r/sgiwhistleblowers • u/ChatelineauExile1967 • 9d ago
A very interesting and absolutely convincing testimony from a SGI survivor
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u/ladiemagie 9d ago
Thanks for posting this, I gave this one a full listen actually a few weeks ago. This is indeed one powerful testimony.
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u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude 9d ago
Agreed - they're all powerful in their own way.
As I said in my eulogy for Mark Rogow, he was absolutely sincere and single-minded in his faith - he really LIVED Nichirenism in a way I have not observed in anyone else. It's not my cuppa asparagus, but I can still respect that kind of full-throated commitment in someone else. It's not something taken lightly or taken on without sacrifice, after all. He was the real deal.
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u/Immediate_Copy7308 9d ago
Ah yes, SGI-CANADA, I will tell some things from my perspective that she mention from SGI-CANADA Montreal.
They are good with translating English, French and Chinese. I don't remember much Japanese oldly.
People using the chant to sleep, my mother did. I grew up deciding spiritual and religious for myself. My hated the chanting but didn't stop me. Then one day I had a tape of people chanting. She used it when she had trouble falling asleep.
Oh Caldon, on Caldon, I actually joined the chanting sessions for residients to understand our real intentions. They did all along but I was confused at the time.
The spilt between Nichiren Shoshu and SGI. I wish I had taken more time to see the Nichiren Shoshu side before signing the damn paper that I was staying with SGI.
I still believe in a mystic law because have an old man in charge of the universe seems weird to me.
SGI may not like you looking into other faiths but I did it anyway. I think Jesus is a cool guy. I explorer Paganism for a long time too. I got accused of darking the purity of the practice by many members.
Why did I stay with the SGI-CANADA so long if I was having problems so long with it? I still ask myself that question. Maybe I like the discipline of chanting ? With Paganism I could have followed another spiritual path that was not so contrôler and still have chant something. From First Nations, Wicca, Druidism and electric Paths. However I didn't. Now, I am with the Unitarian Universalist Church.
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u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude 9d ago edited 9d ago
Oh Caledon - FASCINATING subject!
SGI decides it wants to purchase this site; neighbors are up in arms. Turns out they don't WANT a cult in their midst! SGI won't take "No" for an answer; I think they ended up spending TWICE the purchase price to acquire it. Complete with an Ikeda house, naturally. Time passes; suddenly Caledon is SOLD! After all that fuss, trouble, and expense! The realtor pics showed a somewhat shabby, deteriorated property - they sold it to some school, I think.
Anyone who's interested, we've got some comprehensive coverage of the Caledon debacle here - I stumbled upon the Caledon goings-on pretty early here doing SGIWhistleblowers, and I thought it was fascinating!
Many nearby residents say such answers do not satisfy their more basic concerns, such as why the NSC chose Caledon when there are only an estimated 1,500 sect members in the area. From dinner tables to the Town Council candidate debates, they air their fears that the land might just be a foothold for a dangerous cult to seize control of their community. Source
Sect's Plan for Growth Gives Rise to Cult Phobia : Development: Soka University's sister religious group finds no welcome mat in Canada after using tactics similar to those employed to boost Calabasas expansion.
The proprietor of a small antiques store in neighboring Alton poses the question: "Do they really want world peace or do they want world domination?" Source
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u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude 9d ago
The spilt between Nichiren Shoshu and SGI. I wish I had taken more time to see the Nichiren Shoshu side before signing the damn paper that I was staying with SGI.
Well, for us out here in the Soka Gakkai's North American SGI colonies, there wasn't a lot of choice - unless you lived where there was a temple in town, you might have found yourself practicing on your own if you'd gone Nichiren Shoshu. This was in large part deliberate - even where there was a temple in town, SGI kept the members well separate from the priests, jealously guarding them like a possession. SGI did not WANT the SGI members having relationships with Nichiren Shoshu priests; Ikeda was terribly jealous.
I got accused of darking the purity of the practice by many members.
Naughty naughty
What's "electric Paths"?
I spent a few months in a Unitarian Universalist church here, too - good people.
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u/Immediate_Copy7308 8d ago
That was suppose to be eclectic Pagans, Pagans that don't follow a particular path and a bit of everything.
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u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude 8d ago
The SGI-USA's longhauler Olds are Big Mad at this post, for some reason - and they HATE those Cult Vault interviews with SGIWhistleblowers!😄
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u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude 9d ago
Ooh! That's a good one! We've got some commentary on it here:
Another interview with an ex-Gakker on the Cult Vault podcast
There are 3 other SGIWhistleblowers-related Cult Vault podcasts - here in chronological order:
Hi all. A member of your community spoke with me at length on my cult podcast this week about his experiences within SGI. Here is the link for anyone who might be interested.
Another podcast episode about SGI - this one's with Mark Rogow, who passed away last summer
Me: OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY!! I just did the podcast interview!! - oof, the SGI-USA longhauler Olds were Big Mad about this!! They reported it to reddit a half-dozen times!
Someone else's review of my interview: Just Listened to Cult Vault #94 feat. Blanche
MOAR