Soka Gakkai propaganda alert
New York's Poughkeepsie_Journal has a puff piece today on
Soka_Gakkai:
Most are Asian immigrants, but an uncounted number are Western converts,I suppose you could say the same thing about the "Legionaries_of_Christ": that because Pope John Paul II let them hang out with the Church for a while, they have "deep, historical roots". . . (they both go all the way back to the 1940s)
[co-chairman of religious studies at Naropa University, Paul] Stanley said.
"There are deep, historical 13th-century roots to Soka Gakkai. It's not a
21st-century fad. But transplanted to the West, you don't always get the heft,
context and resonance of history."
March 12th update: Man, Poughkeepsie is really pushing this cult:
Nichiren Buddhism is practiced by 10 million people in Japan and millions more
worldwide, according to Soka Gakkai International, the umbrella organization for
Nichiren Buddhism. U.S. centers are in New York and Los Angeles.
"umbrella organization for Nichiren Buddhism"?? After being excommunicated from Nichiren Shoshu? You mean like, "Legion of Christ" is the umbrella organization for all of Catholicism? Gee, I guess so. . .
The Boston Research Center for the 21st Century[adding this to my Soka front
group list], which promotes human rights, nonviolence and environmental ethics,
was founded in 1993 by the organization's Japanese president, [the second coming
of Nichiren himself!] Daisaku Ikeda.
The sect has critics, particularly in
Japan, where the organization is involved in politics [they run the "New Clean
Government Party"/Shin-Koumei-to]. In the United States, it's been viewed
askance for extolling materialism [kind of like Amway!] and this-world happiness
over other values.
But the organization's U.S. spokesman, Bill Aken, argues:
"It's not 'prosperity dharma.' We do think good fortune begins in your heart and
manifests itself in your environment." People who master inner wisdom and
compassion do better in the world, he said. Besides, "What's wrong with
prosperity? If you polish your inside, you can surely see it in your outer
manifestation."
Uh, nothing against prosperity, but don't you think Daisaku Ikeda is prosperous enough?
posted by Chris | 3/11/2007 06:52:00 PM
3 Comments:
Just half a nutshell for you: most Soka Gakkai members in the USA, are native born. It is very inclusive and there are practicing Christians, Jews, Muslims etc. who follow this Buddhism as a moral code (there is no Diety, "Buddha" is a word meaning a regular person awakened to the law of cause and effect). Soka Gakkai started in Japan in the 1930's as a lay organization of teachers and educators focused on Nichiren, the reformer of Buddhism in Japan in the 1200's.
Soka Gakkai can not be viewed as a truly Buddhist organsation. It is more about politics and more power to Daisaku Ikeda.
As their conduct was not befitting anything that shuld be connected to Nichiren Buddhism they rightly excommunicated from Nichiren Shoshu. Since then they have deteriorated into a full fledged personality cult of Ikeda pretending to be a self liberating humanist group who chants. Even the way they chant is unbecoming to a real Nichiren Buddhist. When they chant they sound like they are drunk!
Kosenrufu now writes:
"It is very inclusive and there are practicing Christians, Jews, Muslims etc. who follow this Buddhism as a moral code..."
Nichiren is turning in his grave. Whatever happened to the exclusive faith and practice of the Lotus Sutra that Nichiren lived and died for?
Mark
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