I don't believe that Virginia Straus Benson, director of the Boston Ikeda Center has ever read the entire Lotus Sutra nor Nichiren's Opening of the Eyes but I'm sure that she is quite familiar with the Ikeda-Toynbee dialogues and Ikeda's Human Revolution. Therefore, she is well positioned to propagate the religion of Ikedaism but to rely on her to propagate the Lotus Sutra Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin in Mappo, is a big mistake.
Ginny Straus Benson was replaced by Richard Yoshimachi as Director of the "Ikeda Dialogue Center"-- (2008) formerly, Peace Research Center for the 21st Century.-
ReplyDeleteI moved to Boston in 1995; attended the opening of the center, practiced in 2 different districts with Ginny, my neighbor and one of the most two- faced people I have met in SGI Boston--.
2008 , returned to SGI after 5 solid years of independent practice and NO contact--- Attending a meeting at Ginny's home, I was asked a few questions by my husband (who led the way BACK to SGI ) he was the MC-- and wanted to give me the opportunity to contribute to the meeting-- .
Next afternoon, Ginny called my husband on his cell while we were out walking our dog. I listened w/ my husband to her *correcting* him for focusing *too much* on me at the meeting. Other members had already expressed appreciation for my contributions, and he told her so--. BUT, Ginny insisted, this is because of the poor performance on your part as MC-- Katie was not the central figure--. blah blah blah-- .
The real problem was that my husband had not divorced me as per guidance from Zone leader-- and that I had the raw nerve to show up at a discussion meeting. I witnessed Ginny's contempt for general members who attended lectures, symposiums at the "Research Center"-- and I eventually was on the receiving end myself--
Ikeda Dialogue Center is a pompous, pretentious and insane as most of what surrounds it in Harvard Square-- A waste. A huge disappointment for me--as it was one of the man reasons i moved to Boston.
~Katie