Re: Former SGI members and cults
Posted by: tsukimoto ()
Date: August 24, 2009 05:54AM
_________Quote, Sokacult.com, August 6, 2004, web.archive.org_____________________________________________________________________
Jealous Lies of Corrupt Journalists
What is the mainstream press saying about Soka? They love us and praise us because we are such a great, humanistic organization. However, some corrupt newspapers have printed lies about Soka. Soka has many enemies who are angry and emotional and only wish to destroy true Buddhism. Here is a sampling of their falsehoods. You must not believe a single word, except where we are praised.
Recent examples of yellow journalism:
"It takes only a light scratching of the surface to see the true character of Dr. Ikeda and Soka Gakkai. Don't wait until they come to your school."
Imperial Valley Press editorial, May 20, 2004
NPR: News or "cult infomercial?
Rick Ross editorial, Mensnewsdaily.com, May 14, 2004
Be confident! Over decades, the eternal character of Soka shines through:
"A throng estimated by the police at 300,000 persons turned out today for the funeral of a religious sect leader. ...Josei Toda, the leader, died of a heart attack April 2....'Soka Gakkai' is derived from Buddhism, but its activities are more militant."
The New York Times, April 21, 1958
"Daisaku Ikeda, a confident young man of 34, will leave for the United States tomorrow to spread the doctrines of a militant Buddhist sect that has become a political force in Japan and, he hopes, will become a political force throughout the world."
The New York Times, January 8, 1963
"The growing strength of Soka Gakkai, the militant Buddhist organization that now puts its membership at one-tenth of Japan's total population, is being watched with fascinated attention and considerable trepidation."
The New York Times, November 17, 1963
"The militant Soka Gakkai group, one of the most dynamic forces in modern Japan, asserts that its membership has risen from 10 million to 15 million in the last year. Its aggressive conversion tactics and its highly-organized mass participation activities have caused concern among other civil and religious elements and its venture into politics has begun to disturb the dominant parties."
The New York Times, November 18, 1964
The Grand Main Reception Hall's "construction followed a four-day fundraising drive in July, 1961, in which Soka Gakkai members contributed almost $9 million."
The New York Times, February 7, 1965
"...In the last decade, Soka Gakkai's efficient organizational techniques and aggressive proselytizing have converted millions to its goal: 'To give absolute happiness to each individual.'"
The New York Times, July 18, 1965
"Officials of this earthquake-periled town in north central Japan are disturbed by the influx of representatives of some of Japan's aggressive 'new religions.' They accuse them of having tried to exploit the fears of nervous residents. Most conspicuous among the outsiders who have shown up here recently are members of Soka Gakkai...."
The New York Times, January 30, 1966
"Soka Gakkai, its rapid growth apparently slowing, appears to be entering a cautious stage of self-examination and reorganization."
The New York Times, April 3, 1966
"'Pack up your troubles in your Gakkai pack and smile, smile, smile,' the crowd of 250 men, women and children in the dingy Manhattan ballroom sang lustily. At the front of the room four men in shirtsleeves beat time, waving gilded fans in sweeping, cheerleader arcs."
The New York Times, April 26, 1966
"Eight years ago the Nichiren Sokagakkai movement was formally organized in this country with headquarters in Los Angeles. It disavows any of the political ramifications of the sect in Japan. Recent statements that the movement is 'the fastest growing religion in the country' turn out, on investigation, to be hard to corroborate."
The New York Times, March 3, 1968
"Although it ultimately aims at making the Nichiren sect Japan's state religion, its precise aspirations have hitherto been expressed in Boy Scout terms to attract voters to its Komeito ('clean government') party."
The New York Times, May 7, 1969
"The dispute, arising out of charges by the Communist party that Komeito representatives tried to suppress publication of a book critical of its parent religious body, the Soka Gakkai...has brought into the open widely entertained fears regarding tendencies toward authoritarianism within the Komeito and the Soka Gakkai. Analysis and criticism of both bodies in the Japanese press and other communications channels has long been muted, presumably out of fear of the massive economic and political power they wield."
The New York Times, January 11, 1970
"Japanese Buddhist Group Ending Close Ties with Political Party: ...Both party and Soka Gakkai officials have been increasingly concerned with repudiating charges that they planned to impose a fascistic politico-religious regime on Japan..."
The New York Times, December 17, 1970
"Three thousand paraders marched through downtown San Diego last Saturday in vivid costumes, made for the occasion. Most attention focused on Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai organization and of Nichiren Shoshu Academy, who is 'master' to millions of followers of the sect."
The New York Times, April 14, 1974
"The Socialists raised large amounts from labor unions supporting them, and the Komeito, or Clean Government Party, which is the political wing of the militant Soka Gakkai Buddhist sect, uses its religious organization. Their financing has been so well hidden that even the Japanese press has declined to speculate on how much money the Socialists and the Komeito have raised from their supporters."
The New York Times, July 14, 1974
"Though its tight organization and energetic proselytizing may give Soka Gakkai a superficial resemblance to the controversial Unification Church of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the basic nature of the organization is quite different, and Nichiren Shoshu has generally not obtruded on public consciousness in New York."
The New York Times, June 20, 1976
"'This is a totally corrupt religious organization," said Yukimasa Fujiwara, a member of the Tokyo municipal assembly, who was expelled from the Komeito party when he publicly criticized the Soka Gakkai's control over its policies and finances."
The New York Times, July 20, 1989
"'NSA is one of the largest destructive cults in the country,' says Steven Hassan, a former member of the Unification Church and the author of Combating Cult Mind Control. 'They like to talk about peace and democracy, but their beliefs at the core are antithetical to that. Like all other cults, they espouse wonderful ideas and worthy goals. The question is, what are they doing to meet those goals? Are they just espousing them to recruit people, to gain money and power? The difference between a cult like NSA and an aggressive religion is that the religion tells people up front who they are and what they want.'"
The Boston Globe, October 15, 1989
"Some former members and other critics maintain that all of the organizations are part of a coordinated effort to recruit members and make Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism the religion of the world. Compartmentalizing the various branches of the group is expedient, they say, allowing leaders to dodge controversies. Soka Gakkai International has been tainted by several scandals in Japan, involving allegations of wiretapping and tax evasion. The NSA has been accused of overly aggressive recruitment techniques."
The Los Angeles Times, November 17, 1991
Soka Gakkai "was ordered to pay millions of dollars in back taxes from undeclared income for its businesses of making gravestones, for instance. Two years ago, $1.2 million in yen notes found in a safe in a dump in Yokohama was traced to a Soka Gakkai member. More recently, $11 million paid by Soka Gakkai for two Renoir paintings disappeared, raising questions about whether the lay group was stashing sums away for political payoffs."
The New York Times, February 10, 1992
"People are approached from the standpoint of doing something for their personal lives, and, little by little, they are told that the only way they can advance their personal lives is to advance the organization. Once you've made that connection, that advancing the organization is advancing your personal life, then they have total control over you. So, watching the people who have been abused over time and just fleeced, you know, year in and year out for money, that certainly is a horrible form of abuse."
BBC World News, October 14th, 1995
"The debate about Soka Gakkai's intentions leads back to Ikeda, whose favorite phrase when exhorting his senior followers is Tenka o toru (conquer the country). In his rare public interviews, Ikeda presents himself as a moderate who has been miscast by the press. 'I am an ordinary and serious man,' he told the BBC in an interview this year. 'The mass media, with the exception of the bbc, make up this image of me as a dictator and so forth. This troubles me very much.'"
TIME Magazine, November 20, 1995
"Soka Gakkai, a lay Buddhist group with $100 billion in assets, has been accused of heavy-handed fund raising and proselytizing, as well as intimidating its foes and trying to grab political power."
The San Francisco Chronicle, December 27, 1995
"He is a grasping power-monger aiming for political control by rallying the 8 million families of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization, critics say. Ridiculous, his supporters retort: He is a crusader for common folk who unflinchingly fights the oppressive establishment."
The Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1996
"Now, it was panic button time because without a real lineage, he was just another private citizen with his own cult that happened to use methods pioneered and modernized by the Nichiren Sect. His entire international reputation rested on his recognition and respect as a Buddhist leader, and now he was just the Chantmeister of the Ikeda Society. He had to drop everything and do what he could to re-invent himself as the born again Secular Sort of Buddhist Leader respected by important academics and top universities around the world. "
CyberSangha: The Buddhist Alternative Journal, July 24, 1996
"'What we are talking about are not open organizations or democratic structures, but something like a Communist Party or worse,' said Seizaburo Sato, deputy director of the National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies. ' We are dealing with a dictatorship built around the person of one man.' Soka Gakkai officials describe their organization in very different terms. For them, it is akin to a liberation movement and is an ardent promoter of social activism and human rights. They often describe their group as Buddhism's first Protestant movement, since its excommunication by Nichiren Shoshu, a Japanese strain of the faith, in 1991."
The New York Times, November 14, 1999
"Using the massive funds generated by its 8 million members, mostly housewives and small business people, Ikeda has been able to build Soka Gakkai into a giant global organisation, aimed at 'promoting peace through culture and education.' The expansion has not done much for its domestic image. Despite its lofty goals, some heavy-handed recruiting tactics in the 1970s and 1980s and its intolerance of criticism have left many Japanese deeply suspicious of the body and its leadership." Sydney Morning Herald, July 1, 2000
"Rebekah Poston was hired by Soka Gakkai, a large Japanese Buddhist sect, to obtain criminal justice records on a man named Nobuo Abe, the head of a rival Buddhist sect. Soka Gakkai hoped to use these records in a defamation lawsuit against Abe."
United States House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, July 27, 2000
"...Soka, first brought to the United States by Japanese war brides in the 1940's, 'is not nearly as well known in the United States as Zen or Tibetan Buddhism, but it has more members than any Buddhist sect in Japan' and claims 300,000 members in this country, though Professor Hammond said his surveys suggested the number was closer to 45,000. 'I don't think they would like this characterization but I think this campus is a step toward respectability, dignity,' Professor Hammond said."
The New York Times, July 25, 2001
"'I was led to believe this was a nonsectarian university,' said sophomore Murphy McMahon, who was among those who camped out in front of the cafeteria. 'But it's not. It's (Soka Gakkai International.)'"
The Orange County Register, February 8, 2003
"Thus the question: does Soka University of America sail under false colors? Joe McGinniss certainly thinks so. He maintains that the university has used its nonsectarian status to attract non-Gakkai faculty and students, many of whom have already left or are planning to leave because of the alleged deception."
Academe, March 2003
"Although more legal wrangling is still possible, last week’s victors are hopeful that the current economy and Soka’s internal conditions might create circumstances that would prompt the university ownership, Soka Gakkai, to consider selling the 214-acre King Gillette Ranch on which it now operates a language school and outreach program to the federal government."
Malibu Surfside News, March 6, 2003
"...Soka University hopes to boost its enrollment to 1,200 students within the next decade. As it grows, one thing this campus doesn't have to worry about is money. Just over a year old, the University already boasts a $300 million-dollar endowment -- funding that's been contributed to the school by Soka Gakkai and its members...Meanwhile, several teachers at the College have announced they are leaving because they don't feel free to criticize the Soka Gakkai sect."
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on PBS, May 2, 2003
"For the early faculty, there were kind of red flags right away, there were really deep concerns by some of the early faculty – all of whom have left now, either by being fired or by choosing to leave – they were really concerned about the relationship between the funding organisation, Soka Gakkai, and Soka University, and they felt that decision-making was happening in a very secretive and hierarchical way, and we weren’t being told a lot of what was going on, the faculty."
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, May 21, 2003
__________________________________________End of Quote____________________________________________________________________
Jealous Lies of Corrupt Journalists
What is the mainstream press saying about Soka? They love us and praise us because we are such a great, humanistic organization. However, some corrupt newspapers have printed lies about Soka. Soka has many enemies who are angry and emotional and only wish to destroy true Buddhism. Here is a sampling of their falsehoods. You must not believe a single word, except where we are praised.
Recent examples of yellow journalism:
"It takes only a light scratching of the surface to see the true character of Dr. Ikeda and Soka Gakkai. Don't wait until they come to your school."
Imperial Valley Press editorial, May 20, 2004
NPR: News or "cult infomercial?
Rick Ross editorial, Mensnewsdaily.com, May 14, 2004
Be confident! Over decades, the eternal character of Soka shines through:
"A throng estimated by the police at 300,000 persons turned out today for the funeral of a religious sect leader. ...Josei Toda, the leader, died of a heart attack April 2....'Soka Gakkai' is derived from Buddhism, but its activities are more militant."
The New York Times, April 21, 1958
"Daisaku Ikeda, a confident young man of 34, will leave for the United States tomorrow to spread the doctrines of a militant Buddhist sect that has become a political force in Japan and, he hopes, will become a political force throughout the world."
The New York Times, January 8, 1963
"The growing strength of Soka Gakkai, the militant Buddhist organization that now puts its membership at one-tenth of Japan's total population, is being watched with fascinated attention and considerable trepidation."
The New York Times, November 17, 1963
"The militant Soka Gakkai group, one of the most dynamic forces in modern Japan, asserts that its membership has risen from 10 million to 15 million in the last year. Its aggressive conversion tactics and its highly-organized mass participation activities have caused concern among other civil and religious elements and its venture into politics has begun to disturb the dominant parties."
The New York Times, November 18, 1964
The Grand Main Reception Hall's "construction followed a four-day fundraising drive in July, 1961, in which Soka Gakkai members contributed almost $9 million."
The New York Times, February 7, 1965
"...In the last decade, Soka Gakkai's efficient organizational techniques and aggressive proselytizing have converted millions to its goal: 'To give absolute happiness to each individual.'"
The New York Times, July 18, 1965
"Officials of this earthquake-periled town in north central Japan are disturbed by the influx of representatives of some of Japan's aggressive 'new religions.' They accuse them of having tried to exploit the fears of nervous residents. Most conspicuous among the outsiders who have shown up here recently are members of Soka Gakkai...."
The New York Times, January 30, 1966
"Soka Gakkai, its rapid growth apparently slowing, appears to be entering a cautious stage of self-examination and reorganization."
The New York Times, April 3, 1966
"'Pack up your troubles in your Gakkai pack and smile, smile, smile,' the crowd of 250 men, women and children in the dingy Manhattan ballroom sang lustily. At the front of the room four men in shirtsleeves beat time, waving gilded fans in sweeping, cheerleader arcs."
The New York Times, April 26, 1966
"Eight years ago the Nichiren Sokagakkai movement was formally organized in this country with headquarters in Los Angeles. It disavows any of the political ramifications of the sect in Japan. Recent statements that the movement is 'the fastest growing religion in the country' turn out, on investigation, to be hard to corroborate."
The New York Times, March 3, 1968
"Although it ultimately aims at making the Nichiren sect Japan's state religion, its precise aspirations have hitherto been expressed in Boy Scout terms to attract voters to its Komeito ('clean government') party."
The New York Times, May 7, 1969
"The dispute, arising out of charges by the Communist party that Komeito representatives tried to suppress publication of a book critical of its parent religious body, the Soka Gakkai...has brought into the open widely entertained fears regarding tendencies toward authoritarianism within the Komeito and the Soka Gakkai. Analysis and criticism of both bodies in the Japanese press and other communications channels has long been muted, presumably out of fear of the massive economic and political power they wield."
The New York Times, January 11, 1970
"Japanese Buddhist Group Ending Close Ties with Political Party: ...Both party and Soka Gakkai officials have been increasingly concerned with repudiating charges that they planned to impose a fascistic politico-religious regime on Japan..."
The New York Times, December 17, 1970
"Three thousand paraders marched through downtown San Diego last Saturday in vivid costumes, made for the occasion. Most attention focused on Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai organization and of Nichiren Shoshu Academy, who is 'master' to millions of followers of the sect."
The New York Times, April 14, 1974
"The Socialists raised large amounts from labor unions supporting them, and the Komeito, or Clean Government Party, which is the political wing of the militant Soka Gakkai Buddhist sect, uses its religious organization. Their financing has been so well hidden that even the Japanese press has declined to speculate on how much money the Socialists and the Komeito have raised from their supporters."
The New York Times, July 14, 1974
"Though its tight organization and energetic proselytizing may give Soka Gakkai a superficial resemblance to the controversial Unification Church of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the basic nature of the organization is quite different, and Nichiren Shoshu has generally not obtruded on public consciousness in New York."
The New York Times, June 20, 1976
"'This is a totally corrupt religious organization," said Yukimasa Fujiwara, a member of the Tokyo municipal assembly, who was expelled from the Komeito party when he publicly criticized the Soka Gakkai's control over its policies and finances."
The New York Times, July 20, 1989
"'NSA is one of the largest destructive cults in the country,' says Steven Hassan, a former member of the Unification Church and the author of Combating Cult Mind Control. 'They like to talk about peace and democracy, but their beliefs at the core are antithetical to that. Like all other cults, they espouse wonderful ideas and worthy goals. The question is, what are they doing to meet those goals? Are they just espousing them to recruit people, to gain money and power? The difference between a cult like NSA and an aggressive religion is that the religion tells people up front who they are and what they want.'"
The Boston Globe, October 15, 1989
"Some former members and other critics maintain that all of the organizations are part of a coordinated effort to recruit members and make Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism the religion of the world. Compartmentalizing the various branches of the group is expedient, they say, allowing leaders to dodge controversies. Soka Gakkai International has been tainted by several scandals in Japan, involving allegations of wiretapping and tax evasion. The NSA has been accused of overly aggressive recruitment techniques."
The Los Angeles Times, November 17, 1991
Soka Gakkai "was ordered to pay millions of dollars in back taxes from undeclared income for its businesses of making gravestones, for instance. Two years ago, $1.2 million in yen notes found in a safe in a dump in Yokohama was traced to a Soka Gakkai member. More recently, $11 million paid by Soka Gakkai for two Renoir paintings disappeared, raising questions about whether the lay group was stashing sums away for political payoffs."
The New York Times, February 10, 1992
"People are approached from the standpoint of doing something for their personal lives, and, little by little, they are told that the only way they can advance their personal lives is to advance the organization. Once you've made that connection, that advancing the organization is advancing your personal life, then they have total control over you. So, watching the people who have been abused over time and just fleeced, you know, year in and year out for money, that certainly is a horrible form of abuse."
BBC World News, October 14th, 1995
"The debate about Soka Gakkai's intentions leads back to Ikeda, whose favorite phrase when exhorting his senior followers is Tenka o toru (conquer the country). In his rare public interviews, Ikeda presents himself as a moderate who has been miscast by the press. 'I am an ordinary and serious man,' he told the BBC in an interview this year. 'The mass media, with the exception of the bbc, make up this image of me as a dictator and so forth. This troubles me very much.'"
TIME Magazine, November 20, 1995
"Soka Gakkai, a lay Buddhist group with $100 billion in assets, has been accused of heavy-handed fund raising and proselytizing, as well as intimidating its foes and trying to grab political power."
The San Francisco Chronicle, December 27, 1995
"He is a grasping power-monger aiming for political control by rallying the 8 million families of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization, critics say. Ridiculous, his supporters retort: He is a crusader for common folk who unflinchingly fights the oppressive establishment."
The Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1996
"Now, it was panic button time because without a real lineage, he was just another private citizen with his own cult that happened to use methods pioneered and modernized by the Nichiren Sect. His entire international reputation rested on his recognition and respect as a Buddhist leader, and now he was just the Chantmeister of the Ikeda Society. He had to drop everything and do what he could to re-invent himself as the born again Secular Sort of Buddhist Leader respected by important academics and top universities around the world. "
CyberSangha: The Buddhist Alternative Journal, July 24, 1996
"'What we are talking about are not open organizations or democratic structures, but something like a Communist Party or worse,' said Seizaburo Sato, deputy director of the National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies. ' We are dealing with a dictatorship built around the person of one man.' Soka Gakkai officials describe their organization in very different terms. For them, it is akin to a liberation movement and is an ardent promoter of social activism and human rights. They often describe their group as Buddhism's first Protestant movement, since its excommunication by Nichiren Shoshu, a Japanese strain of the faith, in 1991."
The New York Times, November 14, 1999
"Using the massive funds generated by its 8 million members, mostly housewives and small business people, Ikeda has been able to build Soka Gakkai into a giant global organisation, aimed at 'promoting peace through culture and education.' The expansion has not done much for its domestic image. Despite its lofty goals, some heavy-handed recruiting tactics in the 1970s and 1980s and its intolerance of criticism have left many Japanese deeply suspicious of the body and its leadership." Sydney Morning Herald, July 1, 2000
"Rebekah Poston was hired by Soka Gakkai, a large Japanese Buddhist sect, to obtain criminal justice records on a man named Nobuo Abe, the head of a rival Buddhist sect. Soka Gakkai hoped to use these records in a defamation lawsuit against Abe."
United States House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform, July 27, 2000
"...Soka, first brought to the United States by Japanese war brides in the 1940's, 'is not nearly as well known in the United States as Zen or Tibetan Buddhism, but it has more members than any Buddhist sect in Japan' and claims 300,000 members in this country, though Professor Hammond said his surveys suggested the number was closer to 45,000. 'I don't think they would like this characterization but I think this campus is a step toward respectability, dignity,' Professor Hammond said."
The New York Times, July 25, 2001
"'I was led to believe this was a nonsectarian university,' said sophomore Murphy McMahon, who was among those who camped out in front of the cafeteria. 'But it's not. It's (Soka Gakkai International.)'"
The Orange County Register, February 8, 2003
"Thus the question: does Soka University of America sail under false colors? Joe McGinniss certainly thinks so. He maintains that the university has used its nonsectarian status to attract non-Gakkai faculty and students, many of whom have already left or are planning to leave because of the alleged deception."
Academe, March 2003
"Although more legal wrangling is still possible, last week’s victors are hopeful that the current economy and Soka’s internal conditions might create circumstances that would prompt the university ownership, Soka Gakkai, to consider selling the 214-acre King Gillette Ranch on which it now operates a language school and outreach program to the federal government."
Malibu Surfside News, March 6, 2003
"...Soka University hopes to boost its enrollment to 1,200 students within the next decade. As it grows, one thing this campus doesn't have to worry about is money. Just over a year old, the University already boasts a $300 million-dollar endowment -- funding that's been contributed to the school by Soka Gakkai and its members...Meanwhile, several teachers at the College have announced they are leaving because they don't feel free to criticize the Soka Gakkai sect."
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on PBS, May 2, 2003
"For the early faculty, there were kind of red flags right away, there were really deep concerns by some of the early faculty – all of whom have left now, either by being fired or by choosing to leave – they were really concerned about the relationship between the funding organisation, Soka Gakkai, and Soka University, and they felt that decision-making was happening in a very secretive and hierarchical way, and we weren’t being told a lot of what was going on, the faculty."
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, May 21, 2003
__________________________________________End of Quote____________________________________________________________________
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