Ah,Anugraha!I'd almost forgotten about that. Probably sums up Subud's problem in a nutshell, the way that fell apart. Many members lost a fortune investing in that project, I recall periodic 'cleansing latihans' to rescue the project ( of course Pentecostal/charismatic ecstatic emotionalism is well known for getting people and projects out of financial black holes-where's
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Nichiren said 'Never seek this Gohonzon outside yourself.'Surely then all this tripe about authentic vs inauthentic scrolls is moot at best and superstitious nonsense at worst. Glad to be out once again.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hitch-those songs would be hilarious if not for the fact they were really sung. SGI USA is like something out of Monty Python from this forum. Over here we had songs written and performed by members but no group songs as such.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Scroll down to the bit 'Forty-eight Vows'. There is of course disagreement between Shin schools whether this entails regular chanting or just calling on Amida in faith and living naturally with no ritual practice but that is possibly off-topic here.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Amida's 18th vow refers to beings calling his name. I will clarify my remarks. When I said" Shin practice"I was meaning faith in Amida rather than chanting nembutsu. Apologies for lack of clarity. As for the dreaded Gosho the only practice is daimoku-no mention of twice-or five- daily gongyo unless I missed it.
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Taiten I get where you are coming from.I cult-hopped from Iskcon to Islam to fundie Xtianity and finally SGI .One intolerant focus to another.One of the best things about Shin is there is no pressure to convert others.And Shin practice is clearly based on the Pure Land writings -chanting daimoku is not mentioned in the LS.But if people are happy in Nichiren i wish them all the best-theyll s
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Thanks taiten for the Seattle Buddhist Church stuff. Many in SGI slag off Pureland "because its like Christianity". It is of course only superficially similar. The SGI shot themselves in the foot by criticising Pureland to me because I became more curious about it. It is the most beautiful Buddhist teaching I have read, completely free of the empty rhetoric-human revolution et al-SGI f
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Quotesleepy skunkThose poems did seem pointless as with all his other writings. I'm glad to know I was not the only thinking it all seemed like a bunch of hokey gibberish that said absolutely nothing. And people fawned over, "Oh how wonderful a painter, photographer, philosopher" or whatever else has been wrongly attributed to him. "He's so wise!" My butt. Daisaku
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QuotesixtysevenHahaha, I got that sms yesterday at 7 PM: "Today WD toso at my house 8 PM + adress". What the hell do they think ( if they think at all), that I grovel back on my bended knees full of sorrow? Eventually jump into the car in rueful excitement and leave my little children behind or lodge them in their pajamas on the rear seats? Stupid ignorant people. I hope that the ange
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Is Subud a Cult? Hard to say.It certainly has cultish characteristics. The three month probation was a little odd but I ignored it.All the books I read while waiting said the latihan was spontaneous yet people told me I wasn't doing it right. Not to mention the members who were involved in serious crime-a helper in the Nottingham group in the 90's was a major league drug dealer and I
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Hi I was involved for a few years in the 90's.Found it too authoritarian and fanatical.Members interfering in others business as well as self-righteous vegetarianism and sexual repression.Devotees are often obese because prasadam is their only sensual pleasure. And none of the devotees are enlightened, they just paraphrase Prabhupada. If you have left ,good, if not get out now!They are he
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QuoteJackie_FlashHi, everybody. I haven't posted for a few months. Like so many of you, I have been happily busy since leaving SGI and got my life back. I received word that a friend of mine from the NSA days passed away and his funeral is tomorrow. Even though he was a very nice person, and my former district chief, I don't know if I should go to the funeral or not because I kn
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QuoteTaitenAndProudThe whole problem with the intolerant mindset is that it is both small and vindictive. First of all, how presumptuous and self-centered to declare that "What *I* prefer is obviously the only proper choice for everyone!" Imagine if someone were to declare that their favorite flavor of ice cream was objectively the most tasty in the entire world, and that there was so
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QuoteHitchBe careful what you feed (offer) your paper scroll (gohonzon) . "Bad food" = "bad cause & bad effect" Here's a sampling (pun intended): No animal byproducts. No salted potato chips (Never!). "To offer chocolate up to the gohonzon is a bad cause." Pistachio nuts, especially the red coated ones, is a bad cause Dried fruit coated with s
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteShavoyQuoteTaitenAndProudWelcome to all board newcomers! Congratulations on opening your eyes and getting out of the cult that is SGI. Thank you! Never been happier! Crazy pot smokers, abusive behavior, so-called "fortune babies", I won't restate it all here, but at various points in the thread I have described my experience with all of these things as an unfortunate &
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

QuoteThe AnticultQuoteleeduffield Had the district leader phoning on Monday promising me a lifetime of poor health and Avici Hell in the hereafter.To be fair,the chapter leaders both wished me well though. that is a double-bind part of their training to try and keep people in the sect. Curse the unbeliever with hellfire and brimstone and cancer due to their unbelief, and give them some love-b
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QuoteShavoy@leeduffield----that would not surprise me either. I know I'm an old broken record on this, but if SGI thinks that America is going to become The Land of Ikeda, they are mistaken. All there is to it. It is amazing the level of delusion-all those special kosen-rufu gongyos and tozos for peace,youth etc. As if a few people chanting to a piece of paper is going to change the worl
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QuoteShavoyQuoteTaitenAndProudI was a group leader when the SGI-USA was rolling out their "membership cards" campaign. As I live in the San Diego area, I was able to attend a leaders' meeting with representatives from Los Angeles, from the National HQ. I believe this was in about August 2006, but I'm not quite sure of the year. Anyhow, in that meeting, the LA representative
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QuoteNichijewThis Orwellian cult had a very successful election in December, their power and influence increased manifold. Japan is ruined, its soul polluted worse than the air, water, and earth of Fukushima. Nichijew more determined than ever Oh dear-Japan's oxymoronic "Liberal Democrats" in league with Ikeda's New Frontier puppets.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

That's another thing Hitch-the fascistic vibe of Gakkai, even a member compared SGI events with the Nuremburg rallies ( in private of course.) So many in Gakkai are doing other practices. All kinds of New Age, homeopathy and Yoga. Anything goes except traditional Buddhist practices,and teachings. And as for the amount of substance abusers..... it is genuinely Orwellian how this is suppose
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QuoteWaywardBuddhistWoman@leeduffield: congratulations. Thank you.Get properly free yourself.
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I will be keeping stuff like the butsudan and bell i bought at Taplow Court and some photos but all traces will be gone otherwise.Amida Buddha is now in the butsudan.Funny thing is I rejected Nichiren years back thinking' that is not real Buddhism.'
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Is all the fortune baby stuff based on the Gosho? Anyway the gohonzon is gone.Chapter leader came and went in a minute with no questions.To be fair SGI in the UK is less pushy than a lot of places,us Brits hate being badgered.
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sixtyseven-thank you for your support.i hope you manage to extricate yourself without difficulty.You stay strong as well.Stay Buddhist if you can,dont let Ikeda-san put you off altogether.
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If he cancels ill just head to my local post office and return it to HQ.Either way its gone today.
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Hes coming at 4 pm.The pressure is on-had missed call from disrict leader earlier.
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Still waiting for the chapter leader to call.Ill call him soon to arrange a visit.Cant wait to get rid of the magic scroll.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families

Plenty of crazy pot smokers in SGI.How did you stand it for so long?Apart from the organisational crap and weirdness of some members I was troubled by the fact I never once heard the word 'dharma' and noone seemed interested in enlightenment. A Buddhist who is not interested in enlightenment is like a Christian not interested in heaven i. e. not one at all.
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QuoteWaywardBuddhistWomanAnd the shoving still goes on, just in subtler forms. I will post some of my experiences with disordered leaders as time permits, but I want to say that the postings on this mb have helped me gather the strength to make the decision to leave SGInsanity! Now I am withstanding the barrage of texts and calls since my disappearing act. The "love bombing" I think
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Thanks sixtyseven- glad to hear you got the magic scroll out of the house,mine's going in the post tomorrow and the daimoku book, beads and the wretched gongyo book are already binned.Hated gongyo from the off, shoulda trusted my instincts.
Forum: Former Cult Members and Affected Families