Nicheren Daishonin Buddhism and Soka Gakkai movement

[Corgan Sow]

anyone knew a dang thing of this movement? It has a university based in ..California if I'm not mistaken. I went to a talk at the movement's centre in Kuala Lumpur and it seems to teach Nicheren Daishonin Buddhism along with Secular Humanism and philosophy. Not bad for a religion (it has a church-like cult in this country with loads of funds and are part of Malaysia's NGO groups). Their leader, Daisaku Ikeda, seemed to have a Jesus-like reverence from his followers and have been compared to peace activists like Gandhi and Martin Luther King. I hate the rituals though. You gotta mumble the same exact phrase again and again (or chanting) in front of an altar.

[Waning Moon Conrad]

Keep looking.

There are other types of Buddhism around which do not claim to be the one and only valid form and which are not stupid enough to claim that the Lotus Sutra is absolute truth.

My experience with it suggests that it is cheap, fundamentalistic and spiritually bankrupt.

[muon]

Soka Gakkai is actually rather notorious as a nasty organization with a cult-like reputation:

http://www.factnet.org/cults/soka_gakkai/?FACTNet

I'd run, not walk, the other way!

[lugotorix]

The SGI are a truly scary bunch. They make the Religious Right of the US look like boy scouts. They are very active in politics and will instruct their members in how they should vote. I think there is some sort of long-standing feud between the SGI leadership and the Nichiren priesthood, which lead to Ikeda being excommunicated.

As for Nichiren Buddhism, it really rubs me the wrong way. They've taken a wonderful way of life and reduced it to a magic formula (Namu myoho renge kyo, or "Homage to the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law"). They also are the only Buddhists who will say that they are the only True Buddhists and that followers of all the other Buddhist sects are doomed to be reborn in Hell. Sounds like some other cults I've been exposed to.

Nichiren himself was psychotic. He wrote to the Japanese Emperor and Shogun asking that they put other Buddhist teachers to death and start following his teachings, or a terrible catastrophe would befall Japan. This earned him a death sentence (which was later commuted). He was a far cry from being the "True Buddha" that his followers make him out to be.

Yeah, I don't care for them. The only time I've been threatened with going to hell by another Buddhist was from a Nichiren fellow. Feh!

lugotorix

[emotional]

Originally posted by lugotorix
They also are the only Buddhists who will say that they are the only True Buddhists and that followers of all the other Buddhist sects are doomed to be reborn in Hell.

I can't believe it! A Christian Buddhism! A nice example of what happens When Religion Becomes Evil...

They might be useful, though, in debating Christians. I could tell my Christian adversaries that if they don't follow Nichiren Buddhism, which is the Way, Truth and Life, they're doomed to hell. What fun to give them a dose of their own medicine! :D

[Deacon Doubtmonger]

Originally posted by lugotorix
As for Nichiren Buddhism, it really rubs me the wrong way. They've taken a wonderful way of life and reduced it to a magic formula (Nam myoho renge kyo, or "Homage to the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law").
It's worse than that. In practice, the above formula is a chant repeated rapid-fire over and over and over and over, both by individuals and in group worship settings, for a bare minimum of one hour a day; of course, the longer and more robustly you chant, the more devout you are. It's the backbone of their theology and is held to be the secret to getting whatever one wants. In fact, years ago I read an account of a worshipper chanting for drugs; not only did the members of his "congregation" never question the wisdom of wanting drugs, they also praised him for the diligence of his chanting!

Here's the Soka Gakkai (formerly Nichiren Shoshu of America) page on Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind website:

http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/soka/

Nichiren Shoshu has the distinction of being the only non-Xian religious group I almost fell for during my misspent youth. Silly me for thinking Xians and Moslems had an oligopoly on aggressive spiritual wackaloonery ...

Deacon Doubtmonger

[Doctor X]

Just stoping by to say "how interesting" in that cult-like activity can spring from just about anything.

Though I must admit I find it "funny" for a Buddhist to try to condemn everyone else to hellfire!

--J.D.

[andy_d]

Why's that? You can still be stupid if you're a Buddhist ;)

[lpetrich]

I recall from somewhere that Nichiren Buddhism teaches a form of prosperity theology, something like the "Prayer of Jabez" thing where one prays for wealth.

[Waning Moon Conrad]

Originally posted by andy_d
Why's that? You can still be stupid if you're a Buddhist ;)

Absolutely!

[Opera Nut]

I have a web buddy out in CA that gave lots of $$ to Soka Gakkai. He says it is a very dangerous cult.

I occasionally attend a Mahayana Chinese buddhist temple and have never heard or seen anything cult-like about any of the main branches of traditional buddhism.

Stay away from Soka Gakkai!

Good luck in your search in Buddhism or whatever works for you.

[Ameena]

BTDT,

I was a member of SG (in Tokyo from 1987 to 1991). My advice to those who seek Buddhism: If it is SG, turn away and run with the velocity of light!

Most of the points directed against them are true. There however, is one good thing in SG. That is, desperate people can get relief from the chanting they practice everyday. It is kind of self-hypnotism. When you are at the lowest ebb of your mental stability, you will feel that you get self-confidence, self-esteem etc. by chanting Nam-Myou-Ho-Ren-Ge-Kyo. But you can get the same effects from many other sources too, such as psychological therapy, Transcendental Meditation etc.

Also, the members of SGI are very kind and helpful to each other (but not towards the non-members always).

All these are (or may be) characteristics of a cult IMHO.

Regards

[Attila]

My wife and I have a couple of good friends who were into Nicheren Soshu buddism for a while and even looked into it ourselves. It seemed to be okay on the surface, but there was just something about Soka Gakkai that didn't seem quite right to me. And then there was the Dishu Ikeda, the head of SGI. We blew it off completely when we read of Dishu Ikeda wanting to re-militarize Japan. I didn't like the cult of personality about Ikeda and SGI, but the remilitarizing Japan was the icing on the cake.

I don't know if Ikeda is still the head of SGI, or if he is even still alive.

[Ameena]

Originally posted by Attila
My wife and I have a couple of good friends who were into Nicheren Soshu buddism for a while and even looked into it ourselves. It seemed to be okay on the surface, but there was just something about Soka Gakkai that didn't seem quite right to me. And then there was the Dishu Ikeda, the head of SGI. We blew it off completely when we read of Dishu Ikeda wanting to re-militarize Japan. I didn't like the cult of personality about Ikeda and SGI, but the remilitarizing Japan was the icing on the cake.
I don't know if Ikeda is still the head of SGI, or if he is even still alive.

He is "Daisaku Ikeda" not "Dishu". Yes, he is alive and well. He is a charismatic leader who worked very hard to spread SG ideals into the western world. He is the founder of SGI (Soka Gakkai International) and now the honorary president. Officialy there a is an executive president but still what Mr. Ikeda says goes. The followers of NS blow him out of proportions and worship him like a god.

I think the NS political wing (Kouminto) opposed sending peace-keepers to Iraq citing their pacifist constiutuion. So, what you heard of Mr. Ikeda wanting to re-militarize Japan may not be true.

However, it was a wise decidion you took to keep away from SGI.

(When I was a member, they even prohibited me sending Xmas cards to my christian friends:confused: )

Regards

[Ameena]

Friends.

The political wing of NS is Kou-Mei-Tou (written Komeito), not Kouminto.

Sorry for the misake.

Regards

[andy_d]

Originally posted by Ameena

(When I was a member, they even prohibited me sending Xmas cards to my christian friends:confused: )


Why? Do they have something against pieces of cardboard?

They sound pretty unbalanced.

[Ameena]

Originally posted by andy_d
Why? Do they have something against pieces of cardboard?

They sound pretty unbalanced.

They are not unbalanced but kind of supremacist.
Theirs is the only true religion and the Gohonzon (a piece of cloth/paper in which some excerpts of Lotus Sutra were written caligraphically in chineses characters) is the only thing worthy of worship. It is very much akin to Islamists rejecting idol worship as sin.

If it is a B'day card it is allowed. Xmas cards are regarded as symbols of an inferior religion.

[Corgan Sow]

You know, from my analysis since my last post about this "cult", I very much agree with most of you folks here. They claimed their religion is atheistic, yet they had prophesies like Revelations (Bible) and they treat Dai-Gohonzon like Jehovah. Nicheren Dashonin's writings actually "predicted" that the Nikken sect of the Nicheren religion will rebel against Soka Gakkai, or so from what I heard, and one of their verses from the Gosho is actually frighteningly militant:

"Rather than offering 10,000 prayers for remedy, it is better to wipe out such evil for good."

I went to a testimonial meeting of SG members and one shared his experience that he was so moved by the organization that he gave away almost all his monthly salary to the organization to build a new temple for the Malaysian branch. Worst still, that guy had to survive with RM 50 (US$ 20, roughly) for the remaining of the month! And then he claimed now he is a MBA holder despite barely passing his SPM (or Malaysian equilavent of O' Levels) and had a six-figure salary plus four months bonus at least every year.

Another testimony I heard was hilarious. This former Christian tried to commit suicide after his faith failed him when a friends called him in a nick of time and shared the "gospel" to that chap.

Originally posted by lugotorix:

They also are the only Buddhists who will say that they are the only True Buddhists and that followers of all the other Buddhist sects are doomed to be reborn in Hell.

No, actually they claim that Buddhist who doesn't practice Nicheren Daishonin's Buddhism and chant nam-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo will never gain enlightenment, hence the "hell".

[andy_d]

Originally posted by Ameena
They are not unbalanced but kind of supremacist.


What's the difference?

[Ameena]

Originally posted by andy_d
What's the difference?

What I wanted to say is, they are very intolerant/onerous of other faiths including the other sects of Buddhism.

If you are just unbalanced, you still can be tolearnt of others, but spremacist (like KKK) are out to destroy those who hold opposing views.