Long, but interesting message from the SGI Unofficial Board: Deals with the Dai- Gohonzon, a big wooden Gohonzon, supposedly inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin for all mankind. SGI used to try to get members to go on Tozan, a pilgrimmage to Japan to see the DaiGohonzon. Then after the split, somehow it wasn't necessary -- because Nichiren Shoshu was at Taiseki-ji, the temple where the Dai-Gohonzon is enshrined. And now, there's some question about whether the DaiGohonzon is even authentic!
See how SGI can just change their doctrines to suit their ends!
This message also contains information about the Komeito Party (Komei) in SGI. The tie between the DaiGohonzon (DG) and the Komeito Party? Ikeda had dreams of establishing SGI as Japan's official religion, using the alleged sacred status of the DaiGohonzon as leverage. This doesn't make a lot of sense to a westerner like me -- but look at Japan during World War II. The military government decided to make the Japanese people enshrine a Shinto talisman -- and get everyone to practice Shinto to make them more patriotic.
[
groups.yahoo.com]
-----------------------------Beginning of Quote-------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: SGI Won't Tell Me What's on the Daigohonzon
You are 95% correct.
Both Mr. Makiguchi and Mr. Toda, and even Mr. Ikeda did not know that DG is
whether a fake or a real one when they became the members of NS.
And if NS opens DG in Public since it belongs to us since it is said as for the
world, we will see whether it is real one or not.
Re Shakubuku and election campaign for Komei :
It is absolutely true that the election campain activities is stronger than
Shakubuku in daily Gakkai activities in Japan a lot more than 20-30 years ago.
Even after Gakkai declares that ‚"hey separate religion from politics, all
people know but never mention that they do activities in Zadan kai or in Culture
Centers in Japan.
Even candidates come in and ask for their vote both in those
places. It is true, but no one has no spirit to say that in public.Even the Head Office of Komei cannot make it clear and give you any answer to
prove convincingly about that.
In short, it is power struggle among Gakkai, NS, and Politicians who want to
rule the country.
Now there is ZERO percent for us to talk in person to Mr. Ikeda if you have no
very special connection or power to do so.
If you have Komei party in the U.S. or other countries, people will understand
what I am saying.
What I can say right now is that every 6 month, politics activities are held in
Zadan kai or Culture centers more than Shakubuku activities still now.Do not telephone SGI USA, they just say "don't know" or "it is confidential" or
"it is not my capacity to answer your question" and your phone call will be
transfer to an other guy or lady and again and again.
--- In
SokaGakkaiUnofficial@yahoogroups.com, "queequeg1812" <lateshuvit@...>
wrote:
>
> I'll just put some facts out there to frame what I am about to say.
>
> SGI-USA is a membership of what, 30,000? 150,000 by some very suspect claims.
OK, let's say its 150,000. Heck, 200,000. Makes no difference where this is
going.
>
> SG in Japan is what, at least 7,000,000 HOUSEHOLDS, not individuals, if the
claims are accurate, maybe 10,000,000 households. Whatever. Go to any decent
sized Japanese city and you will find at least one kaikan that is bigger than
the biggest kaikan in the United States, if not several kaikans and a
Makitodakeda Hall or two.
>
> DO NOT DISREGARD THIS:
That SG membership is an energetic and motivated bunch.
Tell them to vote and they will vote. In DROVES. SG has so much wealth and
influence that they were part of the ruling coalition of the Japanese government
for 10 years before the LDP coalition was knocked out by the Democratic Party
this past year for chronic mismanagement. And I will bet everything I have, the
DPJ is making overtures to SG right now to try and lure them into the fold of
the present coalition to make up for the threat by the hard left parties to
withdraw from the DPJ coalition. Yes, I know Komeito is independent of SG.
That's on paper. Go live in Japan, practice in Japan with SG for a few years,
at least an election cycle or two, and tell me that is true with a straight
face.
>
>
In the SGI-USA, there is a very different image of what the SG parent
organization is. We don't see that they are like the Mormons in Utah, with TV
commercials and the whole bit. We don't hear about how SG is a regular topic of
discussion on the news programs the way say, the Moral Majority was a few years
ago, or Haggert's super ministry out in Colorado before he got caught huffing
meth with gay hookers.
>
>
We are talking about serious political, economic and social power in Japan.
The needs and concerns of 200,000 sincere Americans really does not rank that
high on their list of concerns. They know we have no dog in the political frayin Japan, that we just want to learn about this Buddhism, but
to be open with us
means they have to be open at home and they CANT DO THAT[[/b].
>
> To the point of the Daigohonzon.
>
> I am convinced that SG knows and has known for a long time that the DG is a
fake (I am 90% sure the leadership of Nichiren Shoshu knows the DG is a fake).
I have heard rumors that SG considered approaching Nichiren Shu for Gohonzons
after the schism (BIG problem in the Nichiren teachings, the way they've taken
form in SG is you need a legit source for these scrolls. So much authority is
vested in being able to source these talismans. Think about it.)
>
> So much of SG was built on this vision of shakabukuing the entire nation of
Japan and establishing the National Ordination Platform where the DG is to be
enshrined, this special Mandala handed down through the Shoshu lineage, that if
they were to all of a sudden say, "its a fake" and make a clean break with
Shoshu, you would have a lot of very sincerely devoted members in Japan freak
the heck out and you would have a LOT of political upheaval, not to mention the
organization risking loss of power completely.
>
> SG were able to maneuver most of the membership away from Shoshu by convincing
everyone that it was a Martin Luther-esque principaled withdrawal from Shoshu,
and have been able to maintain this stance by casting themselves as reformers -
implying that should Shoshu relent and reform the way SG wants them to, SG would
return to the fold and once again support Shoshu. Fat chance. And more
importantly, what would be the point? Share power with a temple that has its
own power hierarchy with a magical board that world peace hinges on? You have
to have light coming out of your mouths to compete with that kind of charisma.
>
> Back when I was a member, I had a meeting with some high leaders in Japan, one
of the VPs and an up and comer in the Legal division, and asked them point blank
about the DG, what we were going to do about it. This was probably around 1999.
They said, we are just going to go on and forget about it. This was said in a
very serious and hushed tone. The younger guy was a very active leader in
Komeito, too, by the way. There is no intention of returning to the fold with
NS. None. But coming out with that might cause a lot of trouble.
>
> So, I don't know how much this study department cat knows, really knows, how
much he is aware that the DG is a fake. I don't know how good a grasp he has on
SG's big picture status. In any event, its a messy subject that SG can only
lose by delving into. So you got the run around.
>
> I'm not trying to say that all the ideals of SG are false. What I'm saying is
that behind that idealism is a lot of realpolitik, and its no joke. Its not an
arena for innocent idealists to get caught up in.
>
My suggestion is this, stop turning your brain inside out to make the SG
recommended practice make sense to you. You can stay in SG and just cut out the
parts of the practice that don't make sense to you. However you decide to deal
with stuff, the sooner you can extricate yourself from the politics and tourist
trap propaganda that SG got sucked into with Shoshu (and having the DG is about
as tourist trap a claim a temple could make), the sooner your practice will be
freed up to lead you where its supposed to. If that means forgetting about the
silent prayers they have you mumbling in your head about being grateful and full
of praise for the DG, so be it.
>----------------------------------------End of Quote---------------------------------------------------------
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2010 09:17PM by tsukimoto.