CULTural festivals were an alternative universe of insanity, manipulating emotions and brainwashing in high gear.

Shakubuku campaigns were times of high member pressure and power displays. Every district was competing against each other, every chapter competing against other chapters, headquarters against headquarters and territories against territories - just like some kind of a sporting contest. In the end, all that mattered was the cult org. reporting its inflated (padded) numbers to the motherland and The Dear Leader.

Street shakubuku, zadankai meetings and dragging prospectives out to the local temple for "Gojukai" headcounts.

All the vows everyone took at "Gojukai" were thrown to the wind. They vows meant everything when the cult org. wanted them to, then later meant nothing when the cult org. needed them to.

If we weren't talking about people's lives and minds, I'd be tempted to say, "what a joke!" Sadly, the "joke" was / and is on all of us manipulated former and current cult org. members.

I believe The Dear Leader has said "FAITH is a wonderful thing!"

Yes, I agree. A wonderful manipulation tool.


- Hitch



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 02:32PM by Hitch.

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TaitenAndProud

Hey, remember how every August used to be Shakubuku Month, and we'd be expected to state a numerical goal for how many people we planned to "help get gohonzon"? I always hated that - referred to it as "body count." How could I possibly know whether this practice would fit someone else's life or not?? One time, my YWD Chapter Chief came over with this Japanese girl I'd never seen before in tow. Japanese girl couldn't speak but about 12 words of English. When I expressed my concerns about "body count", she said something like, "Shakubuku...people...makes them happy!" Yeah, okay hon. Whatever *eye roll* It always struck me as fundamentally disrespectful, to declare a goal of how many people we would convince to want to change to be more like us.

It's classic SGI 'double speak'. Where I practiced in the UK there were members who didn't like the constant campaigns trying to get more members. But if anyone expressed the idea that this was a numbers game they were always told that they didn't understand the 'spirit' of the campaign, and it was about people becoming happy. They were made out to be narrow minded people who didn't understand the heart of Sensei.

A couple of years back there was a big campaign to get 10,000 members in the UK based on this idea of people becoming happy. I don't remember seeing much growth in the area I was practising, new people would come and go whilst the same core group remained. I think for a long time we were between 6,000 and 8,000. All year, there were the same arguments, with some of the older members raising objections about the campaign being a numbers game whilst the leaders would say it was all about kosen rufu. At some point (I think November) it looked like the target wasn't going to be reached and we were all encouraged to go for it with shakabuku, mini meetings, dialogues, etc, etc,. Then, miraculously towards the end of the year I attended a meeting where we were told that we had finally exceeded the 10,000 member target. The theory was that 10,000 members was a critical mass and would now lead to further sustainable growth. I would be very interested to look at the figures for today and find out what happened to those extra members.

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I might if I knew nothing of the history and prophetic nature of the Mahayana Mahaparanirvana Sutra which was composed 800 years before the Muslims and Rajputs slaughtered 20,000,000 pacifistic Buddhists in India. The passages cited by Nichiren derive from this Sutra. Is "never again" a philosophy only appropriate for the Jewish people? Had the Buddhists of the Middle Ages taken to heart the passages from the Mahayana Mahaparanirvana Sutra, the third most horrific holocaust in the history of the world [after Stalin's slaughter of his own people and Mao's Cultural Revolution] might not have occurred. The priests and laymen of the other sects were not much better than the Muslims and Rajputs in persecuting Nichiren and his nascient group of believers. What should Nichiren have told the Regent, "Why don't you let the Zen, Tendai, and Pure Land monks and laybelievers continue to persecute me and my disciples?"

Nichijew

Let me make sure that I understand you. Are you saying that the government should decide which religions can and cannot exist within society? Please correct me if I am wrong.

If this is a correct understanding of your position, what criteria should the government use in deciding which religions should be allowed? Shall we give up our right to free assembly, and our right to freedom of conscience? Obviously, free speech rights have to go straight out the window. So on whose authority should the government decide which religions are permissible?

Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion is Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Here are the particulars:

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.

2. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Should these *not* be human rights?

Again, who makes the decisions, and on whose authority?

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I might if I knew nothing of the history and prophetic nature of the Mahayana Mahaparanirvana Sutra which was composed 800 years before the Muslims and Rajputs slaughtered 20,000,000 pacifistic Buddhists in India. Nichijew

Oddly, I can't find any references to the massacre(s) to which you refer.

Given that the Nirvana Sutra (that's what that big long name is referring to) was written no earlier than the 2nd Century CE, you must be talking about ca. 900 or 1000 CE. I cannot find any evidence of what you mention - the sources I have found cite the hostility of the Hindu priestly caste, the Brahmans, as the cause of the decline of Buddhism in India. In India, most Buddhists practiced from within monasteries during this time. Please link me to a source so that I can educate myself on this horrific massacre, which pretty much rivals the results of Stalin's purges during the last century. Strange that I've never heard of this. Please straighten me out.

Also, can you guarantee that, if, in Japan, the government had complied with Nichiren's demand to institute fascism and make him and his preferred religion the only game in town, that this would have changed the situation of the pacifist Buddhists in India, or would have changed Japan's course of development into the modern, mostly atheist, most societally healthy world superpower it is today?

Interestingly, I have found sources claiming that there has been a recent resurgence of Buddhist belief within India, partly due to the influence of the Dalai Lama, about whom you apparently have nothing nice to say, since, as you claim, he was born with "a platinum spoon in his mouth." How 'bout that?

Finally, the story about Shakyamuni Buddha's own clan, the Shakyas, is that they embraced his pacifist teachings to the point that, when they were attacked by rival clans, the Shakyas were *completely* wiped out. Was that wrong of them? Even if they had fought back, they would have ended up dead in the end. "On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero."

How does it advance the causes of peace and nonviolence to execute everyone who doesn't agree with you?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 02:49AM by TaitenAndProud.

What should Nichiren have told the Regent, "Why don't you let the Zen, Tendai, and Pure Land monks and laybelievers continue to persecute me and my disciples?"

No, Nichiren should have told the regent, "Please put laws in place that protect everyone's right to practice whatever religion they choose." Obviously!

I'm astonished that equal protection under the law appears to be such a foreign concept to you. Are you a time traveler from Medieval times??

It sounds like Nichiren was just mad because he didn't have enough of a following to persecute those other sects as he would have liked to. Also, I recommend a grain of salt with regard to Nichiren's reports of "persecution" - he used those same claims of "persecution" as evidence that HE was the First and Best Buddha, the only REAL Buddha. The fact that he is citing these "incidents" as "proof" that he's basically jesus should make anyone suspicious of the validity of his claims.

We only have HIS side of the story, after all.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the proper response to "These other sects have government endorsement and they've been mean to me" is *NOT* "Give all their government endorsement to ME instead and now, government, go do REALLY mean stuff to them! Kill them! They've been mean to me - they deserve it!!"

That's not Buddhist. It's childish and vindictive. Certainly not worthy of a modern person's loyalty.

Two wrongs do not make a right. The Buddha taught that violence can only be overcome with love, a lesson that Nichiren, the self-proclaimed "First and Best Buddha" apparently missed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 08:59AM by TaitenAndProud.

On the topic of the $oka Gakkai International Cult Org. spreading to other countries ripe for its growth, here's an excerpt from a Thailand YWD (national) "leader":

"Weerawan Wongsoophalert, who was visiting Japan for an SGI training course, was also present at this historical gathering. She was able to fulfill her long-awaited wish of meeting Mr. Ikeda two days before at the Headquarters leaders meeting. Deeply moved by the hope and trust Mr. Ikeda shared with the members, she pledged to repay her debt of gratitude to her mentor for the rest of her life."

"'Sensei is always in my heart!' Ms. Weerawan says with a big smile."

****

The cult org. likes to frame every Dear Leader visit / event / meeting as an "historical" gathering (some more so, than others). International cult members are chosen from their respective countries, based on their cult org. position and devotion specifically to Ikeda, to attend a "training course." Remember, "training course" (much like The now defunct Malibu "Training" Center) is a euphemism for thought reform / brainwashing. Case in point, notice her "long awaited wish" and especially her pledge until the day she dies.

A bit over the top no doubt, but standard propaganda fare within cult org..

Following their "training course" in the cult org. motherland, they then return to their home countries, energized, ready to spread the word harder than before and "lead" other members to "happiness" --> The Dear Leader. They fulfill their "mission" for the cult org., are eventually rewarded in some form (promoted or graduated to other divisions) and a "new" up and coming young (naive and malleable) cult "leader" is selected, brought forward and the process repeated.

For anyone that attends Cousin Rufus gongyos with the satellite meetings featuring The Dear Leader, you can often see groups of these people in specified sections, pushed to the front (in closer physical proximity to The Dear Leader) for the cameras. They are also subtly coached before the events to show a lot of enthusiasm or "gratitude" to "Sensei" and appreciate their "immense fortune" for being in attendance of such meetings. It's even brainwashed into them that how close they actually get to Ikeda (or the ultimate, a handshake) is all determined by their mystical good fortune, faith and karmic relationship in life. These are only the meetings that are filmed, just think of how intense it gets behind closed doors without the cameras. This was all of course when The Dear Leader could actually ambulate and speak normally (pre-2010? or so), but is now all put on hold, while re-edited reruns are played for the membership - framing The Dear Leader passing on the baton to the "YOUTH!" in his "aging" (not sick, mind you) final years.

The Cult Org. = Deception & Manipulation 101. Is it all so difficult to see? The answer is, "if you are brainwashed", "Yes."

(By the way, trainees return from their trip with lots of trinkets and cheap-o gifts. Every pencil, souvenir, calendar, gakkai cult flag, juzu bead case, notebook, lunchbox they eat or bottled drink they have while there, every single thing is prefaced with the statement "This is from 'Sensei'". Just like an invisible father or Santa Claus, watching over their entire visit, to the smallest detail.)



- Hitch



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 02:27PM by Hitch.

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Hitch
Deeply moved by the hope and trust Mr. Ikeda shared with the members, she pledged to repay her debt of gratitude to her mentor for the rest of her life."

(By the way, trainees return from their trip with lots of trinkets and cheap-o gifts. Every pencil, souvenir, calendar, gakkai cult flag, juzu bead case, notebook, lunchbox they eat or bottled drink they have while there, every single thing is prefaced with the statement "This is from 'Sensei'". Just like an invisible father or Santa Claus, watching over their entire visit, to the smallest detail.)



- Hitch

This is just so true. As a new member I was deeply impressed by the stories of the trainees who returned home and reported with an enthusiastic glance about how well organized the whole trip was. And Sensei his lordliness who takes care to the smallest detail (yeah you are controlled by the Well-oiled Watchdog Division what else), I'm seriously asking myself how could adults just like you and me feel that kind of guilt for the reject of a cheap pencil or a gakkai kansai spirit cult flag? The pledge to repay my dept of gratitude to an ugly japanese toad ( sure not living in a stinky font) for the rest of my life? No. Maybe I have a crack in my childhood from being somehow neglected or come from a dysfunctional family, all the circumstances that make us vulnerable for the cults catch. One thing I know for sure, Ikea is not Santa Clause, cause Santa Clause is the more charming and brings the more golden gifts.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 04:52PM by sixtyseven.

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The cult org. likes to frame every Dear Leader visit / event / meeting as an "historical" gathering (some more so, than others). International cult members are chosen from their respective countries, based on their cult org. position and devotion specifically to Ikeda, to attend a "training course." Remember, "training course" (much like The now defunct Malibu "Training" Center) is a euphemism for thought reform / brainwashing. Case in point, notice her "long awaited wish" and especially her pledge until the day she dies.

This was all of course when The Dear Leader could actually ambulate and speak normally (pre-2010? or so), but is now all put on hold, while re-edited reruns are played for the membership - framing The Dear Leader passing on the baton to the "YOUTH!" in his "aging" (not sick, mind you) final years.

(By the way, trainees return from their trip with lots of trinkets and cheap-o gifts. Every pencil, souvenir, calendar, gakkai cult flag, juzu bead case, notebook, lunchbox they eat or bottled drink they have while there, every single thing is prefaced with the statement "This is from 'Sensei'". Just like an invisible father or Santa Claus, watching over their entire visit, to the smallest detail.)

Oh, yes, I remember all that! Ugh! So Ikeda's declined into decrepitude? Has he gone senile/dementia? Stroke? I haven't seen anything of him in so many years...

And I remember how we were all exhorted about how every little detail of whatever was always and only because of Sensei's concern for us. I never bought it. That's the problem with laying it on too thick - you run the risk of overplaying your hand. Which the Gakkai does. Routinely.

Given how the SGI likes to say "Follow the Law, not the Person", I always thought their insistence on Ikeda's prominence was inconsistent at best, if not outright hypocritical. But, then again, Nichiren's religion is full of internal contradictions - Buddhism states clearly that "attachments cause suffering", but make sure you continue chanting NMRK until the last moment of your life! Yeah!! Go attachments! WOO HOO!!

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The cult org. likes to frame every Dear Leader visit / event / meeting as an "historical" gathering (some more so, than others). International cult members are chosen from their respective countries, based on their cult org. position and devotion specifically to Ikeda, to attend a "training course." Remember, "training course" (much like The now defunct Malibu "Training" Center) is a euphemism for thought reform / brainwashing. Case in point, notice her "long awaited wish" and especially her pledge until the day she dies.

Hey! Whatever happened to the Malibu Training Center?? Was it replaced by the Florida Nature and Culture Center? Is that one still going?

I know that it is verboten to make jokes and comedy of Ikeda. Found that funny pic on the net and wanted to share with you. Sensei standing on his Malibu lawn?