In Kathy's warped brainwashed mind, there is no difference between sharing SGI hate literature and sharing a bad recipe for pineapple upside down cake.

"No, think logically, David. It means it [SGI hate literature] was given you by your SGI leader (your chapter leader?). That's not the same as being distributed by SGI officially.  My SGI Chapter leader gave me a recipe -- shall I sue SGI if it doesn't turn out right?" -- Kathy Ruby [SGI leader]

Nichiren Shoshu's and SGI's zennification of the Dharma

They favor a mind to mind [or person to person] transmission similar to the transmission from the first Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma to the second Patriarch Hui-ko, a transmission outside the scriptures. They are the epitome of the zennification of Nichiren's teachings, something Nichiren warned us about. If you hear mention of the importance of mind to mind or heart to heart transmission in reference to the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, you can be sure that it originated from Taisekeji/SGI and not from the Lotus Sutra nor Nichiren.

The Ikeda sect is especially guilty of stressing benefit only for today, only for this lifetime.

"Today, priests such as Zendo, Honen, and the others, deceive ignorant priests and lay believers by displaying magical skills, thereby destroying faith in the true teaching of the Buddha. The followers of the Shingon sect are especially guilty of stressing benefit only for today, only for this lifetime. They worship various kinds of animals in order to bring about love between male and female, or to gain property, wealth and status. They value such superficial bits of proof. If you think that their teachings are superior to other teachings because of this sort of proof, then you should know they are inferior to even the heretical teachings in India." [Letter to Hoshina Goro Taro Nyudo]

Daryl Davis Bodhisattva

"The DaiGohonzon IS authentic" -- Nichiren Shoshu member

And Scientologists were brought to earth 23 million years ago by an alien named Xenu.

"I have met the DaiGohonzon" -- Nichiren Shoshu member

Since when is "meeting" one of the Three Proofs?

"Your way, 'that Gosho is a fake'" -- SGI member

Fine. All Goshos are in Nichiren's hand, there are no forged or altered writings, and all Soka Gakkai members will attain Buddhahood by worshiping the slanderer Nichikan's Gohonzon and following Daisaku Ikeda. 

They must twist their minds into a grotesque pretzel to come to this conclusion.

"SGI is the bastion of anti-authoritarianism" -- Daisaku Ikeda  

and

"SGI is the jewel of Buddhist democracy"-- Daisaku Ikeda

Still, the members assert that Daisaku Ikeda speaks honest words, truthful words. They must twist their minds into a grotesque pretzel to come to this conclusion. Is it brainwashing, wishful thinking, or something else?

Do you think there will be no repercussions for going against the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin?

The teachings of the Nichiren Shoshu and SGI are nonsensical and fabrications. Those of you who believe in these teachings have been misled. The basic tenets of your sects can not be proven with Nichiren's criteria of the Three Proofs yet you persist in your blind belief without evidence. Do you think there will be no repercussions for going against the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha, and Nichiren Daishonin? 

The schism between the Nichiren Shoshu and the SGI is "divine" punishment (cause and effect) for your mistaken beliefs. The dysfunctional lives that many of you are leading is specific and individual punishment. Life flashes by in an instant. We don't even know if the breath we are taking will be our last. Nichiren Daishonin teaches, "It is better to live one day with honor than to live to a hundred and die in disgrace." When "the roaring tiger of death" approaches, will you be embarrassed and taken to task by the thousand Buddhas or will you proudly exclaim, "I am a follower of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni and Nichiren Daishonin" and peacefully pass?

Why has the Nichiren Shoshu adopted the Tendai method of transmission?

Nichiren says, "The scholars of the Tendai sect have interpreted passages of the three major works of Zhiyi, the Xanyi, Wenju, and Zhiguan, in one way or another, and have given plausible explanations. Their views, however, are as useless to us now as last year's calendar or yesterday's meal." (Showa Teihon 1634). The Rissho Kan Sho states, "Tiantai Zhiyi was in the audience at Vulture Peak, and though he speaks of the true intent of the Tathagata in appearing in the world,...he addressed an assembly of those converted by the provisional Buddha, and so Zhiyi did not propagate the transmission to the disciples of the original Buddha. He did not reveal the Wonderful Dharma directly. Thus it was not the Wonderful Dharma precisely as it is, and it resembles the provisional teachings." (Showa Teihon 847). In the Toki Sho is states, "Even though Zhiyi and Saicho propagated the Dharma as it was, in our age of the Latter Days of the Law, their teachings are like last year's calendar." (Kanjin Honzon Tokui Sho, ST 1120). 

Then, why has the Nichiren Shoshu adopted the Tendai method of transmission [succession through current masters or lifeblood]? You can learn about Nichiren Shoshu's false transmission here and refute it with Nichiren Daishonin's Transmission Through the Scrolls of the Sutra [Gohonzon, Lotus Sutra, and writings of Nichiren Daishonin]:

http://www.nst.org/articles/special-study-lectures/the-significance-of-the-heritage-the-ultimate-matter-of-kechimyaku/

Karma test revisited

Karma Test Part 1

Select the best answer

Whose Karma Is It?

1). A lady who lives in Flint Michigan goes into the Lotto store, buys a quick pick ticket and wins $168,000,000.00

a. Lancelot Link's (the star chimp)

b. The lady's next door neighbor

c. President Bush's

d. Everyone's in Flint Michigan because the Lady is sure to share her winnings with everyone there.

e. The lady's who bought the ticket?

Whose Karma Is It?

2). Capone the street thug has been mugging little old ladies for five years and was just convicted of five counts of manslaughter. He gets forty-five to sixty years in prison without the possibility of parole.

a. President Bush's

b. The Icelandic peoples' who haven't had a case of manslaughter in thirty years

c. Vito Corleone's because, Capone, Corleone, Napolitan, what's the difference

d Capone's

e. None of the above, karma doesn't exist

Whose Karma Is It?

3). 37 countries made an olympic bid to become the next host of the olympics. China won and it is jubilant.

a. Charley Chaplin's 

b. Dolly Parton's

c. The Ivory Coast's

d. Tibet's

e. China's

Whose Karma Is It?

4). Six Million Jews are killed in the Holocost.

a. The Irish people's

b. The Bolivian's

c. The Mennonite's

d. The Jew's

e. Hitler's

Whose Karma Is It?

5). A child of six has never picked up an instrument before. His mother buys him a little piano. He hears Bach's Fugue 13 For the Harpsichord one time on the radio and he perfectly mimics it note for note while his mother almost feints in amazement.

a. Sharon Stone's because she too plays the piano

b. The Jews'

c. The child's

d. The piano's because it is a magic piano

e. Bach's. He wrote the Fugue

Whose Karma is it

6). Indonesia suffers the worst natural disaster of the century. An Earthquake magnitude 9.0 causes a tidal wave, the likes of which no one has seen for millenia. 400,000 people die and 2 million people are made homeless.

a. Betty Midler's

b. The Indonesian people's

c. The Blarney Stone's

d. President Bush's because he is the cause of all things wrong in the world

e.Russia's because they gave $2,000,000.00 in relief while having a GDP of $1,200,000,000,000.00 and spending two hundred billion a year on new weapon systems.

Whose Karma Is It?

7). Tania Flores, born into a poor family in East Harlem, loves to study everything she can get her hands on. Everyday for twelve years she comes home from school and does four hours of homework. She then does her chores and reads a new book. She is number one in her high school class and enters the six year college-medical doctor program at city college where she excells and becomes a brain surgeon who invents a new cerebral artery bypass system that prevents the death of thousands of stroke victims and the severe morbidity of tens of thousands of other stroke victims.

a. The Puerto Rican people's

b. Tania's father who was a drug addict and abused Tania from the day she was two years old until the day he died (when she was 6) from an overdose of heroin

c. Tania's

d. Jesse the Body Ventura's

e. Rev. Ryuei's because he is a Nichiren priest

Karma Test Part 2

Good Causes? Bad Causes? Neither? Both? Can Not Be Determined? 

Select the BEST Answer.

1). An SGI Senior Leader has been teaching the Human Revolution at the expense of the Lotus Sutra for 15 years. He has sometimes taught that Nichiren Daishonin is the True Buddha, sometimes that Nam Myoho renge kyo is the True Buddha, and sometimes that Daisaku Ikeda is really the incarnation of Nichiren Daishonn. It is a perfectly clear day and the streets have been cleared of all the snow. A snow plow is returning from cleaning the streets. The snow plow driver takes his eyes off the road for a moment to light his cigarette and runs over the SGI senior leader's car. The SGI senior leader doesn't die for 18 hours, is conscious, and aware the whole time.

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

2). A true disciple and believer of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren overcomes severe dessiminated tuberculosis and recurrent multiple organ failure during a one year hospital stay. He goes on to spread Namu Myoho renge kyo, the doctrines of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni, and The Succession Through the Scrolls of the Sutra in Japan and the United States. He is 91 years old and continues to chant twice a day every day.

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

3). A young man hears about Nam Myoho renge kyo through his friend who is a new SGI member. They both don't really know anything about Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra, or the Eternal Buddha but they love the chant, the way it makes them feel and the philosophy that they can get anything they want by chanting this phrase to their Nichikan Gohonzon. Since the young man quickly gains tremendous energy, awareness, and perceives for himself propitious circumstances, he believes every word of his SGI senior leaders. He believes it is all due to Daisaku Ikeda and the SGI that he is receiving all these benefits. He reads the Human Revolution and the World Tribune every day on the advice of his senior leaders. He tells all his friends that they have to chant and buy the World Tribune because Daisaku Ikeda and the SGI are so great and the evil priests of the Nichiren Shoshu, Kempon Hokke, and Nichiren Shu will destroy the world and any chance for people to attain Buddhahood. He reaches a stalemate in his faith no matter how much he chants, reads the Human Revolution and goes to one meeting after another.

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

4). A devout orthodox adherent of Nichiren's Lotus Sutra Buddhism and pioneer who has brought the teachings of the Eternal Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin to Cambodia is returning to Cambodia. Her plane loses a wing and she is killed along with the rest of the passengers.

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

5). The mother of a new believer of the authentic teachings of Nichiren is shocked that her daughter gave up her quaker faith for Buddhism but despite pressure from the community that there is no room for a "Buddhist fundementalist" in their midst, the mother refuses to turn out her daughter. 

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

6). A non-Buddhist hears the Daimoku, notices changes in his best friend who has become SGI and slanders the Daimoku, the Nichikan Gohonzon, and denounces Daisaku Ikeda and the SGI as a cult.

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

7). A non-Buddhist hears the Daimoku, notices changes in his best friend who has become a believer in the authentic teachings of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren. He slanders the Daimoku, the Nichiren Gohonzon, and the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni while calling the orthodox faith worse than the SGI.

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

8). An SGI member notices changes in a friend who has become a disciple and believer in Nichiren. He tells his friend the only way to attain Buddhahood is through the mentor Daisaku Ikeda and the body of SGI believers. 

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

9). A faithful Nichiren Shu believer has a best friend who is SGI, won't chant to his friend's Gohonzon but won't criticize his friends beliefs.

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

10). A faithful SGI believer has a best friend who is Nichiren Shu He chants to his friend's Gohonzon while criticizing his friends beliefs.

a.Good Causes

b.Bad Causes 

c.Neither 

d.Both 

e.Can Not Be Determined

On our seeds of auspicious causation

"The Great Teacher Miao-lo says in his commentary (Hokke Mongu  Ki, seven): Therefore we know that if, in the latter age, one is able to  hear the Law even briefly, and if having heard it, one then arouses faith in it, this comes about because of the seeds planted in a previous existence.' And he also says (Maka Shikan Bugyoden Guketsu): "Being born at the end of the Middle Day of the Law, I have been able to behold  these true words of the sutra. Unless in a previous existence one has  planted the seeds of auspicious causation, then it is truly difficult to encounter such an opportunity."(Rebuking Slander of the Law, MW vol. 6)

It is thanks to the good causes that we made in previous existences that we have encountered Namu Myoho renge kyo. It is not thanks to the Soka Gakkai as they would have us believe. It is also thanks to the good causes that we made that we have strong faith in the Gohonzon, the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha and Nichiren Daishonin. Finally, it is thanks to these good causes that we now practice the Mystic Law correctly. What terrible causes have they made, the believers in Islam, Christianity, and especially the members of the Soka Gakkai and the Nichiren Shoshu? Truly, it can not be imagined.

Ikeda, unlike Tientai who longed for the Latter Day, longs to return to the Former and Middle Days of the Law. No wonder there is no benefit to Ikedaism.

"To merely repeat the four dictums simply because they came from the Daishonin, while ignoring people’s feelings and the changing times, is to overlook the Daishonin’s spirit. The four dictums are then nothing but dogma. That is what gives rise to the devilish aspects of religion. It is people and the heart that count. The four dictums are the manifestation of the Daishonin’s firm conviction to resolutely battle the devilish functions that serve to confuse people." -- Daisaku Ikeda

Nichiren writes: 

"...I say that the non-Buddhist scriptures are easier to believe and understand than the Hinayana sutras, the Hinayana sutras are easier than the Mahāvairochana and other [Correct and Equal] sutras, the Mahāvairochana and other sutras are easier than the Wisdom sutras, the Wisdom sutras are easier than the Flower Garland Sutra, the Flower Garland is easier than the Nirvana Sutra, the Nirvana is easier than the Lotus Sutra, and the theoretical teaching of the Lotus is easier than the essential teaching. Thus there are many levels of comparative ease and difficulty.

Question: What is the significance of knowing them?

Answer: The great lantern that illuminates the long night of the sufferings of birth and death, the sharp sword that severs the fundamental darkness inherent in life, is none other than the Lotus Sutra. The teachings of the True Word, Flower Garland, and other schools are categorized as those expounded in accordance with the people’s capacity. They are, therefore, easy to believe and understand. The teachings expounded in accordance with the people’s capacity are the sutras that the Buddha preached in response to the wishes of the people of the nine worlds, just as a wise father instructs an ignorant son in a way suited to the child’s understanding. On the other hand, the teaching expounded in accordance with the Buddha’s enlightenment is the sutra that the Buddha preached directly from the world of Buddhahood, just as a sage father guides his ignorant son to his own understanding.

In the light of this principle, I have carefully considered the Mahāvairochana, Flower Garland, Nirvana, and other [provisional] sutras, only to find that all of them are sutras expounded in accordance with the people’s capacity."

and again:

"Again, someone might object, saying: “Rather than insisting on preaching the Lotus Sutra when it does not accord with the people’s capacity, and thus causing them to slander it so that they fall into the evil paths, it would be better to preach the Nembutsu, which does suit their capacity, and thus awaken in them the aspiration for enlightenment. If someone not only fails to bring benefit to others, but on the contrary causes them to commit slander and fall into hell, he is no votary of theLotus Sutra but rather a person of false views.”

In reply to such objections, you should point out that in the Lotus Sutra the Buddha states that, whatever the people’s capacity may be, in the Latter Day of the Law one should persist in preaching the Lotus Sutra. Ask the questioner how he interprets that injunction. Does he claim that Shakyamuni Buddha, Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lo, and Dengyō are persons of false views or non-Buddhists?

Then again, with regard to persons of the two vehicles, who have not fallen into the evil paths and have also escaped from rebirth in the threefold world, the Buddha declares that it is better to arouse in oneself the mind of a dog or a fox than to have the mind of the two vehicles. He also warns that it is better to commit the five cardinal sins or the ten evil acts and fall into hell than to have the mind of the two vehicles. Not falling into the evil paths might appear to be a considerable benefit, but the Buddha did not regard this as his true intention. Even if one should fall into hell, because one has heard the Lotus Sutra, which leads to Buddhahood, with this as the seed, one will invariably become a Buddha.

Thus, T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lo, following this principle, state in their commentaries that one should persist in preaching the Lotus Sutra. For instance, a person who stumbles and falls to the ground pushes himself up from the ground and rises to his feet again. In the same way, though persons [who slander the Lotus Sutra] may fall into hell, they will quickly rise up again and become Buddhas.

The people of today in any event already turn their backs on the Lotus Sutra, and because of that error they will undoubtedly fall into hell. Therefore, one should by all means persist in preaching the Lotus Sutraand causing them to hear it. Those who put their faith in it will surely attain Buddhahood, while those who slander it will establish a “poison-drum relationship” with it and will likewise attain Buddhahood.

In any event, the seeds of Buddhahood exist nowhere apart from the Lotus Sutra. If it were possible to attain Buddhahood through the provisional teachings, then why would the Buddha have said that one should insist on preaching the Lotus Sutra, and that both those who slander it and those who believe in it will benefit? Or why would he say, “We care nothing for our bodies or lives [but are anxious only for the unsurpassed way]”? Persons who have set their minds upon the way should clearly understand these matters."

Better than syrup of Ipecac [to induce vomiting]

"As “remarkable disciples”, our duty is to establish the greatness of our mentor in history for future generations and posterity!" -- Singapore Ikedabot

Daisaku Ikeda and Soka Gakkai as intermediary is superior to High Priest and Nichiren Shoshu as intermediary?

Daisaku Ikeda: "To achieve that elevated life condition, the individual requires a vehicle -- much like a rocket transports an astronaut into orbit -- propelled by our efforts to spread the Mystic Law. That rocket is the SGI... In this day and age, no one can attain Buddhahood without participating in SGI activities, he asserted." -- World Tribune, 1992

Art Doskow replies: Saying that the lifeblood of faith does not exist outside of SGI (as Mr. Ikeda has done), imho, is setting SGI up as a necessary intermediary between the individual and faith. I have a long long way to go in faith myself, but to suggest that membership, or even participation in the activities of an organization is a necessary prerequisite to correct practice is absurd at best.

Some Soka University of America reviews

"mel November 14, 2012

This school is very average and to say it’s exceptional is a self-indulgent lie. One thing this school has more than enough of is PRIDE. It’s sickening. I was a student here. I watched people eat dinner, conforming and avoiding any criticism of this place. People responded like hungry wolves when one single article mentioned a tiny bit of doubt about the perfection of the school system. That’s how you spot weakness – cruel attempts to cover up your own flaws."

"greg May 6, 2012

You can tell how brainless these students are when all they do is praise the school in their reviews. What other student body would think so highly of an institution that there is no room for criticism? These people have their heads in a cloud. They want to think that the school changed their life, but if you really observe these students they are no different from how they started out. If they came in as judgemental, phony, and unimaginitive students, they most likely have left in the same fashion."

"john May 1, 2012

This school is ridiculous. The people here are brainwashed by their religious leader and forever will be. I have never seen a such a massive group of people acting like one hypnotized team of proud egotistical maniacs. They have to do everything in unison because they are too weak to go it alone. Every thought is the same although they try hard to pretend they thought of it all on their own – they just had someone to “guide” them in the “right” direction. The school is getting better now that it is not completely composed of spoiled rich kids of elitist parents. I can only hope the wiser students stay strong and show everyone else what a real education is.

Whatever the school brags about is bogus wrapped in a cute little ribbon. Even the study abroad programs are not all they are hyped up to be. Half of them are easy enough for a junior high student to get through, and everyone knows its actually a vacation for people to get wasted and say they actually accomplished something.

Whenever a professor is lacking in ability, they come in and give an excuse wrapped up in another pretty ribbon – they say it’s the student’s opportunity/responsibility to foster the way for fellow students. What a brilliant way to spend $160,000."

"brianna March 15, 2012

Soka University tries its best to stick to its motto of “fostering a steady stream of global citizens.” However, I have left this school with the realization that it does not help people to become independent thinkers. Maybe that is a symptom of all schools, but I was really disappointed with how much the students here depend on their professors. I don’t know how they would survive in another school where they have to use their own mind and the books assigned to them."

****

Found from another site of reviews:

"TIPS FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

if you already have a good head on your shoulders, you might feel a bit impatient here. professors here generally treat you like you don't know anything because it is often true of the students. students here really depend on professors for everything. there are many professors who have a really good reputation, and students maintain that reputation by always acting as if they are in awe at every word that is spoken in a lecture. it's all about reputation here. supposedly we value critical thinking but not many students really use it in their lives. the general sentiment here is, if you don't have anything good to say, don't say it. they will take offense to deep criticisms of the school unless you fluff it up with praises and a show of appreciation."

****

I particularly enjoyed "John's" review above and the "critical thinking" bit in the "Tips" portion. I'd say those two, especially, are pretty accurate. -- Hitch, former SGI member and a so-called fortune baby

My faith and practice is based on the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, not on Ikeda's novels.

Referring to Rev. Kubota who was handling a copy of an original Nichiren Gohonzon, Soren, gentile soft spoken SGI senior leader states,

"And he ran his grimy little nose-picking finger all over its face, as we read."

Get off the fence and if you have some arguments why our faith is not True Buddhism, lets hear them. I suggest you stop criticizing me and begin to tackle the SGI problem because my faith and practice is based on the writings of Nichiren Daishonin, not on Ikeda's novels.

"Without the Soka Gakkai there are no benefits"

"When I left the Cult in January of 1975, I was told that without the Soka Gakkai there are NO BENEFITS!  Geeeee... Does that mean that Nichiren didn't receive any benefits? What about all the believers before the Gakkai?"  -- former SGI member

The Nichiren Shoshu priests are good eggs

The Shizuoka Shimbun dated February 1, 1944 

Opening 15 lodges for youth fighters (the youth military tank school) Taisekiji Temple advances to join the war 

[Fujinomiya Branch Office] 

In Taisekiji Temple, the head temple of Nichiren Shoshu, Uenomura, Fujigun, they powerfully strive to increase saving financial resources, and unsparingly gave the copper from the roofs of the hall and the mountain gate, which will be replaced with tiles. In this way, they progress the war step by step. They will also provide 15 lodges in the temple as rest places on Sundays and holidays to the students of the youth military school who are being trained in unchallengeable fighting techniques with indomitable fighting spirit. They have also opened their facilities in Shizuoka prefecture since last year. A part of the facilities is now used as a prefectural working training school in which 200 persons are trained monthly, and Industrial fighters imbued with the Fuji spirit have been already sent to factories. They have had real achievements at each work place. Since the temple offered the 600 year-old giant trees for use as timbers, the priests of each lodge gladly agreed on this plan to provide a facility for the young fighters, and prepared various amusements such as Go and Shogi for relaxation. 

A priest of the temple side said, "Although we have opened our facility as rest places for the students informally and individually since last year, it has now been formalized and our facilities can be used with a homely atmosphere. We will improve the facilities as healthy rest places. I hope that they can relax in our facilities."

Perhaps Nichikan's dog ate them?

Nichiren Shoshu High Priest Nichinyo: "The lineage of the Nichiren Shoshu has been handed down without losing a drop of water" 

Actually, since they lost the "transfer documents", they lost all the water. Perhaps Nichikan's dog ate them?