Boy did I make typos in this last post. I meant to say "uncomfortable" not comfortable and "word" not world. Geez. I had been typing all day and must have been at a point of needing to take a break:)
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteDavidM As far as taking down your gohonzon and butsudan, I would forget about any 'superstitious ideas'. In my experience SGI leaders always said 'if you're taking your gohonzon down to move house, move it to another room etc then you must have a group of leaders come to your house so that it will be respectful'. I never believed any of that, I moved house about 2
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteMavAwaken, I'm really happy for you that you discovered this forum and decided for yourself what's right for you! All that talk SGI leaders say about you can be a "Christian and a Buddhist" is pure B.S.! Sorry to be graphic, but I've seen them saying that to new members, and we regular members all knew it was with a wink-wink-nodd-nodd attitude, with the understa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I haven't been here in some time. Wow, this thread has really grown in these past few months. Here is my original post back on January 29, 2009. I'm posting this because I finally ran into my neighbor this morning. I had been struggling with how to deal with the Butsudan and the Gohonzan, the former a gift from my neighbor, and the latter purchased in February of 2008. I was pr
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

As far as the Nikken sect goes, it's alive and well on the enemies list. Here's something from a flyer I got at the Queens center last year. This was set for May 18th, 2008 and it's titled: "Declaration: Let's Prove the Justice of the SGI on May 18th On May 18th, the Nikken sect (Nichiren Shoshu Temple) is planning to hold a large gathering of temple members a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

The traveling Ikeda circus has come to town. That exhibition I've heard so much about on these board, Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Peace, is at Stony Brook U from March 24 to April 3. That headline is just so hard to follow. For the life of me, if Ikeda was so like Gandhi and King, then why is it I could probably go up any joe in street and ask them if they know Ikeda, and get a rea
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I was meeting with my neighbor every Thursday morning to chant for about 30 minutes or longer. It became very stressful. She would interrupt me and tell me I needed to chant with determination. If chanting is supposed to reduce stress, it had the opposite effect on me. The constant interruptions to make sure that I was chanting correctly -- which I could understand in the beginning -- wa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I have this SGI-USA Buddhist Learning Review from 2008. I got this in December when they were talking about this test. There is nothing in here about Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path. From attending meetings I can understand why SGI does not talk about or embrace these teachings. As I was reading about these teachings , I was remembering the last meeting I attended where it was an
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hravenkel, you've probably read my posts. I would say around the 7-month period is where I started to take my steps back, too. Unlike you, this was my first intro to Buddhism. However, being a Catholic I have read many of the writings of priests and monks who have studied Buddhism extensively, namely Thomas Merton, and I can tell you their writings are nothing, nothing like you would fin
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

You're right, chanting is not the problem, and chanting with friends sounds wonderful, if you could find true friends in SGI. The members I met at these meetings seemed very fanatical. I didn't feel safe or comfortable and the thought of having any of them coming into my home and chanting with me was downright creepy. They were very false people. I couldn't imagine any of t
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

"You wonder what these people would have thought about the luxury and reverence that Ikeda enjoys, or about modern members chanting for cars!" Yes, one would wonder what they would think. Thank you for this history. From such humble beginnings ... My neighbor called me up and is urging me to come to her house this Saturday for an SGI fest at her home. As she put it, it's
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

tsukimoto, experience with SGI mirrors what I and thousands of others went through with anti-depressants. For a little while you think everything is okay and life doesn't seem too bad (after the initial side effects wear off), but through a slow and insidious process things change, you change, and you are nothing close to the person you used to be -- and not in a good way. Then when to g
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Here's an interesting tidbit I found in a comments on another site. I'll put the link to the entire thread about SGI here. It might be helpful to others wondering what might make SGI a cult. It made a lot of sense to me: "I just wanted to say that I *did* hear that level of "cult speak" during my recent (and short) stint with SGI. I was told to regard any negative
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotetsukimoto Anticult, your chanting-addict friend reminds me of a former friend of mine who's heavily involved in SGI. I went on vacation once with her, and another friend of ours who isn't an SGI member. My SGI friend just became extremely anxious, perhaps from being away from home and in a strange place. We were at this beautiful beach -- and all she wanted to do was sit i
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

"SGI members often spend large amounts of time chanting and working for SGI. How are leaders going to get you to do this if there ISN'T the pay off of "a benefit," or "an experience?" I think that this leads people to interpret their circumstances and coincidences through this filter. Good thing happened? It's because I chant. Bad thing happened? I didn't c
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

CBT does help. I does take longer if your anxiety, OCD and depression was drug-induced, as mine was. These conditions truly have a mind of their own then. I had six months of non-stop adrenal rushes, shakes, twitching, insomnia and the heart palpitations -- you really think you're going to die. It does get better with time. How long it takes is different for everyone. The mind is w
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I was so thrilled to find this forum. I've been trying since yesterday to join and my e-mail server kept screwing up. Anyway, here I am. I've read just about everything on this site relating to SGI and elsewhere. I received my Gohonzon I believe last February. I paid $30 for the privilege. What happened previous to this was in September of 2009 I was approached my while I
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families