But it was a holy multi-day fever, right? There's been an interesting discussion over on reddit, one of the interlocutors being someone who's been to a number of meetings but hasn't swallowed the Kool-Aid as yet. One of the things he seems to be stuck on how nice and normal everyone is. It suddenly struck me how enduring first impressions can be. Years ago, I was catering a f
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

The ones I knew had been instructed to marry US military as well, so they could get over here and spread the word. Some of them had very difficult lives - one woman was legendary in the west (Mrs. Carter I think was her name); her husband threw her and her gohonzon out (literally) and she apparently spent weeks trudging around doing shakubuku before someone finally took her in. BTW, there's
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Corboy! So good to see you! I like the piss analogy . . . and with cats, it always encourages more and more of them to make their "statements" in that same corner. And if you ignore it long enough, the odor grows so gradually that you don't notice it. It also destroys the carpet and eats into the subfloor. Nothing quite like having someone mark you as their territory.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Just a reminder - please remember to "upvote" posts that you agree with on reddit . . . if there are more downvotes than up, the sub may run into trouble.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

As I pointed out elsewhere, I think it's highly likely that the little twerp over on reddit got into a little trouble over his posts; I was in a couple of private-message conversations with the moderator there, and he implied that that was the case. I suspect that he may have been threatened that if he kept it up, he would lose his moderator position on another couple of threads. Speculat
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Douche McDouchepants! Hahahahaha! Reddit is strange country, with some stranger fauna. Very touchy over there. And yes, welcome Watchtower. This is a very well-informed and well-spoken group; I'm not sure if I would've made it over the wall as successfully as I have without them.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Maybe a slightly more accurate is that those people who go to the museum together (who have zip else in common) try to form a friendship based on that and that alone outside of the museum - that's closer to a granfalloon. In "Cat's Cradle" (home of the original granfalloon), Vonnegut describes a woman who finds out she's from the same state as the narrator and quickly con
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In looking at the recent-post dating of the other threads on this forum, I'm seeing that this particular one isn't the only one that's suffering from neglect lately. I'm hoping that this is just a holiday hiatus, and not a permanent condition; I think switching providers and the great crash of '13 have been huge discouragements, too. Let's remember the spirit beh
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HHDL - His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I think that as far as a religious leader is concerned, he seems to have the least personal agenda. From reading his materials, it seems that he just wants other people to be happy and filled with peace, and if we find that through Buddhism, that's fine. If not, that's equally fine. There's no stridency or drum-beating announcing his way of pract
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Thanks for sharing your story, Spartacus - cult membership is almost exactly like being in a relationship with a psychopathic/sociopathic personality. The big difference is that you're breaking up with a slew of crazies instead of just one. One of the things I find sad is that most of the members are good, decent people who have no idea how effed up their behavior is. They have been so b
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Aw, shucks Spartacus, thanks! Well, if we didn't learn to stand alone when we were in sgi, we certainly learned to do so after we left - in terms of the friends we thought we'd made in the org. For a group that purports to be one that in inclusive and open-minded, those little brains clam up when it comes to accepting someone who leaves. Of course, that's typical cult behavior t
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

That really is a shame, Spartacus. The only suggestion I have is to go back through (if you haven't already) and try to reconstruct what you can. I can also suggest that you might try going to: Taiten and I both placed a number of posts (taiten as "lambchopsuey" and "blanchefromage" and I as "wisetaiten." Although nobody seems to be posting there now, for
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi, Spartacus! I know - right? I hope that this is just a temporary lull and that things pick up again in the new year. If it hadn't have been for this thread, I'm not sure what I would've done. It gave me the courage to leave sgi and to stay away, and it helped me to realize how many bright and intelligent people had been duped by similar organizations. Initially, there was a grea
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Well, it's been a hound's age since anyone's posted! I hope that everyone is well, happy and having a serene and contented winter!
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

One of the good folk on reddit provided this link for a little insight on Nichiren: Very interesting read. I did start a thread on reddit titled "Is SGI a Cult?" and have had some interesting responses. Very mixed, but all polite (so far). I love "the fault in no lies with me, Nichiren." Is that the beginning of sgi's inability to accept responsibility for anyt
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I want to say that I highly value this forum and the support that it offers those of us who've chosen to leave sgi; I certainly plan on staying as active here as always. That being said, there's another valuable conversation to join at STAP and I have been posting there lately, too (under the Info about soka gakkai thread). This is a real opportunity to engage with people who are no
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

In my experience, they've always presented themselves as a lay organization, and all of their promo material say the same thing. I really think that they'd at least have to go through the same (laughable) process that I did. You get a hang-tag, a bumper sticker, an o-ffical ID card and a press pass. You can go to themonastery.org and get yours today! Saw your post on reddit toda
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Corboy, here's a fast-n-dirty answer to your clergy confidentiality question (US only): I think an argument could be made that any org that promotes itself as clergy-free (e.g., sgi), one could contend that the confessee knowingly confessed to someone knowing that the confessor did not have clergy status. From how the attached is worded, there are no faith tradition qualifications. Fo
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

I think it's been mentioned before, but one of the big advantages of being a religious nfp, both in the US and Japan, is that there is no legal requirement to provide financial information. That's troubling, even with a legitimate organization. Maybe if someone could get into the secret room with Google Glass and take some photos of those financial records? We've also discussed
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That survey is priceless! I didn't read all the comments, but my favorite was: "I would disband it and put the top leaders in jail." So many comments beg the question - if you're so unhappy in the group, why the hell are you still in it? If I'm at a party being held by someone I despise, the food sucks, they're only pouring purple Kool-Aid, the conversation
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Using Hinayana to differentiate from Mahayana - I've seen it used in numerous sources (including writings by HHDL) and in that usage, I would never think of it as pejorative. Also (from Wikipedia): "Some Theravada Buddhists have opposed the identification of Theravada with Hinayana, as it is seen as more of a derogatory term. As Walpola Rahula noted in his Gems of Buddhist Wisdom:
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I think being raised as a catholic makes me relate a little more to the Tibetan version of Buddhism - all the statues, paintings, gilded hoop-dee-doo. And it does seem very exotic! This is, almost literally, around the corner from me: Go to the slideshow. They're Thai, and Hinayana, but the temple and grounds are stunningly beautiful and peaceful. I've visited, just to walk
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He's an interesting character, no doubt about it. There's no doubt, though, that he's a far better representative of true Buddhism than Senseless. I'm sure that his life is quite luxurious, but isn't it interesting how different their personalities appear to be? One is mild-mannered and self-effacing, while the other is a braggart constantly on the hunt for further self-a
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Thanks for the clarifications! It is easy to imagine HHDL twinkling . . . he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously and is reputed to have a lovely sense of humor. I've read a number of his books, and that shines through. I love what he wrote in The Art of Happiness. I'm paraphrasing here, but he suggests that if you're having a dispute with someone and you're angr
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I'm sure that part of X's anger is simply in getting busted. Shouldn't she have been protected from detection? I caught her out with an email - I told her that I couldn't figure out who might've told D (in ABQ) that I'd stopped chanting, so I'd just have to ask her (ok, that was sneaky on my part, and I didn't like doing it). The subject of her reply was &q
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Wouldn't/couldn't go back - it would be like going back to living in a cave, starting a fire rubbing two sticks together and no cable TV. Nichiren's attempts to be the Japanese Nostrodamus were pretty transparent; anyone with the inclination can look them up easily enough. The modern-day lies . . . about Nichiren himself, Senseless, the priesthood, the sho-hondo, how sgi conduct
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

And Shakyamuni Buddha himself urged his followers to question everything, "even my own teachings." If I had even the most remote inclination to go back to sgi, it's pure delusion to think that I would return after all this deception and attempted manipulation. X had highly criticized the leadership behavior that I had described to her, and then stepped directly into the footsteps -
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Thanks, STAP and Corboy . . . I honestly believed that since I'd known X for so many years, before and after joining, that it was a "real" friendship. There are a lot of things I'll forgive, but betrayal is not one of them. I really never entertained the idea that she would go behind my back as she did, but I suppose I should've been prepared for that. One of the things I
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Okay, so I'm in front of my mental chalkboard, and writing "I will never trust another sgi member again" 1,000 times. It was my dear "friend" X in WA who got in touch with the NM contingent to get them to chant for my return to the feverish arms of the org. I have rarely felt so betrayed, and that counts the time I found out that my most recent ex-husband was laying out b
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

They are an odd lot, that's for sure. A "sense of entitlement" definitely applies. Kind of funny - I mentioned in a previous post about a "friend" from ABQ getting my phone number briefly after I told another member in LC about my resignation. I hadn't checked facebook for awhile, and surprise-surprise, there was a private message on there for me from Ms. ABQ. Oh
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families