------Begin Quote, from Soka University of America Website------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Board of Trustees Steve Dunham, JD, Chair Vice President and General Counsel, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland Tariq Hasan, PhD, Vice Chair Chief Operating Officer, SGI-USA Morristown, New Jersey Yoshihisa Baba, PhD
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteThe AnticultIt certainly is outrageous SGI propaganda and lies that those lazy "Americans" were not giving enough money. Its just another tactic meant to try to shame and guilt people into give more money to SGI-USA. SGI-USA is an unbelievable cash-machine. Who knows how many hundreds of millions they are collecting and leveraging in the US? They have been around since 1968
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

mombu.com has a considerable number of posts on SGI. Though I haven't read them all, the ones I've seen all appear to be unfavorable. SGI itself insists that it is the victim of yellow journalism in Japan, where the tabloids lie viciously about Ikeda and SGI to sell their papers. So how seriously should you take this post on SGI fundraising in Japan? And how valid and unbiased i
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

------------------------------From www.mombu.com/religion--------Fundraising in SGI Japan-----Quote------------------------------------------------------ At any rate, the Soka Gakkai's tremendous money collection activities, which they call "zaimu" (financial affairs), is already common knowledge. Moreover, their current method of collecting money consists of "bank transfe
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteThe Anticult What an mind-boggling sham. You have a "university" worth 1 billion, with 350 students, which is obviously just a tax-free investment mechanism. And then SGI-USA, how much are they worth on top of that? So that is the way to go to get rich quick tax-free, start a "religion" and a "university". -------From Soka University of America's Websi
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Anticult, This is from SGI's website. I've heard of Daniel Habuki, Tariq Hassan, Guy McCloskey, and of course the SGI-USA director, Danny Nagashima. Marylou Berk, Clothilde Hewlett, Gene Marie O'Connell, Jean Rosenberg and Greg Wolpert...I don't know them; the names are unfamiliar. Interesting that Marylou Berk and Greg Wolpert have the real estate expertise, given SGI&
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteThe Anticult Its pretty much official, SGI is the richest sect/cult on earth. Why doesn't anyone know this? That is what SGI-USA is about, making money. So please, no one ever again say that SGI-USA is a mess, as they are SMARTER than every other sect out there! They make far far more money than any of them. Ingenium is just starting so for now its at $0. SGI seems to like
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Anticult, you've found some great info. Soka U's website has a link for the Pacific Basin Research Center. I copied the stuff below the line from the Pacific Basin Research Center's website. The Soka Universities of American and Japan, obviously belong to SGI, and the Boston Research Center, Toda Institute and the Institute of Oriental Philosophy are SGI's too...so
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Good point, Rothaus. In SGI, members are told that they MUST take Ikeda, whom most of them have never met, as their mentor. It's not a true teacher/student relationship as you might find in other schools. It's just pushing blind glorification of this narcissistic and nonBuddhist man.
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Kimberlie: www.nichirenscoffeehouse.com www.fraughtwithperil.com is a collection of blogs about Nichiren Buddhism --some pro SGI, some extremely anti-SGI www.buddhajones.com On this site there are also links to "SGI Unofficial," "Nichiren Shu" and "Independent Sangha" discussion groups. These groups are part of Yahoo. For your listening pleasure: B
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotequiet oneI used to often wonder if the "temple" even existed. After several years of being told how evil Nicherin Shoshu was and how sad/bad the Nicherin Shoshu members were, I started to question the whole thing. Why, when I had been a member for so long, had the temple not even once contacted me and tried to get me to be a member? /quote] quiet one, nobody from the temple e
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QuoteSongshand I'm a little confused though. What is the difference between Nichiren Shu and Nichiren Shoshu? Also when the split happened with SGI, why were all the members of SGI excommunicated and not just Ikeda since it seems he was the problem? . Songshand, the Japanese priest Nichiren, who lived in the 1200's in Japan, had five or six senior priests who followed him. After N
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I copied this from the thread of Diamond Way Buddhism. This Buddhism is in no way connected with the Nichiren Schools of Buddhism. I think that Diamond Way is Tibetan Buddhism, while the Nichiren schools are Japanese Mahayana Buddhism. But just notice how many similarities there are in how both the Diamond Way and the Soka Gakkai are run --despite the differences in their doctrines. It&
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteSongshandWow! That story is so sad and bizarre. "A new beginning." It's almost like any behavior can be excused as long as someone chants. I am a firm believer that a person should chant for another person's happiness AND one should do anything everything to protect themselves from another person's bad behavior. Like the so called "leader." I wish him well
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotecommongirl I think you should report the behavior of this member right away! [...] I hope you do so right away. One of the first things I learned, after being discouraged by the behavior of another member, is never to seek the Law outside myself. You have discovered a philosophy that could enable you to unlock your most beautiful potential. Please don't give that treasure way based
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

This came from "A Chapter Leader's Diary," wwwfraughtwithperil.com -- a collection of blogs on Nichiren Buddhism. The woman who wrote the blog, Nancy, is a chapter leader in the Soka Gakkai. Please note -- this guy, Eddie, had been in jail for violent behavior toward his girl friend -- and still, SGI appointed him a unit leader! WHY!? Because they really believe that p
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Songshand, have you read this whole thread? It's long and varied -- but a lot of posters have discussed some of the things you mentioned, including the President Ikeda worship, recruiting, study materials and chanting as a solution to everything. Below, I copied some information that you may be interested in from a thread about Byron Katie. She has a secular/self-help cult going
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Well, the king's throne is wobbling. In Japan's August 30th election, the Soka Gakkai's political party, the New Komeito Party, and its partner, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost heavily to the opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DJP). The Japanese Soka Gakkai leaders will probably be scolding their members for not chanting enough for the New Komeito's
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

On the East Coast, SGI has the Boston Research Center, renamed the Ikeda Center. On the west coast, SGI has its own university, Soka University, and its' research center, the Pacific Basin Research Center. This center studies politics, religion, current events, economics, etc. in countries that have a coast on the Pacific Ocean. Here are some links from the Pacific Basin Research Cente
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

In 1993, President Ikeda gave a lecture at Harvard University. This, of course, was a huge deal in SGI's publications. The truth? I heard later that even the heads of Harvard's Religious Studies department and the Asian Studies department didn't even consider it important enough to attend. He addressed some students and members, and it happened to be on Harvard's cam
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotetsukimoto__________________________Quote, LisaJones.com____________________________________________________________________________ December 5, 2004 Oblivious to the Irony Your enlightenment, salvation, or worth does not depend on your involvement with a particular group or organization. No matter how "liberating" the teachings of a group may sound, if the group fosters emot
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteRothausIf the allegations prove to be true, that SGI may already be in the education business in the U.S. (besides Soka University) by holding shares in existing companies, it would be a full blown scandal. Is it not truly sad to see how an organisation can make its members so dependant. It may be cruel to say that but the tactics work – if you have nothing else to show for in your life
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From eddiv.homestead.com (SGI Culture Department website) --------------------------Beginning of Quote---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SGI-USA Culture Department The SGI-USA Culture Department was established on February 17, 1990 by Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, the president of the Soka Gakkai International.
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--------------Beginning of Quote, sokaeducation.wordpress.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 Peace Proposal Cites Educator Makiguchi’s “Humanitarian Competition” February 10, 2009 Quoted from SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s 2009 Peace Proposal: “The time has come for a new way of thinking, for a paradigm shift that wil
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QuoteThe AnticultSGI has been trying to move people into politics, and other areas for some time. But this movement into Charter Schools is very disturbing. There are a few articles posted in the archive about the school principal here. Many sects and cults have tried to move into charter schools, but SGI is especially worrying as they literally have billions and billions of dollars be
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QuoteRothausEven if I do not agree with the Nichiren Shoshu on a doctrinal level. With the time gone by I can well understand why they kicked out SGI. SGI in my mind became so fiercely opposed to Nichiren Shoshu as with the excommunication went access to the Dai-Gohonzon --- bye bye to all those mystical aspects that surounded Taiseki-ji. SGI behaved like a child stripped of its favourite toy.
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Quotetsukimoto Should we object, if the Soka schools are giving children a good education -- especially kids in poor neighborhoods where the public schools aren't great? I have mixed feelings. Of course, I want every child to have the best education possible, and some areas have very poor public schools. Shouldn't the children who live in those areas have better choices? The p
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This is from the website of the Barack Obama Charter School in Los Angeles -- its Board of Directors. Note that Tom Harkenrider is Soka University's Chief of Operations -- Soka University being SGI's college. Now, I don't know that Mr. Harkenrider is an SGI member -- but Soka U's board members have been SGI leaders, people pretty high up in SGI-USA. I don't see
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

This is from the Massachusetts Department of Education website. The Soka Gakkai is proposing to open a charter school in Massachusetts in September 2010. While they speak of Ikeda in glowing terms (what else?), they do not mention the Soka Gakkai -- nor Buddhism. If I were a parent in this part of Massachusetts, dissatisfied with the local public schools -- and I didn't know anything a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

__________________________Quote, LisaJones.com____________________________________________________________________________ December 5, 2004 Oblivious to the Irony I don't want to talk about cults -- especially my former cult -- on this site or in e-mail. I keep getting letters, though, so I'll try to address the topic in general terms and hope this will suffice. Cult members a
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families