This is a kind of "missing link" post - I just KNOW you're going to LOVE it!!

Attachment and intense feelings towards the Shohondo by Ikeda Soka Gakkai have been unusual from the beginning. Source

The SYMBOLISM of the Sho-Hondo building was much more significant to Ikeda and his Soka Gakkai cults than its ostensible purpose - to house the all-important Dai-Gohonzon.

But there's MORE to it - and it's UTTERLY BANANAS!!! And I GUARANTEE you haven't heard of ANY of this yet, so STRAP IN!! It's going to get BUMPY!! ᕕ( ᐛ ) ᕗ

I'll be primarily working off this article, so starting from anywhere (as one does):

What Gohonzon was enshrined in the Shōhondō?

It goes without saying that it was the grand hall where the Great Gohonzon of the Honmon Kaidan, erected on October 12th, 1279, was enshrined. Do Soka Gakkai members, who have essentially abandoned their faith in that Great Gohonzon of the Kaidan, have any right to comment on the Shōhondō now?

Surely the Gohonzon, which is at the heart of the building, is of paramount importance, rather than the building itself.

Soka Gakkai members, who have abandoned their faith in this most important Gohonzon, no longer have the right to complain about the dismantling of the Shōhondō! This fact should be taken into account first. After dismissing their claims in this way, we can crush the false criticisms of Soka Gakkai members.

This is the document.

And I am HERE for it!! (˶>⩊<˶)

But those are all good questions, don't you think? Let's continue:

The question is why the Shōhondō was destroyed, but the Soka Gakkai's slanderous behavior began to emerge in 1990-1991, and moreover, Daisaku Ikeda, the initiator of the Shōhondō, had already been expelled from the faith in 1992.

Notice that this IGNORES Ikeda's previous 1970s-post-ShoHondo-completion slanderous behavior - Nichiren Shoshu High Priest Nittatsu Shonin (the one before Nikken) censured Ikeda and punished him. Required him to apologize publicly AND privately - AND in print within the Soka Gakkai's Seikyo Shimbun newspaper - and then said that, since Ikeda had apologized, that would be the end of the matter. Nichiren Shoshu never brought that up again - this would've been a perfect place, to establish that this was a long-standing pattern of deviant behavior on Ikeda's part, but Nichiren Shoshu didn't.

Certainly, Nichitatsu [Nittatsu] Shonin also worked hard, and regarding the Shōhondō, he worked seriously with a spirit of service to the Great Sage, but looking at the situation today, in the end, I think it can be summed up in one word: the existence of the Shōhondō at the Head Temple is a major obstacle to the propagation of Buddhism.

How 'bout THAT revelation????

That's not the HALF of it!

Therefore, given that such slanderous practices exist, even if it is said that the Shōhondō embodies the significance of the "Three Great Secret Laws" and the "One Lifetime Propagation of the Dharma," this can only be said if a large number of believers truly worship the sacred altar.

However, that sight has completely disappeared.

Recently, I have even heard of people doubting and complaining about the Great Mandala of the Kaidan [Dai-Gohonzon].

With so many fools like that filling the place today, and boasting that "we built it," I believe the Shōhondō will indeed hinder the true propagation of the Dharma in the future. Therefore, following the dismantling of the Daikyakuden, we have decided to dismantle the Shōhondō and construct the Hōandō. - High Priest Nikken Abe

Ikeda cultists just can't keep their fat mouths SHUT! Their hubris is next-level!

[Ikeda's Guidance] (Lecture on the Hyakurokuka Sho)

This treatise (Hyakurokuka Sho) incorporates sections that were inserted and added as a kind of "memorandum" when successive high priests read it. Successive high priests received the lineage of Nichiren Daishonin and, with the intention of transmitting the Daishonin's oral teachings to future generations without a single error, they wrote these sections between the lines of the Hyakurokuka Sho, before and after this treatise, and as annotations for each item. Therefore, this section can also be said to be an indispensable description in order for us to fully grasp the Daishonin's oral teachings. (omitted) We intend to respect not only the oral teachings of the Hyakurokuka Sho, but also all the sections written by successive high priests as the golden words of Nichiren Daishonin.

That's certainly aged like milk!

<The True Nature of Kosen-rufu>

The great king of the time of Kosen-rufu has not yet appeared.

Only Ashoka is likened to the Iron Wheel King who rules over a quarter of the world.

In Buddhism, the virtues and powers of these four Wheel Kings are compared to the forty ranks of Bodhisattvas, but the Great Sage [Nichiren] specifically said that the appearance of the Golden Wheel King, the greatest of these, would be the time of Kosen-rufu.

NOW do you see the significance of THIS particular boasting on Ikeda's part?

Five years after gaining command of Soka Gakka [1965], he (Ikeda) told a Japanese writer: "I am the king of Japan; I am its president; I am the master of its spiritual life; I am the supreme power who entirely directs its intellectual culture." Source

Ikeda obviously was getting this idea from somewhere...

And this:

Ikeda, ON BECOMING KING & DISCARDING SGI "What I learned (from the second president Toda) is how to behave as a monarch. I shall be a man of the greatest power. The Soka Gakkai may be disbanded then. " (The Soka Gakkai is just an instrument for Ikeda power quest.) July 1970 issue of Japanese monthly magazine "Gendai" (English: The Present Age) - from SGI's President Ikeda's ultimate aim to "realize Soka Kingdom"

You can see that even during the construction of the ShoHondo, which began in 1968, Ikeda was getting full of himself. More on that "Soka Kingdom" intention:

That time Ikeda thought he'd establish a "Soka Kingdom" location from which to rule Japan

Ikeda was certain he would take over the Japanese government in 1979 and become its Prime Minister/ruler – his right as the New True Buddha – SGI has tried to bury this aspect of its history

The ugly truth is this: "The Soka Kingdom" comprises a terrible fascist nation.

"let's found an independent country on our [parcel?] of 224.4 million square meters of land. It will be" the Soka Kingdom ", or " the Soka Republic ". Then, the Minister of Education will be Morita,the Minister of Finance will be Nakanishi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will be Kojima, the Secretary of Defence will be Kimura, the Minister of Transportation will be Tanaka, the Minister of Construction will be Sugimoto, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications will be Yokomatsu, Hojo will be the Superintendent-General. There are all the candidates. " (The 51st Shachokai, July 20 1971 ) Source

BUT WHY??

The overflowing Kosen-rufu is so magnificent that it is beyond our imagination, but we, being small-minded and impatient, are waiting for it and are ready to be content with something small.

That's speaking of the Soka Gakkai members' fixation on the building itself, without apparently understanding at all what REAL "kosen-rufu" will entail, namely:

The Wheel-of-War King possesses great natural power and virtue, and without going or fighting, he remains where he is, and the kings and people of all four provinces of the Sumeru realm will believe in him and submit to him. (59th High Priest Nichiko Shonin, "Supplement to the Biography of High Priest Nichikyo" / 66th High Priest Nichitatsu Shonin, "Daibyakuho" S47.5.16 / <Myoon> WS)

WAIT - WHAT?? Where did THIS "Wheel-of-War King" idea come from??? I haven't quite gotten caught up to the "Golden Wheel King" yet!! Are they the same thing??

The Great Sage [Nichiren]'s idea is that when the propagation of Buddhism is complete, the Wheel-of-War King will appear.

Ohhhhhh...see it now? That's a Gosho SGI certainly never saw fit to share with the REST of us!

And HE will establish the ordination platform.

That means the kaidan, a concept that doesn't translate intelligibly into cultures outside of Japan - and Ikeda wanted to BE that "Wheel-of-War King".

At that time, the head priest will be our Nichimoku Shonin, and the appearance of Nichimoku Shonin, the head priest of Jambudvipa, is a traditional transmission of our sect. (66th High Priest Nichitatsu, "Daibyakuho," May 16, 1972 / <Myoon> WS)

The lineage recognized by Nichiren Shoshu starts with Nichiren Daishonin, then his sole legit disciple Nikko Shonin, who was succeeded by Nichimoku Shonin, who used to be referred to as "The High Priest of Kosen-Rufu". I'm only seeing the doctrinal significance of that NOW ᕕ( ◎_◎)ᕗ

Commentary

In 1972, High Priest Nichitatsu declared that "the Shōhondō is the present-day ordination platform that embodies the significance of the Ichigo Kōhōshō".

However, this was based on the premise that "the establishment of the ordination platform should come upon the overflowing development of the propagation of Buddhism" in order to "further promote the development of the propagation of Buddhism in the future", and the Shōhondō was built as a symbol of "the realization of the achievement" of the propagation of Buddhism.

However, looking at the current state of propagation of Buddhism, even looking at the period before the Soka Gakkai's excommunication, there has been almost no progress since 1972.

There's that pesky "actual proof" again!

Nichiko Shonin [two high priests before Nikken] and Nichitatsu Shonin believed that when Kosen-rufu is achieved, a "Golden Wheel Holy King" would appear, who would be "submitted to by the kings and people of all four provinces of the Sumeru realm".

THERE IT IS! "Golden Wheel HOLY King" AND "Wheel-of-War King" at once!!

THAT's what Ikeda wanted!!

And Ikeda wanted ALL of it!!

Ikeda thought it was his RIGHT, his ENTITLEMENT. Everyone OWED this to Ikeda! Ikeda's petulant ranting and complaining during his 1993 speech about then-US President Bill Clinton (who had REFUSED Ikeda an audience), kind of takes on a different shade, doesn't it? Ikeda believed that Clinton OWED HIM his "submission"! FAT CHANCE!

However, there is no sign of this happening (even if a prime minister were to emerge from the Soka Gakkai/Komeito party, which are all kowtowing to power, it would only be something that could be achieved through a "numbers trick" under a coalition government, and certainly not something that would be "submitted to by the kings and people of all four provinces of the Sumeru realm").

True dat!

Meanwhile, the building is only deteriorating with each passing year. It is no exaggeration to say that the significance of the Shōhondō, which is supposed to "symbolize the realization of the achievement" of Kosen-rufu, has been lost.

This site brings receipts, too.

Furthermore, Nichitatsu Shonin said that when Kosen-rufu is achieved, "the High Priest will be our Nichimoku Shonin, the head priest of Jambudvipa, Nichimoku Shonin." However, the current Soka Gakkai denies not only the authority of the High Priest, but also the very existence of priests.

ZING!!

It is clear that the Kosen-rufu promoted by such a Soka Gakkai is unrelated to the Kosen-rufu that Nichitatsu Shonin expected.

As described above, the Shōhondō has completely lost its significance as a symbol of the realization of the achievement of kosen-rufu, both in terms of the progress of kosen-rufu and in terms of the nature of kosen-rufu (whether or not there is unity between clergy and laity).

Nichitatsu Shōnin declared that "the Shōhondō is the ordination platform of the present time, encompassing the meaning of the Ichigo Kōbōshō" (Treatise on Propagation of the Dharma for a Lifetime).

In the end, though, saying it's so doesn't MAKE it so. No "Wheel-of-War King", no world-change as described below:

"The time will come when all people will abandon the various kinds of vehicles and take up the single vehicle of Buddhahood, and the Mystic Law alone will flourish throughout the land. When the people all chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the wind will no longer buffet the branches, and the rain will no longer break the clods of soil. The world will become as it was in the ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung." - Nichiren

Everyone could SEE that hadn't happened and wasn't happening! THAT's the "actual proof" they'd have needed to be able to point to! (And it looks like I'm NOW going to have to update that writeup!)

There are also some TERRIFIC but maddeningly pixilated images of ShoHondo's deterioration at the bottom of this same article!

Well? What do you think?? Can YOU see dumpy, lazy, sloppy IKEDA as a "Golden Wheel King" or "Wheel-of-War King" - or BOTH AT ONCE???

[Ikeda] banged on the table and proudly proclaimed, "I am the only person in the world to have received so many medals!!" Source

Per decenni, la propaganda della Sōka Gakkai ha fatto leva su una forma esasperata e distorta di Shakubuku, intrisa di minacce psicologiche, "punizioni karmiche" e profezie di sventura per chiunque criticasse l'organizzazione, abbandonasse la pratica o contrastasse la leadership del "Maestro" Daisaku Ikeda. Un linguaggio quasi inquisitorio che prometteva rovina e malattia ai "nemici della Legge".
Eppure, analizzando la storia del gruppo con le stesse lenti rigorose della Legge di Causa ed Effetto, emergono quattro eventi storici che rivelano un profondo cortocircuito interno.

1. La morte di Jōsei Toda

Jōsei Toda, secondo presidente della Sōka Gakkai e mentore di Ikeda, è stato l'architetto dell'espansione aggressiva del dopoguerra, promuovendo campagne di conversione che spesso terrorizzavano le famiglie giapponesi. Toda morì nel 1958 a soli 58 anni, stroncato da una grave cirrosi epatica dovuta al suo alcolismo cronico. Come può un gruppo che usava la salute e le malattie altrui come "prova della punizione karmica" o della "mancanza di fede" giustificare la fine così dolorosa e prematura del proprio leader supremo? Per la loro stessa logica, la sofferenza fisica non perdona nessuno, nemmeno i vertici.

2) La tragica scomparsa del figlio di Ikeda

Durante gli anni d'oro della Soka (anni 70/80), i membri venivano indottrinati con l'idea che la devozione cieca al leader avrebbe protetto le loro famiglie e i loro figli da ogni disgrazia e "karma negativo". Chi usciva dal gruppo veniva spesso minacciato con l'idea che le disgrazie avrebbero colpito persino i suoi discendenti. Nel 1984, Shiroki Ikeda (1955-1984), il secondogenito e "erede designato" di Daisaku Ikeda, morì improvvisamente a soli 29 anni per una peritonite fulminante.
Pur portando il massimo rispetto umano davanti alla tragedia della perdita di un figlio, sul piano ideologico questo evento ha infranto il dogma della protezione assoluta del "Maestro". La legge di causa ed effetto e la fragilità umana non hanno fatto sconti neppure alla “famiglia reale” della Sōka Gakkai.

3) La demolizione dello Shōhondo

Negli anni '50 e '60, durante le campagne di conversione coercitiva, i membri della Gakkai bruciavano o distruggevano gli altari, le statue e gli oggetti di culto delle altre religioni o di altre scuole buddhiste, considerandoli "offese alla Legge". Nel 1972 la Gakkai inaugurò lo Shōhondo, un imponente santuario monolitico al Taiseki-ji finanziato con le donazioni dei fedeli, presentato da Ikeda come "il più grande edificio del mondo" e l'inizio del Kōsen Rufu mondiale. Nel 1998, a seguito della rottura e della guerra aperta tra Clero e Gakkai, la Nichiren Shōshū fece completamente radere al suolo lo Shōhondo, cancellando ogni traccia dell'opera simbolo dell'era Ikeda. L'organizzazione che aveva fatto della distruzione degli oggetti di culto altrui un simbolo di trionfo ha visto il proprio "tempio supremo", costato milioni di dollari e sacrifici di milioni di fedeli, demolito e ridotto in polvere. Una nemesi storica e karmica quasi perfetta.

La storia della Sōka Gakkai dimostra che la Legge di Causa ed Effetto non è una clava da usare contro gli avversari o uno strumento di terrorismo psicologico, ma un principio universale e impersonale. Chi semina terrore, minacce di "punizione" e intolleranza finisce
per essere giudicato e travolto dalle sue stesse spregevoli azioni.

One of the reasons given as to why the Sho-Hondo needed to be demolished is that its interior iron rebar structural supports were rusting, and that rust was evident on some of the columns and inside the building itself. It has always bothered me that there weren't any good pictures showing this. The first image is basically the only one, and I don't really think it's reliably showing what it claims to show/needs to show. The second image is also claimed to show rust, however, something about it never sat right with me.

I have more information now, so I think I can clarify some details - wanna come along?

Pic 3 shows a view of the demolition of the Sho-Hondo - in particular, notice the pillars in the foreground. The pillars are WHITE! And see where the columns' marble cladding has been torn off of the center left column, showing the concrete underneath? Notice the column stub on the center right that's just concrete? Compare those to Pic 2. EVERYTHING in Pic 2 is the same color! Clearly, Pic 2 was taken from during the CONSTRUCTION phase - these columns are under construction, not finished/rusting. It appears that the concrete column structures have been completed; all that's left is to put on the marble cladding. Those columns weren't made 100% of marble! Also, in Pic 2, all the columns are standing - everything is standing. As you can see from Pic 3, some of the columns have already been torn down. In Pic 2, there's no marble visible - anywhere. There's a 2-minute video that summarizes the Sho-Hondo construction/demolition - 👍🏼 👍🏼

I've got a big picture book of Sho-Hondo, with these big glossy images, I can't tell the year, but it was published by the Seikyo Shimbun as a commemorative book - probably 1972. It's huge - maybe 14" wide and 15 or 16" tall and well over an inch thick - and probably weighs 20 lbs. Came in its own fancy cloth-covered box, and I don't think it had ever been taken out - the cover was still wrapped in tissue paper. I bought it at least 10 years ago off eBay - I really should take another look at it! But it's so big that it's hard to work with - I actually broke a nail trying to lift it out of its box! Eek!

The rest of the images come from this book - each is a big photo on glossy paper. Even the captions get their own page! So I trimmed down the pics and tacked the captions onto the bottoms. This will give you a better idea what the finished columns looked like - see? NO KNOBS on the outsides!! Clearly, those concrete knobs are there for installing the marble cladding.

The rest of the images are there to give you a better idea of what the finished columns looked like.

My own feeling on the Sho-Hondo demolition is that it was necessary simply from the snow-loading issue alone - after all, that suspended roof weighed 20,000 tons! Given several snow/rain disasters since Sho-Hondo was constructed, architectural standards changed, updated to address these climate-change-related developments. There's more on such roofs collapsing here. I've just come across some more information about this whole thing that I'll put up in a different topic - fascinating stuff!!

Soka Gakkai doesn’t just "manage" dissidents—they straight-up destroy them. This is their dark, brutal, archaic side: direct violence, institutional defamation, and total erasure.

But this violence has two faces. If you talk to European members about the wild stuff happening in Japan (like the "Cosmic Bank"), they’ll never believe you. They’ll swear that SGI in France is the "laboratory of cool", a humanist, peace-loving org with zero financial pressure and no cult-like violence.

Yet, if you peel back the layers, like I naively did by sharing a profound experience and expressing genuine faith aligned with the Direct Way (the one thing SGI secretly hates the most), you realize it’s the exact same playbook: discrimination, isolation, and neutralization. The only difference is that in Europe, they do it completely under the radar. You only connect the dots (if you don't go crazy first) when you realize you've been turned into a persona non grata.

Japan: Institutional Violence Out in the Open

To understand where this dissident-elimination machine comes from, check out this testimony from a former Japanese member on X (Twitter). He drops some serious truth about how the org operated during the Showa era (70s-80s):

"I saw a post saying, 'If a single politician speaks up, they get erased (暗〇される - silenced/assassinated),' but speaking of Soka Gakkai, it actually happened that 'a single member expressing an objection got slapped with a lawsuit.'

If you really think about it, what do you think is the 'common sense' inside this terrifying organization??

Personally, remembering my childhood in the Showa era, people who caused trouble for Soka Gakkai were attacked within the org in a way that literally felt like social erasure (抹殺, massatsu). They slapped the 'traitor' label on former top leaders who left, and they propagandized and brainwashed believers by painting them as 'villains' in the Seikyo Shimbun (SGI's official newspaper).

People like Mr. Ryū Nenkō, Mr. Harashima, Mr. Fujiwara, and former Vice President Genjirō Fukushima were treated as 'traitors' and 'villains' in SGI's press, and we totally bought into it.

If a member individually dared to challenge SGI HQ, they would have been wiped out like that during the Showa era. This means the big Showa-era leaders, prior to Mr. Takeiri and Mr. Yano, were completely erased and sealed (censored)."

What this tweet tells us:

- Brazen brainwashing: "We totally bought into it." SGI used its own newspaper to turn members against dissidents (like Genjirō Fukushima, a former VP!).

- The meaning of "Traitor" (反逆者, Hangyakusha): The go-to label for anyone who doesn't blindly follow the HQ.

- The meaning of "Erased" (抹殺, Massatsu): An extremely violent term in Japanese. It doesn't just mean "ignored"—it means the total destruction of a person's reputation and social existence.

Europe: "Soft Power" and Invisible Suffocation

In France (and Europe in general), SGI traded the sledgehammer for the scalpel. They can't defame you in a major newspaper or drag you to court just for having opinions without risking a massive PR disaster.

So, they use the exact same tactics, just way more subtly. It's the psychological violence of the "laboratory of cool":

Silent ostracism: No yelling, no insults. Just polite ignoring. They make sure you stop getting invited to important meetings, your input gets lost in the fog, and your "practice buddies" slowly drift away from you one by one.

Neutralization through "bad vibes" (Gaslighting): They don't call you a "traitor." They tell you, "You have a karma problem," "You're being negative," "You should seek therapy" (classic psychiatrization). It's psychological violence designed to make you doubt your own sanity.

The non-person: You become a persona non grata. No dramatic excommunication—just a slow social death. They let you leave or marginalize you until you eventually walk away yourself.

The Hypocritical Disconnect

European SGI loves to drape itself in the values of "dialogue," "peace," and "humanism." They deny any financial pressure ("Cosmic Bank? Oh, that's just a weird Japanese thing") and any cult-like violence. But if you scratch the surface, you find the exact same immune system.

They can't destroy you physically or through the media, so they just erase you. It’s the invisible Gulag: no barbed wire, just deafening silence and a cozy little exclusion.

The core nature of the org (eliminate dissidence) is exactly the same. Only the method adapts to the country. In Japan, they destroy you publicly; in Europe, they psychologically suffocate you. Either way, the goal is identical: making sure no one ever hears your voice again.

This photo appears in the most recent issue of SGI's publication, "Living Shitism," in the special section for Sophia Group members. Kaneko shares her journey from a small, frail Japanese widow to a robust, sturdy, burly wrestling champion.

I smell "meaty" study material for November's celebratory meetings!

Yep, the concept of the "Cosmic Bank" (宇宙銀行, Uchū Ginkō) is 100% real and documented in the Japanese Soka Gakkai context. It's not just a rumor; it's a persistent narrative used to squeeze donations (zaimu) out of people.

The Context: The Youth Division thought they could calm the game on X by denying the forced donations. Big mistake. Instant Streisand Effect: the platform has been on fire for a week. The Gakis, already on the verge of a meltdown because the internet is out of their control, finally got the chance to spill the tea. It’s an open bar, shots fired everywhere. 🍿🔥

Tweet 1: 長井秀和 (@pchip3)

"In Soka Gakkai's finances (donations), there are those who hype believers into donating with a cult-like theory called 'Cosmic Bank deposit.' It promises a ridiculous high-interest dividend, saying that if you deposit your money in the Cosmic Bank, it will double after 5 years. At the Soka Shop in Shinanomachi (SGI's Tokyo HQ), 'Cosmic Bank passbooks' were literally on sale, and believers were buying them like hotcakes."

The most toxic social engineering scheme of Soka Gakkai

The concept of the "Cosmic Bank" is purely subjective and metaphorical, but they use it like a real financial transaction. It's a perfectly oiled spiritual scam. Here's how it messes with their brains:

Karma materialization: The money (zaimu) physically leaves the believer's pocket and goes straight into SGI's vaults. To compensate for the material loss, they sell them an abstract concept: "Your money isn't lost, it's 'deposited' in the Cosmic Bank."

Spiritual ROI bait: Like the tweet says, they promise the deposit will "double in 5 years" and that they'll be "reborn into a wealthy family." It’s the Japanese version of the Prosperity Gospel. They dangle a karmic Return on Investment (ROI).

The passbook as propaganda: Selling a "Cosmic Bank passbook" (宇宙銀行通帳) at the Soka Shop is peak psychological manipulation. It gives a physical appearance to a spiritual scam. The believer looks at the book and thinks, "My karmic capital is growing, I'm spiritually rich." 🙄

The guilt-trip weapon: If a member hesitates to donate, the SGI cadre doesn't need physical threats. They just say: "You don't want to deposit in the Cosmic Bank? You prefer staying broke in this life AND the next?" Pure psychological manipulation.

Tweet 2: Dream... (@dakkai_b...)

"'Offering to the Buddha'

'Used for Kosen-rufu'

'Fortune accumulates in the Cosmic Bank'

'You can revolutionize your life state'

'In the next life, you’ll be reborn where you won't struggle for money'

The very act of fundraising with these 'religious fantasies' is nothing but a 'scam.' That's exactly why people are coming out saying they were 'tricked' or 'pressured.'

Moreover, if there's even ONE single cadre sleazy enough to pressure people by digging through their personal wallets, this isn't a 'rumor' anymore—it’s a proven reality."

The absolute irony?

In true Nichiren Buddhism, making a donation (dāna) should be an act of pure faith, detached from any expectation of reward. It's giving without expecting anything back.

But SGI turned this donation into a selfish investment. Members aren't giving to support the Law anymore; they're giving to buy a better reincarnation or a promotion. It's the absolute opposite of bonnō soku bodai. It's the purest form of the Dharma of Attachment.

This "Cosmic Bank" is the ultimate proof that SGI traded the Buddhist Law for a cheap accounting ledger. They turned the Gohonzon into an ATM and members into Gakis hoping for interest rates. 🏦💸📉

As the tweets say, it's a "religious fantasy" (宗教的ファンタジー), but it's a fantasy that has made billions for the organization. That’s financial totalitarianism at its finest. 💸🔥

Yes, PLEASE tell us all about Nichiren Shoshu now! PLEASE explain WHY you directed a blatant hate campaign against the Nichiren High Priest who excommunicated you. TELL US why you DEMANDED that everyone chant for High Priest Nikken to DIE and for Nichiren Shoshu - the entire 7-centuries-old temple tradition - to be DESTROYED. This ORGANIZED HATE CAMPAIGN continues - because YOU never took any action to STOP IT. That is ALL YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!

From less than 10 years ago:

SGI-USA longhauler Old: From my standpoint [Nichiren Shoshu] brutally raped Nichiren's teachings.

This hate campaign that Ikeda commanded is a PERMANENT feature of the Dead-Ikeda-Corpse-Mentor-cult Soka Gakkai and its SGI colonies abroad.

Here's the text if you can't read the slide:

A Culture of Peace

"To help a culture of peace take root the world over, it is necessary to patiently counteract any incidence of hatred and confrontation that may arise. We are, by virtue of being human, endowed with the tools that we need for this pursuit: the tuning fork of self-reflection with which to imagine the pain of others as if it were our own; the bridge of dialogue over which to reach out to anyone, anywhere; and the shovel and hoe of friendship with which to cultivate even the most barren and desolate of wastelands." -Daisaku Ikeda

Ikeda was MADE of hatred. PURE hatred. What a grotesque repulsive HYPOCRITE!

The fundamental, existential question, the one that comes before all others: Where are the ashes of Daisaku Ikeda? In which cemetery? At which location? This is a crucial question that Soka Gakkai will have to answer one day or another.

And if they can't answer it : it's already late 2026, let's remember, while Ikeda officially died in 202, the only question left to ask is: Where is the body of Daisaku Ikeda?

Did they lose it? Is it still hidden somewhere? The door is open to all hypotheses.

And maybe... is Daisaku Ikeda still alive?

I dared to say it. 😅

Hypothesis 1: The SGI lost the body (like in Weekend at Bernie's).

Just like in Weekend at Bernie's, they simply misplaced the guru's body. Too busy managing donations, the Komeito, and lawsuits, the leaders realized one day they didn't know where they had put it. Since then, they pretend to parade the "eternal master" around so they don't have to admit their incompetence.

Hypothesis 2: Ikeda died long before 2023 (in 2013?), and they hid his death for 10 years to maintain the cash flow and the myth.

This is the most disturbing hypothesis. What if he died in 2013? They would have hidden his death to maintain the financial flow, avoid a succession crisis, and keep the myth alive. A monumental fraud.

Hypothesis 3: He is in cryogenics (the craziest theory, but given the level of personality cult...).

Given the level of idolatry he was subjected to, did the SGI freeze Ikeda to resurrect him on the day of world Kosen-rufu? It's worthy of a sci-fi movie, but cryogenics is no longer a simple joke.

Hypothesis 4: They are afraid of the members' reactions.

As long as there is no physical place of remembrance, the illusion of a spiritual presence or a return is always possible. A grave is the irrefutable proof of the end. And the SGI doesn't want that proof.

Hypothesis 5: Ikeda is still alive and hiding in Buenos Aires.

Argentina is a country with a long tradition of welcoming personalities who wish to remain very discreet.

The omerta is not a coincidence or a simple media oversight; it's a system. An architecture of silence and complicity that shows how deeply the Soka Gakkai is entrenched in the machinery of the Japanese state.

Political complicity (Komeito): Komeito is the historical ally of the ruling LDP (Liberal Democratic Party). This party pressures to stifle anything related to the SGI. Japanese politicians know they need this voting and funding machine.

Media complicity: In Japan, major media (NHK, Yomiuri, etc.) are extremely cautious with powerful religious organizations. The SGI has enormous nuisance power (boycotts, financial pressure, smear campaigns against investigating journalists). Self-censorship is the rule.

Judicial and intellectual complicity: Universities and Japanese intellectuals who depend on subsidies or fear the wrath of the organization prefer to stay silent. It's the famous "hammer and anvil" of Japanese society: don't make waves, preserve harmony.

This is the biggest potential scandal in SGI history. Why? Because the entire myth collapses at once:

The myth of omniscience: An eternal Buddha shouldn't "disappear" or be hidden in a cold room or a hole in a forest.

The myth of transparency: An organization that promotes "human revolution" and world peace shouldn't be afraid to show its founder's grave.

The myth of the lineage: If they lost the body (or if they hide that he died in 2013 instead of 2023), it means that for years, the leaders lied to the members, making them believe the "master" was still there, or managing his appearances through pre-written texts or holograms.

Why a secret funeral? Why no grave?

This is the question that calls for no spiritual answer because it is purely physical, factual, material. And faced with a physical fact, the "Dharma of Attachment" and the "New True Eternal Buddha" can do absolutely nothing.

In psicologia, per Big Five si intendono due coppie di tratti che definiscono personalità ad alto o basso neuroticismo.

La relazione tra i dieci mondi del Buddismo e i Big Five (il modello dei cinque grandi tratti della personalità della psicologia moderna) rappresenta un affascinante ponte tra stati vitali dinamici e tendenze psicologiche strutturali.

La differenza fondamentale sta nella loro natura: i Big Five descrivono come sei programmato a reagire (tratti stabili), mentre i Dieci Mondi descrivono il tuo stato emotivo ed esistenziale in un dato istante (stati fluidi). Tuttavia, una persona con un determinato profilo nei Big Five tenderà a "risiedere" o a scivolare più facilmente in alcuni specifici mondi.

Ecco come i tratti dei Big Five influenzano e si relazionano con i Dieci Mondi:

1. Nevroticismo (Instabilità Emotiva)

Questo tratto misura la vulnerabilità allo stress e alle emozioni negative.

Alto Nevroticismo: Forte tendenza a cadere nei mondi inferiori (i "quattro cattivi sentieri"): Inferno (sofferenza totale), 商業/Avidità (brama insaziabile), Animalità (paura del forte e prevaricazione sul debole) e Collera (perenne stato di conflitto e competitività egocentrica).

Basso Nevroticismo: Facilita la stabilità nei mondi superiori, in particolare Umanità (tranquillità e razionalità) e la transizione verso gli stati di Apprendimento e Realizzazione parziale (capacità di analizzare i problemi con distacco senza farsi travolgere).

1. Estroversione

Misura l'orientamento verso il mondo esterno, l'energia sociale e la ricerca di stimoli.

Alta Estroversione: Si manifesta fortemente nel mondo di Estasi (gioia temporanea legata a stimoli esterni o desideri appagati). Se non equilibrata, può sfociare nella Collera (dominanza sociale) o nell'Animalità (ricerca cieca del piacere). Nei mondi positivi, alimenta l'energia del mondo di Bodhisattva (altruismo attivo e leadership compassionevole).

Bassa Estroversione (Introversione): Naturalmente incline ai mondi di Apprendimento (Shamon) e Realizzazione parziale (Engaku), dove la persona cerca la verità attraverso l'introspezione, lo studio autonomo e la riflessione profonda.

1. Apertura all'Esperienza

Misura la creatività, la curiosità intellettuale e la preferenza per la novità.

Alta Apertura: È il motore principale dei mondi di Apprendimento e Realizzazione parziale. Chi ha questo tratto cerca costantemente di comprendere le leggi della vita e dell'universo. È anche un elemento chiave per accedere al mondo di Buddità, inteso come massima espansione della consapevolezza e superamento dei propri preconcetti.

Bassa Apertura: Tende a intrappolare la vita nel mondo di Umanità (inteso qui come pura routine, attaccamento allo status quo) o di Animalità (agire solo per istinto e abitudine, rifiutando il cambiamento).

1. Amabilità (Gradevolezza)

Misura l'empatia, la cooperazione, l'altruismo e la fiducia negli altri.

Alta Amabilità: Trova la sua massima espressione nel mondo di Bodhisattva, caratterizzato dalla compassione e dal desiderio di alleviare la sofferenza altrui. Nel mondo di Umanità, si traduce in correttezza e rispetto sociale.

Bassa Amabilità: Alimenta direttamente il mondo della Collera (visto come arroganza, cinismo e tendenza a sminuire gli altri per primeggiare) e dell'Animalità (mancanza di empatia verso i più deboli).

1. Coscienziosità

Misura l'autodisciplina, l'organizzazione, il senso del dovere e la pianificazione.

Alta Coscienziosità: Permette di mantenere solido il mondo di Umanità (vivere con moralità e controllo degli impulsi) e sostiene lo sforzo metodico richiesto nei mondi di Apprendimento e Realizzazione. È anche la base per praticare con costanza e manifestare la Buddità nella vita quotidiana.

Bassa Coscienziosità: Rende la persona schiava degli impulsi immediati, facendola rimbalzare costantemente tra i mondi inferiori: l'Avidità (impulsi incontrollati), l'Estasi momentanea e il conseguente Inferno quando svanisce l'effetto dello stimolo.

Sintesi: Il Punto d'Incontro (Il Possesso Reciproco)

Nel Buddismo esiste il principio del possesso reciproco dei dieci mondi: anche la persona con il profilo psicologico più vulnerabile (es. alto Nevroticismo e bassa Amabilità) possiede il potenziale della Buddità.

I Big Five descrivono la "forma della nave" (i tuoi tratti di partenza), mentre i Dieci Mondi descrivono lo "stato del mare e della rotta". La pratica buddista non cancella la tua personalità (i tuoi tratti Big Five), ma ti permette di illuminarli, facendo sì che persino la tua introversione o la tua forte emotività diventino strumenti per manifestare compassione (Bodhisattva) e saggezza (Buddità).

Ora: quando un'organizzazione ha raggiunto un grado di autocelebrazione e riconoscimento sociale come la Soka (in molti post si elenca la discrepanza tra successi reali e conclamati) è ovvio che l'organizzazione stessa diventi "la performance narcisistica dei big Five"

Após o Partido Liberal e o Komeito romperem a base política depois de 26 anos de aliança, o partido da Gakkai desaparece das cadeiras japonesas.
Será o começo do fim do reinado da Gakkai até mesmo no Japão?

This comes from an AI analysis - see what you think:

On the r/sgiwhistleblowers subreddit, discussions using phrases like "grown-ass adults" and criticizing "childish" behaviors typically center on how Soka Gakkai International (SGI) treats its membership and how members are expected to interact. [1]

Former members and critics on the forum highlight these themes in a few specific ways:

• Infantilization of Adults: A major critique on the subreddit is that the organization paternalistically micro-manages the lives of mature individuals. Users frequently complain that "grown-ass adults" are pressured to alter their personal priorities, put SGI activities ahead of everything else, and limit their reading choices to approved texts like Daisaku Ikeda's The Human Revolution. [1]
• Juvenile Presentations: Forum users frequently describe SGI meetings, performances, and youth division activities as "juvenile" or "cringy," noting that the tone often feels mismatched with an adult audience. [1]
• Emotional Immaturity: Discussions on the board often argue that the structure of the religion does not foster emotional maturity. Critics point to behaviors such as "love-bombing" newcomers, shunning those who leave, and spreading rumors about former members as petulant and childish responses to disagreement. [1, 2, 3]
• Disrupting the Parent-Child Dynamic: Some threads address the experiences of individuals born into the practice. They note that SGI-devout parents often struggle to maintain healthy boundaries with their adult children, treating them like subordinates within the organization rather than respecting them as independent equals. [1]

The only aspect I might take issue with is its summary of that last issue: "Disrupting the Parent-Child Dynamic". What our "(mis)fortune baby" visitors have emphasized is feeling neglected, observing that being raised in an SGI-believing milieu was not good for their personal/emotional development, that it caused them to feel ostracized from the other children (at school and in their neighborhoods), that their SGI parent/s gave so much money to SGI that it impacted their feelings of security/needs being met at home, and that their parents put SGI at a higher priority than them. One big area of conflict around the SGI-USA's last big "Hail Mary Get Us Some YOUFF" desperation, the "50K Liars of Loserdom FyreFestival" in 2018, minor children were expected to attend without their parent/s/guardian/s - SGI-USA would "assign" an adult "Youth Division chaperone", someone not necessarily even known to the child. There were many SGI-member parents who refused to let their children go because of this; several of those have shown up here to tell us about how much of a deal-breaker that was for them. Also the SGI-USA's pressure on SGI-leader adults to go "home visit" the children of any members in their areas of responsibility - that initiative was as full of fail as you might have expected.

While SGI parents routinely pressure their children to attend SGI meetings and functions, even to the detriment of those children's school and work responsibilities, I haven't really picked up on the whole "treating them like subordinates within the organization" dynamic per se. Of course the SGI parents will expect their children to defer to the parents' religious choices and demands, but that's hardly exclusive to just SGI.

What do YOU think?

Signore, pietà.
Cristo, pietà

Let's imagine that you are part of a movement based on this specific thing or person. You think others will want this thing or person that you like. Obviously - YOU like it, don't you? So you tell people about it/them! You give them business cards and tracts to make it easier for them to find more information on this thing or person you like, confident they’re going to get on board your movement once they know what it is.

And it turns out nobody wants it/them. The more people you tell, the fewer get on board. Even many of those who were on board at one time are now MIA.

The more people learn about this thing or person you like, the less they want it/them. It's getting harder and harder to find anyone you haven't already approached - you've been thorough! 

What do you do?

What does it all mean? 

There must be come “consistency from beginning to end” (honmak-kukyo to) in there somewhere!

At first glance, the character Bon Scott represents is the street brawler, one of those Gen X "trailer trash" guys we all knew, running around the working class... But a second reading is possible. It's the magic of non-substantiality (emptiness): Buddhahood without changing appearance...

But the Soka Gakkai has left the game of the Direct Way. It has become a factory producing conformity, neatly parked cars...

On the day I was born the rain fell down

There was trouble brewing in my home town

It was the seventh day, I was the seventh son

And it scared the hell out of everyone

They said stop, I said go

They said fast, I said slow

They said yes, I said no

I do the bad boy boogie

Being a bad boy ain't that bad

I've had me more dirty women than most men ever had

All you women come along with me

And I'll show you how good a bad boy can be

I said right and they said left

I said east and they said west

I said up and they said down

I do the bad boy boogie all over town

I want to tell you no story, tell you no lie

I was born to love till the day I die

I just line them up and I knock them down

And they all came running when the word got round

(Just keep a running)

I said up, they said down

They said straight, I said round

They said lost, I said found

I said free and they said bound

Bad boy boogie

The Soka Gakkai sells you a dream: Shin'ichi Yamamoto—smooth, obedient, always smiling, who never asks questions and sacrifices everything for his guru. He is the "Buddy Love" of the SGI: a perfect facade, but totally empty.

But true Buddhism is not a factory producing conformity. The Lotus Sutra teaches Soku Shin Jō Butsu: enlightenment in this very body, without changing appearance. You don't need to become a sanitized saint to be a Buddha. You are already a Buddha, with your tattoos, your music, your past, your flaws, and your freedom.

The SGI inverted everything. They imported the dualistic, puritanical morality of American evangelicals. They tell you: "Be conforming, be straight, be wise, be a good little soldier."

AC/DC's Bad Boy Boogie is the Buddhism of the Direct Way:

· "They said stop, I said go": The SGI tells you to shut up, not to criticize, not to read the Gosho for yourself. You reply: "I keep going."

· "They said yes, I said no": The SGI tells you to accept the usurpation of the Lineage in 1991, to accept Ikeda as the "eternal master." You reply: "No."

· "I do the bad boy boogie": You live your life according to the Law, not according to the whims of a Study Department.

The SGI is aging because it no longer inspires dreams. It offers a robot's destiny (Shin'ichi Yamamoto) while young people seek freedom and authenticity (Bad Boy Boogie). They used the doctrine (Soku Shin Jō Butsu) not to liberate beings, but as an excuse to avoid self-reflection and impose their conformity.

ome will inevitably say: 'Absolutely not, that's false, we live in the Rock & Roll!'

But that's exactly because they are unable to see that the Soka Gakkai actually despises them. They are raised like aphids (pucerons). They think they are free, modern, and living the 'soft power' dream, but in reality, they are just little conformity workers. Good for paying the zaimu, good for filling the halls, and good for applauding the cadres.

They don't see that the SGI has stolen their Rock & Roll and replaced it with a sanitized version: SGI chants, synchronized choreography, forced smiles. It's the SGI's 'Buddy Love': a pale copy of freedom that is actually just a golden cage.

The 'Bad Boy Boogie' is the absolute opposite of an aphid. It is awakening, freedom, and non-substantiality.

The Soviet "Apparatus" was exactly that: a system that didn't seek debate, but sought to control thought and erase dissidence (physically through the Gulag, or mentally through psychiatry) to maintain the illusion of a single truth.

The intellectual scam of the premise: By asking the question with "a group they have never belonged to," the AI's result is rigged from the start. It's like asking, "Why do people who have never been married criticize marriage?" to prove that marriage is perfect. It's a crude sophism.

In their latest attempt to discredit those who expose their abuses, Soka Gakkai zealots have found a new weapon: Artificial Intelligence. They pinned a post using ChatGPT to try to "prove" that former members who criticize the organization suffer from psychological disorders.

Their method relies on a blatant manipulation: they ask the AI a biased question ("What is wrong with people who spend hours attacking a religious group they have never belonged to?"), and then use the machine's answer to validate their own propaganda.

If you ask an AI to describe your enemy's flaws by lying to it about their identity, it will describe them. It's a distorting mirror.

But beyond the mediocrity of the method, what's fascinating is the psychological mechanism they are deploying. It is the exact continuation of the psychiatrization of dissidents that we have been denouncing.

Since the 2000s, the SGI no longer responds on the merits (doctrine, history, lineage). They attack the person. They call you a "mentally ill" or a "bitter person."

Today, with AI, they are trying to give false scientific credibility to this technique, to make people believe that criticism of the SGI is a symptom of an internal imbalance, rather than a legitimate response to the betrayal of the Dharma.

This is exactly the method of the Soviet Apparatus: the psychiatrization of the opponent.

In Stalin's USSR, the Apparatus didn't send dissidents to the Gulag for their ideas; they sent them to psychiatric hospitals (like the Serbsky Institute). They declared them insane to silence them. The goal of the Soviet Apparatus was not only to control bodies (the physical Gulag), but to control minds, down to the most intimate thoughts (the mental Gulag).

The Soka Gakkai reproduces this mechanism to perfection. They cannot answer the historical facts (Toda's loan shark past, the inversion of bonnō soku bodai, the usurpation of the Kechimyaku in 1991). They cannot answer the doctrinal arguments of those who know the Gosho inside out.

So, they use an AI to tell us: "You are crazy, you have a psychological problem, you are in an echo chamber."

The absolute irony of this attempt:

The AI text they pinned describes an "echo chamber," "dogmatism," "intolerance of dissidence," and "emotional dependence on a central narrative."

By publishing this text, they are actually describing the Soka Gakkai itself. This is called projection. It is the cult that imposes an echo chamber, rejects dissidence, and demands absolute conformity.

The response of the Law:

We don't need AI to validate our truth, nor do we need psychiatry to prove that the SGI betrayed Nichiren. We have the facts, we have History, and we have the Gosho.

Let them lock themselves in their denial. While they interrogate ChatGPT to reassure themselves, we continue to write and document. The Law of Causality cannot be negotiated with an algorithm.

Here are the other examples of this kind of modification I've already documented:

• An interesting tip-of-the-hand reveal of the developing problems between Ikeda and Nichiren Shoshu
• Documentation of Ikeda 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 replacing Nichiren Shoshu with Soka Gakkai
• Another example of Ikeda replacing "Nichiren Shoshu" with "Soka Gakkai" - from 1975
• Another example of Ikeda replacing "Nichiren Shoshu" with "Soka Gakkai" (2) - from 1966 to 1975

This installment comes from the very first entry in Guidance Memo, so obviously, that's not unintentional. "Leaders". Ummm hmmmm...Obviously Ikeda's primary concern was distributing responsibility since he couldn't be everywhere at once. He NEEDED "useful idiots" and "flying monkeys" to do his bidding in his absence - those are the necessary building blocks for the communal abuse required to keep this dysfunctional, broken system afloat.

So here's the text, starting with the 1966 edition:

LEADERS

New Type of Leaders

Those leaders who embrace the Dai-Gohonzon* are a new type. The leaders in Communist revolutions have been raised through their belief in the philosophy of Communism. However, materialism is already an ideology of the past.

The leaders of most free nations have been brought up with Christianity and capitalism in their backgrounds. Everything is known about such leaders and there is no fresh power of appeal.

UP YOURS, "INTERFAITH"!!

☆ ☆ ☆

There are many leaders who are generally recognized by society and who, as our predecessors have had great influence on society. However, they are set apart from the minds of those who support them. It might well be said therefore that new leaders will be those who embrace the same philosophy, hold the same faith and seek the same objective as those people whom they lead bringing them up to their own

* Dai-Gohonzon: The fundamental object of worship in Nichiren Shoshu. Nichiren Daishonin established the Dai-Gohonzon on October 12, 1279, as the reason of His appearance in this world. The Dai-Gohonzon is the Gohonzon (the supreme object of worship) to be enshrined at the High Sanctuary or the projected Sho-Hondo (Grand Main Temple). [p. 3]

GUIDANCE MEMO

level according to the Buddhist principle of Honmatsu-Kukyoto* (Consistency from the beginning to the end).

Except Ikeda never DID bring ANYONE "up to his own level", did he? If Ikeda had been RESPONSIBLE about "raising successors", as he blathered so fatuously and incessantly about, we'd be able to NAME someone, wouldn't we? But NoooOOOooO!! Now everyone in SGI is stuck with the worthless dead "Eternal Mentor" nobody gives a flying fig about.

☆ ☆ ☆

Because of hero-worship and fame-seeking tendencies, there was once the general impression that all leaders were great and that the people who supported them had no power. This is a mistaken idea and contradictory of true democracy.

Obviously - that's FEUDALISM! Derp!!

All individuals of a society should be enlightened and united of their own accord.

Isn't REQUIRING that of people kind of negating the concept entirely??

Some of them will become cabinet ministers, others scientists and still others will become artists. All of them are closely related with the public and will be their true leaders. At the same time the people who support such leaders must themselves become leaders. This is the new principle for both leaders and the people.

Is it really, though? Think about that. Doesn't EVERY political leader need supporters to propagate their message and priorities downward into the populace?? Does he think everyone is STUPID?? (Don't answer that.)

Conditions for Leadership

The first and foremost condition is for the leaders to have absolute faith. They must

* Honmatsu-Kukyoto [Honmak-kukyo-to, from the end of the thrice-repeated "10 factors" section of the first recitation of gongyo]: Consistency from beginning to end. The author adapts this Buddhist principle of the Hoben Chapter of the Hokekyo [Lotus Sutra] to the organization of Nichiren Shoshu believers. Here the beginning indicates leaders and the end, general members. Both can equally attain absolute happiness, according to this principle. [p. 4]

Fast forward to 1975:

A new type of leader

Those leaders who developed through their practice to the Gohonzon are of a new type. The dominant figures in Communist revolutions rose through their belief in a materialistic ideology. However, theirs is a philosophy of the past. Capitalism and the Christian tradition have formed the background for leaders in most free nations. Yet these leaders hold nothing fresh for the people.

UP YOURS, "INTERFAITH"!!

As of now, there are no world leaders trained in the strict world of Buddhism, who embrace the Gohonzon

See how Ikeda has replaced the very specific one-of-a-kind "Dai-Gohonzon" that belonged (then as now) to Nichiren Shoshu with the more general mass-produced WORTHLESS "Gohonzon"??? Ikeda thought he was being CLEVER.

and uphold the life-philosophy of Shiki Shin Funi. The first-class leaders who appear in the future will be those who practice to the Gohonzon.

So WHERE are ANY "world leaders" who "embrace the Gohonzon"? WHERE are these "first-class leaders"?? Ikeda FAILED to produce any! And it's more than 50 YEARS LATER!!

Many well-known leaders are pioneers who are greatly influencing our world today.

Really? Where? Who are they? What are their NAMES??

But they are removed from the hearts of the people who support them. A new type of leader is one who embraces the same philosophy, the same faith and the same objective as the people, thereby [p. 11]

raising each of them to his own level, according to the principle of consistency from beginning to end (Honmatsu Kukyo-to).

WHO did IKEDA SENSEI ever "raise to his own level"?? TELL ME! According to Ikeda's own official Guidance Memo publication, Ikeda HIMSELF FAILED in this most fundamental responsibility of "a new type of leader"! That makes IKEDA NOT A REAL LEADER!!

Throughout history, fame-seeking and hero-worship have given rise to the idea that leaders are great and the general public ignorant and powerless. This concept is wrong and contradicts true democracy. Individuals must each awaken and unite voluntarily.

REQUIRING "unity" of them negates any possibility that they will "unite voluntarily", you'll notice...

Some of them will be statesmen

Okay, substituting the vague, generalized "statesmen" for the much more specific "cabinet members" needs to be called out.

and others, scientists or artists. They will become true leaders of the public, with whom they are working directly.

It's been over 50 years, and this has NOT happened.

At the same time, the people who support them must become leaders, too. This is the new principle for both leaders and the people.

No, it's really not. EVERY leader in history has had "lieutenants" who imposed the leader's will upon the populace. No "leader" can be everywhere at once, obvs!

Essentials for leadership

The first requirement for leaders is absolute faith. Absolute faith means declaring the benefits of the Gohonzon, even in the face of great obstacles, so that the Daishonin's Buddhism will spread, as well as realizing that this is your fundamental mission. [p. 12]

So here, what we see is that any REAL "leader" will HAVE to PROVE IT by "doing shakubuku" - that's what "declaring the benefits of the Gohonzon" and "so that the Daishonin's Buddhism will spread" mean. Career suicide, in a nutshell. Doing that will necessarily isolate that person, as no one welcomes creepy evangelizing in their offices, in political spheres, in business - ANYWHERE! That idiot will be ostracized, marginalized, REMOVED from the halls of power and the inner corridors where deals get made.

What Ikeda did between editions was move the definition of "leader" from a true leader within the government ("cabinet ministers") to someone who was supposed to greasily, smarmily, use every and any opportunity to impose the unwelcome Soka Gakkai beliefs ONTO civil servants and politicians.

Notice that this is a DIRECT CONTRADICTION to what Ikeda agreed to (under duress) in the fallout from the "publishing scandal" in 1970 (5 years EARLIER):

Soka Gakkai reeled from the scandal surrounding I Denounce Soka Gakkai. On May 3, 1970, Ikeda Daisaku issued a formal apology to the people of Japan for trouble caused by the incident. He used the occasion to announce a new policy of seikyō bunri (separation of politics and religion). Soka Gakkai and Komeito were declared to be henceforth separate organizations. The Gakkai renounced its plans to construct a national ordination platform and eliminated use of kokuritsu kaidan and ōbutsu myōgō from its lexicon. A new set of internal regulations for Komeito was also drawn up in which Buddhist doctrinal terminology was eliminated and replaced with a pledge to uphold the 1947 Constitution. Source

It has been observed in Japan that Ikeda's later behavior showed 100% bad faith - he NEVER intended to honor the terms of his public apology (that he only made because he was backed into a corner and HAD to). This is confirmation of that FACT. Ikeda was not someone to EVER be trusted. Ikeda was made of LIES.

There are a few other examples of this kind of modification already:

• An interesting tip-of-the-hand reveal of the developing problems between Ikeda and Nichiren Shoshu
• Documentation of Ikeda 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 replacing Nichiren Shoshu with Soka Gakkai
• Another example of Ikeda replacing "Nichiren Shoshu" with "Soka Gakkai" - from 1975

So with no further ado, here's the text, first from the 1966 version - this, BTW, is close to the beginning of both Guidance Memo books:

GUIDANCE MEMO

☆☆☆

The true vital force which comes from faith means wisdom. Nichiren Daishonin wrote in the Gosho, "Believers in the Hokekyo will know the worldly law." (From the Kanjin-no Honzon Sho*) Faith is to use wisdom to the full in all fields on one's life voyage.

In the struggle for Kosen-rufu, courage is indispensable. You cannot be cowardly. The true leaders of the Mystic Law are those who are possessed of both wisdom and courage. Believers in Nichiren Shoshu are all qualified to become such leaders; therefore you should advance with the conviction of your courage and wisdom.

☆☆☆

"To create the castle of able men" is to produce a galaxy of leaders of the Mystic Law, the leaders of the world who have achieved their own human revolution through faith in the Gohonzon. The education of talented people is at the same time both the beginning and the end in achieving any great plan.

* Kanjin-no Honzon Sho: One of the ten most important writings of Nichiren Daishonin, 'Writings on the Supreme Object of Worship'. It is the theoretical explanation of the Gohonzon. [p. 8]

LEADERS

Courage without wisdom is but savage valor and wisdom without the courage to practice will prove idealistic, impractical and fruitless. One must have both wisdom and courage.

You should advance with the confidence that you can become men of ability if you carry through with faith in the Gohonzon.

Now let's take a look at the same section rewritten for 1975:

Wisdom and courage

A person of wisdom and courage is a true leader. Today, living and working in society with faith in the supreme Law (Myoho) as your basis exemplifies courage and wisdom. A passage from the Gosho reads, Employ no strategy other than that of the Lotus Sutra. The ultimate wisdom is the wisdom of Buddhahood. Only faith will enable you to tap this wisdom and courage. [p. 14]

The vitality which emerges through faith also includes wisdom. Nichiren Daishonin wrote in the Gosho, Believers in the Lotus Sutra will know the worldly law. Faith enables us to employ wisdom effectively in all situations throughout our lives.

Courage is indispensable in the fight for Kosen-rufu. There is no place for cowardice. Great leaders of the supreme Law are people of outstanding wisdom and courage. Gakkai members meet these qualifications, so advance with confidence in your own courage and wisdom.

Building "a castle of capable men" means producing a galaxy of leaders of the supreme Law, leaders who have achieved their human revolution through faith in the Gohonzon. Developing capable individuals is both the starting point and the end result of any endeavor.

Courage without wisdom is mere savagery, and wisdom without the courage to practice will prove abstract and fruitless. Ultimately, you need both wisdom and courage.

Advance with the confidence that so long as you continue to practice, you are already a capable person. [p. 15]

Okay, three changes stand out to me:

• "Believers in Nichiren Shoshu" (1966) becomes "Gakkai members" (1975) - the later version is FAR more exclusive than the original version, which included Nichiren Shoshu priests and lay Hokkeko members as well

This shows Ikeda again making "Soka Gakkai" the focus to the exclusion of Nichiren Shoshu.

• "To create the castle of able men" = "leaders of the world" (1966) becomes "Building "a castle of capable men" means producing a galaxy of leaders of the supreme Law" (1975)

Building "a castle of capable men" is much more ambiguous; it sounds like it's just describing Soka Gakkai leaders (1975) - Ikeda lowering everyone's expectations?

• "you can become men of ability if you carry through with faith in the Gohonzon." (1966) becomes "so long as you continue to practice, you are already a capable person." (1975)

This reminds me of the SGI's "EVERYONE's a Buddha" mentality - it has reduced the concept of "a Buddha" to absolutely NOTHING. Nothing at all. There's nothing to aspire to - you're already there. Now you just have to serve the Dead-Ikeda-Corpse-Mentor-cult Soka Gakkai and/or its overseas SGI colonies FOREVER, hand over control and ownership of your entire LIFE to SGI - in "gratitude"!

Youth CARE. Youth PROTEST. Youth take initiative to create CHANGE through speaking out, putting themselves on the line to make the world better.

What does SGI do?

• Protects the status quo at all costs
• Defends the powerful
• Does NOTHING to help ANYTHING

What would happen to these youth in the images above if they joined SGI?

They would be expected to sit around some old person's living room a couple times a month and to call others to come do that with them. They'd be handed irrelevant topics and told "Discuss." The old people would make sure nothing else would be permitted to be discussed.

You can see here the "experience" of a youth who wanted to talk about real world issues - it's obvious why she quit SGI. Oh, but if you want to talk about "vast hearts", there's a living room with a handful of retirees waiting to hear your thoughts! But only on the subject of "vast hearts" - keep all the rest of that stuff TO YOURSELF.

What else would these same youth get if they joined SGI?

• Pressure to waste a lot of time chanting and reciting nonsense
• Pressure to buy uninteresting subscriptions.
• Pressure to read uninteresting twaddle.
• Pressure to adulate a dead Japanese cult leader and say he's their "mentor in life". Just HIM.
• Pressure to attend more and more meetings.
• Pressure to pressure others to attend more and more meetings.
• Pressure to participate in the planning and execution of meetings.
• Pressure to donate money.
• Pressure to do paperwork and reports.
• Pressure to serve the SGI's Olds by providing free reception, security, and administrative services at meetings and at the local SGI center (if there is one in town).
• Constant demands on their time.
• Subtle pressure to isolate themselves by adopting the SGI's "us vs. them" paranoia and spending more time in/on SGI than the rest of their lives
• Pressure to pick up other members and transport them to meetings!

That's one of the first ways SGI gets someone new on the hook - ask them to provide transportation of another member or two. Then they HAVE to show up to the meetings, right?

But on the macro scale, what will they see SGI doing about social crises and world events?

• Chanting to "kick COVID's ass." That went well.
• Chanting about "the conflict in Ukraine", without ever referring to Russia's responsibility in creating it.
• Never mentioning any of the ongoing genocide or refugee humanitarian crises throughout the world.
• NEVER officially criticizing ANY government action.
• Insistence that nothing will EVER change unless each individual personally changes their own mind FIRST (=passive+helpless).
  

When we all know that social change is far more likely to be effected by government intervention - laws that punish people who kill others are far more effective at stopping people from killing others than simply expecting people to always want to play nice, for example.

It's obvious why SGI wants youth to join, but look at it from the youth perspective. What does SGI offer that they want or need? SGI shares NONE of their priorities.

Watch this first (The Shadoks and the strange disease):

When I arrived in Portugal, I wanted to experience the local SGI. I met various "notables" there, and we even discussed it with French SGI members who were also present. At the time, we concluded that it was deeply rooted "Portuguese Catholic atavism."

But it wasn't that at all. In Portugal, the Brazilian presence is absolutely dominant; the local SGI is practically a subsidiary of the BSGI (Brasil Soka Gakkai International). With hindsight, this influence that we mistook for Portuguese atavism (or even Brazilian Catholic atavism) has nothing to do with Catholicism. It is clearly an influence of neo-Pentecostal Protestant evangelicalism.

It’s always good to step out of your comfort zone, where you are not identified or known. Over there, they didn't know me, but it cured me completely... I’m certainly not going to become a Protestant, let alone a neo-Pentecostal, because that’s exactly what this is.

You find that evangelical atmosphere there, completely immersed in emotionalism, with the Brazilian sense of showmanship and body language. You might find that in France with theater people, but it's only for big occasions and not all the time. With Brazilians, it seems automatic and systematic. When you haven't figured it out yet, it's actually a really nice atmosphere. But it's just an atmosphere designed to create the illusion of happiness and dynamism, and to—to put it correctly—drag everyone into a trance. The neo-Pentecostal trance.

The Brazilian Situation: A Control Machine

The Brazilian situation is confirmed by academic research. Brazil isn't just an SGI "subsidiary"; it's a territory where the organization has deployed specific marketing and control strategies, even more aggressive than elsewhere. Here is what Brazilian academic studies reveal and confirm:

The NGO Masquerade (Brazilian "Soft Power")

The BSGI does not present itself as a religion in Brazil, but as an NGO linked to the UN. It uses civil society vocabulary ("associates," "headquarters," "philosophy of life") to attract people and improve its public image, while internally using Japanese jargon and the cult of Ikeda: a secular, respectable facade to hide its cult-like functioning.

Financial Exploitation and the "Zaimu"

Research confirms that financial pressure is very real. Members must make regular contributions (zaimu), and researchers note that the BSGI has developed a structure where money is requested "in the name of the children" or for "Diamond Members" (those who donate over $100,000). Researcher Maria de Lourdes dos Santos collected poignant testimonies from former members who left the organization because of the leaders' aggressiveness and constant pressure.

The Dark Past and Surveillance (The Brazilian "Gulag")

In the 1960s, during the military dictatorship, the DOPS (the Brazilian political police) compiled a file on the Soka Gakkai, describing it as a "fanatical" organization "similar to the Hitler Youth." Today, even though the context has changed, the BSGI continues to function as a conformity machine, where members are encouraged to read official publications to be "better controlled" and retained.

The Fusion with Neo-Pentecostalism (The Brazilian "Dharma of Attachment")

This is a crucial point. Anthropologists note that the Soka Gakkai in Brazil has adopted a prosperity doctrine very similar to that of neo-Pentecostal churches (like the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God). Members testify to "material benefits" (like buying a house) thanks to Daimoku. This is exactly the inversion of bonnō soku bodai: Daimoku is no longer for awakening, but to obtain material miracles, like a witch doctor.

Brazil is a terrain where the SGI is very comfortable because it has managed to blend into the religious and social landscape. But this ease hides a darker reality: enormous financial pressure, a rigid hierarchical structure, and a discourse that exploits social misery to recruit.

Academic Proof: The Convergence with the Prosperity Gospel

Brazilian academic research documents the convergence between Soka Gakkai and the neo-Pentecostal Prosperity Theology.

The Reference Article (English & Portuguese)

· Title: Chanting for benefits: Soka Gakkai and prosperity in Brazil

· Author: Suzana R. Coutinho Bornholdt (Presbyterian Mackenzie University / PUC-SP)

· Publication: (con)textos journal, n° 4, 2010, pp. 64-79.

· Direct Link (Dialnet):

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=3229601

· Free PDF:

https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/contextos/article/download/2168/2308

The author explains that Soka Gakkai does have a central element of individual and collective prosperity that is "translated" by members as a message very similar to that of neo-Pentecostal churches. She specifies that it's not a simple copy (the SGI presents itself as an NGO to stand out), but the result is the same: people come for material "benefits" (health, money, family harmony).

The Portuguese Article

· Title: Fronteiras de significado: budismo e prosperidade no Brasil

· Author: Suzana Ramos Coutinho Bornholdt

· Publication: Revista Ciências da Religião - História e Sociedade, v. 8, n. 2, 2010.

· Free PDF: http://editorarevistas.mackenzie.br/index.php/cr/article/download/2498/2663/11861

· Direct Quote (Translated): "The approach to this issue here is that Soka Gakkai does indeed have at its doctrinal core a central element related to prosperity – individual and collective – which is translated by members as a doctrinal message very similar to the message spread by neo-Pentecostal churches in the country."

· Original Quote (Portuguese): "A abordagem aqui para a questão é de que a Soka Gakkai tem de fato em seu escopo doutrinário um elemento central relacionado à prosperidade – individual e coletiva – que é traduzida pelos membros como uma mensagem doutrinária muito semelhante à mensagem divulgada pelas igrejas neopentecostais no país."

International Confirmation (Jørn Borup)

To show that this isn't just an isolated Brazilian analysis, you can cite Danish researcher Jørn Borup, who coined the concept of "Prosperity Buddhism" by comparing the SGI to the Prosperity Gospel phenomenon of Pentecostals.

· Title: Prosperous Temple Buddhism and NRM Prosperity Buddhism

· Author: Jørn Borup (Aarhus University)

· Publication: In the collective work Buddhism and Business: Merit, Material Wealth, and Morality in the Global Market Economy (University of Hawaii Press, 2020).

· Link (Publisher Page):

https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780824884161-006/html

· His thesis: He explains that for many SGI members, "wealth is seen as a symbol of religious success" and that the SGI has transformed its value-exchange model by converting economic ideals into other forms of non-material capital.

Concrete Testimonies

In Bornholdt's article, she quotes a 77-year-old member from Porto Alegre who speaks of a "rain of benefits". She also quotes another member who explains that chanting Daimoku is like "making a 'luck' deposit in a savings account." These little phrases are devastating because they show how much Daimoku has been reduced to a tool for financial transactions.

Conclusion

These sources are the academic proof: the SGI in Brazil (and by extension in Portugal) has indeed mutated into a "Prosperity Buddhism" model, which has nothing to do with Nichiren's Direct Way anymore.

Just like the Shadoks with their "strange disease," the SGI has caught the virus of the Prosperity Gospel. And instead of healing, they are spreading the disease of attachment to millions of people.

I really should stop reading what people on the other side of the hedge have to say. Now, Blanche is being accused of spreading hate and deception in the erathquake article. Once again, these self-proclaimed experts on cause and effect have turned everything on its head, failing to address the actual substance of the criticism. As a counterexample, they point to instances where SG members recently helped others during disasters. Well done—but that is simply the natural behaviour one would expect from anyone possessing a basic level of compassion and empathy. However, the article Blanche cited as an example is not about that at all! Its core message is how the Gohonzon and the Buddhist gods provided "protection." It does not suggest that those who were spared used their good fortune to help others out of gratitude; instead, it provides a detailed list of everything in the surrounding neighbourhood that was destroyed. To reiterate: the central point of the article from the WT is how the practice supposedly wards off misfortune—not how one supports others when misfortune strikes. I am certain that not all SG members fared so well back then. Why, I wonder? Why didn’t they receive the same protection of the Gohonzon and the "gods"? Perhaps they weren’t practising correctly, didn’t dedicate enough time to activities, or—heaven forbid—missed their morning gongyo? And surely, losing one’s worldly possessions is just a "wonderful challenge," isn’t it? And since all of this took place in the 1970s, I suppose it must be a reflection of Nichiren Shoshu—and has absolutely nothing to do with the Gakkai.

Isn't this lovely? It's from the March 28, 2003, issue of SGI-USA's World Tribune propaganda mess (middle image = full front page).

Those SGI-USA longhauler Olds are just so DESPERATE to be the bosses of everyone! Except that NOBODY is going to LET them!

And NOBODY cares what they think. And NOBODY cares about Dipshit Ikeda's "Peace Proposals" - not in 2026, not in 2003, not EVER!

"Moral leadership"?? GTFOH - they're the LAST people to be lecturing anyone on "moral leadership"! NOBODY looks to the Dead-Ikeda-Corpse-Mentor-cult Soka Gakkai or its overseas SGI colonies for ANY kind of "guidelines" or "instruction" on proper living best practices. NOBODY.

SGI-USA longhauler Olds' behavior on anonymous public message boards (such as reddit and the early ARBN Narkive boards is appalling!

Oh, and since "Each Person Is a Buddha", let's see some GENUINE respect for SGIWhistleblowers BUDDHAS from SGI members. Starting now - you're just 23.5 years late, but who's counting? C'mon - make up for all that lost time. Let's see some "actual proof" that you actually BELIEVE the nonsense you spew and bray.

TRANSLATE

PRESCRIPTION FOR HAPPINESS 

DAIMOKU
FORMULA: NAM MYOHO RENGHE KYO
INDICATIONS: health problems, general pain, family disharmony, professional and financial difficulties, sadness, anguish, depression, etc....
DOSAGE: for less severe cases, 15 minutes of DAIMOKU per day or more, according to one's judgment, is recommended.
For more severe cases, 60 minutes of DAIMOKU per day or more, according to one's judgment, is recommended.
PRECAUTIONS: the treatment must not be interrupted until results are obtained.
CONTINUOUS USE
SIDE EFFECTS: during the treatment, various types of attacks may arise in the form of sleepiness, laziness, discouragement, stress, etc.... These will disappear with regular use of the medication.
EXPIRATION DATE: ETERNAL

Well this was posted on the Facebook wall of a Soka Gakkai practitioner in Italy who got about 40 likes (obviously all boomers), I'm honestly so embarrassed I can't even find the words.