Quotecommon girl The old days of NSA were indeed very strange!! However, somehow I was able to tolerate it much better. NSA, to me, did not seem as mean as SGI does now. We also had a lot more fun. Doing all of the crazy activities was actually kind of fun, in a weird sort of way. In a prior post I talked about some old World Tribunes that I found while cleaning that were 19 year
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteScoobyDooby Hi, ScoobyDooby. I have read that if a family member is involved in a cult, just try to be supportive of him and try to include him in your activities. Being critical of the cult is not helpful. This website (Rick Ross) has detailed information on what to do. www.culteducation.com
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

gingermarie, The $300,000 does make the story more plausible. But maybe SGI made that up--who knows? I too remember Mr. Williams giving 100% support to "sensei" in his public appearances. When the split occurred, if Mr. Williams had told NSA that we should all be temple members instead of staying with President Ikeda, I'm sure all or most of the USA would have gone along with
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotetsukimoto---Begin Quote: SGI Unofficial Message Board------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Re: I want to know the truth why George N. Williams left SGI USA. Some years ago a leader from my area who was visiting Japan was told that Mr. Williams was "evil." From what I heard, his evilness consisted in w
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteYzak Hey, that's a good point. I never thought of it in that way. I never have been able to understand why some religions didn't believe in the theory of evolution when there is overwhelming evidence to support it. SGI members always act smug about other religions not going along with science. But SGI is the same way with Psychology and Psychiatry!
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteYzak I'm back to the thread. Its have been 3 months since I left SGI, and my life didn't have any significant change, neither for good nor bad. I say this because leaders constantly reminded us that if we ever leave the organization, "your life will be a misery, you will never be happy ever again, you won't have enough friends." blah blah. Yzak, I feel much bette
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi, Von. I'd like to hear some of your stories about your time with SGI! Also, you said "There are some misconceptions going around, which my personal experience shows are absolutely not true." Could you clarify? Thanks!
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Tsukimoto, the cost you quoted is quite reasonable nowdays for a private college. Many colleges are even more expensive! Public universities are quite a bit less. Tuition for the University of California, for example, is less than $10,000 per year, with living expenses/books/travel/fees about the same as the prices that you quoted. Tuition for foreign students at a private school (such as So
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Anticult, Just wanted to let you know that several universities offer free tuition to families that make less than $60,000. Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and a number of other large, well-known schools make this offer.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I 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? If Nichiren Shoshu was trying to destroy SGI and take all of
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Rothaus, I was also told by SGI that some type of Buddhism worships foxes.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

obsidian, When I was young and single, I wanted to find a man, get married, and have a baby! For many years I chanted about it and did continuous activities for SGI--sometimes, just about every night during the week. I "took care" of a YWD for a few years who had some mental health issues, and nobody else wanted to give her rides to meetings, etc. becasue she was strange. I was assig
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

tsukimoto, Thank you for informing us of the orange website. I read several of the descriptions of "traits" and found it very interesting. Item #2 (you are always wrong) makes me think of something that has been on my mind lately: human revolution. I have been thinking, why does SGI always insist that there is something wrong with every member, and that they need to do human revoluti
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Rothaus, Some people think some things are important, and others think that other things are important! We never know who is going to gain some insight from what others say! I'd like to share some of my experiences with "guidance"--appointed leaders telling people what they should do or think, with no training, just because they were appointed a leader of SGI. Several yea
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I didn't go to work today, instead I stayed home and did some badly needed housework! While cleaning out some drawers, guess what I found?? Some almost 20 year old World Tribunes! (We're real packrats!) I found two old World Tribunes, in great shape, from February of 1990. President Ikeda was making a trip to the United States, and the World Tribunes were about his trip. One of the pa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

defying the bats, I like your comparison of SGI's campaign to destroy the "evil" temple to the talking about "EVIL" in Sponge-Bob! I think that many people would like to see a significant change in SGI. The buddhist principles are what we were all attracted to, but SGI has defineately lost its way.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

tsukimoto, just think of how much you have reduced your carbon footprint since you are no longer a member of SGI and don't have to drive 3 hours to see something that you could see right in your own city! It seems like SGI was always asking us to do things that were not good for the environment, such as going to so many meetings, burning incense (also bad for your health!), and sending memb
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I haven't written for a while, but I have been reading what you all have said every day. A few weeks ago, my husband and I were listening to the soundtrack from "Wicked". I told him that when we went to see it at the Pantages a couple of years ago, I couldn't stop thinking about SGI and President Ikeda. I didn't mention it at the time because we were still good mem
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Ithomas, I can relate to what you are saying. To me it sounds like the your shakabuku has some major conflicts about practicing. Like you (and many others) she likes to chant and likes the philosophy, but isn't sure about the organiztion. First she said that she doesn't want to go to Kosen-Rufu Gongyo to watch the video, and next she questions "what would Ikeda do?" as if s
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

tsukimoto--Thank you for your insightful contributions. Thanks also for introducing me to "frought with peril" It is very enjoyable. I especially have enjoyed "Byrd's Eye View'. It is very sad what happenend to her, and how things ended for her.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

obsidian, I can relate to what you have said! One of the problems that I have always had with SGI is that sometimes our "leaders" don't seem to have their lives together at all! My husband and I are well-educated and we both work very hard. We have a nice house and are able to provide well for our children. But we both really work hard-we went to school to get a good education,
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi, everyone. Obsidan, I'm one of those people that has spent many years in SGI. My experience was not as negative as what you describe with your ex-boyfriend, but over the years there were troubling things that I experienced. It also seems to me that the organization of SGI has changed quite a bit (for the worse) in the last few years. I wonder how many old-time members are going along
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hello, everyone. I have been reading this forum for a few weeks. I appreciate your comments. Currently I have a real problem. I have been a member of SGI/NSA for nearly 34 years! Now I'm having some significant doubts, and have become less and less active. But after 34 years, it's my life! How can I give up everything that I believed in for so many years? I don't have many
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families