Have you read the New Yorker story about Paul Haggis and Scientology? You really should take the time. It illuminates how people get caught up in dubious religious groups, why they stay, and the pressure they face when they leave, or dare to criticize the group in public. I see many parallels between Scientology and Soka Gakkai International. You will, too. For example:
"Paul, I'm pissed off," Isham told Haggis. "There's better ways to do this. If you have a complaint, there's a complaint line." Anyone who genuinely wanted to change Scientology should stay within the organization, Isham argued, not quit; certainly, going public was not helpful.
And:
"This isn't a creed," Archer said. "These are basic natural laws of life." She described Hubbard as "an engineer" who had codified human emotional states, in order to guide people to "feel a zest and a love for life."I asked them how the controversy surrounding Scientology had affected them. "It hasn't touched me," Archer said. "It's not that I'm not aware of it." She went on, "Scientology is growing. It's in a hundred and sixty-five countries."
"Translated into fifty languages!" Jastrow added. "It's the fastest-growing religion." He added, "Scientologists do more good things for more people in more places around the world than any other organization ever." He continued, "When you study the historical perspective of new faiths, historically, they've all been-"
"Attacked," Archer said. "Look what happened to the-"
"The Christians," Jastrow said, simultaneously. "Think of the Mormons and the Christian Scientists."
Read it all. The similarities in rhetoric and reasoning between SGI members and Scientology members are chillingly familiar to me.
More links...
If you're a SGI member or supporter, you might think I'm being mean to a humble little Buddhist organization that just wants world peace. In truth, SGI has billions of dollars, and can drop pocket change on Oakland real estate:
Soka Gakkai International-USA purchased 3834 Opal St. in Oakland, CA, from The Lions Center for the Blind for $2.3 million, or approximately $171 per square foot.
Of course, SGI isn't the only Buddhist organization with big money and monks behaving badly. See Barbara's take on Big Mind, and the sex scandal involving its founder:
What always (to me) made Big Mind™ sound hinky is that it is marketed as enlightenment on speed dial. By using Genpo's techniques, the pitch said, you could save yourself years of sitting zazen before realizing satori.
SGI also makes enlightenment sound easy -- in fact, many SGI members will tell you that they are all Buddhas already! The difference is, there are no egoists in SGI, according to Daisaku Ikeda:
There is no place in the SGI for cowards or for egoists who are given to arbitrary or self-serving views. Our movement has no need for the fainthearted, filled with doubt, who readily succumb to negative influences. Let us strive for the Law and live with dignity as proud members of the SGI!...
To which "Mick" replied:
I always loved this one. He's issued a few of these rants about the types of people who don't have a place in his noble SGI. It always made me wonder what he thought would happen to those he judged to be unworthy of walking the only true path to enlightenment. Like maybe they would have to form a B-team organisation. How about the Buddha's Rejects? or the Dharma Outsiders? I guess we could ride motorcycles and wear Ikeda-Not patches on our filthy leather jackets and glory in our wild untameable nature.
It's not all big money in the Buddha 'hood, though. Rougebuddha is cooking up something spicy:
Indian food is the cuisine of the Buddha - pay attention to your cravings.If you find yourself heavy handed with the black pepper, it's worth knowing black pepper is said to give energy.
Got a hankering for curry? Well, turmeric or curry is said to have antiseptic qualities, both internal and external. I wouldn't go rubbin' Lamb Rogan Josh on a rash, but you get the idea.
It puts a new spin on craving in Buddhism. Now I want saag paneer and chicken vindaloo for dinner.
Got a link to share? Paste it below or e-mail nine@buddhajones.com.
4 comments
I could definitely see some parallels. The following passage reflects some of my own feelings in the first few months after leaving SGI.
and this passageI was an SGI member for 23 years and my family, especially my father, could see that it was a cult, when I couldn't. A few months before my father passed away, I told him that I'd "left the cult." I'm glad that I was able to do it before he died and that it made him very happy.The important thing, though, is that I have moved on, and try not to dwell on where I was before and how come I didn't come to the realization that I did sooner. I can be and am happily practicing Buddhism.Michele, I feel much the same way. Dwelling on my years in the cult just makes me really sad. I feel that I wasted those years, but maybe I gained some wisdom out of the experience.It seems that the longer you stay, the harder it is to get out. My advice to anyone in a group like scientology or sgi, and who's having second thoughts: Get out now. Get far, far away. I wish I had escaped much sooner.There is life -- and nichiren buddhism -- beyond sgi.
Well, that article about Scientology is stirring up conversation if nothing else. I had a long discussion about it with someone who left SGI around the same time I did. She left because she found a sangha that better suited her. She and I argued about whether SGI was a cult. Her position at the time was if SGI is a cult, then all Nichiren Buddhist groups are cults. (I disagree with this.)She read the Scientology article and said that Scientology was nothing like Nichiren Buddhism, so how could SGI be like Scientology?We got into a discussion about the basics of how cults operate. All cults share similar characteristics:1. A belief that the group possesses and bestows absolute truth, and there are no other valid paths that lead to revealing one's greatest potential.2. Critics and former members of the group are regarded as enemies who cannot be tolerated and must be shunned or destroyed.3. Members are controlled through fear and emotional manipulation -- fear of being wrong, of being shunned, of being called cowards, fear of being the target of rumor-and-innuendo campaigns meant to destroy social reputation and self-confidence. Members are encouraged to reveal personal information and experiences, only to have these confessions thrown back in their faces to shame or humiliate them, or to hear how much they "owe" the group.4. Members believe that they are doing great good and are somehow very special. Because they feel that their actions are sincere, they assume that the entire group is sincere and acting for the greatest good. This leads to a mentality of the end justifying the means. Every action is fair and commendable if it is done in the service of the group, even if it is morally and ethically dubious. (Such as chanting to destroy one's enemies, as SGI teaches.)There is a link in the far right column to a site that explains How Cults Work. Cults are cults precisely because they employ the same tactics.As I told my friend, the teachings of Scientology and SGI may be very different, but the group dynamics and tactics of control are very much the same.
http://forum.rickross.com/read...Please see comment by Shavoy, 1/2 century SGI member.