The Gohonzon is a representation of the Buddha of the Lifespan Chapter

"During the entire fifty years of Shakyamuni’s teaching, only in the last eight years did he preach the twenty- eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra. Again, of all these chapters, only in the eight chapters did he reveal and transfer the object of devotion to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. During the two millennia of the Former and Middle Days of the Law, statues were made showing Mahakashyapa and Ananda flanking the Shakyamuni Buddha of Hinayana, and Manjushri and Universal Worthy flanking the Shakyamuni Buddha of the provisional Mahayana, the Nirvana Sutra, and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

Even though statues and paintings were made of these Shakyamuni Buddhas during the two millennia, no image or statue was made of the Buddha of the “Life Span” chapter. Only in the Latter Day of the Law will the representation of that Buddha appear." -- The True Object of Worship

Nichiren on cutting the thick rope of evil passions

"I have made a vow. Even if someone says that he would make me the ruler of Japan on the condition that I give up the Lotus Sutra and rely upon the Amida Sutra for my salvation in the next life, or even if someone threatens me saying that he will execute my parents if I do not say 'Namu Amida-butsu,' and no matter how many great difficulties fall upon me, I will not submit until a man of wisdom defeats me by reason. Other difficulties are like dust in the wind. I will never break my vow that I will become the pillar of Japan, I will become the eyes of Japan, and I will become the great vessel of Japan." -- Kaimoku Sho (Opening the Eyes)

"When all the people under heaven and the various schools of Buddhism are converted to the one and real vehicle, and when only the Lotus Sutra flourishes and all the people recite 'Namu Myoho Renge-kyo' in unison, the howling wind will not blow down the branches, falling rain will not erode the soil, and the world will become as it was during the reigns of the Chinese Emperors Fu-hsi and Shan-neng. You will see that such times will come when calamities cease to exist, people live long meaningful lives, and men and their faith become eternal. There should be no doubt about the proof of tranquility in this very life." -- On Practicing According to Teachings (An Instruction from Sado to Disciples and Followers)

"Among the people who believe in the Lotus Sutra today, some people's faith is like fire and other's faith is like water. Some people are aroused like burning fire during a sermon, but once they go away they forget all that they heard. When I say 'like water,' I mean a person who has constant faith. You have always called on me without fail, and therefore, your faith is like water. This is wonderful." -- Ueno-dono Gohenji (A Reply to Lord Ueno)

"Be it for good or for evil, abandoning the Lotus Sutra must be the karma of hell." -- Kaimoku Sho (Opening the Eyes)

"I, Nichiren, too, by reciting these compilations of texts and making prayers and vows to the Buddha and the devas (gods) every day since the first day I began to believe, though I have encountered all sorts of great hardships, because the meritorious power of the Lotus Sutra and the Golden Words of Lord Shakya which are profound and serious, up to now, I have been saved. With regard to that, if the Practitioners of the Lotus Sutra have no backsliding in the mind of faith or false affection in their person, but leave themselves to the Lotus Sutra in all things and practice in accordance with the Golden Words, they will for certain, even in this life not to speak of the afterlife, end disasters and extend their lifespan, obtain the reward of the Superior, Sublime Great Effect and accomplish the Great Vow of "widely proclaiming and diffusing." [kosen rufu] -- Kitokyo sojo (Cover Letter to the Sutra for Prayers)

"By the Great Good of the Venerable Maudgalyayana's believing in the Lotus Sutra, not only did he become a Buddha but his father and mother became Buddhas. His father and mother and so on for seven generations up and seven generations down and for immeasurable lives up and immeasurable lives down, beyond any expectation, became Buddhas. And even children, husbands and wives, subordinates, lay donors and immeasurable beings not only left the Three Evil Ways of Rebirth but all became Buddhas from the First Abode to Sublime Enlightenment. What he worships is the Buddha Shakya; the Dharma he believes is the Lotus Sutra." -- Urabon Gosho (Letter on the Urabon)

"I, Nichiren, am the foremost Practitioner of the Lotus Sutra in Japan. If among Nichiren's disciples and lay donors you come later than me, Nichiren, then even before the God Brahman, the Emperor Shakra, the Four Celestial Kings or the Emperor Emma (Yama) declare, 'I am the disciple or believer of the foremost Practitioner of the Lotus Sutra in Japan, the priest Nichiren,' and you shall pass. 

This Lotus Sutra becomes a ship on the rivers of the Three Paths, the Great White Ox Cart on the Mountain Going Forth in Death, it becomes a lamp on the paths of the underworld and it is a bridge whereby we may go to the Spiritual Mountain.... But it depends on the mind of faith. If just the mind of faith is weak, no matter how much you call yourself a disciple or lay donor of Nichiren, by no means will you be accepted." -- Hakki Dono Gosho

"Bodisattva Fukyo in the past, saying that all beings have the Buddha Nature and if they keep the Lotus Sutra, they will certainly attain Buddhahood and to slight them is tantamount to slighting Buddhas. Thus, he established the Practice of Bowing in Reverence; saying that, even those who do not keep the Lotus Sutra, if they were to keep it, have the Buddha Nature and would become Buddhas. He thus performed Bowing in Reverence in this way to those who did not keep it. How much more to the householders and priests who keep the Lotus Sutra. In the fourth fascicle of this Sutra it is taught that if one demeans, with even one evil word, those who keep and preach the Lotus Sutra, be it a householder or one who has left the household, the magnitude of the sin is beyond the sin of directly disparaging the Buddha Shakya. It is also preached, 'Whether true or untrue, those who keep the Lotus Sutra should not, even forgetfully, disparage each other, should they? The reason is that all those who keep the Lotus Sutra are necessarily Buddhas and to disparage a Buddha is to earn oneself a sin. When one understands it in this way, the merit of the Title (Daimoku) which one chants must be equal to the merit of Lord Shakya."-- Matsuno dono gohenji (Reply to Lord Matsuno)

"As for these three important things, it is not that Nichiren said it. It was the spirit of the Tathagata Shakyamuni that entered into my body and filled it with a joy far greater than what it deserved. This is the important teaching of the Lotus Sutra called 'one thought is three thousand worlds.' The scripture says, 'All existence has such a form ...' What does this mean? Because the 'appearance of suchness,' the first of the Ten Suchnesses, is the most important, the Buddha appeared in the world. The beginning of Nichiren's believing in the Lotus Sutra is like one drop of one atom in the country of Japan. If two people, three people, ten people, and millions and billions of people recite the Lotus Sutra, then it would become the Mt. Sumeru of Subtle Enlightenment or a great ocean of Nirvana. One should not look for any other way for becoming a Buddha." -- Senji Sho (An Essay on the Selection of the Proper Time)

"For instance, those who have a fever can cool off lying beside a great body of cold water, but they will continue to suffer if they lie by the side of a small body of water. Likewise, those who suffer from the five rebellious sins of slandering the true dharma and those who have no faith in Buddhism can not cool the fever of their grave sins by lying beside a small body of water, that is, such sutras as the Agama Sutras, the Kammuryojukyo, and the Great Sun Buddha Sutra. If they lie on the large snow-covered mountain of the Lotus Sutra, they can definitely cool even the fever of the five cardinal sins, the sins of slandering the true dharma, and those of having no faith in Buddhism. "Therefore, the fool must by necessity believe in the Lotus Sutra... The thick rope of evil passions cannot be cut even by the great power of the wise, but it can be easily cut by the powerless fool with the small sword of the Lotus Sutra. "The essence of the Lotus Sutra is 'Namu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo.'" -- Ho'on Jo (Recompense of Indebtedness)

SGI's intent is to supplant Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin with Daisaku Ikeda.

"Regarding the Lotus Sutra’s text, meaning and intent, the sutra’s intent is the most important to grasp. The intent lies in arousing faith in the mentor’s teaching to lead all to attain Buddhahood." -- SGI leader's guidance

Meaningless Ikeda psychobabble

"The oneness of mentor and disciple is the very heart of the Lotus Sutra and the essence of Nichiren Daishonin’s teachings, yet the priests try to destroy and cast aside this most crucial element. This is a characteristic of devilish functions, known as “robbers of life.”

To reject the oneness of mentor and disciple is to reject the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds; it constitutes an attack on the fundamental equality of all human beings. The true nature of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood is revealed here for all to see." (Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra by Daisaku Ikeda, 160–61)

Be pleased to be without anxiety

Your Nichiren Shoshu Gojukai vow is null and void because "Any vow taken while the party eliciting the vow is perpetuating a fraud is null." -- legal doctrine 

You may obtain a copy of a Nichiren inscribed Gohonzon without feelings of trepidation or guilt.

The SGI leaders who tell their members to avoid the Eagle Peak Blog have hearts like dogs

"The Buddha stated that, in the latter age, monks and nuns with the hearts of dogs would be as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. By this he meant that the priests and nuns of that day would be attached to fame and fortune. Because they wear robes and surplices, they look like ordinary priests and nuns. But in their hearts they wield a sword of distorted views, hastening here and there among their patrons and filling them with countless lies so as to keep them away from other priests or nuns. Thus they strive to keep their patrons to themselves and prevent other priests or nuns from coming near them, like a dog who goes to a house to be fed, but growls and springs to attack the moment another dog approaches. Each and every one of these priests and nuns is certain to fall into the evil paths."

Daisaku Ikeda fears the internet and open dialogue as well he should

"My concern is that people may turn into mere passive receptors of programmed images. Recent research in neuroscience has confirmed that active faculties--such as the ability to think critically, to make decisions, to love and sympathize, to believe in something--tend to grow weaker when we are subjected to such one-way flows of information." -- Daisaku Ikeda talking about the internet

SGI would rather not participate in our dialogue or any real dialogue on the internet. We are open to a spirited dialogue with them and all others. SGI's blogs and "forums" are either inactive or strictly moderated. That is not dialogue. This forum, for the most part, is not moderated. So have your say!

An example of how Nichiren interprets the Lotus Sutra

“The World-Honored One in his great mercy makes use of a rare thing, in pity and compassion teaching and converting, bringing benefit to us. In numberless millions of kalpas who could ever repay him? Though we offer him our hands and feet, bow our heads in respectful obeisance, and present all manner of offerings, none of us could repay him. Though we lift him on the crown of our heads, bear him on our two shoulders, for kalpas numerous as Ganges sands reverence him with all our hearts; though we come with delicate foods, with countless jeweled robes, with articles of bedding, various kinds of potions and medicines; with ox-head sandalwood and all kinds of rare gems, construct memorial towers and spread the ground with jeweled robes; though we were to do all this by way of offering for kalpas numerous as Ganges sands, still we could not repay him.” -- Lotus Sutra Chapter 4

“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 the other Buddhas, 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 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!” -- Nichiren

Thank you Kieran

Like others, my faith has taken me on a journey and I have learned to part company with those I believe do not have the correct faith and to align myself, in spirit, with those that I believe do.

When I first started invoking the Dai Moku, I had spiritual and out of body experiences that taught me the correct faith (not shared or understood by those around me in SGI/NichirenShoshu)and not the words of others. Shakyamuni Buddha came to me twice, amongst other experiences and I learnt that telling others did not work as they reinterpreted my experiences to suit their wrong views.

It is comforting to know that I need not rely on corrupt temples, sects or priests for the True practice and I truly know that the Gohonzon is inside us.

For us, Bodhisattvas of the Earth, there is no greater joy than to be in the Ceremony in the Air, where we received the True Teaching in the remote distant past and in the present. 

Dear Mark, and others of true faith, continue to follow your heart, giving your whole life completely to the Law of Life itself!

Kieran Farah

London UK

Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo, 

Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo, 

Namu Myo Ho Renge Kyo

Soka Gakkai's invasion of Brazil leads to this

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/brazil-s-president-elect-jair-bolsonaro-may-smother-rainforest-scientists-n940326

Jerry "Shinkei" Marcheso US marine veteran and Nichiren priest

"The wind in the pines played a melody of eternity, happiness, true self, and purity."

"They say that it is as difficult to be born in the realm of human beings as it is to thread a needle by lowering the thread from the heavens, and as rare to see and hear the Buddha’s teachings as it is for a one-eyed turtle to encounter a floating log with a hole just the right size to hold him. Having this in mind and believing that one must regard the body as insignificant and the Law as supreme, the unenlightened man climbed numerous mountains, impelled by his anxiety, going from one temple to another as his feet would carry him. In time he arrived at a rocky cave with green mountains rising sheer behind it. The wind in the pines played a melody of eternity, happiness, true self, and purity, and the emerald stream that bubbled along in front sent its waves striking against the bank with echoes of the perfection of these four virtues. The flowers carpeting the deep valley bloomed with the hue of the true aspect of the Middle Way, and from the plum blossoms just beginning to open in the broad meadow wafted the fragrance of the three thousand realms. Truly it was beyond the power of words to describe, beyond the scope of the mind to imagine. One might have thought it the place where the Four White-Haired Elders of Mount Shang lived, or the site where some ancient Buddha had walked about after meditation. Auspicious clouds rose up at dawn, a mysterious light appeared in the evening. Ah, the mind cannot grasp it nor words set it forth!

The unenlightened man wandered about, pondering what was before him, now pausing in thought, now resuming his steps. Suddenly he came upon a sage. Observing his actions, he saw that the sage was reciting the Lotus Sutra; his voice stirred the seeker deeply. Peering in at the quiet window of the sage’s retreat, he found that the sage was resting his elbows on his desk, pondering the sutra’s profound meaning.

The sage, divining that the unenlightened man was searching for the Law, asked in a gentle voice, “Why have you come to this cave among these far-off mountains?” The other replied, “Because I attach little importance to life but great importance to the Law.”

Do the SGI teachings conform to the scriptures and to reason?

"The point is simply whether or not it conforms with the text of the scriptures and with reason." -- Nichiren

Calling upon all Nichiren Buddhists to adhere to a single doctrine

"I do not know whether the Great Teacher Dengyō’s inner enlightenment was inferior or equal to that of Nāgārjuna and T’ien-t’ai, but I am convinced that, in calling upon all Buddhist believers to adhere to a single doctrine, he showed himself to be superior to Nāgārjuna and Vasubandhu and to surpass even Nan-yüeh and T’ien-t’ai." -- The Selection of the Time

The correlation between correct faith and correct pronunciation of the Daimoku

"And when the two characters for namu are prefixed to Myoho-renge-kyo, or the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, we have the formula Namu-myoho-renge-kyo." SGI's faulty translation is, "we have the formula Nam-myoho-renge kyo". 

Since we know that Nichiren never, not even once, wrote Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. we can conclude that SGI's translation of the Opening of the Eyes is faulty and deceptive. So too is their chanting of Nam myoho renge kyo. Even were we to give them some credit for chanting the truncated Daimoku, Nichiren teaches, it is correct faith which is most important and their faith is even more incorrect than their pronunciation of the Mystic Law. Is there any doubt that there is an association between incorrect faith and an incorrect pronunciation of the Daimoku? No, there is no doubt. There is a direct correlation.

"Faith evokes the Buddha’s compassionate response"

“What an occasion for rejoicing! Though born into an evil age that is stained with the five impurities, we have been able to see and hear the true words of the one vehicle. We read that a person who has planted roots of good fortune [under Buddhas] equal in number to the sands of the Hiranyavatī or the Ganges River is able to encounter this sutra and take faith in it. Now you have aroused the mind that rejoices in faith. Thus without a doubt, just as a box and its lid fit together, so will your own faith evoke the Buddha’s compassionate response, and the two will unite as one.”

Protect yourself!

Put on your tin foil hat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_foil_hat

9-15-00 World Tribune study material:

"As the American poet and author Robert Bly says in Iron John, we search for a "second father" or "a second king..." "We can each ask ourselves: Is there anyone we know or have heard of who possesses true greatness? If so, we should leave with him or her". Early in my youth I faced a huge test in my relationship with President Ikeda. I loved him from the first and considered myself his disciple. But I was very young and had no clue about the obstacles that I would face in the future.

After a particularly severe set back in my life, I felt that I had failed as a disciple. Before I realized it, I was overcome with negativity. "I have failed him;' I thought. And my heart broke.

I had to think deeply about what he really meant to me. What is a disciple? What does a mentor think about a disciple? I came to understand that I had a very shallow view of the mentor- disciple relationship. When I realized that President Ikeda's belief in me, his belief in my potential, was unconditional, I was able to pull myself out of the depths of that hell...

I heard the mentor disciple relationship explained once as the mentor being like a transmitter and the disciples like receivers. President Ikeda is alwIys transmitting. It is up to us to receive the message. Several months ago I heard a young woman describe her struggle with the mentor-disciple relationship. She was devoted to her practice, to kosen rufli and her members. She was acting as a person of the same mind as the mentor. But although she respected President Ikeda and thought he was "a great guy" as she put it; her heart was closed to him. And this troubled her. She was frustrated by the fact that she "just didn't get it." This was some thing she pondered through many prayers. Then one night as she was standing alone out under the stars at the Florida Nature and Culture Center, she had an awakening, a realization. It was a matter of trust It wasn't President Ikeda; it was her ability to open her heart to him. Her father had been a very respected professional, but behind closed doors he was an abuser feared by the family. She realized that this was the "wall" between herself and President Ikeda. All ofher chanting and prayers had led her to see this and suddenly she "got it" and tears began to flow down her cheeks. Her receiver was turned on."

"WADA So when we consider how to actualize the oneness of Master and Disciple in everyday life, we should consider, "If I were Sensei, how would I think about this?" or, "If I were Sensei, what would I do about this?" I think that our taking action that President Ikeda would take is, in one sense to actualize the oneness of master and disciple. 

TANIGAWA If we truly which to reach this point, we must read President Ikeda's guidance repeatedly. We must get to the point where we can't distinguish between our own speech and action and what we would do if we were the SGI President. It's incorrect for us to put our opinions about how to behave over what we believe President Ikeda would do. It's even worse to act without thinking about what President Ikeda would do. This is not acting as a disciple." -- Seikyo Times, August, 1990, p. 45 in an article entitled "Dialogue and Democracy."

SGI's cloning strategy. What's next, channeling Ikeda? 

Bolognese alla Gakkai

Let us start with cause and effect and let us end there too. Let us also talk about change. Let us say we want to cause an effect (goal). I’ll pick an effect. You are a manager of a large and busy restaurant so lets introduce a memorable spaghetti sauce alla bolognese. The goal is a delicious bolognese sauce. For those who don’t know, a bolognese sauce is a garlicky, tomatoey, thick meat sauce with a touch of cream. To make a memorable sauce, first of all we have to start with the finest ingredients: Vine ripened plum tomatoes, fresh garlic, a ground meat mixture of the finest beef and sausage. Fresh mushrooms, peppers, onions. Carrots for sweetness. Fresh picked bay leaves, oregano, rosemary, parsley, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Extra virgin olive oil, sweet cream, and the finest cooking wine. A grating of truffles.

We saute the garlic in the olive oil till just before it turns brown, then we add the peppers, onions, mushrooms and carrots and in a separate pan we brown the meat in a little olive oil. While the meat is browning we add our spices to the vegetable saute and then, in a minute or two we add the peeled tomatoes and cooking wine. We turn down the heat a bit and add the golden browned meat mixture. We stir the sauce with a wooden spoon every fifteen minutes for the next 6 or 7 hours and add a little more wine and water to achieve a slow reduction. We add the cream and the grated truffle mixture, and continue to stir every fifteen minutes for another hour or two. at the same time we are preparing the home made paste. Boil the water and put the home made pasta in the boiling water for 3 minutes. We drain every drop of water from the pasta, add butter and pour our magnifico sauce over the spaghetti. Finally we add the grated aged cheese, a mixture of parmagiana and Romano cheese from Parma Italy. We pour ourselves a glass of Barolo and we go to town while sopping up the sauce in fresh baked Italian bread.

We have made a meal to die for. We have followed the recipe of the masters of Italian cooking.

Now I give you another scenario. We take Delmonte stewed tomatoes, garlic salt, a ground meat mixture of possum and raccoon, mushrooms, carrots, onions, etc. that have been lying in the refrigerator for two months, throw it all into liquefied Crisco lard, add Mad Dog Twenty-Twenty a touch of tobasco sauce, and buttermilk and stir for fifteen or twenty minutes. Put it over overcooked Ronzoni Spaghetti and add some grated Velveeta cheese. You call this “Bolognese” sauce. You accompany the meal with white bread and beer that has been opened three days ago.

You can not separate the means from the ends when even making a meal. How can you separate the means from the ends when revealing Buddhahood and realizing Kosen Rufu? What the SGI has done to Nichiren Lotus Sutra Buddhism is to make it virtually unrecognizable to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and protective deities throughout the universe. Although it contains, tomatoes [SGI twisted Daimoku], meat [rancid SGI Gohonzons], and inferior cheese and spices [SGI doctrines], it is hardly Nichiren Daishonin's recipe. You may call both bolognese sauce [Lotus Sutra Buddhism] but the Buddhas and bodhisattvas can tell the difference. There is no possibility of attaining  Buddhahood or Kosen Rufu with a recipe that so dramatically differs from Nichiren Daishonin's. Even were you to add fine ingredients to the slop you created, it would be unfit for human or heavenly consumption.

SPECIAL REPORT: Why is Soka Gakkai Allowed to Influence Our Public Schools?

SPECIAL REPORT: 

Why is Soka Gakkai Allowed to Influence Our Public Schools?

Wednesday, June 13, 2001

Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, Appoints SGI President and Mrs. Ikeda as Honorary Principals 

(Original Article from SGI Website Here)

On June 6, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda and his wife, Mrs. Kaneko Ikeda, were appointed honorary principals of Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, USA, in recognition of their longstanding contributions to the advancement of education, anti-violence, and peace on an international scale, based on the value-creating pedagogy of Soka education. Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda are being lauded as ideal role models, reflecting the school's educational philosophy. 

On the same day, the school also dedicated a garden, grown and cared for by the students, to educator and first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944)--The Makiguchi California Native Plant Garden--in commemoration of his 130th birthday. Trees were planted in honor of Mr. Makiguchi, Mr. Ikeda, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), founder of the United Farm Workers' Union. San Ysidro is located in the southern-most part of California, next to the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Attending the ceremony were: Beyer Elementary School Principal Fred Cruz, San Ysidro School Administrator Grace Kojima, Beyer School teacher Josephine Hamada, who proposed the honorary principal appointments, other faculty and students, and SGI-

USA General Director Daniel Nagashima, who represented Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda.

Monday, November 26, 2001

Beyer Elementary School, California, to Establish Toda Garden 

(Original Article from SGI Website Here)

Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, plans to establish a "Toda Peace Tree Grove" on the school grounds in memory of Josei Toda, second Soka Gakkai president and mentor to SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. On November 13, a cherry tree planting ceremony was held to commemorate the start of the garden's construction. The dedication is a gesture of appreciation for the goodwill and friendship between Beyer Elementary School and Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda, who were named honorary principals of Beyer in June this year. In August, Mr. Ikeda presented a poem to students in Beyer and donated books to the school library. The SGI contributed cherry trees to San Ysidro and plants to Beyer's Makiguchi California Native Plant Garden, which was established as a tribute to the humanistic pedagogy of educator and first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. 

Friday, February 22, 2002

(Original Article from SGI Website Here)

Beyer Elementary School students, San Ysidro, California 

In August 2001, Mr. Ikeda presented a poem to students in Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, USA, and donated books to the school library, following his and his wife Kaneko Ikeda's appointments as honorary school principals in June 2001. The SGI also contributed cherry trees to San Ysidro and plants to Beyer's native plant garden, which was established as a tribute to the humanistic pedagogy of educator and first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. The school plans to honor Josei Toda, second Soka Gakkai president and Mr. Ikeda's mentor, by naming a tree grove on the school grounds in his memory. 

Saturday, August 24, 2002

Beyer School in Southern California, USA, Unveils Monument Inscribed with SGI President's Poem

(Original Article from SGI Website Here)

Beyer School teachers and students with SGI representatives 

On August 19, Beyer School in San Ysidro, California, USA, unveiled a monument inscribed with a poem SGI President Daisaku Ikeda dedicated to Beyer School students in August 2001. SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda attended the ceremony on behalf of his father, together with Soka Gakkai Vice President Kenji Yoshigo and SGI-USA General Director Daniel Nagashima. Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda were named honorary principals of the school in 2001. 

Tuesday, June 17, 2003

Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, USA, Commemorates First Soka Gakkai President's Birth Anniversary

(Original Article from SGI Website Here)

Beyer students pose in Makiguchi Garden with Principal Cruz and teacher Josephine Hamada 

Beyer Elementary School in San Ysidro, California, USA, commemorated the 132nd birth anniversary of educator and first Soka Gakkai president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. The ceremony also commemorated the second anniversary of the Makiguchi California Native Plant Garden, which was established in June 2001 as a tribute to Mr. Makiguchi's humanistic pedagogy. Principal Fred Cruz, teachers and students of Beyer Elementary School and SGI-USA representatives attended. 

On the occasion, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda and Mrs. Kaneko Ikeda received a commendation from California State Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny, for their "efforts to promote the time-honored principles of nonviolence and community empowerment, while encouraging children and adults to enjoy our region's natural beauty." SGI-USA Senior Vice General Director Richard Sasaki received a certificate, on behalf of the Ikedas, from Ms. Ducheny. SGI-USA Vice General Director Ian McIlraith read the Ikedas' message of appreciation. 

[In June 2001, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda and Mrs. Kaneko Ikeda were named honorary principals of the school for their longstanding contributions to the advancement of education. Mr. Ikeda presented a poem to Beyer students and donated books to the school library. The SGI contributed cherry trees to San Ysidro and plants to Beyer's Makiguchi California Native Plant Garden. As a gesture of appreciation for the goodwill and friendship between Beyer and Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda, the school opened "Toda Peace Cherry Tree Grove" on the school grounds in memory of second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda.]

Honor and dishonor

                                               Danny Nagashima's dishonor

                             Nichiren Daishonin receiving Japan's highest religious honor:

Soka Gakkai Clearinghouse of Information

https://web.archive.org/web/20040926132235/http://sg-eye.com/

"Never forgive the base enemies of the Buddha, never!" - Daisaku Ikeda

https://web.archive.org/web/20041015225507/http://www.cebunet.com/sgi/memo.htm

Intolerance and paranoia run deep in the SGI

This message was taken from a public message board on yahoo catflap1 [Gunther] (30/M/Germany) 6/9/00 5:13 am

Hello Everyone, 

Uh this is getting more and more interesting. Great passages from the Gosho by the way. Jim, I hope you do not doubt my position aginst NS. What realy gets me going is actually not Nikken, but the people who follow him, even though their number declines. It may sound a bit sadistic but 'picture this...' (thats from Golden Girls), if i chant for him (which I do not do on a regular basis) I wonder how that might make him really furious, I guess in his mind he does not need any Daimoku anyway. 

The enemies are all around us the worst are the ones from within I guess. In the end this IS mappo, the latter days of the law, personally I do not feel any contradiction between showing compassion and taking a stand. 

Are there any more people out there who have real first hand experience with NS. I fell the whole issue is most important, as here SGI can clearly state what it stands for. In this HQ here we have studied the priesthood issue very thoroughly - to me it IS clear that NS do represent the absolute evil. It is up to us to keep the teaching pure. 

On a German Maillist it just heard that there is a Nichiren Shu priest who gives sort of a lecture on Ichinen Sanzen at EXPO 2000 in Hannover...I don't even want to get into this too much...but enemies are around us everywhere. Nikken is just one of a whole bunch of them...

The true religion of peace

"The problem isn't the book [Q'uran], its the reader" -- Tariq Ramadan Islamic scholar

Nonsense. The Q'uran is flush with violence. There are no words, not one word in the Lotus Sutra, that exhorts believers to kill, not even to kill a mole cricket. Believe in the Lotus Sutra and peace will become real. The religion based on the Lotus Sutra is the true religion of peace.

"The honorary chairman Ikeda is my mentor in life. His teachings are my meat and drink" -- SGI Political Party (Komeito) leader Takenori Kanzaki"

"The Lotus Sutra says that its practitioners will be cursed and spoken ill of and will encounter hatred and jealousy even more severe than in Sakyamuni's time. 'This sutra is hard to uphold,' the Lotus Sutra also says. In the Gosho, citing these sutra passages, the Daishonin repeatedly explains that those who propagate the Mystic Law in the Latter Day will be assailed by many difficulties. This certainly has been the case in my life. I am living Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism with my entire being. I have borne one attack after another. I have inherited President Toda's spirit and withstood all. **No one but I could have endured what I have.** I am living solely to safeguard the legacy of President Makiguchi, to protect the SGI and the members who are so dear to me. Today, at this gathering to commemorate May 3 -- which represents the prime point of the Soka Gakkai and the SGI -- I want you to understand this earnest, unwavering spirit that guides my life." (World Tribune, June 13, 1997, p.11-12) April 21, 1997, speech by Daisaku Ikeda in commemoration of May 3

"Probably no one could ever come close to repeating what I have accomplished." (World Tribune, September 26, 1997, p. 11).

"In understanding sensei's concerns and desires, and chanting to make sensei's concerns my concerns, I can *gain* sensei's heart. When I understand sensei's concerns and integrate them into my daily life, I am truly walking step in step with sensei." -- Pat Matthews

"I can understand your problem. Sensei is trying to open your heart of compassion to others." -- Pat Matthews

"If President Ikeda, who has led activities for realizing world peace for more than 40 years, is not the Buddha, then, there is no hope that I can become a Buddha. Then, Buddhism is a mere idealism, and I will quit." -- Public statement on arbn by Richard Hower

"SGI President Ikeda has been doing this for the most of his life, and took the initiative for establishing world peace. He is respected by thousands of world leaders. If he is not the Buddha of the 20th century, then who can be?"-- Richard Hower

"I have a problem with PI = God (or Nikken = God) i.e., perfection and salvation through worshipping them. I have no problem with PI = Buddha" --Shirley, SGI member

"Tremendous! A Russian Scholar who is neither a member of the SGI, nor even a Buddhist gave such a profound talk! She did not specifically mention who is the Buddha of the modern times. But from the context, I believe that she is pointing to Ikeda SENSEI as the *Buddha of the modern times*, and that, in more general sense, all members of the Soka Gakkai International throughout the world are Buddhas of the modern times." --Richard Hower, SGI-USA member, from his website: http://www.paonline.com/hower/voro.htm

"Ive been in the SGI all my life, and I would do anything for SGI, Pres. Ikeda" -- Pat Hawes, SGI-USA member

"After the Chinese government massacred students at Tennanmon square, China became an outcast in the international community. Ikeda said, "our friends are suffering. Let’s visit them and encourage them!" -- Andy 357, SGI member

"Because We have the money, and Hokkeko does not have EVEN A FRACTION of the money we have, who do you think will win this battle between the corrupt priesthood and SGI?" -- Richard Hower, SGI-USA member

"Seig Heil" Ikeda at the 8:00 minute mark

Excellent video on Soka Gakkai donations

More SGI voodoo curses

Soka Gakkai International: The Chicago Directive

The following was mass emailed to 48 SGI-USA members ion the Chicago area. The message was sent by Chicago headquarters chief, Ed Hamada. It is a codification of a meeting that was held on 6-5-00 in Chicago, in which members were told to pray and take action to prevent people from attending the 20th anniversary of the Chicago Nichiren Shoshu temple:

From: AHamada@aol.com 

Full-name: AHamada 

Message-ID: 11.4ea719e.2675ba84@a... 

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 00:01:08 EDT 

Subject: Soka Spirit Movement

To: (48 e-mail recipients, deleted for privacy purposes)

As many of you know already, on June 24(Sat), the 20th Anniversary Ceremony will take place at the Myogyo-ji Temple in Chicago. To support this event, Nikken is going to dispatch Rev. Obayashi, the oversea bureau chief of Nikken sect with other priests from Japan. Also it is expected that more priests from Europe, South America as well as other parts of USA are coming to Chicago. Sugeno and many temple members are very actively promoting this event to recruit people and create more momentum within temple members. To discourage such an attempt as expanding the slanderer's force, I'd like to ask you to pray individually or by group for "No body goes to temple on June 24 from our state, our city and our organization", and to take any other appropriate actions to keep temple members away from temple on that day. I really appriciate for your cooperation on this matter. *****end of directive*****

After this message was leaked by a concerned SGI member, SGI spin-creeps tried to put the blame squarely on the headquarters chief who sent it. However, this is simply just another directive of many in which SGI tells the membership to use prayers like a voodoo spell, and to take physical action against Buddhists who are simply exercising their basic right of freedom of religion.

Soka Gakkai International: Buddhism or Voodism? SGI mobilizes official campaign to use Buddhist Prayers to cast evil spells of misfortune on the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist community

" I just recently heard about how the New York members did a special daimoku [Buddhist Prayer] campain [sic] to close the temple annex that was near the Cultural Center. Great work! [of course this is pure propaganda. the annex is still open and is used for gatherings as listed on the NY temple schedule at: http://www.nstny.org/schedule.htm] Now the youth division of San Francisco region will be starting a daimoku [Buddhist Prayer] campaign [sic] to close all the temples in the U.S.A. Maybe it will have an effect on the temple in Spain." Michael, SGI member, Stockton (posted on the SGI's public bulletin board 1-10-99)

From: Ten_Ren (34/F/San Mateo, CA) (SGI member) 

Jan 11 1999 1:33PM EST

I finally got to go to the Culture Center again. It was such fun. They had a little play called Spiritually Incorrect. They gave us a good laugh about the situation as kind of a kick off to ask for 1 billion daimoku to close all the temples. Everyone was excited by it. I plan on filling up several cards of chant time. (ibid) 

From the public Buddhist newsgroup: 

Has anyone heard about the latest chanting goal for SGI members?

Goal: Chant one billion Daimoku to close all NSTemples 

Perhaps the most disturbing thing is the SGI member's willingness to discuss their campaign openly as if it's something to be proud of:

Subject: Re: 10 Billion Daimoku. 

Date: 1/28/99 11:33 AM Pacific Standard Time 

Message-id: <19990128143338.20240.00000492@ng12.aol.com>

SGI has set a daimoku goal to close NST Temples?

[Marc] 

If it works..can we have them ?

Marc,

Please join in. I think it's a great idea to use daimoku for problems, and the Nikken sect is such a negative force that I can't see what's wrong with chanting to close their temples down. I certainly don't want a Nikken temple in my area. I have no problem with people who practice with other Nichiren sects, the only problem I have is when they single out situations they may have had with individuals and blame it on the whole organization, or when they spread tabloid stories around about President Ikeda that aren't true. But daimoku is daimoku no matter who chants and if your chanting for something that is not good, it will come back and smack you in the face.

The less Nikken temples the less opportunities for people to support Devadatta. Is it true the followers of Devadatta had a small sect that lasted about 500 years after the Buddha's passing? Hopefully, with daimoku, the Nikken sect won't last that long.  Maureen 

"We are merely chanting for the sources of the confusion to close, so the Daishonin's Buddhism can apread more freely. Pretty good karma, I would 

say." Jim Celer, SGI "Living Buddhism" magazine midwest Bureau Chief

Perhaps most disturbing of all is how the SGI members don't even try to hide their hate and intolerance, blatently disregarding basic Human Rights and even their own SGI Charter:

"Closing all the temples is not a positive thing? I don't see anything negative about it. You are not unlike the hoards of sterile bugs they breed to destroy a species, after they think they have mated and stop looking to mate, they find out that they were fooled, and have nothing in side, they just die empty. Of course it is a result of our communal actions from the past that we have to suffer the likes of you and the Nikken Shu. I don't think the most of us want to repeat those causes and for you to go away and stop causing misery and confusion means that we would have to change our negative karma first. So chanting to close the temples is a good thing and the result will be that we finally over come the negative destiny we have to suffer y'all and then y'all will have some other mission to fullfill cause one hand clapping doesn't make much sound, like you gotta make the cause to get the effect. At a more profound level, you actually are no different than the despots and dictators you complain about. You just haven't been give the power to enact your will to that degree. They have just kept you tethered in. Even when you get loose for a moment, you still stay put. Like the guy infront of the fire making boogeyman shadows and the fools who believe in those shadows. Chanting to close the temples is a good thing. Chanting for your happiness ridiculus. Oh please MrBill can't you just make the cancer happy?" mbh (Bruce H. Miller) SGI member, San Francisco 

Soka Gakkai thinks Buddhist Prayers can be used to cast their evil spells of misfortune. However, no matter how much Daimoku such a hateful group chants, their silly Voodoo curses will never be answered... it can only lead to their own misfortune..."

Wayback Machine captures dissent in SGI-USA

https://web.archive.org/web/20041014043511/http://victoriousamerica.com/sgi/courage/courage.htm

Two lighthearted poems by the ever forgiving Soka Gakkai Sensei

Our Brilliant May 3!

Those others [traitors of the SGI]
Boast the rampant bad taste of the vulgar;
They brag of their wealth and prosperity,
Blind to the fact
That they are the laughingstock of all.
They do not know
That they emit a stench
More foul
Than stinkweed.
And so,
They lack that most important eye
For discerning the essence
Of a life of supreme good,
Of the most noble deeds,
Of excellence of character,
Of real truth and justice.
Those others!
Oblivious to the new age,
They constantly repeat old sins,
Over and over!
For us, however,
An age of peace and tranquillity
Is always waiting.
We always wear
Our jeweled crown
Of happiness.
Here,
Absolute, eternal happiness,
True, unsurpassed happiness,
Awaits us.
No matter how fierce
The storms of sorrow that may beset us,
We will never succumb.
No matter how others may inflict
Savage wounds on our hearts,
Their efforts will only backfire
And rage as storms of mental torment
In their own minds.
And, eventually,
These individuals,
Who are obsessed with title and status,
Power and fortune,
Will be tortured
By endless agony.
There is no force
That can alter our truth and justice.
Those who have tormented us
Will only suffer retribution
Inflicted by their own hand.
A cursed blood flows through the veins
Of such odious individuals
And they will end their days
Suffering for the offenses
Of their utterly corrupt beings
And cursing their own evil lives.
As for us,
We need no crown of authority;
We possess no dark ambitions;
We commit no offenses
That will give us cause for regret.
We will never become
The kind of people who pretend to goodness
But suffer the torments of hell inside.
No matter how many fabrications
People broadcast throughout society,
We fear nothing.
Such pitiful schemes
And the cold winds of malice
Are no more than the shadows of phantoms
To those who possess a state of life
As indomitable as a majestic palace,
To those who are strong and true.
We merely laugh
At the black-hearted,
Quivering,
Pitiful wretches
Who resemble petty thieves.
Our citadel of truth and justice
Remains completely unshaken
By the harsh blast of arctic winds,
By the storms of cruelty,
By the wild cacophony.
Oh May 3!
A day
When ambassadors of peace,
Emissaries of happiness,
Who have appeared all over the world,
Set forth with fresh energy and joy!
Oh world citadel of kosen-rufu!
Standing firm and unmoving
Against every underhanded
And vile attack --
At times, the persecution of authority,
At times, the treachery of priests,
At times, the violence of words!
We have laid the foundation
For global kosen-rufu --
Our organization is solid,
Our bases, sound,
Our network, strong.
There is no doubt
That the next thousand, ten thousand years
Will be our age.
My fellow members,
Comrades of shared mission,
Never be defeated!
We must win without fail.
To do so,
Advance, run --
Forward, ever forward!
The wise
Are always learning.
Let us,
You and I,
Striving each day
As people of outstanding wisdom,
Calmly meet the challenges
Of every new age
And win.
As we achieve
Victories that create value
And bring spiritual fulfillment --
The greatest desire of all human beings --
We will adorn our lives
As victors who have won honestly in society.
All of us
Must eventually experience death,
Which evokes feelings of darkness and sadness.
A great philosopher
Once described life as but a reprieve
Before that inevitable destination.

There have been foolish people
Who took lightly
The goodwill
And the pure, profound realm of faith
Of the SGI --
A realm of pure-hearted members
Dedicated to truth and justice --
And who caused trouble for others,
Acting in such a way
As to disrupt the harmony of believers.
We absolutely refuse
To compromise with evil.
We sever our ties with --
And, moreover, fight rigorously against --
Those who share the life-state
Of the treacherous and destructive Devadatta.
No matter what they may have achieved in the past,
Buddhism is concerned with the present and the future.
We cannot forgive those who,
While holding the highest leadership positions --
Just like the five senior priests
Who betrayed the Daishonin --
Behaved like degenerate madmen.
How immense must be
The Daishonin's anger,
And that of his successor,
Second high priest Nikko Shonin!
The anger of the SGI,
Which has inherited the Buddha's intent and decree,
Is no less.
We cannot forgive evil
If we are to protect the good!
We must drive out the corrupt
If we are to protect the SGI!
If we are to protect truth and justice!
How pitiful
Are these
Prisoners of delusion,
Without principle,
Without faith,
With vindictive eyes,
Their basest animal instincts exposed,
Howling wildly at the good and just!
Cringing before truth and justice,
The arrogant authorities
Try to flee, to escape its hands.
They, with their many celebrated titles,
Combining their personal interest and pleasure,
Unknowingly tread on a path that leads
Into a scorching, inhospitable desert.
Oh how futile
Are all their fine-sounding words!
We, in contrast, are living
Lives of integrity.
We have chosen the path leading to truth.
And
Without allowing a single person to fall victim
To the insidious schemes of the jealous and deceitful,
We will continue to advance
With invincible passion and energy.
May the lofty song
Of our chorus of peace
Take us from the discord
Of a world of dark envy,
To a world that rejects conflict and war!
Above all,
How joyous it is to forge
A world of unity that extols
The duet of justice and conviction!
Following the path of the wise,
We gaze down,
From our lofty palace,
On the crazed
World of barbaric strife.
The foolish remain eternally
Ignorant of virtue,
Choosing intentionally the path of evil
And stupidly pursuing it
Until they arrive
At a place that is human hell. 

The Victorious Future of Mentor and Disciple"

I can see
Those who are like demons
Milling around what,
Unbeknownst to them,
Is only an execution block.
They trample
The noble spirit
Of the Daishonin
And have become
Pitiful robbers of the Law.
Like a rapacious swarm of locusts,
Nikken and his cronies
Have exploited and persecuted
And even plotted to destroy
The Soka Gakkai,
An organization of the highest good
That has made unprecedented contributions
To spreading the Law
And worked so hard
To support and protect the priesthood.
Their evil deeds
Will go down forever in history
And they will be severely judged
According to the law of cause and effect.
This I believe
To be the unwavering position
Of the Daishonin.
It will be just as he states
In the writing "On Persecutions Befalling the Sage":
They "seem to be free from punishment at first,
But eventually they are all doomed to fall"
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 997).
The plots and schemes of High Priest Nikken Abe and his cohorts,
Spinning a web of the most base lies
And vicious slander,
Were designed to bring us down.
Yet
We shone on brightly
Like the morning sun!
We rose boldly to the challenge,
And began our battle!
The Daishonin, too,
Was slandered as an immoral priest,
And his struggles amid persecution
Were beyond description.
Our first president Tsunesaburo Makiguchi
Used to strictly remind us
That in comparison
The persecution we encounter
Is truly small and trivial.
With silent forbearance,
The firm resolve demonstrated by the Buddha
Engraved in our hearts,
We waged an arduous struggle
To overcome
Every imaginable
Haughty and arrogant utterance.
We will not be defeated.
We are fed up
With the clamoring and abusive foolishness
Of these spiritual paupers.
In fact, our mighty, passionate spirit
Only burns all the brighter.
They who are
At times frenzied,
At times coldly silent,
At times filled with excuses,
Will eventually depart this world,
Gasping and trembling in fear.
Backsliders in faith!
Are you satisfied
To lead a life
Trapped in a maze
Of hellish depths?
Slanderers of the Law!
Having corrupted the Daishonin's teachings
And veered from the eternal truth,
Are you prepared
To drift along forever in a state of life
Of agonized defeat?
Traitors!
Having turned your backs
On the Daishonin's golden words,
Are you ready
To be burned in the fires
Of the hell of incessant suffering?
To be imprisoned in a cavern
In the hell of extreme cold?
To be shut off in the darkness
Of misery and strife,
Forever deprived of the sun's light?