Hi, I am new to this site. I have been observing this mb for a couple of weeks and just joined a couple of days ago. I really want to thank everyone who has contributed to this message board. I feel that the opinions expressed and the different points of view on the sgi are valuable to me.

Being a 'mis-fortune' baby has been a tremendous burdon for me. Both my parents are still involved with the sgi and my up bringing as some of you can imagine was one frought with expectations to involve myself in activities constantly, to take ikeda as my mentor and be judged in faith. After being let down, shunned by friends and family and treated like there was something always wrong with me, I have decided to remove myself from quote cult.org. I still have a very strong spriritual practice that involves Buddhism, but I am learning to be open minded towards myself and others.

Again, thank you all for your posts and insights. I feel so relieved to be able to share and hear experinces with people who know what I am going through and are not 'programmed' to say the usual dogma-jargin.

Hi, Sensi! Welcome! Though I didn't join the cult until I was almost 27 (I had just separated from my first husband and my new boyfriend was a then-NSA member and so I started practicing to impress him), I practiced for some 20+ years. What finally killed belief for me was when a friend kept asking how chanting changed anything in reality, what were the mechanisms, and, in spite of "Buddhism is reason - Buddhism is common sense", in the end, the best I could come up with was some variant of "It's magic and you just have to accept it without questioning."

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my up bringing as some of you can imagine was one frought with expectations to involve myself in activities constantly

I had my kids in North Carolina and when they were still small, we moved out to Southern California. I found the organization quite hostile toward young children and their mothers! Although I was a good cultie at the beginning and thought I would integrate my children into all the wonderful children's activities the SGI had, I found that there weren't any. When we first got here, they still had "Z-Wave", which was good fun, but it fizzled pretty darn quick. And I found that parents could not be counted upon to bring their children to KRGs on a regular basis, something that struck me as quite odd. I started heading the "Future Group." I couldn't understand why it was sitting there headless, since I had been taught from the very beginning that you get more benefits if you do leadership. I quickly discovered why that plum position was sitting vacant. It was a total pain in the butt! Even the other parents weren't supportive!

I also couldn't understand why SGI parents never made an effort to get their children together socially with other SGI kids. Unless you lived in their immediate neighborhood, they wouldn't make the slightest effort to arrange play dates or anything like that. For "the most ideal family-like organization in the world," the SGI was astonishingly anti-family.

Also, I remember one year when my son was 5th grade, I think. Young, in other words. I was told there was going to be a "Kids Day" up at Soka University. Of course I checked into the details before committing, and it was basically a "get the kids thinking they want to attend Soka University NO MATTER WHAT" sort of venture. Why would 5th graders be wanting to tour Soka University?? I told my district leader that I thought this sounded highly inappropriate and that I would not be sending my son. I heard later that the kids had to sit through a couple of college students, SGI members, giving their "experience" about what it was like to be a student at Soka U. Again, why should 5th graders be hearing this??? And so on and so on. I made it clear early on that, if Soka University had the best program for whatever my kids wanted to study, then, yeah, I'd consider it. But we were supposed to be saying "My children will attend Soka University NO MATTER WHAT!!" and so I think I began to develop a reputation as a malcontent :P

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I still have a very strong spriritual practice that involves Buddhism, but I am learning to be open minded towards myself and others.

When I read this sentence, I experienced a rush of sadness/frustration/grief. Buddhism has traditionally been completely accepting of others, recognizing, as it is supposed to, that each individual has his own unique path and that each one must discover and walk this path for himself. Of the major religions, Buddhisms have typically been the MOST open-minded of all! We, though, unfortunately, got involved with one of the rare intolerant sects which actually has far more in common with Evangelical Christianity than with Buddhism qua Buddhism. It was when I started learning more about REAL Buddhism via the Internet that I realized just how much Nichiren had twisted, corrupted, and perverted Buddhism into the Cult of MEEEEE!! The SGI then twisted it even further, turning it into the "Cult of Toadface!!"

For example, look at this idea, from Nichiren and all three SG presidents:

Nichiren Daishonin: “Buddhism primarily concerns itself with victory or defeat, while secular authority is based on the principle of reward and punishment. For this reason, a Buddha is looked up to as the Hero of the World, while a king is called the one who rules at his will.” “The Hero of the World,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 835.

Makiguchi: “Buddhism is win or lose.”
Toda: "Buddhism is win or lose, so faith comes first." (Human Revolution, Volume 1, page 93)
Ikeda:

Now look what the Buddha had to say on the subject:

Winning gives birth to hostility. Losing, one lies down in pain. The calmed lie down with ease, having set winning and losing aside. (Dhammapada)

Which sounds more Buddhist?

Intolerance is utterly, fundamentally incompatible with the idea of "world peace." Notice how seldom we heard about "world peace" in recent years?? SAVE US, LORD IKEDA!!

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Sensi
Hi, I am new to this site. I have been observing this mb for a couple of weeks and just joined a couple of days ago. I really want to thank everyone who has contributed to this message board. I feel that the opinions expressed and the different points of view on the sgi are valuable to me.

Being a 'mis-fortune' baby has been a tremendous burdon for me. Both my parents are still involved with the sgi and my up bringing as some of you can imagine was one frought with expectations to involve myself in activities constantly, to take ikeda as my mentor and be judged in faith. After being let down, shunned by friends and family and treated like there was something always wrong with me, I have decided to remove myself from quote cult.org. I still have a very strong spriritual practice that involves Buddhism, but I am learning to be open minded towards myself and others.

Again, thank you all for your posts and insights. I feel so relieved to be able to share and hear experinces with people who know what I am going through and are not 'programmed' to say the usual dogma-jargin.

Greetings & welcome. I'm a fellow misfortune baby, too. Pioneer circle, the whole nine yards. Pretty much seen and done it all in the cult org.. Glad to be out. It's a CULT, that's a FACT, plain & simple.

Have been thru the same feelings as you at one point. Think for yourself and think critically. You'll find and reach the light at the end of the tunnel. The very reason I joined this mb, was because I saw that other misfortune babies were here, sharing their stories and I wanted to share mine, as well. There will be more and more of us, here, and out in the world, in the coming years. It's happening all over the place, too. The fact that you are here and contributing, is also evidence of it.

Good luck & best wishes to you. Don't let the gakkai cult org. poison your mind with the dogmatic kool-aid, intolerance, hypocrisy and manipulative mind games. The gakkai cult org. is antithetical to everything real "buddhism" should stand for (doublethink / doublespeak galore in the cult org.).

Everything about the gakkai - and I mean everything - is exactly the opposite of what you've been programmed to believe. Question everything, think for yourself and formulate your own conclusions. This mb is critical to that process.



- Hitch

Welcome aboard, Sensi!
It's hard to say "Congratulations" without it sounding like the old SGI script but congratulations are due.
This mb is a real eye opener, isn't it?! Starting from page one, nonstop reading for days, if not weeks - a riveting combination of horror, hilarity, brilliance and above all, honesty. Your decision to make a complete break, though difficult, will save you alot of confusion, anger and lost time. Your life belongs to you! = )

Thank you TaitenandProud and Hitch!

TaP Quote: "For example, look at this idea, from Nichiren and all three SG presidents:

Nichiren Daishonin: “Buddhism primarily concerns itself with victory or defeat, while secular authority is based on the principle of reward and punishment. For this reason, a Buddha is looked up to as the Hero of the World, while a king is called the one who rules at his will.” “The Hero of the World,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 835.

Makiguchi: “Buddhism is win or lose.”
Toda: "Buddhism is win or lose, so faith comes first." (Human Revolution, Volume 1, page 93)
Ikeda:

Now look what the Buddha had to say on the subject:

Winning gives birth to hostility. Losing, one lies down in pain. The calmed lie down with ease, having set winning and losing aside. (Dhammapada)

Which sounds more Buddhist?"

So if I am not winning, I must be a loser? This broken logic is why I am distancing myself from cult.org. It feels like I have been inside an egg shell (maybe President Humpty Dumpty's head?) and I have broke through revealing that I am not the egg or the chicken!
Got to give nichiren buddhism credit for getting me to this point though (maybe I've turned poison into medicine?). I am saddened that my family members and friends still buy into this dumb idea of duality (win or lose).

Do you ever see the cult.org going out into the community and helping the people with lost lives living on the street? Or consoling members when they are defeated? I always get/got the cold shoulder, or 'encouraged' to chant more, or told that there was something wrong with me!? Must be my/their "fundamental darkness". Well I am not deluded to the true nature of my life anymore! I just wish my parents and friends in the cult.org would enlighten to their true nature and put this backwards thinking behind them.

I don't know if this has been posted or not so I am posting it now. It is about SUA the not-so tolerant liberal arts college. Notice the date, 1 day before the Tsunami in Japan. The gods must be crazy!? [www.ocweekly.com]

Welcome, Sensi! As Eyzopn wrote, it's hard not to associate congratulations and encouragement without feeling all sgi-y, but that's just a hangover from the bad old days. I can't even begin to imagine what it takes to leave the practice after having been raised in it; family, life-long friends . . . you're accustomed to their support and you aren't getting any of that right now. This mb is composed of people who've been through what you're going through right now - take advantage of their wisdom and generosity of spirit. I left sgi only 43 days ago, and it feels like a life-time ago.

If something insults your soul or represses your spirit, then the best thing to do is to walk away from it. It's sad when loved ones continue to drink the Kool-Aid; I remember that when I was practicing, I used to chant that my life could be an example of how the practice works . . . now I hope that having left it, I can be an example to those who continue to practice that there is a happier, more satisfying life beyond sgi.

There are so many reasons I left the practice, but I discover more and more reasons to stay away as I read the postings here. There are pages and pages of encouragement in this thread. Keep reading! You'll probably be told by at least one member (or 50 or 60 of them), that you'll be alone in the darkness without the organization . . . not true. We're all here enjoying the light!

Thank you for posting the link to that article, Sensi. I remember reading it and thinking to myself "I am not surprised in the least."

Let's face it: An intolerant religion is not able to foster tolerance and magnanimity in a pluralistic society. At best, it can put up with others just until they convert - these are the lessons of Christianity. I have often thought that SGI "Buddhism" was able to get a foothold in US society because it is so similar to Evangelical Christianity in so many of its details - the intolerance, the "We're the only ones doin it rite", the "Everybody else is going to get a big whack", the dualistic thinking, the grasping for money-money-money, it just goes on and on. The fact that it dresses up the same old crap in a chanty Eastern wrapper seduces many, and white people's fascination with all things Japanese is a well known stereotype: [stuffwhitepeoplelike.com]

>>raises hand<< GUILTY AS CHARGED!! :D

You mis-fortune babies (no offense!) really have the most difficult task, though. What a challenge to extricate yourself from all you've ever known! Still, I did the same with the Evangelical Christianity *I* was raised in - I hadn't even been allowed to have non-Evangelical Christian friends! And a church-attendance schedule to rival anything the SGI has put on their calendar! But I did it - and before the age of message boards. Urban areas are hotbeds for variety and activities of all sorts - if you live in a city, you won't face the same lack of options and closed-mindedness you find in those towns where they roll up the streets when the sun goes down.

I think that, in the end, the Internet is the greatest danger facing intolerant religions. The religion that dominated a small town could pressure everyone to be a member, as it could monopolize the town's social scene, as most of the town was its membership. The more people there are that do not belong, the easier it is for members to walk away, as there is an alternative option for socializing. That's how the Mormons managed to keep a religious majority in Utah for so long, but even they are seeing a hemorrhage of membership, especially the all-important young men. The father's attitude toward religion, you see, is the template for his children's eventual religious orientation, and this effect is virtually unconnected to the children's mothers' expressions of religiosity. Since all the major religions are female dominated now, the future of their religious organizations is in peril: [www.touchstonemag.com] and [cara.georgetown.edu]

It would be interesting to see some statistics on the SGI's retention of members, but I'm certain they won't cooperate. The results would be too embarrassing. Did you see where I mentioned being at a big Soka Spirit meeting up in LA, and this former YWD national leader (or something) stood up and said, "In my 20 years of membership, I have helped over 400 people get gohonzon!" Much applause. "Do you know how many of them are still practicing? TWO." I think that is a far more realistic assessment than you're likely to see in any publication. Sometimes people speak too candidly when they're off-camera - know what I mean, jellybean??

Edit: Oops - I just noticed in that list of Stuff White People Like, #11 is Asian Girls *ahem* but guess what #2 is?

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#2 Religions that their parents don’t belong to

White people will often say they are “spiritual” but not religious. Which usually means that they will believe any religion that doesn’t involve Jesus.

Popular choices include Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah and, to a lesser extent, Scientology. A few even dip into Islam, but it’s much more rare since you have to give stuff up and actually go to Mosque.

Mostly they are into religion that fits really well into their homes or wardrobe and doesn’t require them to do very much.

It's funny because it's TRUE!!

Imagine, I used to think that I could change situations in others' lives and even in the world - resolve social problems in faraway countries, for example - by sitting on my ass and mumbling while looking at some xeroxed chicken scratches on a piece of paper!! I'm so embarrassed!! :D



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2013 11:32PM by TaitenAndProud.

I also got out of the gakkai cult org., all by myself, well before the advent of the internet. The internet and this mb only confirmed what I had already known for years.

*****

Just like you, "Sensi", during my time in, the cult org. & its members tried to make me feel like I was the one with the problem, that I just "didn't get it", and that there was "something wrong" with me. As stated before, everything is exactly the opposite in reality of what it appears to be "inside" the cult.

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Sensi
I don't know if this has been posted or not so I am posting it now. It is about SUA the not-so tolerant liberal arts college. Notice the date, 1 day before the Tsunami in Japan. The gods must be crazy!? [www.ocweekly.com]

The dating of the article is meaningless and there is no need to entertain confirmation bias or beliefs in synchronicity.

Btw, many of the comments that follow that article are extremely revealing:

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_{"there are so many secret Soka Gakkai members, it is futile to try to determine who is and who is not a member. Some faculty have no problem with practicing Judaism, for example, and being a Soka Gakkai member because they don't think of Soka Gakkai as a religion but rather a political organization. They are practicing syncreticism which works for them but wouldn't work for everybody. Some of the loudest declarations of non-Gakkai membership should be viewed skeptically.The problem with secret membership in Soka Gakkai is the conspiratorial relationship that emerges among Gakkai members, especially the conspiratorial relationship between Gakkai faculty and Gakkai students. Gakkai students tend to be very critical of non-Gakkai faculty but fanatically supportive of Gakkai faculty. For example, in the fall 2005 semester, a Gakkai faculty member went on a drug binge for 2 months. For 2 months, he did not meet with his class. Not one student in the class complained to the administration because he was Gakkai faculty and therefore immune from the normal standards of professional conduct. Eventually, after 2 months one of the students said something to the university administration because there was only 6 weeks left in the semester. Gakkai faculty take advantage of their Svengali-like control over Gakkai students, and can manipulate them to say and do anything, including using them against non-Gakkai faculty. It is not healthy for the student who doesn't learn to think for herself/himself, and it is not healthy for the faculty Gakkai who feels himself to be so powerful by manipulating teenagers.It is time for reform. Get rid of secret memberships. Get rid of conspiratorial relationships. It will be much healthier"}

Very astute and accurate observation (above).

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_{"Something in the first part of the article really struck a chord, the mention ofan empty guesthouse on campus waiting for the arrival of the head of thereligious organization. If it's true that it has stood unused since the buildingof the university, it seems like institutionalized hero-worship to me, especiallyfor a college that is officially non-sectarian."}

"Dear Leader" rooms in waiting . . . . sound like a familiar theme (previously discussed on this thread, regarding cult org. kaikan Ikeda rooms)?

More interesting comments, especially those from actual $oka Cult U. "professors":

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_{"When I teach my students how to conduct a serious research (sic), I always tell them they must first collect all evidence, and the conclusion should be and can only be derived from a thorough analysis of all the relevant evidence. A wrong way to conduct a research is to have a “conclusion” (or an assertion) first, then look for evidence to support such a “conclusion”. Mostly they are able to find enough “evidence” to support the “conclusion.” However, such a “conclusion” is worth nothing because what they have done is not true research, but a meaningless game. Unfortunately, Woo’s article falls into this “false research” category.Woo could cite many quotations from those who are unhappy with the university, and give a few seemingly “true” pieces of the story , while intentionally hiding many other, equally important pieces of the story. But this won’t make her story a true one. I am a tenured professor at SUA hired in 2000 as a non-SGI member. I have remained non-SGI member in the past 11 years, and have no intention of becoming a member in future. Contrary to what the article claims, I have never been asked to join SGI, nor have I been discriminated against because I am not a member of SGI. Instead, I was voted by students “Professor of the Year” six times in 9 years. I believe that I have been treated with equity and respect by my colleagues and all members of the SUA community. Given my long affiliation with the university, I can surely provide counter-evidence to what Woo’s article asserts. I was never interviewed by your paper, however, or asked to provide any such information. Hong-yi ChenProfessor of Economics @ Soka University of America"}

JMO, but I think this fellow is also missing some key pieces to the overall equation (e.g., one glaring one = the Rick Ross mb).

And . . . . . from another "professor":

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_{"I was invited by the Ikeda speech discussion club on campus a few times, but I don't take students up on that sort of thing and I tell them so directly, but respectfully. I prefer to keep the lines clear between my academic work and the spiritual work of those students who belong to this religion. I probably don't get nominated much for the very prestigious "professor of the year" award as a result :D -- or perhaps its because I am an -- ahem -- *difficult* grader :D. But the university did grant me tenure the same year Gaye was denied -- hmm imagine that -- after actively turning down invitations to read Ikeda! If your interested in my academic credentials ... I am on the interwebs! (PS -- To be honest, I did get Professor of the Year one year -- thanks again SUA students! -- you rock!)"}

Which the same "professor" quickly followed up with:

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_{"A late update: I was asked to delete this comment because it misrepresented one of the student activities on the campus. But since I logged in as a guest when I posted it, I am afraid I can't delete it (or if some reader knows how, please reply and let me know). So to set the record straight, I'll just post this comment. When I wrote, "I prefer to keep the lines clear between my academic work and the spiritual work of those students who belong to this religion," I implied that the Ikeda Speech Discussion group was a religious or spiritual activity that some students engage in. Apparently this is incorrect, the most recent mission statement for this student group suggests that it is explicitly focused on discussing the "Soka Education" pedagogical model that is at the root of all Soka Schools that may be found in any number of Ikeda's writings."}

F-A-S-C-I-N-A-T-I-N-G.

At any rate, I encourage (not in the sense of gakkai cult speak lingo, either) everyone to read thru the comments section yourself and as always, think for yourself.

Incidentally, notice the way the comments section has been spammed with multiple repeat "copy & paste" posts, over and over again, by the same "professors" and others. Also, pay particularly close attention to the reasoning and critical thinking skills (lack of) of actual $oka Cult U. students and alumni that comment. (A lot of typical, insidious gakkai cult speak lingo is also lurking deep within many of their thoughts / words.)

Again, fascinating, indeed.


- Hitch

Hitch-you rock! Just not in the "rock the era" way!?

Thanks for these quotes from comments of the article. I think the 'professor' says the problem with sgi accurately:

""When I teach my students how to conduct a serious research (sic), I always tell them they must first collect all evidence, and the conclusion should be and can only be derived from a thorough analysis of all the relevant evidence. A wrong way to conduct a research is to have a “conclusion” (or an assertion) first, then look for evidence to support such a “conclusion”. Mostly they are able to find enough “evidence” to support the “conclusion.” However, such a “conclusion” is worth nothing because what they have done is not true research, but a meaningless game."

The Gosho Game!!! Who knows 'the'Gosho best? Have you ever known an sgi, nichiren Buddhist, or fanatic to conduct ‘serious research’ into what they are ‘practicing’? Can you expect a sgi member to know what ‘the three objects of devotion’ are? Do they know what Buddhism is? Cult.org (sic) is a manipulation on some very potent history and our common identity with that of spirtuality i.e. buddhism/christianity/judaism/ikedaism/ism-ism… etc.

The ‘good professor’ also made us question sgi because of his contradictions:
"A late update: I was asked to delete this comment because it misrepresented one of the student activities on the campus. But since I logged in as a guest when I posted it, I am afraid I can't delete it (or if some reader knows how, please reply and let me know). So to set the record straight, I'll just post this comment”

It’s almost like nichiren buddhism is the ‘true buddhism’ because it acts as an antithesis of how to be a human. I mean, "so I'll set the record straight"? You are an inflatrate-tor. SGI, I honestly believe that sgi is manipulated by the cia. I say this with 100% certainty because I’ve lived it.

All of you on here thank you so much, really! I am just coming out of the shell and I appreciate your patience and guidance (sorry! &#61516;)
I am developing, nurturing, pleasing, comforting…etc, but especially…
Discovering, recovering, communicating, and this MB’ing!