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Findingmywaytoday
I also wanted to add some recent happenings for me that just feel grotesque. I just want to vent actually.

(snip)

I remember being so open about everything in my life to SGI members. I realize this wasn't the best thing in retrospect. I remember when I stopped the practice, and decided to seek counseling, someone in the SGI said, oh...good that you realized you needed it, and then she said I should really be chanting with the counseling. It will make it better. Whatever...thanks for listening. Hope I made sense.

As a former leader I recall listening to member problems and formulating a NSA response in which I believed I was "encouraging them to practice". When I left NSA and realized the level of brainwashing an brain-f**king that went on as a matter of course I truly regretted many of the positions I took those days.

In an organization like SGI with so much emphasis placed on "unity" and "conformity", it is very easy to get swallowed up in the flow and start emulating those "above you" (Sempai?).

So, reading your various posts over these many months I'm very glad to see you are forging a path out of the many landmines that SGI placed in your way. From the sound of your comments it also sounds like you've developed a SGI attachment for your "BS detector" and are making good use of it.

Wakatta1

Thank you everyone for your posts. Having been a part of SGI, on and off, for 20 Years since being "Shakabuku'ed" a lot of what people put really resonated in me. When I finally commited to the practice and received Gohonzon I truly felt like I was a part of it but something happened. My vision cleared and I started to become aware of what people were saying and how they were acting. I started to hear the brainwashing, the BS, the pressure on new members to keep practising. If something bad happened then it was a challenge for your practice and if something good happened it was because of your practice. It's a clever trap that keeps you locked in. When I returned my Gohonzon I was racked with guilt and it felt like I was throwing my own life away because I had been told that the Gohonzon was "my life". SGI does not have exclusivity to Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism. It isn't the only spiritual path in this universe, although I have heard members say things like "this is the supreme religion" and "everyone is looking for Gohonzon but just doesn't know it yet" :) That's when alarm bells ring. I remember growing up and having "hard sell" religions calling at the house. My father used to send them away with a flea in their ear! I never wanted to be involved in one of those types of religion and yet there I was in SGI. I had signed up. And as a part of being a member there was all this pressure to take exams, study, go on courses that had to be paid for, bring other new members in, contribute financially to SGI and give up your time volunteering in their centres! And all done subtly because it's called being a lilac but what it actually means is that they're getting you to work for free for them but of course all good karma for you!
I became highly suspicious of people in the organisation. I'm not sure whether they were aware of the fact that they were being brainwashed but clearly they were in my opinion. They seemed to be believe almost everything that was said or filtered down from Ikeda. Finally I said "enough" and broke away. On reflection it was one of the best decisions I ever made. It leaves me free to go on my own spiritual journey without all the trappings and distractions that are put in the path of true Buddhism that I believe has always been inherent within ME. And noone can ever take that away. I feel it's not so much about ceremonies or anything else but about how I live my life on a daily basis and how I treat others. For me true Buddhism is not about getting something either a state of mind or material posession. It's about being present and we can only acheive that by living in the moment and taking each moment as it comes and having acceptance that everything is exactly as it's meant to be. SGI has gone off the rails and it's members are misguided and it's no longer about grass roots Buddhism any more.

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hertford65
I started to hear the brainwashing, the BS, the pressure on new members to keep practising. If something bad happened then it was a challenge for your practice and if something good happened it was because of your practice. It's a clever trap that keeps you locked in. When I returned my Gohonzon I was racked with guilt and it felt like I was throwing my own life away because I had been told that the Gohonzon was "my life". SGI does not have exclusivity to Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism. It isn't the only spiritual path in this universe, although I have heard members say things like "this is the supreme religion" and "everyone is looking for Gohonzon but just doesn't know it yet" :)

I can totally relate to this. This is what I have been feeling recently about the SGI. I haven't returned my Gohonzon yet. I have certainly thought about it. How did it feel to do so? Did you do it in person? What did they say to you? You know something else unfortunate that the SGI took from me momentarily (but maybe this was never for the taking in the first place), is the ability to trust a religion. I thought my judgement was good. I never thought I would get caught up in a culty religion. I thought I knew the signs. Luckily, my vision cleared up (better late than never). Thanks for sharing this.

Findingmywaytoday,

We are all looking for something at the time we join nsa/sgi. When we think we found it we tend to listen to the people who we think are wiser then we are. But in truth they to are followers and not leaders as they proclaim to be. You can see around the world today there men/women who are seeing the true light in their leaders. An they now revolt to better themselves and there way of thinking as free men/women. sgi is like a goverment they try to suppress their flock/people into thinking that they are not the thinkers. But mindless drones who will do their biddings at their given times.

I have been in and out of practice for about 35 years. But I study life (which is my own) and really look hard in what "I" want to do. This is the only time the word "Team" work does not apply. I still have both my Gohonzon's and I still practice when I feel like it, not when others tell me. Your Gohonzon is not giving you the problem but the people who gave it to you. Returning your Gohonzon is not a issue because you can still practice Nichiren Buddhism with it or without it, but preferably you should keep it. It is your life to run and to do what "YOU" see fit. Nobody can run your life, only you can.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2011 11:47PM by rrmoderator.

chirider:

Please don't promote a particular religious group at this message board. It's against the rules.

So what have our friends at SGI been up to lately? Shopping for real estate!

[www.costar.com]

February 9, 2011

Soka Gakkai International-USA purchased 3834 Opal St. in Oakland, CA, from The Lions Center for the Blind for $2.3 million, or approximately $171 per square foot.

Built in 1950 with serial additions completed in 1965, the building measures 13,428 square feet.

Soka Gakkai International-USA is the American branch of SGI Network based in Japan with a national headquarters in Santa Monica. The Buddhist association will take occupancy around June and use the building for its office and activities' meetings in the East Bay area.

Ryan Hattersley of Cushman & Wakefield represented the buyer. Ricardo da Silva of LOH Realty & Investment represented the seller.

Please reference CoStar COMPS #2040771 for more information.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2011 06:35AM by tsukimoto.

@tsukimoto who wrote, "Soka Gakkai International-USA purchased 3834 Opal St. in Oakland, CA, from The Lions Center for the Blind for $2.3 million, or approximately $171 per square foot." All right let's be fair. SGI is still in existence and buying more property for a community center (I presume that's what "office and activities" refers to) is something we should expect. That does not make them bad. Last year I traveled to San Francisco and I went to the center to chant during the day. I was SO glad there was a center, even though I am no longer with SGI. I would not go to the one in my city since I would not want to raise anyone's hopes of my return or their suspicion of my intentions, but I am glad that the community centers exist because they are usually open during the day and I still love the practice. Furthermore, there is something cool about people gathering to chant--I think. What bothers me more about the organization re: centers is something else. When I have visited the center in a country where the average daily temp is 90(usually much hotter actually) I have marveled at how a billion dollar organization will not air condition a community center FOR ITS MEMBERS. I would love to hear their explanation.I have been very happy without the SGI in my life but I am not sorry that it exists. I do believe some people like it the way it is and others simply take what they want and leave the rest. It took 20 years but I did eventually separate Nichiren Buddhism from SGI. I don't mean to sound macabre now, but I have wondered what my funeral will look like. I used to be sure that it would be a typical SGI memorial at the center complete with gongyo and daimoku. Now I am sure I don't want that because you know my disapproval of MDM would not be mentioned and the reverse might be promoted either in my honor or because of the occasion. Does anyone here know how memorial services/funerals of non-SGI, non-NST, Nichiren Buddhists are carried out? I am still pretty young, but you never know.

Another thing, that I noticed, reading this thread - SGI is much more brutal at home in Japan than it is in US. Simple comparison, two SGI victims in US, Lisa Jones and Byrd and a victim in Japan, Akiyo Asaki. Lisa Jones was threatened by legal action and silenced, Byrd was defamed and demonized after her death. (Actually it's just come to my mind, how sick SGI is - to defame a person after her death, even though obviously she couldn't care less after she died. In all cultures there is certain respect for the dead, but not in SGI, they just keep rolling their propaganda machine). Let's compare that with Akiyo Asaki case. Looks like they also defamed her (her husband filed a defamation suit against SGI after her death) and they also framed her for shop-lifting. [justiceproved.net] Whatever they did to her was much more brutal - she committed suicide.
People in US have to research more about SGI in Japan, even though there is a language barrier.

doubtful - I think it is up to you. Most funeral homes will accommodate your wishes. For example I want to be cremated. You may wan't a burial plot. Either way the directors will do what the family asks. If you want to enshrine a gohonzon at the funeral home so people could chant and/or offer incense thats up to you. actually you could even have a service in your own home held by others. The pomp and circumstance that goes with an SGI funeral was never a requirement to enter eagle peak. Its just filtered down Japanese based funeral procedures (held by many other buddhist and non buddhist groups in Japan). If you are going to plan your own funeral......its up to you. Some people I know have even written their own obituaries. Is that macabre enough?

To rrmoderator,

My apologize, I was not paying attention at the time when I was writing. It will not happen again.

I also do not belong to send group I was just suggesting reading information.

Again I sincerely apologize.