Continuing Deluded Perceptions of a Former Soka Member

As you can see from the following screed, people go pitifully insane when they leave the family of Soka.

Manipu-Mentoring in SGI | Who's in Your Head
Plausible Cult Deniability | Who Benefits?

Manipu-Mentoring in SGI

SGI is emotionally manipulative, yet somehow SGI President Ikeda — leader of the organization for more than four decades — is never held accountable. He's painted as the hero.

As members and leaders tell it, Ikeda Sensei is good, right and incorruptible; he wants only for you to be happy. This is pretty funny, because if you look at who benefits from SGI, Ikeda undeniably does, in terms of wealth, adulation, luxury, fame, dozens and dozens of buildings named after him, etcetera. In fact, he and his top lieutenants are the only ones who indisputably, materially benefit from the Soka organization. Yet they are believed, by organizational lore, to be the most selfless and worthy contributors to SGI. Leaders who are corrupt or jerkish just "don't know Sensei's heart."

How does one come to know Sensei's heart? Leaders have advised members privately that one way to know Ikeda's heart is to read his writings and pray daily for his health and happiness. What really helps is to cut out a photo of Ikeda and keep it near your Buddhist altar or hang it up on a wall in your home. You should then have "conversations" with your photo of Ikeda, telling him all your troubles, hopes and dreams. You don't even need a photo, leaders will tell you — just open up a "dialogue" in your mind and heart with Sensei. Sensei is mystically psychic of course, so he will hear everything you say (or pray) to him/his photo, and soon you will come to know his heart.

Obviously the purpose is to get members to project their own fantasy of a perfect, wonderful "spiritual father" onto Ikeda. So I guess it's no wonder why most members have a hard time thinking critically about him. After all, the Ikeda they know is an Ikeda of their own creation/projection, an Ikeda about whom they have heard only wide-eyed fables of praise from trusted leaders.

One of Ikeda's recent speeches provides examples of some of the manipulative messages that are communicated to SGI members. Most of Ikeda's speeches follow the same pattern and say mostly the same thing, time after time. But the speech I refer to here was published in the February 27, 2004, World Tribune "special insert." It's SGI President Ikeda's address at a nationwide executive leaders conference held in Tokyo, November 25, 2003.

The paper says,"In this speech commemorating 12 years of the SGI's spiritual independence, SGI President Ikeda discusses the intense growth and development of our organization in accord with the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin."

Right from the start, we are told, as always, that the SGI and its activities accord with the teachings of Nichiren. And of course "spiritual independence" is a big fat euphemism for excommunication from Nichiren Shoshu.

Ikeda begins: "Who are the worthiest of respect? It is those working for the happiness of others, those firmly dedicated to truth and justice. This describes our noble Soka members, each of whom is a priceless treasure."

So he begins with flattery, an example of what cult critics call "love bombing." According to Sensei, if you are a Soka member, you are dedicated to truth and justice; you are working for the happiness of others. ...All of this just by virtue of your membership in Ikeda's organization! How wonderful!

Ikeda continues: "It is imperative that we change the state of the world in which good-hearted ordinary people are oppressed and forced to suffer. This is an age of democracy, an age where 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 around. Our second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda, strictly taught us this point."

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.

The next section is under the heading "We uphold true friendship." This imparts the familiar SGI message that SGI members are your real friends, your comrades in faith whom you should trust without question. In this section, Ikeda says: "The courageous German playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht, who vociferously opposed the Nazis, called out to the people, "It's yourselves you'll be deserting / if you rat on [betray] your own sort."

Hmm. Ikeda name drops a famous poet, suggesting a kinship between the two of them, and invokes the Nazis -- emotionally loaded in any context. Then he uses Brecht's words to send a strong message about "betrayal" (interesting editorial insertion by the World Tribune of the word "betray" for "rat on," by the way.) The implication is obvious: those who leave SGI are betrayers and deserters, akin to those who betrayed their neighbors to the Nazis.

Ikeda continues: "As comrades, family, brothers and sisters, fellow human beings, we will fight all our lives for kosen-rufu. This is our mission. This is what unites us. We are a fighting force, a fighting fortress."

What is kosen-rufu exactly? The SGI defines it in different ways, usually having something to do with world peace. Kosen-rufu is a vague goal, as is "world peace," a broad generalization, yet Ikeda declares that "this is our mission." There are no objective measures of progress, no benchmarking. So members are "united" by fighting all their lives for a non-specific goal. And how many peace organizations would brazenly declare themselves a "fighting fortress," I wonder? This rhetoric speaks to the siege mentality inculcated into SGI members: we are surrounded by enemies and we are the only ones who can save the world.

But now Ikeda returns to flattery and a show of humility, saying: "Allow me to deeply commend and thank all of you for your tremendous efforts this year. Our repeated triumphs in 2003, the Year of Glory and Great Victory, have indeed been significant."

He cites no examples of what has been accomplished, but goes on to say, "We have never before received such a flood of praise and congratulations from our friends, supporters and leading figures around the world."

What accomplishments? Which leading figures around the world? Ikeda does not say, but the message is clear: whatever vague things SGI members are doing, they are glorious, significant, global and widely celebrated. This is another example of flattery, with the added boost to member self-esteem of being "special" on the world stage.

Ikeda says: "The only way we can accumulate lasting and eternal benefit is through our Buddhist practice. Striving earnestly and humbly for kosen-rufu, without airs or pretensions, is what matters."

Hear that? Without your Buddhist practice as defined by SGI, you'll never have "lasting benefit." Also, you are profoundly special...but don't get a big ego about it. Meanwhile, Ikeda names buildings after himself and ranks himself alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the traveling SGI-sponsored Gandhi-King-Ikeda exhibit...

The exercise of critiquing one of Ikeda's speeches is exhausting...and there are three more text-crammed pages of this speech to analyze, including a section titled "To betray the SGI is to betray Nichiren Daishonin." Ikeda's long harangue is enough to make me turn off my brain and nod my head in passive agreement. Which may be the whole point...

Ikeda reportedly once said at a meeting that he didn't care if people fell asleep. People cannot close their ears, he said, and even when they are asleep his words will still penetrate their subconscious.

Yikes.

Who's In Your Head?

Hypnosis is little understood by most people, writes Steven Hassan in Combatting Cult Mind Control: "When the term is mentioned, the first image that may come to mind is of a bearded doctor dangling an old pocket watch by its chain in front of a droopy-eyed person. While that image is certainly a stereotype, it does point to the central feature of hypnotism: the trance."

Hypnosis applies to a hot topic du jour in SGI: the re-writing of the silent prayers that members read twice daily during sutra recitation or "gongyo."

Hassan writes: "People who are hypnotized enter a trance-like state which is fundamentally different than normal consciousness. The difference is this: whereas in normal consciousness the attention is focused outwards through the five senses, in a trance one's attention is focused inwards. One is hearing, seeing and feeling internally. Of course, there are various degrees of trance, ranging from the mild and normal trance of daydreaming to deeper states in which one is much less aware of the outside world and extremely susceptible to suggestions which may be put into one's mind."

In Buddhism, the word "samadhi" means a state of absorption attained through intense concentration. It's a type of trance that is beneficial and integral to Buddhist practice. When Nichiren Buddhists recite the sutra and chant daimoku, we enter, more or less, a trance. In this state, we participate in the "ceremony in the air" and commune with the Gohonzon. In my view, there is nothing wrong — and everything right — with entering a trance-like state as part of Buddhist practice.

Hassan continues: "Hypnotism relates to unethical mind control practices of destructive cults in a variety of ways. In many cults which claim to be religious, what is often called 'meditation' is no more than a process by which the cult members enter a trance, during which time they may receive suggestions which make them more receptive to following the cult's doctrine. Non-religious cults use other forms of group or individual induction. In addition, being in a trance is usually a pleasant, relaxing experience, so that people wish to re-enter the trance as often as possible. Most importantly, it has been clinically established by psychological researchers that people's critical faculties are diminished in the trance state. One is less able to evaluate information received in a trance than when in a normal state of consciousness."

You can see where I'm going with this: The silent prayers during gongyo are the best time to indoctrinate members with an unquestioning belief in the greatness and righteousness of SGI and its leaders.

So you can see why many people were alarmed when, without notifying members, SGI-USA suddenly changed the third silent prayer to read:

"I pray that the great desire for kosen-rufu be fulfilled, and that the Soka Gakkai International develop in this endeavor for countless generations to come. I offer appreciation and pray to repay my debt of gratitude for the three founding presidents -- Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda -- as eternal models of selfless dedication to the propagation of the Law."

Some SGI leaders have defended the new prayers, saying that the wording of the prayers is not important — rather, what matters is what's in one's heart. Which begs the question: Then why print up and distribute a canned set of prayers in the first place?

Do I think a nefarious plot is afoot, or that a mind-control strategy is consciously being applied by diabolical leaders in SGI-USA to convince people that they owe a debt to the SGI? Or that the SGI is deliberately distorting the concept of gratitude as taught by Nichiren to manipulate people into enriching the fortunes of a religious corporation?

No, I don't think this is happening consciously on the part of most leaders and members. But lack of conscious intent does not mean that mind-control techniques are not being used.

And who truly stands to benefit from the doctrines now stated in the SGI-USA silent prayers? The corporation itself and its top leaders.

It is not known whether Nichiren prescribed any sort of silent prayers during sutra recitation. All we know is that he urged people to chant and recite portions of the sutra, and he did not specify how often his students should do this. So silent prayers are not necessarily an orthodox element of Nichiren Buddhist practice.

Another interesting wrinkle to prayergate is that the new prayers announced in the official SGI memo were adopted in other English-speaking countries such as Canada. But in the United States, the prayers were changed yet again to underscore the message that SGI members must "repay their debt" to the eternal SGI leaders. SGI-USA leaders have explained away this discrepancy, claiming that the newer new U.S. prayers are a "better translation."

Perhaps the leaders of SGI-USA believe in all sincerity that SGI members should embrace the doctrines expressed in the prayers, for our own good. They only want to help us. Perhaps these leaders are not consciously aware of the power of suggestion during a trance, and these silent prayers just feel "right" to them.

That may well be. No group says: "Hey, we're a cult! We employ techniques to indoctrinate and manipulate your mind! Come on in!"

Cult mind control often relies on lack or suppression of conscious awareness. All the more reason to raise these issues for public discussion.

Plausible Cult Deniability

For years, I told myself that SGI wasn’t a cult, yet the functional reality of SGI was plain to see. For instance, President Ikeda would say that we should all speak our minds freely. But members would censor themselves out of fear of disrupting the group, keeping in mind that President Ikeda also often said that disrupting the unity of SGI was a grave offense against Buddhism. (He is, after all, a master manipu-mentor.) Top and mid-level leaders would frown on dissent, even going so far as to issue a memo saying that only “pertinent” dialogue would be permitted in official SGI meetings and publications.

In other words, SGI is a cult that pays lip service to the value of free speech and dissent – just enough lip service, perhaps, to make people doubt the applicability of the word “cult.” 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.

If you’re an SGI member, you are probably aware of the dichotomy between stated values and actual values in the organization. You may have learned to rationalize this dichotomy as a conflict between “ocean” and “village” cultures, or a conflict between “American” values and “Japanese” values, or the difference between those who “know Sensei’s heart” and those who don’t.

By rationalizing the dichotomy in this way, members can be persuaded that the “heart” of the organization is in the right place and that somehow, eventually, the organization will become the type of open, supportive sangha that it claims to be. It's easy to believe this when you want to believe it -- despite all evidence to the contrary -- to preserve your sense of having made a free, informed and correct choice in committing to SGI.

Over the past 15 years, things have changed for the better in the SGI, many members tell themselves. This is what I call the Myth of Substantive Change in SGI, the belief that the SGI used to be a cult but is no longer. People point to the fact that inane songs are no longer (routinely) sung at meetings, and SGI members no longer stand on street corners trying to recruit new members. In other words, the SGI leadership has come to realize that these activities scream "cult" to most observers, thus necessitating a change in window dressing.

Many SGI members tout the apparent acceptance of gays and lesbians — and the active recruitment of new members at Gay Pride celebrations — as a jaw-dropping miracle of positive change in SGI. For decades, gay SGI members remonstrated with SGI leaders about organizational hostility toward gays. Did these sincere efforts finally bring about a major change in SGI?

I think not. After all, this “change” benefits the organization by opening up a new constituency of eager recruits, many of whom are idealistic and have felt alienated from traditional religion and are seeking a spiritual “home.” Many have significant disposable income and often fewer family obligations. Plus, gays are a demographic group renowned for loyalty to organizations and advertisers who reach out to them (as many marketers have learned so lucratively over the past decade.)

In my opinion, informed by the fact that I'm a lesbian: “Acceptance” of gays is not a fundamental change in the SGI. Rather, it’s a sign that SGI recognizes a cult-recruitment jackpot when they see one. So don’t hold your breath waiting for the SGI to take a stand against the Federal Marriage Amendment. (SGI claims to be apolitical, despite their history of hiring lobbyists in the U.S.) Besides, discrimination against gays has always been and always will be indefensible in light of Nichiren Buddhist teachings. So with social attitudes toward gays becoming more accepting, SGI had no doctrinal leg to stand on, and was quickly losing it's social excuse for discrimination. Welcome to SGI, homos!

When I worked for SGI-USA in 1998, I requested that they expand their health insurance policy to cover the same-sex domestic partners of their gay and lesbian employees. The proposal was rejected by the SGI-USA Board of Directors. Gays and lesbians can get "married" in SGI, sure. But the SGI doesn't put its money where its mouth is and actually recognize these relationships as equal to heterosexual marriage.

So. Read newspaper reports about Soka Gakkai going back more than forty years. You'll see that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Since 1963, when Daisaku Ikeda first came to the U.S., Soka Gakkai has been interested in expanding its political power in Japan and throughout the world. Since the very beginning and all the way up to the recent lawsuit and trouble at Soka University of America, Soka Gakkai has proven itself to be an aggressive, deceptive organization concerned with wealth, political power and secular influence.

Who Benefits?

Who benefits from the SGI? Members have been told time and again that they themselves benefit, and that society benefits. But the members and society do not control the purse strings on SGI’s billions. They do not make the organization’s policies. They are not on the organization’s payroll.

Who controls the money? Who has final say on organizational policies and activities? Who benefits from being able to say that he has profound influence over millions of people across the globe, including more than 300,000 people in America? Who benefits from a billion dollars worth of real estate in the United States? Whose name is on buildings and auditoriums and monuments built with SGI money?

SGI members have been trained to dismiss these questions as destructive innuendo. They’ve been programmed to think that any criticism of Daisaku Ikeda is unfair and motivated by anger or jealousy.

It’s not unreasonable to hold the leader of an organization responsible for its failings. Even the Pope takes heat from Catholics. It’s not unconscionable to suggest that a Chief Executive Officer has a self-interested involvement in his own corporation. In fact, it’s common and customary for shareholders or members to demand accountability from the top dog of an organization. Dictatorships and cults are the exceptions.

Still not convinced? Read more.