Seven Weeks to Holier: A Laymans Retreat

No One Sets out with the Intention of Joining a Cult…

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Meditation — This habit is invaluable. You need to meditate. Think about what part of the human experience spirituality addresses — the ego and fear — two concepts that would benefit you SO much to control. I think a lot of people get messed up here because the benefits are very intangible at first. Fighting your expectations will be a constant battle as you learn to meditate. Here are some resources to help you learn. Practice — Start meditating everyday. The evidence is in by a landslide, both anecdotally and empirically. Meditation will change your life so start today, any reason you may have for not trying is an excuse.

Once you get the hang of it you will leave your meditation sessions feeling centered, calm, and relaxed. It has an ego-lessening effect and awareness increasing effect that spills over to your everyday life. Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing will literally become thicker. This is real and you need to be doing it. Reading — If you read the right books you will be moved, inspired, and motivated. Think about what you expose yourself to. Books that the most gifted human beings on earth have spent years writing.

A lifetime of experiences, insights, and lessons learned given to you in a nice handheld easily digestible form. I started this habit at a half hour a day. With a constant flow of information in, you increase your ability for information to flow out applying knowledge to your life. Reading is an easy habit to put off and you need to make it a priority. Your mind is not conditioned properly and you need to force yourself through that period.

Your reading speed and comprehension do pick up over time — just stick to it. If you have no idea where to begin, the recommended reading section is a good place to start. Think of a flow state activity that you can put your full expression into. But you get out what you put in. Your amusements will leave you feeling rejuvenated and can often break up and lighten the day. As you invest in your hobbies you will get more and more out of them.

Vegetating on the couch watching commercials is not recreation. Nutrition — As you build a productive life your ability to stay focused and have energy becomes very important. What you eat has a big effect on how you feel. It should be obvious that what you put in your body is very important. Do yourself a favor and learn how your body works. I supplement my diet with fish oil etc. Reasonable Spending — Like nutrition, this habit is more of a choice you make rather than an active investment of your time.

Its pretty straight forward, every day I try to manage my money reasonably. Did you plan on making this purchase? The nature of planning a purchase is that it is in line with your goals and budget. Given my background and where I want to go in life it is going to serve me well to be informed and have the ability to notice trends and understand the complexity of global issues. I also work very hard to develop my critical and lateral thinking. Every day I challenge myself to solve one extremely difficult problem.

On my computer I have a repository of IQ, Mensa, brain buster type books that would take a lifetime to work through. Some problems I solve in five minutes others take me thirty until I break down and look at the solution. You need to be sharp and informed. Social — Every day I make an effort to advance my social skills. Your ability to communicate effectively with human beings has so many implications in your personal and professional life.

For a while I really focused on listening to people with the intent to understand, pushing the urge to get my point across aside and giving other people the floor when they were expressing themselves. Regardless, going out and just talking to people trumps all when it comes to developing your social skills. Personal Management — This is the easiest of all habits to implement.

Just 10 minutes a day and your bachelor pad is looking clean and fresh. In the short term doing your laundry, not letting your dishes pile up, and making your bed can offer you a peace of mind and allow you to work unfettered on other projects. Project 1, 2 or more times a week — For me I set aside a two hour block twice a week to work on a personal project. This could be fleshing out a business feasibility plan, recreating my weightlifting routine, catching up on some reading, creating a budget, doing research, or writing this mega post. At the beginning of each week I choose what two projects I plan to work on and within the week I find time to fit them in.

This is a habit I integrated for both its short term and long term benefits. In the short term I find it interesting to learn about new topics. If you engaged yourself with this material every day, what would the long term effects be? Besides a vast and varied wealth of knowledge you would begin to draw disciplines together. Your understanding and awareness would grow so large that the value and wisdom you could offer other people would be incredible.

Language — Every day I spend thirty minutes learning a new language. This is an ongoing task that I struggled to integrate. You realize almost no immediate benefit and that makes it exceptionally difficult to do every day. But alas, the benefits in the long term must be exceptionally rewarding. I can only speculate as I currently only speak one language, but from my time studying in Italy I can tell you I would have got a lot more out of the experience had I spoke the language.

For me, I intend to spend a large part of my life travelling. For some practical advice getting started I recommend the Rosetta stone. Listen to talk radio via internet and get a language book with exercises to help you practice. Get a woman your seeing to join in.

It accelerates the process so much if you have someone to practice speaking with. We are the first generation with ready access to the internet. The resources to help you pick up a language are out there and they are free — use them. Note that there is a small learning curve to this as you figure out a system that works for you. Maybe you like to manage your timetable through your phone, or maybe you just pencil out what you do on a list. Whatever the method it must satisfy two requirements: When you have some time to think with a clear mind you plan out what you want your next day to look like you do it.

The time you know you have to yourself mornings usually you can set a more ridged structure than the times where there are many variables as to what you may be doing. The plan is your servant, not your master. Lost time, interferences, failing to execute out of laziness or apathy, unforeseen events, all of this will happen. This is one of the more insightful journalistic commentry I have read in a while. Glen Greenwald has done an excellent job in describing the lack of attention from media and public with killings of equal horrific nature in Pakistan and Yemen.

The article is fully reproduced here under. You will never be able to bring your family members and people close to you into the Dharma. People who are not acting… even people they just meet on the streets, they can bring to the Dharma. You see, you can eat dinner with the person, you can shout at the person, you can have sex with the person, you can fight with the person, you can punch the person, you can slap the person, you can tell the person off — if your motivation is Dharma, those people will come to the Dharma.

It is not the action, it is the intent. So, some people shout, they bring people to the Dharma; some people shout, people run. No, no, no, no, no. Not once or twice. He will beat you and slap the crap out of you. But you will become MUCH better after that. Of course, those kinds of wrathful Tantric actions, we cannot do in countries such as Malaysia or America — outside of Tibet. But there are lamas who have wrathful Tantric actions, who can shout at you and purify your karma, and who can slap you and beat you — literally punch you or slap you — and make your mind clear.

Because of their intention. It will be faster… from a high Tantric practitioner to get a slap very hard than to do a Vajrasattva retreat. It will be like staying in a Vajrasattva retreat. Imagine Vajrasattva ,, how long that takes? How do they know? So, you do a retreat instead… The next step and the next step and the next step. Why is wrathful tantric action able to do that?

Dorje Shugden Retreat Prayer Text

Because of your connection to the Lama. And if you have created pain for someone, the pain comes back to you any way, but the Lama can make it manifest very fast. Very, very fast and very, very quickly. Nobody will put up with lies. In business, if you lie, you get a bad reputation. In a relationship, when you cheat on your relationship, everybody will know. Not only you, your whole family, down. So in business we cannot lie, we cannot break our commitments, we cannot break our promises. Samaya is a promise you made — nobody respects you.

Whatever you do will have more obstacles. Because you keep breaking your promises. Because your commitments that you keep in one life is just for this life. What about commitments to Dharma? This life and future lives. And not only that, remember something: You have to understand something very clearly. Some of us got Yamantaka, some of us got Vajrayogini, some of us got Heruka, some of us got Manjushri, some of us got refuge, some of us got Bodhisattva vows, some of us got Kalachakra… No one twisted your arm!

No one twisted your.. Your bad reputation, whatever your motivation. Your actions become worse. So they just look on the outside. So, if you break a commitment in business, you will lose. You will lose your reputation, you will lose your name, you will lose your fortune, you will lose your fame. And you know what? You know why they get you back? And you may have broken your commitment because your grandmother was in the hospital, your father was in the hospital, your mother, your wife, your kids — everybody is in the hospital.

And you know, you have to take 1 billion dollars out and pay for their medical bills. And you know, it is like that if you… Some places… Singapore? Nobody thinks about that. You have to understand that it is YOU. And we have to actually do practices to purify, meditations to purify. And let me tell you something.

When our broken commitments are very big and very strong, this is what happens, alright? When you break your commitment, you bind the hands of your Protector, and you cover his face, and you put some kind of… something strong over him; he cannot move. Yes, you can write it. And next time, raise your hand. The name is JP? A lot of this is not allowed. You guys are not allowed…. The practices that please any Dharma Protector and especially Dorje Shugden… and you listen very carefully, alright… [Tibetan phrase] Although I have had many Gurus who have shown the path of Sutra and Tantra, I am impure in thought, in action.

And thus, and so by a rain of downfalls which I tearfully regret. And I purify now. How do you confess your vows? And the word here is doengoe lamrim lama ngachupa… Lama is Guru, Ngachupa means 50 Verses. Why is it secret? Completely oppressed by my obscuring ignorance and thus powerless, my mind stood up by violent attachment, aversion and thus unconscientious, each of my massive sins and downfalls and faults, I confess them from my heart, quickly cleanse them please. Torn asunder the limits of my Pratimoksha vows, received before the eyes of Abbots and masters and the Sangha.

When the Lama gives you vows, you have to understand something. So, when you break a commitment to your Lama, you break it to all the Three Jewels. You please all the Buddhas by keeping your vows. It is trying to help you. We can apologize the next day, the next hour — the vow is broken. Let me read it again, together. All this is not to be written down [Inaudible] …. Torn asunder the lineage of the Pratimoksha vows, received before the eyes of the Abbots, Masters and Sangha, transgressed the precepts of Bodhicitta, vows taken before the eyes of the Gurus, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, thrown away the close bond of our commitments received, which were witnessed by the Gurus and deities of the mandala, the whole mass of proscribed and naturally evil downfalls and faults, I confess from my heart, quickly cleanse them please.

Let me tell you why. When you break your vows, when you break your samaya, you throw away the closeness you have with the Three Jewels. You just go away. And then, negative things that kill your time… Not negative things, normal things that kill your time, you get distracted away very easily. Go see a movie, go to sleep, cannot stay home, cannot relax, cannot read… even when you want to read, you fall asleep. Everything is to prevent you. You can see yourself not advancing in your practice. Every day, it is broken again and again and again. And you know what happens?

When you have Vinaya vows, Bodhicitta vows and Tantric vows, let me also tell you, not only is it broken for that day, the vow that you broke yesterday becomes double. So, if you have a hot temper, it becomes more. Let me tell you something. About one third of the people in our center, after they die, will go to the three lower realms. It could be the most innocent person you think, the nicest person. One third of the people in our center will go to the three lower realms.

I guarantee and I promise you. You go ask the Protectors, you go ask the Dalai Lama, you ask someone high. I have no fears. I will not say things [Snap fingers] like that. And within that one third, there are a few who are actually Tantric practitioners. They will go to the three lower realms when they die. About five to six people in this room, when they die, they will go to the lower realms. Five to six people in this room, when they die. And the people who go to the three lower realms are the ones I keep very close to me. How can that be? You see, sitting there and doing nothing and feeling sorry for yourself is negative karma.

You let that ego grow. You can sit in your room and feel sorry for yourself and be complacent and do absolutely nothing. Sitting in a room with attachment, you collect negative karma on a very subtle… [Tibetan phrase] … means very subtle karma. And that negative karma is very subtle. Do you know why? Everything comes out of me, me, me.

So you may be a very nice housewife. You may be a very nice househusband. You may be a nice son, daughter, whatever. You are, according to the world. On the absolute realm, on the absolute level, on the absolute, feeding your self-cherishing mind can only bring one action, one result — more circumstances for your self-cherishing mind to act upon itself.

I fight with my wife and girlfriend or I fight with my boyfriend and husband once in a while. Yeah, yeah wonderful, you are. But you see, those are good and bad made by culture and people who are not with wisdom. You come from ignorance. You come from desire. And you come from attachment, and you live within it, and you create it. You are a good person but that is just on a very basic, basic level. But on an absolute level — absolute means what? People say they want advanced teachings. When you break your commitments, when you break your samaya — now listen carefully — when you break your Guru Devotion, when you break your samaya, you break the tantric vows, you break the Bodhicitta vows, you break the refuge vows, when you break all these, it indirectly affects the absolute.

I have to work. You know, they said this to me! You know, they make all kinds of excuses. But you have to understand something. These are good for us, but our karma and existence is not on this level, it is on an absolute level. Existing creates negative karma. The very fact that a baby gives pain to its mother by suckling her breast is already a sign of its nature.

And for some of us, our whole lives we suckle our mother. And you may think it is their responsibility… [Inaudible]… understand something: But on an absolute level, each time we break our vows — and what are vows? Vows are not something you swear in front of Buddha and then you never do it again, or you swear on the Bible. It is not that. They can drink sake all day, they can be drunk all day, they can have sex with two women openly. Why does it not apply anymore?

Only a few people can understand that. Oh, a lama disrobed. Oh, a master uses money and buys furniture. I saw the master in Ikea! Oh, I saw Lama in a disco! But at our level, action is the point, which leads to no action. The absolute level is beyond us right now. You know nothing about Dharma or Buddhism at all. Absolute means things that exist on its own accord without us having to put rules on it, or projections or barriers and borders and colors.

You have to marry at this age. These are rules made on a very basic, fundamental level by people who are blind — us and our forefathers. These are all blind rules. There is no happiness in samsara — none. And in fact, it increases your vows — your breakage. What is the seal? One third — maybe a little bit more — of the people in our center will go to the three lower realms.

Some places is in hell. I know the scriptures so I can look at their actions and I can see how they operate. In this room, I can point to the people who are going to go to the three lower realms , very clearly. Just like someone who knows cars very well. Because they trained themselves for years. How did you know that? So, some lamas, they trick you and pretend they have clairvoyance. You know, he calls me at the right time, he does this at the right time, he does everything just like, wow!

Do not underestimate me. You can even take rebirth in horrible places… [Inaudible]… horrible. You can enjoy yourselves now, you can be as nasty as you want, or you can be as nice as you want. You can be as hypocritical as you want. You can keep fooling yourselves and fooling who you really are. Live it up for a little while, be happy for a little while. Every single day you live will be one day closer to that next existence. The good part about our existence is that, our suffering is to the point where we can still rise above it — a little bit for a short time — to do Dharma work, Dharma actions.

Time is of the essence for some of us now. Time is of the essence. Many of us will take negative rebirths. Then what are you doing, Rinpoche? So, during the age of Maitreya, it will open.

Dedicated to deciphering the current financial news and appreciating investing

Shake it to yourself. Can you give me some food? Can you give me a house? Can you give me this? Can you give me that? A complete thangka featuring the lama — H. Let me give you another example. Our previous lives and the karma we have accumulated is like the Pacific Ocean — from California all the way to China; from the North, all the way from the North Arctic to the South, Antarctica — that huge body of water.

How you can check is, you check your mind. How often does it abide in self-cherishing on the very absolute level, and on a fundamental level? That proves to you that your ocean maybe is double or triple. And then you do a little bit of sadhana — just a little bit of sadhana, a little bit of writing for Rinpoche — little bit, and even that little bit took so much coaxing, and your little bit of prayers, your little bit of cheap retreats, and your little bit of cheap mantras, and then once a year, maybe you do your sadhana because your Guru is nice to you and you decided to do it.

That is just one little cup of merit and you pour it into the black ocean. How do you expect to become enlightened? And even what we do for the Dharma is stained by the eight worldly faults of pride, recognition — the Eight Worldly Dharmas. So, what do you think will happen to all of us? A lama or a guru is likened to a butterlamp in the dark, in a windy room. Paul, please stay awake. For some of us who have 50 Verses of Guru Devotion, a lama is like a blowtorch in a room with wind. For a person who actually surrenders himself to the Lama — surrender means what? Surrendering to the lama is on many levels but on a fundamental level is you see immediate improvement in yourself when you surrender.

Two, on the absolute level, when you surrender to the lama… on the absolute level — listen carefully — you surrender to the real lama inside your self-cherishing mind. The vows become effortless for you. You see, Lama Yeshe says in Heruka Vajrasattva, you break the vows not by action and not by object. Can you please get that book? You saw it just now… Heruka Vajrasattva on my desk by Lama Yeshe. So, monks can wear beautiful clothes, you know, robes… action, wonderful, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah… and everything is perfect from the outside.

A monk can steal. They run and… you know, during a war, they go and steal money and bread and bring it back to the community to eat. It is not the object, it is NOT the object. It is very important to know. So to us, they look wrong. There are very few people who operate from the absolute. Now, it says here, I was reading through it… Now, some of you might be wondering, what does this have to do with Dharma Protector practice?

The way that the Dharma Protector can help you is by samaya alone. If you break your samaya, the Dharma Protector will be percent ineffective for you — for your business, for your family, for protection, for your attainments, for retreat, for money. Anything you want, it will be ineffective. You can do all the black teas you want. You can take the statue and drown them in black tea, nothing will happen.

It is totally on your commitments alone. No effect, very little. You may be pouring an ocean of black tea but it becomes like one or two drops. You are an absolute hypocrite. You see, some of you have been with me for many years. Some of you have been with me for many lifetimes. Some of you have been with me for a few years but many lifetimes. So, when I teach you these things, it is in hopes of helping, assisting, and knowledge. Many times, the Dharma Protector said: I advised until I cough blood.

All four components of the action — motivation, object, action and completion — must be present for breaking the vows to be complete. The key component is the motivation, how much you are grasping. This is Lama Yeshe alright, this is not Tsem-stupid-Rinpoche. Lama Yeshe is a Mahasiddha, a real Gelugpa Mahasiddha. How much you grasp… What is grasping? When you live with them, they burden you. Self-grasping mind, so strong. It is so strong. Going to hell or living in hell or being in hell or the three lower realms is totally from grasping, not the action. And what makes you break the vow is grasping.

From grasping arises the four motivations — intent motivation , action, object and completion. What it is, is they exist on an absolute level. Their self-grasping mind has been eradicated. So therefore, whatever they do is just doing. You know, when we make a movie, it looks very real. And we idolize all this. We idolize people who can bring these emotions to us.

Because we can relate to that. How can we relate? A beautiful painting of Wu Tai Shan, also known as the holy abode of Manjushri. The real Yamantaka, the real Vajrayogini is on an absolute level — no form, no taste, no touch, no sound, no tangibility… yet existence from non-grasping. Why are we happy? I did a good thing! Like I told you about that lady earlier in the Dharma talk, she goes everywhere, she knows everything, she does everything right. But you know what? During a Dharma talk… Mamie told me, it was so funny. I talked to Mamie the other day for two hours.

A brand new Dharma student came for teachings. Mamie was there and she had a beautiful… well, everybody had these cheapskate little bead mandalas, you know. But she was rich, in America 20 years ago. She had a silver mandala, not three layers but four. She had all these jewels and all of it, wow. And she did it perfectly, the mandala, perfectly.

We were all like… Huh? Give it to me. I was thinking like that. I would sit at the back so you have more compassion because I have quite a loud voice… fold your hands to the planet around you.

Anyway, she turned around. Your mind is like space, Shantideva says. When I heard that, my memory became fabulous. All of a sudden, I realized that there are no borders to my mind. Look, he bought one of those for the Pakistanis. In Japan, I bought one almost everyday and I wore it everywhere. I want to tell people how politically correct that was. Another action that brought me to the three lower realms — another self-grasping action.

So, what happens was this is, but then if you keep it, you show people, it is good too. Not the action, but about the motivation. Anyway, we talked about lunchhhh and David and richhhh. Paul is just doing meditation on violin. When I said that, he went like this… Evil… I love it. Anyway… Hi Daddy, how are you? This is my daddy. In the middle of the mandala, she got flustered and she was upset.

That one action threw her off the Dharma. That one action, they never came back again. Because of their habituation of self-grasping. Does everybody understand that? Every Dharma center, every place, every church, every synagogue, every mosque, every community, every family, every… even you yourself have politics.

You know, you yourself make politics. Nothing on this planet can ever hurt His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Second, nothing can bring Tibet back or make Tibet lose. It has its own karma. We can do all the prayers but nothing will happen. How can I harm a holy monk? You know, if I want to go and beat up the Buddha, you think I can? So, I want to give this message to the assassins and all these people who carry guns to the Kalachakra.

Yeah, His Holiness caught people with guns in the Kalachakra. Dalai Lama cannot be harmed. You can put a torpedo on him, nothing will happen. You know like, nothing. Because that happened in Tibet. When they threw bombs, they shelled Gaden, Zong Rinpoche sat there in meditation and did puja to Dorje Shugden until the monks all escaped out of Gaden. You can read his biography. All three walls fell, the wall behind him stood… Everything fell. And he did Dorje Shugden puja until the monks were safely out of Gaden Monastery.

And the fumes from the shells — the toxic fumes — Rinpoche breathed in, he accepted it and his voice became hoarse. He breathed in the fumes. But Kyabje Zong Rinpoche single-handedly stayed in Gaden and did the repulsion puja of Dorje Shugden to hold back harm until the monks finished. That is well documented. He accepted the harm, he accepted everything with his Tantric powers. You can read it in his biography. Some lamas, trees will blossom.

Bodhi trees, wherever the lama is, the Bodhi tree will just grow and blossom. Some lamas, you hear beings, you hear sounds. Bodhi trees will appear, very very common. Wherever the lama is, naturally a Bodhi tree will grow on its own, always. See, what I do is, wherever I go, I just get a little Bodhi tree and plant it. I am, I am a lama. But nobody knows that I go out there every night and weed it, you know, put manure, I pee on it myself. I do all kinds of things… [Inaudible]… I pee on it you know, just the right amount, not too much….

You know, they say when you talk to plants, it grows? So, you better grow. When you show a lot of love, they grow. Just ask the rainbow girl Tashi, you know, she talks to everything except Andee. Anyway… [Inaudible]… So, what happens? If on an absolute level, no karma is to be made; on a relative level, plenty to purify. And are we really changing our attitude because of our habituation? So every time this habituation is measured or helped kept in check for ourselves from an absolute level to a relative level, it manifests in vows. Vows are a manifestation of the absolute.

Let me explain why. These rules are applicable anywhere, any planet, any universe. Absolute means [Tibetan phrase] — all-pervading. There is no maybe. So, the vows are a manifestation or a taste of the absolute. Rinpoche always comes up with these lines, one-liners that are absolutely, totally contradictory yet totally meaningful. So gimme another praise. I shit lotuses according to him. He has this view about me. But anyways, Maple of course, oh my goodness. You ask her, is Rinpoche a Buddha? You mean higher than Shakyamunu got? You wanna go higher? He is Guru Rinpoche. I was vulnerable to joining.

It have gave me confidence and I got sucked into being brainwashed. It is too much to go into the devastation that being brain washed cause me as a result. I would say that I should have stopped this practice 15 years ago. It literally destroyed my life. In a bit shell I took advise from a so called leader and had a nervous breakdown ptsd and I lost so so much because I was trapped in ptsd. This organization is dangerous to your psyche even though on the service it seems like it is just about people growing to reach their potential.

I believe it is really just front for power and Mr Ikeda is not the wonderful mentor every one is brain washed into beliving. Behind it all is money and power and all this at the expense of brainwashing people into believing that thos magic lantern gohonzon has power to do things for you.

SGI, like many cults spends a lot of money on trying to appear legitimate. SGI members aim to encourage others and ourselves to manifest our own reality and desires. Our faith is based upon laws of the universe. How can an organization aiming to turn all negative aspects of this world into positivity be deemed bad or a cult? District members and leaders even come to me.

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Just to listen to my challenges and brainstorm with me, so that I may find a solution. I honestly believe you, others speaking bad about SGI, and this original poster are just trolling. Lol either way I encourage you and others to embrace your inner Buddha nature, and realize that spreading lies and false claims can never bring out true happiness. I went to many meeting and no one ever mentioned Buddhas teaching. SGI members do not even read the lotus sutra.

This cult organization brainwashing people that had life problems in order to claim more members and collect May contributions! They say it is good fortune to donate money to SGI in May, the more money donated the better your fortune you will have. I am glad I finally saw clearly that I was dragged into cult and managed to get out.

I do not feel SGI is a cult. No one has ever attempted to isolate me from any of my mainstream activities or associates. Are the Amish a cult? Are Orthodox Jews brainwashed? I do, however, always keep an open mind. Can you elucidate, using your own words? Please read my article, and ask yourself how much applies to any group or relationship you are questioning.

I use to work at Soka University in So Cal. They worship Ikeda, full stop. Early on, I attended a chanting session after which was given a copy of the World Tribune along with a lot of other proselytising literature. The members made it clear that they practice to increase personal prosperity in the material sense and to increase social status in society.

The student body was primarily Japanese students from SGI families abroad. The school and the cult paints a rosey picture of itself, but it really is a dangerous cult. Sweet kids, but deeply indoctrinated in the SG culture. SGI members are deeply delusional opportunists hoodwinked into the worship of Ikeda, recruiting members and tithing the cult to keep Ikeda fat and happy on his Dias. It was upsetting to see oceans of members weeping, wailing and swaying trance-like when major gatherings were hosted at the school. Giant posters of Ikeda think Chairman Mao would be draped from walls and ceiling.

Ikeda is Jim Jones with more money and influence. As, I said in a previous comment SGI, like many cults spends a lot of money on trying to appear legitimate. I can send you over 10 pages with the words Buddha, Buddhist, and Buddhahood on them. These words are directly from multiple world tribune news articles. We appreciate him, along woth other leaders. Because instead of keeping the organization private, they decided to spread this forever peaceful organization all over the world. So that the human race, as a whole, may move forward in life, positively.

Right on, Jasmine…you speak the truth! I have been chanting as a member of SGI for almost 40 years and have heard it all. The tenets of respect for the fundamental dignity of life runs through this philosophy like colorful thread in a beautiful fabric. Daisaku Ikeda has had more than honorary doctorates bestowed on him by universities around the world. This is a reflection of the work he does for peace, culture and education. Is this how a cult leader is honored? Do heads of state and highly educated academics around the world U. Through the Intesa, a religious denomination is granted various rights, such as the right to freely establish educational and academic institutions on Italian territory.

As of today, 12 religious denominations, including SGI-Italy, have been granted such status within the Italian Republic. The Intesa was approved by the Senate of the Republic in April , and by the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament in June of the same year, thereby completing the full procedure. It became effective on July Before you bad-mouth the organization, its members, its founder and those who carried it forward from a lost teaching to a major world religion, do your homework.

Do not accept baseless accusations — think for yourselves. This is idolatry to these religions you mentioned. This is the difference. They do not have an ego so big as to think they are g-d and can control everything just because they say a magic word. G-d is the doer behind it all. If you do not see the difference in the religions you mentioned and the one you preactice I suggest you learn. The Soka Gakkai International is notable among Buddhist organizations for the racial and ethnic diversity of its members.

Ikeda could not even maintainability peace and unity with Nikken Shonin. If SGI ended up in an acrimonious schism with the Buddhist sect on which it is based, how on earth can SGI achieve peace in the rest of the world? Also, neither the Amish or Orthodox Jews engage in proselytizing, which is central to Soka Gakkai practice.

The Amish and Orthodox Jews are family-centric unless you are born into these faiths, it is almost impossible to join , self-sustaining communities that have endured for centuries, often in the face of significant oppression and persecution. Soka Gakkai teaches that converting someone brings great good fortune and failure to bring in converts is seen as a sign of weak faith , while in fact it brings in money and free labor to the organization. It functions, financially, as a pyramid scheme.

I joined Nichiren-Shoshu while living in Japan, where the sense of history was profound the local temple was years old. This was when Soka Gakkai was one of a few organizations of lay believers of Nichiren-Shoshu Buddhism. Back then, Soka Gakkai taught that only the high priest of Nichiren-Shoshu could inscribe a Gohonzon, and that worshiping any other honzon was horrible slander other new religions in Japan that were based on Nichiren Buddhism, such as Rissho Koseikai, made their own world honzon, but Soka Gakkai said chanting to such a honzon created horrible karma.

The priesthood was one of the three pillars of faith, and it was inconceivable that lay believers would arrogate to themselves the functions, duties and responsibilities of the priests. After splitting with Taisekiji, SGI started printing its own honzon and even said that Gohonzon inscribed by the high priest at the time had no power. Both versions cannot be true; according to what SG taught before the rift, everything SGI does now would be considered great slander.

Or is it all lies? At any rate, I found the Ikeda worship to be very creepy. However, I see that the same thing has been said by someone else, word for word, a minute earlier; please see my comment to her. Can you elucidate how you feel, in your own words?

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I was unaware that this was a one sided debate. Another person posted the exact same comment. Is that all SGI members do — repeat things over and over again? I was a member for very long time. But I finally woke up so to a severe tradgety in my life. I wish that I woke up sooner. My life has been severely damaged by this mind control cult. I just want to warn people. This is a great article. I can relate so much. I was part of SGI — received my Gohonzon. I tried to keep an open mind, but the first thing I thought weird was how all these ladies had to come to my house and investigate where I was going to keep my Gohonzon.

Next weird thing was watching this one women have people over everyday in the evening chanting — her kids seemed so socially and emotionally neglected by her. Further, I went to some big event with someone who ended up leaving me there. I had no ride home and asked several members I knew if I could grab a ride with them.

Well, they all said no. We were all local. I ended up having to call my boyfriend to pick me up. They discussed how he was like a rock star, and that during the last visit women were screaming and swooning like he was the fifth Beatle. Last time I had felt like that about anyone was when I was a teenager — now I was a grown woman. The Jim Jones story suddenly popped into my head.

Luckily none ever came around to pressure me to come back. I kept my Gohonzon up for years after that — it was really very lovely — and would meditate near it sometimes. I finally took it down years later. It just felt too much like a cult to me. I still love the Buddhist concepts, though. I hope you come back. It sounds like you had a bad experience at that particular meeting. He wants for every person to shine to their fullest potential.

The SGI is really an organization of common people each trying to do their own human revolution and change karma. I hope you will come back and go to some more meetings. This is the problem with sgi they make their own rules that have nothing to do with real Buddhist teachings or concepts. What qualifies ikeda to be a leader? Why are HIS words so important? Sgi never mentions how to attain enlightenment. Josei Toda the second leader of the SGI formulated the concept of the Human Revolution based on the fact that it i no use trying to achieve change by externally imposed revolution unless we reform the tenets we have in our own hearts.

I have been a member of the Soka Gakkai for over 30 years and have never felt brain washed only that my intellectual and spiritual capacities had developed a a very real and constructive way as result of the practice. I have never been asked to mindlessly or unreflectingly follow Daisaku Ikeda or any other leader. My friend recently got into Buddhism, and I went out to visit him in another city. I wanted to encourage him to practice because he recently found sobriety. Buddhism as a whole was barely discussed.

People just kept saying the practice was simple yet profound. We then had a round-table discussion. I was one of three guests, the rest all had decades of experience in SGI Buddhist practice, which seems to consist of only chanting the Lotus Sutra. No one had the answer — even someone who had 50 years of practice. After the meeting, I chatted with roughly half of the people 10 informally. One of the SGI members told me to give up my meditation practice completely, and only chant the Lotus Sutra. Respect for women was one of the topics, but as we were discussing it, I wondered why the sexes were split.

The rest of the discussion centered around how they were going to recruit 50 thousand young people like me. Another thing I found strange was that they chanted in hopes of material gain. To end the suffering caused by desire and ego, one must eliminate the cause. Another red flag for me was there library.

It consisted primarily of material published by SGI. All in all, it was a shocking experience for me. Perhaps to someone with absolutely no knowledge of Buddhism, it would be a nice experience. I get different lineages emphasize different things, but to completely ignore the fundamentals is outrageous. All of the people there were generally nice people, but some were pushy. A few of the members stated they were not Tibetan, Zen, or Theravada Buddhists in a holier-than-thou type of way. Jon, thanks for your insight. I have recently interacted with this cult and have found their Buddhist pronouncements lacking.

To chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, then, is to call forth your Buddha nature. SGI members also incorporate social interaction and engagement into their Buddhist practice. Since , the SGI has formally officiated same-sex marriages. They told me basically that theirs was the ONLY true form of Buddhism 3 women actually ganged up on me. Nichiren Daishonin, a Buddhist monk of the 13th century spent his life studying all the sutras considered it the meaning of his life to come to this conclusion and share it with the world.

Two and a half thousand years ago, towards the end of his life, the Buddha Shakyamuni expounded the Lotus Sutra. Twice a day in the ceremony called Gongyo, SGI members recite excerpts from the 2nd and 16th chapters of this great Lotus Sutra, translated here. If we are to believe these dying words of the Buddha, we must conclude that the Lotus Sutra is the only bright mirror we have, and that through it we can understand the heart of all the sutras. Its words are the ultimate reality, and this reality is the Mystic Law myoho. It is called the Mystic Law because it reveals the principle of the mutually inclusive relationship of life and all phenomena.

That is why this sutra is the wisdom of all Buddhas. That said, some of what people were saying at the meeting you attended actually has profound philosophical roots in the Buddhist teachings of Nichiren Daishonin on whose teachings all Nichiren sects are based. Very simply, Buddahood and the Buddha-land are here and now — all beings have the potential for Buddhahood, but only humans can engage in Buddhist practice to achieve it.

Your environment reflects your inner state, so if you gain enlightenment, you transform your environment into the Buddha-realm. When you bring out your innate Buddha nature, you can meet and triumph over any adversity. These truths were revealed in the Lotus Sutra, and chanting the title is equivalent to reciting the entire sutra. The Gohonzon is an embodiment of Buddhahood, so chanting to it draws your Buddha nature to the forefront of your life Nichiren Daishonin taught that his Buddhism was the practical realization of the theory expounded in the Lotus Sutra by the historic Buddha.

Under the SGI, this manifests as chanting for money, a car, etc. If you are suffering from a lack of money, that is because of your karma, and bringing forth your Buddha nature will change your karma. Nichiren Buddhism is actually hard-core Mahayana, in that it teaches that anyone who practices this Buddhism can attain Buddhahood here and now, and transform the world in the process. I am not sure if I think SGI is a cult, but I think it uses Buddhism for financial gain, and uses several practices that cults use to keep members from questioning its authority.

As a practicing Buddhist, I actually feel closer to other religions more than ever. I feel spiritual when in a church, like I want to pray. The proof is there. I totally agree with Ashley. I am currently living in an Islamic country and I fell that my Buddhist practice has genuinely helped me understand and empathise with the beauty and power of Islam and develop bonds with people who follow it. This kind of expansion of human sympathy is not a typical trait of a brainwashed cult. In the Gosho, Nichiren Daishonin says all other religious teachings are paths to hell a state of suffering.

I had practiced Buddhism for near 11 years here in Los Angeles I had witnessed the head priest of the Nichiren Shoshu Temple banish a 90 year old woman who I briefly knew because she used to sit in front of the Temple. I would come out on Sundays and sit with her. I would pray with her. She told me that the temple was very mean and accused her of stealing food from the temple. She never let me give her anything. Sometimes the Temple would leave cookies out on the table for everyone. I watch this priest kick her out in the most wicked non peaceful ways. He told her never to return.

There was actually nothing peaceful about him. I will speak more about this in the future but I thought that this little bit would help you all understand the kind of evil that I had dealt with in my life when I was seeking to find peace. I used to be very terrified of talking about this. In fact I thought that people would try and kill me. There is also another organization called the Soka Gakkai who were excommunicated by this Buddhism.

They are now the largest religious organization in Japan. Many of them keep their religion secret to others. They are like Vampires. You would never know who they are. I think that chanting namyohorengekyo to the gohonzon can in fact help. Everyone has a Buddanature and there are many many ways to connect to it. The organization teaches many Buddhist theories which are true however they combo e in with the idea that this is the only mantra and that the scroll has mystic power.

This is complete nonsense and that is why people are brainwashed. I have had horrible experiences with many leaders. I am not sayi g all people in sgi are bad people. Some are very nice. However I was completely betrayed and abandoned by heartless leaders to the point where there is no way I will ever be a part of this organization ever again.

Also I never met so many fair weather friends. Your worth as a human is totally judged by how much you participate and chant. It is more like a click than anything else. All their talk about world peace is really lip service. I once was at a meeting where a person who. After the meeting nobody would talk to her. They just love bombed a person who was a more obvious target. It is either you are one of them or not.

They actually believe that getting new members and helping others with their practice brings them benefit which is why so much love bombing goes on. They are only following their leader who. Please tell me how any organization who believes that they have the only true buddhism and every one else is wrong is ever going to attain world peace.

If chanting namyohorengekyo to gohonzon helps you that is great. But please I am actually telling this to help you. Do not get too involved with sgi or it can really do damage to your life. It actually distorts many Buddhist concepts. I agree with a lot of what you say here because I have experienced the same thing. They just feel that they will get more benefits if they try and help you and recruit others.

I found that so weird and cultish. Please respond back and contact me so we can talk more. What specific violations of free choice through manipulation, coercive control and undue influence has the SGI harmed you with? The ax never fell. However, this practice is all about being self-sufficient. I have a very busy life outside of the SGI and only attend activities when I can and am never shamed or beaten for it.

Other than that, we have a May giving campaign as a major fundraising push but even that is based on what you are able to give. I was raised Catholic and my parents donated monthly and dropped checks and cash in the basket that was passed around and held bake sales and mini-carnivals to fundraise. The SGI is a not-for-profit c 3 and is very transparent as to where its money goes. Being a non-profit, those records are public so feel free to scrutinize them all you like.

It requires taking action to steer your life in the direction you truly want. Ikeda is a controversial business figure in Japan but with a little investigating, anyone can find the facts. Like many, I ultimately decided that the organization was not for me Calling it a cult is a bit extreme in my opinion, most popular world religions have an insular feel where the practitioners should spend much of their time with each other.

The people I met in SGI all wanted to be a better version of themselves and were using the practice of Nichiren Buddhism as their guiding light. The real lesson in taking advice from fellow practitioners is to know thyself and critique those around you and decide whether their individual advice is valuable. Ultimately for me, the group was too closely knit for the lifestyle I lead so I chose to move on. I still believe that the time I spent with SGI provided me important lessons and ways of thinking to help me succeed.

I personally find it amusing that people could blame a whole religion for their own personal inability to discern what they want for themselves and how best to get it. Thank you so much for this beautiful article. I liked learning about your unique experience. May I recommend a follow up?

Go to the source. That would be the path to the truth. Otherwise, you would never know if your feelings were just deceiving you. SGI does not teach Nichiren Buddhism correctly. The materialism and simplicity of their religion comes from Toda and Makiguchi, mostly Toda. That is purely a cult teaching invented by Ikeda. So you would not be finding the flaws in SGI by looking at Nichiren, since they teach two different versions of Buddhism. Real Nichiren Buddhism, the real meaning of ichinen sanzen and Namu-myoho-renge-kyo, which are the things Nichiren contributed to Buddhism, is the deepest and most sophisticated philosophy on the planet.

You are the only person who made any sense here! Intention is not necessary. I also do not see how anyone who has studied the Gosho could discard the priesthood, as Ikeda has done. He has replaced the profound Gosho with his trite, saccharine guidance. Tagore Peace Award [78] India: World Prize for Humanism Macedonian: Rizal International Peace Award [82] Philippines: Gusi Peace Prize[84] Russia: Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation [85] Singapore: That is not Buddhism.

What really put me off was the chanting for material gain. I knew people who chanted for new apartments, new dishwashers, etc. I was also very much put off by how much of a cult it was and still is. If you feel that chanting NMRG to the Gohonzon on the wall enriches your life, spiritually that is, then more power to you.

The person who wrote this has very little knowledge of Judaism and the Jewish people. If you are referring to the State of Israel, well yes that is our country, but we are also all over this world.

And most emphatically no, we are not a cult. Perhaps Chassidic Judaism has some cultlike attributes, but not Judaism as a whoie. From Wikapedia Soka Gakkai Japanese: It is the largest of the Japanese new religions and holds the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhist groups. So, in a nutshell.

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It was even said that it was helping people to renew and strengthen their own practice. Nothing was mentioned in the article about the beads. I asked what is the point of them….. I also had that experience someone mentioned that 2 women — one of them my friend — came to my house and were asking where I intended to put it.

Then the Japanese woman asked me to close the doors of the Butsudan that contained my downloaded Gohonzon because it was actually quite distressing for her. When they came they brought a membership form for me to complete. Why did I have to give all my details to an organisation to become a member in order to benefit from chanting. If chanting is the most important thing, which they constantly say it is, why does everyone decide to become members. In fact, I am the kind of person who wants to be very much my own person, an individual who does things in my own way.

Plants, candles, paintings, rugs, furniture, everything has to be in the ideal place to enjoy the full benefit of each thing. I did for over 45 years. However, the organization in my opinion is only interested in bringing in new members and increasing their numbers. The other issue I had was the total and complete adoration towards Ikeda. He can never be questioned and he can never be wrong. Williams and all he did for the growth of the SGI in America. He was erased from the history books and never talked about or referred to.. The man was blacklisted!

Stay away from SGI and Buddhism in general. You need a savior and that is only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ! If the SGI is so awful, what kept you there for 45 years? I find it hard to believe you adopted Mom forced you to stay for 45 years….. So you practiced for over 45 years and then went back to Jesus Christ? I was born and raised Catholic but been SGI member for 30 years.

Jesus never did much for me. With the SGI I do see some of the things you pointed out. If they were temple members the SGI would have had a field day from this scandal! They have been largely successful in hushing this up in the US. I read it in his speeches on Seikyo shimbun Japanese Soka newspaper. The book is mainly for youth. He says the ones who bully someone is in frustration and taking it out on someone with no fault. He talks more in details, also about individual cases. If you lack something, it never can be a reason someone can bully you.

If lacking somethings is bad, the ones who bully are the worst as human.. Is there any good person with Japanese langage around you? At meetings and on SGI publishments. Once I said so to a member who live far from my town. As my life stage is very low, I gather mean members around me. Chant for certain time and the mean members will be disappeared. Chanting, prayer, visualization, faith are the mind and spirit working together and somehow manifest results in any religion….

Positive thinking, gratitude, and love for our highest good are all a part of the chemistry of life that seems to provide results. All religions, can be manipulative, brainwashing if the person is receptive….

SGI has offered many wonderful insights to Buddhism, however, it is not the only one, there is never the only one of anything. Religious organizations of every kind are made of people, who are just that, people who bring to it whatever they are already. So go easy, we are all seekers trying our best! Peace and love to all! Well no one is forcing you to do anything. It really depends of the people in your area and above all it depends on your own seeking spirit, will to learn and put it to practice in your daily life as you see fit.

No one is forcing a real Christian to go to church and pray, if it works for him perfect, there are plenty of great Christians. Same thing with Buddhism or any other religion. I have been chanting for 38 years now and the practice has been very helpful. At the worst time of my life those who wished to protect their own positions effectively turned their backs and by example encouraged others to do so also. This is understandable, the history of the world and religion. The only problem is SGI today pupports to be different.

Nichirens Buddhism is great, it really is and it saddens me that a corrupt few can turn people off so. Their is a solution ie dont give them money and dont empower them and then resent when you are shunned. Noone quite does shunning as well as the SGI. Does this make them a cult? No I dont think so but they are highly organised and do exhibit some wacko behaviour probably due to cross cultural dichotomies. It it a good cause to support such behavior?

Thats ones own personal call. My fear and expetience is that SGI has lost its spirit and the abilty to review itsef. It has become self centred and judgemental. There should be no discrimination but when people have bills to pay…they will do anything and this concludes my view of the paid leadership of SGI and their aspiring cronies.

The Soka Gakkai International comprises a global network of affiliated organizations. As of , the SGI reported active national organizations in countries and territories with a total of approximately 12 million members. National SGI organizations operate autonomously and all affairs are conducted in the local language. While the national organizations are run autonomously, the Tokyo headquarters of SGI disseminates doctrinal and teaching materials to all national organizations around the world.

I was a member for five years, but left four years ago. The best thing about the SGI was the members I met. I could not have wished to meet nicer people. For me, that was its strength. As for the practice, it seemed to me to have little to do with Buddhism I had studied it for some years before joining the SGI , unless of course you believe that Nichiren was indeed the Buddha of the Latter Day, etc.

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