When I was a member, I always hoped jh's would come ringing my door-bell and I'd stuff a bunch of sgi crap into their sweaty little paws. Now I like to think I'd treat them as untimely trick-or-treaters, costumed as sgi ymd or Mormons and give them a lecture of some sort. Perhaps with a demented gleam in my eye (kind of natural to me these days) and make them a little afraid of ringing that next bell . . .

It's been decades since I've seen any of those twerps. I guess I really feel that had door-knocking shakubuku been on the scene when I was a member, I would've been out annoying people, and being yelled at by someone would just be something I could turn into an "experience" to demonstrate how we really need to band together against the enemies of the lotus sutra. I don't think it would deter me or make me think that what I was doing was stupid.

An ex-friend (member) was staying with me earlier last year, and we took my dog to a local park for a walk. We struck up a conversation with another dog-walker - you know, innocuous dog-talk. On the way home, Bev made sure she gave me a few nam cards and urged me to go back and try to shakubuku the woman we met in the park. I was so creeped out at the idea of actually going back to stalk this woman, manipulate the conversation and shove a card in her hand. I'd be furious (and a little scared) if someone did that to me, but it's such a typical tactic!

I mentioned in a post long ago that I had become a minister a couple of years ago. With no degree, with no training whatsoever, I was able to go online and get ordained in less than two minutes. I could actually perform marriages in my county. I did it so that I would have the ability to tell a pushy ass-hat Christian that I was ordained and exactly how meaningless that was.

So, ha-ha - I got a nifty bumper-sticker, an ID card, a hang-tag and some sweet special parking permits. Suppose I was a different sort of nutter, and I decided to build myself a little church; I can do that. I can do all sorts of pastoral mischief. I can name my dog the Archbishop of West Dipshit. I can preach any sort of religious bushwa that I pull out of my ass, and I am legally entitled to do just that. That's freaking terrifying! Anybody, I repeat ANYBODY that can fill out an online form can become an ordained minister! It cost about $20 (because, seriously, it's more fun if you have the bumper-sticker and other crap). The only reason that I haven't yet is because I haven't thought of a really good name for my religion yet. Once I do, though, look out! I'm going to figure out something that's going to encourage people to give me tons of money while I give them a bullshit song and dance about sitting in front of a box with a roll of toilet paper in it, and they need to chant bibbity-bobbity-boo for two hours every day. Then they'll be enlightened. Hurray! But I think in my new religion, we'll re-popularize "huzzah!"

Here is how to keep JW's and other pushy types away.

Wear a beaded necklace, preferably with a pendant--long enough to slip
off of one's neck.

If you see people coming at you with Christian literature, take the necklace
off and dangle it from your fingers like a rosary.

They'll often assume you're Roman Catholic -- and leave you alone.

Bonus: keeping something in your hand makes it harder to shove literature
into it.

Kudos to meh for uncovering this very interesting quote from a Japan Times article entitled Soka Gakkai Keeps Religious, Political Machine Humming:

"Soka Gakkai, which does not have priests or other religious occupations, was part of Nichiren Shoshu, a branch of Buddhism following Nichiren’s teachings, but withdrew from it in 1991 because 'we oppose Nichiren Shoshu’s attitude that priests are superior to regular members,' Terasaki said."
............

First of all, the article's use of the word "withdraw" is extremely deceptive and totally inaccurate, if not an outright lie. The entire SGI organization (including all its members) were EX-COMMUNICATED by their own temple. That is an irrefutable fact. The newspaper article is obviously distorting the truth, and consequently shining a more favorable light on the Soka Gakkai's documented controversial history.

Secondly, it was actually the Soka Gakkai that long maintained a negative attitude toward the Nichiren Shoshu temple, not the other way around as the SGI falsely claims. It was the Soka Gakkai leaders that considered themselves superior to the priests - I know this because I experienced it myself on many occasions.

Considering how often the SGI used its formal connection to the temple to legitimize itself as a religious organization (and also to defray accusations of being a cult), I was surprised and shocked when I first personally witnessed my own Soka Gakkai leaders' extremely condescending attitude toward the priesthood in 1973. Even back then, such a disgusting display of egoism and jealousy toward the priesthood was a result of an already established and ingrained 'superiority' attitude amongst the higher Soka Gakkai leadership ranks toward the temple. "We don't need those lazy priests (except to hand out scrolls to converts)" was a common attitude found among SGI top senior leaders.

How convenient that nowadays the SGI simply prints up their own scrolls to hand out while maintaining a special group of leaders (Soka Spirit) to continue bashing their former temple/partner a full 23 years after the family divorce. Why would the SGI behave in such a belligerent manner toward it's former temple? The Nazi's propaganda minister established this control concept - the most important part of any mind control propaganda campaign is to always maintain a villainous enemy to conveniently distract the masses with. And so the SGI apparently now has it's own coveted forever-villain: the Nichiren Shoshu Temple.

As to the most obvious underlying cause of the SGI's excommunication by the temple - simply follow the money trail. IMHO, both organizations got too greedy and succumbed to their base desires for total control of the billions in donation money being offered up by the millions of SGI members. This in-family war for control was certainly not an altruistically motivated action by any means. Wealth and power were the major factors in operation as these two factions maneuvered themselves with power-plays against each other in a unscrupulous bid to villain-ize and destroy the opposing side, while laying claims to the monetary spoils all for themselves.

The SGI has been diligently working behind the scenes for over 40 years to take secret control of the government of Japan (and the free press) through the use of their large membership voting blocks, publications empire, control of judicial and police entities, unsavory corporate liaisons, and their dirty political machine, the New Komeito party (SGI had to rename it's precious 'clean government' political party when it ran into serious trouble due to the party's highly illegal connections to the SGI religious organization.)

In case you haven't noticed, Japan's overly-intoxicated rogue government (despite it's anti-war constitution), is dangerously busy saber-rattling itself onto the brink of a major war with China (a war which will automatically involve the USA by international defense treaty and likely start another World War). The government has recently passed laws to stifle it's free press, and is in league with corporate/mafia factions and Tepco in an attempt to cover up the largest and most dangerous nuclear accident in history (which still poses an dire threat to the entire world). These seemingly unrelated events are no coincidence - the common denominator being the Soka Gakkai's fascist influences in government through the corrupt Komeito party and it's affiliated corporate/mafia organizations.

What would you think about a huge and extremely fundamentalist church organization (with ties to rogue corporations) having their own major political party take over control of the USA government? And what if this shady religious based political party was in favor of establishing and maintaining a fascist (fascism defined as merger of corporate and state power) based government shored up by select dogmatic religious beliefs? (sound familiar?) Well, that is precisely the stated aim of Ikeda and his very unpopular SGI cult in Japan ( for more on this see the reddit thread entitled: SGI President Ikeda's ultimate aim to "realize Soka Kingdom" link - [redd.it] ).

I'm certain that reasonable and decent people would rail against such terrifying events and their inevitably ensuing outcomes involving loss of freedoms and innocent human lives, due to endless horrific wars for profit and geo-political gains (along with the destruction and poisoning of the environment). Even a dumbed-down public spoon-fed by presstitutes would still naturally object to religious-political-corporate machinations leading to repression, suffering, carnage, and wars - that is unless all the shadow-powers' manipulative political actions and devious plans are well hidden from public sight through endless spin, doublespeak, and tight corporate media control. It's much more difficult to speak out against invisible injustices that are not a part of accepted mainstream realities.

There are damn good reasons to have and maintain actual separation of church and state, along with a free and open press. And furthermore, there are even more daunting reasons to fight against the fascist takeover of any government by war profiteers using religion to bolster their inhumane violent aggression carried out in bloody wars (or so-called sanctions/cold-wars) that destroy millions of lives, all for the sake of power and money.

Ikeda's creation of the monstrous power/money-hungry Soka Gakkai cult has fully matured into yet another immoral psychopathic group of megalomaniacs, connected at the hip to a historically long line of greedy inhuman scum that have effectively managed to hide behind the blood and shit stained veil of religious faith. Ikeda and his SGI/Komeito cohorts are another excellent example of why I always say,

"RELIGION IS A RACKET!"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2014 01:07PM by Spartacus.

I've said it before (which won't prevent me from saying it again), if you want to understand sgis true agenda, look to Japan. We are most who we are when we're at home. I don't care if they aren't like that where you are - something we often hear - the only reason they aren't is because they haven't been able to get away with it. Yet.

I think that we're incredibly lucky that sgi hasn't turned out to be as vicious as, say, scientology:

[radaronline.com]

At the same time, though, that turns into a two-edged sword. Because they aren't crazy in a highly-visible way, it's very easy for the public (especially in the US and other alternative-religion-tolerant countries) to simply shrug their shoulders and view them as just another bunch of weirdos. The damage that sgi is doing to its members on a daily basis is "soft." It has no metrics and doesn't leave scars or a paper trail.

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies does not take the view that an organization is a "cult" until hard evidence is presented that it is the root of existing or potential physical harm to its members or other parties:

[bernie.cncfamily.com]

Kind of discouraging. If Ms. Rathburn wins her case against scientology, it might start to redefine that view of what a cult is. I understand from a former-scientologist friend that she is completely prepared to see this through to the bitter end. Other plaintiffs against scientology have been intimidated or worn down by that organization but, apparently, Ms. R feels that she has absolutely nothing to lose by perseverating. Good luck to her!

One of the things that drew me to sgi was their declaration that they were the only form of Buddhism that supported the idea that a woman did not have to be reincarnated as a man to become enlightened.

For some reason this afternoon, it got into my head that I couldn't remember the colors of the primary Taras - fortunately Wikipedia is always there:

[en.wikipedia.org]

Of particular interest (to me, anyway) was the section called "Origin as a Bodhisattva," which clearly refutes sgi's allegation to having exclusivity on yet another bold frontier.

Yet another lie by sgi - what a shock. I owe myself a dope-slap.

Numerous ex-members for many years have been painfully aware due to their own cult experiences of how effectively the Soka Gakkai (SGI) uses hypnosis (and self-hypnosis) to maintain tight control over the minds of its leaders and members. As I am not an expert in the field of hypnosis, I will now defer to the experienced words of the widely recognized hypnotist, Marshall Sylver, author of the book, “Passion, Profit, and Power”. Hopefully, an increased understanding of the basic principles of hypnosis will provide members, their "guests", and general inquirers with some assistance in drawing their own conclusions about the SGI's use of mind control methods. I have transposed some of Mr. Sylver's comments recorded during an interview from the linked video, as Mr. Sylver's expert views also aptly apply to the Soka Gakkai's standard use of hypnosis, mind control methods, and well-documented cultist behavior.

Hypnosis is best defined as: one person having power over another.

100% of all people can be hypnotized (no one is invulnerable.)

The most powerful type of hypnosis is strictly one of communication. It is subtle and covert. (Most people cannot recognize when they are being hypnotized.)

Hypnosis is the non-critical acceptance of ideas or concepts on a sub-conscience level. Hypnosis occurs when one person says something, and another person believes it to be true, and then acts upon it as if it is true.

Self-hypnosis happens when I say something to myself, believe that it is true, and the act upon it as if it is true.

Hypnosis occurs when we listen to authority figures instead of our own common sense and intuition. Hypnosis is rooted in our assumption (and trust) of authority figures.

Small subtle commitments made through compliance to small subtle directives lead to ever larger commitments through compliance to ever larger directives. The more any authority figure can control anything, the more people succumb and surrender themselves, eventually allowing the authority figure to control everything in their lives

People willingly fall into hypnosis so they wont have to be responsible for their own actions. When one hands power over themselves along to someone else, they also hand over their sense of responsibility (for their thoughts and actions).

Authority figures present their own version of the “truth” that best serves themselves. People with vested interests (in making big profits) can make us believe in certain ways or ideas. They can trick us into believing that it is in our highest and best purpose/interest to believe (without a doubt) in what they are selling us on. That is a biased belief, a biased projected program.

The corporate structure of reality uses branding to sell false realities. Even individuality becomes a hypnotic state when mindlessly following trends or doing what everybody else is doing.

When someone (of authority or trust) is pretending to be your best friend (or ally/protector), it is much easier for them to steal from you, because they are the last ones you would expect to steal anything.

We are all living (to some degree) in a shared hypnotic experience. Paradoxically, all reality is subjective. We place our own meanings and interpretations upon our observations (and perceptions).

Our mind is an organic device, and it literally has the ability to shift organically. Any thought held long enough creates an organic shift in the body. If we believe something long enough, it becomes almost impossible to not hold that belief. Neuropathways get opened up, and things get wired and hooked up in a certain way, so that it's very challenging for people to believe anything other than what they have right in front of them.

The absence of hypnosis is objective reality (questioning everything). Reality is created by validation (verification). Objective means to never take anybody's word on face value alone.

Which is best, hypnosis or objective reality? There is no clear answer. Sometimes hypnosis can be used for positive purposes, other times objective reality serves us best.

The first step to regaining balance is getting past the hypnosis. Seeing things for what they really are, and not having (or blindly accepting) an opinion of how they are first, we should instead wait to see things objectively - then we can begin forming an opinion afterward.

As painful as it is, the resolution to most of our problems is to wake up from our hypnosis (and self-hypnosis), to take a real look at what is really going on, strip away all the perceptions, strip away all the beliefs, and even if it is painful to look at it, acknowledge what is really happening.

. . . . . . . . .

[ My two cents: just as we can allow ourselves to be hypnotized and indoctrinated, we can also effectively de-hypnotize ourselves. Being aware and objective can prevent any further handing over control of ourselves to others (i.e. the Soka Gakkai) through the subtle and covert mind control techniques employed by control-freak authority figures. ]

Here are some excerpts from Professor Margaret Singer's book, Cults in Our Midst.

The first edition of her book gave descriptions of a notorious example of Large Group Awareness Training, and Singer was sued.

An indication that someone's material is worth reading.

Excerpts from "Cults in our midst" by M T Singer - Ex-Premie.OrgExcerpts from "Cults in Our Midst", Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph.D., Copyright 2003
. Utilized under applicable "fair use" doctrines. Back to Ex-Premie.org ...
www.ex-premie.org/singer/ - 52k - Cached - Similar pages

Although this isn't directly related to sgi, this was a huge step forward for cult members everywhere:

[www.flagdown.org]

Ex-scientologists stepping out of the shadows of fear is huge - they're bringing cult-awareness out into the open. This is a big deal, too:

[radaronline.com]

Although lawsuits against that particular cult have taken place before, I understand from a friend (and former scientologist) that Monique Rathbun is determined to see this through. She's stated that she absolutely will not take an out-of-court settlement from the church and that her goal is to make this whole thing as public as possible.

Dragging cults out into the light can only help to undermine them; exposing their methodologies can help make the public aware of how they operate and will help educate them in identifying a cult before they get involved.

Once again, not directly relevant to sgi, but to cults in general.

I've been watching a TV program called "The Following." It's general theme is that a lit professor was charged and convicted for the murder of 14 young women; as happens with some of these criminals (especially handsome, articulate ones) he rapidly develops a fan base. Over the course of several years, he's able to develop a cult from these individuals - they're all outsiders to general society and, to one degree or another, have the same cult-member profiles and personalities that we've all become familiar with.

One of the ploys he uses to enlist their loyalty is to request their assistance on certain things - convince them that he needs their help. Doesn't ick-eda need the support and assistance of sgi members to bring kosen rufu to the unwashed masses? And his undying gratitude somehow obligates the members further to him? Mustn't disappoint El Jefe!

There was one scene after his minions sprung him from prison in which he met a large group of them. It was like watching krg - the diversity of the members, from every walk of life.

Okay, this is a TV show, it's over the top and has some really dumb shit in it, but it's an extremely popular show here in the US. My hope is that enough people are watching it and thinking about how embedded and ordinary so many of the members are, how they could be their neighbors, their bosses or their parents. Even though most of the core group of this particular cult are murderous whackos, maybe the audience will start to see that you can be a pretty regular person and get sucked into a cult.

There was one scene where the head of the cult bitch-slapped his second in command . . . I was visualizing senseless giving Danny N a good smack in the gob. ;-)