QuoteRothausWell it was Imelda Marcos who collected shoes ... Mr. Ikeda collects degrees and its obvious that they are bought. In some countries, especially in those were public funding for higher education is on the decline this is common practice. Ikeda or not I find that a bit disturbing in general as it diminishes the work of those who earned regular degrees and those whose work is being rega
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotewakatta1@overthetop, @doubtful The formula has always worked before, why won't it work now? Just stoke up the fires of "prove to sensei you are worth his trouble" and the WD will come out of the woodwork wagging their fingers at the slacker american members who won't participate or pay their zaimu! Sadly, the numbers of those WD are shrinking along with the rest of
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteNichijewDear DrJesusEsq: The 1975 Hawaiian convention was huge. They built a floating stage for hundreds if not a thousand performers. In 1976, the New York Convention was attended by, at least, fifty thousand SGI and the SGI Bicentennial July 4th parade was the most attended parade in the history of New York City with something like 1.4 million people viewing it on the streets. RTE is sm
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Quotedoubtful@dragon 14 We are in rhythm(sorry for the Gakkai speak). Today I was asking myself this same question. Do Ikeda or any other paid leaders contribute during May or any other time of the year? If anyone knows the answer, please convey it. I just learned more about how aggressive and relentless members/leaders are being in contacting inactive ( =former) members about RTE. I don'
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I don't recall whether this has been discussed anywhere on this forum. Do those who are on the SGI payroll themselves contribute in the zaimu campaigns? BTW, congratulations everyone for 200 pages of good information and support!
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoterattyboyMuch writing about reading here lately. My one experience about being inspired by President Ikeda and reading some of the classic novelists who inspired Ikeda was met with blank stares and no dialogue at a large home meeting. At this large gathering they couldn't wait for me to change the subject. Reading other material was so off base. I'll never forget that tense look on
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Quotetsukimoto The practice itself, as promoted by SGI, seems inherently self-centered and materialistic -- it's you, your desires, your Gohonzon, and your "relationship" with Sensei. <b><i>You're encouraged to be devoted to the organization rather than other individual members.</b></i> I think this has come up in earlier pages on the forum, but th
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotetsukimoto Now, I've felt for a long time that chanting somehow balances the brain and nervous system. If I'm tired and depressed, chanting gives me energy. But on the other hand, if I'm angry or agitated, chanting is calming. In the early years of my practice, I thought that it was Nam myoho renge kyo, and the Mystic Law itself. Now, I wonder if chanting anything
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoterattyboyBack in the late '80s during the high pressure NSA/SGI days, I missed a good friend's wedding at the last second due to allowing myself to succumb to pressure around a weekend activity. That friend never talked to me again. I told members that someone was relying on me for a ride to that wedding. No mention of that being a 'bad cause', just hooray for me for doing
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteSGByeIthomas, most people don't know about the Orlando Bloom meeting I attended because it was never reported about in the World Tribune. Actually, the general meeting was reported about, but there was no mention that Bloom was there. I was really surprised by that, knowing how the SGI loves to brag about their celebrity members. My guess is that they were probably parading Bloom aro
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteSGByeIn the area where I used to practice, they would have the Ikeda video meetings twice a month at the kaikan. When the attendance level at both meetings started running low, they began showing the videos at kofu gongyo. I hated that because I would avoid the Ikeda videos on purpose, and it felt like they were luring us into kofu gongyo only to turn around and shove the Ikeda videos righ
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteNichijewDear All: I just listened to the February Men's Division audio encouragement. Tariq Hassan, SGI Men's Division leader was the next to last keynote speaker. He was incredulous that some regions and areas weren't showing Ikeda's videos at their sunday Kosen Rufu Prayer meetings, "I don't understand it", he said in derision. Then he went on to give
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Quoteevergreenmy gohonzon sorry to say is building up dust. I look at the alter and think "I really should dust and I really should get some fruit to offer." I could give a shit who inscribed it at this point. My take home message from tsuki's post is that there are two men who are desperate to manipulate others for their own means - they could give a shit about our happiness.
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Quoteevergreentsuki - there is a picture of Castro on the bottom right hand corner of the collage...just poking fun...I can't believe they included him. Maybe they wan't to set up shop in Cuba? I told two family friends yesterday that I have left SGI. One was silent and had nothing to say, which is very unusual for her. The other told me I had devlish functions working toward my d
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteSGByeHere's an excerpt from Ikeda's New Year's Message in the 1/1/10 issue of the World Tribune. It may be one of his kookiest quotes yet regarding the mentor-disciple relationship: "The Brazilian astronomer Dr. Ronaldo Mourao, with whom I have published a dialogue, remarked that an individual's innate potential can blossom in a much more vigorous form through
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotesushigrlGeez it gives the concept of mentor a bad name!! As youth division we were encouraged to write monthly letters to Ikeda outlining all our determinations and hopes and obstacles. Not that he would ever read them, but what a joke to entrust someone like that with personal stuff. Some goof in Japan would read all the stuff and throw it out I'm sure, or maybe not even read it. Wh
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This montage of "mentor/disciple" quotes is genuinely scary. QuoteSGByeSee if you can spot the common denominator from a few sentences I've extracted from the latest World Tribune (1/1/10). And keep in mind that this is all from one single issue that's only 12 pages long (actually, only 10 because the front and back pages have no articles)! "With the same heart as
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I've spent the last few days catching up on all the posts here. It has been really busy the last week or so. I got to thinking something that I haven't seen yet in the forum. * The drum-beat of "mentor/disciple" has gotten louder and more urgent since the split with the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. * In that video clip where Ikeda was (among other things) pounding the desk,
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotetsukimotoAnd the song "Higher Than the Sky," which we also sang a lot -- "Forever Sensei," "Ring the Bell," and "Higher The Sky," were the big three -- we sang at least one of them at every meeting I attended, and even after over three years out of SGI, I could still sing any of them and get most of the lyrics. Higher Than The Sky Together, alway
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotesushigrlHi everybody. This forum is interesting. I joined the SGI (NSA) in 1974 when I was 15. I was indoctrinated like everyone else, and had some pretty nasty experiences along the way with activities and the leadership etc. I left about 15 years ago in 1994 having developed a mental disorder which I believe was partly due to the unreasonable expectations of SGI tenets. If I was an
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotelthomasI was wondering for those that have quit SGI, and continue to chant, do you still chant with the same Gohonzan the organization gave to you? Or have you gotten another one? The reasons as to why I ask this question is because, from time to time I would still like to chant. Not twice a day but maybe once a day or 4 to 5 times a week. Please get back to me ASAP possible with this answe
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteRothaus Its a shame that SGI hijacked a wothwhile philsophy, its important to let people simply know that its not buddhism ... also not nichiren buddhism. The social bonding is a key point in the SGI system. Lost most of my "friends" too. Somehow I didn't make many friends in the Gakkai after 17 years as a member. There were a couple that I had some interest in pursui
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotetsukimotoWakatta and Dragon, you guys are taking me down Memory Lane. Dragon, were you at that big convention near Boston in the summer of 1988? We were staying in a college dormitory, some college outside of Boston. (Worcester?) I was there. Running around in the heat in white shirt and pants, and wearing white shorts with red and blue sequins when I marched with the YWD marching
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotewakatta I remember the early YMD days, dressed in our white and blue NSA shirts and white pants doing calestenics on the lake michigan beach and singing "Ay Ay Oh! Shakubuku shakubuku all the way!" (the hair is standing up on the back of my neck now.) All of that we were told was building "unity" but was only regimentiation and indoctrination into that mind set. Men
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteThe Anticult also, there are many other groups who claim what they do is some kind of Buddhism. Why? It seems that in the west, Buddhism still has a good reputation, and now is trendy, like Yoga. So they call whatever they are doing Buddhism, and it gives them a fig-leaf to hide behind. To me, when most Westerners refer to Buddhism, they're referring to Tibetan Buddism. The Dala
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QuotetsukimotoQuotedragon14 So many times, Josei Toda was quoted as saying "the Soka Gakkai is more important than my life". And so many people misinterpreted it to mean that they should be doing Gakkai activities six days a week, and telling eveyone they saw about chanting, otherwise they weren't worthy of being Buddhists. I'm reminded of when my women's study group wa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteThe Anticultalso, if you think about it, its really terrible that SGI is so antagonistic to families. A family member should be able to make up their own mind, and do what they think is right, and not have to worry about losing their family, just by rejecting the SGI process. Why did Ikeda do this? He designed it, as he knows that social family pressure will keep more people in the tribe
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