QuoteHitchThey practice for The Dear Leader. **** Here are a sampling of actual brainwashed cult members' messages to The Cult Master Ikeda (pronounced with a long "i", as in the video by one individual) (My comments in bold.) "You are coming to America, right?" (This one is timeless.) "I chant diamoku so much for your health." "We'
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Congratulations, opendoor! Thanks for sharing your journey so far---it's inspiring! An observation I had on pushing leadership on new members was that it could sadly backfire. People who were only practicing 6 months or less were encouraged to take on leadership which lead to confusion and resentment. Which had the outcome of: "Nuts to this business--what did I sign up for"? O
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotewakatta1QuoteshavoyBut there is a new sense of happiness brewing---the peace of knowing that I have listened to the voice inside and am living true to myself. Consider this: We all have had the "value creation power" within us. Ours to focus and use however we choose. Getting sidetracked by the Gakkai is like the person who doesn't trust the accelerator pedal and brake pe
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Thanks for posting, sixtyseven! This mb is indeed a lifeline, and at the risk of sounding over-the-top, a beacon of democracy. You can't underestimate the power of free speech. Mentor/Disciple, mentor/disciple. This whole concept and the unrelenting push around it is all for the ego of D. Ikeda. It has nothing to do with developing one's faith, one's inner growth. People i
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

On another note, I'm throwing out a thought on the Ikeda worship. For what it's worth, the mass push for deification in the last few years coincides with the man's sunset years...He has never received true world recognition for his "greatness", and certainly the Nobel Peace Prize has eluded him. So, where better than to drum up the adulation he so needs before he leaves
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteFindingmywaytodayAlso, has anyone's life improved from leaving the Soka Gakkai? Has anyone become happier from leaving the SGI? I admit I was one of those members who, for the most part, sincerely chanted when problems came up, when I needed major benefits, and nine times out of ten, I received the answers to my prayers--and then some. So I felt my faith was validated and was happy w
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteHitch$oka Gakkai (U.S.A.) International ($GI) Cult Event , at IKEDA Auditorium - "President Ikeda always emphasizes the power of song .... " ******** "Good Morning & Welcome. The Sunflower Chorus would like to pay tribute to our SGI President & Mentor Daisaku Ikeda. He's an educator, author and recipient of over 240 honorary degrees AND the United N
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

tsukimoto's post here brought to mind a concept that was told to us frequently. That being, you will and do have problems in life, you cannot escape them--HOWEVER--by chanting and giving your all to the SGI, you will develop the state of Buddhahood--indestructible happiness--where you will feel true happiness always, no matter what nasty karma's on the plate. Sooooooo, as long as yo
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteHitchFor current cult members who may be reading this mb: (It is advisable to watch in the order presented.) 1. (Especially ~ 6:18 min. mark) 2. FNCC WD / 3. FNCC YWD 4. FNCCC MD (More on The Dear Leader Museum & Memorabilia at 2:30 min. mark.) 5. FNCC YMD (HI! Salaried Cult Leader ETHAN GELBAUM!!! 2:52 min. mark. At his current age, he still holds the micropho
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteHitchQuoteShavoy Oh, man. How creepy it's all become. All the more reason why SGI will not get the numbers for KR they say they aspire to in the USA. If anything, it causes people to run for the hills in creep-out. What? More Rev. Moon stuff? No thank you! As it's been stated on this thread, they must not really care at all if KR ever actualizes. They truly must not.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteHitchRe: The Cult Master's Fan Dance "Dance of the Disciples Elementary School Division This is an instructional video of the "Dance of the Disciples." It is our reply to SGI President Ikeda's Ifu Dodo fan dance that he does to encourage members. We would like all ESD members to learn this dance. More information is forthcoming. Elementary School Division En
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Welcome, WaywardBuddhistWoman! This forum has been a great place to open up about feelings regarding practicing with the SGI--feelings that something ain't quite right about the whole thing. Any practice that moves you in the direction of squashing your criticial and intuitive thinking is about Power and Control. Someone's else's Power and Control over masses of good-intented pe
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteHitchFor fellow ex-gakkai cult members who are looking for a way out or are already out, I came across this and found it to be quite insightful and highly accurate. (Keep in mind, I can't personally speak for the actual group behind it, but their website is an excellent source of information and it is listed in the resources section of this Rick Ross Cult Education website, as well).
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

@Nichijew....thank you for your response to my post about NMRK. It helped a lot. @Olderandwiser (welcome!) and Hitch: I've said it before on here and I'll throw it out again. That $10,000.00 figure that Mr. Olivera had determined to fulfill each year as a donation---that was his own personal determination to donate in gratitude to the SGI, with the expectation of concrete financi
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Sigh. I have to throw a few things off my heart. I loved participating in SGI-USA, I did. I loved the discipline of chanting and doing gongyo, not that it was ever performed rigidly regular, but, hey. I loved it. Felt like the vast majority of my prayers were answered. I was happier then. Yeah, I'm saying I was happier then. Now I'm unhappy again. But not totally. Because I
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteHitchThe "shakubuku" software is programmed into all members and rebooted as necessary. Some actual examples (taken from a sgi-usa) "Determination" & "Victory" board (all us ex-members are well familiar with these mandatory talking and listening bullet points). ****** General Guidelines - "All 2100 YD members to attend, along with 900 guests.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteFreeheartandmindUpgrayed: "SGI cult deals with currency of the ego." EXCELLENT! Currency of the ego results in REAL currency for Ikea and company (as Hitch notates: $oka Gakkai). Some would say (and many members do) that SGI-USA is not a cult, no one is forced to live in a compound, or isolated from their family, starved, or prevented from leaving. But these ARE NOT the only
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Wow, great last few posts from Upgrayed and Hitch.... @Hitch, I must of missed something again---Sensei is trying to trademark NMRK???
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

So many great posts from Upgrayed, Hitch, rattyboy. When talking about the Gohonzon, it was/is always said that you must not "seek this Gohonzon outside of yourself". That comes from the SGI-sanctioned Gosho. But, hey, the Gohonzon IS outside of ourselves---it IS a piece of paper. That aspect never quite seemed to be, well, no leader seemed to have an answer to the duality of th
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteRothaus@ Hitch Its funny that you should mention the education issue. While skipping through the talk pages in Wikipedia I noticed that some in SGI are quite willing to condemn academics critical of SGI as being mislead by tabloids while those speaking in favour are best next to sliced bread. Looking at the edits and propaganda going with it … some in SGI have not the faintest idea on propp
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Imagine the unrelenting pressure--to defend The Mentor at any cost. Because if you don't---oh, well! The Houses of Enlightenment that one thinks they are building, maybe like a 401K-will come crashing down in those flames of hell. I think that's a large part of the SGI agenda right now. You must defend Sensei Ikeda and the org with your life.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Welcome back, quiet one, Jackie_Flash and Rothaus... @quiet one, your observation at the memorial service about members you had not seen in forever was very telling. The fact that the one member who looked better and happier than everyone else spoke a volume or 2! She is obviously listening to her gut and things always go better when you are paying attention to what it's telling you, or
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

To Hitch and Nichijew...thank you for answering my queries in such depth! I really appreciate the breakdown of what I've missed with the videos. It blows the mind. I wonder what was really in those chocolates? All this pressure, pressure, pressure, ensuing in inconsiderate, rude, and totally anti-"dialogue" behavior. What for? I'll say it again: The Proverbial Happi
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteHitchQuoteThe AnticultSGI-Japan has their SGI-Blackshirts. Blackshirts Brownshirts Also, TV stations/news rarely report on the Gakkai cult: (This clip will also probably be removed at some point.) The announcer starts a report on the Komeito & the $oka Gakkai, before being quickly stopped, exclaiming "Excuse Me" and moving on to a typhoon weather report. The manne
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Happy 4th of July, everyone! Sounds maybe corny, but when I think of today, the first thing that comes to mind is the fact that we have freedom of religious preferences. That's why America came to be...Freedom to to pursue the beliefs of our choice, or non-beliefs. We know the far-right Christian organizations would love to have "One Nation under God" and have the whole nation
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

@Jlynne....they were bothering you about outside activities??? Yeesh! That reminds me of a recent post I made about how back in the day, senior leaders were seriously discouraging one of my best friends at the time (who was also a leader) and me from hanging out apart from Gakkai stuff. They said it was a bad cause, because it would sway us away from practicing correctly. The cause it made wa
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotejlynneda63Hi everyone! Haven't posted in awhile,got the twitter bug! Strayed a bit to far & when,the calls started earier this week I realized I was a bit father fm shore than I thought! UNCOMFORTABLE! Any way, just checkin in! The sad thing about this is that first someone called that I really like & she had acknowledged a post I had made on my fb page which lead me to be
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteKRObvious divorce from logic. So how is it that attending a SGI meeting or convention alone is suppose to increase your karma? If that's the case then one could easily make the same case for increasing karma by doing the following: -Attending a Wet T-Shirt Contest -Attending a weed party -Calling in work and playing hooky on Friday -Going to the strip club -Sleeping in and wat
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteSGByeQuoteHitchNot sure if this has been posted before, but it is a YouTube clip created by the New York cult members to try and get the phantom leader to make an appearance (from back in 2010, around the time of his disappearance?): Hitch, you always find some great videos on Youtube (and by “great” I mean “disturbing” of course). This one really takes the cake. Can you imagine wh
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteNichijew"Let us refresh ourselves striving to repay our debt of gratitude to SGI Sensei. May contribution campaign is almost over. Now is the time to give what you have saved for May Contribution with a tremendous sense of gratitude and appreciation for everything our wonderful mentor has done for us." -- Lowlife SGI leader "Those who have no gratitude lead a life that is
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families