This is going to be long because I am going to deconstruct the entirety of SS’s argument. Sunflower, please don’t be sad until we know the identity of SS. It is just as likely that she [he?] is a top salaried senior leader as a “bodhisattva” neophyte. My experience with SGI top senior leaders on the internet is that they enjoy their anonymity while spinning and running interference for the cult. They will do anything to turn attention away from criticism leveled at their cult and guru mentor, hoping that the reader will forget the point of the argument. Also, as you well know, it is their usual practice to turn the criticisms leveled at them back at the accuser and to utilize the cult attack technique known as bull baiting [a form of Ad Hominim].
Part 1 Reply to SS [Soka Spirit]
SS: Mark Rogow and the others. Its a situation wherein one can tell you – hey this is strawberry ice cream and this is how it tastes, but unless you do not taste it, you would never know how it tastes.
MR: The delicious taste of SGI is more along the lines of cheap chinese food laden with MSG, tasty but toxic. We have all tasted, enjoyed it, and gotten sick. Nichiren Daishonin and the Nirvana Sutra teach that within the beautiful flowerbed lives the venomous snake.
SS: Similarly, without ever chanting nam myoho renge kyo and seeing the true benefits of nichiren buddhism practiced by the SGI you would never know what the power of this prayer is.
MR: First and foremost, what SGI practices is not Nichiren’s Buddhism. You steal the Daishonin’s Daimoku and practice Ikedaism with a little Shingon [Guru Yoga] sprinkled with Zen [Japanese Bushido].
You are either being naive and presumptuous or disengenuous. Some of us have chanted tens of millions of Daimoku within the SGI, toso after toso, and converting hundreds of shakubuku among us. One of my shakubuku is on the SGI Board of Directors, far more powerful and influential than every top senior leader save perhaps, Danny Nagashima. SGI member’s prayers are weak and ineffectual compared to the prayers of the True Votaries of the Lotus Sutra.
SS: The most massive difference that you can figure out for yourself here guys is that none of the SGI members have spoken ill of any of you but rather tried to reason out with you and dialogued healthy. In contrast you have all abused/spoken ill off/ said all things you wanted to disrespect the organisation and members who believe in various things associated with it. This is what the SGI members have learnt to respect the dignity and sanctity of life – each individual is respect worthy. A sincere request to you all, if you do disagree – it’s allright, but do not disrespect – that is incorrect.
MR: You mean like my former friend, Frank Migliozzi: “Mark you really suck you ungratefull pig.” I have dozens of more such tirades. Here you are just lying and projecting.
As far as respecting the dignity of human life, SGI partners with and invests in Mitsubichi, one of the largest defense contractors in the world which makes land mines and weapons of mass destruction. The top SGI-USA women’s senior leader is a death penalty prosecutor for the state of California. I think you know that. Once again you are either lying or ignorant of the matter.
Part 2 Reply to SS
SS: If you wish to truly know what the organisation does and what Mr. Ikeda and his life has been all about read more about them from correct sources with a very open mind to try and understand. Also Mr. Ikeda is no crook as you describe him, but someone who dedicated his life to the happiness of people across the world. So many people across the world taking him to be a mentor is no co-incidence – for a man who knows no other language than Japanese.
MR: “From correct sources.” LOL. Which sources might they be? Daniel Matraux? Bill Aiken? Soka Gakkai International? The Daisaku Ikeda website? You must think we are still stupid. I’ll admit, many of us were stupid. We stayed far too long in the SGI but thanks to the Daimoku, Gohonzon, Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin, we awoke. We now count ourselves among the disciples and belevers of Nichiren who possess the most refined and truthful doctrine of Nichiren Daishonin.
You say Daisaku Ikeda’s only thought is the member’s happiness. Do you know how rich and cheap he and the other top salaried Japanese senior leaders are? Rick Perry who gave less than 0.01% of his yearly income to charity is ten, fifty, one hundred times more generous than Daisaku Ikeda.
“Make sure that the participants each bring a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. And ask each person to pack their own lunch, since we can’t afford to provide lunch for them as well. Those who don’t bring any food with them will just have to make do with whatever edible they can find in the surrounding forest. In the future, the Soka Gakkai may experience severe oppression; we may be called on to fight or endure a long, drawn-out struggle. At such time, each person will have to find their own food. We may even have to eat grass. For the sake of training, I would actually have like the youth to spend the night outdoors. I don’t want the members of the Soka Gakkai youth division to be soft.” — Human Revolution by Daisaku Ikeda
That must be why, even after the Soka Gakkai accumulated more than one hundred billion dollars, they still serve the hard working Bodhisattva bees, baloney and mayo sandwiches or rice cakes and biscuits. How many Sutra books has SGI given away for free? How many people work their tails off for SGI for free and how many have suffered severe privation by donating their last dollar to the Soka Gakkai? The Soka Gakkai never tells the suffering member, “Its ok, you are going through hard times. Give when you get back on your feet.” Did you ever see Daisaku Ikeda’s apartments in each and every SGI community center in the whole world or his villa at Malibu?
SS: 250+ honorary doctrates, etc. is not going to be given to someone who has an evil mind.
MR: Honorary degrees are often rubber stamped. For example, never has the City College of New York tabled any honorary degree. It is well known that benefactors are often awarded honorary degrees, people like your mentor who donate thousands of books to the various university libraries. It has been rumored that many of Ikeda’s degrees have been bought and sold for a lot more than books. Here is another example:
“The PM News of Sunday, 19 June 2011 also reported that President Goodluck Jonathan had approved N3 billion for the development of the University of Port Harcourt. The news was announced by Vice President Namadi Sambo who represented Jonathan at the 27th graduation ceremony of the university. The news came on the same day and in the same event in which Mrs Jonathan received the honorary doctorate degree awarded by the institution. Formally, Jonathan serves as the official visitor to the University of Port Harcourt.”
Some examples of evil men, monsters, tyrants, and dictators who have received honorary degrees:
“The most morally grotesque academic elevation was perpetrated in Spain, in 2005, when the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid conferred a doctorate honoris causa on Santiago Carrillo, former leader of the Spanish Communist Party. As chief of police in Madrid in 1936, he had presided over Cheka death squads that murdered huge numbers of people (2,800 in one weekend) for the crime of being ‘bourgeois’.
Benigno Aquino; Robert Mugabe; President Sukarno; Adolph Hitler, Robert M. Gates; Billy Graham; Sonia Ghandi, Jessie Jackson, Harry Laughlin eugenicist, the list goes on and on…
“The free distribution of honorary degrees, always a possible source of evil, is especially dangerous in the case of professional degrees, since the latter indicates the completion of an apprenticeship rather than the attainment of learning and confer priveleges of practical commercial value and subject to abuse.” — A.L. Benedict MD
“…in these days when men are angling for titles, pulling wires for “honorary degrees,” — George Kulp from the Calloused Knees
SS: Rather to someone who has genuinely worked towards dedicating his life to world peace in various possible ways.
MR: Tens of thousands of non-Nichiren Buddhists tirelessly work for world peace. Nichiren Daishonin teaches that only through establishing the correct Law can we achieve peace, not through strategies that are not based on the Lotus Sutra. It is great slander that Ikeda never once uttered the lion’s roar to his tyrant, cronie, and dictator friends.
SS: Please read his UN proposal that he sends every year as well…anyway you know what Nichiren Buddhism that SGI follows says – each one can do their Human Revolution – to fight their own fundamental darkness within their lives and change to be a better human being.
MR: I’ve read every one of his peace proposals and never once has he raised the lion’s roar. Human Revolution is what the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren Daishonin teach? Could you please site a passage or two to help us understand?
SS: The anger, ego, hatred, jealousy, lack of confidence, arrogance, etc. anything that exists in our life can be suppressed by revealing the buddha nature by chanting nam myoho renge kyo and fighting for the happiness of each and every human being around us.
MR: The SGI top salaried senior leaders are too busy counting their money from naive unthinking members such as yourself to care about those around them.
SS: The reason this law of cause and effect has spread from one person to another is because when one person sees proof of prayers in his/her life, people notice – when people notice we share with them, and we do not share with random people or publicize anything. It is a one to one interaction to help another person be happy too.
MR: Did Nichiren Daishonin teach, like Toda, that in order to prove the great faith of the Lotus Sutra we should accumulate five cadillacs? Do you not know about the Soka Gakkai advertisements in the Tokyo subway, the TV advertisements, or the Soka TV channel?
Part 3 Reply to SS
SS: Another way could be I have a close friend or relative suffering and I know them well enough to speak to them about nichiren buddhism and chanting NMRK, then I go ahead and do that sharing my own real life experiences and other members. In turn they try it themselves and do see proof. Try and understand one thing – this is the law of cause and effect and it exists, its intangible and you cannot see it but it does exist. So it does work, try it:
MR: You reveal your absolute sectarianism [except when it comes to the provisional Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and anyone except your fellow Nichiren believers]. How warped you are! The world’s phoniest exclusivist inclusivist cult is the SGI. Do you and your fellow members and leaders think that by your acts of duplicity and treason towards the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin you can have your cake and eat it to? Trust me, you will choke on your cake and cough up blood for slandering the Buddha’s Law. This is cause and effect and the reality you are creating for yourself.
SS: Quintin – Mr. Ikeda gets royalty from the publishing company for his books that sell. The money that the SGI has is not his. It is the organisations’ and they are 2 independent entities.
MR: And who controls all that money, the voting members?…Hehe. Tinkerbell? You think he doesn’t have an unlimited expense account? Wake up, your making me sleepy.
SS: Mr. Ikeda does not slander any other organisation either, he has held dialogues with various world leaders from Zhou Enlai to Gorbachev to Toynbee to Dr. Rahman (Indonesia President – and this book was the highest seller in Indonesian history), so these things are not done out of any ill intention, rather to present to society and us people, the world that we can all co-exist in harmony if we change our hearts for the better and look at the larger beauty of our own and each and every other human beings lives.
MR: Nor does he correct them as would have Nichiren Daishonin. He lacks the mercy to correct them. Again, this is proof of Ikeda’s and SGI’s duplicity. You will suck up to every Tom Dick, and Harry dictator, tyrant, and intellectual but will slander the powerless members of the other Nichiren sects. SGI is the World of Animality and Ikeda is nothing but a beast.
SS: A life that is dedicated for a greater cause in everything you do, be it at work, a sport, painting, writing, business, anything…One of the few things he says very often is to be a world citizen you need to have tolerance, acceptance of other religions, cultures, etc. and competition must not be to trample on another person’s head and move forward, but respect the competitor too, compete on humanitarian grounds, think of his/her happiness too….no matter how much I may explain but when you read from the Gosho, Mr. Ikeda, Toda and Makiguchi's writings you do realize and understand so many more things about life and the way to live.
MR: You are so confused SS. The difference between Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism and Soka Sekashu Buddhism is greater than the difference between, heaven and earth, black and white, or good and evil. What Gosho are you reading? Which Lotus Sutra are you practicing? The Makiguchi, Toda, Ikeda Sutra is not the Lotus Sutra. The Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda Gosho is not the Gosho of Nichiren Daishonin. The Lotus Sutra, our faith, and our practice is not ecumenical. It is the exclusive faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra:
"Bhikshus, when the Thus Come One knows of himself, that the time of his Nirvana has come, that the assembly is pure, that their faith and understanding are solid and firm, that they fully comprehend the Dharma emptiness and have deeply entered into Dhyana Samadhi, he will gather together the host of Bodhisattvas and Sound Hearers and speak this Sutra for them, saying, ‘there are not two vehicles by which extinction is attained. There is only the One Buddha Vehicle by which extinction can be attained.’" -- Lotus Sutra Ch. 7
MR: You are so confused SS. The difference between Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism and Soka Sekashu Buddhism is greater than the difference between, heaven and earth, black and white, or good and evil. What Gosho are you reading? Which Lotus Sutra are you practicing? The Makiguchi, Toda, Ikeda Sutra is not the Lotus Sutra. The Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda Gosho is not the Gosho of Nichiren Daishonin. The Lotus Sutra, our faith, and our practice is not ecumenical. It is the exclusive faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra:
"Bhikshus, when the Thus Come One knows of himself, that the time of his Nirvana has come, that the assembly is pure, that their faith and understanding are solid and firm, that they fully comprehend the Dharma emptiness and have deeply entered into Dhyana Samadhi, he will gather together the host of Bodhisattvas and Sound Hearers and speak this Sutra for them, saying, ‘there are not two vehicles by which extinction is attained. There is only the One Buddha Vehicle by which extinction can be attained.’" -- Lotus Sutra Ch. 7
SS: They have also always encouraged us to read many other inspiring books, stories and biographies about the lives of men of the past, great heroes, etc. So its not about them as you are showing it.
MR: Then why are you so blind?
SS: and mentor yes – sports you need a coach, hes a coach in our daily life.
MR: If you are going to choose a mentor to achieve Supreme and Perfect Enlightenment, you should choose the very best mentor, the same mentor as Nichiren Daishonin, Shakyamuni Buddha. Actually, we of have two mentors, Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin.
SS: Just wana end by saying – Nichiren Daishon quotes “The essence of Buddhism lies in one’s behavior as a human being.” So as I said before introspect your own life, question yourself that is what I am doing correct, is it helping me in anyway, is it making me a better human being? You may point fingers at the whole SGI or the world at large, but its a foolish thing to do so, change yourself first – there may be none worse than myself will be the answer.
MR: Though an ordinary mortal, I am a votary of the Lotus Sutra. It is my duty to correct wrong thought be it from Mohammad or the SGI.
Nichiren teaches: "The thousand years beginning from the day after the Buddha's passng are called the Former Day of the law, a period when there were many who upheld the precepts, and people attained the way. The Thousand years of the Former Day were followed by the Middle Day of the Law, which also lasted a thousand years. During this period, many people broke the precepts, and few attained the way. The thousand year Middle Day is followed by the ten thousand years of the Latter Day of the Law. during this period, people neither uphold the precepts nor break them; only those without precepts fill the country. Moreover, it is called a defiled age, an age rife with disorder. In an uncorrupted age, called a pure age, wrong is discarded while right is observed, just as crooked timber is planed according to the mark left by a thread stretched straight. During the Former and Middle days of the Law, the five Impurities began to appear, and in the Latter Day, they are rampant. They give rise to the great waves of a gale, which not only beat against the shore, but strike each other. The impurity of thought has been such that, as the Former and Middle Days of the Law gradually passed, people transmitted insignificant erroneous teachings whie destroying the unfathomable correct teaching. It therefore appears that more people have fallen into the evil paths because of errors with respect to Buddhism than because of secular misdeeds.
Since SGI's errors are not slight, as a Bodhisattva of the Earth, I must speak up. I must correct you.
SS: then see the change in your attitude if you fight to be a better human being and for the happiness of those around you. The simple way you behave at home with parents, siblings, with anyone will change. The gratitude for all you have in life will set in. You may come back with ‘n’ no. of accusations, assumptions and points as you may deem right – but you will harm none but yourself. Do not know how much you understand and believe in cause and effect or karma. So as the old saying goes the world is round and what goes around comes around – you may realise at some point.
MR: Though an ordinary mortal, I am a votary of the Lotus Sutra. It is my duty to correct wrong thought be it from Mohammad or the SGI.
Nichiren teaches: "The thousand years beginning from the day after the Buddha's passng are called the Former Day of the law, a period when there were many who upheld the precepts, and people attained the way. The Thousand years of the Former Day were followed by the Middle Day of the Law, which also lasted a thousand years. During this period, many people broke the precepts, and few attained the way. The thousand year Middle Day is followed by the ten thousand years of the Latter Day of the Law. during this period, people neither uphold the precepts nor break them; only those without precepts fill the country. Moreover, it is called a defiled age, an age rife with disorder. In an uncorrupted age, called a pure age, wrong is discarded while right is observed, just as crooked timber is planed according to the mark left by a thread stretched straight. During the Former and Middle days of the Law, the five Impurities began to appear, and in the Latter Day, they are rampant. They give rise to the great waves of a gale, which not only beat against the shore, but strike each other. The impurity of thought has been such that, as the Former and Middle Days of the Law gradually passed, people transmitted insignificant erroneous teachings whie destroying the unfathomable correct teaching. It therefore appears that more people have fallen into the evil paths because of errors with respect to Buddhism than because of secular misdeeds.
Since SGI's errors are not slight, as a Bodhisattva of the Earth, I must speak up. I must correct you.
SS: then see the change in your attitude if you fight to be a better human being and for the happiness of those around you. The simple way you behave at home with parents, siblings, with anyone will change. The gratitude for all you have in life will set in. You may come back with ‘n’ no. of accusations, assumptions and points as you may deem right – but you will harm none but yourself. Do not know how much you understand and believe in cause and effect or karma. So as the old saying goes the world is round and what goes around comes around – you may realise at some point.
MR: We take our guidance from the Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin and if we are to believe them we are creating good fortune and a fortunate birth in the next life. As Nichiren Daishonin teaches:
“Though I might be offered the rulership of Japan if I would only abandon the Lotus Sutra, accept the teachings of the Meditation Sutra, and look forward to rebirth in the Pure Land, though I might be told that my father and mother will have their heads cut off if I do not join the Soka Gakkai—whatever obstacles I might encounter, so long as persons of wisdom do not prove my teachings to be false, I will never yield! All other troubles are no more to me than dust before the wind.”
SS: And if you feel any truth in all the other members and I have said and anything that you do read about SGI – sgi.org, books, etc. may be you will understand that if the SGI was so wrong and so spiteful, evil, conniving, etc. as you all describe it – it would have been destroyed long back.
MR: This is Mappo, the Latter Day, the Age of Degeneration. Evil flourishes and good people find it hard to endure.
SS: It is a good organisation doing good things – if you do not wish to be a part of it then do not disrespect it. Do anything as you deem right in life and make a name for yourself for people to remember and thank just as Mr. Ikeda.
MR: We do not seek accolades and despite having lost our good name like the Lady Nun Myoho, the Buddha will never abandonnhis children. Not for a moment had Nichiren chanted for secular things. Ikeda is a secularist. We follow in the footsteps of Nichiren Daishonin. I advise you to do the same.
SS: No point in criticizing someone whose done so much good, try and emulate him if not hate it. All the very best and stay happy” — SS
MR: Bill Aiken [SGI Director of Public Affairs], is that you? If it is, you have been less than truthful for more than 35 years. Who can believe you now?
Could very well be Bill Aiken, the same "Howdy Doody" PR puppet gave my husband and I this guidance in Jan. 1999-:-[ he was Jt. Territory chief in Washington D.C back then ]
ReplyDelete1) "Trust your leaders".
2) "Everyone gets saved with this Buddhism"
Bill was responding to our deep concerns about the disbanding of our district in Boston [July 1998] We traveled from Boston to Washington DC; a 9 hour trip by car to hear the wisdom of this *sage* LOL-- [on us]
I saw a recent photo of Bill on this site-- he has taken on the appearance of Howdy Doody-- which is no small matter...
~Katie
Breaking NEWS!!
ReplyDelete"The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra" MW vol III pp.3-27 is the only source necessary to prove that SGI is *not* practicing Nichiren Buddhism-- is NOT devoted, much less connected to the Lotus Sutra; is NOT performing any of the 3 practices , comprehensive, abbreviated and essential that Nichiren states on page 8-9; instructing us regarding how we *devote ourselves* and gain benefit from the Lotus Sutra.
copied from a comment I posted on ARBN today:
"So, that's my basic argument for SGI inventing its own religion--no connection to The Lotus Sutra.
No Juryo chapter, no correct daimoku-not a single recitation of Namu-myoho-renge-kyo on any given day for almost 10 years.-- no longer even doing the *abbreviated* practice.
My argument is based solely on "The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra", MW vol 3, pp.3-27.
My argument regarding Nichiren Shoshu's revision and reversal of The Three Treasures of Buddhism, is substantial, but I concede that at least there are still elements of devotion to the Lotus Sutra evident in Nichiren Shoshu, and surely there are NS priests who perform the *comprehensive* practice. "
Since the end of the millennia , SGI, in addition to the distortions and fabricated teachings Daisaeku has taught, and SGI leaders have employed to indoctrinate members to his *new* religion, Not a single member now chants even *one* correct recitation of the daimoku Nichiren taught--Before trimming gongyo, there were recitations of *slow daimoku* Na-mu-myo-ho-re-ge-kyo at the endo f 5 prayers in the morning and 3 prayers in the evening. At the same time SGI cut the recitation of the Juryo Chapter, out went the only correct recitation of the daimoku, and out went the ESSENTIAL practice. SGI literally there out the baby with the bath water !
You, do the math--- how long have members been *complaining* about *no benefit*, which puts even more focus on the shoddy behavior of leaders--- and more need to control, silence and punish members..
in 1998, Mark requested dialogue and doctrinal debate ; formally and respectfully making this request of SGI USA top leaders. Maybe he even felt the vibes rippling out from Boston where my district was disbanded due to my attempts to engage leaders on correct vs. incorrect teachings and practices-- ??
18 years ago Top SGI leaders were engaged in the *change over* to Ikedaism. the IRG, Mark and myself were defamed, shunned and persecuted by these *enterprising* leaders--- and NOW, that they have over a decade of NOT practicing the Lotus Sutra-- NO connection to the Lotus Sutra-- One can readily imagine why *debates* like this one Mark posted, appear to be the exchange between two people who speak a different language without benefit of an interpreter.
The interpreter should be Nichiren, The Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha-- but none of them exist in the SGI anymore---SGI has severed ALL connection to the practice of the Lotus Sutra as taught by Nichiren.
The need for public debated is crucial at this juncture---I hope there are SGI members reading here who will demand that their Top leaders attend to this crucial matter and agree to public debate per Mark's ongoing requests!
~Katie