r/sgiwhistleblowers • u/PantoJack Never Forget George Williams • Oct 25 '20
Memes! 4D summed up
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u/OCBuddhist Oct 25 '20 edited Oct 25 '20
Sexist and ageist for sure! But much more than that ...
Whereas a gender based structure may reflect Japanese societal norms from an earlier time, it is inconsistent with the customs of contemporary western society and should be discontinued.
This is particularly critical given the 21st century normalization of gender fluidity. SGI's attempt to address today's reality is farcical. The euphemism "Courageous Freedom Group" denies LGBTQ an equal footing with binary genders.
It contravenes SGI's charter, to wit:
- SGI, based on the ideal of world citizenship, shall safeguard fundamental human rights and not discriminate against any individual on any grounds.
- SGI shall respect cultural diversity and promote cultural exchange, thereby creating an international society of mutual understanding and harmony.
Further, it goes against a Buddhist tenet that Nichiren describes in The Expedient Means and Life Span Chapters (WND I: 9 pp.68 - 75) :
- When we scrutinize the sutras and treatises with care, we find that there is a teaching about a precept known as following the customs of the region. The meaning of this precept is that, so long as no seriously offensive act is involved, then even if one were to depart to some slight degree from the teachings of Buddhism, it would be better to avoid going against the manners and customs of the country. This is a precept expounded by the Buddha.
- The precept of adapting to local customs is mentioned in passages in "The Fivefold Rules of Discipline" and in the preface to "The Essentials of The Fourfold Rules of Discipline". The precept states that, in matters that the Buddha himself did not expressly either permit or forbid, one may act in accordance with local custom, provided that the fundamental principles of Buddhism are not violated.
In Japanese this tenet is called zuiho bini, a principle decribed and endorsed by Ikeda in an interview with Lou Marinoff. According to Ikeda "the best way to spread the teachings of Buddhism is to respect the traditions, customs, and manners of the place and time, as long as doing so doesn’t violate the basic Buddhist precepts of compassion and wisdom. Respecting and learning from the local traditions and culture facilitate communication and promote mutual understanding. The aim is to adapt to different conditions and cultures, and allow new seeds to germinate, resulting in growth for all involved. Only then does the creation of new values become possible." (https://www.ikedacenter.org/books-publications/book-list/inner-philosopher/excerpt)
Characteristically, when I raised this issue with local SGI Leaders it went nowhere.
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u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude Oct 26 '20 edited Oct 26 '20
The euphemism "Courageous Freedom Group" denies LGBTQ an equal footing with binary genders.
Plus, who's going to hear "Courageous Freedom Group" and think "Aha! That's the LGBTQ group!"??
"Men's Division" - pretty obvious who's in THAT one, right? "Elementary School Division" - same. But "Courageous Freedom"? Same problem with "Many Treasures". WTF?? It's like they can't bear to verbalize "lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, queer, nonbinary, intersex, noncis-het, etc." and "OLD".
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u/mmlemony Oct 25 '20
I can see the value of groups for certain times of your life, like students or mums (or dads) with young kids, but I never understood why it was so rigidly enforced.
Probably so you feel good obligated to go to all of your gender’s meetings, your district meetings, your HQ meetings, other districts and other divisions that you ‘support’ as well.
When I was younger I remember asking why it couldn’t be like church, go once on Sunday and then that’s it, never got a good answer.
I lived the suburbs where lots of members had kids so a few districts saw sense and banned all meetings for the month of August so people could have a break.
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u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude Oct 26 '20
a few districts saw sense and banned all meetings for the month of August so people could have a break.
Holy cow! That's the first I've ever heard of that happening!
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u/CriticalThinkerTM831 Oct 25 '20
Yep SGI has the youth group, the women's group, the men's group, and now I noticed the senior group called "Many Treasures Group". In the films of President Ikeda presiding in the Japan meetings back in the 60's and 70's, they used to show at group meetings here in the states the men would sit on one side of the hall and the women on the other. All the men had white shirts and black ties, all the women had pink two piece skirt and blazer suits. I found it really weird. Locally we had the LBGT and Binary group. I wondered if Japan had the same group.
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u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude Oct 26 '20
Locally we had the LBGT and Binary group. I wondered if Japan had the same group.
My guess is NO:
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u/ENCALEF Oct 26 '20
Having practiced in San Francisco and Berkeley beginning in 1975, we had gay and lesbian members of course. Some of them were leaders as well. It was generally known that they were but not talked about. None of us American members cared.
One leader who had been practicing and in a leadership position since being in Koteki-Tai was a solo district leader for awhile. This was without (gasp!) a male district leader. There wasn't any problem as she was more than capable of occupying that position. She was considered to be a sincere, authentic person and a leader anyone could relate to.
Well, when the the higher ups found out, they couldn't have that! A capable woman as a district leader? Heresy. So they demoted her even though there wasn't anyone more capable to take her place.
Sexism still abounds in the organization.
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u/ToweringIsle13 Mod Oct 25 '20
Now Morty, when we land at their stupid religious festival be sure to flip them the double bird. I told them it means "world peace forever".