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jlynneda63
Do u ever look at the clock & feel uncomfortable because it is the time u normally did Gongyo? I do & then wonder why I can't relax! Seems like most of us are 30 plus years of indoctrination. I never slept in. the 70's! It was one continuous activity! I quit for 13 yrs & came back because I could not get the fear out of my consciousness of burning in hell for being tietan! Finally because of this list I am understanding how evil it is. I have knees permanently destroyed due to the hours spent sitting on them for hours & years. Had my first wheelchair ride last month & am being given one for mothers day! I could have refused to sit there hour after hour but I thought I was changing my karma! Now I have time to think about it all since I no longer can work. I wonder what the people monitoring this list think? One thing I know is that finally the calls have stopped so someone knows I am finally voicing the truth!

As for the Gohonzons, i missed all that & came back after people quit fighting & now the few who haven't returned the original just turn it in & celebrate. The new copies feel nothing like the original Gohonzon. It makes no sense.

If I thought about it I could get really mad at the injustice of it all but I don't have time.


I am sorry to hear how Sgcult inflicted so much physical damage on your body (slander) along with the usual emotional and psychological damages (more slander) that are so often incurred by its members.

Please remember that the Gohonzon is only a piece of paper, regardless of who inscribed it or who gave it to you. As Nichiren said, "the Gohonzon exists solely within the five foot body". The gohonzon (law) inside your life is unchanging and immutable. What changes is our relationship to the law.

The first and second time I left SGcult, I used to suffer from feelings of guilt over not doing morning and evening gongyo. During my last time period at SGcult, I saw where gongyo and the silent prayers were being greatly modified, and I realized that the practice of gongyo was not immutable or set in stone. Gongyo could be arbitrarily changed by HQ. So I mangaged to drop the delusion that doing gongyo is sacrosanct to the practice of Buddhism. To me, practicing Buddhism is about learning and exploring what is correct/best for oneself, it is not passing that responsiblilty to some senior leader or organisation like SGcult.

Getting mad is a natural response to abusive treatment and injustice metted out by SGcult. Being mad can be a strong motivation to induce changes for the better. Staying mad is unhealthy. I still get mad about all the crap SGcult dished/dishes out, but its never for very long. I try to turn that anger into healing laughter (turn poison into medicine). Life is short - it is best to forgive. Now, let us laugh together.

Spartacus

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jlynneda63
I have knees permanently destroyed due to the hours spent sitting on them for hours & years. Had my first wheelchair ride last month & am being given one for mothers day! I could have refused to sit there hour after hour but I thought I was changing my karma! Now I have time to think about it all since I no longer can work.

jlynneda63, reading your post really gave me an "Aha!" moment. I've had problems with my knees for years now whenever I bend down and not once did it ever occur to me that it could be from years of sitting on them and chanting for long hours. I'm not saying that's absolutely the reason why, but I really have no other explanation for it since I'm pretty much healthy overall and I know I didn't damage them from playing sports since I don't play any. I'm very sorry to hear about your physical problems but I thank you for posting about them.

Also, To Spartacus, you mistakenly quoted me for something that Hitch posted. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due! :)

Listening to all your stories really makes me both mad and sad. I'm sad for those who have lost their faith in the Lotus Sutra, the Ten Worlds, the Three Thousand Realms in a Momentary Existence, the greatness of the Buddha and Nichiren. I'm mad at what the SGI has done to these teachings, making the greatest religion in the world into a personality cult and therefore destroying faith in the Lotus Sutra in so many people. The Lotus Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, Flower Garland Sutra, and Nichiren teach that faith, not endless chanting, is first and foremost. Only several times in the entire body of his writings does Nichiren mention performing long chanting sessions: Once about a disciple who chanted ten hours [50 thousand Daimoku] for a deceased father and once in a personal letter about continously chanting the Daimoku being equal to continuously reading the Lotus Sutra. Faith is mentioned 600 times. Here is the reality. If they [SGI members] care to not believe what I say, that is their problem:

Some SGI member has a desire to chant lots of Daimoku. He is encouraged by his leaders to realize his desire. He determines to chant the Daimoku continuously and realizes this desire by chanting ten or more hours a day. According to the SGI, he proves the validity of the practice by realizing his desire to chant lots of Daimoku.

The reality is that he disproves the practice, despite realizing his desire. He skips meals, fails to talk with the wife, and begins missing work. He gets divorced and is layed off from work.

This is one of SGI's grievous errors, their attachment to attachments or their teachings on desires.

I can truly say that after 17 years, I'm healed because I follow Nichiren and the Lotus Sutra and not the arbitrary and self serving teachings of Ikeda SGI. Whether I chant for one minute or ten hours I have faith in the sublime teachings of the Lotus Sutra.

N



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/10/2012 05:33PM by Nichijew.

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jlynneda63
Do u ever look at the clock & feel uncomfortable because it is the time u normally did Gongyo? I do & then wonder why I can't relax! Seems like most of us are 30 plus years of indoctrination. I never slept in. the 70's! It was one continuous activity! I quit for 13 yrs & came back because I could not get the fear out of my consciousness of burning in hell for being tietan! Finally because of this list I am understanding how evil it is.

I have never had any problems whatsoever about stopping the "practice" (gongyo, daimoku, activities, etc.). Gongyo was a twice daily oppressive ritual for me; one that had me celebrating and rejoicing once I liberated myself from the chains of that superstitious nonsense.

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jlynneda63
I have knees permanently destroyed due to the hours spent sitting on them for hours & years. Had my first wheelchair ride last month & am being given one for mothers day! I could have refused to sit there hour after hour but I thought I was changing my karma! Now I have time to think about it all since I no longer can work. I wonder what the people monitoring this list think? One thing I know is that finally the calls have stopped so someone knows I am finally voicing the truth!

Reading this portion of your post reminded me of something that I had always noticed about certain members. Certain Japanese/Japanese-American members who chanted a lot (and I mean a lot), always had brown discolorations and calluses on their knees and the outside portions of their ankles from the hours and hours of sitting on the floor. For some, it seemed to have even become permanent stigmata marks.

Some of the things I read on this mb bring back long forgotten memories and the above is one of them.

Chicago, 1971: A sixteen year old high school student receives the gohonzon from a priest and officially becomes a member of Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA)

Chicago Suburbs, 1975: A twenty year old college student mails the gohonzon to the community center on Foster Avenue, discards all other paraphanalia, and officially resigns as a member of NSA

30+ years later: A contented middle aged adult has recurring dreams of being in NSA activities with people not seen in decades.

Hi everyone, I have read this entire thread, which has been fascinating. I am now posting in the hope that not only will my recollections and impressions help someone currently struggling to leave or adjust to leaving this cult (now SGI), but will also purge any tiny vestige of cultic programming remaining in my psyche.

I will post my story in segments, I have a lot to say, much happened in the four years that I was an NSA fanatic, including a pilgrimage in 1973, several conventions, numerous culture festivals and parades, and meetings, meetings, and more meetings. All of it for nothing. I wish I had focused on school and not spent part of my college scholarship money to go to Japan for the pilgrimage, as I was rather poor back then. $800 was a lot of money in 1973! More on that later.

I must say that overall I am impressed by the sincerity, honesty, and sense of humor expressed by the posters to this forum. I LMAO just thinking about "cousin rufus" . Despite the hurt, pain, disappointment, and damage done by involvement with a cult, everyone is really showing their resilience and tough inner core. Thanks to you all for sharing.

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Hitch
Ever wonder what the modern day version of Jr. Pioneers (Cult Kiddy Division) looks like? Look no further:

[www.youtube.com] (WTF!?!?!)

It's called the "Lion Cub Club" or "Baby Lion's Division."

I realize it was translated from Japanese into English, but that song has to be the most awkward-sounding song I've ever heard. I can't picture any child being able to learn how to sing it. About the only positive thing I can say about it is that it doesn't mention "Sensei" (unless I missed it among the densely-packed lyrics).

Welcome, Freeheartandmind. Looking forward to hearing your recollections.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2012 12:51AM by SGBye.

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SGBye

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Hitch
Ever wonder what the modern day version of Jr. Pioneers (Cult Kiddy Division) looks like? Look no further:

[www.youtube.com] (WTF!?!?!)

It's called the "Lion Cub Club" or "Baby Lion's Division."

I realize it was translated from Japanese into English, but that song has to be the most awkward-sounding song I've ever heard. I can't picture any child being able to learn how to sing it. About the only positive thing I can say about it is that it doesn't mention "Sensei" (unless I missed it among the densely-packed lyrics).

I forgot to add: it's an optional Seikyo Shimbun supplement that has to be requested (and paid for), that is inserted into the paper regularly. It's official title is the "Lion Cubs for the Future" (?) newspaper. The dear phantom leader is heavily featured within its pages and there is even a serialized cartoon version of "the human revolution" in every edition; all of the gakkai presidents are young, vibrant, handsome (even Toda), and courageous protagonist superheroes. The phantom leader oversees everything.

**********

I second SGBye's welcome "Freeheartandmind." (PS - those 70's tozan uniforms were definitely "higher than the sky!")



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2012 04:51AM by Hitch.

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tsukimoto
Indeed....how SGI describes itself depends on whatever suits its purposes at the time. Some links:

First, from buddha.jones:

[www.buddhajones.com]

------------------------beginning of quote------------------------------------

They're a "religion" when it suits them, a "peace organization" when they want school boards in the U.S. to approve Soka-based charter schools, and a "non-governmental organization recognized by the UN" when they pretend at neutrality and honest scholarship. Gotta love it.

I sort of wish I knew how to read Japanese because the article mentions that politcos are talking about removing tax exemptions for religions in Japan:

The justification for this is made evident from another article, which purports to expose the "side businesses" operated by large religious groups, which are said to include schools, hospitals, cemeteries, golf courses and - bless their hearts - love hotels.

Soka has gotta be the king of shady side businesses. Remember the company being run out of one of SGI-USA's warehouses? They sold flatulence-filtering underpants. What was the name of that company?

by: brooke @ Tue May 08, 2012 at 18:41:04 PM UTC

Underpants

Follow up to my last comment. The underwear seller was called iShining. (www.ishining.com) That company and another called PCE International are "importers" that once worked out of 8811 Aviation Blvd. in Inglewood, CA, a warehouse property owned by Soka. They appear to have moved their operations since the links between those companies and Soka were publicized online about ten years ago.

by: brooke @ Tue May 08, 2012 at 18:53:09 PM UTC

------------------------------------------------------end of quote------------------------------------------------

Ah, that Soka Gakkai....it's a religion....it's a world peace organization....it's an NGO....AND it's in the business of selling flatulence filtering underpants.....all under their fearless leader....Captain Underpants! What a gas!

The "official" gakkai bookstores in Shinanomachi carry an entire line of "official" gakka colored products: pencils, pens, pen and pencil cases, small-medium-large gakkai flags, stickers, patches, scarves, juzu bead and gongyo book covers and cases, erasers, rulers, gakkai colored tape, notebooks, stationary, bookmarks, etc., etc., etc..

**********

As a side note, here is an early account (pdf form) of a christian missionary's visit to the same HQ to "study" the gakkai's version of buddhism: "A Visit to the Soka Gakkai Headquarters" by Noah Brannen.

[nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp]

Taken from: "Contemporary Religions in Japan", Vol. 2, No. 1 (Mar., 1961), pp. 55-62 and published by: Nanzan University. (Wiki - [en.wikipedia.org]).

They have also published an interesting article about the gakkai-komeito connection (pdf):
[www.politicsandreligionjournal.com]

And Soka University has even participated in one their symposia, addressing the "cult" issue:

[nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp] (It gets pretty interesting around p. 14-15.)

More info. available here: [nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp]

They even address the recent burgeoning gakkai movement in Brazil:
[nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp] (Quite a fascinating read.)

ALL recommended reading, as it reveals and sheds interesting light on to how the gakkai as "evolved" in its "relations" and attitudes with other religions (in this case, christianity).

From my direct experience, although they may *now* profess tolerance of other religions on the surface for outward appearances, it is complete and active intolerance once you are on the inside. In fact, I never once saw a single case of tolerance when it came to other faiths; it was the exact opposite, discouragement and sometimes even to the point of borderline violent opposition. The gakkai speaks with a forked tongue on this (and many other) issue(s).

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, those uniforms were the finest polyester money could buy. Blue blazers with white trim, complete with NSA patch. There was nowhere to hang clothes in our accomodations on the temple site, so it helped that polyester didn't wrinkle. We did not have beds, or privacy either. We slept in a huge room on mats and had cubbies for our belongings. Bathroom and shower facilities were in a separate building. In 1973, the pilgrimage was very near Thanksgiving, and we were presented with a decidely undercooked turkey. I thought the sho-hondo was breathtaking and was amazed to discover that it had been torn down (I don't know why this bothered me since I had been a long time Christian by time I found out). I was also shocked to find out about the split with the temple, because the religious aspect of the org I was familiar with was essential. As is typical in this org, no accounting of the $800 we were charged was provided, but now it sems like a lot for what we received.

_{Also, To Spartacus, you mistakenly quoted me for something that Hitch posted. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due}!


OOps! Thanks for the correction. Sorry bout that.