Nichiren Shoshu Kent's "excellent article"?

Kent: My first concern was spotting and eliminating sectarian bias, so I read three versions of the Lotus Sutra: one produced by the SGI (Burton, by far the coarsest and least scholarly), one by the Rissho Kosei-kai (my favorite) and the first english translation, by a Christian, (H. Kern, 1884). After reading and comparing these versions, I concluded that Nichiren's evaluation was correct, and that the theologies of other Chinese and Japanese schools are no longer appropriate for this time.

Mark: This paragraph makes little sense to me. Could you rephrase it?

Kent: The next issue was determining how to practice Nichiren's teachings correctly. However, there is considerable dispute about the actual content and practice of his teachings, dating back to his original 6 senior disciples. Now, Nichiren certainly knew his teachings best, and would therefore be in the best position to judge who among those 6 understood them correctly.

Mark: Only one of the six elder priests understood the teachings correctly? What Gosho is that from? I don't remember reading it any where except in a copy of a copy of a copy of a "Gosho" found at Taisekaji.

Kent: He probably would therefore have passed his teachings on to that person or persons.

Mark: No, to all who embrace and uphold the Sutra at the cost of their lives.

Kent: This led me to investigate the matter of the inheritance.

A. Matters regarding the inheritance.

Murano, Shu and KHK maintained that all six elder disciples inherited the teachings equally, but I had serious doubts about the veracity of this claim.

Mark: When you read the Gosho, you see that Nichiren's Buddhism has not one particular inheritor and the Succession is Through the Scrolls of the Sutra [and the authenticated writings of Nichiren]. Remember, Namu MYOHO RENGE KYO? Since all of these men embraced and upheld the Sutra to the best of their abilities, they were all true votaries and inheritors of the Law. We too inherit the Law.

Kent: First, this view is contradicted by Nichiren's actual behavior regarding Kuonji Temple, as we shall see in a moment. In addition, Japan in the 13th century was a very hierarchical society. Appointing all 6 equally would have run contrary to secular custom of the time, contrary to common practice in all temples at the time, contrary to common practice in all other sects at the time,

Mark: That is correct but for different reasons than you espouse.. As your colleague Dave Cole has pointed out, both Shakyamuni and Nichiren were iconoclasts. Nichiren, as the True Votary of the Lotus Sutra, realized that the Lotus Sutra is so radically different and ahead of its time, that all people are equal by virtue of the Succession Through the Scrolls of the Sutra (and Nichiren's authenticated works).

Kent: and contrary to common sense.

Mark: Nichiren was a scriptural Buddhist. Any succession outside the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra and writings of Nichiren Daishonin is contrary to common sense and contrary to the teachings: "Follow the Law and not the person."

Kent: If you want to corrupt an organization or ontology, appoint several "equal" leaders- the result will be chaos).

Mark: If you want to create a revolutionary organization based on the Law rather than the person, you identify everyone who chants the Daimoku as a Bodhisattva of the Earth and you identify The Master of Teachings Lord Shakya of the Original Doctrine as sole Teacher and Jogyo as sole leader.

Kent: I examined the following evidence:

1. The history of Kuonji Temple. This temple was built by Hajiri Sanenaga, the Lord of Minobu, for the Daishonin, and was completed in 1281. The Daishonin was it's first Chief Priest. In 1282, the Daishoinin passed away in Ikegami. According to Dictionary, Shu and Murano, Nikko Shonin did in fact succeed the Daishonin and become the 2nd Chief Priest of Kuonji.

Mark: Nichiren instructed that there be a rotating abbottship. Only Nikko was, at first, able to keep his promise due to geopraphical considerations and faith (I surmise).

Kent: He appointed Membu Ajari Niko as Chief Instructor of Priests in 1285. Nikko then departed in 1289, leaving various relics that were specifically willed to Sanenaga and Niko, and intentionally or unintentionally, some portion of Nichiren's ashes. Niko was then appointed by Sanenaga to become Chief Priest. This is a matter of historical record at Kuonji, and is not disputed by Shu, who inherited the temple and its records via Niko. As we can see, Nikko did in fact succeed Nichiren as the abbot of the chief temple of the denomination at that time, Kuonji.

Mark: But not by the decree of the Daishonin as you assert. By virtue of his close location to Kuonji and his strong sense of responsibility.

Kent: 2. The Gosho. Nikko Shonin's appointment as the head of the denomination is supported by other documents in the Daishonin's hand. In particular, the Hyakurokka Sho (One Hundred Six Articles) states "I have appointed Byakuren Ajari Nikko as the So-Kanzu, the general Chief Priest, and transfer the entirety and every detail of the true doctrine of Nichiren. The top senior priests down to every disciple must regard each of the successive High Priests transferred from Nikko to each in succession to be the So-kanzu, General Chief Priest, without any opposition as in this time for throughout the eternity in the future." (NS)

Mark: Both SGI Jim Celer and even your own Rev. Hori have refuted the authenticity of at least parts of this Gosho. What is it that Rev. Hori states? "There have been additions to the One Hundred and Six Articles." If there are additions (which to the other Nichiren sects is a given) the Gosho must either be partially in the hand of another or must be a copy. Therefore, what you stated has been proven to be false and you you had better reform the tenets in your heart.

Kent: The original is available for perusal at Taisekiji.

Mark: Could you please allow Rev. Kubota to peruse it? I can have it arranged.

Kent: 3. The behavior of the 5 elder disciples. Although they certainly objected to Nikko's interpretations, they never actually questioned the legitimacy of his inheritance.

Mark: Could you please provide some documentation for this assertion? Rev. Yasahara would be very interested in reading it.

Kent: Nichijo, a third level successor to Nichiro of the opposing Minobu School, was the first to question the succession.

Mark: Could you please provide some documentation for this assertion? Rev. Yasahara would be very interested in reading it.

Kent: But this did not occur until 1480, nearly 200 years after the fact. Furthermore, he was in the process of establishing a competing sect at the time this accusation was made.

Mark: The Kansho accords date from this time and there is no mention of this dispute. Are you sure you are not making it up?

Kent: 4. The transfer documents. I found that the existence of two transfer documents (Minobu Sojo and the Ikegami Sojo) is a matter of record in the Nichiren Shu Shugaku Zensho, although their contents are disputed.

Mark: Not only their contents but their authenticity is disputed. Why didn't the Nichiren Shu burn these records along with all the other Gosho as the Nichiren Shoshu (through a forged letter of Nikko) alleges? If it told of Nikko's succession, surely the Shu would have it burned? Isn't it the evil Shu who burned those Gosho's pertaining to the DaiGohonzon yet who preserved Nichiren's Five Major Works? You have a lot to answer. We will be waiting.

Kent: I then looked to see if the contents were borne out by historical fact. I found that as per these documents, Nikko became abbot of Kuonji, assumed leadership of the sect at least to the point of vociferously criticizing and reprimanding the other 5, and acquired the land for the Precept Sanctuary at Fuji (which has yet to be constructed).

Mark: I criticize the other sects, does that make me the one you should all follow? Are some of my criticisms valid? Are some invalid? Are all Nikko's criticisms valid? Are all invalid? Isn't it human nature to criticize one's colleagues when one feels that they have been unfairly passed over for promotion? Nikko too wasn't perfect. That is why we follow the Law. How much more so in the case of Nikken or Ikeda?

Kent: 5. The document of October 8, 1282. The only translation of this document I have ever seen was abridged, so the context is missing and therefore open to conjecture. However, it reads more like a set of instructions than an inheritance document. Remembering that each of the 6 were engaged in propagation in separate areas at the time without formal appointment or temple abbotship (except Nikko), my opinion is that the Oct. 8 document was intended to formalize their appointments as his primary disciples. If anybody has a complete translation from an unbiased academic source, please forward a copy to me.

Mark: First, let me establish the general view of the 35 or so other Nichiren sects:

(From Daniel Montgomery)

"These sub-sects, cut off from the sacred Mount Minobu, from the principal temples in Kyoto, and from each other, were hard-pressed to establish their titles to orthodoxy. The distinctive feature of the Fuji school is its claim that the only true line of descent from Nichiren is via Nikko, the chosen heir. In 1488, two centuries after the death of Nichiren, Nikkyo, a priest at Taiseki-ji, claimed to have discovered two documents written by Nichiren, passing on full authority to Nikko alone (Murano, 'Sokagakkai'). The original  documents have disappeared, but 'true copies' are preserved at Taiseki-ji. Other Nichiren bodies ignore them as forgeries.

"The first of these documents, called the 'Document for Entrusting the Dharma which Nichiren Propagated throughout His Life,' is said to have been written by Nichiren on Mount Minobu in September 1282, a month before his death. It reads, 'I transfer all my Buddhism to Byakuren Ajari Nikko. He should therefore be the great leader for the propagation of true Buddhism. When the sovereign establishes this religion, he should erect the Kaidan of Hommon-ji at the foot of Mount Fuji. All we have to do is await the time. This will be the Ordination Platform of the original Gate (Hommon no Kaidan).'

"Needless to say, this document played especially into the hands of the Hommon-ji party since that temple is specifically named, but it says nothing about Taiseki-ji. Since it was written in Chinese, the key phrase could also be interpreted as, 'At Hommon-ji of Mount Fuji the Kaidan ought to be established,' thus making it more specific yet. In any case, its propagation did nothing to settle the dispute between the two temples.

"The second document, called 'Document for Entrusting Mount Minobu,' is supposed to have been written by Nichiren on the day he died. It reads, 'I transfer the fifty-year teachings of Shakyamuni to Byakuren Ajari Nikko. He is to be the Chief Abbot of Kuon-ji on Mount Minobu. If anyone, clergy or layman, opposes this, he is no disciple of mine.'

"The two documents are contradictory. The second says that all authority is to go to Nikko, who is appointed High Priest of Kuon-ji, Mount Minobu, whereas the first says that the official High Sanctuary (Kaidan) is not Mount Minobu, but Hommon-ji at the foot of Mount Fuji. In any case these documents convinced few people, and Nichiren Shoshu, which published them, remained a minor sect right up to the end of World War II, when it had less than 3 per cent of the Nichiren faithful. Its sudden rise to prominence since then has been owing to other causes." (Fire in the Lotus pp.169-170)

Kent: The document of October 8, 1282. The only translation of this document I have ever seen was abridged, so the context is missing and therefore open to conjecture.

Mark: If it (the second Transfer document) were in Nichiren's hand and universally accepted, it would not be open to conjecture. As long as it is open to conjecture (for you and I at least), we must defer to the evidence. The evidence is that these so clled "Transfer Documents are no more than the fabricatiion of the Taiskeaji sect who, despite having these so-called Transfer Documents, remained a backwater temple until the SGI came along. The Taisekaji evidence must not have been very convincing even to the contemporaries of Nikkyo. Why should we believe in them today?

Kent: 6. The funeral procession. A description exists in Nikko's hand, validated by the other 5. Nikko assumes the most important position, that of personal attendant to Nichiren's coffin.

Mark: Not in my copy of Nikko's Record of the Funeral Cortege.

Kent: My conclusion was that Nikko was in fact Nichiren's designated successor as the leader of the denomination. However, there is also the possibility that the other 5 senior disciples also correctly understood Nichiren's teachings.

Mark: That is why our conclusions are not to be trusted (because they may be false) and why we must have faith in the Lotus Sutra, the "opinion" of the Buddha.

Kent: Therefore, the next order of business was to determine whether or not any of the remaining 5 was correct.

Mark: I will let you answer my rebuttal first and then we can move on to your other assertions, if that is ok with you?

Kent: There was one exception: you asked for documentation re the 5 elders questioning the legitimacy of Nikko's inheritance- I have looked high and low, and have not found any documents where the 5 elders disputed same.

Mark: Actually, of course, you will not find any such document. They did not question Nikko's "sole" inheritence because there never was a sole inheritence.

Kent: One would think that if such documentation existed, the descendants of those 5 would surely be waving them in our faces.

Mark: Why isn't Taisekaji waving Nikko's authenticated writings in our faces where he suppots what is written in the so called 106 Articles? all Nikko, stated, was, "I think", reguarding his assertion of a more perfect understanding of the teachings. This letter would have been an opportune time for Nikko to have restated what was said in the 106 Articles, and the two transfer documents. We know why he did not mention them. Because they didn't exist!!! We know that the successive High Priests of Taisekaji are not stingy quoting from these so-called Gosho. Why was Nikko who, supposedly received these teachings directly, stingy in quoting them? Taisekaji is a castle built on sand and quicksand, I might add. That is why you and your comrades are sinking ever deeper into error.

Kent: Beyond that, I found little worth constructive remark. For example, you state that "Nichiren instructed that there be a rotating abbotship"- well, this is an opinion shared by Shu and KHK but is unsupported by any documentation.

Mark: Perhaps I can supply some documentation, however, at this time, by Oct. 8th 1282, Nichiren, on his death bed at Ikegami, he had become too weak to write anything let alone the so-called Transfer Documents. Therefore, I believe, whatever accounts there are, are from the Six Senior Disciples and these accounts indicate that he designated the Rokurosa (Six Senior Disciples) on this day. What I do know is that there is a document signed by Nikko in which there is a schedule of attendence for the overseeing of Kuonji temple at minobu which reads:

"January, Nissho; February; Nichiro; March, Echizenko:..........September, Nikko" and so on.

Kent: And it is clearly in opposition with historical fact.

Mark: What fact might that be? That there were Six Senior Disciples? Eevn Taisekaji doesn't dispute this fact. Nevertheless, whether their were six senior disciples or only one, this fact could never supercede the teachings of the Lotus Sutra nor Nichiren's lifetimes teachings on the succession through the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra; the saving power of the Daimoku, and following the Law rather than the person.

Kent: Another example is where you state "Any succession outside of the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra is contrary to common sense and contrary to the teachings" and then quote the Lotus Sutra out of contrext.

Mark: Can you quote the Lotus Sutra in or out of context where it indicates the inheritance of the Law through a sole successor (save for Jogyo Bosatsu). The Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren are very clear that Shijo Kingo, Nikko, Nanjo Tokimitsu, Toki Jonin, Nichiro, Soya Nyudo Nichiju, Lady Nichinyo Rev. Kubota, and Bonnie Bennett, for example, are all Bodhisattvas of the Earth.

Kent: In other cases, you present interpretations of teachings as actual teachings, and in several instances, you present interpretations of history as actual history.

Mark: At least I am not going against the admonitions of Nikko that those who forge documents are parasites and by inference, those who use these forged documents to change the teachings.

Kent: And then with regard to your remark about the October 8, 1282 document: you have used this document to refute the legitimacy of the transfer to Nikko, and yet you have never seen a complete translation of it, and are therefore unsure of its context?

Mark: Daniel Montgomery's passages above quote several passages. Anyway, I don't make it a habit to study the disputed texts when there are so many authenticated texts in which to learn the teachings.

Kent: Mark, forgive me, but this leads me to the conclusion that you are considerably more interested in supporting your ontology than in getting at the truth.

Mark: Since the ontology I embrace is the Lotus Sutra and Shakyamuni Buddha, there is no doubt as to its truth. You are right, it is my life's work to support my ontology, to the best of my ability. I am sorry that you are not as convinced about your ontology that you entertain doubts about it.. Might that be because you do not embrace the Lotus Sutra and you abandon Shakyamuni Buddha?

Kent: And I have no interest in and will not engage in idle "debate". If I am wrong, and you sincerely want to pursue these matters, fine. As a start, I suggest that you visit the websites of KHK, Shu, Tendai and Butsu. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but so far, you have given me nothing of substance to even discuss. best regards,

Mark: I suggest you reread the Lotus Sutra and the Kaimoku Sho. Then perhaps we can discuss the Identity of the Original Eternal Buddha.

These are the real benefits of the Lotus Sutra...take note SGI

“Good men, the first [great benefit] is that this sutra can cause bodhisattvas who have not yet conceived the desire for enlightenment to conceive such a desire.

It can cause those who are without compassion or benevolence to nurture compassionate minds.

It can cause those who delight in killing and slaughter to nurture minds of great pity.

It can cause those filled with envy and jealousy to nurture minds of joyful acceptance.

It can cause those who are begrudging and attached to things to nurture minds capable of relinquishing.

It can cause those who are close-fisted and greedy to nurture minds of almsgiving.

It can cause those of abundant arrogance and pride to nurture minds that uphold the precepts.

It can cause those much given to wrath and anger to nurture forbearing minds.

It can cause those who are indolent and lazy to nurture minds of diligence.

It can cause those who are scatterbrained and disordered to nurture minds devoted to meditation.

It can cause those with much ignorance and folly to nurture minds of wisdom.

It can cause those who are not yet capable of saving others to nurture minds set upon saving others.

It can cause those who practice the ten evil acts to nurture minds devoted to the ten good acts.

It can cause those who delight too much in the conditioned to strive for minds fixed on the unconditioned.

It can cause those whose minds are given to regression to cultivate minds of non-regression.

It can cause those given to outflows to nurture minds free of outflows.

It can cause those with many earthly desires to nurture minds that cleanse and extinguish such desires. 

Good men, this is called the first benefit and inconceivable power of this sutra”  (LSOC, p21-22)

How easy to win the debate

When I supply a quote from Nichiren's writings before his exile on Sado, SGI members retort, "As for my teachings, regard those before my exile to the province of Sado as equivalent to the Buddha’s pre-Lotus Sutra teachings." Were this passage misunderstood or taken out of context, we would have to abandon such seminal teachings as the Rissho Ankoku Ron [On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land] and The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra.

Point # 1: Most of the 200 + passages of proof of the identity of and Nichiren's reverence for the Original Eternal Buddha [Shakyamuni] are from during or after Sado. This proves that Nichiren never wavered in his teachings or gratitude for this Buddha.

Point # 2. I suggest that in order to avoid the Buddhist sin of hypocrisy that SGI cease teaching your members such Gosho as Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime, A Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering, The Daimoku of the Lotus Sutra, and Establishing the Correct Law for the Peace of the Land. 

Soka Gakkai members and Nichiren Shoshu members and priests are wardens of hell

"In Japan today, many people claim they have mastered the practice of concentration and insight. But is there anyone who has actually encountered the three obstacles and four devils? The statement “If one falls under their influence, one will be led into the paths of evil” indicates not only the three evil paths but also the worlds of human and heavenly beings, and in general, all of the nine worlds. Therefore, with the exception of the Lotus Sutra, all of the sutras—those of the Flower Garland, Āgama, Correct and Equal, and Wisdom periods, and the Nirvana and Mahāvairochana sutras—will lead people toward the paths of evil. Also, with the exception of the Tendai school, the adherents of the seven other schools are in reality wardens of hell who drive others toward the evil paths. Even in the Tendai school are found those who profess faith in the Lotus Sutra, yet actually lead others toward the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. They, too, are wardens of hell who cause people to fall into the evil paths." -- Letter to the Brothers

"There is no sacrifice in Buddhsim" -- SGI leader

"None of you who declare yourselves to be my disciples should ever give way to cowardice. Neither should you allow concern for your parents, wife, or children to hold you back, or be worried about your property. Since countless kalpas in the past you have thrown away your life more times than the number of dust particles of the land for the sake of your parents, your children, or your lands. But not once have you given up your life for the Lotus Sutra. You may have tried to practice its teachings to some extent, but whenever you were persecuted, you backslid and ceased to live by the sutra. That is like boiling water only to pour it into cold water, or like trying to strike fire but giving up halfway. Each and every one of you should be certain deep in your heart that sacrificing your life for the Lotus Sutra is like exchanging rocks for gold or dung for rice."

"I certainly support Mark's advice if you are already chanting if not why not try?"

Anonymous March 12, 2016 at 2:27 AM

"I certainly support Mark's advice if you are already chanting if not why not try?

You might try another approach and say calmly that you are puzzled by the differences in SGI's teaching during different periods.

You will find lots of information that points out those changes of doctrine/faith in SGI Whistle blowers and also some threads in ARBN (Alt religion Buddhism Nichiren). If you too find that SGI's own publications are inconsistent with each other you could then say that SGI doesn't seem to be and organization that knows what it believes from one moment to the next. You could reference examples from sources that have good & reliable citations.

Personally, I wouldn't get into a dispute with you friend, if the "poison has penetrated deeply" as the Lotus Sutra says then they're unlikely to "take the good medicine" that will cure them, very easily.

If they're deeply in then SGI teaching will have programmed them to respond to any legitimate challenges not by thinking about it and evaluating it fairly but by ignoring the facts and focussing on your reasons for challenging.

In your friends's head, they may think that your motivation is any one of number of supposed evil or deluded tactics to challenge their faith in the organisation and its "mentor".

You have to understand that for people that have got deeply in, they have completely blurred the lines between the SGI, it's leaders and Nichiren 's teaching.

It doesn't matter that these are very different things, they have been taught and encouraged to think of them as the same thing. They have also been taught that if they are practicing correctly they will meet people who oppose their faith. Put thus together and it means that to a dedicated SGI follower, resisting your challenge and successfully ignoring or explaining away the inconsistencies, however flimsily done, will be taken as a "victory" in their Faith and their practice of Buddhism.

It doesn't matter how reasonable the critique of SGI, its mentors and their teaching. It doesn't matter how variant SGI fantasy is from the reality of Nichiren's teaching or Buddhism in general.

It can be really hard for people who have been deeply suckered into the SGI to separate the legitimate faith & practice that the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren expounded from illegitimate (and sometimes harmful) "teaching" about that faith and practice. These types of SGI, its mentors and leaders as being knowledgeable, authoritative and correct even when they're demonstrably not.

I've seen really capable, intelligent and articulate people fail to see glaring contradictions in what they were basing their faith and practice on 10 years ago to what they are now. I've even seen them get rid of books etc. that could have helped them sense check the present with the past because SGI leaders had told them that these old SGI publications were a form of attachment (and of course one shouldn't be attached!).

You can see how it works, erasure of history, making it hard to compare and judge. Being able to keep even smart people from looking and questioning. Conflating Buddhist faith and practice with an organization and it's leaders and making ever challenge to the latter an "attack" on the former. SGI member internalised self-censorship. But just enough "normal" to make it all seem OK.

It's a tricky one, which brings us back to Marks advice..."

"Reverently make this teaching your own, and transmit it as an axiom of faith for future generations."

Nichiren teaches:

"It is the same with Nichiren’s disciples and lay supporters. The Lotus Sutra reads, “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?” It also reads, “It will face much hostility in the world and be difficult to believe.” The Nirvana Sutra states, “By suffering an untimely death, rebuke, curses or humiliation, beatings with a whip or rod, imprisonment, starvation, adversity, or other minor hardships in this lifetime, one can avoid falling into hell.” The Parinirvāna Sutra says: “They may be poorly clad and poorly fed, seek wealth in vain, be born to an impoverished and lowly family or one with erroneous views, or be persecuted by their sovereign. They may be subjected to various other sufferings and retributions. It is due to the blessings obtained by protecting the Law that they can diminish in this lifetime their suffering and retribution.” -- Letter to the Brothers  "Reverently make this teaching your own, and transmit it as an axiom of faith for future generations."

and in the same writing:

"The doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life revealed in the fifth volume of Great Concentration and Insight is especially profound. If you propagate it, devils will arise without fail. If they did not, there would be no way of knowing that this is the correct teaching. One passage from the same volume reads: “As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge in confusing form, vying with one another to interfere . . . One should be neither influenced nor frightened by them. If one falls under their influence, one will be led into the paths of evil. If one is frightened by them, one will be prevented from practicing the correct teaching.” This statement not only applies to me, but also is a guide for my followers. Reverently make this teaching your own, and transmit it as an axiom of faith for future generations."

How did Nikko Shonin view Nichiren Daishonin?

"In order to make sure which is the right teaching for attaining Buddhahood, I listened to the preachings of various priests. As a result, I have come to believe in the Lotus Sutra, in which it is expounded that Nichiren Shonin is the Bodhisattva Jogyo commanded by Sakyamuni Buddha, Lord of the Saha World and parent of all living beings, to appear in the Latter Days of the Law as a messenger of the Buddha with the duty of propagating the Lotus Sutra."

My contention

According to SGI, Nikken, before he became High Priest, hired a prostitute in Seattle. Hiroe Clow was the witness and officer Sprinkle was the police officer who supposedly interviewed Nikken right after the alleged incident. The Nichiren Shoshu claims that both Hiroe Clow and officer Sprinkle were bribed to testify against Nikken by the Soka Gakkai to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.  

My contention is that the late Hiroe Clow and Mr. Sprinkle may well have Swiss bank accounts but that still fails to prove the DaiGohonzon true or that Daisaku Ikeda is Enlightened.

"Soka Gakkai has responded, but with insults, abuse and slander... never with doctrinal proof."

Julian:

If Mr. Daisaku Ikeda is really as bad as some contributors to a.r.b.n would have the world believe that, for me, proves at least one thing... if a cult at all, far from being a personality cult, SGI is, in fact, an anti-personality cult.

SGI is a strong, well organised, group of people actually bringing about world peace in spite of the variety of individuals that make it up.

How can that be? Only because SGI is an organisation of common mortals, ordinary human beings, united in love and faith in the Lotus Sutra.

The simple fact that an organisation such as SGI exists in our lifetime is a (rare) cause for joy. "This, my land, remains safe and unharmed,... My pure land is indestructible." --Lotus Sutra. Chapter 16.

Mark Herrick:

Your friend and fellow memba', Kathy - "Queen of Da Nile" - Ruby, would disagree with you here..... She claims that the Lotus Sutra has lost its power in the Latter Day. How come you guys can't seem to get your doctrine straight???? I mean you're so well organized and all....

AND....... If you are united in love and faith in the Lotus Sutra, you must now be a memba' of a Shakaymuni Cult too. After all, who preached the Lotus Sutra? Please don't tell us it was really Nichiren in disguise. You were all too quick to post a warning about us being members of a Shakaymuni cult.

AND...... If you are united in love and faith in the Lotus Sutra, how can you continue to advocate that Nichiren is the Eternal Buddha? I mean, where is it in the Lotus Sutra that Shakaymuni predicts that the Eternal Buddha is to appear in the Latter Age to spread the Dharma? Have you even ever read the ENTIRE Lotus Sutra?

SO THEREFORE...... if you claim to be united in love and faith with the Lotus Sutra, but fail to practice as it teaches then you are ONE BIG LIAR.

I am astounded by the self deception that the Gakkai is capable of, and the slander you stoop to in criticizing us who are trying to spread the orthodox Dharma. We rely on the Three Proofs that our founder and leader in Mappo, Nichiren Daishonin, taught us. Documentary, Theoretical and Actual. All our posts use the Three Proofs. None of the Gakkai's posts use the Three Proofs.

All we are asking is for you to supply proof of the Gakkai's doctrine using the Three Proofs. So far, in the last three years of this online debate the Gakkai has failed to do so. Oh, don't get me wrong, the Gakkai has responded, but with insults, abuse and slander... never with doctrinal proof. Kathy even claims to have beaten me in debate about the power of the Lotus Sutra. Of course she didn't beat me, all she did was change the subject and say that we taught that the Daimoku was not the primary practice, which is of course a complete lie and fabrication. We chant the Daimoku morning and night. Anyways, its all more lies and obfuscation to cover the truth. We supplied over one hundred quotes and excerpts from the Gosho where Nichiren stated unequivacably that it was the Lotus Sutra that we worship and saves us in Mappo. When Kathy had her back to the wall she saught to change the subject. Now you go and ADMIT the Gakkai is united in love and faith in the Lotus Sutra.

The Gakkai is a psuedo-religion based on the teachings of Makaguchi, Toda and Ikeda. There is little that the Gakkai actually has in common with Nichiren, except that they coopted his Daimoku and Gohonzon as a cloak for their real teachings. Makaguchi admitted that he never wanted to be a Nichiren Shoshu priest becasue then he would have to follow Nichiren Shoshu doctrine exactly without adding any of his own *personal* ideas, which we know is the entire theory of value creation. The Gakkai from its inception has been based on lies.

Go on Julian try and refute me using Sutra passage and Gosho passages. Try. I doubt you can. I do expect you to insult and abuse me. You have shown yourself perfectly capable of doing this in the past. Come on Julian, I dare you to try and debate me using scriptural proof. When you can't, and instead resort to insults then you will be exposed. The entire arbn will know then that you cannot refute the truth.

And Julian, please don't forget that it was Susan Starr who  started arbn. And just so you don't revise history, it was to provide a forum for doctrinal debate and discussion. So far we have seen little debate from any of the Gakkai, what we have seen is plenty of insults.

I am waiting Julian.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo

Mark Herrick

Only we are of the same mind as Nichiren

Nichiren on the General Transmission:

"Answer: In this passage, Shakyamuni Buddha explains that he is entrusting to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth, his original disciples, the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo, which is the essence of the Lotus Sutra. Shakyamuni, who attained enlightenment countless kalpas in the past, says elsewhere, "By now the original vows that I made have already been fulfilled. I have converted all living beings and caused them all to enter the Buddha way." Thus, he has already fulfilled his earlier vow. Then, intending to charge his disciples with the task of accomplishing widespread propagation in the fifth five hundred years after his death, he called forth the Bodhisattvas of the Earth and entrusted them with the heart of the sutra, the lotus of the entity of the essential teaching. This passage represents the ultimate purpose for which Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in the world, the secret Law that he attained in the place of meditation. It is this passage that gives proof of the lotus of the entity that, for those of us who live in the Latter Day of the Law, assures the attainment of Buddhahood in both the present and future."

and

"It is the five characters of Myoho-renge-kyo that constitute the Great Pure Law that will be spread widely in the Latter Day of the Law. And it is the great bodhisattvas who sprang up from, the earth in numbers equal to the dust particles of a thousand worlds who were entrusted with the task of spreading it abroad. Therefore Nan-yueh, T’ien-t’ai and Dengyo, though in their hearts they understood the truth, left it to the leader and teacher of the Latter Day to spread it widely, while they themselves refrained from doing so."

Nichiju interprets the General Transmission:

"Among the disciples of the school of Nichiju, nobody should be chosen, directly or indirectly as an heir disciple. However, anybody among the priests or the laymen of my congregation that spreads the teaching in Kyoto and swears that other sects are the root of all evils and that only the Hokke Sect makes us enter Nirvana can be my disciple. And if candidates are equally gifted, they should propagate during the summer, practicing in turn. You should consider a person who spreads the teaching like this as the true disciple of Nichiju and Nichiren Shonin. So in the days to come, this shall be my will."

Nichiren on the Specific Transmission:

"Accordingly, at the present time in the Latter Day of the Law, other than the envoy of the Thus Come One, there can be no one who understands and produces this passage as proof of the lotus of the entity. Truly it is a passage of secret meaning. Truly it is a matter of great concern. Truly it is to be honored and admired. Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, Namu-myoho-renge-kyo!"

and

"Bodhisattva Superior Practices received the water of the wisdom of the Mystic Law from the Thus Come One Shakyamuni and causes it to flow into the wasteland of the people’s lives in the evil world of the latter age. This is the function of wisdom. Shakyamuni Buddha transferred this teaching to Bodhisattva Superior Practices, and now Nichiren propagates it in Japan. With regard to the transfer of teachings, it is divided into two categories: general and specific. If you confuse the general with the specific even in the slightest, you will never be able to attain Buddhahood and will wander in suffering through endless transmigrations of births and deaths."

Commentary

"The leader and teacher of the Latter Day" is specific to one man, Nichiren Daishonin (Bodhisattva Jogyo). "Bodhisattvas of the Earth" is general to all those who follow Nichiren. There are not superior and inferior Bodhisattvas of the Earth. The responsibilities of laymen and priests are blurred in Mappo and there is only one High Priest and one leader, Nichiren Daishonin.

Question: The Lotus Sutra states that there are many leaders of his own great assembly with various large and small retinues of followers. Wouldn't that mean Daisaku Ikeda, the High Priest of the Nichiren Shoshu, the Chief Bishop of Minobu. Nikkyo Niwano, and others? 

Answer:  At this time, there is only Nichiren Daishonin and his followers. Those who follow Nichiren Daishonin and are of the same mind as he ["The bodhisattvas, as numerous as the dust particles of a thousand worlds, who emerged from beneath the earth and (who are) the followers of Shakyamuni Buddha present in our lives"] are indeed leaders of his own great assembly with various large and small retinues.

Daisaku Ikeda, the High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu, the Chief Bishop of Minobu, Nikkyo Niwano, and Nissen however, are not of the same mind as Nichiren. Nikkyo Niwano, despite chanting the daimoku, failed to even acknowledge Nichiren Daishonin as the leader of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Daisaku Ikeda and the High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu throw out Shakyamuni Buddha. The Bishop of Minobu allows all sorts of sundry practices and a false transmission between priests and lay believers [not to mention interfaith] and Nissen proclaimed his joy to have been born in a Buddha-less world.

Since they are not of the same mind as Nichiren and are not his followers, they are not Bodhisattvas of the Earth. Since they are not Bodhisattvas of the Earth, they are not even inheritors of the general transmission. 

SGI, don't you believe Nichiren?

"On the other hand, even if one does not commit a single evil deed throughout one’s entire lifetime, and observes the five precepts, the eight precepts, the ten precepts, the ten good precepts, the two hundred and fifty precepts, the five hundred precepts, or countless numbers of precepts; even if one learns all the other sutras by heart, makes offerings to all the other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and accumulates immeasurable merit, if one but fails to put one’s faith in the Lotus Sutra; or if one has faith in it, but considers that it ranks on the same level as the other sutras and the teachings of the other Buddhas; or if one recognizes its superiority, but constantly engages in other religious disciplines, practicing the Lotus Sutra only from time to time; or if one associates on friendly terms with priests of the Nembutsu, who do not believe in the Lotus Sutra but slander it; or if one thinks that those who insist the Lotus Sutra does not suit the people’s capacity in the latter age are guilty of no fault, then all the merit of the countless good acts one has performed throughout one’s life will suddenly vanish. Moreover, the blessings resulting from one’s practice of the Lotus Sutra will for some time be obscured, and one will fall into the great citadel of the Avīchi hell as surely as rain falls from the sky or rocks tumble down from the peaks into the valleys."

Remember when Soka Gakkai top leaders were boasting "three hundred thousand" [or more] American SGI members

The following were 1996 and 1997 total paid and/or requested World Tribune circulation figures -- actual number of single issues published nearest to filing date: 

1996 -- 38,430* WT 11/1/96, p. 2

1997 -- 24,500* WT 10/24/97, p. 2

This was the most accurate reflection of active and semi-active SGI members and in this one year alone, nearly 14,000 WT subscribers either left the Gakkai or become so disaffected that they no longer subscribed to its principal publication. Things were never as rosy in the Gakkai as their spinmeisters led us to believe. Can we believe anything they report? 

* The numbers are actually smaller because many leaders and members receive more than one 
subscription [sometimes up to five], at the urging of their leaders.

JWatch

The Gakkai's media watchdog is JWatch, a large group of young SGI Japanese lawyers who watch the media and attempt to steer journalists/writers "in the right direction". They do not mention that they are affiliated with the SGI. They also "watch" subversive groups such as the Nichiren Shoshu. Nichiren Shu, Kempon Hokke, and Independents. Their stated aim is to right the wrongs of the media regarding articles that promote discrimination against AIDS patients and homosexuals, those condoning child and spousal abuse, ultranationalism/fascism, anti religious freedom, and last but not least, articles critical of the SGI. Their true and ultimate mission is to garner sympathy for and stifling criticism of the SGI. They would be better off spending their time reforming the draconian and authoritarian SGI.

Wow!

Sky Jackson may suffer a similar fate to Nichiu the leper

Ordinary peoples' tongues burn when exposed to fire and others' may become cancerous. Leprosy and bullous disease is associated with slander of the Law. Reality is as it is. It is cause and effect and the teachings of Buddhism. It is very hard to realize that one is a slanderer of the Law. It is difficult to believe that one has met and practices a counterfeit Law because of one's own past slanders. The Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai teachings are the counterfeit Law for the Latter Day since it is based on a counterfeit Object of Worship and counterfeit teachings. Nichiu forged the Nichiren Shoshu Object of Worship and became a leper. NST and SGI members are no longer innocent or unaware of the reality. Therefore, they are complicit. If they do not repudiate the Nichiren Shoshu, the DaiGohonzon, and the Soka Gakkai teachings, they will suffer a similar fate to Nichiu in this life or the next.

Soka Gakkai brainwashing technique

"Compel your members to accept some truths while rejecting others." -- SGI Senior Leader

Singapore Soka Gakkai members are horribly confused

http://www.hosshakukempon.com/digressions---reader-contribution.html

"Ex-General Director had also repeatedly shared since the year 2008 in youth prayer meetings and dialogues that Singapore must strive to be the true model organisation for worldwide Kosen-rufu. He also arrogantly made the following remark to belittle senior leaders in Japan. He mentioned that the Japanese senior leaders were born close to Sensei in this lifetime because they did not receive strict training from Sensei in their past lives. In retrospect, we are born far away from our mentor because we had received strict training from our mentor in our past lives." (Source: Reader’s Personal Findings)

Do you agree Sky Jackson?

"Fearlessly following Sensei is our ticket out of hell for all eternity"

"Fearlessly following Sensei with an open heart and a seeking mind is in fact our ticket out of hell, for all eternity. His life epitomizes the essence of what Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism is all about, in all aspects. That's why I will always respect and follow him. Like the story about the fly that can travel a thousand miles by clinging to the tail of a thoroughbred horse, You and I are both insignificant beings who nevertheless have the potential to attain enlightenment in this lifetime by simply following Sensei." -- Dick "Wiley Bad" Powell proud 40 year SGI member

Why follow those who make so many errors?

Excerpts of High Priest Nikken's Lectures in Shinyo Magazine issue 20...

"The Dai-mandala, the true object of worship, is in the depths of the Lotus Sutra in the Chapter of the Treasure Tower."

Even the lowly HBS priests and reverends know that the Gohonzon was revealed in the Eight Chapters of the Lotus Sutra from the fifteenth to the twenty-second chapters and especially in the sixteenth chapter. At best, in the 11th Chapter, the Gohonzon is apprehended like the  first light of the sun before rising from behind the horizon. Having made such a fundamental error, my question is, why follow anyone other than Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin, least of all the Nichiren Shoshu High Priest and Daisaku Ikeda?

"We don't worship little baby Buddhas" -- vapid SGI member on you tube

"And on another occasion the little retreat where I was living, where I had enshrined a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha as the object of devotion, and where I stored the texts of the various sutras, was attacked and destroyed, and the statue of the Buddha and sutra texts were not only trampled upon, but thrown into the mud and filth. And a scroll of the Lotus Sutra, which I had placed in the breast of my robe, was snatched forth and I was mercilessly beaten over the head with it. These heinous crimes were carried out not because of any ancient enmity harbored against me or because of any offense I had recently committed, but solely because I worked to propagate the teachings of the Lotus Sutra."

"Shakyamuni Buddha, our father and mother, who is endowed with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher and parent, is the very one who encourages us, the people driven out by all other Buddha, saying, "I alone can save them." The debt of gratitude we owe him is deeper than the ocean, weightier than the earth, vaster than the sky. Though we were to pluck out our two eyes and place them before him as an offering until there were more eyes there than stars in the sky, though we were to strip off our skins and spread them out by the hundreds of thousands of ten thousands until they blanketed the ceiling of heaven, though we were to give him our tears as offerings of water and present him with flowers for the space of a hundred billion kalpas, though we were to offer him our flesh and blood for innumerable kalpas, until our flesh piled up like mountains and our blood overflowed like vast seas, we could never repay a fraction of the debt we owe to this Buddha! (MW vol. 4, The Learned Doctor Shan-wu-wei)

"However, later seeking and entering the deep cave, you see a single hermitage. The voices of the reading and reciting of the Hokekyo echo against blue heaven and the words of discussing the doctrine of the One Vehicle are heard in the midst of the mountains. Informing [them, of your presence and requesting] admittance, you enter the chamber, place your mother's bones before the Master of Teachings Lord Shakya, cast your five limbs to the ground, press your palms together, and opening your two eyes, look up to the Holy Face: joy overflows your body and the pain of your heart suddenly ceases." (On Forgetting Ones Copy Of The Lotus Sutra, NOPPA Translation) 

"Oooohhh what a slanderer. He has four Gohonzons" -- SGI Dodo bird member

Nikko Shonin had four Nichiren Gohonzons.

The truth about Nikko Shonin

"Furthermore, Nikko did leave four authentic Nichiren Omandalas at Kitayama Honmonji where he spent the rest of his life. Those Omandalas were eventually given to other Nikko lineage temples: Myokakuji in Kyoto, Honnoji in Kyoto, Honmonji in Kyoto, and Hokkeji in Kagawa Prefecture. On these, Nikko wrote: “Hanging it up in Honmonji, one should make it the esteemed jewel of the Latter Age.” The reference to Honmonji is most obviously to Kitayama Honmonji and not to Taisekiji. It is also odd that Taisekiji, the other temple founded by Nikko and claimed to be the location of his main lineage by the Nichiren Shoshu, did not receive any of these authentic Nichiren Omandalas. That by itself proves nothing, but it is a curious comment on Nikko’s attitude towards Taisekiji. Some have suggested that he left Taisekiji and founded Kitayama Honmonji because he did not want to entrust the future of his (really Nichiren’s) teachings to the family of Nanjo Tokimitsu who controlled it as their family temple. In any case, Nikko’s grave is at Kitayama Honmonji and it is oriented not towards Taisekiji and the alleged Dai-Gohonzon, but towards Nichiren’s grave at Mt. Minobu."

http://fraughtwithperil.com/ryuei/2012/09/28/three-divergent-doctrines-of-nichiren-shoshu/

Question for a top SGI leader

Since the inscription down the center of the Gohonzon is NAM MU MYO HO REN GE KYO, why do you [SGI] chant NAM MYO HO REN GE KYO?

Some suggested new names for the Soka Gakkai's periodicals, the World Tribune and Living Buddhism

Weird Tribune or World Fibune? Lying Buddhism or Living Ikedaism?

"Since it was your ex who hit you, why do you blame the SGI?" - SGI leader

"Because before he joined the SGI, for ten years, he never hit me." - disgruntled spouse of SGI member.

The Soka Gakkai ruined my family

"I'll tell you my experience: 

I would like to expose my indirect experience with the Soka Gakkai, in the sense that I did not practice but my wife practiced and, in fact, the Soka Gakkai has ruined my family. I'll try to be brief. 

THE fact goes back about 10 years ago and I tell it to make sure that people who read this story make good use of it. 

I live near Civitanova Marche in the province of Macerata and about 10 years ago I was married and we had a 9 year old girl. 

It was a time when my wife had lost her job and we all know how work is important for every person. She then left 2 evenings a week for what she called a "special time"and then I found out she was going to SGI meetings . 

After a while she began chanting in Chinese at home before some sort of altar alongside a photo of Ikeda (terrible this thing). 

Personally, the chanting gave me a strange feeling and I rejected it. I asked her to pray in the room with the door closed because it was bothering me and maybe also our daughter. 

Then I told him that I had no intention to pray with her ​​and I asked her politely not least of performing in front of our daughter. The girl, unfortunately, was intrigued by this practice that perhaps she seemed a kind of game and she began chanting with her ​​mother. 

After a month the girl began chanting even in her sleep. She wasn't sleeping well and began to lose focus in school. 

I asked my wife if she could possibly pray quietly and without our daughter. She said, asserting that she was already taking precautions and that she was told by her leader to recite at least 2 or 3 times a day for 30 minutes because they would find work and would bring harmony and happiness within the family. 

She did not understand that it was the SGI practice that was the ruin of our family !!!!!! 

I now was in the family with the only aim to get close to my daughter in order to help her overcome herb sleep disorder and poor school performance due to the drama caused by her mother.

Given my wife's constant recitation every night, I thought of separating and simultaneously to seek custody of my daughter on the grounds that her mother was neglecting her, chanting for one hour and a half a day and going to meetings. 

Well I made ​​this request, got the social worker who has appraised of thge the situation at home which my wife confirmed. I managed to get joint custody (which is almost impossible 9 years ago ) so that my daughter could stay with me every other week. I was happy 'cause in those weeks that she was with me, the little girl resumed the serenity and you could see from the look in the eyes !!! 

She is now an adult and thankfully did not follow the practice of the mother who remained, unfortunately, exclusively with SGI friends SGI. I write this to let you know that if a member of the family becomes a member of the Soka Gakkai, it is the ruin of the family unless you both practice together. This was my reality as it 'was for other people in my area in Porto Potenza: Broken families because one member of the family 'became Soka Gakkai."

Sky Jackson's and SGI's great respect for Gohonzon

"Put a leaf in your mouth when you open the Butsudan or handle the Gohonzon" -- Sky Jackson

But its ok to give Gohonzon to every Tom, Dick, and Hiro so they can unceremoniously throw them in the trash as did hundreds of thousands of former SGI cult members.

"The truth of Buddhism has nothing to do with the opinion of the majority...

...All that is important is whether a belief is in accord with the scriptures. And, further, the golden words of the Buddha have already informed us that in the age of the Latter Day of the Law those who uphold the Right Dharma would be few in number. Thus the Nirvana Sutra says that "those who uphold the Right Dharma are as few as the grains of earth on a fingernail, and those that slander the Dharma are as numerous as the earth in all the ten directions" -- Nichiren

Soka Gakkai's partner Mitsubishi Heavy Industrials

http://www.industrytap.com/mitsubishi-ready-supply-global-weapons-program-starting-f-35-stealth-fighter/17955

Correcting a very confused Nichiren Shoshu member

"Of course, since these are secret transmissions received by only a single person, there is no reason to expect that we would understand their contents. Fifty-sixth High Priest Nichio Shonin as well stated, "Even at the time of Kosen-rufu, the specific lifeblood bequeathal documents are not to be perused by others." (Research and Education Books, Vol. 27, p. 456) He instructs us that the specific bequeathal of the entity of the Law is a secret transmission which others are not permitted to peruse. We must obediently receive the High Priest's instruction, which accords with the times, and advance in the faith and practice of the attainment of Buddhahood." -- A very confused Nichiren Shoshu member

"Thereupon the unenlightened man said: “In truth, as I listen to your description of the doctrine, I can see that, even if the Nembutsu teaching could in fact lead one to rebirth in the Pure Land, its observances and practices are very difficult to carry out. And of course, since the sutras and treatises upon which it is based all belong to the category of provisional expositions, it is perfectly clear that it can never lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. But surely there is no reason to repudiate the True Word teachings. The Mahāvairochana Sutra constitutes the secret teaching of Mahāvairochana, the King of Enlightenment. It has been handed down in an unbroken line of transmission from the Thus Come One Mahāvairochana to Shan-wu-wei and Pu-k’ung. And in Japan the Great Teacher Kōbō spread the teachings concerning the mandalas of the Diamond Realm and the Womb Realm. These are secret and arcane teachings that concern the thirty-seven honored ones. Therefore, the most profound doctrines of the exoteric teachings cannot compare even to the elementary stages of the esoteric teachings. Hence the Great Teacher Chishō of Gotō-in temple stated in his commentary, ‘Even the Lotus Sutra cannot compare [to the Mahāvairochana Sutra], much less the other doctrines.’ Now what is your view on this matter?”

The sage replied: “At first I too placed my trust in the Thus Come One Mahāvairochana and desired to carry out the teachings of the True Word school. But when I investigated the basic doctrines of the school, I found that they are founded on views that in fact are a slander of the correct teaching. -- Nichiren

"The men of the Zen school, taking advantage of this situation, pronounced themselves observers of the precepts, deceiving the eyes of the people and putting on such lofty airs that, no matter what false doctrines they presumed in their madness to put forward, these doctrines were not recognized as erroneous.

This school called Zen claims to represent a “separate transmission outside the sutras,” which was not revealed by Shakyamuni Buddha in the numerous sutras preached during his lifetime but was whispered in secret to the Venerable Mahākāshyapa. Thus the proponents of this school maintain that, if one studies the various sutras without understanding the teachings of the Zen school, one will be like a dog trying to bite at a clap of thunder or a monkey grasping at the moon’s reflection in the water.

Zen is a false doctrine that appeals to the kind of people in Japan who have been abandoned by their fathers and mothers because of their lack of filial devotion or dismissed from service by their lords because of their outrageous conduct, to young priests who are too lazy to apply themselves to their studies, and to the disreputable nature of courtesans. Even though its followers have all embraced the precepts, they are no more than swarming locusts feeding upon the people of the nation. That is why heaven glares down in anger and the gods of the earth shudder.

The True Word school is a far greater source of trouble than the other two schools I have discussed above, a major form of error, and I would therefore like to discuss it in outline here." -- Nichiren

and

"The Zen school is divided into two branches. One branch maintains that all the various sutras and all the profound doctrines of the various schools are included in the Zen school. The other branch holds that all the sacred teachings put forward by the Thus Come One in the course of his lifetime are so many words and explanations, mere expedient devices emerging from the mouth of the Thus Come One. The Zen school, by contrast, represents the secret intention of the Thus Come One, which has never been put into words or explanations. It constitutes a “separate transmission outside the sutras.” -- Nichiren

"When Sensei came in 1990, everything became clear." -- SGI leader

Namu Myoho renge kyo and Gohonzon are not sufficient?

"The moment Sensei arrived a rainbow appeared" -- gushing SGI member

"...They worked such wonders as these, which made them too proud and self-conceited, piling up seeds of illusions. Referring to this, Grand Master T'ien-t'ai stated: 'Seeking fame and profit, they increased illusions in thinking and desire.' Priest Kuang-che (Fa-yun) could cause it to rain instantly or shower flowers by giving lectures on the Lotus Sutra. Yet Grand Master Miao-lo said of him, 'It does not fit the teaching of the Lotus Sutra to show such wonders.' "-- Repaying Debts of Gratitude.

TIME Magazine November 20, 1995 Volume 146, No. 21

"A mob of Soka Gakkai members, marched into the Kaishinji temple during a religious service. Shoving aside worshippers, they seized Yahiro and Kashiwazaki. I thought I was going to die, recalls Yahiro, an asthmatic. He almost did. A large man grabbed Yahiro by his necktie and lifted him off the floor, and others took turns punching him until he passed out." 

Soka Gakkai members do not hear, do not believe, and can not discriminate

"The Great Teacher Nan-yueh in his Shi Anrakugyo states, ‘If there should be a bodhisattva who protects evil persons and fails to chastise them... then when his life comes to an end, he will fall into hell along with those evil persons. '"The meaning of this passage is that, if a practitioner of Buddhism should fail to chastise evil persons who slander the Law but give himself up entirely to meditation and contemplation, not attempting to distinguish between correct or incorrect doctrines, provisional or true teachings, but rather pretending to be a model of compassion, then such a person will fall into the evil paths along with the other doers of evil. Now a person who fails to correct Shingon, Nembutsu, Zen and Ritsu adherents who are slanderers of the Law and instead pretends to be a model of compassion will meet just such a fate as this."

"And so to unbelieving persons, rouse them to accept this Law. By so doing, young men of good family, you will acquit your debt to the Tathagatas." Lotus Sutra, Chapter 27, page 440, translated by Kern

They are like the icchantikas who "do not hear, do not believe, and cannot discriminate." (Great Nirvana Sutra: T.12.724c7 = T. 12.481 b27-28)

Hardly is Soka Gakkai the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin...

http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2017/04/disproving-sgis-assertions-of.html
http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2016/10/ephemeral-or-everlasting-liberation.html http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2016/07/there-is-no-need-for-living-mentor-in.html http://markrogow.blogspot.com/2017/02/no-intercession-by-high-priest-or-sgi.html

Tim Janakos, former SGI leader, abandons the Lotus Sutra and gives himself up to fundamental darkness

Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu treat their Gohonzons like dirt

Point 1: Who authorized all those worthless Nichiren Shoshu "Gohonzons" that were distributed to more than 500,000 SGI-USA members and how many remain? 7000-8000 tops? Where are they now?

Point 2: Who teaches of the worthlessness of the 128 extant Nichiren Gohonzons? The Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai. They will join their discarded "Gohonzons" in hell.

The Nichiren Shoshu blames the Gakkai for everything. Who printed up those 500,000 Gohonzons? The Nichiren Shoshu, of course. The Nichiren Shoshu and SGI criticize the Nichiren Shu, the Kempon Hokke, and the HBS for disrespecting Gohonzon for putting pictures of  Gohonzon on the web but their "real" Gohonzon are treated like dirt. The fact is, the other Nichiren sects and Independents respect Gohonzon far more than the Nichiren Shoshu and the Soka Gakkai. More than 90% of Gohonzon bestowed by the other sects and Independents are protected and enshrined and not thrown into the garbage or rolled up in sock draws.

Identical twins, Soka Gakkai and North Korea

http://www.hosshakukempon.com/marchtowardsthe21stcentury.html

Notice the world above and the world in the North Korean Arirang Festival. Might as well be identical twins of the "dear leaders".

"Of course we don't worship President Ikeda"

https://markrogow.blogspot.com/2018/06/of-course-we-dont-worship-president_10.html

https://markrogow.blogspot.com/2018/06/of-course-we-dont-worship-president_99.html

https://markrogow.blogspot.com/2017/09/of-course-we-dont-worship-president_85.html

https://markrogow.blogspot.com/2018/06/of-course-we-dont-worship-president_90.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=21&v=eWFt5j-suUw

Refreshing or pathetic?

"We are struck by the way the senior youth leaders explained the goal of 100,000 youths: "Our goal is to create a solidarity of '100,000 Shinichi Yamamotos' rather than the mere increase of membership. What refreshing words!"

http://www.hosshakukempon.com/editorial

A more brainwashed group of individuals I have never known. Pathetic.

No one sets out with the intention of joining a cult

https://www.openmindsfoundation.org/no-one-sets-out-with-the-intention-of-joining-a-cult/#comment-276

By Marye Harrison on January 12th, 2016

Buddhist, Recruitment or Seduction|9 Comments

Some years ago, a friend told me about a Buddhist organization she belonged to, called Soka Gakkai International (SGI). I’d been informally studying Buddhism for a couple of years at that point and had attended a couple of sessions at local temples. Nothing resonated with me. When I went to a local SGI meeting for the first time, I couldn’t make it past the lobby; there was something creepy and disembodied about the chanting I could hear coming from the main room. I almost ran out of the building.

Well, fast-forward a few years; my marriage had crumbled, and I was living in a city far away from friends, family and a conventional support system. I was under-employed and working for a woman who, to say the least, was a miserable human being. I had reached a point of depression and despair when my friend suggested that I start chanting to change my life. Nothing I had tried thus far had improved things and that, along with her promise that if my life didn’t start to turn around very quickly she would stop practicing after more than 30 years with SGI were persuasive. I respected this person, and if someone as skeptical as she was had found something that she believed was effective, it couldnt hurt to try it.

Miraculously, it worked. I chanted for a better job (with a nicer manager) and enough money to cover buying a new set of tires. I chanted for hours, and with all my heart. Within two weeks, I had a job offer working for someone I liked and received enough of a financial windfall that it temporarily bailed me out of the financial problems I was having. I found a local group (SGI is broken out into local Districts, Chapters, Areas and Regions), started attending meetings and, it seemed, life did a complete turnaround. These people were loving and supportive, good friends . . . we chanted together, socialized, went to monthly meetings in the community center. Every small victory was cause for celebration and further encouragement; my setbacks were met with urgings to chant more, study more . . . have more faith that things would work and most importantly make a heart-to-heart with the president of SGI, Daisaku Ikeda. He knew my struggles, and was chanting for me! I wasn’t really clear on how 78-year old man in Japan who didn’t speak a word of English knew what was going on with me, but apparently he did, so hooray!

This was all extremely seductive. There’s nothing like having the feeling that your voice is being respectfully heard to encourage you to feel more loyalty and affection. The idea of finally having control over my life cemented me to the organization; all I had to do was to chant whatever problems I was having would resolve. I was invited to receive my Gohonzon (the magic scroll that would instantly improve my life-condition); I was broke again, but finally saved enough to make my $35.

The Gohonzon itself is a scroll, perhaps. Heavy, good-quality paper, with a black rod at the top and bottom, with a loop to hang it in your own butsudan. There a tasteful decorative border, and in the middle are eleven vertical rows of Japanese calligraphy. They describe various concepts related to Buddhism in general and SGI in particular, with Nam Myoho Renge Kyo down the center and Nichirens signature at the bottom. A butsudan is essentially a box designed to contain and protect the Gohonzon, and it varies from being very simple (mine was a wooden box that had a hook for hanging the scroll) to insanely elaborate about the only thing that is standard to them is that they have two doors that abut down the center front and swing aside when you open it. They vary in size from just large enough to allow the scroll to hang unencumbered to ones that will cover an entire wall; we always jokingly called the larger ones walk-ins.Gohonzons came in four sizes the one already described, a very small one in a plastic case suspended from a chain (Gotta keep practicing, even on the road! Don’t worry that the chain rips out all those tiny little hairs on the inside of your wrist; no one said there wouldn’t be a bit of pain!); there was a larger version available to members who’d been in for 15 years or more, and then the giant ones that were in the Buddhist centers.

The friend who had shaku-buku (recruited) me warned me that sansho-shima (evil forces) might conspire to prevent me from receiving my Gohonzon, so I was happy to arrive safely at the Buddhist Center for the conferral. I’d been to the center a few times before; SGI has a monthly Gongyo at their centers; Gongyo consists of chanting ‘nam myoho renge kyo’ (which translates into Devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra), then chanting several chapters of the sutra itself, all of that generally at tongue-twisting lightning speed in 13th century Japanese. There are several silent prayers, and then 15-20 minutes more of vigorously chanting NMRK. We also performed Gongyo twice a day at home, in front of our personal Gohozon. At the monthly meetings, this was always followed by announcements and rousing personal experiences from a couple of members interspersed by oohs, aaahs, and applause from the other members. If we were truly lucky, the Arts and Culture Department would put on a performance. The final official event was being shown a dvd from HQ, with President Ikeda giving a speech, receiving an award of some sort (he has a ton of academic awards from minor colleges and universities around the world – easy enough to come by if you grease a few palms), and a performance by the Ikeda Brass Band or someone like that. At the time, it was all very inspiring and moving; here was the great man himself, in the great center in Japan, more gilt, gigantic apples and oranges piled on the altar than you could shake a stick at, and hundreds of solemn (mostly Japanese members with gaijin guests in seats of honor) in the rapt audience. The men all dressed in white shirts and ties to emulate President Ikeda, and the women all wearing pastel suits to honor Mrs. Ikeda. It struck me as kind of creepy, but I put that down to my feeble understanding of Japanese culture.

The center where I received my Gohonzon wasnt nearly as grand, but it was still pretty impressive. It was a fairly modern building, constructed in the 1980s by member volunteers. The lobby was fairly small: a desk for those brave souls watching over the safety of the members as they practiced, and, like all SGI centers, a small bookstore. SGI has its own printing house (Middle Way Press) that produces the hundreds of books that Ikeda has allegedly written. After passing through the lobby, you entered the main room; in this building, it was constructed in the round; the exterior wall had tall, slotted windows letting light into the room. A couple of hundred chairs were positioned on the red carpet, all facing the altar. On the altar was the butsudan: the cabinet that housed a giant Gohonzon. It really was beautiful, finely crafted from rich woods, with shining gold hinges and lock-plate. Between the chairs and the altar was a lectern from where the MC kept things moving along and members would present their experiences. On the wall opposite the windows was a hallway leading to restrooms, a small library, a kitchen, and a play-room for the kids. SGI had used incense at one time, but complaints from those with delicate respiratory systems put a halt to that in most centers some years ago.

Gohonzon conferrals took place at the end of these meetings, so I had plenty of time for my anticipation to build. Sansho-shima hadn’t had their wicked way with me, so obviously the Shoten-Zenjin (protective forces) were on my side. The Chapter Leader called three of us to the front of the room, and solemnly bestowed our Gohonzons to the cheers, whistles, and applause of the other members. We were now officially Bodhisattvas of the Earth! A bodhisattva, by the way, is someone who has achieved enlightenment but opts to return to the world to help others achieve enlightenment. Part of the Lotus Sutra describes bodhisattvas rising from the earth during the Ceremony in the Air when the Treasure Tower emerged. Or something like that: who cared? I was one of them! I just knew that through the force of my practice and devotion, I could make my life better and, as a result, improve the lives of those around me. That was my personal, self-appointed mission. And, holy cow, I knew it would work! I could just feel with every bone in my body that I had the tools to make that happen.

Confirmation bias – that’s an interesting concept. We start doing something differently, and we perceive every positive event in our lives as being directly attributable to that new action. That’s how cults work; they provide you with a new tool to handle those challenges in life, and your mind automatically associates that new tool with a successful outcome. You will be surrounded by people who will reinforce that idea; you’ll be congratulated and made the center of very positive attention. In my organization, you would be encouraged to share your story at a meeting: there will be others who will take heart from hearing about your experience. They’ll chant more, participate more, donate more and try harder to develop a deeper allegiance to the fearless leader. And there was really so much good fortune to share: green lights all the way to work, not being late for a meeting, finding enough change so that you could buy a soda! Once in a while, it would be something meaningful: a better job, a new love, making it through a difficult challenge – you know, things that never happen for people who dont chan’t.

The meetings kept us busy. There was Kosen Rufu Gongyo (the meetings described above, held the first Sunday of every month Kosen Rufu is the SGI time for their world-peace initiative), and then there was a study and a discussion meeting every month. Of course, we had to have a monthly planning meeting to schedule the latter two meetings that were held in the homes of members. There was some jockeying that went on to have meetings in your home – to do so was an opportunity to gain benefits, which were sort of positive-karma points. And then there were the tosos. A toso is fairly informal: people would gather in your home to chant . . . sometimes for hours. You could have as many of those as desired. Member Care meetings took place once a month: these weren’t mandatory, but of course if you want to keep racking up those karma points, you just can’t miss that opportunity. We went through the membership index cards at those meetings, and you walked away with a list of members who hadn’t been seen or heard from for a while; you were to contact them and try to bring them back. If you were a leader (as I became, on a low level), there were more meetings and, since I was on the Subscription Committee (SGI has two publications that the members are pretty much required to subscribe to: The World Tribune and Living Buddhism) there was an additional meeting every month for me, plus contacting members whose subscriptions were about to expire. Busy, busy, busy. Keeping us busy served the organization well; we not only didn’t have time to associate very much with people outside of the group, those meetings provided additional conditioning opportunities. Theres nothing like 20 minutes of chanting to put you into a trance state and keep you highly susceptible.

Oh, but what if despite your best efforts, it doesn’t work? What if, despite spending hours chanting in front of your sacred scroll, attending meetings or volunteering your time, you still can’t resolve that pesky problem? It’s time to go talk with one of your trusted local leaders; you don’t discuss it with anyone outside the organization: they won’t understand, because what you’re doing is so deep and mystical that only other members can get it. They will be kind, but frank. It’s obviously your fault. You weren’t chanting enough, or with a sincere enough heart. You aren’t participating in enough group activities – didn’t you miss that study meeting a couple of months ago? You don’t donate enough. You aren’t devoted enough to the Greatest Mentor Ever. Or you need to work off all of that terrible karma you’ve accumulated through your many lives. Or maybe (just maybe), you’re doing it so right that you are actually bringing all of that negative karma forward so that you can put it behind you and moving into your bright, shiny new life! It’s kind of hard not to visualize a great, festering karmic boil there.

While there’s quite a bit of sarcasm in this article, it comes from hindsight. While I was in, before I came to my senses, I eagerly swallowed everything this cult organization fed me. The only thing I questioned was the implied divinity of President Ikeda, but I viewed those doubts as a failure on my part. I believed that if I chanted enough, I could overcome anything, achieve any goal. The Mystic Law (the force behind all of this) was on my side, and because of that, I was a special and superior person. It was beyond my comprehension how anybody who was exposed to this wonderful practice didn’t see the absolute common sense of it. Cause and effect – you make a good cause and you reap a positive effect. So simple. Physics

Being in a cult is like a country dance . . . sometimes you advance, sometimes you retreat. Be assured, though, that there is always someone at the head of the room calling the moves and the tune. Some people are incredibly lucky; they get tired of the dance and start seeing just how senseless and abusive it is. I’m one of those very, very fortunate people; it only took me seven years to start seeing what was going on around me – two of the most intelligent people I know had two and three decades of the SGI Shuffle before hearing the flat notes.

EDITOR'S NOTE: WHILE WE AT OMF VALUE ALL FREE EXPRESSION OF OPINION, THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY OUR CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS ARE THEIR OWN AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF OMF, ITS BOARD MEMBERS, OR TRUSTEES.

What do you think about this article? Do you agree? Do you have a story about being in a high-control group that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you!

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Marye Harrison

Marye is a former member of Soka Gakkai International. She currently works at a NY State Authority supporting the construction and rehabilitation of energy-efficient buildings across the state.