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Hitch
I was told this exact same thing when given a tour of the Ikeda room as a YMD. "If we work hard enough for Cousin Rufus, Sensei will feel our efforts, our daimoku will call him here and he will come visit our kaikan. It all depends on our pure faith, ichinen, and mission to respond to him. Work hard for our area to have Sensei come in person to give us guidance and encourage us." And with that, you are slowly ushered out, given one last glance as the door closes, the lock turns and the hardcore Japanese WD cult org. queen tightly grasps the key into her fisted hand and places it back into her pocket, to be put back into its special keepsake location.

Of course, if you're good enough, if you're brave enough . . . if your faith and practice are strong enough, the Great and Powerful Oz will appear! And if he doesn't, well, it's because somebody (not pointing any fingers, mind you) just isn't with the program. What you should've been thinking, my friend, is that the somebody might be you, and it's all your fault that GaPO hasn't graced our kaikan with his glorious presence.

A very-long-time member in Las Cruces told me that when ikeda visited Mexico a number of years ago, he passed through El Paso (about 50 miles from LC, and the closest community center). One of the leaders called her and said that she should reeeeallly get to the kaikan as quickly as she should; he couldn't tell her why, but she'd regret that she'd missed a wonderful opportunity. She couldn't get away from work and was devastated that she'd missed meeting the Great and Powerful. Apparently, when the man travels, it's like the POTUS . . . all secrecy and security. All the more to add to his cache I would think. Among his chief weapons are fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, and near fanatical devotion to the mystic law!

What a guy . . . so powerful that his imaginary ass-prints in a desk chair emit majestic wisdom.

I had no idea that there was a magic room. The woman who s-b'd me lives in WA state and probably has a permanent, personal seat in Seattle. I think I must rattle her cage a bit about the ikeda room there - it'll amuse me to let her know that it isn't as big a secret as she believes it to be.

Are you people sure that there isn't a secret handshake? I think it probably starts with miming putting money in one's wallet and tucking it into a back pocket, some choreographed skipping around, a little hip-wiggling ending with a fist-bump and those two arms stretched out-and-upwards in that patented victory gesture that we all know so well. And lots of whooping and giggling. Nobody said it would be pretty.

I was wondering for those who have actually been to the IKG exhibit, what kind of crap do they have in there? Is it artifacts like a real museum but just peppered with Ikeda crap or more like a creation museum (with the same bunch of crap with altered facts) to make the false association with Gandhi and King?

@ Hitch and @T&P: have you ever heard of that ranch in Cali? Another property of the SGI. Is it hidden or is it open to the public? At least you can donate money and safe it before it's lost... As if ikeda wouldn't have any money to safe it???
Soka/ King ranch

Thanks to The Anticult on page 37 of SGI-USA is multimillion-dollar religious corporation...thread I've found information about the Malibu trainings center,

SGI-USA’s Malibu Training Center, [assessormap.lacountyassessor.com] with a tax valuation of $1.4 million, was on the market in June 2003 for $21 million. It sold for $14.5 million in June 2003. SGI originally purchased the property in 1972 for a reported $109,000. [www.caic.org.au]

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sixtyseven
@ Hitch and @T&P: have you ever heard of that ranch in Cali? Another property of the SGI. Is it hidden or is it open to the public? At least you can donate money and safe it before it's lost... As if ikeda wouldn't have any money to safe it???
Soka/ King ranch

If this is the same place that the original $oka-Univ.-USA used to be, and it looks like it is, then yes, I've been there. The Dear Leader held visits there and the (mostly empty) campus / ranch only ever had a handful of staff and another handful of Japanese language students in residence at most, all at one time. All for appearance purposes to make $oka Cult U, American campus look legit on paper during its infancy.

The locals in the area, especially environmentalists, have been against the cult org. owning the place from day one and this was one of the main drivers that caused the cult org. to move the campus to where it is now.

The cult org. has deep pockets and is probably getting ready to move the property off of their books.

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sixtyseven
Thanks to The Anticult on page 37 of SGI-USA is multimillion-dollar religious corporation...thread I've found information about the Malibu trainings center,

SGI-USA’s Malibu Training Center, [assessormap.lacountyassessor.com] with a tax valuation of $1.4 million, was on the market in June 2003 for $21 million. It sold for $14.5 million in June 2003. SGI originally purchased the property in 1972 for a reported $109,000. [www.caic.org.au]

Thanks a million (all pun intended) "67"! I knew it!! Nice profit for the tax-exempt cult org.. Based on google map photos, I think the property has been razed and is completely gone now.


- Hitch

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meh
Are you people sure that there isn't a secret handshake?

If I had seen or encountered something like this, [www.youtube.com], I'm pretty sure I would have left the gakkai cult org. much, much sooner (and faster) than I did.

(Clip is hidden footage inside the Mormon Celestial Room, which requires a bizarre secret handshake ritual to enter. The handshake footage starts in around the 6 minute mark. If you think the gakkai is creepy, boy oh boy, the Mormons and $cientologists, IMO, take the cake.)

- Hitch

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@ Hitch and @T&P: have you ever heard of that ranch in Cali? Another property of the SGI. Is it hidden or is it open to the public? At least you can donate money and safe it before it's lost... As if ikeda wouldn't have any money to safe it???
Soka/ King ranch

Nope - not a peep! Why? Is this a recent development? My last activity was, I think, early 2008...

What a disgusting charade, that donation campaign. Let Daddy Fatbucks Ikeda buy it himself and make it "a present" to the American people.

Great find about the fate of the "Malibu Training Center," 67. I was wondering what became of that - its sale certainly was not Gakkai news or widely discussed, to my knowledge :/

Oh, and Hitch? You don't need to tell ME Mormons are creepy! I've spent time around 'em and seen it for myself!

At least we only had to take that dumb-ass exam every year . . . if I had to remember all that Mormon crap, I'd still be sitting on the curb.

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sleepy skunk
I was wondering for those who have actually been to the IKG exhibit, what kind of crap do they have in there? Is it artifacts like a real museum but just peppered with Ikeda crap or more like a creation museum (with the same bunch of crap with altered facts) to make the false association with Gandhi and King?

Yellowness - crap. I'd like to know too.

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sixtyseven

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sleepy skunk
I was wondering for those who have actually been to the IKG exhibit, what kind of crap do they have in there? Is it artifacts like a real museum but just peppered with Ikeda crap or more like a creation museum (with the same bunch of crap with altered facts) to make the false association with Gandhi and King?

Yellowness - crap. I'd like to know too.

That kind of reminds me of a classroom setting as. A bunch of crap on the board with someone who thinks they know it all pointing at it with a somewhat compensatory looking large ruler. The last exhibit I saw was nothing but people walking around a bunch of large banner stands with "information" on things and issues we all already knew and cared about (ie: another pointless outing for everyone). There was nothing said or discussed about doing anything about them though. Maybe they only have people do presentations for the "important" exhibits.