What opened the way for Soka Gakkai's leaders' licentious natures to run rampant?

"Note he is referring to Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lord of Teachings. This is not the same as his 'transient status'. You could say that this "Lord of Teachings" is the Well of Wisdom from which each of us draws our water. Nichiren calls him Shakyamuni, but the members of the Fuji School were not totally remiss to call the 'Buddha of this well', Nichiren. Where they were remiss was in calling each other names over the nomenclature rather than seeking to understand the point of the teaching -- which is that the Buddha Wisdom is available to all." -- Chris

Katie responds: And you could say that the concept of the "well of wisdom" is the product of lazy corrupt priests - maybe influenced by widely accepted christian view of the "eternal God whose only begotten son will save you IF you welcome him into your heart and profess your faith in him"??

At the root of the Gakkai's errors is an undeniable similarity to Tendai, which can be criticized as NON- Buddhist because it's orally and secret transmissions divert from the basic tenet of "cause and effect"-- The "woo" the Gakkai preaches is no different than the made up tend teachings that would have completely corrupted Buddhism if it had not been for Nichiren-.

Why? One wonders --- are there so many disingenuous, arrogant Gakkai leaders? Why?--one wonders is there such hypocrisy amongst the Gakkai leadership who feign virtue and behave in such unsavory ways?

Well, one explanation could be that taking the True Buddha out of their teachings opened the way for their licentious natures to run rampant. They appear to have no "moral compass" and no interest in studying the true teachings that would demote "them" in an instant!!

Shakyamuni Buddha attained perfect enlightenment -- the "effect" of causes he made over many kalpas- Shakyamuni's affinity for this saha world and his deep compassion for the living beings "trapped here" is the reason we living beings in this latter age have the "potential" to attain perfect enlightenment.FAITH in, and DEVOTION to the Lotus Sutra, and reverence for Shakyamuni is what Nichiren taught and practiced-- so, NO, one does not have to perform Shakyamuni's practice-- but if one has no clue as to the debt of gratitude we owe this One Buddha-- one will go the way of the Gakkai-- boasting of benefits and basking in the spoils of materialism as they propagate "Buddheo-Christian" teachings.