Hi all,

Some of the regulars may remember me, I left SGI about 9 months ago, I was quite active on this forum for a few months after that.

I just want to say, my head hasn't been split into 7 pieces, nor have myself or any of my family suffered tragic events.
In actual fact, I got a great new job about a month ago, and I feel my personal relationships with my family and girlfriend have just gotten stronger and closer since I started viewing myself and the world without the 'SGI lense'.

Love to everyone, I hope to come back to the forum soon to talk more about my experience of leaving.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2010 03:07AM by DavidM.

Quote
DavidM
Hi all,

Some of the regulars may remember me, I left SGI about 9 months ago, I was quite active on this forum for a few months after that.

I just want to say, my head hasn't been split into 7 pieces, nor have myself or any of my family suffered tragic events.
In actual fact, I got a great new job about a month ago, and I feel my personal relationships with my family and girlfriend have just gotten stronger and closer since I started viewing myself and the world without the 'SGI lense'.

Love to everyone, I hope to come back to the forum soon to talk more about my experience of leaving.

Great news David.

FOR SURE: What is the end game Ikeda has for SGI. The youth are under the Ikeda is my Mentor mind control and now they go around with their new mantra as the Ikeda Youth Ensemble - WHAT UP WITH THAT! I am just waiting to hear when Ikeda is going to go for broke and rename his empire as Ikeda Buddhism and totally erase Shakyamuni – Nichiren from the scene – he has already done it except in name only – people are told its Nichiren Buddhism – but they are always given Ikeda doctrine – sort of what the old bait and switch routine did DUDE WHAT UP WITH that: 0 How vast is his EGO and what will be the breaking point for members to just vote with their feet and just walk AWAY : (

@DavidM, You wrote, "I just want to say, my head hasn't been split into 7 pieces, nor have myself or any of my family suffered tragic events.In actual fact, I got a great new job about a month ago, and I feel my personal relationships with my family and girlfriend have just gotten stronger and closer since I started viewing myself and the world without the 'SGI lense'."I am so glad you have checked in with us here. I too have experienced many good things in my personal and professional life since leaving SGI. In fact, the only difficult period was right at the beginning.Then, that went away. I don't regret the time I spent with SGI, but I am glad I got out when I did. The MDM has not slowed down at all. Since I could not support meetings, members. leaders, and publications that saw Ikeda as the mentor for all mankind, in addition to being the be-all-end-all of Buddhism there was no reason to stay and fake it. Life is too short. I am so grateful for RRI because without it I am not sure I could have resisted the superstitious reward/punishment mentality about leaving SGI or anything else that my instinct tells me is off-track.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2010 10:56AM by doubtful.

A couple of thoughts, questions:

Are the unsuspecting Soka Gakkai general members that conduct a daily practice, making causes to accumulate fortune since many have the good intentions of simply spreading the law of . . Myoho Renge Kyo? Or, is it impossible for one to create fortune inside the organization due to the MDM (mentor-disciple mistake) / non-Buddhist direction of the SGI?

On a different note, I'm not sure if it was on this forum or another web-site that I heard of the book FIRE IN THE LOTUS by Daniel Montgomery (and I'm too lazy to look back at all 255 pages here), but anyway, I am finding it encouraging to read this book and see the bigger picture and long history of Nichiren's Buddhism and how it has spread up to the 1990's. The author is fairly neutral and there is a lot more to learn than just what SGI has taught. A whole lot more!!

Hi, long time member who decided to opt out for many of the reasons people have said in messages here. I was just wondering if any of you have noticed that Mr. Ikeda seems to have physically slipped into the background. I haven't been to a 1st Sunday in a while, but checked the SGI-USA site and it looks like they haven't had him in a current video in at least four months. The latest video is the HQ leaders video but he isn't in it and it says that he sent a message about not being in the front so others can develop. Also, checking the SGI news, it mentioned that on Oct. 2, he and his wife went to some non-descript memorial for Toda and Makiguchi. Given that this was the 50th anniversary of his 1st outside of Japan trip and the big to-do that has been made about that here, wouldn't you expect him to be at some BIG meeting? Anyway, these things just flashed into my head recently and with SGI's history of keeping big secrets, it makes me wonder what is the real story.

Quote
MajorMajor
The latest video is the HQ leaders video but he isn't in it and it says that he sent a message about not being in the front so others can develop.

Not much time to post but couldn't let that slip.

I think what they mean is "We need time to get someone new who the membership like who when Ikeda passes away will say: 'Ikeda was my mentor, lets all follow his teachings now that he has passed away, I was chosen by President Ikeda to lead SGI.'"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2010 03:54AM by DavidM.

@MajorMajor, Welcome. I am sure many of us would love to hear your Gakkai experiences. It is actually quite helpful for my recovery process to post here and read other people's messages. You wrote, "I was just wondering if any of you have noticed that Mr. Ikeda seems to have physically slipped into the background. I haven't been to a 1st Sunday in a while, but checked the SGI-USA site and it looks like they haven't had him in a current video in at least four months. The latest video is the HQ leaders video but he isn't in it and it says that he sent a message about not being in the front so others can develop" Prior to my departure in May I had been noticing not so much his absence but his frailty. He could not even deliver a whole speech without taking numerous moments to let another leader finish the passage for him. Ikeda did not look like he had too many more speeches or activities left in him. Because I have had a lot of positive feelings about him--until the MDM got into full swing--it saddened me to watch his decline. In many ways I think it would have been better for his retreat to occur years ago. For instance, other top leaders could have started giving Gosho lectures, guidance, and writing articles in the pubs(but not ones that serve to trumpet Ikeda's greatness). Then he could have offered support to the new leaders while still in good health. But that's not the way it has gone down. I still receive the pubs and on that end nothing has changed. You cannot turn the page without hearing some leader or member credit him--not the practice, Nichiren Daishonin, or the Gohonzon. For a while I have wondered if this is his decision or the organization's assumption of what would be acceptable to him. There is a difference. I have a hard time picturing him demanding that the leaders, pubs, and members give HIM constant credit. I find it easier to see obsequious leaders/members thinking that elevating him would make him like them more.

Doubtful, it's puzzling to me that you find it hard to accept that Ikeda demands all the credit that he gets. This man puts his name on everything associated with the SGI. The Ikeda/King/Gandhi exhibit wasn’t organized by the members out of their pure love for Ikeda , unbeknownst to him. It was an official SGI exhibit, so of course he commissioned it. And we’ve all seen the condescending and humiliating ways he treats the leaders under him on the videos. Ikeda’s an egomaniac whose quest and hunger for power is insatiable. I personally believe that it’s him running/dictating the whole show.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2010 12:49PM by SGBye.

FOR SURE: IKEDA the puppet master – now years ago he started with the youth division – forcing the mantra IKEDA IS MY MENTOR! Then IKEDA moved on to all the general members to take up this nonsensical mantra -But this hasn’t gone over to well with the General Membership and lots have voted with their feet - Undaunted the SGI leadership stayed with their MASTER – a Sr. Leader once told me that the SGI was anticipating a percentage of members walking out – however he stated that this would thin out the nonconformist and leaving the core believers – this was very disheartening for me to hear because I thought him to a moderate in this IKEDA conversion that was taking place right in front of my eyes! Many – so many youth coming to me and saying that they weren’t onboard with this indoctrination! I said to them keep your center values and limit your activities and seek mentors that you can trust - you should seek out your mentor and not be told for forced to accept one! OF course I was speaking heresy in the eyes of the SGI Leadership! There are still some afoot in the SGI that will feed me information on what’s going on – Again IKEDA can’t resist in putting his name on another group the Ikeda Youth Ensemble - WOW one step closer to the immortals : (