"I had members and fellow "leaders" try to gaslight me to make me think that simply "speaking up" about issue was equivalent to actually voting for making a change made." - PantoJack
Blanche:
Well, that was apparently how Toda explained that the Soka Gakkai was a "democracy" - because they had the discussion meetings where everybody could talk and say whatever.
Mr Toda explained it as the meetings were important so the people may talk. This is what democracy is. Source
However, there's also a culture that, while the leaders listen to the members' opinions and perspectives, they don't feel obligated to do what they say. So because everybody can talk and leaders listen, that supposedly makes it a "democracy", even though the leaders don't have to do what the members want.
The fact that the SGI states that "Leaders exist for the sake of the people; leaders should respect and serve the people, making the people's welfare their first priority" yet dictates everything TO the members, instead of asking them what THEY would like to study, for example, shows a huge disconnect between what the SGI says is important and what the SGI actually demonstrates is important through the way that organization is run.
How is it "democracy" when there is only ONE acceptable candidate for "mentor for life" - Ikeda? Isn't "mentor FOR LIFE" an incredibly personal decision?? How can we acknowledge the sovereignty of the people while dictating whom they must revere? The SGI says things like, "We choose the mentor, not the other way round.", yet all the top leaders talk about "our mentor in life, President Ikeda".
So "our mentor", which is always and only Ikeda, can never be wrong? How is it that WE might be wrong, but "the mentor" - never? Why does the SGI have a song, "I Seek Sensei"??
Ikeda says, "This is an age of democracy, an age where the people are sovereign. Those in even the most powerful positions of authority are there solely to serve the people. It must never be the other way round." But what we see is the SGI dictating to the membership and even attacking and punishing those members who suggest change. Source
Ikeda apparently doesn't have the slightest idea what "democracy" means - he sees it as benefitting himself:
Rather than having a great number of irresponsible men gather and noisily criticize, there are times when a single leader who thinks about the people from his heart, taking responsibility and acting decisively, saves the nation from danger and brings happiness to the people. Moreover, if the leader is trusted and supported by all the people, one may call this an excellent democracy. - Ikeda, quoted in The Sokagakkai and the Mass Model, p. 238. Source
Ikeda actually disdains democracy:
"When democracy is put into practice by the unthinking masses, liberty will be misinterpreted as license; rights will be claimed while duties remain unfulfilled; and the loss of order will allow evil to become rampant." - Complete Works of Daisaku Ikeda, page 176 Source
This is the classic Ikeda mixed message. Yes, democracy is a great thing, but Ikeda fails to mention that there is nothing even remotely approaching democracy in SGI. Leaders are not elected, and leadership appointments are not reviewed by the membership. There are no term limits. The membership is not polled or consulted regarding organizational policies. SGI finances are kept secret. Ikeda pays lip service to democracy and rails against authoritarianism -- yet he himself is not accountable to the membership. Say one thing, do another. Source
[T]hese were stalwart, well-intentioned members, some of whom were heart-broken with the response they received. They believed what they'd been told when they had voiced concerns - like so many of us, they were begged to stay in the org and work for positive change.
Even so, members who express criticism of the organization are demoted, marginalized, ridiculed, insulted or defamed. Simply, SGI’s stated goals and values are not its functional goals and values. - Lisa Jones
There are many possible solutions to improve the conditions in SGI-USA, but most leaders are completely unwilling to listen to any criticism or alternatives. Source"
Conclusion:
SGI members twist their minds into a grotesque pretzel...
The reality is that not one leader has ever been elected in the Soka Gakkai. Whenever SGI members, like the IRG group or other individuals, bring up elections, the higher level leaders, questions their faith or spin it that, “the SGI is already a Buddhist democracy, of what use are elections.” A leaders term is indefinite and the higher level leaders serve at the whim of the unelected “President”. Some leaders have been Vice General Directors, General Directors, or Vice Presidents for decades.
Yet, the members assert that Daisaku Ikeda speaks honest words, truthful words. They have to twist their minds into a grotesque pretzel to come to that conclusion. Is it brainwashing, wishful thinking, or something else?
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