QuotesimplifyQuoteHitchIncidentally, the recent Seikyo Shimbun has a May 3rd color photo of Daisaku & Kaneko "gracing" the front cover. Don't know if it is current, recent or legit, but it is there. Ikeda, IMO, looks pretty odd to me and definitely not "victorious." Hitch, I see what you mean by 'odd'. Here is a link to the pic in the online SS for those
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Simplify, thanks for those links earlier and btw, the soka commercial (Japan) youtube links, back on p. 385, have also been altered to "private" now. "They" are definitely following this thread. (Pssst! - Hi Ethan Gelbaum! You out there?!? You wanna come and join in the fun and play a bit?!?! Come on, pretty please, with sugar on top?) ;-)) Quotetsukimoto ------
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Rep. Hank Johnson (Georgia's 4th District) , an elected U.S. congressman, is a long time soka gakkai usa member and has even traveled to Japan to present the dear leader with an award in recent years. Some of Hank's brilliant intellect on display , regarding Guam, and a cartoon . Perfect poster boy for the cult.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteTibbsThe SGI brilliantly summed up by Anticult. Thank you. Seconded.
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QuoteTheVoidFaith! The unprovable pointless virtue. So how do we differ. Not much at all. I've come to the same conclusions: 1. Faith is not a virtue 2. Our "story" is not very different from what other believers have been thru I see no difference between a christian spouting bible quotes, a muslim clutching the koran and a buddhist quoting the gosho/LS. In all othe
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Quotejlynneda63Today I was going through my email when I came across a note from my x district leader. The note thanked everyone for fighting to victory on Sat when 19 members went to the Community center for the district meeting. The message continued to encourage them to fight on to change their meeting location karma! Great! Nice to read this little announement especially since the meeting
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Welcome Spartacus - QuoteSpartacusLastly, I seem to be the only one here that knows about another important piece of the puzzle regarding George Williams' forced retirement. Sadanaga's family was KOREAN, not japanese. Racial prejudice was surely a factor in the downfall of NSA's first Gen. Director. Ikeda and the top brass at HQ probably hated Williams not only because of
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QuoteShavoyI wonder what all the dialogues Sensei has had with various dignitaries, leaders, experts, etc. have really accomplished? IMO, I think monies are paid (donations to foundations, causes important to the person being met supported) and/or lavish trips to Japan financed (airfare, hotels, etc.) in exchange for "meetings" with the dear leader. Agreements also extracted (when po
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I remember hearing a lot about Ikeda being upset with then new Pres.-elect Clinton, it was burning up the gakkai grapevine at the time. One thing I'd like to know is *why* Ikeda even expected a "meeting" with Clinton in the first place. Were there hefty ("giri", Japanese for unwritten obligations) campaign donations made? If so, it would make sense. Shavoy & S
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On the topic of celebrity members: QuoteSGByeQuotedragon14 Are they still bragging about Tina Turner and Patrick Duffy? And maybe John Astin? They wouldn't shut up about them back in the 80's! I know that Patrick Duffy still does a bunch of stuff for the SGI, as does Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. 80's musician Howard Jones also. I think Tina Turner mixes some other
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I love it. When things go wrong for individual members, it's the individual member's fault. When things go wrong for the cult organization as a whole, it's everybody else's fault (including a "few, select, over-zealous, sincere, but misguided" members). Typical. I don't know Al or Gerry personally, but I have definitely heard of them and almost certainly s
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Quotejlynneda63I wonder why I put up with so much for so long! In the past week we have gotten texts fm four people. One said "i iss ur smile" had a phone number but no name. It took me three days to figure out it was my wd district leader! funny how loved i am suddenly...oh yeah, time for MONEY COLLECTIO! Sooo disengenuous! I guess i am bitter I heard a great quote by Depak Chopra
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Sometimes, reading this mb/thread dislodges long forgotten pieces stuffed into the crevices and recesses of one's memory. I can vouch for some of the general things being discussed in the following posts: QuotetennpeachQuoteKittyLuvQuotetsukimoto Anticult, your chanting-addict friend reminds me of a former friend of mine who's heavily involved in SGI. I went on vacation once with
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuotetsukimotoSomeone else commented that Ikeda took off his own suit jacket at this meeting -- so all the men in the audience did too. The men's division and women's division sat separately in the auditorium, and the men's division was a sea of white shirts. The conformity is so striking. Japanese/gakkai custom being mirrored in the mini-Japan-cult in the U.S.A.. I was o
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I've mentioned before that one of the keys to understanding this particular cult is also understanding the Japanese mindset. The current emperor of Japan, Akihito, has prostate cancer and is regularly receiving treatment under secrecy that is not "generally" reported in the media (e.g., synchrotron radiation cancer treatment), despite it all being paid for by Japanese taxes, etc..
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotejlynneda63I hear alot of anger & frustration on this list but little on what you think is possible to do about anything!! The only thing that can really be done about it is to educate the general public about the cult. That's why I joined and post here. Other than that, it's up to each individual to inform and think for themselves and decide what is best for them. Quotej
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"Rock The Era" finale speech, featuring Nathan Gauer. Lots of shouting introductions start off the clip, reading of ikeda's words and screaming pledges, "We Will Achieve Overwhelming VICTORY As Young Lions and Rock The Era To Its Core!!!" ~ 4:00 min. mark, immediately followed by Gauer taking the stage. "I have breaking news! We have JUST received a message
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VP Hiromasa has been in the shadows for a long time. I noticed it years ago and even asked some members about it. In typical brainwashed fashion, they just shrug it off and have excuses for it; it's completely natural, understandable, acceptable and to be expected, in their minds. (WARNING! - Harsh post/comment coming up.) The Great Leader (DI) is getting very old and looking very fr
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Redrose - those are some great insight into the purpose behind the cult retreats, the mentality and the brain roto-rootering that accompanies.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Sirmrtony, I forgot to add: regarding members fawning all over you, the ones who are the super-nicest will most likely be some of the same ones who can potentially transform into hideously rude people should you "abandon your faith." It's luck of the draw, but just be forewarned. *********** QuoteTheVoidMan this stuff is so embarrassing. It's a cult we all know it. A
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quotejlynneda63Creep videos! Holy crap! I agree. Creepy as hell. Quotejlynneda63I feel so weird about this stuff. I was one of them.Not manipulative but still I can't be arrogant &point the finger. I need to understand the psychology behind this. I don't think its productive otherwise. Who knows what the intent is? Is it in Japan where tbwy plot to take over the world? I
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Japanese commercials featuring the soka cult: 1. "Got anything good to read? Seikyo Shimbun." 2. "Put a new rhythm into your life. A new day for you starting tomorrow." With a soka gakkai jingle at the end. 3. "What is your dream? Soka University." 4. Soka Univ. U.S.A. promo. 5. Japanese talk show apologizes for remarks about Ikeda ("se
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Quoterattyboy I'm tempted to discuss matters with SGI members one at a time but it isn't worth it. Like a job that didn't work out for whatever reason, sometimes it isn't worth it trying to hash out the details of what went wrong and what wasn't working. Here at this forum I find it very helpful, but as far as attempting to confront a member with so much as a lev
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteSGByeI’ve seen these people go to the houses of people who no longer attend meetings and they'll even go around to their backyards if there’s no answer at the front door! So have I!! I've also seen them invite themselves in, too. Perfect examples as to how they don't respect "normal" social norms, therefore one shouldn't feel constrained or obligated to do t
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Quoterattyboysirmrtony - I'm glad I read your entire post. What helps me from what you wrote, besides reading this anecdote of recent events, is reading: "I didn't want to be rude and leave. I stayed until I could find a GOOD reason to go home". Like my experience of feeling trapped in an auditorium and countless other incidents, there was basic social politeness besides the
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"SirMrTony", you've just described the same ol' creepy cult that I remember and encountered, ESPECIALLY down in the L.A. area. QuotesirmrtonyIt has come to my attention that I should be digging up information about the religion I’m part of. I’ve rejected organized religion ever since I can remember. I fought my parents when they signed me up for Sunday school; I was yelled
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteSGByeHi everyone, I haven't posted in a long time but I've been reading and enjoying the discussion. doubtful, I enjoyed your post about the videos where Ikeda would ridicule the other leaders and how the SGI passes it off as "rapport." In a post a long while back, I wrote about how I couldn't stand the way he always treated Vice President Wada in particular. He
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Here is some more sgi code and its implications: "This is John/Mary Doe, a FORTUNE BABY." Translation = they shall be favored under all circumstances, simply because they are inherently better than you. This one is kind of like a warped divine right of bodhisattvas of the Earth theory, where one is more privileged based on their heritage, especially JAPANESE ethnicity. Another r
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QuotetsukimotoMORE SGI CLICHES, TRANSLATED: "Maintain a high life condition." " Act as if you are delighted with everything SGI, even if you're not." "Be the change you wish to see (in SGI): " Don't ask us to change -- if you don't love SGI, you have a bad attitude and you need to do something about it." Or, more succinctly: "
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Re: SGI-Buzz Words QuotesgIwonderOn the subject of what I call "SGI-speak", there are a lot of code or buzz words we use, that I did not recognize as such until I had taken an extended "sabatical" from the practice. One of my favs is saying that person is really "sincere" -- sometimes meaning "they try very hard, but have no common sense." There are doz
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families