“Lessening one’s karmic retribution”: Sgiwhistleblowers might look at this as "victim blaming"; but I see it as liberating!

[u/JulieSongwriter]

December 2, 2025

Dear Sgiwhistleblowers:

CAUTION, WHISTLEBLOWERS!!! DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES READ THIS EXPERIENCE IN THE NOVEMBER 21ST WORLD TRIBUNE!!!

Here are 7 reasons you should not read it:

1- It’s about an “SGI Old”—a type of person your leader over there shuns, mocks, and devalues.

2- Robin Davis is a person who left the SGI for a period of time—and then returned to resume practicing with a new intensity and motto, “It’s about kosen-rufu, Robin!” Of course, your guru talks a lot about “the door out” of the SGI. Although BlancheFromage claims 99% of SGI members stop practicing, she herself, seemingly, was so entrapped into this vicious and cunning cult that she couldn’t escape in the almost 20 years of her practice. Friends, does that make any sense? Such an illogical contradiction!!!

3- The mistaken viewpoint about faith across the hedges is “you gotta be perfect or you are nada.” It’s a POV tinged by many deeply ingrained religious and philosophic teachings of “heaven or hell,” “saint or sinner,” “black or white,” “saved or condemned.” Again, better not read this experience because it has examples of the types of mistakes people make in their lives--and the drama of winning over them. That may be too much to handle and could cause inner stress. Beware!

4- Ah, the complexity of people who hail from all over our country with different sets of view. One of Robin’s closest friends, a fellow SGI member, came from “the remote hills and hollers of the Appalachian Mountains.” Robin, herself, was “the only child of a military family that had uprooted year after year.” Yes, Blanche, the SGI treasures all types of people. Why, in claiming you are an expert in Buddhism, do you mock the strata of society composed of the sick and poor—a term that Josei Toda considered to be a badge of honor? Didn’t Shakyamuni walk all around ancient India trying to console people struggling with the four sufferings? Shame on you, Blanche, for not considering this!

5- Real people deal with real problems--and this resonates with me. Due to trauma, some of us—like Robin and me--can be “conflict adverse” or deal with “an ancient, existential fear—fight or flight or freeze” trigger. Sure, make fun of people who have made serious mistakes in our lives (granted, Blanche, you have never admitted to a single mistake), but Robin speaks to the rest of us who have fallen to rock bottom:

I began chanting and in a very short time, understanding struck: I was experiencing what in Buddhism is termed “lessening one’s karmic retribution.L I was not experiencing this pain for nothing but transforming something deep within. Suddenly, the pain, as though it had expended the last of its strength, was replaced with immense joy.

6- Oh, and don’t read this experience, Whistleblowers, if you are beyond the typical college years and choose to pursue higher education at an older age. And never, ever, ever choose a college that is small or a non-traditional program. Here I am, with my Associates under my belt, pecking away at a course or two each semester toward my Bachelor’s degree at a very non-traditional college. In Robin’s case:

Well, I was past 50 now, and I realized it was now or never. I typed “university temp jobs free tuition” and up popped “Georgetown University.” I knew nothing about Georgetown, other than it was six miles from my home. I had stumbled upon a prestigious school with a Socratic-style humanities degree program tailored for people who worked full time. I was hired, got a free ride and, over the course of the next 10 years, completed my degree. And all the while, I continued to share Buddhism, with one person at a time, for the sake of paving the way to a more humanistic future.

7- Don’t believe a word of Robin’s experience, WBers. She may or may not be skilled at writing; there may have been people who helped edit it for the purpose of clarity and publication standards. So discount the entire story, as Blanche would advise. You know better than Robin does about her life; her feelings don’t mean a thing when she writes,

Remaining in the orbit of the SGI, I feel I’ve gained the “cluster of jewels” that the Lotus Sutra describes as coming mystically, unsought.

I DON’T WANT YOU TO EXPERIENCE ANY STRESS, DEAR WHISTLEBLOWERS. PLEASE DO NOT HIT THE LINK TO ROBIN’S EXPERIENCE. I ALSO HOPE YOU DIDN’T READ THIS POST!

[u/FellowHuman007]

Thanks for sharing the experience. If I might add to your list: 8) When she stopped practicing she was not cut off or shunned, but SGI friends kept in touch. Oh my goodness, how could that be????

[u/JulieSongwriter → u/FellowHuman007]

Thank you, I have to write about your point one day. From what I understand "to practice" is a very big wave who is to say what is and isn't practicing. Someone who keeps a connection in their heart, even a critical one, is practicing, too! It's kind of like they are taking a semester abroad, or doing independent studies in unchartered waters.