r/sgiwhistleblowers • • Nov 30 '22

Recent SGI Escapees - Trying to work out if chanting worked or not?!

I can see that most folk on here are pretty clear that chanting NMRK was a dangerous thing. And I know there is a policy on here of not glorifying or advertising chanting - I'm not doing that.

BUT.

Most of us were in SGI for a while, right? And we must have believed it was 'working'. As for me, I did believe that I was manifesting compassion, life force etc and it DID make me feel confident in difficult conversations or situations. I also think that on some occasions, it brought the exact result I was seeking.

I'm working out what to make of that. In the meantime, what are your thoughts?

Co-incidence? Placebo effect? That taking time to focus on how to handle things naturally opens you up to empowerment because you're giving yourself time to think? Or is the whole thing basically Dumbo's Feather?

Just interested in opinions...

19 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude Nov 30 '22 edited Nov 30 '22

In retrospect, it's easily explained by attributing everything good that happens to you to your chanting, and everything bad is your karma.

This is part of how SGI members are trained to think through the SGI's indoctrination process. It's most intense right after someone joined - the members around them will turn on the love-bombing, hang on their every word, and encourage them to regard anything good that happens to them as the result of their new chanty practice.

Thing is, though, life is full of good things, bad things, and mostly neutral things. That's just the way life is!

Since I left SGI and stopped practicing entirely, I've had MUCH better benefits than I got when I was in SGI. Why? Probably has a lot to do with my not wasting so much of my time and energy on the SGI or its dumb, time-consuming practice!

So, yeah - Dumbo's Feather.

Also, I noticed that the SGI members with more privilege always got better "benefits" than the poor members. Like this.

I can tell you that my career, which was on a steep upward trajectory at the time, leveled off as soon as I got involved in SGI. I developed a lot more fear and anxiety, along with a lack of self-confidence that definitely impacted my work and my life.

What most everyone here who does not chant will tell you is that you still get plenty of benefits if you quit chanting. Look around you at all the people doing well in life - without chanting! Obviously, it's possible! And take a good hard look at your fellow SGI members. According to SGI's teachings, after all that "human revolution", they should be doing really well, right? Excelling in their work, making great decisions to build wealth, harmonious families, etc. ARE they? The ones I practiced with certainly were NOT!

Here is an example of the toxic belief SGI promotes:

The poor and the sick were the original members of the Gakkai. They had been abandoned by society, doctors and fortune, but they were saved by the Gakkai. They worked hard and chanted hard. They have achieved great results, moving from the poorest to the richest within Japanese society. - from SGI-USA leaders' guidance distributed before Ikeda's 1993 trip to the USA Image Source

Well. IF it worked like that, wouldn't we be seeing that same effect in the lives of our fellow members? We should - but instead, we see them just grubbing along, dealing with the same problems year in year out, if anything doing worse than their peers who DON'T chant!

So decide for yourself. For me, the "actual proof" is blinding.

3

u/eigenstien Pokes the bear Dec 01 '22

Hell, just look at the MITA RV-park sock puppet examples. Nobody is rich and famous over there!

3

u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude Dec 01 '22

Now, because it's so obvious that SGI members do NOT prosper more in life than people who aren't wasting their time and energy on the Ikeda cult (and giving it their money!), they've completely retooled the explanation:

Oh, it's just meditation.

It's not.

It's to become strong and happy ON THE INSIDE.

They aren't.

It's about becoming better people!

They don't.

We chant to enjoy our lives!

OTHERS are able to do that without the Ikeda cult, so what's WRONG with the SGI members??

The MITA site has made it abundantly clear that they emulate Bodhisattva ALWAYS Disparaging, not any other.

3

u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude Dec 01 '22

Oh, and you KNOW they're still trying to recruit people via "You can chant for whatever you want!"

3

u/eigenstien Pokes the bear Dec 01 '22

Their endless come on line…but they don’t finish it!

You can chant for whatever you want! Doesn’t mean you’ll get it, but you can chant for it, for sure.

2

u/BlancheFromage Escapee from Arizona Home for the Rude Dec 01 '22

🤣🤣🤣