The gakkai and nsa/sgi-usa has $$$$ up the wazoo and has always used it to curry favors (and don't forget they are also always feigning poverty trying to extract as much as possible from the even the lowliest of the lowest members AND their children).

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tsukimoto
From the Cult Awareness and Information Centre website www.culthelpinfo.org; Political bribery and violations of nonprofit organization regulations:

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Everything Depends on Money"

Along with the Ikeda house, SGI-USA's political contributions have also become problematic in terms of tax laws. ]A number of local mass media offices report that the SGI-USA sent large political contributions to the mayor of Los Angeles. As stated in the Los Angeles Times (paraphrased), despite the fact that as a tax exempt religious organization they are prohibited from making political contributions, Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA)...in 1985 and 1986 twice gave Mr. Bradley (Editor's note: The former L.A. mayor from 1973-93) a total of $16,700 for his election fund. This is made clear by any number of articles. (11/17/91 Los Angeles Times)

Former SGI-USA Vice Headquarters Chief Thomas McCord (50), who left the organization in 1992, says, "Political contributions have become a problem within NSA as well. In 1986, Mayor Tom Bradley attended the opening ceremony for the World Peace Ikeda Auditorium and sat shoulder to shoulder with Ikeda. I had doubts about it, thinking, 'Mayor Bradley has no faith. Why is he here?' Later a member discovered a copy of a personal check which NSA had hurriedly sent to the mayor. This became a problem.


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I was at at least a couple of different large meetings with Bradley in attendance. I also remember thinking, even at that young age, "wow, they must have paid him well" to get him to attend a gathering with a bunch of weird buddha-heads. For the most part, he just sat and walked around with a big smile, a boatload of photos were taken and he gave a few (very short) perfunctory generic remarks before be hustled away. He couldn't even be approached by any of the members, because of all the wanna-be soka-han secret service greasy hunchbacks keeping everyone away. He was practically walking around with his hand in Sadanaga/Williams' pocket.

If you have any "status" in society, member or not, Williams would be on you like white on rice to manipulate a "relationship" with you for "appearance" purposes.

"(NSA)...in 1985 and 1986 twice gave Mr. Bradley (Editor's note: The former L.A. mayor from 1973-93) a total of $16,700 for his election fund."

Adjusted for inflation, that is >$35-37,000 USD. Shouldn't the members have been allowed to at least get a Bradley handshake out of it all if they chose to approach him, instead of being kept pushed back? I remember it all very well and some people were upset by it.

Anti-Cult is right, this is a vile cult organization. I'll also add, it lies, manipulates and commits fraud, against its own members, society and tax-payers.

That is the point I have been making since the start of this thread.
Often Ex-SGI are just focussed on pointing out the flaws of SGI, which is good, but its not enough.
SGI uses actual real TECHNIQUES of cultic control and manipulation.
SGI didn't think them up, they copied them from others.

So its an important moment when people begin to look outside SGI, and study the generic TECHNIQUES used by many many groups and cults.
SGI does not do anything original, nothing.

And of course, the military leaders in Japan went and got their specialists to study mass persuasion, and then created systems they used on soldiers, and then the general public.
They got it to the point they could get people to do ANYTHING, including murder and suicide. That didn't happen by accident.

Ikeda picked up some of these techniques, just by being around them in Japan, and paying attention.

Where do you think SGI got the marching around with flags, singing propaganda songs, worshipping pictures, and the rest of it? They copied those basic techniques.
In the past, SGI was using STALINIST brainwashing techniques on people, then tamed that down, as it was too blatant for the west.

People have studied mass persuasion this entire century, and before.
But it became scientific during the wars, and especially in the 1950's with the Korean "brainwashing" experiments.
Since then its gotten a million times more effective and subtle.

So yes, study the techniques.

One doubts the US intelligence cares about SGI, as there are many many groups like SGI around.
SGI is not unique.
There is not one single thing SGI does to people that is original.
Its all copied from other sects, groups and cults in a hodgepodge.

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jlynneda63
I would like to understand more of the actual techniques used in controlling & brainwashing. Up to Anticults post about Japan I heard it but couldn't see how their was intent behind it. Do the so called "leaders" in Japan get together & devise these systems? After them, does anyone else have the same intent? Or r they all sheep just doing as told? I wonder if there is anyone in our country's intelligence service that is concerned with SGI? Maybe they don't think it has the power to do "real" damage! What do u call this?

Most of the people at the bottom of SGI do not know anything about the Tech being used on them.
they are too busy chanting and working for no pay.

But the real leaders of SGI and SGI-USA, of course they know all about the Tech being used, and how to do it.
They are probably self-righteous about it, and feel the ends justifies the means.

But guaranteed Ikeda is a cynic, and looks down on all the sheeple, who need to be kept busy with work work work and to not think, and just chant chant chant.
There is no chance that Ikeda "chants" for many years. He was simply a businessman and profiteer.

It might be better to speak of Ikeda in the past now, as SGI seem to have him on ice.
Someone else is running the show now.

Thanks again for more info to understand. The difference with the SGI though is the billions of dollars. Their relation to Korea,& the,fact that I watched a piece on SGI & China's willingness to work with Ikeda,to. keep the population in control. I saw a very interesting video on utube by some Japanese shogan warrior who hates Ikeda & seems to have alot of information about what the Chinese premier was confering with Ikeda about. I watched it when I quit & didn't think about it until u said we wouldn't b interested since there are other cults. Makes me wonder though....errr

Thanks for your answers! I feel I think I am getting a handle on this.

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Hitch
If you tell non-gakkai Japanese people (i.e., normal people) that you are a gakkai member, they will be shocked and may forever view you a bit differently. The gakkai's reputation in Japan, is shot completely to hell.

Every once in a while someone at a meeting will bring up the fact that Ikeda gets slammed on a regular basis in the Japanese press. In the 80's I remember my young naive mind thinking, "But why would they attack such a nice and good man?" The members' explanation for this was always the same: "They're just jealous of Sensei and want to tear him down!" Since the Soka Gakkai is heavily involved in politics, I'm sure some of the negative press may be due to bias and partisanship. But where there's smoke there's fire, and when it involves Ikeda, there seems to be an awful lot of smoke. If chanting's so powerful, why can't the members chant that particularly annoying problem away? It's gotta be easier than trying to chant something like cancer away, I would think.

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TheVoid
I also remember the claims of people beating illness by Chanting, the book 'The Buddha in daily life' even mentions somebodies futile fight against aids as some kind of victory. But in our area there was a family who lost a child at a very young age, they chanted for the lost child, no one questioned why chanting hadn't worked in the first place to save it.

Whenever someone that the members are chanting for dies, they roll out the standard comforting lines: "He/she will be reborn into much better circumstances," "He/she completed their mission," "He/she surely gained enlightenment and/or changed their karma," etc. If someone with an illness lives longer than expected, they love to point out that chanting prolonged their life. However, those folks were most often extremely ill and therefore experienced a lot of pain and suffering. Why you would want to prolong that is beyond me.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2012 03:18PM by SGBye.

I think human beings innately want certainty. Because life can be so fraught with worries, anxiety, illnesses, just plain sad and bad things, people instinctively want a life raft they can depend on.

The SGI Frames for illness, for example...one frame for when a member does all the right things and then is able to overcome their illness---Yay!!! Victory!!! There ya go--Actual Proof!!!

Another frame for when death comes to call, regardless of the practice of a member. Just like what was said here! "They have completed their mission!", "They will be reborn with better circumstances!"....

Not to mention major tragedies. David Aoyama on AA Flight 11 the morning of 9/11. Only 48 years old. In an experience given by one of his children, it had been related to his family that during a cell phone call from a passenger on the plane to their loved one, chanting, or what sounded like it, was heard in the background.

Not ever knowing Mr. Aoyama, I'll take it that he was chanting very sincerely and seriously those final moments.

He did not make it.

SGI did not seem to know how to handle that. There was a memorial article in the WT, but you could sense from the tone that they just wanted to do "the right thing", put it out there, and then mention it no more.

So, where was the actual proof with Mr. Aoyama's experience? That is not what people generally want to hear, when they try to believe 100%. SGI cannot handle Bad Things, in my estimation. The sad truths of life do not generate shakabuku revenues for the SGI.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2012 04:24AM by Shavoy.

I've asked leaders before about long-time members dying in tragic circumstances. The answer I always got was "None of us really know what their practice was like." In other words, these leaders were implying that maybe these members weren't really the strong members they appeared to be and therefore didn't receive the "protection" that a truly strong member would've received. I would think that that assertion would be downright insulting to their practicing loved ones. So it's never the religion's fault; there's never even a hint of "Hmmm, maybe chanting isn't all it's cracked up to be." You're right, Shavoy: If you cheat death, hurray for chanting! If you die, you probably weren't doing it right.


I've mentioned this previously, but look at the deaths of Pascual and Angela Olivera, the flamenco dancers that the SGI loved to trot out. Angela died suddenly only 3 years after Pascual succumed to a long-fought battle with cancer. Her death was just swept under the rug because, I believe, their story just ended too tragically. I knew many hardcore SGI-ers who had no idea that Angela passed away - and these people live, breathe, eat and sleep SGI.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2012 05:09AM by SGBye.

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SGBye
I've asked leaders before about long-time members dying in tragic circumstances. The answer I always got was "None of us really know what their practice was like." In other words, these leaders were implying that maybe these members weren't really the strong members they appeared to be and therefore didn't receive the "protection" that a truly strong member would've received. I would think that that assertion would be downright insulting to their practicing loved ones. So it's never the religion's fault; there's never even a hint of "Hmmm, maybe chanting isn't all it's cracked up to be." You're right, Shavoy: If you cheat death, hurray for chanting! If you die, you probably weren't doing it right.


I've mentioned this previously, but look at the deaths of Pascual and Angela Olivera, the flamenco dancers that the SGI loved to trot out. Angela died suddenly only 3 years after Pascual succumed to a long-fought battle with cancer. Her death was just swept under the rug because, I believe, their story just ended too tragically. I knew many hardcore SGI-ers who had no idea that Angela passed away - and these people live, breathe, eat and sleep SGI.

You can add me to the list, SGBye...I did not know that Ms. Olivera had passed on, until your post just now. She also died suddenly, as well? From what I read from their experiences, both Pascual and Angela poured their hearts and souls into the SGI. It seemed very sincere. Yes, they were trotted out a lot, in front of The Man many times, of course.

How could they explain this, you are right, SGBye. It could never be the religion's fault--oh, no!! As for the answer you got all the time: "None of us really know what their practice was like." Oh, please! PLEASE!

Good lord, they cannot give certainty! And they want so badly to appear that way. So badly.