . . . the movement sought self-consciously to accommodate to American society and "to ingratiate itself with Americans". Strategies of accommodation included the use of the American flag, prominently displayed in the movement's buildings, or the translation into English of basic Japanese concepts, in order to convey the impression that Soka Gakkai's aims and values were in conformity with those values and traditions predominant in the host society."
"From a sociological point of view, the New Religious Movements are the answer to the crisis that invested Japanese society in four distinctive moments, namely the beginning of the nineteenth century; the general period surrounding the Meiji Restoration (1868); the beginning of the twentieth century; the period following World War II."
"In general, Japanese new religions have developed along two distinct lines, both of which revolve around the millenarian thought . . . . "the different ways in which people respond to disruptive social changes and interpret and expain various personal limitation and human and natural calamities, including earthquakes, defeat in war and great poverty"."
"From Japanese millenarianism stemmed two lines of NRMs (New Religion Movements), which can be defined, . . . . as "world denying" and "world affirming"."
"From its early roots in Japanese millenarianism, Nichiren's BUddhism develops a new identity through the work of three . . . . figures, Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda."
(An in-depth discussion of the Gakkai Cult Org.'s history follows, which those who are not deeply familiar with, may find interesting.)
(Jumping straight to the Ikeda portion . . . . )
". . . the effective value of Soka Gakkai's peace activities is unclear. The obvious beneficiaries of these encounters are Ikeda himself and Soka Gakkai. Both seek public respect and acceptance, and have been subject to criticism for decades. Public visibility is sometimes obtained through a faux pas. For example, unpublished in Soka Gakkai's official document but visible in a number of websites, are photos of Ikeda in the act of conferring "humaninarian awards" to a number of controversial figures such as former Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and Panama dictator Manuel Noriega."
"The figure of Daisaku Ikeda is not easy to define. He is "one of the more controversial figures in Japan's modern history, the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of contemporary Japanese society"."
(I have long maintained that the Gakkai Cult Org. and its membership, especially leadership, emulate everything from the top, this "Jekyll-Hyde" aspect. It is definitely a real entity within the Gakkai Cult Org..)
"The Soka Gakkai media portray Ikeda as saintly hero, a "crusader for world peace" and a "hope for suffering humanity." Ikeda is often paralleled to great figures of the past, as in the brochures for the photographic exhibit "A Legacy of Building Peace:, where Ikeda is portrayed together with Gandhi and Martin Luther King." Ikeda himself seems to encourage these parallelisms."
(An interesting transcript of Ikeda's remarks, taken from a Japan "leaders meeting" follow. Consult article for an excellent example of gakkai cult org. re-crafting history and thought reform propaganda in action.)
(A discussion of the priesthood battle follows. Again, worthwhile and recommended reading. Many of us here are well familiar with it all, but there are still some interesting tidbits to be found.)
"In the wake of the excommunication, the Soka Gakkai leadership retaliated by circulating a series of pamphlets about the corruption of the priesthood, accusing some of them of having a lucrative side business in the pornographic movie industry."
" . . . in 1999 Soka Gakkai International re-issued a one-volume collection of 172 gosho, entitled The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin. These translation were largely revised, with intent of rendering the work more readable. Soka Gakkai detractors, however, claim that the revision had been undertaken to purge the gosho of all references to the Nichiren Shoshu."
" . . . the struggle . . . a "religous civil war" based on financial reasons . . ."
(Excerpted and included in full in the appendix, is Ikeda's infamous psychopathological poem "The Victorious Future of Mentor and Disciple." This poem, which is suppressed by the gakkai cult org. now, is essential reading.)
"After 1991, when all 11 million Soka Gakkai members were excommunicated, two entirely different gongyo books were printed. The Soka Gakkai version, featuring the SGI's symbol of worldwide propagation on the cover, reshaped the prayers around Kosen Rufu and Soka Gakkai's role in fulfilling it. In 1991 the prayer was changed and reduced . . . . removing text . . . erasing references to the teachings of its rival sect Nichiren Shoshu. It also removed from the prayer every mention to the cardinal elements of Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism and to the core of Nichiren doctrine."
"Soka Gakkai seems to be more and more determined to establish its own form of Buddhism, in which Nichiren Daishonin's teachings play a secondary role. In fact, SGI has replaced the traditional reading of Nichiren Daishonin's writings with "lectures on the gosho", Daisaku Ikeda's interpretation of Nichiren's texts. These lectures are published monthly in SGI's magazines and constitute the core reading for members during SGI study meetings."
(Buddhism or "Ikedaism"? The above is especially accurate.)
". . . . the ever-increasing centrality of President Ikeda. The tendency towards the sacralisation of its President is evident today (2000), with the inclusion of his name in the gongyo prayers. The importance of the Lotus Sutra has also been downplayed in Soka Gakkai's practices, with the decision . . . . to abolish the Juryo chapter from the daily liturgy of gongyo."
(Again, a devastatingly accurate point and further evidence as to the cult org.'s modus operandi and constantly evolving revisionism to suit its changing needs.)
" . . . . Soka Gakkai has always been a strict hierarchical organisation, with clear chain of command. Members belong to a stratified system of levels of activity and the leaders of all but the lowest levels are appointed from above. A worldwide bureaucracy has been established, focussed on the headquarters in Japan, and on the powerful charismatic authorityh of Daisaku Ikeda."
(A fascinating focus on the Gakkai Cult Org. in Italy follows.)
"The organisational design of the local branches of the International Soka Gakkai, as those branches exist on a worldwide basis, reflects the blueprint of the original Japanese parent structure. . . . . a vertical line . . . . that approximates the "parent-child" relationship characterising so much of social interaction in Japan. . . . . this vertical interaction, resting on the transmission of faith, is constantly stressed . . . "
"A horizontal line within this structure also exists, in keeping with the time-hounored Japanese tradition of organising activiites into sex-seregated groups. Normally, from the age of 35 onwards, members belong to either the men's or the women's division. Before reaching that age, they are affiliated to sex-segregated youth divisions: young men, young women, male students, female students, girls an boys, etc. There are also professional division for educators, artists, medical doctors, lawyers, managers, and others . . . . for each division, a leader and a vice leader are appointed. The manner in which these divisions have adapted to conditions outside of Japan has varied according to the specific countries in which they have taken root."
(The social interaction rituals are discussed in detail, e.g., zadankai.)
"Other meetings are scheduled on monthly bases for each peer-division. At such meetings, Soka Gakkai's leaders rport to their senior on their various activities. At the same time, senior leaders from higher ranks give instruction on future activities to be performed in accordance with the national guidelines. Following the pyramidal structure, . . . . the area reports directly to the General Director."
"More meetings and training courses are scheduled for staff members. Because of the association is based on volunteerism, members are encouraged to donate their time and their talents for a variety of purposes. Staff groups bear very evocative names . . . . . (cleaning the cultural centres, food catering, various behind-the-scenes activities, etc.)"
"Contributions do not involve a statutory obligation: "one has (or should have) at heart the spirit of offering for the purpose of Kosen Rufu. It should not be considered a burdensome obligation, but rather a matter of great pride." . . . . Thus, Soka Gakkai's members are encouraged to think of their financial contribution as a "right-duty" towards their organisation."
"Attendance at meetings is recorded . . . and participants are registered to their status of "guest", "beginner" and "member". . . . . For this reason, each Soka Gakkai leader must have exact knowledge of who their members are in order to keep in mind "all the persons whom we don't see often, all those who only attend meetings now and then, all those who haven't participated in a long while, as well as all those who have distanced themselves from the practice and whome we may never have know." Also, a good (leader) mush be aware of the fluctuations in attendance at meetings, of the progress of the zaimu ($$$) and of the number of member's subscriptions to SG's publications."
"Daisaku Ikeda . . . . declares . . . . . (organisational) statistics is "a noble battle for kosen-rufu . . . . "
"Italian Soka Gakkai has, in time, managed to rewrite some of its religious tenets, modelling itself on the blueprint of the Catholic tradition, and it might be possible to suggest that the movement today owes is success precisely to the introduction of the peculiar elements that constitutes an Italian religious background."
"Italy SG's adaptive strategy evolved along the lines of a total Orientalisation of the Buddhism. The preservation of Japanese references was perceived as fundamental to distance its religious character from the notionof "religion" already embedded in the native sensus communis. A Japanese leadership, a Japanese vocabulary, and a Japanese set of rituals - such as the custom of removing one's shoes before entereing the gathering place and kneeling on the floor during worship - . . . . "
(Continued below . . . .)