Hitch, I agree. While the SGI cult has bastardized Nichiren and Buddhism in general, if one goes beyond doctrinal issues and steps back at a distance, it's better with a neutral eye to see clearly that SGI is indeed a cult.

In Cuba, there are air raid drills every Tuesday in Havana, as part of a larger tactic of generating a constant threat of war which keeps the citizenry on it's toes and more so diverts attention from the government, instead keeping the population focused on the unseen enemy beyond, which threatens survival itself. Cults tend to operate under the same tactics.

Those Security Guards in Hitch's video probably went home that night and while eating a meal and sipping beer, told their wives about Sanshoshima and the difficulty of defending Soka Spirit against the devilish forces, turning everyone who comes their way as a potential destroyer of Soka.
Then, while chanting before the Gohonzon , they will make a vow and resolve to overcome the obstacles and protect the Soka Gakkai. In all actuality their role is to fight off reality which is knocking at their door. Their role is to chase, scare, threaten any presence that threatens their alternate universe. Cult town, sacred turf. Not dressing up these cult attack dogs as loveable chanting bears, but they must rationalize such petty aggressive behavior.

I could be wrong and they might be thugs , fully aware of their role under the Soka Umbrella as cult henchman, hired to play their professional role, but I highly doubt that. The true believers are always the one's that make the best attack dogs.

I agree with Hitch, it doesn't take special training to see that the tactics used by the Soka security "forces" are thought out, agressive policies in regards to going offensively against anything that is deemed a threat. There is no middle ground, except for when there is police protection given during a march excercising free speech.

These aggressive tactics express the spirit of a bully, slamming down anything that goes against their world view. It's not Buddhist mindfulness, that we witness in Hitch's video, but authoritarian hubris and trickery. It's harassment against any voice of opposition.

Cults need people to stay in a bubble, so that the mind control isn't broken by outside influences. In Japan, the Soka Gakkai have created a culture within a culture which has everything one needs from schooling to entertainment and even work. Apparently the Soka Gakkai have their own form of currency, which can be traded amongst other members.

This rebellion against popular society, this antisocial collective framework is based in controlling people. Keeping them in an alternate universe.

So, when people come to protest, the Soka Gakkai cult freaks out, because they know that anything that upsets the rhythm will give people time to think, even if for a moment about another version of reality.





On another note, here is a set of quotes by Mrs. Toda regarding the SGI cult and Taisaku Ikeda.


"Upon receiving the news of Mrs. Toda's passing, Soka Gakkai sent two top leaders to the Toda's residence to beg that the funeral not be performed by Nichiren Shoshu. Their attempt was rejected by Mr. Toda's eldest son, Mr. Takahisa Toda and as originally planned, the funeral service was conducted by Nichiren Shoshu."


"The prime reason Mrs. Toda's funeral service was conducted by Nichiren Shoshu was because of Mrs. Toda's own strong request made while she was still alive. After her death, the text of a taped conversation between Mrs. Toda and an acquaintance was introduced in a weekly magazine expressing her frank feelings regarding the Ikeda Soka Gakkai."

Man: Mr. Ikeda is a bad guy, a very wicked villain. He is only out for money.
Mrs. Toda: It is better to leave him alone. (You) should not be too serious. You will see someday. You will know (the truth) without fail.
Man: He will be punished. He will receive punishment since he has been against the Gohonzon.
Mrs. Toda: He has been already punished. He lost one of his children.
Man: I regard Daisaku Ikeda a terrible villain.
Mrs. Toda: Everyone may be thinking that way, too.


Another cult tactic, create a cult fiction in which to hide the facts of history and by recreating total history, one can distort it and change it subtedly in any direction as a means to counter any troubles that may arise on a foundational level.

It's telling that the Toda family want no connection to the SGI. This is a missile that blasts another gaping hole in the cult fiction.


Finally, I watched a documentary on North Korea yesterday and had flashbacks. I thought to myself, I have been there before, perhaps in my past life?

No, I finally remembered, I once spent time in the Soka Gakkai Cult.


When I left the organization, for a while I got lots of phone calls and weird messages stating magical statements and explaining to me that I was under the influence of the devil king and sanshoshima got me because I was evolving into a great Buddhist. They don't let you walk away. Just like these security guards but only the opposite, when you leave or disappear, they come out of the woodwork to harass you and attempt to pull you back in. It's not enough to just let a person be, no, they must "save" you from yourself.

Normal organizations do not do this. Cults do this.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2012 10:14AM by Upgrayed.

Outstanding post, Upgrayed, brilliant analysis.

A lot of the culture festivals of past in Japan could have very easily been mistaken for North Korea dear leader celebrations. I know, because I participated in some of them. EXACTLY the same.

************

And one more clip demonstrating more of the cult's behavior in Japan, from the same kaikan as in the previous clip, [www.youtube.com]. Same $oka guards can be seen, this time dressed to the hilt in a much spiffier cult military-like uniform (which reminds me a bit of this [1.bp.blogspot.com] - Sea Org. anyone?). In this one, they completely ignore the person who is talking to them (the person speaking, btw, is doing so in a very polite manner, too).

Vaguely similar to perhaps this cult's behavior [www.youtube.com]? Hmmm, I think everyone should check the clips out, judge and most importantly t-h-i-n-k, for themselves.

One issue that keeps people practicing in the SGI is this idea that you can change the organization if you see anything wrong. This supposed granting upon members as a proof that the organization is open and this gets people from walking away.

Let's see how well you actually can do to change the SGI into a normal organization. How far will you have to go? Perhaps oust Ikeda who because of your hard work and determination, will give up his throne and the billions that come with it?

I am sure the myriad of business interests that operate with handsome profits within the Soka Universe will stop their lucrative business practices to give way to a better tomorrow!

What frustrates me, is that so many people ignorantly hold up the SGI and will attack anyone who shares anything that goes against the organization.
These poor fools, who puff up and stride around the kaikans completely unaware that they are being laughed at by those at the top.
What a buzz to see so many people parroting the propaganda and watching them protect the thing that abuses and robs them, it's really sick.


I suspect that alot of members who stumble upon this site assume that those that post here are just disgruntled members who "hate" the SGI and are failures in some way, weak and couldn't handle the reflection of our own lives. I have seen so much abusive behavior by SGI cult members who go after anyone on the internet that states that they are leaving or have left.

Even here on this forum, there is a thread that has apologists on it, spouting off the glib points that emanate from their own minds being brainwashed.
I don't hate the SGI cult, I don't use the SGI as a punching bag for the venting of my own failures and issues, no it's a matter of justice.

SGI is a cult. I know this is hard for you to figure out, but ask yourself , do you like to give away your precious energy, time and money to an organization that was designed to manipulate and steal from you?

Is that the legacy of your life? a brainwashed zombie? Do you want to lay on your death bed and conclude that you were used and ultimately you sold your life for the cheap drug of religious fanatism?

Perhaps you like being abused and enjoy the fake support and love that comes with being in a cult. Cults are for those who take the easy way out in life. Rather than work hard in the real world, they use the security blanket of the SGI cult as a means to give them something to lean on. No, it's worse than that, I suspect many people have had their minds so altered that they cannot see how far they have strayed from reality. It's sad because mind control does work and it can do so while making a person vulnerable and open to whatever whims the organization has.

It's pathetic that the SGI manipulates with ideals about "victory" and overcoming obstacles, but in the end, the SGI is in fact, one massive obstacle in one's way to growth and progress.

Food for thought as I once read this thread when I was unaware that the SGI was a cult. I thought that the people posting here were simply those with grudges that stemmed from personal situations that occured within the cult. Of course as I kept reading I began to notice a pattern.




Some may say to themselves, look at the cry babies! Well, no, these people for whatever reason, got out from underneath the mind control and as a result, discovered the dangers of this cult. I too, discovered the mind control and got away, but how many don't....

So, I am sure there are others like myself who come to this thread and even more, there are those within the organization which study this site, knowing that the internet has not been kind to their cult.

To all of you still in the organization, take these posts, take the experiences that people share here and make your own observations. I got out without too many years and I feel like I was taken advantage of and manipulated. I cannot fathom someone being in for thirty or forty years and then leaving , what a loss of one's life.

Finally, you would think that there was something good within the organization that you can take with you, even if you leave. No, the SGI cult pushes rhetoric that only sticks if you read it again and again. Stop reading it and it becomes less and less impactive. As you get distance, you begin to see what a pile of shit you were reading and absorbing. Ikeda? what a con job...

Yes, I know, devil king, sanshoshima, I broke my vow and now I am a traitor to the SGI cult and everything they did for me.... I am ungrateful and worse than a dog walking the alleys.

Do you not see the "cult" mindset that would promote such vile content? Again, no normal organization would craft such abusive fear tactics which serve to undermine one's credibilty in making a decision to leave. Figure it out.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2012 02:51AM by Upgrayed.

Quote
Upgrayed
One issue that keeps people practicing in the SGI is this idea that you can change the organization if you see anything wrong. This supposed granting upon members as a proof that the organization is open and this gets people from walking away.

...Let's see how well you actually can do to change the SGI into a normal organization. How far will you have to go?

...I suspect that alot of members who stumble upon this site assume that those that post here are just disgruntled members who "hate" the SGI and are failures in some way, weak and couldn't handle the reflection of our own lives.

...SGI is a cult. I know this is hard for you to figure out, but ask yourself , do you like to give away your precious energy, time and money to an organization that was designed to manipulate and steal from you?

...Food for thought as I once read this thread when I was unaware that the SGI was a cult. I thought that the people posting here were simply those with grudges that stemmed from personal situations that occured within the cult. Of course as I kept reading I began to notice a pattern.

...Some may say to themselves, look at the cry babies! Well, no, these people for whatever reason, got out from underneath the mind control and as a result, discovered the dangers of this cult. I too, discovered the mind control and got away, but how many don't....

...To all of you still in the organization, take these posts, take the experiences that people share here and make your own observations.

[/i]Upgrayed, thank you for all your posts, they really hit the nail on the head and the whole of this last one was full of insight.

I too came across this thread some time before I began to realise the truth about the org and the Dear Leader. At that time, I dismissed the comments here as just being from 'unhappy', lost people who really needed to chant more (!). I was so deeply under the influence and subtle mind control that SGI exerts that there was no way I could see what people on this thread were really saying. It was only taking a break from chanting that freed my ability to think critically, but then someone deep into the cult would just say that I've been attacked by the devil king of the sixth heaven. You can't win with these true believers.

it is very sad how human beings cynically exploit fellow human beings and SGI is a deeply unpleasant example of this taking place on a global scale.

More cult behavior from the motherland:

1. [www.youtube.com] In this one, 3 people are handing out anti-soka gakkai pamphlets and are approached by 2 brainwashed ymd (one of whom hides his ID badge in his pocket, to ask for a flyer). They are followed and filmed. When they don't stop, the culties have the gall to actually call the police. The police arrive and basically say that there isn't much they can do and separate the groups. The gakkers leave, but later return to resume the harassment. These ymd are so brainwashed that they actually believe the police will be on their side. Well, they weren't.

2. [www.youtube.com] This clip is a bit different from the one above, in that all of the parties are more aggressive in their actions. The protestors choose to confront and push back, while the gakker attack dog (tall ymd in the black shirt) is also more in their face. I have seen many crazy ymd, blindly brainwashed, behaving this way, from my days in the youth division.

These kinds of things are pretty much common in the cult's motherland. Quintessential cult behavior. You don't have to understand the language to understand what is going on in these clips. The soka gakkai is a pseudo-buddhist Japanese cult that has spread internationally. Naive members should wake up, open their eyes and think for themselves.

My experience: I grew up in the cult and even walked around thinking I was special because I was a member, practiced and chanted (this it what they tell you). All of this was, of course, at the height of my time in, during my teen years. Then, slowly, I began think for myself and had my own (private) suspicions that the org. was cult-like. By the time the internet came around and I found this site, I *knew* it was a cult, but was shocked that there were so many others who could also see it for what it was. I lurked for years before deciding to start contributing, because my time in the pseudo-religious cult was a chapter of my life that I was done with and just didn't care enough to bother to revisit. When I saw that there were other so-called (mis)fortune-babies who had had similar experiences as myself, I just had to share my story as well. I've learned the most here from other survivors who come from different backgrounds than myself (joined as adults or came in from other "religions"). While we are all walking on the same post-cult pathway to briefly meet here on this mb, each of us arrived here via different routes and, because of that, will also ultimately proceed down differing pathways to different destinations. This mb has enabled me to see the broader picture when it comes to cults in general (of which the gakkai is very typical).

Hopefully Hitch, you don't leave too soon as the party is just getting started. Besides, your videos and ability to summarize them is invaluable as you offer a side of this cult that is highly useful in uncovering the big picture. Beyond that, your posts are gold.


Yes, it's interesting simplify that one day you are looking at a thread making incorrect observations and then down the road, you are posting on the thread itself. This is exactly what happened to me.

You said it perfectly, stating that it must be hard for someone brainwashed and mind controlled to see what we are really talking about.

Because of the fact that the SGI cult is a danger, especially to young people who are impressionable and often times seeking answers, it is a duty of sorts to let people know the truth.

We cannot allow the SGI cult to thrive.

Not only for society here but also for global society's as well. If SGI-USA crumbles then the Soka Gakkai's position in Japan diminishes.
It's a monster out of control.

Edit: Also, there are 192,000 views on this thread.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2012 07:32AM by Upgrayed.

Thanks Hitch for sharing the Soka Gakkai videos.

Mark

Yes, thank you as well.

Just one thing to say about those two videos hitch just shared.


"ORIENTAL SCIENTOLOGISTS"

OR

"SGI CULT"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2012 08:38AM by Upgrayed.

A careful watch of that first clip, has a very revealing moment. The two brainwashed hardcore (i.e., ignorant) ymd culties (I've encountered many myself) don't even know why the protestors are handing out the anti-gakkai flyer and are completely at a loss as to how to respond when questioned about its contents by the older gentleman. When asked to respond to the allegations, the cult "leader" just stands there in stunned silence unable to even formulate a retort. You can actually see his brain freezing up (again, I've seen this a number of times before in dealing with gakkers), to which the older gentleman protestor practically laughs and says "you don't know anything, do you?!" From that point on, he just sips his water and basically ignores the stalkers, kind of giving up on them. They keep acting like shadows and the clip ends with the idiot "leader" getting on his cell-phone (probably to ask his "leader" what to do next).

There are several types of people you'll meet when confronting gakkai cult members:

1. The kind in the clip discussed above, who are basically not very bright. These are many in number and run the gamut of general members, lower level (non-salaried) "leaders" and salaried ones.

2. Those who will spout doctrine back at you and otherwise engage in meaningless cult speak special pleading and buckets of other fallacious reasoning (appeals to adverse consequences, etc.). These people probably have a gosho under their arm and are (IMO) out of their minds. These are the hardcore gakkai kamikaze zealots who want nothing more than to give their entire life over to the gakkai cult.

3. The kind who cannot handle being on the hot seat, questioned, or having their "authority" disrespected and get temperamental or outright violent. These people are usually those who are used to getting their way in the org., by virtue of longevity (but I have also seen newer insecure leaders make the mistake of going down this road on occasion).

4. Those who will not engage you in debate, but merely look down their nose at you, put your name into a "bad member" booklet list, paint a big "Scarlet A" on your back (in this case, for gakkai Atheist), spread the word and make sure everyone treats you accordingly from then on out. These people are usually the brighter of the senior "leaders", who know where their bread is buttered and how to play to game well.

Off the top of my head, these are the four main types that I've ran into (I could name names, but I won't, for now). There may be others, or variations thereof.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2012 03:31PM by Hitch.