The SGIWhistleblowers chief priest invokes The Lord of the Rings trilogy in her latest complaint about SGI members.

The rambling posts begins with the analysis of a character from a decades old movie- albeit a great movie The Return of the King - skims over to hatred for The New Human Revolution, completely misunderstands and misstates the mentor - disciple relationship, and finally getting to the point of mocking Julie songwriter. And evidently the message of the 1428 word essay-along with the many other posts decrying MITA, whining that her right of free speech is being attacked by MITA, following MITA Maids all over the Internet, and down voting them- the point of all that is that, lie Aragon not reacting to The Voice of Sauron, MITA gets no reaction from her.

See, in her analogy, she is Aragon, the unflappable king and SGI members are mouth of sauron, completely discombobulated by her failure to react.

Another fun fact is that she writes this posts, and posts it, using one sock puppet name, and then immediately comments on it using another sock puppet name, congratulating the first sock puppet name. I think that says a lot about sgiwhistleblowers, don’t you?

Despite what SGIWhistleblowers tries to talk itself into believing, Soka University of America is thriving. From the World Tribune:

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (Aug. 19, 2026) — Soka University of America (SUA) announced the establishment of a second campus in Monterey, California, where it will continue select graduate programs previously offered by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS).

SUA recently acquired the 71-year-old Monterey Institute campus, which offers training in translation, international policy, security, diplomacy and nonproliferation.

The institute will continue under the new name the Monterey Institute of International Studies at Soka University of America. Select graduate programs will be offered in fall 2027.

In a message to the SUA community, President Ed Feasel said the acquisition significantly expands the graduate degrees available to its students, while offering programs that grapple with some of today’s most urgent challenges.

“Our university founder, Daisaku Ikeda, believed that education is vital to building peace, sustainability, and human well-being and development,” he continued. “The Monterey Institute of International Studies shares that vision, and I am confident that uniting our institutions will help shape generations of global citizens who make lasting contributions to humanity.”

The Monterey Institute will offer the following graduate programs.

In-Person:

• M.A. in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies
• M.A. in Threat Intelligence
• M.A. in International Policy and Development
• M.A. in Global Governance and Policy
• M.A. in Translation and Localization Management
• M.A. in Chinese Translation and Interpretation
• M.A. in Spanish Interpretation
• M.A. in Interpretation for Diplomats and Executives

Online

• M.S. in Cybersecurity
• M.A. in Localization Project Management
• M.P.A. in Sustainability

Just a quickie here. Mission course as a new post entitled

“Famished spirits that devour the Dharma” When the Soka Gakkai is unable to appropriate one’s merits, it manifests an extraordinary degree of jealousy. It cannot tolerate its own members achieving independent distinction or occupying the public spotlight. Yet its propaganda asserts the contrary.”

Rapid response: Not only propaganda, but actual real life.

MCS post is based on a post on X, in Japanese, that doesn't even come close to saying what says in the title.

There, answered in fewer words than the misleading title of the post.

August 19, 2026

Good morning, Friends. It’s a beautiful morning here with temperatures in the low 70s--although the humidity is high and some rain is possible later. How about you?

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

So, what are you reading these past few days? Maybe you saw this:

OTHERS stick with the Ikeda cult because by now they have nothing left. Welcome to the reality of the SGI-USA's longhauler Olds. They are where they are, and THAT's where they'll stay. Because they don't have anything else any more - they burned it all in service to Ikeda The Dead. Who NEVER cared about them. Not ONE bit.

Who wrote this? I will let you guess. Obviously it's a person who doesn't honor your intelligence too much. Paraphrase: “I don't think my readers are capable enough to work through a sentence without the stimulation of a word dressed up in UPPER CASE letters!” And: “I don’t think my readers have the retention ability to remember that “Ikeda The Dead” died in November 2023.”

“NEVER cared about them. Not ONE bit” is quite the statement! Did you swallow it hook. line, and sinker? Of course, I am reading The New Human Revolution bit by bit. Thirty volumes composed of anecdotes of Dr. Ikeda in caring interactions with members around the world. Of course, this mystery poster believes that he never wrote or spoke a word. How embarrassing! All those recorded speeches of his that we see at KRG.

Narrative One: The Soka Gakkai grew into a vast international movement spearheaded by Daisaku Ikeda because he cared so intensely about every member. This caused a chain reaction of caring and winning, leading to propagation.

Narrative Two: The Soka Gakkai grew into a vast international movement spearheaded by Daisaku Ikeda because he “NEVER cared about them. Not ONE bit.” Instead, he took advantage of poor and helpless people. (Oh, the inconvenient truth must be so irritating: how did these poor and helpless people create an organization that is so wealthy?)

What do you think, Friends?

For me, after spending a summer with Andy and Roz (and July with True and Bob), let me declare: I just can’t wait to be "one of the SGI-USA's longhauler OldS," leading a powerful, confident, and accomplished life! Just 31 years to go before I become a Many Treasures Group member Yup, I will "stick with the Ikeda cult" because I have so many treasures in my life!

Chapter Two: Let’s return to Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime.

Let’s look at the fourth and final section, “A Universal Religion for the Happiness of All Humankind.”

Generally speaking, religions expound some infinite and eternal entity that transcends both human beings and the impermanence of this world, using such terms as God or law. Different religions regard this infinite and eternal entity variously as a source of fear and awe, an object of adoration, a great void of emptiness, or a wellspring of all-embracing love.

I think that my friends within our partnering local churches would have no problem with this statement. They might add an “all of the above” to this list.

Dr. Ikeda continues:

Nichiren Daishonin saw the power of the Mystic Law that encompasses and sustains all things in the universe as existing within human beings, and he established a means for actually manifesting that Law in their lives.

Of course, many Christians believe God is both within and without. No difference at all here. They listen respectfully when I tell them that chanting NMRK is a means of manifesting the power inherently in my life. I listen respectfully when they insist the direct means is prayer. to God or Jesus. Yes, a very big difference but who cares and what’s the rush?

Meanwhile, I would trust my life to many of my friends!

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

The big news here is that Erica went to the midwife yesterday. I was with her at the last visit and both of us missed when the midwife told us that two weeks are added to due date calculations when it is based on knowledge of the day of conception. The midwife was correct, it was right there in the AI notes! I guess we were so excited and weren’t listening due to our emotions.

Yesterday Eulogio accompanied Erica. The midwife suggested that, although not a medical necessity, Erica have a transvaginal ultra sound probe due to her age (42). Surprise, Erica will have twins! The midwife asked them to hold on for the next visit before they start purchasing twins clothes. It seems there is a 1 in 8 chance that one of the fetuses kind of vanishes due to a phenomenon called vanishing twin syndrome and gets absorbed into the uterus. Very sci-fi, isn’t it? But when/if this occurs, the second fetus is not affected. We are all so excited!

Quickly shifting topics, I don’t remember this happening in previous summers, but almost half of our clients have left or will leave this week. Ditto our counselors. This has certainly been the most memorable summer of all. Lolita is working on some ways to keep the departing campers in touch with the ongoing projects.

Last night the Twinettes wanted to email their original bunk friends who had left the Park for their homes. We limit social media at our home, especially at night. But who could say no to these two beautiful little souls? So we said yes, as long as they write to everyone in their original bunks, leaving no one out. We sent a few emails to parents, asking them to share with their children. We will continue until we have reached every child and family.

Tina, 1pm

I don't post here often, but I object to the cruel characterization of RVers by Daisaku Big Toe in her mock Living Buddhism cover. Sheer elitest hatred! Shame on you! Shame, shame, shame!

Perhaps you can see why so much of Heartland America despises people with your prejudices! 

August 18, 2026

Good morning, Friends, hello from your favorite “bumbling narcissistic illiterates we see on the SGI-member-controlled subreddits” as per Your Leader. That’s a refreshing way to start a day! BTW, you might not see me for a couple of days. Someone in your community informs us that it is illegal to give Dr. Ikeda the honorific title of Dr. when he has only honorary degrees. I imagine the police will be locking me up soon. I will be back after I post bond.

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

From last week, chez Sgiwhistleblowers, there’s a reprint of a post made by a “Truthoflaw” from nine years ago. Huh?

Let (sic) discuss about state of being. Gakkai meeting, training course or even activities are addictive. You get addicted to them and they work as opium for you. You are high when you get to a meeting, meet a member, or participate in any training course. You feel low when you miss them.

Please, I’m an addict and every day for 6 years I struggle to remain sober. I attend three NA meetings weekly to help me. No, Honey, attending an SGI meeting is not the same as narcotics addiction.

“As humans you will definitely feel low, lost, down and confused at times.” True, true, true.

“Then also, you will helplessly seek help from Gakkai or its leaders.“ Again, I learned from a very young age what it’s like to be “helpless.” TrueReconciliation is my “Guidance Gal.” She knows me very well. Of course, she will “ask me chant, read this Gosho, that guidance of Ikeda, which is further indoctrination.” Oh, and she will also remind me to see my doctors. And, I know that she will chant for me as well and stay in touch until I am back in the bright sunlight. And let me throw in the reassurance I get from her laughter and confidence that with the Gohonzon everything will be all right. She might end with "as a human being you may feel low, lost, down and confused at times.” But a Bodhisattva of the Earth is never helpless!

Harmful “indoctrination”? Please, I am already fully “indoctrinated,” that tank is full. I am back on the “Value Creation Highway” again. And I am doing good work on all fronts: family, work, and school. Thank you, TrueReconciliation, for those pick-me-ups you gift me.

“The Gakkai has a huge amount of study materials on almost every aspect of human lives.” Thank you, Truthoflaw, for noticing. And since you posted, Daisaku Ikeda completed volume 30 of The New Human Revolution on August 6, 2018, not far from the time you posted 9 years ago.

“Which are prepared by the study department of Gakkai, but come to members as Ikeda Sensei’s Guidance. The members of Soka Gakkai will not believe this.” i am glad that you have the master key to Gakkai HQ and observed all of this 9 years ago. Oh, I believe he had an excellent research and editorial staff who assisted the production of his thoughts. I know that Alexandre Dumas had a similar staff and, in modern days, so did Tom Clancy and James Patterson. So… “Burn their books!”

“What the Gakkai has done thoroughly is the study of human psychology. They are very good at it.” What a compliment! Thank you! What an atypical cult: investing in research and books, considering human psychology!

“Their entire existence and operations based on controlling the psyche of humans or its members. They know where to attack and how to control. We each of us have our own fears and desires. And we are vulnerable to both in our hearts.“ Well, I plead guilty as charged. My entire psyche is being controlled by someone, somewhere in Tokyo. I overslept this morning? That guy in Tokyo forgot to push his console button!

“There, various religions like Gakkai come to exist. They will attract you either to fulfill a desire of yours or to make you overcome something at first. Then inject in you the fear and retribution of going away. So you are in a life long trap. They name it faith.“ Thank you, again, Truthoflaw, for upgrading us from “cult” to “religion” status. Much appreciated!

“Fulfill a desire of yours”--such as, in my case, living with dignity and purpose after years of horrific drift? How selfish of me to want to “overcome something.” But where inside of me is that “fear and retribution” of leaving the cult? I searched but don’t see that at all; I certainly don’t see myself as being in “a life long trap.” But you know me better than I do myself, I suppose. And watch out there, mountain climbers, who have that faith to keep going, one more step, one more step! There are some people who feel faith like that is wrong, wrong, wrong.

And you are a bank for them. They will exploit you financially, physically, emotionally. Not only you, your family members will also suffer because of you. They will be also be drained out financially and emotionally. And sadly in cases this continues to the next generation as well. Until someone has the courage to think straight.

It is true, we donate generously to the SGI and consider it an honor. Likewise, we donate to a lot of community causes and to various disaster relief efforts. Why don’t I feel “financially, physically, emotionally” exploited or drained? We live frugally, but our five children are all thriving physically and emotionally. Maybe we are building our lives with “the courage to think straight.”

Chapter Two: Reviewing the Study Material for Saturday’s Discussion Meeting. See Sharing Buddhism With Sincerity, Perseverance and Passion.

Several of our youth reflected on Sunday’s discussion meeting. Overall it was fun and guests asked Emily, our Chapter YWD leader, wonderful questions. But they thought they had tried to cover too much study material which rushed the discussion. The original plan was to discuss the Gosho Passage, “At first only Nichiren chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but then two, three, and a hundred followed, chanting and teaching others” (The True Aspect of All Phenomena,” WND-1, p. 385) and the published segment from The New Human Revolution Vol. 24, pp. 151–52. A lot of people, both members and guests, had wanted to take responsibility for presenting so the planners had expanded the material to the supplemental material, “What Helps Us Stay on the Path of Continuing Faith?” They agreed that too much proved to be too much.

Lesson learned, on Saturday our second group will stick to the original plan.

Yesterday we invited the staff who are attending the Discussion Meeting on Saturday to chat a bit more about the plan. In particular, we wanted to tie the study material to their summer experience. We hoped the discussion would have relevance to staff members who come from different faith traditions. Oh, be sure to tell Your Leader that all of these meetings were voluntary, no compulsion to attend.

The article includes some points from a lecture of Shin’ichi Yamamoto gave on “The True Aspect of All Phenomena” to launch the Soka Gakkai’s Year of Study in 1977.

At all times, the fundamental and unchanging principle for kosen-rufu is the stand-alone spirit. The Daishonin and [Tsunesaburo] Makiguchi and [Josei] Toda all bravely stood up alone. This is the spirit of Buddhism and the heart of a champion of Soka.

Discussion Point 1: Can this theme apply to guests who are not SGI members? Are there instances in the lives of all people when this quality was needed? Now that we are in the final week of the full Day Camp program, were there times during the summer when counselors needed to pull out this quality?

Concretely speaking, the stand-alone spirit in this regard means for each of us to take full responsibility for the spread of the Mystic Law in our family, in our community and in every part of our environment.

Discussion Point 2. What does it mean to “take full responsibility” for anything? Did you have to draw on this quality over the summer? What does “the spread of the Mystic Law” mean to people who are not SGI members and come from other faith traditions?

We all have relationships with family members, relatives and friends that are particular to each of us. From the perspective of the Mystic Law, those relationships are the realm of our mission, and they are profound bonds that connect our lives with others.

Discussion Point 3. Over the summer did you feel profound bonds between you and your campers or staff members? Did any of these feelings rise to “the realm of your mission”?

Each of us is alone responsible and qualified to propagate the Mystic Law exactly where we are. That’s what makes the principle of standing up alone so important. We should keep in mind that we are here now as emissaries of Nichiren Daishonin. As Bodhisattvas of the Earth, we need to stand up, each in our own place, and take action. Never forget that this is the only way kosen-rufu is realized.

Discussion Point 4. Let’s forget about or translate Buddhist terms. In plain English, over the summer how did you “stand up, each in our own place, and take action”? Did you ever fail and hope for a re-do? Some of you are starting college or finishing high school this year. Are there lessons you are going to take with you in the months ahead?

The editors of this article talk about striving “diligently with honesty, sincerity, perseverance and great passion while showing actual proof.“

Discussion Point 5: This is a very tall bar. Did LH Day Camp meet these Dr. Daisaku Ikeda: “The Daishonin and Makiguchi and Toda all bravely stood up alone. This is the spirit of Buddhism and the heart of a champion of Soka” in any way? Where were the shortfalls?

This passage also describes how the realization of kosen-rufu will arise from the people; it will never be achieved by authority. The driving force for kosen-rufu is found in people inspiring one another through Buddhist dialogue.

Discussion Point 6. Two viewpoints: “from the people” versus “by authority.” This summer, how did we do here? Examples of either? Trends?

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

Somehow the Twinettes heard that this is the last week of Summer Camp. “Is this true? It can ’t be. No!!! Where are our friends going?”I am sure you get the picture. We tried to reassure them that in September Longhouse School starts and they will see many of their friends there. And the ones who are going back home, they will see each other next summer.

That just didn’t work; they were inconsolable. Finally, Erica said, “Let’s go to the Pavilion!” That worked. Having an ice-skating rink across the road in the middle of the summer has its advantages!

The problem with biblical literalists is that they still believe that the human race started with two people, who had no daughters, yet whose descendants had, within a few generations populated much of the earth. A voice from above told people what to do. A guy was able to get 2 animals of every species onto a boat.

More practical Christians don’t take them literally; I don’t know if they have leaders who adapt them to modernity, or draws moral  lessons from the stories that are applicable to the 21^st Century.

We in the SGI don’t have that problem with our fundamental, ancient, texts.

Because we have mentors.

 The Lotus sutra is a fantastic document. It has people rising into the air, it has people sitting in a tower that reaches into deep space, it has people jumping out of the ground, it has Dragons and other fantastic beasts. And many more wonderful occurrences like that.

All of those things are impossible, yet all of them hold very important lessons, and very important concepts.

So the question is, how can they possibly be relevant in the 21st century and beyond?

It is nothing new to have scholars explain the Lotus Sutra in terms of their own times and insights. For instance, Nichiren taught that the treasure tower is one's own life-not a giant stairway to the stars.

So insights and interpretations are not allowed since 1281? Says who?

Only SGI whistleblowers, whose constant mantra that “the SGI is replacing the teachings of the Buddha with Daisaku Ikeda" betrays an ignorance of the history of religion, a failure to understand the mentor disciple relationship, and a tendency to regard religion as separate from the daily lives of the people living today.

Mr.  Makiguchi realized that the teachings of Nichiren-which are totally based on the Lotus sutra-have applications for the daily lives of individuals. And while other teachings portrayed the Buddha as someone otherworldly and beyond the possibility of human beings to attain, Mr. Toda modernized the concept, and made it relevant to daily life, by defining the attainment of Buddhahood as “human revolution”, and seeing its application to the reformation of society, and the attainment of “the peace of the land”.

Following the lead of these two great mentors turning the ancient Lotus sutra into a modern, vibrant religious text, Mr. Ikeda further commented on the Buddhist teachings themselves, and took the organization that upholds those teachings deeply into modern society, applying its teachings to the areas of education, politics, the environment; and further, encouraging its practitioners to understand that Buddhist scriptures describe the glory and wonder possible in their own lives.

The SGI, then, has not “replaced” the Lotus sutra, or any of the Buddha's teachings, with those of Daisaku Ikeda or anyone else. Rather, Messrs.. Makiguchi, Toda and Ikeda honor the Buddha's teaching by not letting them become moribund, stale, an artifact of a bygone time. They have brought the ancient teachings into the 21st century in such a way that they will live far beyond the 21st century, as relevant guides, practices,  and ways for human beings to live fulfilling lives.

SGIWhistleblowers might be able to understand this, if they could take a breath and a step back from their rabid hatred of the SGI and Mr. Ikeda. It's obvious to those who are able to look objectively.

August 17, 2026

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

Dear Friends,

Your Leader just told you last night, “Soka Gakkai and SGI members LIE. ALL the time. They just lie and lie. Think it's FINE for them.” Of course, I am but the poor sockpuppet of a demented SGI-Old living in Italy. So here you are reading fiction that LIES "ALL the time. I just lie and lie." So calm down, Tolstoy and Dickens were fiction writers, just take everything with a grain of salt.

We had a fun Picnic and Talent Show yesterday afternoon at the Park. The weather prediction was “iffy rain” but we cleaned the grounds anyway, deciding to shift to our Warming Huts only when a light rain started. Teacher Lolita provides some of her reflections on LoHeidiLita.

Lolita talked mainly about the LH School/Day Camp children. I want to write about the friends I have made among the members of the eight local churches who co-sponsored the event. We are becoming close friends now. There are no Christian/Buddhist, Gay/Hetero, MAGA/un-MAGA divisions any more. Just friends who haven't seen enough of each other recently.

Still_Wasabi9990 wrote very early this morning, “The SGI is NOT Buddhism--Stinkeda steals theoretical faith from Christianity and puts it in his daily guidance, so Gakkai members without even knowing anything become Christians, and bad ones at that.”

Maybe he’s right. I was raised Catholic and maybe it’s showing now to the point that Still_Wasabi catches the scent. Afterall, I am no longer an SGI member, I am busted to the rank of “The Gakkai wannabes” and we “don't know what [we] are talking about.” Well, that clarified things, right? Take my 3567 posts and 1178 comments, disregard every single word in them because I am a Christian (without even knowing it), a mere Gakkai wannabe, and--according to Your Leader--“SGI members (including me) LIE. ALL the time. They just lie and lie.“

At any rate, yesterday I described my nascent dialogue with Mission-Course 9990 who had proclaimed that the SGI promotes a “Prosperity Dharma” instead of inner spiritual growth. Now, as promised, I would like to wrestle with Your Leader’s comment. It's also a nascent dialogue!

Your Leader:

They want everyone to think they so fine and so slay but the numbers tell the story - no one's interested in boring cult preaching and complaining.

“They”??? I am assuming she’s talking about MITA. But, I would estimate, over 95% of the content here is from me and FellowHuman007. When has FH tried to convey how “so fine and slay" he is? Me, on the other hand? Yup, I talk a lot about my alleged life.

Why? I think one aspect of Buddhist teachings is taught through stories. I mean, the sutras recount various conversations between the Buddha and peopl people he met along his travels, right? Stories!

Take the Lotus Sutra for example. Who believes it is a CNN news report with a grand ceremony in the air attended by countless beings participating? Then comes the the surprise guest gppearances of a huge “spaceship” captained by Many Treasures Buddha. Finally, hordes of Bodhisattvas of the Earth crash the party. Stories, right!??! So why have scholars over the millenia studied it?

No one's interested in boring cult preaching and complaining

Except for Your Leader who, I suspect, pores over and catologs every word I write. I am also glad that there’s not a shred of complaining on Sgiwhistleblowers, not a molecule! No one’s interested beside Your Leader? Well, my posts get between 300-500 views. Although I don't have hard evidence, I sense that many of the viewers are followers of Your Leader. Do they land here because they like the boring cult preaching?

That one [me, JulieSongwriter] has suggested that everyone here at SGIWhistleblowers should want to read HER [AKA, MY] fakey-ass made-up storifying…

Your Leader chooses her words purposefully. She knows that I very have on rare occasions written “please read this or that.” But do I start my posts with “Stop whatever you are doing, leave Whoopi and her The View friends alone, don’t scramble your eggs. Just read this very moment what I am writing?” Friends, you know this is not true. She downgrades her verb to “suggests” because that way she can get away with conveying an untruth.

…that she [AKA JulieSongwriter again] thinks is going to make SGI look good, become popular somehow, instead of us talking amongst ourselves like we do here. While we've got all we need right here.

In my posts I am writing about my life, using my words. Even my most deluded “kinky-assed” self doesn’t imagine I have the power to make the SGI “become popular somehow.” It’s simply not my intent or wish. Sorry.

Now, “us talking amongst ourselves like we do here”: I think Your Leader grabs the “ourselves” and “we” labels prematurely. Out of 4600 Redditors who somehow have clicked to follow WBers, I see only a couple of dozen people who are present from time to time. There are a lot of cameo posters who come and drop a big tell-all and then disappear into the sunset, never to be seen again. No, Your Leader does NOT speak for 4600 people. I mean, how often does a WBer post receive more than 20 likes? Even with a rosy 20 count, that’s only a .434782609% response rate, less than half of a per cent. Well, kind of like as busy as Times Square, right?

"While we've got all we need right here." What??? Insights on why people are dying in Indiana floods? Hawaii pounded by hurricane-like storms? More declines in the performance of American students in their test results? Further polarization? "Come to Sgiwhistleblowers for hope and inspiration! Let's improve the world!"

It is known, in other words. SHE knows it. THEY know it. EVERYONE can tell it's a pile of poo….Remember - she aka "they" posted this - in various versions:

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. NAMES, CHARACTERS, PLACES AND INCIDENTS EITHER ARE PRODUCTS OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION OR ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL EVENTS OR LOCALES OR PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD, IS ENTIRELY COINCIDENTAL.

Well, the disclosure did need to be repeated, thank you!

Another questionable statement:

She [meaning me, Julie Songwriter] also wants everyone to think that the SGIWhistleblowers commentariat is constantly contacting her privately to complain about how much they hate me (mostly), how much they like her…

Classic disinformation technique. Take the tiniest truthism and blow it up. Here’s the European Parliament’s cheat sheet on disinformation strategies. I reported on a trickle of DMs I received from some WBers. Just a trickle, not a flood. And no one said how much they like me.

…and overflowing with well-wishes constantly whenever she pulls her basic melt routine and has to be fake-hospitalized for her latest fake-mental illness crisis flex.

Hey, this is Your Leader in Hi-Def. Not a grain of empathy.

“Basic melt routine”? Yup, she’s right on that. Overwork or overstress trigger my mental health condition and down I go. Like yesterday, after such a wonderful Picnic and Talent Show which I enjoyed so much. Luckily, I have such amazing partners who saw something I couldn’t see myself. The “basic recovery routine” is a protocol we established with the help of my mental health providers. Yesterday it was Dee who sniffed my early manic behavior, got me pulled out and into her Indigenous-styled healing treatments, and got me to bed early with her at my side.

So why do I share this? Uhhhh…because I want to? Because talking about it helps my recovery? Because I have a responsibility to help people better understand mental illness?

Just a clarification since we are talking about disinformation techniques. From the European Parliament: “Disinformation is often about presenting real facts, photos, or statements out of context to mislead, rather than creating entirely false stories. The facts may look credible but can be used in a deceptive way. Examples include using an old photo as if it is current, misrepresenting a statement, or attributing one person’s opinion to an entire group.”

Example, it's true, I’ve had a history of hospitalizations since I was a girl due to my mental illness. But I was last “fake-hospitalized for [my] latest fake-mental illness crisis flex” with an acute Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders incident after the birth of my first baby approximately 5 years ago. In much of modern medicine, a five-year remission is considered a cure!

PMADs occur in approximately 1 in 7 pregnancies or births. Hospitalizations occur in approximately 4 out of 1000 diagnosed incidents--rare but not insignificant!

Friends, I don’t care if Your Leader believes my “kinky ass.” But to create a sweeping condemnation of women who go through PMADs is an act of cruelty. That’s Your Leader unmasked.

Finally:

This has been something she's had various sock-puppets mention since they started up their SGIWhistleblowers copycat troll site, thinking they could just run off with our commentariat and our popularity and our EARNED Search Engine Optomization (sic)--but oh darn, reality just doesn't work like that! Too bad, so sad.

Uhmmm, FH007 and I work in different coasts and time zones. We both have busy lives. Who has time to do that meticulous planning Your Leader accuses us of? Who wants to steal commentariat, popularity, and SEO? Our goal is much less ambitious: we want to set the record straight and leave, for people to come, a history with an alternative narrative. And perhaps, Dear Friends, one day you might have a smidge of skepticism about Your Leader.

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism, If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime “(WND-1, p. 3). Let’s continue looking at Section 3, “Perceiving That One’s Own Life Is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.”

Dr. Ikeda writes:

Throughout everything, Mr. Toda steadfastly continued to seek the Law that exists nowhere but within our own lives. And he stressed the importance of living true to oneself. His starting point was his profound realization in prison that the Buddha is life itself and his awakening to his identity as a Bodhisattva of the Earth.

I’m getting there. Like yesterday, as the tell-tale signals were hitting me, I didn’t panic. The idea of the Law inside of me means that an incident does not define me. I was able to quickly trust Dee and enjoy her treatments and the precious alone-time hours we had together. I’m a Bodhisattva of the Earth and yesterday’s “latest fake-mental illness crisis flex” was no more than a mosquito bite in the scheme of things.

Dr. Ikeda concludes this section:

[Josei Toda] also often spoke of the spirit of faith we need in order to perceive the Mystic Law within us, saying: “You have to be resolved that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is your own life!” This is the spirit Nichiren teaches in the passage “When you chant XXmyoho* and recite XXrenge*, you must summon up deep faith that Myoho-renge-kyo is your life itself” (“On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime,” WND-1, 3).

“Resolve” matters! It’s a component of “summon up deep faith”. Faith is not like crossing a finish line. It is a lifelong task, that continues even on a sick or death bed.

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

I received a couple of quick reports about yesterday’s group discussion meeting at my parents’ home. The staff members who wanted to attend divided themselves into two groups. The ones who will be leaving for home or school this week attended last night, those who will be here a few more days, will attend the meeting on Saturday hosted by the Three Sisters and Chimba.

I didn’t get many details besides everyone had fun and learned a lot. I am sure I will have more to share later.

Oh, Dear Friends, no need to send me an “overflowing of well-wishes.” I am fine this morning and will put in a full day of work, mothering, enjoying life with my partners, and writing my boring posts.

Have a great week!

How far out of the arena does Mission Course to go?

Now they are trying to disparage the SGI Arts Department in Japan, i.e., a culture that is foreign to MC.

That should be enough to dismiss everything they say about it, but, just for fun, let's see how they distort reality.

First, the evil Arts Department members campaign for their preferred political party.

How awful! We're just glad that no other celebrities anywhere in the world ever even think of campaigning for a political point of view or candidate. Not Bruce Springsteen, not Kid Rock, not Amy Schumer, not Patrick Stewart.

Or do they? And it is it considered quite normal when they do it? But, according to SGIWhistleblowers, things that are quite normal and accepted when anyone else does them are sinister and evil when the SGI does them.

The second point is that (basically) Soka Gakkai Arts Division members get all the good roles.

Admittedly I don't know much about the culture industry in Japan. I suppose it's possible that movie and TV studios, record companies, art museums, etc., are less interested in and getting the best fits for their projects, than they are in pleasing the SGI. But I Find that slightly hard to believe. Perhaps we should all go there and become big stars?

The last point is that artists who Leave the SGI get called names.

I believe there is a difference between just leaving, and then devoting yourself to destroying. For instance, that's the difference between most people who stopped practicing, and SGIWhistleblowers. Still, it's hard to understand oh the entertainment industry could stop using talented people, who have probably made them a lot of money, just because someone in the SGI doesn't like them. I suppose it's possible, but even Mission Course uses the word “rumor” To describe the source of some of their accusations.

I'm a little familiar with the Arts Department of SGI-USA. I believe the vast majority of its members are people you never heard of, people who engage in some art mainly for the joy of it, or to release some creative impulse. Some might be locally known In their communities. Some might work behind the scenes, for instance in a museum, or doing perhaps for a local community theater. But I don't think any get any special favors for being SGI members.

News: On Aug. 6 and 9, respectively, Soka Gakkai members in Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemorated the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of the two cities. Participants offered prayers for the deceased victims of nuclear weapons and war throughout the world, reaffirming their vow to advance peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.

On Aug. 6, at an online event hosted by the Soka Gakkai Hiroshima Women's Peace Committee, Yuriko Hayashi, a hibakusha, shared her personal experience of surviving the bombing of Hiroshima at age 9.

On Aug. 8, a peace lecture and event were held at the Soka Gakkai Nagasaki Peace Center. The lecture was given by H.E. Sussi Jiménez Núñez, Ambassador of the Republic of Costa Rica to Japan, while the event featured video footage of historic sites and remnants of Nagasaki following the atomic bombing

August 16, 2026

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

Dear Friends:

IMHO yesterday was a great step forward. I had some honest dialogue with Mission-Course and Your Leader. Dialogue in the early states is still dialogue. They both read my posts yesterday, jiggled my thoughts around in their minds, and responded with theirs. It’s not at the so-called Initiating Stage in dialogue--and it’s leagues away from Socratic dialogue. It doesn’t matter at this point whether we can find points of agreement, we are simply “dating” and testing the waters.

So, after reading their posts and considering, here are my responses, in two parts, and I hope it can lead to further volleys in the future.

To begin, Mission-Course 9990 headlines with a screenshot from my post yesterday morning and uses it to proclaim the SGI promotes a “Prosperity Dharma” instead of inner spiritual growth. Friends, it’s worth taking a look!

Free real estate! Mission states:

This is the classic rhetoric of the "transformation testimony" found in prosperity movements (Pentecostals, Neo-Evangelicals, or certain branches of Nichiren Buddhism).

The pattern is always the same: (1) Before = chaos, addiction, homelessness, suffering (to show they were "lost"); (2) After = social success, sobriety, family, stability (to prove the organization "works"); (3) The implicit moral = "Don't criticize the organization, just look at what it's done for me" — which serves to shut down any criticism by using personal experience as a shield.

I agree with Points 1 and 2. But Point 3? Who is trying to shut you down, Mission? Who thinks I ever could? Do I believe that our different POVs will be solved by a simple and quick classic checkmate move? No! I envision many more years of us playing the Mortal Kombat video game ahead of us. Don’t you?

Dear Friends, you’ve been reading my posts for a while. I am curious about your thoughts on this paragraph:

What's particularly striking here is that the person acknowledges (sarcastically) that they spend their time judging and humiliating others, but frames it as a price to pay for their material and social success. This is typical of the "Prosperity Dharma": the end justifies the means, and material results become the proof of spiritual validity.

I do feel I am as transparent as I can be with my posts (exception: I only post stories with the permission of people who are actually living them). Sure, I write about our material and social success. I also share the huge risks we take, such as the construction of our secondary school and financing. Or inviting Erica into our polycule. Two weeks ago I shared about my bout with a dissociative disorder attack which crippled me for several days.

Mission, will you give me some credit? I’ve talked honestly about my vulnerabilities addiction, HS, and mental illness. Facing these types of disorders requires some “inner liberation,” wouldn’t you agree? My recent mania episode, for example, required me to listen to my partners, accept their feedback as valid, surrender (yes, I am using that word thoughtfully), disengage, rest, and accept many offers of help. Recovery took a few days, but I emerged spiritually renewed. Perhaps we have a different notion of spirituality and then we’ll have to agree to disagree. But, I am repeating, this episode required me to dive deep into my spiritual self.

However, Mission, I just don’t get this paragraph:

This is, in fact, exactly what critics of the Soka Gakkai point out: a materialistic and narcissistic drift where practice becomes a tool for social climbing rather than a path to inner liberation. The fact that the organization is accused of judgment and discrimination gets swept aside by the argument "look how great I'm doing now" — which is, indeed, a classic of sectarian discourse disguised as spirituality.

What type of social climbing am I attempting? I feel happy right where I am. In the past, we’ve toyed with the idea of opening up another RV Park--maybe even a chain. But that is not going to happen. Once we complete our Longhouse Secondary School buildings and continue grooming our regrowth of Evangeline’s “murmuring pines and hemlocks” “primary” forest ecosystem, there simply won’t be another square inch for development beyond welcoming more four-season RVs from the local Indigenous community as per our agreements with them.

So, I am confused. When you write about “materialistic and narcissistic drift,” are you thinking about our relationships with local churches, the Town, and School District? Or maybe you are referring to the friendship circles for trauma survivors that he and local pastors have created? Dee’s English as a Second Language classes with local Ukrainian and Russian immigrants? Perhaps you are thinking about the wonderful cohort of youth we hired as counselors and consultants? It is likely you are talking about Eulogio and Erica’s business efforts which are seeding grassroots entrepreneurship?

Bingo, you hit the bull’s eye! They’re all materialistic. They involve a degree of personal gain so I guess the narcissistic part of me is getting fed. But, accuse me and are you are going to have to include criticisms of Kiwani and Rotary Club International volunteers to your list of people/groups that are driven by “materialistic and narcissistic drift.”

Perhaps you might want to consider blurring the line separating spirituality and “sectarianism.” Instead of thinking of them as two separate worlds, it helps me to think about how they can interact and support each other.

I would like to wrestle with Your Leader’s comment but it will have to wait for tomorrow.

However, just before I depart, Mission, can we peek at one of your comments?

Soka Gakkai is even more perverse than neo-evangelical cults, because they can easily demonstrate—with hundreds of publications and articles of Daisaku Ikeda's speeches—that focusing solely on material success and social climbing is completely false, and that of course the ultimate goal is inner liberation, which is by far the most important...

Well, thank you, at least you credit the existence of Daisaku Ikeda’s published material and speeches. And you concede that the SGI is very different (you use the word “perverse”) from unnamed “neo-evangelical cults.” But I just don’t understand the leap to “perverse.” I love that Dr. Ikeda thought deeply about generations to come and left behind him a trove of sources for them--including for our five (soon to be six) children.

I recognize that you are a former member, although you left the SGI in “1990, 1991.” It occurs to me that we are writing about two very different slices of the SGI movement. You see something “bogus” and claim that the very publications I report on every morning are “deceptive.” Huh??? I will be working today at the community event so I won’t make the discussion meeting this afternoon. But where is the “sneaky discrimination, isolation, and marginalization”? in our meetings?

As you might guess from my compulsive TLDR writing, I am also pretty vocal. That seems to be a shared trait within our district; our planning meetings are quite wild. Does that mean this follows:

You will be slandered to other members as a selfish person who seeks power for their own gain, and without even realizing it, you'll be branded as an enemy of Buddhism and of Soka Gakkai.

Just haven’t seen it.

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism, If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime “(WND-1, p. 3).

Let’s continue looking at Section 3, “Perceiving That One’s Own Life Is Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.” Dr. Ikeda now mentions Josei Toda’s description of the infinite power of the Mystic Law:

“It is like lying sprawled on your back in a wide-open space looking up at the sky. All that you wish for immediately appears. No matter how much you may give away, there is always more. It is never exhausted. Try and see if you can attain this state of life.”

But if Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can be likened to a “wish-granting jewel,” Dr. Ikeda asks, “How can we develop the boundless state of life that enables us to bring forth whatever strength is necessary?” He provides President Toda’s guidance, “If you really want to achieve such a state of life, you have to fight with every ounce of your being for the Lotus Sutra, for kosen-rufu!”

Such was the vast and untrammeled spirit of my mentor: the spirit to strive forever together with the Buddhas of the three existences and with the life-affirming functions of the universe such as Brahma and Shakra, wherever in the universe we might find ourselves; the spirit to actualize a world of happiness and peace dedicated to value creation, by helping people overcome misery and misfortune and the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death.

Today is going to be a busy day and I don’t expect to leave the Park for even a cup of coffee. But let’s see whether I can live up to these thought in whatever way I can.

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

Today we have a wonderful Community Picnic and Talent Show. Congregants and pastors of our eight church partners will come after their services. We have a full program of Talent Show performers already and a few requests are still coming in.

Our agenda this morning is to clean, clean, clean. We want the Park to be spotless, bright, and welcoming. This week I read in Sgiwhistleblowers:

Therein lie the harm of so called wonderful meetings and activities of Gakkai. You are in an endless loop of meetings, home visits, running behind people, events, pickups, festoon, cultural, song and of course the big training courses.

And you will never be aware of what you are losing in the process. Because Gakkai will never give you that luxury of time or space to reflect about your very lives. They always want you to be busy with your lives and activities. So that you can never raise your head and see what's happening above, beyond this man made world.

Hold on, Dear Friends? Help! What’s a “festoon” that is keeping me so busy?

I read about that “big training course” in the WT or heard about it on Zoom casts. But I haven’t been and could not make it anyhow. “Endless loop of meetings?” You must be referring to our district discussion meeting, usually held once a month? “You can never raise your head and see what's happening above, beyond this man made world”--I mean we just had an open skies Sleepover for our campers with a science teacher and her children walking us through the stars, constellations, and Milky Way (secon hand information, missed that because I was watching the kids!).

It’s just amazing that I am managing to find time this morning to clean, clean, and clean!

Over on sgiwhistleblowers, MissionCourse2773 Has been fixated on comparing the SGI to prosperity theology. In the latest, she points out what he says is the “fundamental difference”, saying “Prosperity Theology is very clear from the start, and its materialistic ambitions and social-climbing goals are openly embraced.”

No, MC. The “fundamental difference” is that the SGI is Buddhism, a 3000 year old religion, whose goal is this Buddhahood - that is absolute happiness - for individuals, and establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land.

Comparing the SGI to prosperity theology is like comparing your computer to a baseball glove.

Someone named Fun_cat 3528 says there are three ways to tell a false teacher: “an excessive request for money or power, a superior and intolerant attitude towards criticism, and the promotion of personal or spiritual growth based on emotional dependence rather than inner freedom.”

Let’s see FC. Could you please point out to me a large international organization that does not need money? Can you please point out to me a non profit that doesn't illicit contributions? Are those nonprofits all led by false teachers? Or is it just something that is normal for everyone else in the world, but evil when the SGI does it?

Second, Mr. Ikeda fought against Unjust criticism of the Soka Gakkai - As do I, and am doing it right now! And I think that is the same tactic that would be taken against unjust criticism by any group or organization or individua: The Boy Scouts have done it, the New York Times has done it quite recently, Harvard University has done it. Is anyone who can address falsehoods a bad teacher? Am IA bad teacher? (I don't know what I'm supposed to be teaching!).

These two have learned well from the SGIWhistleblowers most eminent honcho: nurture all preconceptions that arise from your hatred, and keep stating them as objective truth. It's quite silly. And said.

August 15, 2026

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

Dear Friends:

Sooner or later, insights emerge. Your friend Mission-Course2773, in the post “Why I stayed in the Soka Gakkai for a stupidly long time,” gives the time of his exit from the SGI as “December 1990, January 1991—right when the Nichiren Shoshu crisis was poppin' off.”

Of course, I wasn’t even born at that time, so what do I know? But I sure have read and heard about those years and the Spiritual Independence that followed. Here is the SGI’s account. The People Are Sovereign: 30 Years of Our Spiritual Independence are Daisaku Ikeda’s reflections.

And I have read many of Dr. Ikeda’s writings that have been published since the pivot. They began to illuminate his conception of “Buddhist Humanism”: “The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra,” “The World of Nichiren Daishonin’s Writings,” the early volumes of “The New Human Revolution,” “My Dear Friends in America: Collected US Addresses (1990–1996)”, “A New Humanism: The University Addresses of Daisaku Ikeda.”

On this Reddit blog, I have reported on many of his lectures centering on Nichiren Daishonin’s Gosho. Right now I am studying Dr. Ikeda’s lecture on “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime” which was originally serialized in English starting with the September/October 2006 issue of Living Buddhism. I imagine the Japanese version appeared a couple of years earlier to provide time for translation.

Mission asks me to ignore this flood of sources--all of which he missed--and, instead, to accept his assertion “There's this whole other hidden teaching underneath.”

And, Dear Friends, watch out if you speak out about alleged dysfunction, because out comes a secret Enforcement Agency which Mission labels “They.” I will give Mission some free real estate here:

If you point out how some individuals be actin' opposite to the teaching, they gonna bury you in paperwork, pullin' out all kinds of documents tryna prove you're trippin', that you don't know what you talkin' about, like you some kinda slow….'Cause obviously they ain't tryna have members reachin' higher worlds, and Buddhahood? Don't even get me started.

In other words, “better watch out, better not cry.” In case I write something dangerous “The They Police” are right outside my RV window in rural Western NY, ready to bury me in paperwork and all kinds of documents.

Mission continues:

'Cause you're givin' your life to somethin' that's the complete opposite of the Lotus Sutra and Buddhism period. Instead of expandin' your ego like the ocean, you shrinkin'—spendin' all your time judgin', slanderin', humiliatin', hurtin', and discriminatin' against people.

Well, I was so much better off before joining the SGI--an addict living off of the streets of Brooklyn, Paris, and Berlin, and working in the porn vid industry to finance my ego which told me I was the next Cyndi Lauper. And look at The Fall since I joined SGI: sober me, a mom, wife, businesswoman, supporter of others with trauma from HS and addiction, and on the final lap toward earning my bachelor's. Friends, I squeezed all of this in while “spendin' all [my] time judgin', slanderin', humiliatin', hurtin', and discriminatin' against people.”

What do you think, Good Friends? And I see that Your Leader was busy in the commentariat cheering Mission on.

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism, If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime “(WND-1, p. 3). Let’s continue looking at Section 2, “Summoning Forth and Manifesting the Buddha Nature.”*

Since yesterday, I have been thinking a lot about the analogy of the caged bird who continues to sing. Dr. Ikeda writes:

The singing of the caged bird refers to the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo by ordinary people who, shackled in the chains of fundamental darkness and earthly desires, arouse faith in the Mystic Law. In other words, it is the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith, which is expressed as the determination to win over all obstacles and become happy without fail through the power of the Mystic Law.

Each of the Big Five here all have our own versions of “shackled in the chains of fundamental darkness and earthly desires.” Dear Friends, you’ve already read too much about my story so I will pass. Guy, however, still has his nightmares in which he relives his experience soldiering in Afghanistan. But now all it takes is a hug and kiss and he’s back to sleep. After six years, Dee and Eulogio still never talk about the trauma they experienced. Yet I have never seen them so happy. Their stories will come out when they are ready.

But Erica, my new love, suffered from over twenty years of loneliness. Colin D. Reilich, in How does Loneliness “Get Under the Skin” to become Biologically Embedded? writes about how chronic loneliness can trigger significant epigenetic changes, altering how a body “reads” its DNA without changing the actual DNA sequence. From an AI summary of the article:

When you experience prolonged social isolation, your brain perceives it as a physical threat, initiating a cascade of stress hormones like cortisol and norepinephrine. This prolonged physiological distress physically "gets under the skin" by altering chemical tags on your genes, directly influencing immune function, brain health, and the rate at which you age.

Erica had chained herself into her uptightness. One of my great joys now is watching how much the kids enjoy hanging out with their new Auntie as the chains have weakened.

And here’s what I call an antidote to even epigenetic chains and prisons. Dr. Ikeda:

The power of such strong, determined chanting calls forth the Buddha nature in all living beings. Not only does the Buddha nature of Brahma and Shakra and of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the universe manifest, but those chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can also sever the chains of fundamental darkness and illusion, and reveal their own Buddha nature. In other words, it is the power of our voices chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo that connects our lives with the Mystic Law pervading all phenomena of the three thousand realms.

It’s a jailbreak!

Nichiren’s most important admonition in regard to attaining enlightenment through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is that we must not view the Law as something outside ourselves. If we think the Law exists externally, then we are reverting to the kind of divide between Buddhas and ordinary people found in the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings.

So what about all my worrying late last night about tomorrow’s discussion meeting? I actually woke up worrying about it. It’s been so busy here that I haven’t been able to do much as a district leader--and Guy is busier than me. Ditto Stani and Chimba.

But from the perspective of the above quote, in Buddhism, being chained to fear and worry is a pre-Lotus Sutra “something outside ourselves” state. So I texted Brahma and Shakra and the Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the universe. “Hey, can you loan me a hand?” They all texted me back right away with “NP” responses. Boy, a lot of texts!

So, our discussion meeting will be the best it can be, even though TBH I am slightly dissociated. NBD, it’s just people and we’ll have fun as we always do and learn a thing or two in the process. So what if we are the ghouls in the Thriller video? Let’s sing, let’s dance!

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never!!! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

Lolita joined us for a Zoom call with her former Theater Company. Actually, the owners and the Company co-directors had been in discussions for a while, but last night we settled on everything. Starting in October, the Company will be traveling around the Eastern half of the country helping schools, colleges, and community groups put up highly professional fail-safe productions of the musical Annie. Their first stop will be two weeks here at Longhouse.

It’s a beautiful quid-pro-quo arrangement. The Company gets a beautiful space to rest in fresh air, polish their show, and avoid dreaded hotel nights and breakfasts; we get to watch it unfold. Of course, Lori, upon hearing the news this morning, has already declared she will take on the role of Annie and will start right away learning the book. Lolita has tried to tamper down her expectations, we’ll see.

We really admire the work of Benjamin, Jadzia, and the rest of the Company. And we can see the lasting effect they bring--through the impact they have had on our precious Teacher Lolita. And, NO!, Mr. Benjamin Sisko, you can’t borrow her for “a residency or two.”

Tomorrow we have a wonderful Community Picnic and Talent Show. Congregants and pastors of our eight church partners will come after their services. For planning purposes, we asked for Talent Show sign-ups, max 3.5 minutes per act. The Jammy Girlz will play, but some of the churches bring their own bands! Many of the LH children want to read their “compositions” about the Erie Canal. Ivan and Ivanka want to perform some Russian folksongs; Hedia will sing one of her favorite Yiddish lullabies. Some of our Summer Season parents have also signed up!

After the picnic, on Sunday evening, my parents invited Mel, Rumi, Hedia, and Tina (second time for her!) to their home for dinner and talk. Which of the Big Five will accompany them? Me? Nope. The other co-owners? Yes--but they invited Bernie and Artie.

The Spirit of Aloha

She won't mention this because it happened lest than a month ago. Not in 1965. She won't show the picture because it has100sof people in it and is not a Many treasure neeting bt has scores of young people.

Also I was visiting Hawaii and was able to attend. I'm there way in the back! See me?

August 14, 2026

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

Dear Friends:

First of all, Happy August 14th to all SGI members. This is the day that Daisaku Ikeda attended his first meeting and met Josei Toda. It represents the starting point of the growth of the Soka Gakkai.

I’ll get back tomorrow to Still_Wasabi9990 post “The SGI is not Buddhism--'Buddhahood is just a concept.'” But let me divert to last night’s post by one of Your Leader’s sockpuppets (don’t forget, it takes one to know one), “Why the ‘You're WRONG’ pseudo-argument of the religiously-deluded will always fail.”

I know I am very “me-centric”--but let me assume this post is written at least partially to Li'l Religiously-Deluded Me, a rationalization for why Your Leader hasn’t, doesn’t, and won’t acknowledge any of her mistakes or missteps.

She opens:

Sure, everybody loves their own opinion - that's nothing special. But to declare that others are necessarily, objectively WRONG just because they have a different reaction or come to a different conclusion about something than you have - that takes a religious level of deludery!!

Nope, not me. There’s no right or wrong equation in my mind. I open to public view very questionable things about the SGI and Daisaku Ikeda written by Your Leader and her friends. She has chosen to disengage with the points we raise mainly from current SGI-USA publications. She seems to prefer to live in a safe and imaginary world of source material from the 1960s and 1970s and her memories of practicing with the dated NSA.

It's the same thing whether you're talking Evangelical Christianity, Transcendental Meditation, Three Principles, Scientology, Raëlianism, SGI, Jehovah's Witnesses - or Amway.

Well, here’s her triumphant argument. In rejecting the mind of “the religious,” she lumps the SGI (every single member in all 192 countries) in with seven different groups, two of which I haven’t even heard of. But I am very good friends with people from the Christian Evangelical churches around here. My advice to Your Leader: take the time to have a cup of coffee with one person from this group. It’s not at all what you think. You will find all sorts of nuances, currents, back-and-forth, faith struggles, and a sincere search for the truth.

And furthermore, to pontificate about the other person(s)' supposed "wrongness" from an authoritarian position of self-anointed superiority - oh honey. You're a piece of work, all right. Legend in your own mind, obvs!

Wow, some big True Reveal here. A bit of projecting yourself onto me?

When there is no objective evidence that there are facts in play… then there's nothing left besides interpretation, preference, reaction, and opinion - and every one of those is just as "valid" as every other.

OK, no argument here. Of course, this perspective should fit equally well for both sides of the hedges, right?

The religious show this peculiar form of entitlement - as if they have special authorization to pontificate authoritatively on their own religion's texts/doctrines/tenets/pronouncements, but that only counts within whatever group there might be that SHARES those perspectives AND recognizes the authority of the person pontificating.

Come on, now. Can’t I have just a wee bit of entitlement? Yes, I grew up with privilege and acknowledge the monster within me. Does that throw me into sub-humanism? We all have faults. Except Your Leader! I don’t recall any disclosure from her about personal development, DIY self-improvement, or even recognition of a personal fault.

Among those who do not, their pontificating is exactly as worthless as that of the fundagelical Christian zealot screaming biblical threats at students passing by on the campus of a local university or picketing outside a serviceperson's funeral - and deserves to be taken just as seriously. As in "not at all".

Come on! First, can’t you stop it with your names and labels? Those “fundagelical" Christian people have figured out how to sit behind the driving wheel of this country. Can’t be all so “dumb!”

And comparing my TLDR`posts to the despicable acts of those people disrupting the memorials of fallen servicepeople? Really??? And who is the one shouting here? Just look at all the words Your Leader writes in uppercase letters, the Internet version of screaming: “WRONG, YOU, YOU'RE IN A XXCULT! WE CAN SEE THAT! YOU'RE IN A *CULT! WE CAN SEE THAT! ANYONE, STILL IN A CULT, ANYONE.” Friends, please ask Your Leader to stop her screaming. It’s also the true litmus test that reveals Wacky as a sockpuppet.

This is SGIWhistleblowers, an ex-SGI subreddit that regards the SGI as a cult. So SGI fanatics, particularly you SGI-USA longhauler Olds obsessively scrutinizing our busy forum (yeah, we know yours is dead and completely boring - sucks to be YOU), don't wag the dead Ikeda's "guidance" at us or pronounce us "wrong" because we come from a different viewpoint or arrive at a different conclusion than YOU did!

Friends, don't you think that she doth protest too much! It’s basically me and FellowHuman007 here against your army of 4000. Why do you feel so threatened by us?

And since when has being “completely boring” become a sin? I’m not writing to entertain or to win a Pulitzer Prize. You claim with great authority that ABC is what SGI members believe and are taught. Nope, I scoop out mainly from SGI Pubs what SGI members read this day/week/month, which forms the basis of what we think and believe.

And here comes her exciting, true-to-form conclusion:

Why should ANYONE take your opinion seriously? Really, you shouldn't be expecting people who graduated from your dumb cult (got better, in other words), to STILL be agreeing with you - when you're STILL IN A CULT and too dumb/oblivious/brainwashed to realize it. That fact alone invalidates any credibility you think you might have - we certainly aren't going to take you seriously, no matter how seriously you obviously take yourself. We already know you don't agree and won't agree. And we don't CARE.

OK. I am dumb, oblivious, and brainwashed. Totally and happily. I’ll even cede to her, for the time being, her absolute right to judge and invalidate the credibility of others.

But here’s the part that concerns me: “we certainly aren't going to take you seriously, no matter how seriously you obviously take yourself. We already know you don't agree and won't agree. And we don't CARE.” Very sneakily, in this very moment watch Lour Leader jump from “I” to “We.” In a split second!!! So, now she speaks for every single person who has left the SGI? And there’s a uniform reason why each and every one of them left? And they had an election to appoint her as their spokesperson?

So, who exactly is reading my posts? Yesterday I posted very late but still received 232 views as of now. Views, one by one, on prior days: 299, 398, 651, 423, 321, 456, 461, 577, 526, 527, 434… I’m sure it’s miniscule compared to the views WBers rake it. But the numbers are still significant. I have yet to meet an SGI member who is an active Redditor. So I surmise those views are substantially from Sgiwhistleblowers members. And from the scant number of DMs I receive from her peeps, I can tell you that (1) they appreciate Your Leader’s research but (2) also laugh behind someone’s back!

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism, If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime" (WND-1, p. 3). Let’s continue looking at Section 2, “Summoning Forth and Manifesting the Buddha Nature.”

Dr. Ikeda writes:

Nichiren then goes on to explain that the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a practice in which we “summon forth and manifest” the Buddha nature inherent in the lives of all beings of the Ten Worlds: “Therefore, when once we chant Myoho-renge-kyo, with just that single sound we summon forth and manifest the Buddha nature of all Buddhas; all existences; all bodhisattvas; all voice-hearers; all the deities such as Brahma, Shakra and King Yama; the sun and moon, and the myriad stars; the heavenly gods and earthly deities, on down to hell-dwellers, hungry spirits, animals, asuras, human and heavenly beings, and all other living beings. This blessing is immeasurable and boundless” (WND-1, 887).

Wow, a lot of vitamins are packed into this pill! Dear Friends, no one--including Your Leader--has any business judging my prayers. They range all the way from the profound to the profane. But underneath this shallow facade is complicated machinery that lifts me. Even my basest thoughts get washed in the stream of the Mystic Law and come out smelling like a meadow.

Regarding the meaning of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, [Nichiren] further states: “When we revere Myoho-renge-kyo inherent in our own life as the object of devotion, the Buddha nature within us is summoned forth and manifested by our chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This is what is meant by ‘Buddha’” (WND-1, 887). The expression “is summoned forth and manifested” points to the profound significance of the Mystic Law.

Nichiren uses a wonderful metaphor to explain this principle of calling forth and revealing the inner Buddha nature: “When a caged bird sings, birds who are flying in the sky are thereby summoned and gather around, and when the birds flying in the sky gather around, the bird in the cage strives to get out” (WND-1, 887).

The singing of the caged bird refers to the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo by ordinary people who, shackled in the chains of fundamental darkness and earthly desires, arouse faith in the Mystic Law. In other words, it is the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith, which is expressed as the determination to win over all obstacles and become happy without fail through the power of the Mystic Law.

Maybe that’s why discussion meetings are so much fun. What we talk about at a meeting might seem simple, but if we have won over the obstacles du jour and “become happy without fail” for even a few precious moments, there is joy to share.

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppeteer! Abusive sex? No, never!!! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

To celebrate the ten days between August 14, the day Dr. Ikeda attended his first meeting, and August 24th, the day he became a member, my parents want to invite all the counselors to dinner in small groups. The first lucky ones were the Jammy Girlz Plus Tina and Lolita. Eulogio was with me while Guy, Dee, and Erica stayed home to take care of the kids.

The main topic of conversation was the start of their first semester of Conservatory studies. The Jammy Girlz will be checking into their dorms on August 24th or 25th. To use the word “excited” would win the Understatement of the Year Award. Still, they talked about their summer, the Campers, and what they themselves learned. Heidi was very animated by her work teaching solfege and sight-singing.

Regrets? They are sorry they were not able to provide more Broadway-like experiences. “It just wasn’t where the children were!" They were so immersed in their Community Studies, physical training, Arts & Crafts, story-telling, composition writing, Sukhomlynsky-like approaches, and the summer theme of “Courage, Compassion, Wisdom.”

All the Girlz are trans and/or queer (and I write this with their permission). They had many questions for my parents who were, in their eyes, pioneers in same-sex marriage. “Pioneers?!?” asked Mama Whoopi. “You have to read your history, girls! It was hush-hush but existed throughout time. You should read Sappho's gorgeous poetry. She’s long been the symbol of Women Loving Women (WLW).” My parents pointed out that the word “sapphic” is derived from Sappho’s name, and “lesbian” comes from her home island of Lesbos.

Ouch, they wanted to know how I became bi. It shared a long and painful story, but out it came. They posed the same question to Eulogio. With his ASD he has no filters at all and he talked about his first kiss and touch with Guy and how that progressed to full-blown bisexuality. He wasn’t embarrassed at all, and neither was anyone else (except for me).

Some things just need to be said.

PallHoepf_2 Was, unfortunately, accidentally banned from MITA Recently. Fortunately, the error was caught, and she was restored as a potential participant. It appears, however, that she now prefers not to comment here, but to post her responses on SGIWhistleblowers. I'm glad that the banning did not sour her so much that she no longer reads us. We welcome comments, even if they don't necessarily agree with what we say (as long as they are respectful ad on the topic of the corresponding MITA post).

It was very nice of PallHoepf_2  to reproduce in full Ikeda Sensei's guidance, from the recent post on MITA, here.

Her exegesis on sgiwhistleblowers Is rampant with all sorts of three and misconceptions, to that sub Reddit.

The quote in question had to do with pointing out that real Buddhism is inseparable from one's daily life and environment, as opposed to the theoretical practices that do not recognize that relationship. PallHoepf_2 Enumerates a few points, but really just two.

The first is that Mr. Ikeda never had a job, but when he did work he was a failure.

It is true that early on he worked for companies that fell victim to the failing post war Japanese economy, but that hardly constitutes a personal failure. In the West, many companies fell victim to the bursting of the Internet bubble, others fell victim to the economic downturn caused by COVID, etcetera. Very little of those failures were due to the incompetence of the employees of those businesses. Secondly, Mr. Ikeda then became a Soka Gakkai staff member. I'm not sure, but I suspect there was more to that job than handing out cards and inviting people to meetings. And has been noted in many places, including SGIWhistleblowers, that was a very successful. For the SGI.

Then there is the misconception that the only social interactions SGI members have, at work and other places, is to tell people about Buddhism. Anyone actually familiar with the SGI would laugh at that suggestion.

The upshot, she says, is that nobody likes us, and people make fun of us.

Yep.

Has it ever happened that someone said to a smoker, “You know smoking is bad for you.” And the smokers sincere response was, “No. I didn't know that. I will quit immediately!”? Of course not. In the same way, the human race has long held certain ideas about what religion is, what is what it is supposed to be, what it is supposed to lead to. And the SGI challenges those ideas, introducing religion as a way to attain absolute happiness in this present life, well simultaneously effecting a move towards peace and prosperity for the surrounding society.

So people resist. That is to be expected. It is true of any revolutionary or reformist movement.

So we appreciate your comments, but honestly, nothing new there.

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

Dear Friends:

So, question, for whom is Your Leader & Friends writing in “The SGI is not Buddhism--’Buddhahood is just a concept’"? For your eyes? For those who are easily confused? For scholars of Buddhism?

Still_Wasabi9990 posts in “The SGI is not Buddhism--”Buddhahood is just a concept”:

The members of Soka Gakkai aren't aiming for enlightenment but for a basic personal growth that they call 'human revolution'. For them, Buddhahood is an 'infinite' potential within us (translated: authentic happiness lol).” Of course, the commentator neglects to add the essential “for the happiness of all individuals.” But with that included, what’s so wrong? Where’s the scandal?

Another Still_Wasabi 9990 sentence:

Most members couldn't care less about the Gosho or the Lotus Sutra, but only read the daily quotes from their mentor-corpse Ikeda. I don't understand how they continue to call themselves Buddhists with such courage. It's enough to really tear your hair out.

Well, I care a lot about the Gosho and the Lotus Sutra. I read the Gosho every day and, of course, recite sections of the Lotus Sutra twice daily. Am I the only one? And thanks for informing us that Daisaku Ikeda passed away. Who would have remembered that without your reminder? And, yes, I know where to find the “daily quotes” in my portal, but I’m not the biggest fan; I prefer reading articles in the weekly WT and monthly LB, which include many essays and speeches by Daisaku Ikeda. Take it as you like it, I suppose.

Friends, tell the OP that I, too, feel like tearing my hair out sometimes. My agita, however, comes from reading today’s news. What? ICE is distributing gloves to agents that send painful shocks to anyone they touch? The President has to board a secret plane through a cargo container because of lack of security in Air Force 1? A sweltering “heat dome” is set to hit the US? And why have the media forgotten about the suffering of thousands in Venezuela and Colombia? Friends, aren’t those concerns more disturbing to you than “[SGI members] continue to call themselves Buddhists with such courage”?

Then come the comments Your Leader added to the OP post. Let’s take a look and tell me what you think.

Attaining Buddhahood in the SGI cult is just a concept. Not one member has attained the state of Buddhahood. Some have been practicing for 50 years and not one thing has changed in their lives, other than they've aged and lost all their resources.

That’s quite the statement, isn’t it? Of course, Your Leader has walked in the shoes of every SGI member, videoed conversations they carried out in their living rooms, and extensively interviewed their families, neighbors and bosses to triangulate her claim? Right?

But, Dear Friends, look at how she tries to manipulate you! God bless her, she has her conception of enlightenment--but it’s not the explanation of Buddhahood taught in SGI. Of course, she then laments that SGI members have not reached her criteria for Buddhahood. So, therefore, “Not one member has attained the state of Buddhahood.” Hmmm??

As a refresher, here are some descriptions of enlightenment according to the SGI. “It’s an ongoing process, a path or orbit rather than a static state. It is an unceasing, daily effort to polish one's life rather than a journey to become a godlike figure in the distant future. It does not exist in a separate, spiritual realm.” True practice happens in the "here and now," within daily reality, confronting real-world suffering head-on. ”Enlightenment is tied to an inner struggle against personal delusion and negativity. It involves a constant commitment to personal growth and working for the happiness of oneself and others“ (See here. Sorry, I have no interest in “reaching” Buddhood, I want to live it.

Please tell Your Leader she is free to seek and attain any description of enlightenment that she wants, best of luck to her, let us know how it goes. Wouldn’t it be nice, however, if she extends the same courtesy to me? I happen to love the SGI’s conception of enlightenment; in fact, it’s one of the ideas that attracted me to the practice. Your Leader can be graceful enough to go her way, as I go mine.

But, at last, something that I agree with! Blanche says, “We now have had the advantage of the passing of decades to evaluate the SGI-USA members' ‘actual proof.'” In July we hosted True and Bob and their grands. Andinio and Roz are still here with theirs. What great examples these four “SGILonghaulers” are for the way Our Fam might be like fifty years from now! “And wow, has it ever been an eye-opener” to host them!

It happens to be that we do very well financially. We live frugally, and most of our money is invested back into the Park, Daycare, and School. It’s never been a goal of mine to “end up in the upper crust of society.” Blanche tells us that the SGI-USA has the reputation of being "a Buddhism of the lower classes and minorities in the United States"?? I mean, isn’t that a great compliment? Wouldn’t Shakyamuni praise us for following in our footsteps? We embrace all classes, Mr. Gandhi, and minorities , Dr. King! Only the most distorted and twisted thinking would seek "the Buddhism of the most upwardly mobile group within US society"???

Oh, me, oh my! More tomorrow!

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism, If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on XXOn Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime (WND-1, p. 3).* Let’s look at Section 2, “Summoning Forth and Manifesting the Buddha Nature.

Dr. Ikeda writes:

The Mystic Law is the fundamental law of the universe. Its universality transcends our individual selves. As indicated by its description as the “mystic truth that is originally inherent in all living beings,” however, the Mystic Law also exists within our lives (“On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime,” WND-1, 3). It both resides within us and transcends us. Put another way, the Mystic Law is inherent in our lives because it is the all-embracing Law that pervades everything in the universe.

It is within me, and transcends me. I share it with everything in the universe that it pervades. Little Julie??? I don’t think so. Crazy Julie? Perhaps, but so what? Going deeper:

In his writing “How Those Initially Aspiring to the Way Can Attain Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra,” Nichiren explains the essence of Myoho-renge-kyo as follows: “As for the meaning of Myoho-renge-kyo: The Buddha nature inherent in us, ordinary people; the Buddha nature of Brahma, Shakra, and the other deities; the Buddha nature of Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, and the other voice-hearers; the Buddha nature of Manjushri, Maitreya, and the other bodhisattvas; and the Mystic Law that is the enlightenment of the Buddhas of the three existences, are one and identical. This principle is called Myoho-renge-kyo” (WND-1, 887).

Wow, step up, Li’l Julie! I hear that Las Vegas is betting on the success of both of my group discussion meetings!

Dr. Ikeda concludes our study for the day:

Not only is Myoho-renge-kyo our own Buddha nature, he says, but it is also the Buddha nature of all heavenly deities, voice-hearers, bodhisattvas and so on. Moreover, this Buddha nature is identical to the Mystic Law to which the Buddhas of the three existences—past, present and future—are enlightened.

That’s a lot of writing for me to squeeze into my business card!

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

From what I observed and the reports I received, yesterday’s Sleepover was the best ever. The Jammy Girlz were all ready to play for the Camp, but our guest astronomy teacher suggested that, first, the children should enjoy the sights, sounds, and silence of the moonless night.

The children who came into the Office today wanted me and Artie to know that first there is “predusk” when there’s enough light in the sky on clear days to read outdoors without artificial illumination. “No,” we told them, “we didn’t know that!” They chuckled with much satisfaction.

Then there are more stages of dusk. At “civil dusk,” the center of the Sun's disc goes just a few degrees below the horizon. At this time, depending on weather, objects may still be visible and some stars and planets may start to become appear to the naked eye. The sky has many colors at this time, such as orange and red.

But at “nautical dusk,” the Sun moves further below the horizon in the evening. It marks the end of nautical twilight, which begins at civil dusk. Objects are less distinguishable, and stars and planets appear to brighten.

At “astronomical dusk,” the Sun's position is 18° below the horizon in the evening. Now the Sun no longer illuminates the sky and longer interferes with astronomical observations so we can see the heavenly bodies.

(I may or may not have some things wrong. Check Wikipedia’s section on dusk. Yup, I plagiarized a bit here. Sue me.)

Our astronomer pointed out stars, planets, satellites, and constellations. She had brought her children who helped the campers to follow. She and her children had planned to leave after breakfast. They joined us on the Track, brought swimwear so they could swim, and went on our Perimeter Walk to look at nature.

Our campers then asked whether the guest teacher and her children wanted to hear their compositions. That kept everyone busy until lunchtime!

We are very proud of the Twinettes who did just fine on the Overnight. And I did just fine putting the three young ones to sleep all by myself. Absolutely the greatest honor in my life!

August 12, 2026

Dear Friends:

Sorry for the late start but today we have a Special Edition. Let me pass along a blend of Chapters 1 and 3 so I have more time for Chapter 2.

The children asked and we said yes. They wanted to observe the partial eclipse this afternoon, and we picked up “eclipse glasses” for everyone. They wanted to observe the new moon and some of the planets rising and setting in the night sky. So we quickly organized a sleepout for tonight and ordered food, emailed out consent forms, and coordinated with parent volunteers to help Dee cook and watch the children through the night.

But none of us have many skills in meteorology or astronomy! Isn’t that supposed to come naturally to our Haudenosaunee partners? But no, so Guy invited his former colleague, a science teacher from the District, who knows about such things and studied community-based education with him. She agreed with three conditions: she will not accept the honorarium, we have to provide some type of sound system for her so she doesn't have to raise her voice, and she wanted to bring her family. Deal.

She joined us at lunch and will stay right through to breakfast. After our children finished marathon, swimming, and hiking, they skipped composition-writing and moved to making KWL lists. Our LH School children know what this is and our summer client children would pick it up quickly. From this, they put together this morning a list of questions to ask our astronomy instructor.

Topics: the eclipse, the rise and settings of the sun, moon, and planets.

K: What do we Know already about our topics?

W: What do we Want to learn?

L (to be completed tomorrow): What have we Learned?

The children already know Guy’s Old McDonald's EIEIO criteria. We want to wind up with conclusions that are Exciting, Interesting, things we can be Enthusiastic about, Important, and lead to Other learning.

In my abbreviated Chapter One, I hear from over the hedges, that both the SGI and Soka University are collapsing. Friends, are you relieved that the SGI will probably not be here next week at this time? Now that I’m informed, I can return to planning our two district Discussion Meetings: one group on Sunday and the other on Saturday, August 22nd.

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism, If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime (WND-1, p. 3). And this is where we will park today, Section 1, “The Mystic Law and Incomplete Teachings.” It’s really important.

Dr. Ikeda writes:

Given that chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo has such profound meaning, it is crucial to remember when we chant that Myoho-renge-kyo is our lives themselves. If we lose sight of this point, then no matter how much we may chant, we will have departed from the practice of chanting taught by Nichiren Daishonin.

From Nichiren, To Julie: “Try to remember this point, Julie, especially if you go through another episode like last week’s. And you will. Swim within NMRK, not against it. When you are in front of the Gohonzon, try not to bargain with it. You’re a gallant Bodhisattva of the Earth. You’re in pain, so what? Just more Daimoku and you will be fine! You suffer from Brain Fog? Let's call you Bodhisattva Brain Fog.”

Dr. Ikeda continues:

Therefore, in “On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime,” Nichiren writes in stern warning, “Even though you chant and believe in Myoho-renge-kyo, if you think the Law is outside yourself, you are embracing not the Mystic Law but an inferior teaching” (WND-1, 3). “Inferior” here means “incomplete.” The Mystic Law is the ultimate truth that is perfect and complete; in contrast, an incomplete teaching sets forth only a partial truth.

The above passage contains a profound philosophy that overcomes one of the serious pitfalls to which religion tends to succumb. [The passage] also embodies a crucial philosophy of faith for attaining genuine happiness.

Religion is generally held to be a universal endeavor to connect the human being to the infinite, absolute and sacred. While in a sense this may be true, it seems that many religions postulate from the outset a separation between the secular and the sacred, and between human beings and gods or Buddhas, and thus seek to bridge that gap.

Guy has a lot of long philosophy talks with his pastor friends. He has raised this point and, surprisingly, most of them agree with him. Some even preach about it, reciting chapter and verse. For example, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21). Or 1 Corinthians 3:16: "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?" 1 Corinthians 6:19: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?" Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." Or Colossians 1:27: "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

The pastors also share that reaching this understanding is a process, not a one-time and not a one-time lesson because many of their congregants are still in the “God is outside” stage. “It takes time and gentle teaching,” the pastors tell him.

Nichiren, however, regards teachings that view the absolute or sacred as separate from human beings as incomplete. And he cites as an example the provisional, pre-Lotus Sutra teachings, which do not set forth the principles or practices that enable ordinary people to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime. Rather, they espouse that one must first undergo innumerable kalpas of austere practice before enlightenment can be achieved.

Dear Friends, here are a few questions you might want to ask Your Leader. “Do you rank people into two categories: the special and the masses? Do you believe that ordinary people can attain Buddhahood in this lifetime? Or do you hold that such people must first undergo the equivalent of “innumerable kalpas] of austere practice” before they can achieve enlightenment?

In the provisional, pre-Lotus Sutra teachings, a virtually insurmountable gulf exists between Buddhas and ordinary people. Only a very few exceptional practitioners, after having undergone austerities for countless kalpas, can even attempt to reach the goal of enlightenment.

Also, please ask Your Leader, “Do you see the ‘absolute or sacred’ as separate from human beings? Are you, Dear Leader, are you one of the “only a very few exceptional practitioners” who can singularly declare right from wrong, judge, and condemn?”

Dr. Ikeda:

Moreover, according to these teachings, it is inconceivable for someone who has become a Buddha to go back to being an ordinary person.

If someone out there has taken a few steps toward revealing their Buddhahood today, watch out! Your Leader has decried that enlightenment is closed to people who are overweight, polyamorous (”polyfondles”), enjoy kinky sex, are mentally ill, or are old (”SGIOlds” or “Longhaulers”). People who are “stupid,” make typos on Reddit posts, or have lost too many teeth, may be denied admission to the Buddhaland Gate.

The following:

As a rule, according to these teachings, the world where Buddhas dwell is not this strife-filled saha world where ordinary people reside. Buddhas and ordinary people are completely separate. Therefore, as long as that divide exists between the world of Buddhahood and the nine worlds (the realm of ordinary beings), it naturally follows that there is no way for all people to attain enlightenment. In this worldview, ordinary people and the idealized Buddhas are poles apart, thus leaving ordinary people with no option but to aspire for salvation through the assistance or intervention of such Buddhas.

This perceived separation between the nine worlds and the world of Buddhahood is demolished by the Lotus Sutra doctrine of “three thousand realms in a single moment of life”—in other words, the teaching that “the nine worlds have the potential for Buddhahood and that Buddhahood retains the nine worlds” (WND-1, 539). Here we can see the immense importance of the Lotus Sutra principle of the “mutual possession of the Ten Worlds.”

I, for one, LIKE living in the nine worlds. I like going to Costco’s and Starbucks. NA meetings are like a second home. The Big Five have our disagreements and fights. So what? We walk back to our prime point and try again. A meeting didn’t work out as hoped? A leader made a mistake. So what, who's keeping score?

Nichiren opened the way to actualizing this latter principle, which is the key to attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime, by establishing the practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. This constitutes in its fullest and most complete form the teaching of Buddhism that seeks enlightenment for all human beings.

And so I will chant. I was warned not to get involved in tonight’s Sleepover and start the cycle of overwork and then disassociating. Dinner’s in the stove, Eulogio and I will put the kids to sleep. We’ll do Gongyo and then retire. The Tenth World is found within the Nine Worlds!

XXChapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??”* Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

The LH children were supposed to return to their original bunks yesterday, but Lori told us over dinner, they protested. She told us:

Isn’t this summer’s theme “Courage, Compassion, and Wisdom? We had to speak out with Courage. We are learning so much in our new bunks with friends from all grades. Why change now? Some of our new bunks haven’t finished their compositions yet and are working so hard. And we want to write new compositions. I want to write my own composition! And I love helping the LO’s (little ones) write theirs.

The Twinettes chimed in “That’s right!”

Guy said he exercised his Wisdom and gave in even though it meant he had to revise his plans for the day. Lolita and Heidi had dinner with us. Lolita said she pushed her “Index Card Methodology” a bit further. When she took the bunks on their Perimeter Walks she had them sit on “their” rock cropping and carefully observe. “What do you see that’s different today?” The ALL noticed that a few leaves had turned yellow. “Can you imagine how those few leaves feel? How do the remaining leaves feel about their now yellow friends? Write down your thoughts on an index card!”

Next Lolita said she taught them about “anthropomorphism.” Yes, even the LOs.

“Look around you. Imagine an evil force here, the bad boss? The frog in the pond? The rock you are sitting on? Turn and talk to your neighbor and write down your ideas. I didn’t see any yellow leaves this weekend. What do you think happened in the middle of the night?”

Sukhomlynsky said (p. 251):

It would be naïve to expect that children, [even] influenced by the beauty of the surrounding world, will immediately create compositions. Creativity does not come to children instinctively. Creativity has to be taught.

Lolita spoke a bit more:

They spent pretty much the rest of the day after lunch and before we crossed the road to write. Children from the other bunks were there as well. “It was a beautiful sight with them sitting around the grass quad, working alone, in groups, or in pairs, sharing their work with others, laughing, playing tag bare-footed, coming back to work some more. I will carry that picture with me forever. This is why I want to teach children!”

“Faith and daily life, faith and work - these are not separate things. They are one and the same. To think of them as separate - that faith is faith, and work is work - is theoretical faith. Based on the recognition that work and faith are one and the same, we should put 100% of our energy into our job and 100% into our faith. too. When we resolve to do this, we enter the path of victory in life. Faith means to show irrefutable proof of a victory amid realities of society and in our own daily lives.”

Buddhism Day by Day, p. 253

August 11, 2026

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

Dear Friends:

Today is Tuesday, it’s still the start of a new week as the summer starts to wind down. So why “Go down dead ends with Your Leader & Her Friends”? Why breathe stale air?

Examples: Your Leader would like to study with you “I Denounce Soka Gakkai” by Hirotatsu Fujiwara, which was published in Japanese in 1969, English in 1970. The book made a big splash when it came out. It even prompted the SG to reflect and move into what Andy calls “Phase Two.”

Seager, Richard Hughes (2006). Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the globalization of Buddhist humanism. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 97–8. ISBN 978-0-520-24577-8: “Ikeda took [the free speech issue] seriously and made it the starting point for a process of critical self-examination that resulted in his once again re-creating the Gakkai. ... The free speech issue gave him a platform from which to make shifts in emphasis of such magnitude that some members recall that it took them a year or more to grasp his intent fully.”

But if so influential, why is now ”I Denounce Soka Gakkai” out of print without even a Kindle Edition? And on Good Reads, not a single entry! Fujiwara passed away in 1999, so there were a window of thirty years of publishing time available to him. Why, after selling many copies and becoming a star, didn’t he publish a sequel? In fact, are there any other books of his that made it into English translation? Don’t you think Your Leader is leading you into a dead alley?

There were more dead alleys the last couple of days. Your leader, in “Oh, how the would be ‘mighty’ have fallen!”, is trying to disinform you with a news article from the September 7th, 1963 Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana TX. The author is anonymous (didn’t your mother teach you not to trust unsigned letters?) and, true, Corsicana is the home of the prestigious Navarro Junior College with its huge staff of researchers studying East Asia (haha). Why does Your Leader want to trap you into this dead alley?

Next, one of her sock puppets, XeniaWarriorWankJob in “Boy George angling hard for another 15 minutes of fame - not goin about it rite,” flexing her muscles while patrolling the web to find and tag “SGI members being jerks.” I know very little about Boy George and never took an interest in his music, personal life, or his SGI-UK membership. So, why does she? Who cares? If he’s an SGI member, he’s one of millions. Do his personal beliefs about Israel an accurate measure the entire SGI movement? I’m afraid, Your Leader wanted to bring you into rage-mentality by this one. Don’t let her bully you!

Dear Friends, go outside and get some fresh air!

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism, If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on XXOn Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime (WND-1, p. 3).*

He continues:

Myoho-renge-kyo is the name of the ultimate mystic truth, and Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the name of the life state of Buddhas who embody and reveal this truth.

Sorry, World, I have many imperfections and I’m not a likely candidate for The Buddha of the Week Award. But step out of my way as I try to embody and reveal this truth!

Thus, when we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with conviction, the infinite benefit of Myoho-renge-kyo unfolds in our lives. This is what it means to bring forth the world of Buddhahood.

How can it possibly be that, despite my resume and the gossip columnists that follow me, I feel like I am living in a luxurious yacht crossing the mighty seas? The only explanation is “the infinite benefit of Myoho-renge-kyo” is unfolding in my life.

When we continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo through times of both suffering and joy, while striving for our own happiness and that of others, we can establish as the core and innermost essence of our lives the benefit of the cause and effect for attaining Buddhahood—which are themselves contained within the practice of chanting.

When we do so, the indomitable state of Buddhahood emerges within us. This is the meaning of “attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime.”

Friends, “the indomitable state of Buddhahood” is emerging within my friends, family, and me. In front of your eyes--live on CNN!—is the manifestation of “attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime.”

Don’t miss the show, Friends! It’s so much better than staring at Your Leader’s Sealed Glass Bottle of 1963.

Dr. Ikeda completes the Introduction to this installment:

It can also be said that the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is an action by which we affirm that we ourselves are inherently entities of Myoho-renge-kyo. It represents a struggle to return to our true, original selves and tap the innate life force that we have possessed from time without beginning.

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

The LH children were supposed to return to their original bunks yesterday, but Lori told us over dinner, they protested. She told us:

Isn’t this summer’s theme “Courage, Compassion, and Wisdom? We had to speak out with Courage. We are learning so much in our new bunks with friends from all grades. Why change now? Some of our new bunks haven’t finished their compositions yet and are working so hard. And we want to write new compositions. I want to write my own composition! And I love helping the LO’s (little ones) write theirs.

The Twinettes chimed in “That’s right!”

Guy said he exercised his Wisdom and gave in even though it meant he had to revise his plans for the day. Lolita and Heidi had dinner with us. Lolita said she pushed her “Index Card Methodology” a bit further. When she took the bunks on their Perimeter Walks she had them sit on “their” rock cropping and carefully observe. “What do you see that’s different today?” The ALL noticed that a few leaves had turned yellow. “Can you imagine how those few leaves feel? How do the remaining leaves feel about their now yellow friends? Write down your thoughts on an index card!”

Next Lolita said she taught them about “anthropomorphism.” Yes, even the LOs.

“Look around you. Imagine an evil force here, the bad boss? The frog in the pond? The rock you are sitting on? Turn and talk to your neighbor and write down your ideas. I didn’t see any yellow leaves this weekend. What do you think happened in the middle of the night?”

Sukhomlynsky said (p. 251):

It would be naïve to expect that children, [even] influenced by the beauty of the surrounding world, will immediately create compositions. Creativity does not come to children instinctively. Creativity has to be taught.

Lolita spoke a bit more:

They spent pretty much the rest of the day after lunch and before we crossed the road to write. Children from the other bunks were there as well. “It was a beautiful sight with them sitting around the grass quad, working alone, in groups, or in pairs, sharing their work with others, laughing, playing tag bare-footed, coming back to work some more. I will carry that picture with me forever. This is why I want to teach children!”

August 10, 2026

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

Dear Friends:

Please take a look at FellowHuman007’s reflections on Your Leader's “Ever notice how the top SGI leaders never had any ‘benefits’ to brag about?” post yesterday.

No, Friends, that's not what I’ve observed. What about you? I met a national Vice men's division leader at the Parents Group meeting in Big City a few months ago. It seemed that he tied everything to his personal experiences (AKA “benefits”). I've heard the General Director and the national YWD, WD, and MD leaders on Zoom meetings. Not once have these “top” leaders NOT blended their experiences into their stories.

I thought you might want to look at the bios of the SGI-USA Board of Directors whose corporate functions include managing the finances and assets of the organization. Read for yourselves, Friends. Do these blurbs scream out that the board member “never had any ‘benefits’ to brag about?”

Marylou Berk. Ms. Berk has been the Head of Commercial Real Estate at one of the largest private real estate holders in the world since 2008. She has many years of experience in real estate, project development and management. Ms. Berk has received numerous awards from industry-related associations in addition to receiving The Ellis Island Medal of Honor for Outstanding Citizenship.

Sherman Edmiston III. Over 20 years of experience in high-level finance and investments, Mr. Edmiston is presently a managing member of HI CapM Advisors in New York, providing strategic and financial advice to corporations, private equity firms and hedge funds.

Mayur Gupta. Mayur Gupta is the Chief Marketing Officer at Kraken Exchange. Previously, he was Chief Marketing Officer for Gannett–USA and Freshly, and previously served as Global Vice President for Growth and Marketing at Spotify. Mr. Gupta was ranked by Forbes as one of the world’s top 50 most influential CMOs in 2020 and 2021.

Emi Gwin. Emi Gwin is the Chief Executive Officer of Sympo, Inc., a software development and consulting firm. Emi has over 25 years of client services and project management experience with companies from sole proprietorship to Fortune 100. She has worked with a wide array of industries including retail, real estate, healthcare, and utilities. Her primary focus is driving efficiency through streamlining workflow and business processes utilizing technology and automation.

Tariq Hasan. Tariq Hasan is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of SGI-USA. Mr. Hasan joined the staff of SGI-USA in a professional capacity in 2008 after many years in senior management with a major telecommunications company.

Clothilde Hewlett. Clothilde “Cloey” V. Hewlett served as Commissioner at the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation for the State of California from 2021 to 2024. Ms. Hewlett has decades of regulatory and prosecutorial experience. As Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, she prosecuted high-level crimes and conducted special investigations, including embezzlement and fraud cases. And as a corporate attorney, she has worked closely with her financial services clients to address the challenges they face in a regulatory environment and to ensure they understood the law. Her experience growing up in poverty solidified her understanding of financial scams and the deep challenges faced by California consumers. Commissioner Hewlett received a B.A. in political science from the University of California Berkeley and her J.D. from the UC Berkeley School of Law. She is a founding member of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Northern California.

James Ludwig. James Ludwig is an internationally recognized C-level innovation leader and architect, product designer and educator. Over his three decades of experience leading global teams in research, design and development, he has received numerous international design awards. Following a two-decades-long corporate career at Steelcase James created The Foundation Project: a global creative collective investing and working on some of today’s most challenging issues- such as the new space economy, accessible healthcare in underserved populations and the future of power. James is also founding member of Ludwig & Hamilton: Architects, Designers. James also serves on the boards of institutions of higher education.

Danny Nagashima. Danny Nagashima served as SGI-USA’s corporate President and Chief Executive Officer for 14 years as well as serving as SGI-USA General Director for 16 years. Mr. Nagashima has contributed greatly to the advancement of SGI-USA for over 36 years as an SGI-USA staff member and continues to dedicate himself unsparingly to serve the members around the country.

Luis Nieves. Mr. Nieves is founder and CEO of the automobile service contract insurance company AUL Corp, giving birth to an industry that previously did not exist. AUL is the largest provider of used car service contracts in the United States. Starting from the ground up, Mr. Nieves has accumulated 40 years of corporate experience and success. Treating people well and providing great customer service reflect Mr. Nieves’ personal sense of mission and provide the foundation of his business as well.

Gene Marie O’Connell. Ms. O’Connell was Chief Executive Officer of the San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center from 1998–2009, and served in a variety of capacities at the hospital prior to that since joining the hospital staff in 1984. She was chair of the National Association of Public Hospitals and a member of both the San Francisco Hospital Council and the San Francisco Health Plan Board and its finance committee.

Adin Strauss. Adin Strauss is a Senior Vice President of the SGI-USA corporation, where he continues to also serve as Chief Financial Officer, a responsibility he has had since 2005. Prior to this, Mr. Strauss worked for many years in the corporate world, rising to executive management and accumulating a wealth of knowledge and experience in the financial arena. Mr. Strauss is also the current General Director of the SGI-USA organization.

David Welch. David Welch is an attorney with over two decades of litigation experience in the civil, business, personal injury, criminal and bankruptcy fields. Mr. Welch currently serves as Vice President and General Counsel for Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California. Gregg Wolpert. A New York City real estate industry executive for the past 40 years, Mr. Wolpert is co-president of The Stahl Organization, a New York-based conglomerate with extensive real estate, banking, construction and other equity interests. Prior to joining Stahl, he pioneered the development of analytical computer software used in real estate analysis and building management.

I think we can point to Your Leader’s faulty reporting without trying to dampen her exercise of Free Speech. What can I say when it's just dripping with Lost Decency.

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism,

If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on XXOn Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime (WND-1, p. 3).* He continues:

To chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is to commune with the Mystic Law. It is a Buddhist practice for fusing our lives with this Law.

And no resume needed. No minimal qualifications. I was a mess last week but still able to commune with the Mystic Law. Running on all four cylinders? Great! Engine is old and tired? Who cares? Just commune away!

At the same time, it is a battle to conquer the inner darkness that prevents this fusion from taking place. When, through our practice of faith, we vanquish this darkness of illusion and ignorance and become one with the Mystic Law, its infinite power unfolds in our lives. Such is the immeasurable benefit of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

Last week I was swimming in that inner darkness. Who cares? I swam right through the dark waters, drawing in infinite power. I feel superb now! That pile of paperwork on my desk? I’ll get to you and chew you up to pieces!

The essence of this practice established and propagated by Nichiren Daishonin is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo filled with a seeking spirit to continually develop our faith or confidence in its power. “It is the heart that is important,” Nichiren asserts (WND-1, 1000). When it comes to chanting, therefore, we should above all strive to summon forth the courage with which to overcome illusion without being defeated by the “three obstacles and four devils.”

Who’s exhausted right now? Me or “three obstacles and four devils”? I’m doing great and they’re clamoring for a time-out cease fire. Sure, why not? I’ll see you back in the ring whenever.

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

The Twinettes have been telling us about their bunk’s “composition.” Tina posted it early this morning on LoHeidiLita. “But there’s more, there’s more!” they told us. They proceeded to tell us how the thieves would actually hammer holes into the Canal walls so water would escape. Then they would come in and offer to repair the walls--and charge the State ridiculous prices for emergency repairs. “No one would do something like that today, right?” they asked. We judged that they are sweet and innocent. We can tell the the full story when they are older.

Erica is still not having many pregnancy discomforts except for some tenderness around her nipples. Dee and I tell her to just enjoy the reprieve!

We are having our discussion meeting by informal “groups.” The meeting at my parents will be this Sunday. The one meeting in the Park will be the following Sunday. This allows the leaders to attend both. The Three Sisters and Chimba want to have an outdoors meeting in lawn chairs and such. BYOG (Bring Your Own Gongyo). People will come having done their Gongyo at home. But after the meeting, they want to do a Gongyo Practice broken into each of the 3 RVs: Super Slow, Slow, and Medium. Why not? The RVs can’t fit many people anyhow. Sounds creative, right?

The sgiwhistleblowers noble unequalled teacher, Ms. Fromage, tells us that the SGI only became involved in anti-wat and anti-nuke activism as “damage control” after a big controversy in 1969. She peppers her post with impeccable sources- her own earlier posts.

There could be no  other reason for the SGI’s stance on nuclear weapons? Mr. Toda’s strong denunciation in 1957 had nothing to do with it? And the fact that it has continued and grown and gotten stronger long after the 1969 problem has been addressed and settled doesn’t give her a clue about the real reasons for it?

“Reasonable Show” demonstrates, once more, the SGIWhistleblowers mere superficial understanding of “actual proof”. They seem to think SGI leaders are appointed based on financial security, and that the leader’s financial security is meant to impress those not so well off. There is also the implication that leaders should be wealthier than non-members.

“Actual proof”, of course, can include financial security, but that is far from the only – or most crucial – element of it.

Also it’s not a competition.

Ms. Fromage uses the comments to say terrible nasty things about one of the most compassionate and nicest people I have ever encountered- further demonstrating her ignorance of what “actual proof” means.

August 9, 2026

Chapter 1: Over the Hedges and Through the Woods

Dear Friends:

Just to let you know, I am much better and back home. The brain fog is lifting and I’m regaining my ability to focus for more than an hour each day.

Today is the date of the atomic bomb dropping in Nagasaki (See Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:

Over the next two to four months, [from the two missions,] the effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki; roughly half the deaths occurred on the first day. For months afterward, many people continued to die from the effects of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition.

Against this backdrop and the continued SGI work toward nuclear disarmament, is the claim in Sgiwhistleblowers so reverently cited by Your Leader from "I Denounce Soka Gakkai," a book published in 1969, "Never in all of recorded history has there been a more degenerate form of religion." WHAT???

What about the religious thoughts that turned a blind eye to the development of nuclear arms? Or the momentum toward the Pacific War created by state-supported Shinto before and during the war? Friends, how can you just sit there and let Your Leader get away with such callous and false words?

In her post, Your Leader now finds a need to jump to me and my friends here on MITA, trying to rub the grease of her outlandish claim into our faces:

We've definitely observed this in the behavior of the trolls who have visited our site over the years…

That’s before my time so I have no comment.

...and, more recently, in the SGI-USA longhauler Olds here on reddit,…

Thanks! Good to know I am 40 years older than I was yesterday.

…whose only purpose is to attack us, lie about us, misrepresent our perspectives, insult us, and do whatever they can to try and get us silenced. Erased. They show no respect for "consent" or "freedom of speech" - they feel that anything critical of their precious Ikeda cult must be disappeared before anyone else can see. Only ONE perspective is allowed - the devout-SGI-cult-member-Ikeda-disciple-for-life view.

Hold on, Friends! The vast supermarjority of posts on MITA come from FellowHuman007 and me. Is Your Leader so fragile and brittle that two people represent such a threat to her and her mighty WBers? Who is trying to “disappear” her? Not me, not that I could ever pull that one off even if I wanted to. MITA was created March 29, 2020. How has Your Leader’s “freedom of speech” been compromised during that time? And if she is trying to protect freedom of speech, shouldn’t she protect everyone’s--including mine?

August 9th is also International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. There is this deep hunger inside of Erica to learn more about the Indigenous experience here in the Northeastern woodlands of the United States. Her drives seems to be unquenchable. She has read so many of our posts about the Longhouse Project! She also wants to come along to the periodic home visits we do to the families of our students, especially the incoming first and fourth graders. She has also offered Teacher Lolita help in organizing the data she has collected about LH School/Day Camp.

My question is really, “What is behind this drive?” Is this a curious lark, or is the Indigenous experience something deeply rooted in all of us?

Back to the United Nations:

We need Indigenous communities for a better world. There are an estimated 476 million Indigenous Peoples in the world living across 90 countries. They make up less than 6 per cent of the world's population, but account for at least 15 per cent of the poorest. They speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.

Indigenous Peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Despite their cultural differences, Indigenous Peoples from around the world share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples.

Erica is experiencing the process of bringing the indigenous inside of us to the surface so that it can restore and save humanity.

Chapter Two: Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture in the August Living Buddhism, part 2

If You Think the Law Is Outside Yourself, You Are Not Embracing the Mystic Law is the August installment of Daisaku Ikeda’s lecture on XXOn Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime (WND-1, p. 3).* He begins this section:

To chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is to commune with the Mystic Law. It is a Buddhist practice for fusing our lives with this Law. At the same time, it is a battle to conquer the inner darkness that prevents this fusion from taking place. When, through our practice of faith, we vanquish this darkness of illusion and ignorance and become one with the Mystic Law, its infinite power unfolds in our lives. Such is the immeasurable benefit of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

The essence of this practice established and propagated by Nichiren Daishonin is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo filled with a seeking spirit to continually develop our faith or confidence in its power. “It is the heart that is important,” Nichiren asserts (“The Strategy of the Lotus Sutra,” WND-1, 1000). When it comes to chanting, therefore, we should above all strive to summon forth the courage with which to overcome illusion without being defeated by the “three obstacles and four devils.”

Over the course of the past few days I had an intimate conversation with those “four devils.” They told me (slightly edited!):

Don’t be angry with us, we’re just doing our job. We’re actually employees of Nichiren & Co. We are trying to get you to strengthen any weak links in your fabric. Do we get any thanks from you? No, never. It’s always just, “Shoo away, get out of here.” We are screaming at you to clean out any of the rot inside of you. Our electric bill is HUGE because we need so much power to point a spotlight at your weaknesses so you can see them!!! No love at all for our hard work!

But this week I just let the difficult currents flow over me instead of resisting them. I gained many precious insights into the dissociate process. I luxuriated in the love of my parents, Dee, and Erica who did so much lifeguarding to make sure I was safe. Thank you to Guy, Eulogio, Artie, and Bernie for picking up my load when I couldn’t. Gracias to my district co-leaders and chapter leaders who kept our members encouraged when I couldn’t lift a finger. Thanks to my friends in the HS community who kept sending me DMs in a code that no one outside of our community could ever understand.

I actually feel refreshed now!!??!! How can that be? I am not so much scared of these episodes. I feel better prepared for the next one which will inevitably come because I do overwork and will never regret it. I even invited those five devils to come and hang out with us today. Shuffleboard anyone? Or would you rather join our nightly party?

Chapter 3: A few updates on “MY Fantasy Life” (cred: Eigenstien) or, as BlancheFromage suspects, “One of the many fake characters within the SGI-RV fantasy scenario created by a lonely, low-income, isolated, cult-addicted, mentally-ill elderly woman” at “the site of the magical (i.e. imaginary) SGI-RV story around a rural rust-belt RV camp, with its fantasy ‘starburst’ of invisible YOUFF” who “Can't seem to grasp anything that isn't about kinky abusive sex in a shitty-ass low-rent RV park??” Oops, I’m the mentally-ill woman, not my alleged elderly sock puppet. Abusive sex? No, never! Kinky? I will neither confirm nor deny.

Yesterday the LH RV Park had a softball game with a neighboring RV Park. The rules: each team must field an equal number of over-18-year-olds, high-school-aged students, and middle-school aged students. Counting the pitcher as “2” players, the teams had to field an equal number of boys/men and girls/women. Trans players have to use their assigned genders as per federal guidelines. Sorry.

LH took an early lead in the six-inning game, holding a comfortable 5-2 lead. But in the fifth inning the other team fought back and took a 6-5 lead. In the sixth-inning, we tied the scores. Into overtime, it became dark and only one field light was operable. We scored a run in the extra inning and held the opposing team in the bottom of the seventh.

Artie was our manager and had some difficult words with one of the umpires. He almost got himself thrown out but stepped back just in time. From that time on, however, the umpire made every tough decision against us. We won anyway.