What's "Kayo-kai" supposed to mean??

I think my tenure with the SGI might have been *much* shorter if all that disgusting singing had still been the norm. When I joined, the songs were being phased out. I can only remember perhaps a handful of group/district meetings where the attendees sang "Forever Sensei" (no musical accompaniment) - so embarrassing! Oh, sure, a new song would sometimes "emerge from the earth" *ahem* from time to time, like that one "What Can I Do, America?" from that SGI musical professional stage show (they've done away with those as well, I guess). In fact, for my 20+ years in the organization, the song most sung, in my experience, was this one: [www.youtube.com] It's a nice enough song - not a *word* about Ikeda Sensei in there, you'll notice!

Oh, say, this is a good time to retell a favorite story. "Back in my day, things were different, sonny - you young whippersnappers get offa my lawn!" Anyhow, I was going through a box of Kotekitai stuff ("YWD Fife and Drum Corps" - nice militaristic title, isn't it?) and I found a typed sheet telling about how, in honor of forming the YWD Fife and Drum Corps, President Ikeda had created a brand-new instrument, the fife!

[www.calwatchdog.com]

^ That instrument on the right was *OBVIOUSLY* something else O_O

I brought this to the attention of my then-YWD HQ leader, the one who had had the unfortunate task of taking over from the previous decades-long YWD leader, and she just kind of rolled her eyes and sighed and threw it out.

When was there this resurgence of "Forever Sensei"/AAO-type "pep rally" kind of thing?

Quote
Hitch
I see that Kaneko (Mrs. Dear Leader) is now "officially" included as part of the Kool-Aid ingredients (this was never the case when I was in).

Yes this had been the case when I was in. I guess you can say it's the face they might want to show especially to the women already in and those interested in joining. Assuming you're not a woman maybe that is why you never heard much mention. Either that or it wasn't the way it was when you were in. It sort of takes attention away from the fact it's a one pony show and that women actually matter. Right.

Another thing they're doing that seems to be different to your experience is that gays are allowed. Since I am not gay, I don't know if they try to convert them to be straight or not. However, it would be interesting to know.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2013 09:26AM by sleepy skunk.

Back in the day - and I heard this from several people recounting their personal experiences, gay people were expected to present themselves as straight. If they aspired to leadership positions, they had to marry. Someone of the opposite gender. When I joined Minneapolis Headquarters in 1987, the St. Paul Headquarters' MD HQ leader was a very obviously gay black man. He had been "married" to this butch dyke lesbian who also was a leader (chapter, I think). At this point, 1987, they were divorced, but they had been pressured to marry some years before. When it came down that leaders were allowed to be unmarried (or something), they divorced right off - this took place sometime before 1988, when I first got to know them.

Another man, high-level national leader, gay, was telling about how his own leaders pressured him to marry. He found a woman who would go along with it. THEN he was pressured to start a family! He told of a senior leader getting right in his face and screaming, "YOU HAVE TO HAVE SEX WITH YOUR WIFE!!" He divorced his wife at some point before the experience I heard. I guess in 1990, if you recall, President Ikeda made an "historic" visit (aren't the all??) to the US and changed a lot of policies. No more meetings every night of the week. MONTHLY discussion meetings instead of weekly. I remember my WD District leader, during our monthly planning meeting, saying, "So which nights do we want to have our discussion meetings on?" "Discussion meeting," I clarified. "We're supposed to have a single discussion meeting each month." "No, that's not true," she argued, "we can still have as many as we want! We're just free now to choose to only have one per month if that's what we decide." I had to call in our local pioneer who set her straight O_O

But back to the gay leader guy. During that 1990 meeting, he went out to dinner with President Ikeda and everybody. And was sitting at the same table with President Ikeda! President Ikeda went around the table, with something to say to or discuss with every man at the table (only men, naturally). Except him. Skipped him entirely! Later, he addressed him: "So. You married?" "No." "Any prospects?" "No." Then what Ikeda said surprised him: "We have a lot of people in Japan just like you. You need to live a happy life" or something like that. So in this leader's mind, he was able to somehow spin that (which sounds SCREAMINGLY insulting and homophobic to me!) into "President Ikeda acknowledges and respects me as a gay man O_O

If you were in the YMD, you were expected to be clean shaven. With short hair. ESPECIALLY if you were going to be a Soka!

Kayo-kai = Sun Flower Group (or music group). Just another manufactured label to create a special manipulation kool-aid group. Every group has its own brainwashing song.

"Forever Sensei", "Higher Than The Sky" were staples of all gakkai cult activities during my time in. There were other songs, but those two were the meat and bones of the brainwashing singing going on. I vaguely recall "What Can I Do America?" I think it might have coincided with the time period that I was slowly stepping back from the cult org.. My tolerance threshold for lots of the YMD and "YOUTH!" activities, the practice and especially some of the "leaders" had been surpassed.

The only time Kaneko (Mrs. Dear Leader) was ever mentioned during my time in, was maybe a couple of times. I remember one tale that had all the gakkai cult members giggling, something about how The Dear Leader was at some garden party and wanted more ice cream, so Kaneko stepped in to gently intercept it and remind her hubby that he didn't need it and should in fact be on a diet. No joke. I specifically recall this stupid story. IMO, a deliberate effort to include Kaneko in the gakkai cult story history archives was a decision made fairly recently, probably as an afterthought as Ikeda reached his twilight years. They have even created some kind of a hybrid flower and had it officially named after her, too (I've posted about it before).

There were gay members all around during my time in. It was never openly discussed amongst them or other members, but everyone knew who was gay (this went for both the YMD and the YWD). It was also understood that open displays of affection were a definite "No-No." Pascual Olivera was obviously a gay man, pretending to be straight. The one place that I saw most of the gay people all at once was during culture festival dance practices leading up to tozan. I don't mean to stereotype, but it did seem to me that a good many of the gay male members tended to gravitate toward the performing arts section of the cult org.. The Japanese WD always knew who each and every gay member was, probably even before some of them knew it about themselves. And, oh yeah, there were lots of whispers going on, too. In short, they knew your were gay, but you were supposed to pretend that you weren't, then everything would be OK. As is typical with the cult org., they shift positions when prevailing wind directions change, so they now "officially" embrace LGBT members:

[www.gakkaionline.net] = FNCC Cult Retreat embrace.

"Buddhism upholds equality and expounds supreme humanism. All human beings have equal rights. There is no difference whatsoever in their inherent dignity. So no matter what you may face, please live with pride, confidence and courage.... Please be true to yourself and live free, for you all embody the Mystic Law... I am praying from the bottom of my heart for your great happiness, peace and safety."
— March 8, 2001, Daisaku Ikeda

And, $oka Cult U. [www.youtube.com] embrace.

Sorry to have to point it out, [www.youtube.com] but, . . . . .

This current embrace of convenience, wasn't always the case in the gakkai cult org.. More cult org., Dear Leader, revised history for expedience purposes (more humans to manipulate, serve kool-aid to and shackle to the cult org.).


- Hitch

Oh, yeah, "Higher Than The Sky." Never did know all the words...

Quote

The only time Kaneko (Mrs. Dear Leader) was ever mentioned during my time in, was maybe a couple of times. I remember one tale that had all the gakkai cult members giggling, something about how The Dear Leader was at some garden party and wanted more ice cream, so Kaneko stepped in to gently intercept it and remind her hubby that he didn't need it and should in fact be on a diet. No joke. I specifically recall this stupid story. IMO, a deliberate effort to include Kaneko in the gakkai cult story history archives was a decision made fairly recently, probably as an afterthought as Ikeda reached his twilight years. They have even created some kind of a hybrid flower and had it officially named after her, too (I've posted about it before).

Never heard about the flower *eye roll* Those hybrids can easily be purchased. The only anecdote I remember about Kaneko Mrs. Dear Leader was her recounting that she always kept a calendar, and she would check her back copies and routinely greet him with, "It was 5 years ago today that we picked out new carpet..." or some such. So she says that made him think she had a formidable memory *eye roll*

In Minneapolis (very progressive area at that time), the gay YMD and YWD - and WD and MD, too, for that matter - were all "out". While our Japanese pioneer might have found it distasteful, the American members didn't seem to have any problem with it.

So Pascual Olivera was gay? I wondered... What about his beautiful "national treasure" Spanish wife? Fag hag supreme?? I remember when he had cancer. He was having chemo. Decided to end it early - said that his strong daimoku had eradicated the cancer and that his doctors had confirmed that "there wasn't a single cancer cell left" in his entire body! I was very discouraged to hear that. First of all, my brother in law is an oncologist, so I've verified my understanding with him. Cancer comes from *WITHIN* your body. It's not an infection like flu or strep. It comes from the malfunctioning of your own body's cells. And there's no way a doctor can scan every cell in your body - that's just stupid. So he and his wife danced for President Ikeda that New Year's Gongyo to celebrate his complete recovery...and he was dead, of cancer, 9 months later. Some victory. What would have happened if he'd gone ahead and finished his chemotherapy regime, without deluding himself that he could just *quit* right in the middle and say he was fine now?

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I don't mean to stereotype, but it did seem to me that a good many of the gay male members tended to gravitate toward the performing arts section of the cult org.

Heh - in North Carolina, the cult decided to put on a "show" - long and extremely boring story, this fat poverty borderline retarded girl I was trying to mentor (ugh) wanted to be in it. I was led to believe that she would be working with the guy in charge (quite the flamer - dancer, too, as it turns out) on putting together something appropriate. When she showed it to everyone, her dance clearly hadn't been "professionalized" at all. No one had worked with her. She herself had added some slow motion running across the stage - imagine a morbidly obese young teen lumbering around in front of everyone. It was bad. So then they said they weren't going to include her number. She was pissed. Felt entitled to be soloing onstage. UGH! So I managed to get her in with a youth dance group, only, like, 5 kids, so she could still be onstage and not ruin the whole thing. The guy in charge, mentioned earlier, said that they wanted this to be a really professional show, the sort of thing people would be willing to buy tickets to see. As usual, I think only gakkai people went... That guy did a dance number. It reminded me of Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants O_O

SGI'stance towars LGBT people appears to have been changing. Today they appear to be more accepting.

Whether, in private, LGBT people are still being told they will turn straight if they chant hard enough--we need more info from ex members who have left recently.

[forum.culteducation.com]

Quote

May 07, 2009 10:41PMjojaroyd
Date Added: 02/21/2009
Posts: 5 Re: Former SGI members
Quote:
tsukimoto

I wasn't the only one trapped in YWD or YMD -- a lot of the members in our area were gay, and so were not going to marry or have children. The guidance at the time was, of course, to chant more daimoku and do more shakabuku so that they'd become straight! That was before SGI realized that many gay members were very dedicated, willing to contribute lots of time and money to SGI -- so now, of course, SGI is all for diversity and tolerance.

What??? That's utterly ridiculous. I'm going to have to ask my parents about that. I am staunchly anti-homophobia.

Options: Reply To This Message Quote This Message
May 08, 2009 10:17AMRothaus
Date Added: 04/21/2009
Posts: 338 Re: Former SGI membersThinking of the diversity groups it just came to my mind, that it is actually quite an
antagonism to speak of any kind of diversity within SGI.
The only diversity that those GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) groups within SGI demonstrate is to openly show their sexual orientation – big deal.
There is nothing wrong with that (I am gay too), but in my opinion the GLBT movement or gay rights movement stands for a general diversity, accepting people as who and what they are – regardless of sexual orientation but it goes even further as this diversity also includes ethnic or religious backgrounds. At this point SGI’s utter religious intolerance kicks in again. It most be noted that the GLBT groups in most national SGI organisations are merely tolerated not acknowledged though.
So a GLBT–group within Soka Gakkai is a bit like having a rambling club within a prison.

Those are thoughts though that I am just now able to formulate. Being a member in a cult is just like being in a mental prison. One only looks at the world form an SGI/NST perspective and believing that the solution to the worlds problems lies within SGI and ONLY within SGI … when writing that it gives me the creeps a bit, because that’s what SGI is all about or not?
It beats me how people who basically have a rather liberal outlook on the world can so willingly give up their ability to accept criticism and even more criticise themselves.
The only critical issues that were raised within SGI was when SGI was able to prove its critics wrong – which is easily done when it concerns Japanese rainbow press articles.

It worries me that such an organisation can quite successfully seek official support and seal of approval. At the same time I do admit that one has to take a very close look to discover that SGI actually stands in contradiction to some cherished democratic values like freedom of speech, religious tolerance and the separation of church and state. Some SGI folks would now assiduously quote Nichiren when he attacked other sects of his time – if one reads the sources careful though (one should also consult none SGI/NST sources/translations) he in my opinion basically criticised the proximity of church and state and the corruption resulting form such an entanglement.
Certainly as a monk of his time he argued from a religious perspective but he focused on the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra to me is a prime example to accept people as what they are and treasure them – we call it human rights now. I do not want to get to deep in the matter but to many readers of this board bodhisattva Fukyo will ring a bell.
And for god’s sake, yes - this man lived in 13th century Japan and it shows some degree of ignorance to take each and every word literally, as it would be much more laborious to see what it might mean for us today.

As a born German the comparison I now make may seem over the top, but is it not also common for cults (just like fascism) to afterwards say - when everything went wrong –: 'we did not know …'. Sorry it will be a foul excuse – heard it to often.
If you allow someone to restrain your ability to judge then you have yourself to blame for that.

In some early posts on this thread we have this.

Quote

http://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?5,87661,page=15

Quote


May 10, 2009 07:43AM

wakatta
Date Added: 04/26/2009 Tsukimoto - you said:

"Rothaus, I am anti-homophobia. SGI's stance irritates me because I feel that it is all about self-interest rather than principle or genuine compassion and respect for people"

I think one only needs to look at the many charitable activities that SGI/NSA undertakes to truly see the golden heart underneath (NOT!).

No matter what the set of issues, SGI/NSA has been consistently self-interested almost to the point of Xenophobia.

The gay issues have been around from its very start in the US, and NSA/SGI openly resisted initially but eventually caved in, preferring to simply permit it's existence within the organization but never wanting to be a supporter (and secretly advising members if they chanted harder and changed their destiny they would eventually "get over it").

The plight of single mom's is another of the same sort of thing - just an organizational embarrassment. Women have their place in the NSA/SGI totem pole as secondary and supporting members. Single moms were for some reason regarded as unseemly to the organization and so you would rarely see any activities around them (i.e. "Single Mom's Daimoku Toso" wouldn't show up on any schedule."`)

As far as charity overall, when I was practicing there was little to none. SGI/NSA was indeed a very self-interested and self-absorbed organization. Ikeda was allowed to be the master diplomat, to give speeches, to travel the world and meet with all the petty dictators needing some kind of legitimacy as "humanists". Everyone else under him were just required to stay home and tend the organization's money fields.

Does anyone know of orphanages, homes for battered women or cancer research laboratories funded by NSA/SGI money? All I know of are a handful of "Universities". I was once told that there was no place for charity in the Soka Gakkai and that if I really cared about someone I'd chant for them to be Shakabuku'ed where they would change their destiny. In the meantime, if I had money to give to a "charitable organization" I should give it to SGI/NSA to enable it to "change the world".

Quote


May 10, 2009 11:39AMevergreen
Date Added: 03/21/2009
Posts: 89

Dear Roathus and others,

I actually wasn't even addressing the GLBT chat going on. I was raised by a lesbian so I won't even deem myself as non supportive of those members. That would be self loathing to say the least.

I was addressing someone's response that said that one is not a real buddhist unless they follow hinayanna only traditions.

I am sorry that I didn't make the target of my response clear. My friend and I fought to have a GLBT conference in the FNCC years ago. The SGI wouldn't approve of it. Years later, for some unknown reason, they decided to add it to the list of conferences offered. I remember being thankful and yet confused as to why it was initially rejected.

Dear Wakatta,
I am stumped as to why SGI doesn't do charitable activities. I know other SGI groups outside of the USA do participate in them.

These days SGI appears more welcoming.

Publicly, SGI doesnt appear to be anti gay. In at least one of the citations, SGI is listed among various organizations on one campus's social justice coalition.

And there is this in another citation.

[webcache.googleusercontent.com]

Quote

40)Concerning gay members, an SGIA leader noted: "The Soka Gakkai in Australia has high tolerance for gays — we are very open to gays because of high respect for human values. There is a strong homophobic tendency in Southeast Asian culture and homophobia was once very evident in SGIA, but we are becoming more open and tolerant in the eyes of more members. People of all stripes find release and peace through chanting and as Buddhists we honestly see all people as being equal."

While this statement represents an ideal, several gay members told us that they feel at home in SGIA because of its increasingly tolerant and open atmosphere. A middle-aged ethnic Chinese Malaysian member noted in 2003:

"I left Malaysia nearly 20 years ago because there is a lack of tolerance for gays. Since I was already an SGI member, I joined SGIA and have stayed with the movement because I am accepted for who and what I am. I also enjoy the fact that I can practice my religion with my compatriots."Return to Text

(41)A vast majority of members also reported that they had also at least once chanted for a goal that had not been realized. Their explanations for these failures included the notion that the goals were unrealistic (like winning the lottery or saving a clearly doomed relationship), the timing was poor, or that they had not chanted with enough enthusiasm or sincerity.

From

ISSN 1527-6457

R e s e a r c h A r t i c l e

The Soka Gakkai in Australia: Globalization of a New Japanese Religion

by

Daniel A. Metraux(1)
Department of Asian Studies
Mary Baldwin College
Email: dmetraux@mbc.edu

Research Article: D. Marteaux - JGB Volume 4The Growth of Soka Gakkai International ...... a strong homophobic tendency in
Southeast Asian culture and homophobia was once very evident in SGIA, but we ...
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In the 1980s, during the terror years of the first phase of the AIDS epidemic the LGBT community was being demonized in ways unimaginable today. The word 'AIDS' wasnt mentioned by President Ronald Reagan.

In California, Lyndon La Rouche sponsored Proposition 64, which got enough signatures to be placed on the ballot for state elections. The La Rouche proposition called for quarantining people with AIDS and forcing them out of their jobs.

So it is interesting, how long ago, SGI advised LGBT people to chant themselves straight and, as reported above, in one area, wouldnt give permission for an LGBT conferance.

Now, its play nice time. Doesnt sound as thought SGI has a wisdom that transcends the social political climate--or they'd have supported the LGBT community during the dark years of the 1980s.

Below, are citations describing the LaRouche initiative. His groups are still active today, but dont demonize the LGBT community. Instead they focus on anything else that people worry about.

Must mention that it took millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours of footwork to ring doorbells, make phone calls, print literature and pay for TV time to fight against Proposition 64---all this at a time when the AIDS epidemic was breaking hearts and terrifying people in San Francisco...and all over the country.

Where was SGI in all this? Where was the prajnaparamita?

Citations for the La Rouche proposal.

California Proposition 64 (1986) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor the unrelated 2004 initiative, see California Proposition 64 (2004). .... Activists
associated with Lyndon LaRouche formed the "Prevent AIDS Now Initiative ... it
as an effort to force HIV-positive individuals out of their jobs and into quarantine.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_64_(1986) - 125k - Cached - Similar pages


LaRouche, Hitler and the California AIDS initiative - Proposition 64Nov 3, 1986 ... The battle over Proposition 64, California's AIDS quarantine initiative, ... extremist
and three-time Presidential candidate, Lyndon LaRouche, ...
www.lyndonlarouche.org/aids.htm - 20k - Cached - Similar pages


LaRouche Turns To AIDS Politics - NYTimes.comSep 11, 1986 ... Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. and his political camp followers have taken up a new
cause. ... If California voters approve a LaRouche-sponsored initiative that is to ...
and, worse yet, quarantine all Californians who have been exposed to AIDS. ...
Add up the numbers and the impact of an approved Proposition 64 ...
www.nytimes.com/1986/09/11/opinion/larouche-turns-to-aids-politics.html - Similar pages


Articles about Proposition 69 Aids - Los Angeles TimesPatients Rights · California -- Health · Quarantines · Government Spending ...
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for quarantine that have been carried in various LaRouche publications. ... Kizer
and the California Medical Assn., have said quarantine would be ...
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IMO tolerance is not enough.

To be genuine a welcome has to be private as well as public. Public face and private behavior must cohere.

I remember back in the day the overall feeling in the air from leaders was that if you chant hard enough, you could chant yourself back to heterosexuality. Gay people I knew in the org told (particularly gay men) of the discomfort on both sides when in the proximity of certain male leaders.

Then, like the posts above have noted, 1990 came along---Viva La Revolucion!

Anyhoo, my feeling is that the rather rapid switch to tolerance and acceptance of the LGBT members is pretty much due to the financial gains that this group can generate----also, a good likelihood that LGBT members would be less likely to question and go taiten because of that acceptance.

Quote

The Lotus Sutra to me is a prime example to accept people as what they are and treasure them – we call it human rights now. I do not want to get to deep in the matter but to many readers of this board bodhisattva Fukyo will ring a bell.

Yeah, yeah, yeah - the dragon king's daughter and Boddhisattva Never Disparaging. Blah blah blah. Minor distractions from the Lotus Sutra's basic intolerance. As far as the Lotus Sutra goes, its apocalyptic tenor demonstrates its 2ndt century origins. Much more similar to Christianity than to the Buddhism of the Pali Canon. The Lotus Sutra says to discard and ignore all earlier teachings - THIS is tolerance? The Lotus Sutra tells of an evil future time and the "one true Law." This is just mealy-mouthed intolerance.

The fact that the Lotus Sutra is so very late was one of the things that made me seriously question what I had been taught. It simply makes no sense. The only way the scenario makes any sort of sense at all is if other people, on the basis of different cultural influences, wrote the Lotus Sutra in the 2nd Century and attributed it to Shakyamuni Buddha (because otherwise, no one would pay any attention to their teachings) - we would refer to it as "plagiarism" and it was commonplace throughout the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, particularly in the apocalyptic literature of that time/area, which also includes the places that the first artifacts reliably identified as "Buddhist" can be found. The Lotus Sutra is heavily Hellenized.

Quote

And for god’s sake, yes - this man lived in 13th century Japan and it shows some degree of ignorance to take each and every word literally, as it would be much more laborious to see what it might mean for us today.

Why should we think that a man from 13th Century Japan has anything that "might mean (something) for us today"? Why should we think that some primitive intolerant **** somehow stumbled upon some "eternal trooth" and, thus, there is nothing left to discover - all we can do is fix our gaze *BACKWARDS* and make that primitive, intolerant jerkwad's irrelevant blahblah some sort of misguided priority, to the exclusion of all else?

Look. Nichiren made several predictions. In fact, he claimed that because one of his predictions supposedly came true, that somehow "proved" that he was the Votary of the Lotus Sutra or perhaps Princess Fatmouth - can't remember.

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In the secular texts it says, “A sage is one who fully understands those things that have not yet made their appearance.” And in the Buddhist texts it says, “A sage is one who knows the three existences of life— past, present, and future.”

Three times now I have gained distinction by having such knowledge. [www.sgilibrary.org]

Well, what of his prediction that, if the government did not stamp out all rival Buddhist sects and murder their priests, the Mongols would invade and the country of Japan would be *DESTROYED*?? Clearly a fail! Japan continues as an independent country to this very day, without any time spent as a Mongolian vassal state, even though the government *IGNORED* all of Nichiren's recommendations.

Perhaps we would be wise to do the same. History has proven that Nichiren was misguided. Nichiren was wrong.

If anything, Nichiren was betraying his unawareness of his own attachment to the then-current government regime and his inability to see things from the eternal perspective of a Buddha. Nichiren was deeply *ATTACHED* to ephemeral and base political intrigues and childish competitiveness/thirst for glory and acclaim. He also threatened people and thought that the government should force HIS religion on everyone else. Nichiren was most definitely *NOT* against the marriage of government and religion - so long as it was HIS religion. To say that Nichiren "criticized the proximity of church and state" one must actively *IGNORE* Nichiren's begging for the government to adopt HIS religion as the official government religion and force everyone to convert to it.

Quote

Some SGI folks would now assiduously quote Nichiren when he attacked other sects of his time – if one reads the sources careful though (one should also consult none SGI/NST sources/translations) he in my opinion basically criticised the proximity of church and state and the corruption resulting form such an entanglement.

Quote

The task of praying for victory over the Mongols should not be entrusted to the True Word priests! If so grave a matter is entrusted to them, then the situation will only worsen rapidly and our country will face destruction. [www.sgilibrary.org]

Wrong, Nichiren.

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“Nichiren is the pillar and beam of Japan. Doing away with me is toppling the pillar of Japan! Immediately you will all face ‘the calamity of revolt within one’s own domain,’ or strife among yourselves, and also ‘the calamity of invasion from foreign lands.’ Not only will the people of our nation be put to death by foreign invaders, but many of them will be taken prisoner. All the Nembutsu and Zen temples, such as Kenchoji, Jufuku-ji, Gokuraku-ji, Daibutsuden, and Choraku-ji, should be burned to the ground, and their priests taken to Yui Beach to have their heads cut off. If this is not done, then Japan is certain to be destroyed!” [www.sgilibrary.org]

Moby Wrong, Nichiren.

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Because the Kamakura shogunate attacked the evil doctrine of Shingon and its evil men, it might have ruled our land for eighteen generations more, in accordance with the oath of Bodhisattva Hachiman. However, it has now turned to the men of the same evil doctrine it once opposed. Therefore, as Japan no longer has a ruler worthy of protection, Bonten, Taishaku, the gods of the sun and moon, and the Four Heavenly Kings have replied to this slander by ordering a foreign country to invade Japan. They have also dispatched the votary of the Lotus Sutra (Nichiren is speaking of himself in the superlative) as their envoy. The ruler, however, does not heed his warnings. On the contrary, he sides with the evil priests, thus creating chaos in both religious and secular realms. As a result, he has become a formidable enemy of the Lotus Sutra. And as his slander has long continued, this country is on the verge of ruin.

Today’s epidemic is no less than the harbinger of defeat in a great war which is to come. How pitiful! How tragic! [nichiren.info]

Wrong again, Nichiren.

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Now Japan, in becoming an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, has invited misfortune from a thousand miles away. In light of this, it is clear that those who now believe in the Lotus Sutra will gather fortune from ten thousand miles away. [www.sgilibrary.org]

Wrong and wrong, Nichiren.

Hojo Tokimune (1251-1284): The eighth regent of the Kamakura government. In the thirteenth century a new and ruthless race of conquerors, the Mongols, appeared upon the scene in Asia. In 1268, when the Mongol Empire sent the first of a succession of envoys to Japan to demand that it acknowledge fealty to the Mongols, Nichiren Daishonin wrote Tokimune a letter, saying that the government should discontinue its patronage ofheretical sects and take faith in true Buddhism, but his warning was not heeded. In 1274 and 1281, the Mongol forces attacked the southern parts ofJapan, sending waves of terror throughout the country. The Japanese suffered terrible losses, although a great part of the enemy fleet was destroyed by storms. [nichiren.info]

China's still doing fine as well, last I checked O_O

In the second month of 1274, the shogunate issued a pardon for Nichiren, and he returned to Kamakura the next month. On the eighth day of the fourth month, Hei no Saemon summoned Nichiren and, in a deferential manner, asked his opinion regarding the impending Mongol invasion. Nichiren said that it would occur within the year and reiterated that this calamity was the result of slandering the correct teaching. On this occasion the shogunate offered to build him a large temple and establish him on an equal footing with all the other Buddhist schools, but Nichiren refused. He instead again refuted the errors of the shogunate.

Nichiren did not seek equality. He wouldn't settle for anything less than complete superiority, including the annihilation of all other Buddhist schools! Nichiren wanted to be the *ONLY* priest endorsed by the government for all of Japan! Let us have no more blahblah about Nichiren's supposed "tolerant attitudes" - these did not exist.

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Yet it was not I, Nichiren, who made these three important pronouncements. Rather it was in all cases the spirit of the Thus Come One Shakyamuni that had entered into my body. And having personally experienced this, I am beside myself with joy. [www.sgilibrary.org]

Yuh huh. Nothing warmed the cockles of Nichiren's heart so much as a nice bloody Mongolian invasion! So whose "spirit" entered Nichiren's body when he made all those FALSE predictions, pray tell??

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These eminent beings appeared before the Buddha and took a vow, declaring that after the Buddha’s passing, in the Former, Middle, and Latter Days of the Law, if there should be monks of erroneous belief who complain to the ruler concerning one who practices the correct teaching, and if those who are close to the ruler or who are loyal to him should simply accept the word of these monks because of respect for them and, without inquiring into the truth of the matter, heap abuse and slander on this wise person, then they, the deities, would see to it that, though there may have been no reason for such an occurrence, major revolt would suddenly break out within that country, and in time the nation would also be attacked by another country, so that both the ruler and his state would be destroyed.
On the one hand, I am delighted to think that my prophecies shall come true, yet on the other hand, it pains me deeply.

Pardon me, Nichiren, your crocodile tears are showing. So how do you suppose Nichiren felt when he was able to see that his prophecies actually *DIDN'T* come true? The ruler and his state were not destroyed. Full stop.

Nichiren made the ignorant and childish error of regarding the political regime of his day as essential; he was unable to detach enough from his own greedy delusions to see that it really makes no difference what the ruling regime is or who's in it. People are born and die; political regimes come and go. No doubt the government of Japan today would be unthinkable and unimaginable for a primitive feudal barbarian such as Nichiren. Yet life goes on. Nichiren inadvertently illustrates the whole point of the Buddhist concepts of impermanence, emptiness, and attachment: Nothing lasts forever (something poor ol' Nichiren wasn't apparently able to wrap his mind around), nothing is inherently good or bad (including whatever Nichiren liked best - all that was essentially empty as well), and how attachment causes suffering. Nichiren caused HIMSELF enormous suffering because of his attachments and delusions. We should be careful to avoid his mistakes.

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Thus, when someone who is superior declares that he is superior, it may sound like arrogance, but that person will in fact receive great benefits [because he is actually praising the Law that he embraces]. [www.sgilibrary.org]

"Superior" and "inferior" are expressions of *attachment* and of a competitive mindset - the lowly world of anger, in other words. Here's what the Buddha had to say about that:

Winning gives birth to hostility. Losing, one lies down in pain. The calmed lie down with ease, having set winning and losing aside. - Dhammapada

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But if, in contrast to all these, the ordinary people in the evil world of the latter age, those who do not observe a single one of the precepts and who appear to others to be icchantikas, firmly believe, as the sutra states, that there is no path to Buddhahood outside of the Lotus Sutra, which surpasses all other sutras preached before, at the same time, or after it— then such people, though they may not have a particle of understanding, are a hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million times superior to those great sages who uphold the other sutras. That is what this passage from the Lotus Sutra is saying.

Among the supporters of the other sutras, there are some who encourage other people to uphold such sutras temporarily as a step toward leading them to the Lotus Sutra. There are others who continue to cling to the other sutras and never move on to the Lotus Sutra. And there are still others who not only continue to uphold the other sutras, but are so intensely attached to them that they even declare the Lotus Sutra to be inferior to such sutras. [www.sgilibrary.org]

Oh, Nichiren! If only irony-meters had been invented in your time - they would ALL have exploded!!

Remember - the Buddha taught the supposed "80,000 teachings" so that there would be a teaching that each person might relate to, given that all people are different and have different needs and different conditioning and understanding. The Buddha never taught that there was only one "troo" teaching - that is consistent with Christianity, another Hellenized belief system that began to be formulated in the 2nd Century and beyond.

Notice the context of Nichiren's most famous "prediction":

In the tenth month of 1274, Mongol forces launched an invasion of Japan just as the Daishonin had predicted to Hei no Saemon during their meeting. News of the invasion, the first in Japan’s history, came as a profound shock. Though the invasion ultimately failed, people were terrified that the Mongols would seize the next opportunity to launch a second attack. It was amid this uneasy situation that the Daishonin wrote The Selection of the Time.

Really? "A profound shock," was it? Let's see the related history and see if people really could have had *NO IDEA* that it was coming:

Nichiren supposedly "prophesied" of foreign invasion in 1271. Let's see what was going on BEFORE then that might have given him that idea:

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The Mongol invasions of Japan of 1274 and 1281 were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer the Japanese islands after the submission of Goryeo (Korea) to vassaldom. Despite their ultimate failure, the invasion attempts are of macrohistorical importance because they set a limit on Mongol expansion and rank as nation-defining events in Japanese history. The Japanese successfully repelled the invasions, in part because the Mongols lost up to 75% of their troops and supplies both times on the ocean as a result of major storms.

The Mongol invasions are an early example of gunpowder warfare. One of the most notable technological innovations during the war was the use of explosive bombs. The invasions are referred to in many works of fiction, and are the earliest events for which the word kamikaze, or "divine wind", is widely used. With the exception of the occupation of Japan at the end of World War II, these failed invasion attempts are the closest Japan has come to being conquered by a foreign power in the last 1500 years.

After a series of Mongol invasions from 1231 to 1259, the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea signed a treaty in favor of the Mongols and became a Mongolian vassal. Kublai was declared Great Khan of the Mongol Empire in 1260 (though not widely recognized by the Mongols in the west) and established his capital at Dadu (Beijing) in 1264.

Japan at the time was ruled by the Shikken (Shogunate Regents) of the Hojo clan, who had intermarried with and wrested control from the Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate after his death in 1203. The inner circle of the Hojo had become so preeminent that they no longer consulted even the Hyojo (the council of the shogunate of the Shogun), nor the Imperial Court of Kyoto, nor their vassals (gokenin), and made their decisions at private meetings in their residences.

The Mongols had also made attempts to subjugate the native peoples of Sakhalin since 1260, which only ended in 1308.

In 1266, Kublai Khan dispatched emissaries to Japan with a letter saying:

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Cherished from Mandate of Heaven, the Great Mongol emperor sends this letter to the King of Japan. The sovereigns of small countries, sharing borders with each other, have for a long time been concerned to communicate with each other and become friendly. Especially since my ancestor governed at heaven's command, innumerable countries from afar disputed our power and slighted our virtue. Goryeo rendered thanks for my ceasefire and for restoring their land and people when I ascended the throne. Our relation is feudatory like a father and son. We think you already know this. Goryeo is my eastern tributary. Japan was allied with Goryeo and sometimes with China since the founding of your country; however, Japan has never dispatched ambassadors since my ascending the throne. It is horrifying to think that the Kingdom is yet to know this. Hence we dispatched a mission with our letter particularly expressing our wishes. Enter into friendly relations with each other from now on. We think all countries belong to one family. How are we in the right, unless we comprehend this? Nobody would wish to resort to arms.

Kublai essentially demanded that Japan become a vassal and send tribute under a threat of conflict. However, the emissaries returned empty-handed.

A second set of emissaries were sent in 1268, returning empty-handed like the first. Both sets of emissaries met with the Chinzei Bugyo, or Defense Commissioner for the West, who passed on the message to Shikken Hojo Tokimune, Japan's ruler in Kamakura, but also to the Emperor in Kyoto.

After discussing the letters with his inner circle, there was much debate as to what to do, but Tokimune had his mind made up; he had the emissaries sent back with no answer. They re-sent emissaries time and time again, some through Korean emissaries, and some by Mongol ambassadors on March 7, 1269; September 17, 1269; September 1271; and May 1272, each time not even being permitted to land in Kyushu. The Imperial Court suggested surrender out of overwhelming fear, but really had no say in the matter since its marginalization after losing the Jokyu War.

The Kamakura shogunate (Bakufu) under Tokimune ordered all those who held fiefs in Kyushu (the area closest to Korea, and thus most likely to be attacked) to return to their lands, and forces in Kyushu moved west, further securing the most likely landing points. After acknowledging its impotence, the Imperial Court led great prayer services, and much government business was put off to deal with this crisis. [en.wikipedia.org]

Well, well, well. The Mongolians had already conquered next-door Korea and turned it into a vassal state. Of *course* Japan would be next! The Mongols had been sending emissaries demanding Japan's capitulation and threatening to invade for YEARS!! Populations were being ordered to relocate to secure the borders! Just how *stupid* did Nichiren take people for?? How does *this* qualify as "prophecy"??? And now you know the REST of the story! No wonder the government never took him seriously. Nichiren was pathetic.

But you'll never hear this information about the decades and events leading up to Nichiren's so-called "prophecy" through the SGI. Gee, I guess it would take a real Buddha to figure out that the Mongols might try another land grab! Might as well use that probability to one's own advantage, right? "I prophesy that the sun will rise tomorrow! THAT makes me the Bestest Trooest Buddha of them all!"

And when Priest Ryokan was charged with the government to pray for rain, Nichiren challenged him that, if he was unsuccessful, he *HAD* to convert to Nichiren's teachings and become his bitch! What sort of a prediction is *THAT*?? Of course if there's a horrible drought, it's unlikely to just end on command! Nichiren was just being a stupid ass and then when he went whining and moaning around about how Ryokan had broken 'their' agreement (which Ryokan likely never even knew of - Nichiren was just *THAT* full of himself), he couldn't even see what a douche he was being! It's no wonder the government didn't take him seriously - he was a clown!

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From early in 1271 Japan had been suffering a drought, and the shogunate ordered the priest Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji temple to pray for rain. Nichiren sent him a challenge, stating that if Ryokan's prayers could produce rain in seven days he would become Ryokan's disciple, but if Ryokan failed he should become Nichiren's disciple.

At least Nichiren had an understanding of oddsmaking O_O

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(41)A vast majority of members also reported that they had also at least once chanted for a goal that had not been realized. Their explanations for these failures included the notion that the goals were unrealistic (like winning the lottery or saving a clearly doomed relationship), the timing was poor, or that they had not chanted with enough enthusiasm or sincerity.

That's right - when the magic chant/calligraphy clearly *FAILS*, it's always YOUR FAULT! So what if goals are "unrealistic"? Aren't we supposed to chant "to make the impossible possible"? SOMEONE wins the lottery, right? That means it's not unrealistic! That excusing the obvious failure of the magic chant to work is just stupid self-destructive delusion.

It reminds me of when one of the female Supreme Court Justices (Sotomayor?) met with some girls and insisted that being a Supreme Court Justice was a realistic career goal, becoming a princess was not. However, more women from the US have become princesses than have ever become Supreme Court Justices!

In October 1954, Toda made a speech to over 10,000 Gakkai members while mounted on a white horse, saying, "We must consider all religions our enemies, and we must destroy them." Local leadership would often destroy the ancestral altars of new members. - 'Nuff said? [en.wikipedia.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2013 06:14AM by TaitenAndProud.