They use the Buddhist teachings to gain personal fame and fortune. Though they pretend to have a sincere wish to spread the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, in their hearts, they are greedy and use the offerings they receive from the sincere members to nourish their own bodies and that of their family members.
“Make sure that the participants each bring a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. And ask each person to pack their own lunch, since we can’t afford to provide lunch for them as well. Those who don’t bring any food with them will just have to make do with whatever edibles they can find in the forest. In the future, the Soka Gakkai may experience severe oppression; we may be called on to fight or endure a long, drawn-out struggle. At such time, each person will have to find their own food. We may even have to eat grass. For the sake of training, I would actually have like the youth to spend the night outdoors. I don’t want the members of the Soka Gakkai youth division to be soft.” — Human Revolution by Daisaku Ikeda
That must be why, even after the Soka Gakkai accumulated more than one hundred billion dollars, they still serve the hard working Bodhisattva bees, baloney and mayo sandwiches or rice cakes and biscuits [to allow them the privilege of experiencing the privations of Nichiren Daishonin].
Let’s examine the financial pie chart on the SGI-USA website:
8% [of ~ five billion a year in untaxed revenues] is four hundred million dollars a year for “administrative costs” [if these percentages are true and we know how the Soka Gakkai lies just about everything]. This is a huge percentage for administrative costs. Searching the definition of administrative costs, we find the largest percentage is EXECUTIVE SALARIES!!! Three Hundred Million dollars in salaries [average of 75% of administrative costs] for these so-called Bodhisattvas leaders who, according to Nichiren Daishonin, should “desire little”.
Salaries of Top SGI Inc. Officials as of Fri, 29 Aug 1997
The following information is provided to you courtesy of the Yotsuya Tax Office, Tokyo, Japan.
The declared income of Daisaku Ikeda is listed as follows: (The dollar amounts are listed at the exchange rate of 100 Yen to U.S. $1.00)
1971 – 62,050,000 Yen ($620,500.00)
1972 – 84,340,000 Yen ($843,400.00)
1973 – 113,570,000 Yen ($1,135,700.00)
1974 – 135,330,000 Yen ($1,353,300.00)
1975 – 121,980,000 Yen ($1,219,800.00)
1976 – 78,700,000 Yen ($787,000.00)
1977 – 51,490,000 Yen ($514,900.00)
1978 – 83,350,000 Yen ($833,500.00)
1979 – 34,500,000 Yen ($345,000.00)
1980 – 39,010,000 Yen ($390,100.00)
1981 – 75,030,000 Yen ($750,300.00)
1982 – 57,420,000 Yen ($574,200.00)
From 1983 to 1987, and 1993, the amount of income as calculated from the amount of income tax paid:
1983 – 32,000,000 Yen ($320,000) based on 14,030,000 Yen paid as income tax
1984 – 72,000,000 Yen ($720,000) based on 39,700,000 Yen paid as income tax
1985 – 60,000,000 Yen ($600,000) based on 30,950,000 Yen paid as income tax
1986 – 85,000,000 Yen ($850,000) based on 49,810,000 Yen paid as income tax
1987 – 87,000,000 Yen ($870,000) based on 51,510,000 Yen paid as income tax
1993 – 170,000,000 Yen ($1,700,000) based on 87,150,000 Yen paid as income tax
Income of SGI President, Einosuke Akiya for 1993 calculated from the amount of income tax paid: 55,260,000 Yen ($552,600), based on 18,420,000 Yen paid as income tax.
Income of SGI Vice President, Norimasa Yahiro for 1993 as calculated from the amount of income tax paid: 52,830,000 Yen ($528,300), based on 17,610,000 Yen paid as income tax.
Income of SGI General Director, Kazuya Morita for 1993 as calculated from the amount of income tax paid: 41,610,000 Yen ($416,100), based on 13,870,000 Yen paid as income tax.
Income of Vice President, Jun Aoki for 1993 as calculated from the amount of income tax paid: 30,720,000 Yen ($307,200), based on 10,240,000 Yen paid as income tax.
Note: There are approximately 200 vice presidents. Even at a salary of U.S. $200,000 each per year, that amounts to $40,000,000.00 (Forty million dollars) paid out of the contributions from members. This does not take into account the numerous other staff salaries. we can only imagine their salaries today.
Now, lets say, for example, you are making $416,000 a year as a salaried top senior leader, a Bodhisattva for hire, so to speak. Your kids are attending the best schools, you have a mortgage of say $4500.00, you have a life insurance premium of $1000.00 per month, and you have other expenses totalling perhaps $10,000.00 per month. You are trained to promote SGI Buddhism and go here and there, lecturing on Ikeda’s guidance and his take on the Daishonin’s teachings. But all of a sudden, while you are doing your one hour of Daimoku a day and studying president Ikeda’s guidance for an hour and the Gosho for twenty minutes, you have a realization that Shakyamuni is in fact the Eternal Buddha.
What do you do? You are not trained to function in the private sector, you aren’t exactly an engineer, or a doctor or a romance novelist. Your children depend on you, your wife depends on you and you have a lifestyle to maintain. Do you do the right thing and begin to teach contrary to the party line, risking your excellent salary that you receive to do the Buddha’s work? The Daishonin clothed himself in deerskins who died a natural death in the forest. He sometimes lived on brachen. Yet he always gave 110%. Something is wrong here and if the SGI members can’t see it, we have to conclude by virtue of their lack of actual proof (insight) that there is validity to the charge of them practicing a false Buddhism and there is brainwashing in the SGI (since they can’t even question the obvious).
“…But if we examine the behavior of the priests of today who supposedly observe the precepts, we find that they hoard silks, wealth, and jewels, and concern themselves with lending money at interest. Since their doctrines and their practices differ so greatly, who would think of putting any faith in them?…” — Establishing the Correct Law For the Peace of the Land
We may rightfully consider the top salaried SGI senior leaders to be priests. They have no jobs other than to teach and spread the Soka philosophy. They teach that one’s behavior as a human being is the way to measure one’s attainments. Then let us look at their behavior. They hoard wealth, receiving exorbitant salaries and benefits to to do the Buddha’s work that Shakyamuni and Nichiren did for free. They [SGI] are the Mitsubitchi bank’s biggest customer, their money invested, lent with interest. They are also Mitsubitchi Banks partner in the cemetary business. They dress in silk and worsted suits and buy their wives expensive jewels.
The SGI then levels criticisms on the Kempon Hokke [and me in particular] for being impolite, stating, “how could you be enlightened exhibiting such poor behavior.
In the very same Rissho Ankoku Ron, we read:
“It also states: “The Buddha replied: ‘[Bodhisattva] Kashyapa, it is because I was a defender of the correct teaching that I have been able to attain this diamond-like body. . . . Good man, defenders of the correct teaching need not observe the five precepts or practice the rules of proper behavior. Rather they should carry knives and swords, bows and arrows, halberds and lances.’
They who write books on the Dharma for profit, they who publish dharma magazines and newspapers for profit, those preachers, whether layman or priest, who garner exorbitant salaries thanks to the dharma, are worse than the Wall Street profiteers.
These greedy SGI leaders who turn the sublime teachings of the Lotus Flower Sutra into a new age provisional teaching based on precepts, Zen [Bushido], and Shingon [Yuiga Yoga or Ikeda worship] for profit, turning the dharma into their personal ATM, are enemies of the Lotus Sutra. They would be put in prison in an ideal world. Their members like L and CL who judge others but can see neither the ugly faces of their own mentors nor their own, are no better than birds and beasts. They, as their leaders, are leeches who suck the blood of the sincere members and destroy the Dharma.
We are the modern day defenders of the True Dharma. In light of the Buddhas of the Ten Directions and our masters Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin, our behavior is that of the supremely and perfectly enlightened [in conduct].
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