Quote
DavidM
I am an SGI member in SGI UK. I have my doubts about certain aspects of the organisation. By nature I am very critically minded and automatically tend to question authority.

The only conclusion I can reach is that there is something very, very wrong with the leadership in SGI USA. I cannot even imagine a leader speaking to me in the way you have all reported. If they ever did I would leave the organisation.

As a buddhist I can only offer one piece of advice. If a leader is pushing you for money, to recruit new members or to do anything that you feel will create more negativity than it will benefit, then refuse. If they are abusive in any way, speak to a higher leader. If they do not listen to you, speak to an even higher leader, until there is no one left. If this still does not resolve the issue, leave the SGI.

David, perspectives from other countries are always welcome. I write about SGI-USA because it is what I know, but I suspect that the problems we have here also exist elsewhere. Rothaus has posted about similar problems in SGI Germany. Anticult has posted archived links to www.prevensectes.com, a website that details problems with SGI France. www.mombu.com posted an account of SGI Singapore members harassing Nichiren Shoshu members. SGI Japan appears to have the worst reputation; it's very much mistrusted by nonSGI members in Japan. There have been countless reports of SGI Japan being involved in everything from tax evasion and insurance fraud -- to SGI Japan members harassing Nichiren Shoshu members and SGI members who want to quit SGI.

SGI-USA is a very top-down organization, and appears to be pretty much run by Japan. For example, George Williams was the very popular director of SGI-USA many years ago. He was suddenly replaced by Fred Zaitsu. Members had no say in this, and were never told why. Now, anything you read about SGI USA's history, has simply deleted any mention of Williams. It's as if he never existed.

There may have been good reasons for firing Williams. However, a democratic and open organization would have told us why. SGI didn't tell us anything -- as far as they were concerned, it was none of our business who was chosen to be our leader or why they were chosen. That shows you that SGI-USA members have no say as to what goes on in their organization -- and that critical information is withheld, even from leaders.

This also demonstrates that Japan is fine with how SGI USA is run. If the senior leadership in Japan didn't like the way SGI USA (or SGI Germany, or SGI Singapore, or SGI France) was run.....these organizations would be forced to change.

It's easy to think of SGI just in terms of your own local group -- but there are actually two SGI's. One is the nice people you chant with. The other is a huge, billion-dollar, multinational corporation headed by Ikeda. SGI has billions of dollars in real estate, stock, and other investments, according to forbes.com and other sources.

CEO's have to answer to stockholders and a board, and elected officials have to answer to the voters.....Ikeda answers to nobody. He has a unlimited wealth and power. He doesn't have to tell anyone how much money he has, or what he does with it. He does not have to get anyone's permission or approval for anything. That kind of secrecy, wealth and power, concentrated in the hands of one person, or one group of people is potentially very dangerous.

Rick Ross's archives also have many articles, from many different sources, about SGI's abuses of power and money. David, the people you practice with may be lovely, compassionate, sincere people -- but the small, local SGI groups are really just the tip of the iceberg.

Hello, to whomever is checking and blocking my posts, I have had a number of questions directed at myself in a very open and calm way. I am not sure if you are blocking my posts because I said I am still a member of SGI or for some other reason. But I would ask that you allow me to post and conduct an honest conversation with the people who want to in this thread.
I am learning alot from people who have left SGI!
I feel it would be a real shame and harmful to everyone if this level of censorphip is continued. By all means ban me if you feel I have not kept within the spirit of this forum and discussion but atleast give a short explanation.

Thank you.

I hope this forum will instill a bit of curiosity in David instead of sympathy. Tsuki is right in that the real scope and intention of the org is whitewashed by the sincere albeit brainwashed local members.

Rothaus - quick question, what are the reassessment groups? I never heard of them before.

BTW I read the recent posts and remembered something. People used to go on tozan or any other SGI related trip to Japan. Members would spend their last dime on the trips. Then Ikeda would always give them envelopes with money to spend. It was then regarded as something so amazing and compassionate. "Sensei really knows how hard we have struggled. He cares about us so much!" So I used to think - my family or so and so can't make ends meet but they found a way to pay to go to Japan. Why, then, I thought, is it so intuitive/all mighty/wonderful for someone who got rich by us and to give us back our own money? To this day as you have already seen many times on this thread, people think that any little gift from Ikeda is done out of the graciousness of his own heart. Makes me gag!

Wow I went on tozan and I don't remember receiving any money from Hentai. I was one of those nuts who spend their inheritance (part of it) on 2 trips. As I mentioned before, the most I got out of the trips was a love for Japanese food :)

Dear David or whomever you are:

For all we know, you could be Robert Samuels. I have been in dialogues and discussion with SGI members for more than ten years now, including half a dozen UK members. To a man, you are blind, brainwashed, and ignorant about Buddhism. The one you should worry about is yourself [for defending the indefensible]. Read the Lotus Sutra and read the Gosho [without the SGI footnotes]. Then come back to us and tell us you are practicing Buddhism [rather than Ikedaism and Soka Gakkaism]. You are a worm in the body of a lion.

Nichijew

SGI-USA is where serious money is, as has been proven in this thread, with Soka U, and the rest of it.
Hundreds of millions of real dollars, and even billions of hidden dollars.
That is why SGI-USA is much more intense at the higher levels, that is serious money.

SGI-Japan is even more intense, as there are many billions at stake.

How about SGI-UK? www.sgi-uk.org [www.sgi-uk.org]
Can anyone check around, and see if they can find any information about the tax status of SGI in the UK?
Are they forced to publish their tax information by the UK tax dept?

It could be that SGI-UK is a smaller org. But as has been said many times in this thread, the local groups are not always the entire issue, as they can be about donations, and buying magazines, and things of that nature. As you go up the organization a bit, that is when the serious cult and destructive cult aspects really start to emerge.

But perhaps some SGI-UK former members can dig up some real financial information about SGI-UK.
______________________________
www.sgi-uk.org/index.php/centres [www.sgi-uk.org]

Taplow Court Berkshire
SGI-UK National Centre
Taplow Court Grand Cultural Centre
Cliveden Road, Taplow, Maidenhead, Berkshire


South London Centre
SGI-UK South London National Centre
** Bernays Grove
Brixton, London


Central London Centre
London Ikeda Peace Centre
Wakefield Street
London

West London Centre
SGI UK West London Centre
** High Street
Acton, London

___________________________

The True Meaning of Value Creation Society

Value Creating Society or Soka Gakkai

Here's how you do it [create value in the Soka Gakkai]. Get tens of thousands of people to work for free, either in leadership positions or as laborers to renovate their real estate holdings. Not only do these people work for free but they donate huge sums of money to the cult. The true meaning of the Value Creation Society is that they squeeze out every ounce of value of a human being to create value for themselves. This is what they do to the poor members and leaders who are always "encouraged" to do more for the Soka Gakkai. Then when they complain that they can't develop themselves because of all the activities, they are told, "it is not all the activities you are doing, it is that you are not doing enough activities" or "you have weak faith." Then, after ten or twenty years, when they have accomplished little, they are ostracized, ignored, or discarded. Once they have squeezed out the juice they throw away the rind.

But there are exceptions. The favored few like Herbie Hancock and the sons and daughters of top leaders who are told, " Its ok not to do so many activities, your studies and accomplishments are for the Soka Gakkai." Still another exception are the rabidly loyal few who need have neither secular accomplishments nor family connections in order to advance. They become the salaried top leaders. Those like Danny Nagashima and David Kasahara are the true sons of the Gakkai. As long as they are not too revered, like George Williams, they will continue to wield near absolute power over the direction of the organization and will continue to draw huge salaries and benefits. Then there are those other rabidly loyal members, the financial and legal specialists who work for free. These men and women are in the background but they receive personal guidance, special awards, and praise by the cult master himself. These men and women, those like Greg Wolpert and Hank Johnson, are the influential Gakkai puppets. They are extremely dangerous. Under the direction of Nagashima and Kasahara, they can create huge problems for those who oppose the Gakkai, people like Lisa Jones.

nichijew

Hi evergreen

The reassesment movement was a sort of grass roots movement to look at the structure of the SGI-UK. As a result I know of at least one district that declared itself indenepent from the usual structure i.e. chain of leadership. The members were actually quite dedicated buddhists, open minded but dedicated to the practice and chritical of the top down structure.
I think there were similar groups in many SGI orgs, but some were more talked about than others.

Quote
Nichijew
You are a worm in the body of a lion.

With all due respect Nichijew in my books those sort of analogies are a no go. Its also those kind of comparisons that drove me away of SGI.