Right, imagine getting up before the SGI bigwigs, and saying...."I've been chanting my buns off for years, and doing all of it, and life still is crappy or more seriously...my wife still died of cancer..."

Both of those have happened for SGI people, many of their lives still suck.
And many in their families have unfortunately died, just like the rest of the population.

If you told the truth, you would be SHUNNED if not outright banned.

Same with OneTaste the sex-LGAT. You get up, and say on the mic, "...well in fact I faked by big public orgasm just to get more attention and adulation, and in fact I feel now I was exploited as an object in some sort of sex-show to draw in customers like a circus"...

You would be banned.

So all these sects and cults have learned the SALES method...make the customer SELL YOU on your product.
Luxury brands do that.
Watch people who buy luxury brands that cost 100x or more of their worth(like a $5000 purse or whatever), the customers are the ones who sell themselves on getting ripped off, with a rationalization.

But those who sell overpriced luxury stuff that you can't resell at full value, know its up to the customers to sell themselves on the vaporwear product.

That is SGI, pure vaporware.
Also OneTaste, simply an illusion.

Sell them a piece of blue sky, and get them to sell themselves on the piece of blue sky.

@Hitch OMG. I am so glad to see this forum back in action. I was so glad to read what you wrote since I was thinking precisely the same thing this morning. I am so glad to see this forum back and running since it was really instrumental in helping me break away from SGI after 20 years of practice. Sometimes I really regret most of the experience; others times I regret some of it. Most of the people I met were really nice, very decent people. The general members (including local leaders) were definitely not the problem. Truthfully, NSA/SGI was no worse than being in a youth group of a Christian church, one actively proselytizing. There are plenty of those. This is what I must tell myself to not feel like a fool, especially in the early years. There were some major reasons I left SGI but I don't know which came first.These were: the MDM permeating all the meetings and publications; SGI's lack of substantial charitable contribution/efforts in the world (given their immense wealth); the Gandhi,King,Ikeda exhibit; my discovery that Nichiren's teachings (& Dai Gohonzon) were inauthentic or had been reframed; the clear sense that SGI's approach to Buddhism is largely materialistic, thereby having little to do with real Buddhism, though they used to call themselves "True." Fortunately, I know I gave the organization a chance since I continued posing my concerns to leaders for years. I also kept contributing monthly and substantially during May contribution campaign. I kept trying to focus on the parts of the organization I liked but I reached a point where the things I was trying to ignore were simply too big. I left in June 2010 and have been very happy with my choice.

It's hard to step away from that feeling of being foolish; what really helps me is to realize how many intelligent, articulate kind people there are here who got suckered in just as I did.

Doubtful, you list some of the reasons I left; I would add that I saw mistreatment of other members because they didn't "measure up" to certain expectations that leadership had of them. They were treated disrespectfully, and when I spoke up about it, I was accused of "creating disharmony in the district" and disciplined by the leaders. Prior to that, I thought that if I hung in there, I could help make the organization better; it became painfully obvious that it didn't recognize that it had any problems and was perfect as it was.

I left about a year after you did, and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

For "doubtful",

Feeling "foolish" is part of the recovery process and a positive sign that you are on the right track. I can relate to and understand all of the things that you mentioned. Been thru exactly the same.

The gakkai cult.org, at its core, is a toxic environment and its (higher level) "leaders" are (IMO), at their core, psycho, immature, manipulators.

Nothing is at it appears in the gakkai cult. It's poison. This mb (and others) is detox and in order to break away, there has to be a small part inside of you that wants out.

- Hitch

When our fellow practitioners are mistreated there is *already* 'disharmony in the district'.

When a tooth is decayed, that's the facts. The x ray that reveals the rot hasnt caused the trouble, it reveals the trouble.

But of course, it is in the interest of the abusive leadership to always, but always put the blame onto the truth teller.

One of the perks of being a guru or Dear Leader is total power, zero accountability.

And the new recruit is never told this. The new recruit is befriended by
the people who have either not yet been burned out and are still cheerful, or
they are worn out but contrive to hide it -- which is why they get the outreach
jobs.

Gotta look wonderful in public and be chirpy chipper to be assigned outreach and mentorship of the newbies.

Rocking the boat, creating disharmony - both unwelcome. Within sgi, creating disharmony is considered fairly serious . . . you can certainly see why. Disharmony might start people questioning things, and we can't have that!

The Dear Leader/Cousin Rufus is perfect. Therefore the DL/CF can never be
the source of disharmony.

Thus begins the search for the scapegoat.

Total power, zero accountability. No wonder so many want to get in
on the guru business.

Problem is, the guru role can drive even a sane person crazy, and turn
even a kindly person into an unjust bully.

Any quirks of character will be turned up top volume once one becomes
a guru and acquires sufficient enablers.

For someone to be infallible and perfect, others must function as scapegoats
to bear and take the blame.

Thats the danger of the guru role. Someone else must always bear the guru's shadow.

That is what so few imagine when love bombed.

1) We are so lonesome and vulnerable at times we are receptive to outreach
that we cannot imagine that perhaps the people loving us up are
taught to do this, and do this well.

2) It never occurs to us to wonder where the scapegoats are, who have
to bear automatic blame so that no one ever imagines assinging culpability
to the the leader or the group.

Hello Hitch!!!

It warms my heart to see you here again! I (and others) have dearly missed your input, and I have especially missed your great video links as well!

A few months ago, a few of us from this forum created a sub-Reddit called SGI Whistleblowers. I would like to invite you, along with everyone here to stop by for a peak at some of the great threads and discussions that have been generated on our sub.

Welcome back, both Hitch and Spartacus!

And a round of applause to TT and meh who, with The Anticult,
kept this thread in vigor during the duration.

Imagine a rugby team portrait of all the long time members
of this thread, muddied but with eyes bright, chins up, holding the trophy plate or cup, filled with burnt scrolls.

And the banner overhead reads Sweet Liberty.

As Corboy has not been bloodied and muddied in SGI, I'd have no right
to be on the team -- but would be holding the camera, taking that picture.

Corboy, you most certainly are on the team, and you're a key player! Between all of the incredible information you supply and the support you offer, you should be one of the coaches. Mud or blood come from the same sources (lies, deception, abuse and that interminable list), and you've earned your share.