I have noticed a few tricks or ploys that Soka Gakkai Members used with me that made me feel brainwashed. I am wondering if anyone can relate to these.

One of them was that when I had something good happen to me that had nothing to do with the Gohonzon, and they found out, they would then say it was because of the Gohonzon. I started to wonder if I could have anything without the Gohonzon. After all, I had plenty of good things happen to me because I entered this practice, and I never knew of the Gohonzon.

Another thing is that I was often told that how I act here in the SGI, is how I probably act anywhere. I was told to work it out in the SGI with people. It feels like a ploy to make people stay, as I was told: why go somewhere else when I will still have the same problems. What makes me sick about this is as previously mentioned in many posts is that no one is trained as a therapist, and often the advice is to just chant more.

I must say that for me chanting NMRK felt good. I wish it didn't feel as good as it did. It used to motivate me, but I started to realize that this has nothing to do with the organization, and more to do with the focus it brought me and that it probably changed my brainwaves.

I like the comparison of leaving the Soka Gakkai, as leaving an abusive relationship. I sometimes think I can work it out, but then I feel sick when I interact with the people and realize how brainwashed they are. There is this gap after a breakup, and it is lonely.

All is not lost because I will try and fill those gaps with hobbies, and friends. I never worked on friendships in the SGI because I thought I had friends in the practice. I didn't.

What else? Well, I don't know. I just hope it gets better from here on out. Let me know if there is anything I posted in this message that you can relate to. It would really help me, because it feels lonely right now! Thanks so much!

Oh, one more thing. Is it my imagination, or does it seem like people who chant sometimes have some really awful obstacles to overcome. It seems like more than people who don't. I often thought that when I was in the practice. Maybe I am just more aware of it, but it started making me very paranoid when I was in the practice and things were going well for me. I mentioned to someone in SGI that it seemed like a lot of people in the SGI were having car accidents. She said that was a ridiculous assumption on my part. What do you all think?

Another thing was that early on in my membership, the members were quick to start correlating my successes to having chanted. I didn't see this at first, and I started viewing everything as evidence or having to do with my Gohonzon. It is feeling tricky to unwind myself from this brainwashing. Ugh!

What I've noticed is SGI members just talk about themselves all the time...me me me. So when they do have something happen in their life, they tell everyone, and try to equate it with chanting and karma. Like a minor car accident, or anything else.

Anyone else just realizes in life, shit happens.
SGI is a huge mind-screwing.


clustering illusion [www.skepdic.com]
"The clustering illusion is the intuition that random events which occur in clusters are not really random events."

Hi all: Received this comment today in response to a posted bad SGI experience on my blog:

SGI member Charlynn: “Wow, people. I am so sorry that you had these experiences. I have been a SGI member for over 26 years and I cannot say I have EVER had these oppressive experiences. I question all the time. That is what is truly great about this organization. In all my years of life, I have not ONCE found anything as ‘useful’ for my life. Human Revolution is a difficult bit of business. Many people have difficulty polishing their lives. And so the story goes.”

Response: You don’t even sound like a flesh and blood human being. You sound like a spambot programmed with Gakkai speak. Sad.

Also, I would like to respond to the post about SGI leaders and members having more problems and accidents, from the perspective of the Lotus Sutra and the teachings of Nichiren. It is true and it is not just because they talk more about their problems. Because they are connected to the Law, albeit in a so-called poison drum [reverse or negative relationship], they more readily suffer the consequences of bad causes. Making people into brainwashed Ikedabots like Charlynn above [instead of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas] and the top salaried senior leaders exploiting the Law for their own selfish ends, leads to misfortune.

Accidents, murders, and attacks leading to death and severe disability of SGI leaders, members, and family members, are not few. Nichiren Daishonin and his disciples and believers hardly experienced a tranquil life but, unlike SGI members, they were ultimately protected. Ikeda and Suda are theoretical Buddhists who base their teachings, not on the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, nor even Nichiren, but rather the teachings of Taisekaji, Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda himself. The SGI teachings have no power, no actual proof.

One will be protected as long as one has a correct faith, practice, and study, according to the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin. One will attain Buddhahood as long as one has a correct faith, practice, and study. There is no correct faith, practice, and study in SGI Buddhism.

President Ikeda's first born son died of a bleeding ulcer, a highly unusual occurrance for a young man in the prime of his life, in this moden age. The late David Kasahara's first born son died of massive brain trauma. Guy McCloskey's first born son died in a motorcycle accident. A NY Japanese pioneer member's first born son died when he accidentally strangled on a tree branch. One top New York senior leader died when a snow plow ran over his car on a clear and snow free day. I know of another who had the top of his head taken off by a metal stage prop hook as he sat in the audience. I knew another YWD leader who lost his legs when he got out of his car to change a flat, on a relatively traffic free road when a car barreled into him. My friend, Dewitt Johnson, an up and coming YMD senior leader, died when his parachute failed to open. Shin Yatomi, Vice Study Department Chief (unofficial chief) proclaimed absolutely that he would beat his lung cancer thanks to his relationship as a disciple of President Ikeda but he died shortly thereafter. Gary Hinman, a men's division leader and head of the bagpipers, was brutally murdered by the Manson crew. If you Google "obituaries, Soka Gakkai", you will see how many young and relatively young SGI members are dying of rare diseases and accidents and you can compare it with other religions of similar size, if you are inclined to perform a statistical analysis. Do not go by the website, SGI Pioneer Memorial. They habitually fail to memorialize the young SGI members such as, Jerome Lauifitaualuga Ala Alofaatasi Kaipo Brede-Savini, 19, of Waianae, who died May 21, 2010.

Then there are the unrealized dreams of the vast majority of the members and leaders....



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2011 11:54PM by Nichijew.

Of course each person has to sort through the complexities on their own, and its not easy.
But the idea that a different variant of sect beliefs, is going to lead to protection from the human condition, is really just a different variant of what SGI is selling.

Of course, every religion promises that their belief is going to protect the believer. Again, each person is going to have to sort that out on their own.

And of course, if a person's beliefs are more accurate, their life will have less trouble.
For example, if a person beliefs its ok to lie, cheat, steal, then their chances of getting in trouble with the legal system are higher.
Or if a person believes they can break the laws of nature, they will end up getting hurt.
Or if they believe chanting will cure their troubles by magic, their troubles will get worse, as they are not doing anything about them.

Most arguments in this area appear to be the fallacy below.

post hoc fallacy [www.skepdic.com]

@Shavoy: I don't think the publications were an absolute condition, but I don't think opposition was strong once they had people hooked into joining the club. I watched a YMD argue against shaving his mustache for the sake of unity before a big on stage event then he finally gave in. I have heard leaders say they are glad they are in an organization that doesn't have to beg for contributions. True. The coerciveness has many levels due the emphasis on "winning".

About publications again: I think the announcement back in '89/'90 was that it was no longer a requirement to get World Trib and Seikyo Times (Living Buddhism's old title), so yes, pretty much mandatory, hence the argument in the community center. I'd like to know about this new directive if it is indeed "mandatory".

Quote
bobze39

Quote
Nichijew

If they did kill anyone, and I have no absolute proof that they do, I have read and heard that both the police and the media are in their pocket. Even in America, there are communities where people who are connected can get away with murder while, if you are not connected and get on the wrong side of the powers that be, you will either do time on trumped up charges, get killed, or disappear. It is not only often futile to go up against these powers [for example, the families of the murder victim against the constable, sheriff, or judge], it can be downright dangerous. Since, for example, in some of the communities in America of which I speak, I have neither absolute proof nor a horse in the race, it isn't worth it to me to make allegations and stir the pot when I could get jailed or killed. Regarding the SGI or one of my own family members, if I had any hard data, I would persue it in a heartbeat. I only know for a fact that there are those in Japan who are afraid of the Soka Gakkai and where there is smoke, there is fire.

Nichijew

Quote
The Anticult
When a sect gets so rich, and is localized in an area, they can have massive influence over the local government and law enforcement.

Sai Baba [forum.culteducation.com] is an example of that. They have over 9 billion in wealth, and have all of the politicians, media, judges, police in their pocket. To the point where murders in the ashram were not investigated, and sexual abuse reports of children were not investigated.
Its obvious they even timed Sai Baba's recent death to happen on Easter Sunday, by pulling the plug, or announcing it on that day, as Sai Baba was in his own private hospital.

Japan is different than India certainly. But since SGI apparently has their own SGI "town" they can wield enormous influence using the wealth and other methods. It seems whenever a sect get big and rich, and then localizes itself in one area, then it comes extremely dangerous, as it can pretty much take over local law enforcement and local judges and politicians.

Something has to be done, as these groups are getting worse every year.
They are tax-free, like Sai Baba and SGI, so they just get richer and richer.
If the trend keeps up, these mega-sects are going to become some of the most powerful organizations in the world, using their wealth and power to do whatever they want, tax-free.
And using local influence peddling to avoid justice.

That is very alarming! Interesting to find out, how many SGI members in Japan are police officers? If SGI recruits enough police officers, they won't have to kill their enemies. They can frame them and lock them up in jail. I am sure it's already happening.

It is very difficult to do a research about this issue, but I found an artcicle about two Japanese politicians who started an open anti-SGI campaign. One phrase that immedeately caught my attention was "I don't know why the Higashi-Murayama Police Station suddenly became so oversensitive and even obsessive about us," says Hozumi Yano, Asaki's colleague. "It's not that we had ever been at loggerheads with the police. But things began to change in February, after a personnel transfer at the station." Became obsessive - sounds like SGI style to me. Imagine a scenario, when a majority of police officers at one police station are SGI members and they chant together every day for destruction of their enemies!
[caic.org.au]
No surprise that this "obsessed" Police Station charged one of these two anti-SGI politicians with shop-lifting.
[justiceproved.net]
"Council member Akiyo Asaki steals a T-shirt from a clothing store in Higashi-Murayama".

It's time for politicians in Japan to demand from SGI to reveal the statistics about how many police officers are SGI members. Clearly police officers - SGI members can not perform their duties unbiasedly. It is called poilce corruption. By shakubukuing police officers SGI increases the police corruption. It's sad, pretty soon Japan will be more like Sicily was in the 20th century.

@rattyboy,

I remember that about how the YMD had to be clean-shaven, which I and others never could quite grasp. Talk about giving a chill up the spine, thinking about those days. What did facial hair, which men have the choice to grow or shave, have anything to do with creating world peace?

There was not a lot of begging that I perceived for the majority of my practice to make contributions. Not until the last year. When they started saying you can have it deducted monthly from your accounts--whoa. Now they have membership cards. These cards are supposed to make it easier for members to go on the web and set up their accounts, so they can keep track of and change the amounts of what they want to have deducted. Down the road, they can do that with subscriptions. But financial contributions are first and foremost.....

From what it sounded like in the WT, it is absolutely mandatory for new members to take out subscriptions--it's part of the whole Gohonzon package. Now I'm thinking, okay...does this mean that not-so-new members, regardless if they want to continue getting them or not, will be dropped from the SGI all together for exercising that choice?

Good Lord.