The technique of the Guru becoming "ONE" with the follower, is a very well studied and refined technique in influence and control.
It is proven that a persons self-image, or self-concept is central to their psychological functioning.
So the Guru's know that if they can insert the Guru or "Install The Guru" into people's minds, they can then have massive influence over the person. They can even almost totally control the person. This is all well-studied.
And every Guru on earth, carefully studies the literature on exactly how to do this.

Royal Way, install the Guru Michael [forum.culteducation.com]
SYDA, Install the guru in the body meditation [forum.culteducation.com]

All the same techniques are used by Byron Katie, Sai Baba and basically every other Guru out there these days.

They literally want to insert and install the image of the Guru deep into the psyche of the follower. If they do it emotionally, and with repetition over months and years, the Guru tends to dominate their consciousness of the follower.
The make it more powerful with regular meetings, photo's, videos, writings, and chanting, and anything else they can think of.

They want to implant the Guru deep into the mind of the followers, and encourage people to "dream" about the Guru. Sai Baba does that, by using HUGE images of himself at local meetings.
Ikeda also used the crude massive images of himself at earlier rallies, which was taken from the Stalinist "brainwashing" system. Literally.
SGI is full of these influence techniques, from top to bottom. They started out quite crudely, but have now refined it to a great degree.

So those rallies where they are emotionally chanting about Ikeda, and commanding to become ONE with Ikeda, and "protect" him, are very clever. You do that to people 1000x, and Ikeda will begin to dominate the mind of that follower.
Its all done deliberately, and carefully. That is one aspect of SGI that has not been properly analyzed and explained yet.

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The Anticult
SGI is full of these influence techniques, from top to bottom. They started out quite crudely, but have now refined it to a great degree.

Its all done deliberately, and carefully. That is one aspect of SGI that has not been properly analyzed and explained yet.

What would a person in some group look out for then, Anticult? What are the danger signs?

Clearly, one is language that suggests that you become one with the guru, or leader, especially if it's repetitive -- suggesting this again and again.

Many SGI members that I knew had pictures of Ikeda in their homes, often near their altar. This just felt creepy to me too, like he was watching us when we chanted.

What else should people watch out, or listen for?

Dear Rothaus:

sgiusa is the password. Actually it is up to date and from this October [or September 2009]. We are winning. The message is out there. Many things about the SGI disturbs me. They have taken something noble which produced Shakyamuni Buddha, Nagarjuna, Vasubandu, Tientai, the Borabodur pyramid, Saicho, Nichiren Daishonin, and countless martyr's and appropriated it for something base and shallow.

After reading this, they might retort, "We ceaselessly chant for the happiness of the members and the spread of Nam Myoho renge kyo. Nothing is more noble." However, as we see, their actual words and actions belie their prayers. While chanting and spreading Namu Myoho renge kyo with their mouths, they are chanting and spreading Namu Daisaku Ikeda with their hearts and minds. They are spreading not the Supreme Law but some inferior teaching. Were it not for the Law of the Buddha, they would be nothing. Were it not for the Lotus Sutra (Myoho renge kyo), there would be no Daisaku Ikeda. Were it not for Shakyamuni Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin and the martyr's who preserved and protected Namu Myoho renge kyo there would be no Soka Gakkai. The reality is that by turning Buddhism into a money making personality cult, they trample on the Law, the Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, the Lotus Sutra and the martyr's of the Nichiren faith.

Nichijew

Nichijew, that's just it. It's despicable how Ikeda and his buddies are twisting and abusing Buddhism to further their own wealth and power.

From the Cult Awareness and Information Centre website www.culthelpinfo.org

Political bribery and violations of nonprofit organization regulations:

-------------------------------Beginning of quote---------------------------------------------

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)

(Translator's note: This is a translation of the Japanese, and is not a verbatim quote directly from the 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. As may be expected, they had many political problems, such as trouble over buying the land for the site of the Los Angeles branch of Soka University. The aim of the political contributions was to receive accommodations over these problems."

Mr. Steve Gore has very interesting testimony about political contributions. "It was the end of 1971, Christmas night, I think. Williams and I visited the municipal mansion of Mayor Sam Yoty with a political contribution. The purpose was to request that Ikeda receive the title of Honorary Citizen and to request approval for a planned parade down Wilshire Boulevard, a principal city street, when NSA held its nation-wide general meeting in April the following year. I waited outside the room, but when Williams came out, he laughed, saying, 'Steve, it's OK. Everything depends on money.' The impression I received from that remains with me."
-------------------------End of Quote-----------------------------------------------

Yep. Noble Buddhist philosophy -- "Everything depends on the money."

This is from the International Cultic Studies Association website

www.icsahome.com, 1991

----------------------------Beginning of Quote-----------------------------------------

Soka Gakkai

Soka Gakkai [the Japan-based politico-religious movement operating in the U.S. as Nichiren Shoshu] is suspected of benefiting from the connections of former Interior Department official Lou Gallegos by the inclusion in a House bill of language prohibiting use of federal funds to purchase the Soka group's vast California acreage. Local conservationist groups and the National Park Service want the government to buy the land and keep it undeveloped. Gallegos, formerly right-hand-man to the Secretary of the Interior, and now a consultant to Soka, says his only role in the matter is in "developing strategies" for his client. (From "Tempest Brewing," Washington Times, 9/25, A6.) [The Washington Times is owned by the Unification church.]

------------------------End of Quote----------------------------------------------------------

What, the Unification Church is criticizing SGI now? That's the pot calling the kettle black!

SGI's activities in France, from Cult Awareness and Information Centre www.culthelpinfo.org

France has declared SGI a dangerous cult. Maybe this is why.

----------------------Beginning of Quote------------------------------------------------

What does VSD have to do with Soka Gakkai?

The acronym VSD, (pronounced vah-ess-day), which stands for Vendredi-Saraedi-Dimanche (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), is a racy scandal magazine (with an unusually large volume of stories on Japan) published by a Paris-based media group. In August. it was revealed that the VSD general director, Jean-Pierre Canat, is a high-level official of Soka Gakkai International France, and that the media group's companies have been used by the sect to penetrate French political circles.

The charges, published in the weekly L'Evenement du Jeudi (EDJ), go much further: They allege that Canat may be linked to a break-in and eavesdropping at the EDJ offices, and that France's counterintelligence service suspects Soka Gakkai of having been engaged in espionage.

In an article titled Ombre Japonaise (Japanese Shadow), EDJ investigative reporter Serge Faubert explained that four auditors are currently reviewing the invoices of VSD to untangle Canat's web of financial dealings. When questioned by Faubert, the VSD president- general director, Francois Siegal, claimed the audit was ordered because Canat had led a high-flying lifestyle and became mired in debt. But it appears that the probe is being driven by France's counterintelligence service. It should be noted that the Aug. 17-23 issue in which Faubert's article appeared, and an earlier one exposing SGI-F, have mysteriously disappeared from the few Japanese libraries that stock French periodicals. The Weekly obtained a copy overseas.

The spying charges against Soka Gakkai International France, which claims 152000 members, were further detailed in a recent issue of the Shukan Bunshun. Quoting the newspaper Le Parisien, it reported that a secret network of Soka Gakkai operatives allegedly infiltrated the Mitsubishi group offices in Paris, which were used as cover for intelligence operations. It did not specify whether the secret agents were corporate employees sent from Japan or local hires, or a combination of both.

According to Le Parisien, the sect also tried to purchase a site next to one of France's most sensitive nuclear-research facilities. According to the Bunshun, the sect's spying had the support of Japan's diplomatic corps, specifically two former ambassadors of Japan to France, Akitane Kiuchi and Yoshihiro Nakayama.

In December 1992, Soka Gakkai-France pressed a libel suit against the newspaper Le Parisien in a Paris court for publishing charges that SGI-F agents had conducted nuclear spying. Nakayama filed a deposition as both an individual and a Japanese government official on behalf of the plaintiff, Soka Gakkai. He attested to its peace-loving principles and record of good works overseas.

Kiuchi, a former political secretary to the late Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka (who was linked to Soka Gakkai donations, in the book Tanaka Kakuei: Godfather of Japan, by Hirotatsu Fujiwara), joined the Foreign Ministry, and served as ambassador to Thailand and Malaysia before his appointment as envoy to France. He filed an affidavit certifying SGI's morals in November 1992, just four months after leaving his ambassadorial post.

Le Parisian won the libel case in lower court; Soka Gakkai, aided by the government officials' affidavits, managed to have the verdict overturned at the district level. In the near future, the case will be heard by France's Supreme Court, which will likely hear new evidence from the counterintelligence probe.

The sect's boldest intiative in France, according to Faubert of EDJ, has been its penetration of the human-rights group France-Libertes, led by Danielle Mitterrand. The Mitterrand affair started in 1988, when Kiuchi served as ambassador to Paris. In that year, an EDJ investigative team was tipped by an architect who complained that she had been cheated out of first prize in an architectural contest sponsored by the Mission of the Bicentennial of the French Revolution. The architect charged that Jean Pierre Canat had used his position with the VSD to influence the outcome, in revenge for her past criticisms against Soka Gakkai-France.

The subsequent media investigation revealed the sect's widespread use of bilateral cultural fronts to develop links with academic and political circles. The VSD opened the gates to the Bicentennial Mission, but it was just one of many stepping-stones for Soka Gakkai to political influence in Paris.
---------------------End of Quote-----------------------------------------------------

Hmmm....SGI using cultural organizations to develop links in academic and political circles. Where have we heard this before?

Hi Tsukimoto

I think this report from France is very old though, SGI-F has been deletd from the list of dangerous cults meanwhile - at least to my knowledge. It would be interesting to read of a follow up.

It is hard to find accurate up to date information on the cult because of their money, influence, and high level diplomacy. They, to a large extent, control the media, the sociologists, and to some extent, even entire governments. Don't forget, they are a medium small country with the assets of a medium large country and have a strong, dedicated, and efficient bureaucracy. I don't remember who said it but until some high level Soka leaders come forward with the details, internal workings, discussions, and memos of the organization [like Mr. Yano who, hopefully, will soon publish his personal notes that were ordered returned to him by the Japanese courts], or until they screw up royally [like with the safe incident], we only see and hear what they want us to see and hear. However, they can't disguise the reality of their religious doctrines, religious activities, and worship of Ikeda. It is here where I focus my attention. I must commend everyone here on their detective work regarding the SGI finances. I am surprised it hasn't brought down upon you, the wrath of Soka. I think, your findings need to be published all over the internet and a final report distributed to the media and the members of the SGI.

Nichi

Quote
Rothaus
Hi Tsukimoto

I think this report from France is very old though, SGI-F has been deletd from the list of dangerous cults meanwhile - at least to my knowledge. It would be interesting to read of a follow up.

Many of the articles that I quoted are old; some were from the 1990's. I still think that they are relevant, because they show readers what SGI is capable of. The Ogasawara Incident, where a young Daisaku Ikeda and a group of Young Men's Division Members, beat up an elderly priest with President Toda's encouragement, happened in the 1950's. Yet, that incident just demonstrates very clearly what SGI really was, even then -- SGI's ruthlessness, contempt for the priests, -- that whole SGI mindset: "Destroy anyone that the SGI leaders say is an enemy." If you look at that one incident -- then the whole bitter SGI/Nichiren Shoshu split is predictable, inevitable.

Also striking to me, is that even in the 1990's, my SGI leaders completely rationalized that violent attack. They completely accepted the notion that Ikeda, Toda and this mob of young men were entirely reasonable in violently attacking this elderly, lone man. They were surprised that I would even question it! That was appalling to me.

What all these old articles say is that SGI is willing to do ANYTHING to achieve their ends -- violence, tax fraud, framing members for leaders' crimes, espionage, deceit, bribery of politicians, and harassment. They consider themselves above the law. Anything that Ikeda does -- the members will rationalize it as acceptable, even good. This was true in the past. The best predictor of a person, or group's future behavior -- is how it, or they behaved in the past. SGI and its leadership has not done one thing that indicates that they've reflected on their previous actions. They've shown no remorse or repentance to those individuals they've harmed. They remain as closed and arrogant as ever.

Nichijew, have I brought the wrath of Soka upon myself? Well, I haven't found any dead cats on my front porch lately. The local SGI Househusbands Association has not made any calls urging my husband to divorce me. Harassing me would be rather useless, in the long run. It would make SGI look bad, and I never knew enough to be a threat to the organization, anyway. What I know, any idiot with a computer and internet access can find out.

Thomas McCord, Steve Gore, and Frank Ross were at least midlevel SGI leaders, and were willing to be quoted in the Cult Awareness and Information Centre's articles. They knew, and were willing to be quoted on, information that could be damaging to SGI. I greatly respect their courage -- and I wonder what's become of them.

Given SGI's immense power and wealth, what can we expect to accomplish on this thread? If every SGI member quit tomorrow, Ikeda would still possess incredible riches -- and the power to go with them. We can't change that. What we can do, is at least stop feeding the monster. People have written into this thread, saying that they'd considered joining SGI -- and they've reconsidered, since reading the information on Rick Ross's site. I'm glad for that, that decent, sincere, seeking people will be spared experiences like Nichijew's, Von's, Gingermarie's, Obsidian's, Quiet One's (and many others). That they won't have to lose money and years of their lives to the greater glory of Ikeda.

Quote
Nichijew
I must commend everyone here on their detective work regarding the SGI finances. I am surprised it hasn't brought down upon you, the wrath of Soka. I think, your findings need to be published all over the internet and a final report distributed to the media and the members of the SGI.

Nichi

SGI knows they can't do a damn thing because its all true. Soka can't argue with the facts or basic critical thinking.
That is why these sects all attack critical thinking, because basic thinking skills literally can bring their entire house of cards down on their heads.

But to get the word out, all one has to do is to post LINKS to the relevant threads and posts in various SGI message boards, blogs, Tweets, and anywhere else.
Just posting 2 links a day a few days a week by a handful of people, and in a few months its everywhere.

Along with the links just include many natural keywords spelled out in full, as they are all indexed by Google. Cross-post and links.

Everyone knows how to post links, right? Like this one to page 1 of this thread.
Former SGI members [forum.culteducation.com]