every now and again, i get this idea that i am actually missing some things in the Borg, especially chanting in a group, for some reason I always feel that this was more powerful than me chanting on my own. But is it really? Probably not. Anyway I decided to download some 'A Buddhist podcast' to have a listen and see what was going on in the Soka world. I downloaded the episodes which had readings of a book called 'The Reluctant Buddhist' (hey thats like me, I thought). I must admit i enjoyed the readings, not too much Sensei worship or Soka dogma, but there never is in any introductory kind of information. But what made me realise that i truly can't stand the Soka BS were the parts of the podcasts where people give their experiences. I always hated this at meetings as they always seemed like total bollocks, no more and no less relevant than any person off the street could muster up about their own lives. The podcast ones are the same, weak tearful people thanking Ikea for his encouragement, believing that he is speaking to them, oh man it truly sucks. So back to square one, mental note remember Soka is so full of shit. The M\D relationship is brainwashing poison that weak people are deluded into believing. It's not there fault, they just want a quick fix to their lives and they are sold a lie. The Law not the person, unless it's Soka, and it is all about the person.

Lets all worship Sensei-tan.

@TheVoid

Many years ago I quit smoking cold turkey. Mostly out of fear due to other family members developing lung cancer in recent memory at that time, and once the aura of "finally getting free of it" wore off, I began to periodically have dreams in which I caught myself puffing away on a cigarette. Each time the shock would jolt me out of my sleep and often it would take me more than a few minutes to finally settle back to sleep. That too disappeared, but I always marvelled at how much fear I still had buried inside me against EVER slipping back to it.

Your post got me thinking about some other dreams I've had infrequently but which have the same effect on me. In the dream I'm dealing with some sort of urgent problem or another and off I go chanting. Then, something inside of me says "Geesh! Why am I doing that!!! Do I really want to have to deal with that whole thing again?" Sometimes I wake up, and sometimes I just roll over and go to sleep.

My point is that a whole lot of the SGI/NSA experience gets absorbed at all levels of the consciousness, and when your orientation shifts it stops being "positive" and instead becomes a net "negative". I shudder to think of finding myself sitting at a district meeting with all those folks around me thinking they will shakubuku me again <shudder>

Wakatta

just out of curiosity has anyone ever had to go back for a funeral service after they stopped practicing?

Dear wakatta:

I shudder to think of finding myself sitting at a district meeting with all those folks around me thinking they will shakubuku me again <shudder>

Their leaders shudder to think their members might encounter me to shakabuku them. They are not too thrilled with this forum either.

Nichijew

gingermarie, thanks for your great post. I can really relate to so much of what you said!

Thank you quiet one.

I too have had reoccuring dreams, Wakatta. In my dream I would be at a discussion meeting, or some sort of meeting, and I would be asked to do something, lead something, whatever. And at first, I would agree. Then, I would stop myself and say,"why am I doing this, I don't believe this anymore!" Consequently, I would wake up.

This has happened several times, probably at least once a month.

I also catch myself saying Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, particulary when driving and say someone cuts me off, or an animal runs across the road. It just comes right out without sensoring or filtering.

It's not like I don't believe in Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, per say. It's just the relationship it has with the SGI that doesn't feel good. It's been poisoned by association.

Dear all,
nice to see a little convesation going on here again. Over Easter I wachted a nice film about the Indian Musician Ravi Shankar - a master of classical indian music.
I found the programme quite charming as it in a subtle way showed the role of the master/disciple relationship, which is so important in asian culture. In this case the master being called a Guru. Sadly the clip does not contain parts of the documentary which was embeded into this masterclass concert/lecture when broadcasted. In it Sahankar said that the student will spend years copying the master and then when he/she ads his/her own personal "accent" to the music they will start their own musical journey ... and leave/surpass the master. The film was boadcasted on "arte" a franco/german TV-Station specialised in arts, music, litertature, politics and franco/german issues. Actually something one would rarely get to see on the commercial stations. Maybe you will enjoy this just as I did ... while watching I now and again had to think of what SGI has done to this master/disciple principle is actually very superficial. Just click the link:
Materclass of Ravi Shankar no worries only subtitles are in french or german depending which version one watches.
regards
Rothaus

PS:
Hope the clip will play if you are in US. Sometimes they ahve those regional codes on :-(

Interesting discussion going on at Barbara's Buddhism Blog. In San Francisco, SGI/some SGI members are offering the city $180,000 to name a gate in Franklin Square Park after Ikeda. A number of city residents are not happy about this.

[buddhism.about.com]

Bill Aiken's comment that a private SGI member chose to donate the money if the gate is named for Ikeda is a nice slick trick. SGI can claim that it was just this man's, or woman's choice -- don't people get to choose how to spend their own money? I wonder, is there really an individual member who chose to do this -- or is the "member" just a front for SGI? Even if it is one person's choice to donate his or her private funds -- it's because he or she has heard years of propaganda glorifying Ikeda, which is a red flag!

--------------Beginning of quote--------------------------------------------------------
Barbara O'Brien: "SGI has offered to give $180,000 to the city of San Francisco in exchange for naming a gate to Franklin Square Park after SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. The gate would include a plaque to Ikeda's mentors. According to the city's Recreation and Park's Department, $80,000 would be used for construction and landscaping of the gate, and $100,000 would go to the Recreation and Park Department for "general operating support."

What little local reaction I have seen has been negative, however. President Ikeda has no connection to the park, which makes the proposed dedication of the gate an act of transparent vanity.

Update: I have learned the commission has recommended accepting the gift. The gate is to be named the "Ikeda Peace Gate," which is a shade less creepy (to me) than the "Daisaku Ikeda Gate." But plain ol' non-attached "Peace Gate" would have been so much better."

Brooke: "Your assessment is right on target, here. SGI has spent billions of dollars in a global campaign to plaster Ikeda’s name on streets, buildings, parks, and monuments throughout the world. SGI has lobbied local governments to endorse Ikeda’s greatness with official proclamations, etc. It’s endless. It’s not about Buddhism or peace. It’s about serving Ikeda’s vanity, and feeding the vanity of Ikeda’s followers who crave validation of their great sensei."

Bill Aiken, head of public relations for SGI-USA: " I do want to point out that the donation being considered by the City of San Francisco is not from the SGI, but rather from a bay area resident who is also an SGI member. It is my understanding that this donation will both name the gate and provide significant operating funds for overall care of this community park."

Barbara O'Brien: "Ricardo, there are countless Buddhist teachers on the planet with equally impressive credentials — some more so, actually — but no one is spending money like a drunken sailor seeing to it they are all similarly “honored.” It makes Ikeda look vain and cheap, and if you all had genuine respect for the man as a spiritual teacher (and assuming he is not, in fact, vain and cheap) SGI would stop doing stuff like this."

Ashoka: "To the extent that someone makes a big public to-do about their giving — insisting that a monument be erected, engraved with their name, to ensure that everyone knows that it was this-person-and-no-other that made the donation —- it’s a pretty obvious clue that what’s going on has much more to do with worldly/mundane/political power, than it does with the authentic spiritual practice of tithing — the Perfection Of Giving."

David: " Barbara, perhaps you can consider this: the SGI is a cult that operates in a non-traditional “cult-like” manner. Other cults could take a lesson from them. There is no question that the organization manipulates its members and manufactures consent in a very subtle and effective way.

Barbara, you hit the nail on the head when you say that SGI members you’ve met are not like culties–that’s because this is a new kind of cult and it does not fit the usual paradigm.
Brainwashing is a hot word. Basically it means “mind control.” Does the SGI control the minds of its members? The SGI attempts to controls their opinions (regarding Ikeda and the worthiness of the organization, etc.), and to a large extent controls their behavior and activities. Of course, there are various shades and degrees to this control, but it is control nonetheless.

The members are told they must support Ikeda if they want to see progress in their spiritual journey. That alone raises a lot of red flags. The idea that one’s Buddhist journey cannot be complete without pledging loyalty and allegiance to one person is absolutely wrong from every perspective you can think of, including a Buddhist perspective.

By itself the controversy over the naming of the park is no big deal. But when within the context of the totality of attempts to glorify Ikeda, it is very disturbing. Soka means value creation. What value is created by having a park named after Ikeda? Wouldn’t more value be created by using all the energy and money expended in this effort to feed the hungry?
An enlightened person has no ego. An enlightened person is not concerned whether his or her good works are recognized or not, because they understand that it doesn’t matter. The good has been done and that is all that is important."

David: "I submit that it is nearly impossible to understand the SGI unless you have been in it or had more than a casual exposure to it. Call the SGI what you will but for every positive aspect they display, there is a negative aspect that, to me, overwhelms the positive.
I think there is more to it than just a case of Mr. Ikeda being vain. The glorification of this leader and the “personality cult” surrounding him is part of the overall agenda of the organization. I believe personality cults like this are ultimately dangerous."
-------------------------end of quote-----------------------------------------------------------

tsukimoto, I find this very disturbing. It also makes me mad. I don't want SGI's stamp on public property such as parks.