I would not say it is anti-SGI as Nichiren Shoshu get their fair share too. It is quite objective I think.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Recently I came across this link on the Wikipedia talk page on SGI. I must say quite well researched article: http://www.geocities.ws/chris_holte/Buddhism/IssuesInBuddhism/nikken.html
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Having said that … anyone, not SGI affiliated, sending their child to Soka University must be out of their mind anyway – especially these days given the means of internet research. So if Soka University will survive in the West it will be due to subsidies from SG-Japan. Personally I believe that SGI is in rapid decline anyway, also due to message boards like this one. From my own observations l
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Well I believe its simply the love bombing that takes place within meetings. Many of us had little knowledge of Buddhism and I guess we just thought that that’s the way its supposed to be. We started to feel uncomfortable and just could not put our finger down to what made us feel uncomfortable at first. It took a while. Then we see ourselves in something that is anything but Buddhism, not even
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Sorry I did not want to be a party pooper on the sublime message issue. To me it seems a bit farfetched and I am more inclined to blame group pressure and - sorry to say that – what many of us once misinterpreted as our faith in what we thought to be Buddhism. As said earlier on this message board leaving a cult takes time. It takes time to detox and sometimes I guess we externalise reasons for h
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotewonder now if there was something on those recordings that they didn't want anyone to know about, like subliminal messaging. Wouldn't that be perfect? What an opportunity to expose a community-center full of gullible and primed people to further indoctrination? Been a long time since I been on this board.Subliminal Messages? Sorry to spell it out so harsh. The reason is quite simp
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

in the end it's up to the individual on how to get rid of the gohonzon. if still buddhist they will find an appropriate way.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotefindingmywaytodayI am sorry for my ignorance, but is one an SGI member as long as you have an SGI Gohonzon? I no longer attend meetings, and I am rarely called. I am connected to a district, but no one asks about coming to chant with me, so that is fine. Am I still a member, as long as I have a Gohonzon from the SGI? In a strictly legal sense you have never been a member of SGI - this is t
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotefindingmywaytodayWell, perhaps it is called life, but I never became as superstitious as since I joined Soka Gakkai. Perhaps all kinds of things happened to me before, but like many people here, I never attributed them to anything but life. Now, I still attribute everything to the Gohonzon, and also to not chanting. I know this is because of how I was taught to think in the SGI, or at least
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotefindingmywaytodayI enjoy all of your thoughts and opinions. What I am wanting is this feeling of peace. It is so hard to divorce myself from the SGI because my Gohonzon sits in my living room. I am still working on it. I want peace, and in the six years of being apart of the SGI, I felt other things, but not peace. It doesn't feel benevolent. Yeah, I pushed my life, but there was always
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotefindingmawaytoday Also, has anyone's life improved from leaving the Soka Gakkai? Has anyone become happier from leaving the SGI? What is happyness? the absence of sorrow or unhappyness? I used the time that was available after leaving SGI for another dergee, spending time with friends that are worth the name friend - of which one will quite naturally not have many. And yes at tim
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

@ findingmywaytoday I can totaly relate to your decission to choose study as one step to detox. Reading more about Nichiren Busshism in the book I mentioned was truly an eye opener. Also in regard to other Nichiren Schools Wikipedia can be of help. Also in the conflict with Nichiren Shohsu I learned I was told half of the story when SGIist called them funeral Buddhists, this has some deeper
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotefindingmywaytodayHere is some food for thought about the differences between Soka Gakkai, and Nichiren Shu. This is a conversation about some of the differences. Hope it is okay to post here I guess its okay especially since we know we you are comming from (in a metaphorical sense). Since current SGI members do read this forum its shows how people regard nichiren buddhism that in the SGI r
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotehitchNote the part at ~ 1:14 min. mark, the dressing down of the "members" - "You have to OBEY, in order to manifest your buddha-hood, completely, COMPLETELY!!" They are, of course, talking about The Dear Leader, Ikeda ... well from what I see in the video they still stuff that down peoples throat about the priests ... for gods sake these kids did not even shit th
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

@ Findingmywaytoday Well it comes natural that you will find quite an amount of differences when comparing what you have learned and practised while with SGI to the rest of Nichiren Buddhism and indeed Buddhism as a whole. Another difference is that in many other, lets say traditional, Nichiren Schools you will not come across such as extensive chanting marathons and indeed see more weight bei
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteWaywardBuddhistWoman Plan to just state I no longer care to practice with the SGI. Thoughts, anyone? Well get used to the fact that thats the most they have to know at this point. You do not owe them an explenation - dead simple :-)
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteWaywardBuddhistWomanThe last straw for me was at a recent activity when a "pioneer" leader mocked me for having "no common sense" when I said I was going to go back to school for my doctorate. For an org. apparently supporting education they do show a tremendous fear when one does seek higher education. Education is only supported when it means money etc. . Even the c
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi Wayward, a warm welcome! If you continue to chant ot not is entrely up to you, but do take your time to detox! After so many years ist and experience that will stick with you, but it depends what you make of it. If yiu still have an interest in Buddhism then start anew. What you have doen in the last decades had little to do with buddhism. Free your mind though and please be gentle with
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteJohn GreenfieldI am working on a story for Newcity magazine in Chicago about a monument to Daisaku Ikeda that was recently installed on public parkland here. I would like to speak to a former SGI member for their perspective on SGI. If you are interested in talking with me, please private message me and I'll give you my contact info. Thanks, John Greenfield good luck
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi there, got a call lately from a cult-member. I was asked if I want my name being being part of the foundations of some sort of a culture centre for "peace" in the cult homeland. It was strange in a way as I was confronted with the cult lingo again --- I asked that my name shall not be mentioned. Strange thing ...
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

@ Goodgirl, The best is do be easy on yourself these days. An eye opener to me was when I read the book “Fire in the Lotus” by Daniel Montgomery in the late 90's. It is out of print right now but guess still available in Libraries. We all face lies in our lives – sometimes they are inevitable, but when one realises that one was systematically lied to is a bitter pill to swallow. This boo
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

kasumi .... back off This is a forum for those who left the SGI-CULT. Which path they have chosen afterwards is none of SGI'$€ buisness.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi Goodgirl, welcome here! As Upgrayed has already mentioned its important to detox … take your time to do so! Even ministers of Nichiren Shu who in recent years are confronted with ex-SGIists underline this. The starting point for me to leave SGI was when I did research on Buddhist related issues for a thesis I wrote during my time at university. I did not receive much help from within SGI. T
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

To be honest I believe that there a two likely scenarios after Ikedas passing. Since SGI in recent decades especially has practised an extreme form of personality cult will either fall apart or, which is more likely, time since the somewhat absence of the “dear leader” has been used to prepare for the post-Ikeda era. In that case I guess the Ikedaism will gain momentum and at the same time make
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Well its an interesting point to mention most of the so called general directors world wide in place are Japanese and if not other key positions are held by Japanese. As one of my fore-speakers I do not mean that in a racist way. SGI is a predominantly Japanese organisation and for any Japanese expats any where in the world and who are members of SGI it serves as a safehaven. Interesting enough o
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteNichijew ...what would the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin think of them?... What comes to my mind is the so called "Kalama Sutta" ... translations vary, but in the end it says "stay away if in doubt". What is also says ... that sort of problem is as old as buddhism. Quote]THE PEOPLE of the small town Kalama complained that they were confused by contradictions they di
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi, In addition to the list mentioned above I repost a message of mine from 2009: QuoteRothausIt was published by the DBU (Deutsche Buddhistische Union), the DBU is sort of an umbrella organisation of various Buddhist traditions in Germany. The list is not even aimed at SGI, but I guess more against some cult like groups of Tibetan Buddhism. So its a look at cult like phenomena from a Buddh
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quoteshavoy To my knowledge, Sensei Ikeda has never acknowledged publically that he has himself achieved Enlightenment. Just wait until what be said after "dear leaders" passing - if it has not taken place already. HE will will be pronounced a buddha or an SGI equivalent.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

@ wakatta1 I loved your plane episode – well done and to my mind not impolite to the elder lady. Another useful thing is to now and again use the Google search on news on SGI. I tend to contact newspapers or rather their online edition when they issue articles that could have stemmed from the SGI-marketing division. I simply tell them politely that SGI has some severe issues and ask if any o
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteudgrayedIf all we do is help one person leave or from entering the SGI cult, we have succeeded. This thread has sure helped me. Well I actually made one or two people think twice about SGI. It was on a Buddhist forum (non-english) where I simply tried to reflect my reservations and also mentioned this forum. Strangely enough they were quite taken by the chanting and so forth but quite dis
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families