Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Posted by:
Hitch
()
Date: May 24, 2013 12:15PM
Two, of two, continued . . .
" . . . . Italian Soka Gakkai . . . . orginated from the interaction of three elements: the perception of Japanese as the official language of Buddhism, the desire to imitate Japanese leaders, and the desire to climb up the hierarchic echelon of the organisation."
"The use of a high degree of foreignisation, . . . . helped Italian Soka Gakkai to achieve another fundamental goal, . . . . alien words are "foreign words that are just domesticated enough to be almost understandable, but still alien enough to be elevated, solemn, sacred, powerful, taboo." Italian Soka Gakkai leaders created the ground on which to base their institutional authority, a language constructed upon words surrounded by enough obscurity to be felt as pertaining to an otherworldly sphere in virtue of the impression they give to be in contact with a higher level of knowledge."
(Incidentally, much of the cult-speak lingo specific to the gakkai cult, will be met with raised eyebrows, giggles and immediate recognition as manipulative, weasel-wording, nonsensical vocabulary, even in the cult motherland / native-tongue, by non-gakkai members.)
"A parallel can be found here with the strategy of the post-Reformation Catholic Church, whose linguistic choices reinforced the idea of religion as a repository of dogmas, and produced a clericalised organisation based on the strict division between rulers and subjects through a creation of a sacral language "not understood by people but greatly prized by the learned and the elite" . . . . . intelligibility one of its primary objectives . . . . interposing some sort of filter or protective screen between lowly creature and awesome creator. It ads an artifical air of mystery and even a cabbalistic touch to ordinary devotion and is freely borrowed in the world of magic . . . a language pre-eminently suitable for a priestly caste to employ on behalf of an unquestioning tribe . . . . one reason to rely on religious authority is "in order to gain specialist information"."
"Soka Gakkai is a "client oriented" organisation, which acts as "a cultural broker, managing a flow of meaning between different socio-religious contexts". In order to firmly establish its presence in the religious marketplace, Soka Gakkai has had to make its "specialist information" available in a form that could appeal to the specific cultural repertoire of a country."
"Protestant soteriology (i.e., the question of personal salvation) played a major role in influencing the reception of Soka Gakkai in the U.K."
(Manipulative confirmation bias and how it works is next.)
"SG's recruitment strategies today remains highly utilitarian. In his messages to believers, Ikeda often exhorts SG members to be successful in their lives, since success constitutes the best possible demonstration of the validity of this brand of buddhism. . . . . . SG members are expected to prepare detailed lists of wishes and goals at the beginning of the year and are traditionally invited to make a detailed evaluation of what they have obtained at the last meeting of the year. This "benefits enumeration" is counterbalanced by what believers themselves are able to do to achieve their aims by way of prayer. . . . . . believers often keep track track of how long they pray each day on a poster specifically designed for this purpose . . . . . The realisation of a particular wish is thought to occur when the member obtains one million points."
(Infamous "daimoku" - magic- charts, conveniently related to Toda's magical "million" numbers and his enlightenment / goals reached, while imprisoned.)
"To sustain a lasting commitment, other kinds of motivation must gradually come into play."
(Cue in gakkai cult activity member "experiences" or testimonials.)
"Interaction rituals and shared beliefs can generate symbolic incentives to participate in the activities of a religious movement . . . . . (with) four initiating conditions:
1) The physical co-presence of two or more people assembled in the same place.
2) The barriers to outsiders that provide participants with a sense of who is taking part in the ritual and who is excluded.
3) A common focus upon the same object.
4) A shard emotional mood.
These elements, and, in particular the shared focus of attention and the emotional tone, feed upon and reinforce each other:
"As the person becomes more tightly focused on their common activity, more aware of what each other is doing and feeling, and more aware of each other's awareness, they experience their shared emotions more intensely, as it comes to dominate their awareness/"
"In other words, a common set of focused emotions and attentions stimulates collective effervescence and enhances the sense of mutual participation. This ritual dynamic produces a number of important outcomes such as the sense of belonging to a group, the embrace of symbols that represent the group, and a feeling of morality: the sense of rightness in adhering to the group and respecting its symbols."
". . . . membership . . . . can be described as the experience of participating in a sequence of nested interaction rituals. . . . . . This collective feeling is encouraged by Soka Gakkai's magazines, . . . . which regularly publish Ikeda's speeches and poems, and excerpts from books that he often publishes together with famous philosophers, scientists and politicians. The magazines inform members of the awards and honorary doctorates that he continuously receives, of his meetings with political leaders from important countries, and of the opening ceremonies of institutes, foundations, and universities that Ikeda has sponsored. These rituals, in turn, become the topic of conversational rituals between members who, by sharing and reciprocally communicating their admiration for Ikeda, vigorously reinfoce their sense of belonging to an important movement that works for noble ideals."
(The concept of "leaders" is also addressed.)
" . . . "the decisions are made from above, on the basis of criteria that remain mysterious and unclear to the members". Theoretically, SG encourages its member to think of their leader as a kind of "older brother or sister" from whom one can expect help and encouragement toward developing a correct understanding . . . . However, the distinction between bringing comfort in faith and a full scale encroachment into someone's personal life can be tenuous, and leaders tend to see themselves as protagonists in every situation, thus interpreting the . . . . teachings according to incorrect parameters, or giving unsolicited advice."
"Authoritarian leadership. . . . . . "it can happen that someone may interpret the leader's role as tied to the idea of "service" in the military sense, i.e. as a function of power, and act on misinterpretation, thus provoking reaction of perplexity and aversion"."
"Soka Gakkai, a pioneer of the defence of human rights, was systematically violating these same rights inside of its own organisation."
"To question the words of the Master is viewed as a clear sign of lack of faith, as the members must "act before understanding". To doubt the Master is a sign of "akuchishiki", the devilish functions of life. "Akuchishiki", the editorial explains, take the form of "false friends", in opposition to "zenchishiki", "good friends"."
"Members who do not follow directives have a "crooked faith" that needs to be "straightned out". . . . . their "crooked ideas" are "interrupting the pure flow of the Master's teaching"."
"Good friends, . . . . guide their members to ensure that they only develop a "healthy faith" and . . . . denounce the "errors" these members may make to senior leaders. . . . . the role of senior leaders is that of an indispensable bridge between common members and the Gohonzon. Senior leaders must be strict, to preserve "the purest flow of the Law"."
"SG's members are compared to handicapped children, whose loving parents (the senior leaders) struggle for a cure before their imperfection became irreversible . . ."
(It goes on to discuss how these attitudes and behaviors wreak havoc on the cult org. over time.)
(Perhaps the most interesting part, again for me, is the following.)
"The parallel between the language of Fascism and the language of the Italian Soka Gakkai is useful to illustrate the extent in which Italian speakers are rady to accept the metonymic coincidence between the semantic area of "religion" and the semantic areas pertaining to "discipline, obedience, and hierarchy"."
"The cult of the leader can be genuine (as in the case of spontaneous, popular devotion), or can be artificially created by a careful manipulation of pseudo-religious elements, such as rituals and myths. In Italy, the identification of the Buddhist Law and Daisaku Ikeda firmly places "sensei" in the role of the charismatic leader. To celebrate his figure, every general meeting displays a large photograph of him, and opens with a choir performing the song "Io ho un Maestro." Following this, a video recording of his speech is played (in Japanese) and then translated and commented on by a senior leader. The use of audio visual media had the effect of bringing the image of Ikeda close to every single member of the organisation, but it also had the effect of rendering him ubiquitous and, at the same time, unreachable and remote."
". . . . keywords of "effort" and "severity" . . . . reiterates the concept of blind allegiance . . . The call to "total action" in the name of the master is further reinforced by the slogan "I decide to suffer and force myself", with which SG's members were asked to "sweat blood" to propagate the movement in Italy."
"Ur-Fascism derives from individual or social frustration. This is why one of the most typical features of historical Fascism has been its appeal to a frustrated middle class. . . . . a parallel can be drawn . . . . . by Soka Gakkai . . . . who have gradually worked to create a strictly hierarchic army of Kosen rufu warriors, instructed to spare no efforts in the propagation of Soka Gakkai's vision . . . "
"No matter how anarchic they may appear to foreigners, it should never be forgotten that Italians invented Fascism. Certainly the Italian leadership of the SG did not overlook this fact. On the contrary, it drew upon the latent cultural and linguistic habits, obscure instincts and unfathomable drives that lay behind Italian culture's creation of Fascism to enable it to construct one of the most vibrant new religious movements the West has ever seen. In short, the Soka Gakkai movement in Italy can be seen as the rarest of things: a near perfect translation."
****
A fascinating piece, but I don't agree that the Fascism quality is particularly unique to SGI-Italy. It's pervasive in both the cult's motherland and the U.S.A subsidiary. So, in that sense, I'd say it's more of a human tendency, rather than any apparent provincial one, but definitely a perfect fit in the case of Italy.
At any rate, it will take some time read, because it's over a few hundred pages long (appendix also contains very worthwhile material that should not be overlooked).
Some of the above, are just some of the things that jumped out at me from my first read. I'm sure others will find additional areas that speak to them. I've tried to sift some out. For those that take the time to read the entire thing, I'm sure you'll find more.
A very "enlightening" (all pun intended) and recommended read, to inform, educate and critically evaluate, for oneself, the $oka Gakkai Cult Org. and its worldwide movement.
For those that may have seen this before, apologies. For those that haven't, I hope it is an edifying read, and enjoy.
[wrap.warwick.ac.uk]
- Hitch
PS - Web sources are also cited in this article / thesis, including this very site "Rick Ross Cult Education Forum." So, what we are all doing here, does have an effect and influence.
" . . . . Italian Soka Gakkai . . . . orginated from the interaction of three elements: the perception of Japanese as the official language of Buddhism, the desire to imitate Japanese leaders, and the desire to climb up the hierarchic echelon of the organisation."
"The use of a high degree of foreignisation, . . . . helped Italian Soka Gakkai to achieve another fundamental goal, . . . . alien words are "foreign words that are just domesticated enough to be almost understandable, but still alien enough to be elevated, solemn, sacred, powerful, taboo." Italian Soka Gakkai leaders created the ground on which to base their institutional authority, a language constructed upon words surrounded by enough obscurity to be felt as pertaining to an otherworldly sphere in virtue of the impression they give to be in contact with a higher level of knowledge."
(Incidentally, much of the cult-speak lingo specific to the gakkai cult, will be met with raised eyebrows, giggles and immediate recognition as manipulative, weasel-wording, nonsensical vocabulary, even in the cult motherland / native-tongue, by non-gakkai members.)
"A parallel can be found here with the strategy of the post-Reformation Catholic Church, whose linguistic choices reinforced the idea of religion as a repository of dogmas, and produced a clericalised organisation based on the strict division between rulers and subjects through a creation of a sacral language "not understood by people but greatly prized by the learned and the elite" . . . . . intelligibility one of its primary objectives . . . . interposing some sort of filter or protective screen between lowly creature and awesome creator. It ads an artifical air of mystery and even a cabbalistic touch to ordinary devotion and is freely borrowed in the world of magic . . . a language pre-eminently suitable for a priestly caste to employ on behalf of an unquestioning tribe . . . . one reason to rely on religious authority is "in order to gain specialist information"."
"Soka Gakkai is a "client oriented" organisation, which acts as "a cultural broker, managing a flow of meaning between different socio-religious contexts". In order to firmly establish its presence in the religious marketplace, Soka Gakkai has had to make its "specialist information" available in a form that could appeal to the specific cultural repertoire of a country."
"Protestant soteriology (i.e., the question of personal salvation) played a major role in influencing the reception of Soka Gakkai in the U.K."
(Manipulative confirmation bias and how it works is next.)
"SG's recruitment strategies today remains highly utilitarian. In his messages to believers, Ikeda often exhorts SG members to be successful in their lives, since success constitutes the best possible demonstration of the validity of this brand of buddhism. . . . . . SG members are expected to prepare detailed lists of wishes and goals at the beginning of the year and are traditionally invited to make a detailed evaluation of what they have obtained at the last meeting of the year. This "benefits enumeration" is counterbalanced by what believers themselves are able to do to achieve their aims by way of prayer. . . . . . believers often keep track track of how long they pray each day on a poster specifically designed for this purpose . . . . . The realisation of a particular wish is thought to occur when the member obtains one million points."
(Infamous "daimoku" - magic- charts, conveniently related to Toda's magical "million" numbers and his enlightenment / goals reached, while imprisoned.)
"To sustain a lasting commitment, other kinds of motivation must gradually come into play."
(Cue in gakkai cult activity member "experiences" or testimonials.)
"Interaction rituals and shared beliefs can generate symbolic incentives to participate in the activities of a religious movement . . . . . (with) four initiating conditions:
1) The physical co-presence of two or more people assembled in the same place.
2) The barriers to outsiders that provide participants with a sense of who is taking part in the ritual and who is excluded.
3) A common focus upon the same object.
4) A shard emotional mood.
These elements, and, in particular the shared focus of attention and the emotional tone, feed upon and reinforce each other:
"As the person becomes more tightly focused on their common activity, more aware of what each other is doing and feeling, and more aware of each other's awareness, they experience their shared emotions more intensely, as it comes to dominate their awareness/"
"In other words, a common set of focused emotions and attentions stimulates collective effervescence and enhances the sense of mutual participation. This ritual dynamic produces a number of important outcomes such as the sense of belonging to a group, the embrace of symbols that represent the group, and a feeling of morality: the sense of rightness in adhering to the group and respecting its symbols."
". . . . membership . . . . can be described as the experience of participating in a sequence of nested interaction rituals. . . . . . This collective feeling is encouraged by Soka Gakkai's magazines, . . . . which regularly publish Ikeda's speeches and poems, and excerpts from books that he often publishes together with famous philosophers, scientists and politicians. The magazines inform members of the awards and honorary doctorates that he continuously receives, of his meetings with political leaders from important countries, and of the opening ceremonies of institutes, foundations, and universities that Ikeda has sponsored. These rituals, in turn, become the topic of conversational rituals between members who, by sharing and reciprocally communicating their admiration for Ikeda, vigorously reinfoce their sense of belonging to an important movement that works for noble ideals."
(The concept of "leaders" is also addressed.)
" . . . "the decisions are made from above, on the basis of criteria that remain mysterious and unclear to the members". Theoretically, SG encourages its member to think of their leader as a kind of "older brother or sister" from whom one can expect help and encouragement toward developing a correct understanding . . . . However, the distinction between bringing comfort in faith and a full scale encroachment into someone's personal life can be tenuous, and leaders tend to see themselves as protagonists in every situation, thus interpreting the . . . . teachings according to incorrect parameters, or giving unsolicited advice."
"Authoritarian leadership. . . . . . "it can happen that someone may interpret the leader's role as tied to the idea of "service" in the military sense, i.e. as a function of power, and act on misinterpretation, thus provoking reaction of perplexity and aversion"."
"Soka Gakkai, a pioneer of the defence of human rights, was systematically violating these same rights inside of its own organisation."
"To question the words of the Master is viewed as a clear sign of lack of faith, as the members must "act before understanding". To doubt the Master is a sign of "akuchishiki", the devilish functions of life. "Akuchishiki", the editorial explains, take the form of "false friends", in opposition to "zenchishiki", "good friends"."
"Members who do not follow directives have a "crooked faith" that needs to be "straightned out". . . . . their "crooked ideas" are "interrupting the pure flow of the Master's teaching"."
"Good friends, . . . . guide their members to ensure that they only develop a "healthy faith" and . . . . denounce the "errors" these members may make to senior leaders. . . . . the role of senior leaders is that of an indispensable bridge between common members and the Gohonzon. Senior leaders must be strict, to preserve "the purest flow of the Law"."
"SG's members are compared to handicapped children, whose loving parents (the senior leaders) struggle for a cure before their imperfection became irreversible . . ."
(It goes on to discuss how these attitudes and behaviors wreak havoc on the cult org. over time.)
(Perhaps the most interesting part, again for me, is the following.)
"The parallel between the language of Fascism and the language of the Italian Soka Gakkai is useful to illustrate the extent in which Italian speakers are rady to accept the metonymic coincidence between the semantic area of "religion" and the semantic areas pertaining to "discipline, obedience, and hierarchy"."
"The cult of the leader can be genuine (as in the case of spontaneous, popular devotion), or can be artificially created by a careful manipulation of pseudo-religious elements, such as rituals and myths. In Italy, the identification of the Buddhist Law and Daisaku Ikeda firmly places "sensei" in the role of the charismatic leader. To celebrate his figure, every general meeting displays a large photograph of him, and opens with a choir performing the song "Io ho un Maestro." Following this, a video recording of his speech is played (in Japanese) and then translated and commented on by a senior leader. The use of audio visual media had the effect of bringing the image of Ikeda close to every single member of the organisation, but it also had the effect of rendering him ubiquitous and, at the same time, unreachable and remote."
". . . . keywords of "effort" and "severity" . . . . reiterates the concept of blind allegiance . . . The call to "total action" in the name of the master is further reinforced by the slogan "I decide to suffer and force myself", with which SG's members were asked to "sweat blood" to propagate the movement in Italy."
"Ur-Fascism derives from individual or social frustration. This is why one of the most typical features of historical Fascism has been its appeal to a frustrated middle class. . . . . a parallel can be drawn . . . . . by Soka Gakkai . . . . who have gradually worked to create a strictly hierarchic army of Kosen rufu warriors, instructed to spare no efforts in the propagation of Soka Gakkai's vision . . . "
"No matter how anarchic they may appear to foreigners, it should never be forgotten that Italians invented Fascism. Certainly the Italian leadership of the SG did not overlook this fact. On the contrary, it drew upon the latent cultural and linguistic habits, obscure instincts and unfathomable drives that lay behind Italian culture's creation of Fascism to enable it to construct one of the most vibrant new religious movements the West has ever seen. In short, the Soka Gakkai movement in Italy can be seen as the rarest of things: a near perfect translation."
****
A fascinating piece, but I don't agree that the Fascism quality is particularly unique to SGI-Italy. It's pervasive in both the cult's motherland and the U.S.A subsidiary. So, in that sense, I'd say it's more of a human tendency, rather than any apparent provincial one, but definitely a perfect fit in the case of Italy.
At any rate, it will take some time read, because it's over a few hundred pages long (appendix also contains very worthwhile material that should not be overlooked).
Some of the above, are just some of the things that jumped out at me from my first read. I'm sure others will find additional areas that speak to them. I've tried to sift some out. For those that take the time to read the entire thing, I'm sure you'll find more.
A very "enlightening" (all pun intended) and recommended read, to inform, educate and critically evaluate, for oneself, the $oka Gakkai Cult Org. and its worldwide movement.
For those that may have seen this before, apologies. For those that haven't, I hope it is an edifying read, and enjoy.
[wrap.warwick.ac.uk]
- Hitch
PS - Web sources are also cited in this article / thesis, including this very site "Rick Ross Cult Education Forum." So, what we are all doing here, does have an effect and influence.
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Posted by:
TaitenAndProud
()
Date: May 24, 2013 02:47PM
That means "essential posting", you realize!! I will do that after this comment.Quote
(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.)
Here's the funny part. Supposedly (see posts just before yours), chanting NMRK will result in progressively more enlightened awareness, whether one seeks it or not, regardless of one's frame of mind while chanting. It's supposed to be automatic and inescapable, at least according to many leaders. That's why it's the magic chant, you see *le wink*Quote
". . . . keywords of "effort" and "severity" . . . . reiterates the concept of blind allegiance . . . The call to "total action" in the name of the master is further reinforced by the slogan "I decide to suffer and force myself", with which SG's members were asked to "sweat blood" to propagate the movement in Italy."
However, if there IS any truth to the magicalness of NMRK, that means that the "keywords of 'effort' and 'severity'" and "the concept of blind allegiance" will be transcended the more one chants! Enlightenment means the eradication of attachment and desire, and without attachment and desire, there can be no "sweating blood" - to propagate the movement in Italy or anything else. Enlightenment includes the critical detail of accepting reality as it is. That is what the SGI cannot afford for its members to do. Thus, the SGI does not want its members to attain enlightenment. That's the LAST thing it wants for its members, because at that point, the members become utterly *useless*.
Look at me! DECADES of leadership and study and millions upon millions of daimoku. Guidance from top local and national leaders, including pioneers and the likes of Linda Johnson and Greg Martin. And I outgrew it. THAT is the greatest danger of practice, as far as SGI is concerned. It needs the members to remain in thrall to their attachments and delusions. The SGI needs its members to be suffering - and the more, the better! Because it is when they are suffering that they are the most motivated to do what the SGI wants them to do, which it will frame in terms of "this is how you can most quickly end your sufferings and get what you want, fulfill all your desires." It's a siren song that the magical magicalness of NMRK will reliably squash, if there's anything magical about NMRK, that is.
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Posted by:
TaitenAndProud
()
Date: May 24, 2013 02:58PM
Dammit. Link is in Italian, and as a scanned PDF, it can't be translated without being re-typed. Do you have an English version of "The Victorious Future of Mentor and Disciple"?? It sounds vaguely yaoi...
Hello! Lookee what I found, on this very thread, from just a coupla years ago!
Hitch - is this the same poem as in that guy's dissertation? Here are the three comments directly following tsuki's post (above):
Hello! Lookee what I found, on this very thread, from just a coupla years ago!
Thanks, tsukimoto!!Quote
From the Kempon Hokke Blog, March 20, 2011, www.fraughtwithperil.com
---------------Beginning of Quote-----------------------------------------------------
The Victorious Future of Mentor and Disciple
I can see those who are like demons
Milling around what
Unbeknownst to them,
Is only an execution block
Traitors!
Having turned your backs
On the Daishonin’s golden words,
Are you ready
To be burned in the fires
Of the Hell of incessant suffering?
To be imprisoned in a cavern
In the Hell of extreme cold?
To be shut off in the darkness
Of misery and strife, forever deprived of the sun’s light? –Daisaku Ikeda
----------------------------End of Quote-----------------------------------------------------------------
Victorious future? It sounds like a horror movie, what Ikeda hopes will happen to "traitors" -- ie, anyone who doesn't agree with him.
Hitch - is this the same poem as in that guy's dissertation? Here are the three comments directly following tsuki's post (above):
I think the biggest problem facing our would-be emperor is masses of people who do not wish to follow, obey, and serve. The organized religions are having the same problem - congregations aging and dying, contributions drying up, splitting of larger entities into smaller factions barely viable, and people choosing independent thought over doing what they're told. The Millennial generation in particular (reaching age 18 in 2000 and beyond) is notoriously difficult to control. Ikeda's looking at the pinnacle of his success in his rear view mirror, and the fact that it's all downhill from here on out eats him alive. If he's even still alive.Quote
April 01, 2011 11:06PM
The Anticult
Date Added: 03/17/2006
Posts: 4552
SGI Daisaku Ikeda: judge, jury and executioner fascism
Daisaku Ikeda is a mentally sick man.
Yes, Daisaku Ikeda would have loved to bring back the executioners block, for those who choose not to buy into his SGI bullshit.
He would have lined them up by the hundreds to dispose of them.
Daisaku Ikeda is full of crap.
Those who choose to not follow his SGI personal religion, will have a great life.
Its called FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE, Mr Ikeda. Something you cannot even imagine, with such a fascistic mindset.
to the fascist mind, like Daisaku Ikeda, personal freedom for people is his greatest enemy, freedom is a demon to Ikeda.
Because then he would have had to have had a real job.
All Ikeda is trying to do is use psychological warfare on his followers, to Ikeda its like scaring children with scary stories to try and make them behave.
Hellfire and damnation.
Who is the real human demon in this?
Who is the money-vampire?
Daisaku Ikeda, what a revolting fraud that man is.
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April 03, 2011 05:23PM
wakatta1
Date Added: 08/20/2009
Posts: 135
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Spotted on a "subway wall", likely from some urban prophet
The terrible failure of Master - Disciple
Oh you perpetrator!
you prevaricator! you deceiver
you whose only lust is for gold and privilege
you who abandoned the temple and the lineage
the one who filled volumes with double-talk about some guy called Shin'Ichi
and lured millions into ruin through your lies
As a "Master" You should know that life is but a vapor,
and each man will eventually reach his due.
it will be interesting to be a fly on the wall
and seeing what happens to you...
when the smoke clears..
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April 03, 2011 06:38PM
Shavoy
Date Added: 02/23/2011
Posts: 243
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Tsukimoto, The Anti-Cult and Wakatta1: Your posts reinforce the thing in my head that I can't get my head quite around....help me out here. How does Daisaku Ikeda believe he can make huge inroads with the American/world masses for membership in the SGI when written words like what Tsukimoto posted above SCREAM CULT!!!???
I mean, there is no difference between Fire and Brimstone fundamentalist Christian thinking and Burning in the Hellfires of Incessant Suffering. What's the appeal in that?
How can he say it's better? The True Way?
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April 04, 2011 01:16AM
The Anticult
Date Added: 03/17/2006
Posts: 4552
Re: Soka Gakkai -- SGI-USA the golden goose
Well, fire and brimstone, damnation and judge your enemy, have worked quite well in the US to this point!
But clearly, from many past posts here, Ikeda has always been totally out of touch with the US and much of the west. His early techniques were like crude Stalinist propaganda, with the giant photo's and the rest of it.
Then SGI-USA had marketing experts come up with a better message for the US, and the SGI message changed over the years, to become more moderate sounding, less demanding for initial members, (more demanding for more involved people) and everything else contained in this thread.
But one has to try and look at it from Ikeda's perspective, at least in years past. One can see him sitting in his fancy offices, probably with a map of the world on a huge table, plotting strategies for expanding SGI in various markets and countries worldwide. Getting field reports, recruiting numbers, revenues from each country.
Its just a big numbers game when you are at the top. Just business management.
And one can be sure the amount of money coming in from the USA increased when they changed their tactics, so they do what works.
Of course one can't read anyone else's mind, but one has to assume that Ikeda just saw America as the big fat golden goose.
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI, Ikeda and Sai Baba
Posted by:
TaitenAndProud
()
Date: May 25, 2013 02:49AM
This is from 2011, from tsukimoto (p. 285), but it's an excellent point:
What's funny is that the SGI tends to attract white, well-educated, liberal people. Its days are numbered O_O
Notice how, in Nichiren's letter "The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings," the most intelligent disciples are maligned:Quote
SGI, likewise, knows its "target market." It's the people who will accept Mentor/Disciple. SGI could change its ways and attract more people -- but too many of them would be people who think and question. SGI doesn't want to attract people like that. As things are -- they're attracting who they want to attract.
For years, I thought of SGI as a religion -- the truth is, it's a business, selling you a dream in exchange for your time, money and loyalty.
Nichiren makes it clear - they want EXTREMELY STUPID members!! :D I remember MANY meetings stressing the superiority of the stupid messenger *eye roll*Quote
In general, there are three kinds of messengers. The first kind is extremely clever. The second is not particularly clever but is not stupid, either. The third is the kind who is extremely stupid but nevertheless reliable.
Of these three types, the first will commit no error [in transmitting his message]. The second, being somewhat clever but not quite as clever as the first type, will add his own words to his lord's message. Thus he is the worst possible type of messenger. The third type, being extremely stupid, will not presume to interpolate his own words, and, being honest, will relay his lord's message without deviating from it. Thus he is in effect a better messenger than the second type, and occasionally may be even better than the first.
The first type of messenger may be likened to the four ranks of saints in India. The second type corresponds to the teachers in China. And the third type may be likened to the stupid but honest persons among the common mortals of this latter age. [nichiren.info]
What's funny is that the SGI tends to attract white, well-educated, liberal people. Its days are numbered O_O
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Posted by:
TaitenAndProud
()
Date: May 25, 2013 02:58AM
I was nosing about on teh intarblaaghs and I ran across this - almost made me barf!! From one of the "Human Revolution"s:
What a load of bullshit. This is disgusting.
While a member, I never read "The Human Revolution." I found it tedious and sappy. But if I'd read THIS (above), I would have been completely put off! (I like to think *wink*)
Not to help anyone in need, you'll notice. Evangelism FIRST and ONLY!!!Quote
Shin’ichi Yamamoto next turned to the Gosho “The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary
Beings.” He stopped at a passage near the end of the letter. He read it over and over,
sensing its profound meaning:
Though one may perform meritorious deeds, if they are directed toward that which is not
true, then they may bring great evil but they will never result in good. On the other hand,
though one may be ignorant in mind and his offerings meager, if he presents them to a
person who upholds the truth, his merit will be great. How much more so in the case of
persons who in all sincerity make offerings to the True Law! (mw-6, 281)
IN short, the Daishonin’s statement in “The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings”
indicates that offerings can bring about either good or evil, depending on to whom or for
what cause they are made.
In light of this Gosho passage, Shin’ichi thought about the offerings made within the
Soka Gakkai. The offerings and financial contributions the organization solicited were
exclusively to accomplish the Daishonin’s mandate to widely propagate the Mystic Law.
As you can see, this is pure evil. Suggesting that his "benefit and good fortune" had come about as the result of his giving more than he could afford to the organization! To the point of going without a winter coat, even - while suffering from a serious lung illness! Insanity!Quote
Offerings made toward this end were equivalent to offerings made to the original
Buddha. There was, then, no greater offering, no greater good. Certainly, nothing could
bring greater benefit. This thought filled Shin’ichi with a sense of immeasurable good
fortune and joy at having had the chance to make such offerings as a Soka Gakkai
member.
The Daishonin concludes this writing by praising the spirit of this follower who had sent
offerings to him at Mount Minobu: “Surely you are sowing good seeds in a field of fortune.
My tears flow when I think of it” (mw-6,282).
Dedicating oneself to kosen-rufu means “sowing good seeds in a field of fortune”—
Shin’ichi had been strongly convinced of this since his youth. He recalled his days of
earnestly striving to protect and support Josei Toda, who took leadership to widely
propagate the Daishonin’s teachings. Back then, Toda’s business was experiencing severe
difficulties, and for a long time payment of Shin’ichi’s salary was in arrears.
Shin’ichi realized that to support this great lion of a man, who had arisen alone to
spread the Law, was the way to protect the Soka Gakkai and to accomplish the goal of
kosen-rufu.
He drastically cut his living expenses and made it his creed to use even a little of the
money remaining from his pay to support Gakkai activities, to contribute to spreading the
Daishonin’s Buddhism. To do so was his joy and secret pride. Because of this, he even
spent an entire winter without an overcoat. Whenever he received some of his back
salary, he would use a sizable portion of it to support Toda’s activities to promote kosenrufu. Shin’ichi was absolutely convinced that the benefit and good fortune he had
acquired as a result had enabled him to overcome his illness and today take on the
Gakkai’s leadership with confidence and composure.
He had not acted to support his mentor or the organization at someone else’s behest.
He had done so spontaneously, with a spirit of cheerfulness. It was an expression of his
sincere faith, a reflection of his profound resolve to dedicate his life to spreading the
Daishonin’s Buddhism throughout the world.
After long consideration, and taking into account the Daishonin’s admonitions along
with his own experience, Shin’ichi decided to make it possible for all members to
participate in making contributions for the Grand Reception Hall, their sincere offerings
“sowing good seeds in a field of fortune” in their lives. [www.sgi-usa.org]
What a load of bullshit. This is disgusting.
While a member, I never read "The Human Revolution." I found it tedious and sappy. But if I'd read THIS (above), I would have been completely put off! (I like to think *wink*)
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Posted by:
sleepy skunk
()
Date: May 26, 2013 05:02AM
I know this is going back a bit but this is aptly descriptive. After leaving and having a true realization (not the ones they talk about) that this is indeed what had happened to me.Quote
TaitenAndProud
Can you spell "bait and switch"? I knew you could :D
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Posted by:
sleepy skunk
()
Date: May 26, 2013 08:08AM
Pardon the probably odd question but this made me think of the scarves they give to people in the begining. Does anyone know of their significance and if the above was the purpose of giving them out?Quote
Hitch
"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 whom we may never have know." Also, a good (leader) must 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."
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Posted by:
TaitenAndProud
()
Date: May 26, 2013 08:13AM
Scarves?? When/where was this? What were they like?
Re: Soka Gakkai International -- SGI
Posted by:
sleepy skunk
()
Date: May 26, 2013 08:47AM
Really nice looking things with flowers and what looks like a Japanese kanji on them, each are different colors.Quote
TaitenAndProud
Scarves?? When/where was this? What were they like?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2013 08:47AM by sleepy skunk.
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