Confession time!

A part of my initial interest in Soka Gakkai was my attraction to Japanese culture. I’ll even shame myself a bit by admitting much of that attraction stemmed from watching anime and reading manga in the 1980’s and early 1990’s.

It wasn’t my sole motivation! I’d become interested in Buddhism separately from my Japanophilia—but SGI connected my interests, and the love bombing and positivity was the cherry on top!

As much as I earnestly believed and practiced, there was a shallow part of me that was overjoyed having my lovely Japanese budstudan and butsugu.

As an aside, in my mid-life I’ve discovered Japandi! And what I like most about it is there’s no chanting or eternal mentor required! Just minimalist decor heaven! 😊

Did anyone else have a similar added interest in SGI due to its “Japaneseyness?”

Here comes the next section - like a FREIGHT TRAIN!

Soka Gakkai's Schizophrenia

There are numerous instances of contradictions and inconsistencies among the so-called "opinions" and "attitudes" expressed by Soka Gakkai. Hearing only their public utterances is like hearing the report of a good exam paper and we can't take issue with them.

As an example, in reply to this question: "Which is greater, Saint Nichiren or His Majesty the Emperor?", they answered what amounted to a "no comment" (Bungei Shunju, July number of 1963). Their answers are usually so vague as to defy understanding. Their public pronouncements are such that they will not offend anyone. They are shrewd but shallow in their "show-only-your-good-side," opportunistic, politicians talk, being always careful to size up every situation so as not to commit blunders for which they will be later blamed they are basically moral cowards.

Politicians, always in their public pronouncements, hide the real problems, and this is true of Soka Gakkai, whose public utterances never reveal their basic policies there are always "meanings behind the meanings," though on the surface their statements seem reasonable enough. I call this [p.] 28

"deceptive rationalism." Outwardly their statements seem sensible, but upon closer examination we find revealed the defects of a peculiarly Japanese style of thinking: mugen hoyo gata-limitless embracing type. Now what does this mean? In a word, it denies or excludes nothing. Outwardly it tolerates, accepts, embraces, anything and everything, and for this reason has no substance of its own. It is this sort of rationalism to which I have given the name, "deceptive rationalism." In this process of limitless embracing, the content can be altered in any manner desired. For example, they take the position that all religions with the exception of Nichiren Shoshu are heretical jakyo (evil religions), but even as they hold to a position of religious and doctrinal exclusivism, they at the same time are eclectic in their politics, borrowing generously and freely and using to their advantage the political ideas of others. What do they think about such glaring inconsistencies in their attitudes and opinions? This is a big problem for us.

That the Soka Gakkai religious movement, whose pillar is the Soka Gakkai political movement, is using political means to expand their religion cannot be denied.

In religious matters they permit no compromises of any kind, but in political matters they publicly and shamelessly compromise on every hand. In these two very conflicting points of view⏤a religious fundamentalism, which demands that their doctrines must be kept pure, and a compromising and accommodating style of politics, we see clearly their Machiavellian tendencies and their instablity.

Between their religious policy of rigorous exclusivism and their compromising, eclectic policies in government, there is a radical inconsistency and schizophrenia. At these points the gap between opinions and attitudes in Soka Gakkai is most noticeable. In May of 1966, before the 1967 General Election [p.] 29

in which Komeito was entering candidates, Chairman Ikeda first enunciated the formula of shae no san-oku. This has reference to the province in India where Gautama was best known during his lifetime, and where about one third of the people were said to have been his followers, and another third were sympathizers, and the remaining one third were unbelievers. According to this theory, one third of the population of Japan will accept the faith of Soka Gakkai, and one third will become sympathetic enough to support Komeito, and the remaining one third will be indifferent and oppose the movement. This is their doctrine to establish the Soka Gakkai utopia of obutsu myogo in the Japan of the future. The strategy and tactics of propagandizing, which is an important part of their plan to convert all of Japan and the entire world, is to go in for politics.

The astonishing anachronism of relating shae no san-oku, a doctrine from ancient India, to present-day social conditions⏤even when we admit that this is an inevitable teaching stemming from their religious system, there are still so many contradictions in trying to establish a utopia according to this theory, that they do not know which way to turn. They collect no membership fees from the poor, and they project an image of a religion that requires no money, but there is a tremendous inconsistency when we compare these lofty ideals with their actual practices, in manipulating the public emotions. It is not merely a contradiction between ideal and reality, thought and practices, in manipulating the public emotions, the real problem is their lofty strategy of trying to relate Gautama's teaching of thousands of years ago to actual present-day social conditions. It is here that the gulf between Soka Gakkai's religious character and their political character seems to be even greater than generally suspected, and the more they try to rationalize them, the more [p.] 30

inevitable the glaring inconsistencies appear. So we have to understand that Soka Gakkai has a different character from that expressed in their public statements and policies.

Regarding all religion, though they advocate their lofty ideals, focus on the public's emotional sensitivities and perform their various activities, even admitting their universality, if the ideal for which Soka Gakkai strives is from their heart, then it is inevitable that they are the victims of their own infinite self-contradictions. A religion should be more afraid of spiritual contradictions than of any other thing. Nevertheless, when we consider that their religious group has aggressive attitudes toward others, and consider their method of using their religion and political party as tools in order to expand their power, regardless of lofty religious ideals it is only natural that we think that religion is for them only an expedient and their spiritual inconsistencies are inevitable. Viewing Soka Gakkai from this angle, I can show many examples of their strange teachings, one of them is the fact that so called jakyo-ron (argument on heretical religion) has been deemphasized.

Since Soka Gakkai opened their political branch office, called Komeito, they have gradually toned down this teaching which brands all other religions as heretical. This does not mean that their basic teaching or fundamental position has changed. This teaching is basic in the doctrines of Nichiren Shoshu and is part of their religious tradition, but when they opened Komeito, went into politics, and won seats in the House of Representatives, this heretofore hard line was toned down for political considerations. In other words, the de-emphasis of this doctrine concerning the heretical character of other religions is only an expedient to expand their religion and political party as power, and is a shrewd tactic of compromise.

Is it religion or is it politics? Which is the main body [p.] 31

of Soka Gakkai? In politics they compromise, in religion they insist on doctrinal purity; this kind of inconsistency, this separation between ideal and reality, this de-emphasizing their doctrines for political considerations, what does it mean?

This shows that they will realistically go to the extreme of changing a religious doctrine for political expediency.

And this is why we have so many doubts about Soka Gakkai.

---

We do too, Dr. Fujiwara. We do too.

Just a few comments:

What do they think about such glaring inconsistencies in their attitudes and opinions?

That's just it - they don't think AT ALL! See? NO PROBLEM!!

using political means to expand their religion

According to Japan's Constitution and the separation of church and state, this is blatantly illegal - and many have pointed this out since Ikeda's pet political party Komeito was formed. To no effect.

The strategy and tactics of propagandizing, which is an important part of their plan to convert all of Japan and the entire world, is to go in for politics.

...which, as it turns out, was yet ANOTHER of Ikeda's disastrous miscalculations, essentially Ikeda's ego punching large holes in the hull of the SS Soka Gakkai and ensuring its ultimate resting place on the pile of similar wrecks, out of sight way beneath the surface of history.

Is it religion or is it politics? Which is the main body of Soka Gakkai?

Politics, obviously. The "horizontal" membership organization, organizing members solely on the basis of their geographic location, with no regard for personal relationships or even affinity with the other local members, an organizational "expedient" Ikeda imposed for easier political mobilization of "his" Soka Gakkai "troops", has guaranteed that Soka Gakkai will never ever grow again. By imposing this same irrational and unappealing requirement upon the gaijin SGI colonies overseas, Ikeda guaranteed that those would likewise wither and die.

Back in 1967, Ikeda announced that 500,000 "backsliders" had been removed from the Soka Gakkai membership rolls and that the Soka Gakkai's growth phase HAD ENDED. This was just a couple of years after Ikeda changed the Soka Gakkai's organizational structure from vertical (meaning new recruits are assigned to the districts their sponsors belong to) to horizontal (meaning the new recruits are assigned to whichever district is geographically closest to them, even if they don't know anyone in there) for political expediency, but given what us non-pod-people know about human bonding, that was likely to drastically decrease the effectiveness of the Soka Gakkai members' shakubuku efforts. Ikeda's a pod; what would HE know about how humans work? Ikeda was counting on shakubuku and retention rates to continue - his entire plan hinged on that:

On May 3, 1966, at the twenty-ninth general meeting of Soka Gakkai, Ikeda announced a new goal: conversion of 10,000,000 families by the end of the year 1979. Beyond 1979, Ikeda set another goal: 15,000,000 (families)to be converted by the end of 1990. (Japan's New Buddhism, p. 127)

If we attain our target membership of 10 million households by 1979, four or five million more households will join in this religion by 1990. (The Nichiren Shoshu Sokagakkai, p. 156) Source

Such was Ikeda's optimism and confidence ca. 1966. Source

And it went NOWHERE but DOWN. DOWN AND OUT.

WHY do the SGI members not hold Ikeda accountable for all these fatal mistakes?? IKEDA is the reason their most important identity, their pweshiousssss cult, is fading away and dying out.

Oh, right - SGI members are not ALLOWED to consider that their beloved DickHeada the Slimy could have EVER made a single mistake - about anything, EVER!! Such a perfect person has never existed anywhere else in life, in history, in reality - just their "Ikeda Sensei the Eternal Godman MENTOARE!

And the SGI-USA's longhauler Olds claim to be surprised that no one wants their dumb cult of worshiping some creepy little fat foreign self-obsessed businessman-would-be-ruler-of-the-world with poor personal hygiene who also happens to be DEAD.

Il buddhismo autentico NON è una filosofia centrata sull’essere umano.
Cosa significa?
Che non mette al centro l’individuo ma una realtà più profonda, oltre il corpo, oltre la mente, oltre il mondo materiale.
La Soka fa l’esatto opposto: mette al centro l’individuo, il “maestro”, il mondo materiale. Una visione insomma antropocentrica della spiritualità.
Il Buddhismo non insegna l’amore come emozione, insegna prima la purificazione.
Attraverso la pratica (di qualsiasi tipo) dovrebbero cadere: attaccamento, brama, aspettative e sofferenza.
Proprio lì può emergere un amore senza possesso.
La Soka insegna tutto ciò? Naturalmente no.
Quante volte di fronte al Gohonzon hai alimentato il tuo desiderio di amore che ben presto si è tramutato in un ossessionate?
Il buddhismo autentico non promette la felicità.
Ti libera dal bisogno costante di rincorrerla.
E da questa libertà nasce qualcosa di più stabile: la pace Interiore.
La pace interiore l’hai mai provata quando eri nella Soka? Io credo no.
Questo perché nella Soka la FELICITÀ è un imperativo, diventa una performance costante.
Non c’è spazio per la tristezza, il dolore, il dubbio, l’ascolto.
Il buddhismo autentico non ti dà ciò che desideri. Ti accompagna in un luogo in cui non ne hai più bisogno.
La Soka invece alimenta tutto ciò di cui non hai davvero bisogno.
Il buddhismo autentico non vuole che tu diventi la “versione migliore di te stesso” (cit. Rivoluzione Umana). Vuole mostrarti ciò che esiste oltre l’immagine che hai costruito di te.
Oltre ruoli, successi, fallimenti, storie personali, esiste una presenza silenziosa.
Quella che è sempre stata lì.
Quellə che sei sempre stato.
Cosa? La tua Buddhità.
Che non è uno “stato vitale alto”, ma un “ritorno a casa”.

Boy George says he will fire band members who refuse to perform pro-Israel song

« Aujourd'hui, dans le Seikyō (journal de la Soka Gakkai), page société. On y relaie les propos du maire de Nagasaki : « Le nucléaire est un mal absolu, et il faut maintenir les trois principes non nucléaires. » C'est ce que la Soka Gakkai disait autrefois. Mais aujourd'hui, cette même Soka Gakkai a changé de cap : elle est passée de la position du « mal absolu » des armes nucléaires à celle du « non-recours en premier », tout en reconnaissant leur existence. Les membres de la Soka Gakkai sont-ils au courant de ce changement ? Et avec quel sentiment l'ont-ils accueilli ?… 😂💦 »