Dear FMWT; You will only ever get encouragement from me. I treat literally, hundreds of depressed patients every month, not as their psychiatrist but as the Primary Care Physician and when I was 19 - 23 I suffered from intermittent depression and then again, when I was 26 and 28, I suffered from two bipolar episodes lasting several weeks. Since that time, I have had no mental health issues, al
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Dear Rothaus; The SGI can be battled on many fronts. They claim to be the one true Nichiren sect and this claim should be evaluated in light of the teachings of Nichiren. They give the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren a bad name by virtue of both their secular and religious behavior. Many of us believe their aberrant behavior derives from their aberrant religious faith. Secular and religious realms ar
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Dear Rothaus; Nearly everything anyone has ever posted here proves our assertion that Ikeda is the Devedatta of the modern age. For those here who don't know the story of Devedatta, he was a the cousin of Shakyamuni Buddha and a learned monk who had memorized all the teachings and practiced the 250 precepts. He held a grudge against Shakyamuni Buddha. He plotted to kill him because the Bu
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Dear Wakatta: From the perspective of the Nichiren Shoshu you are absolutely correct. From the perspective of the Kempon Hokke, their Gohonzons are invalid because all Nichiren Shoshu Gohonzons are invalid. From our perspective, the SGI is the crooked shadow of the crooked tree. Choosing a Nichikan Gohonzon was their biggest mistake, we believe, because Nichikan's faith deviated so funda
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Dear Wakatta: The ceremony to open the eyes of Gohonzon is Kaigen not Kaimoku. Otherwise excellent posts. TY Mark
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteevergreenFor findingmywaytoday: I say go with your gut feelings. Also, some of us do need more support than this forum. Although. this forum is one of a kind for English speakers. You won't find anything else like it. I feel very lucky (see I didn't say fortunate) to have found this discussion. Additionaly, I found a workshop for former cult members through the Internat
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Dear Dr.Jesusesq: Your comment, likening Ikeda to Santa Clause, is appropriate. "The Emporer has no clothes" too, is appropriate. Ikeda and his minions are so jealous of Shakyamuni Buddha that they threw him out of his own religion and years ago, when others would protest the centrality of Ikeda to the SGI, they would retort, "Shakyamuni the Easter Bunny" or "Shakyamun
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Dear Tsukimoto: You wrote: "What I object to is how SGI is constantly glorifying this workaholic, go-go-go overscheduled lifestyle. Linda Johnson, for example, gave a speech about how she has this very busy job as a prosecutor, going to court herself and supervising other lawyers -- and then she also has two demanding positions in SGI. If that's what she wants to do, fine, t
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QuotetsukimotoQuotelthomas Looking back on it now, I realized that she was trying to keep me in by saying that, "did your mother or father or sister's give up on you when you treated them wrong"? I felt trapped because I had shared so many personal things with her and she knew that I only mistreated my little sister at times because I had suffered at the hands of physical and emoti
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Quotelthomas@tsukimoto Yes!! it is so true to listen to your inner-voice when something is not right. If that is one thing that this experience has taught me is to listen to that voice of reason. I can recall all of the times that I went to a leader's meeting and member care seeing members misbehave. I was always upfront and direct with my "sponsor", yet every time all she said was
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Yes quiet one. All those reasons and more. Nichijew
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Quotequiet oneNichijew, I also feel like a big weight was lifted off my chest. I'm still being home-visited occasionally. For the first few months that I stopped going to meetings, nobody noticed, but after a while people started noticing that I wasn't there. Especially when my world tribune subscription ran out! The last time someone came over, I told her that my husband and I wer
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Dear lthomas : It really doesn't have to be either a long drawn out detox or a depressing experience . I was joyful. A big weight was lifted off my chest. Sure I was angry but my decision was not only an emotional one but a reasoned one based on study and reflection. Please feel free to dance for joy. Nichijew
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Dear 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 an experience
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Dear lthomas: Congratulations for your courage. I think most of us were fearful and confused when we first left the Gakkai. The reason, besides the advanced, subtle, and not so subtle brainwashing techniques foisted on us by them, is that superficially, the Soka Gakkai is based on the highest Buddhist teaching, the Lotus Sutra and the writings of the Buddhist Sage, Nichiren Daishonin. This
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Daer Rothaus: Here's one: If one were a critic of the SGI, you wouldn't hear the end of it: "low life condition", "destroyer of the dignity of life", "deluded, unenlightened, slanderer" , "racist" , "misogynist" , "insane", "inhumane", "hypocrite"... Nichijew
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Dear Quietonel: Thank you so much for your well wishes. Of course, as Buddhists, we will never abdicate our responsibility for our own karmic retribution. It is thanks to the Lotus Sutra that we were able to lessen it.
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Dear All" First, welcome Void. I see you posted a couple of comments on my blog. I need all the help I can get, if you know what I mean and your comments are quite welcome there too. I was a District Chief and my wife was a Group Chief. One day my ten year old son and me opened a large storage closet that we had never opened before and a literal avalanche of liquor, wine, and beer b
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QuoteDavidMTo Nichijew Hi, There is absolutely no apology necessary. I totally understand how I must have first appeared, and the justified response of suspicion and wanting to keep this forum as a safe haven for people to speak openly. Dam, that meeting sounds crazy! The meetings near me are not like that but I will not be going to it anyway. :) I'm glad to hear you and your wi
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QuoteDavidMHi, To wayfarerfree. I'm sorry for PM'ing you so much, the last few days I've not been working so mind has been in overdrive, I've thought about little else. It was almost midnight the other night before I got something to eat for dinner. I was anxious and overly eager to talk to people and try and find out as much as I could at this time. I will not PM you
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The Lighter Side of Soka Spirit SGI Senior Leader: Your emotionalism reveals a weak faith. Jim Celer: I was cutting onions. SGI Senior Leader: You should deeply reflect on your life condition and repress your emotions when giving guidance or writing in the Justice Chronicle. Jim: I can't be friends with Craig and Reggie ? SGI Senior Leader: In order to fight evil
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Nichiren Wouldn't Even Be a Junior group Chief in the Soka Cockeye Nichiren Daishonin: There is no peace on earth and in heaven. I have been attacked again and again, spat upon and sometimes beaten with sticks and staves SGI senior leader: Your troubles are due to an incorrect faith. It is through open dialogue, not pointing out the faults of others, that we can become winners in
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Quotewayfarerfree@DavidM "I have been reading this thread for about the last 4 hours and it has made me sick to my stomach and close to tears." Personally speaking, I always feel a lot more clear minded after crying. Im glad you have spent four hours reading this thread. However, whilst it might feel safer to focus on things US, these experiences are certainly not exclusive to t
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The True Meaning of Value Creation Society Value Creating Society or Soka Gakkai Here's how you do it . Get tens of thousands of people to work for free, either in leadership positions or as laborers to renovate their real estate holdings. Not only do these people work for free but they donate huge sums of money to the cult. The true meaning of the Value Creation Society is that they s
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Dear David or whomever you are: For all we know, you could be Robert Samuels. I have been in dialogues and discussion with SGI members for more than ten years now, including half a dozen UK members. To a man, you are blind, brainwashed, and ignorant about Buddhism. The one you should worry about is yourself . Read the Lotus Sutra and read the Gosho . Then come back to us and tell us you are pr
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Dear All; In some respects the SGI is no different than some totalitarian governments, even some so called republics and democracies. Since life isn''t so grand for a good many people or the governments are bilking the people with taxes , engaging in war, the leaders lining their pockets etc., they try and keep the people entertained and uneducated with sport programing, talent show
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Dear ALL: I have a friend, Ill call him Myo. He was a so-called fortune baby of a top Japanese senior woman's division leader and an American father. He still practices Buddhism. His parents and especially his mother are secretly supportive of him and for this and for other transgressions, his mother has lost some of her SGI luster but since she has many top Japanese senior Leader connect
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Dear Gingermarie: You wrote: "I had been a top level WD leader until I just questioned and saw too much." You can atone for your misdeeds by saving others. Nichijew
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I have no proof but I wouldn't put it past the incredibly skillful SGI PR machine to plant outlandish stories and videos so they can turn around and assert, "see these sick people , they hate the SGI so much , they make up the most ridiculous, even psychotic stories". For example, there is the case of a blog and several videos by "some woman" that accuses the SGI of blast
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QuoteevergreenI'm not up to speed on her current job title. Many people do things for their private lives while at the office. But yes, according to the way a banana republic should work Ikeda is the dictator. He is trying to control a commodity - that commodity being his unrelenting lust for power and control. Seems that Linda Johnson is duplicitous and out for her self. What pisses m
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