One part of Ikeda that has not been discussed very much, is his ability to be charismatic, seductive, and an extremely flattering on a one to one basis, with certain people. You can see the people and women he seduces, being mesmerized by him for long periods of time. You can see them bragging that 20 years ago they attended a "very small" meeting with him, like he was royalty.
So the ugly side of Ikeda is there, in how he does business.
But Ikeda would not be where he is, if he could not also be extremely seductive in his own way, to certain people. Many find Ikeda repulsive. But for some reason, certain people fall under his spell.
Its also interesting in how the quotes from Ikeda, he is bragging about his accomplishments, how much money SGI made (from others unpaid labor), and how many SGI centers he's opened up, and the rest of it. Ikeda is an entrepreneur bragging about his business holdings.
Its so strange that so many people can find that to be "Buddhist", when its really the opposite to non-attachment, and other Buddhist precepts.
But the people at the stop of the SGI-USA food chain, at SGI head office, are in a different league all together. Its hard to know what's really going through their heads.
Some of them certainly love the huge paychecks they get from SGI-Ikeda, but its more than just money for most of them.
One has to wonder if the prosecutor in California, also gets paid by SGI-USA, at market rates for a hotshot attorney? Do they get their expenses, hotels, travel, meals...covered by SGI-USA?
This link is not being endorsed but its an article about...The Ikeda Woman...
The Ikeda Woman
By Anthony “Amp” Elmore [
www.mybuddhistdiary.com]
another interesting link.
Gandhi, King, and ... Ikeda? [
buddhism.about.com]