Nichiren BuddhistMay 16, 2012 at 3:30 AM
12).Destructive cults tend to re-write their members’ past, manipulate their present, and distort their future. Disrupting time orientation is an honored technique of all such cults.
The Human Revolution is an account of the growth of the Soka Gakkai from the end of World War 2 to Daisaku Ikeda becoming president and the New Human Revolution continues from this point onwards. While it may take some licence with changing people’s names, some events occur out of sequence (flashbacks?) and some periods are skipped (it's not a daily diary), I don’t think it’s a deliberate manipulation to distort the truth, but rather a narrative structure decision.
What things are omitted? Usually cult leaders will try to rewrite their history by hiding criminal backgrounds, or any negative information they don’t want to come out. The Human Revolution and New Human Revolution don’t always paint the presidents as perfect and mention most of the controversies, such as vote tampering, confronting priests at the head temple on the 700th anniversary, etc. It’s not exactly a whitewash of a history of abuses. Obviously the best incidents will be highlighted and the lowlights played down as often happens when any historical period is covered by an organisation.
Basically the Human Revolution series includes guidance from meetings, advice on how to be a good leader and much more. The purpose of the Human Revolution is to at least get an understanding of those early days and the growth of the organisation and one of the key elements of the series is the advice about how to be a good leader based on Nichiren Buddhism. Leaders that are weak in faith or take advantage of others are rebuked. Leaders with airs of supremacy or pride are rebuked. The overall theme of the series is on becoming an outstanding person within the workplace, within your community and within your family.
I suggest you read the following before I point out your fallacies, misunderstandings, spins, and lies about the Soka Gakkai [the Ikeda sect] and Nichiren's Lotus Sutra Buddhism. An entire post will be devoted to all of your points. Dominating Tradition Soka Gakkai and the Creation of Historyhttps://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/12949/1/MQ45445.pdf
The Human Revolution is an account of the growth of the Soka Gakkai from the end of World War 2 to Daisaku Ikeda becoming president and the New Human Revolution continues from this point onwards. While it may take some licence with changing people’s names, some events occur out of sequence (flashbacks?) and some periods are skipped (it's not a daily diary), I don’t think it’s a deliberate manipulation to distort the truth, but rather a narrative structure decision.
What things are omitted? Usually cult leaders will try to rewrite their history by hiding criminal backgrounds, or any negative information they don’t want to come out. The Human Revolution and New Human Revolution don’t always paint the presidents as perfect and mention most of the controversies, such as vote tampering, confronting priests at the head temple on the 700th anniversary, etc. It’s not exactly a whitewash of a history of abuses. Obviously the best incidents will be highlighted and the lowlights played down as often happens when any historical period is covered by an organisation.
Basically the Human Revolution series includes guidance from meetings, advice on how to be a good leader and much more. The purpose of the Human Revolution is to at least get an understanding of those early days and the growth of the organisation and one of the key elements of the series is the advice about how to be a good leader based on Nichiren Buddhism. Leaders that are weak in faith or take advantage of others are rebuked. Leaders with airs of supremacy or pride are rebuked. The overall theme of the series is on becoming an outstanding person within the workplace, within your community and within your family.
I suggest you read the following before I point out your fallacies, misunderstandings, spins, and lies about the Soka Gakkai [the Ikeda sect] and Nichiren's Lotus Sutra Buddhism. An entire post will be devoted to all of your points. Dominating Tradition Soka Gakkai and the Creation of Historyhttps://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/12949/1/MQ45445.pdf
13).And, finally, there is never a legitimate reason for leaving a destructive cult. The only reason members leave a perfect system, is because they are imperfect in some respect and will be punished for it.
“He was angry.” “He was jealous.” "He couldn’t get along with his leader.” “He had weak faith.”
Within the UK, the reason people leave is not described in any of the above terms. Leaving the Soka Gakkai as seen as a decision someone has made because they didn’t feel Buddhism was right for them at this moment. Some members may be disappointed that a friend no longer wants to practice but ultimately everyone has the choice whether to follow Nichiren Buddhism or not for whatever reason they may have.
“He was angry.” “He was jealous.” "He couldn’t get along with his leader.” “He had weak faith.”
Within the UK, the reason people leave is not described in any of the above terms. Leaving the Soka Gakkai as seen as a decision someone has made because they didn’t feel Buddhism was right for them at this moment. Some members may be disappointed that a friend no longer wants to practice but ultimately everyone has the choice whether to follow Nichiren Buddhism or not for whatever reason they may have.
I think more than a few left because they wanted to practice Buddhism, not Ikedaism nor Gakkaism. Most leave because of the bad taste in their mouth from the lies and the distortions.
You can still be friends with ex-members, there’s no excommunication or forbidding us to mix with such a person. They are not dead to us. I’ve only know two people leave in my time in the UK in the three districts I’ve practised in, and in both cases it was seen as a decision that was made because now wasn’t the right time for them to continue their faith. They may have felt they didn’t see proof in their lives, which is fair enough. They have been introduced to Buddhism though and are welcome to return at any time (either in this life or the next).
There certainly is excommunication. Who are you kidding? As far as being introduced to Buddhism, they were introduced to Ikedaism, not Buddhism. I mean really, even by definition, "The teachings of the Buddha", one only has to attend several meeting where Ikeda is mentioned many dozens of times and Shakyamuni Buddha not even once, to know that Ikedaism is not Buddhism.