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Click here for a downloadable/printable PDF: Is SGI a cult? Does it matter? Life Without Soka Is Too Scary Deluded Perceptions of a Former Soka Member Continuing Deluded Perceptions of a Former Soka Member Jealous Lies of Corrupt Journalists Confusing Information to Dismiss
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Jealous Lies of Corrupt Journalists What is the mainstream press saying about Soka? They love us and praise us because we are such a great, humanistic organization. However, some corrupt newspapers have printed lies about Soka. Soka has many enemies who are angry and emotional and only wish to destroy true Buddhism. Here is a sampling of their falsehoods. You must not believe a single word, except where we are praised. Recent examples of yellow journalism: "It takes
only a light scratching of the surface to see the true character
of Dr. Ikeda and Soka Gakkai. Don't wait until they come to your
school." NPR: News
or cult infomercial? Be confident! Over decades, the eternal character of Soka shines through: "A throng
estimated by the police at 300,000 persons turned out today for
the funeral of a religious sect leader. ...Josei Toda, the leader,
died of a heart attack April 2....'Soka Gakkai' is derived from
Buddhism, but its activities are more militant." "Daisaku
Ikeda, a confident young man of 34, will leave for the United
States tomorrow to spread the doctrines of a militant Buddhist
sect that has become a political force in Japan and, he hopes,
will become a political force throughout the world." "The
growing strength of Soka Gakkai, the militant Buddhist organization
that now puts its membership at one-tenth of Japan's total population,
is being watched with fascinated attention and considerable trepidation." "The
militant Soka Gakkai group, one of the most dynamic forces in
modern Japan, asserts that its membership has risen from 10 million
to 15 million in the last year. Its aggressive conversion tactics
and its highly-organized mass participation activities have caused
concern among other civil and religious elements and its venture
into politics has begun to disturb the dominant parties." The Grand
Main Reception Hall's "construction followed a four-day fundraising
drive in July, 1961, in which Soka Gakkai members contributed
almost $9 million." "...In
the last decade, Soka Gakkai's efficient organizational techniques
and aggressive proselytizing have converted millions to its goal:
'To give absolute happiness to each individual.'" "Officials
of this earthquake-periled town in north central Japan are disturbed
by the influx of representatives of some of Japan's aggressive
'new religions.' They accuse them of having tried to exploit the
fears of nervous residents. Most conspicuous among the outsiders
who have shown up here recently are members of Soka Gakkai...." "Soka
Gakkai, its rapid growth apparently slowing, appears to be entering
a cautious stage of self-examination and reorganization." "'Pack
up your troubles in your Gakkai pack and smile, smile, smile,'
the crowd of 250 men, women and children in the dingy Manhattan
ballroom sang lustily. At the front of the room four men in shirtsleeves
beat time, waving gilded fans in sweeping, cheerleader arcs." "Eight
years ago the Nichiren Sokagakkai movement was formally organized
in this country with headquarters in Los Angeles. It disavows
any of the political ramifications of the sect in Japan. Recent
statements that the movement is 'the fastest growing religion
in the country' turn out, on investigation, to be hard to corroborate." "Although
it ultimately aims at making the Nichiren sect Japan's state religion,
its precise aspirations have hitherto been expressed in Boy Scout
terms to attract voters to its Komeito ('clean government') party." "The
dispute, arising out of charges by the Communist party that Komeito
representatives tried to suppress publication of a book critical
of its parent religious body, the Soka Gakkai...has brought into
the open widely entertained fears regarding tendencies toward
authoritarianism within the Komeito and the Soka Gakkai. Analysis
and criticism of both bodies in the Japanese press and other communications
channels has long been muted, presumably out of fear of the massive
economic and political power they wield." "Japanese
Buddhist Group Ending Close Ties with Political Party: ...Both
party and Soka Gakkai officials have been increasingly concerned
with repudiating charges that they planned to impose a fascistic
politico-religious regime on Japan..." "Three
thousand paraders marched through downtown San Diego last Saturday
in vivid costumes, made for the occasion. Most attention focused
on Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai organization and
of Nichiren Shoshu Academy, who is 'master' to millions of followers
of the sect." "The
Socialists raised large amounts from labor unions supporting them,
and the Komeito, or Clean Government Party, which is the political
wing of the militant Soka Gakkai Buddhist sect, uses its religious
organization. Their financing has been so well hidden that even
the Japanese press has declined to speculate on how much money
the Socialists and the Komeito have raised from their supporters." "Though
its tight organization and energetic proselytizing may give Soka
Gakkai a superficial resemblance to the controversial Unification
Church of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the basic nature of the organization
is quite different, and Nichiren Shoshu has generally not obtruded
on public consciousness in New York." "'This
is a totally corrupt religious organization," said Yukimasa
Fujiwara, a member of the Tokyo municipal assembly, who was expelled
from the Komeito party when he publicly criticized the Soka Gakkai's
control over its policies and finances." "'NSA
is one of the largest destructive cults in the country,' says
Steven Hassan, a former member of the Unification Church and the
author of Combating Cult Mind Control. 'They like to
talk about peace and democracy, but their beliefs at the core
are antithetical to that. Like all other cults, they espouse wonderful
ideas and worthy goals. The question is, what are they doing to
meet those goals? Are they just espousing them to recruit people,
to gain money and power? The difference between a cult like NSA
and an aggressive religion is that the religion tells people up
front who they are and what they want.'" "Some
former members and other critics maintain that all of the organizations
are part of a coordinated effort to recruit members and make Nichiren
Shoshu Buddhism the religion of the world. Compartmentalizing
the various branches of the group is expedient, they say, allowing
leaders to dodge controversies. Soka Gakkai International has
been tainted by several scandals in Japan, involving allegations
of wiretapping and tax evasion. The NSA has been accused of overly
aggressive recruitment techniques." Soka Gakkai
"was ordered to pay millions of dollars in back taxes from
undeclared income for its businesses of making gravestones, for
instance. Two years ago, $1.2 million in yen notes found in a
safe in a dump in Yokohama was traced to a Soka Gakkai member.
More recently, $11 million paid by Soka Gakkai for two Renoir
paintings disappeared, raising questions about whether the lay
group was stashing sums away for political payoffs." "People
are approached from the standpoint of doing something for their
personal lives, and, little by little, they are told that the
only way they can advance their personal lives is to advance the
organization. Once you've made that connection, that advancing
the organization is advancing your personal life, then they have
total control over you. So, watching the people who have been
abused over time and just fleeced, you know, year in and year
out for money, that certainly is a horrible form of abuse." "The
debate about Soka Gakkai's intentions leads back to Ikeda, whose
favorite phrase when exhorting his senior followers is Tenka o
toru (conquer the country). In his rare public interviews, Ikeda
presents himself as a moderate who has been miscast by the press.
'I am an ordinary and serious man,' he told the BBC in an interview
this year. 'The mass media, with the exception of the bbc, make
up this image of me as a dictator and so forth. This troubles
me very much.'" "Soka
Gakkai, a lay Buddhist group with $100 billion in assets, has
been accused of heavy-handed fund raising and proselytizing, as
well as intimidating its foes and trying to grab political power." "He is
a grasping power-monger aiming for political control by rallying
the 8 million families of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization,
critics say. Ridiculous, his supporters retort: He is a crusader
for common folk who unflinchingly fights the oppressive establishment." "Now,
it was panic button time because without a real lineage, he was
just another private citizen with his own cult that happened to
use methods pioneered and modernized by the Nichiren Sect. His
entire international reputation rested on his recognition and
respect as a Buddhist leader, and now he was just the Chantmeister
of the Ikeda Society. He had to drop everything and do what he
could to re-invent himself as the born again Secular Sort of Buddhist
Leader respected by important academics and top universities around
the world. " "'What
we are talking about are not open organizations or democratic
structures, but something like a Communist Party or worse,' said
Seizaburo Sato, deputy director of the National Graduate Institute
of Policy Studies. ' We are dealing with a dictatorship built
around the person of one man.' Soka Gakkai officials describe
their organization in very different terms. For them, it is akin
to a liberation movement and is an ardent promoter of social activism
and human rights. They often describe their group as Buddhism's
first Protestant movement, since its excommunication by Nichiren
Shoshu, a Japanese strain of the faith, in 1991." "Using the massive funds generated by its 8 million members, mostly housewives and small business people, Ikeda has been able to build Soka Gakkai into a giant global organisation, aimed at 'promoting peace through culture and education.' The expansion has not done much for its domestic image. Despite its lofty goals, some heavy-handed recruiting tactics in the 1970s and 1980s and its intolerance of criticism have left many Japanese deeply suspicious of the body and its leadership." Sydney Morning Herald, July 1, 2000 "Rebekah
Poston was hired by Soka Gakkai, a large Japanese Buddhist sect,
to obtain criminal justice records on a man named Nobuo Abe, the
head of a rival Buddhist sect. Soka Gakkai hoped to use these
records in a defamation lawsuit against Abe." "...Soka,
first brought to the United States by Japanese war brides in the
1940's, 'is not nearly as well known in the United States as Zen
or Tibetan Buddhism, but it has more members than any Buddhist
sect in Japan' and claims 300,000 members in this country, though
Professor Hammond said his surveys suggested the number was closer
to 45,000. 'I don't think they would like this characterization
but I think this campus is a step toward respectability, dignity,'
Professor Hammond said." "'I was
led to believe this was a nonsectarian university,' said sophomore
Murphy McMahon, who was among those who camped out in front of
the cafeteria. 'But it's not. It's (Soka Gakkai International.)'" "Thus
the question: does Soka University of America sail under false
colors? Joe McGinniss certainly thinks so. He maintains that the
university has used its nonsectarian status to attract non-Gakkai
faculty and students, many of whom have already left or are planning
to leave because of the alleged deception." "Although
more legal wrangling is still possible, last week’s victors
are hopeful that the current economy and Soka’s internal
conditions might create circumstances that would prompt the university
ownership, Soka Gakkai, to consider selling the 214-acre King
Gillette Ranch on which it now operates a language school and
outreach program to the federal government." "...Soka
University hopes to boost its enrollment to 1,200 students within
the next decade. As it grows, one thing this campus doesn't have
to worry about is money. Just over a year old, the University
already boasts a $300 million-dollar endowment -- funding that's
been contributed to the school by Soka Gakkai and its members...Meanwhile,
several teachers at the College have announced they are leaving
because they don't feel free to criticize the Soka Gakkai sect." "For
the early faculty, there were kind of red flags right away, there
were really deep concerns by some of the early faculty –
all of whom have left now, either by being fired or by choosing
to leave – they were really concerned about the relationship
between the funding organisation, Soka Gakkai, and Soka University,
and they felt that decision-making was happening in a very secretive
and hierarchical way, and we weren’t being told a lot of
what was going on, the faculty." Still not convinced? Read more. |
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