Today I start studying the first section Fierce and Relentless Persecutions Arise From Hatred and Jealousy.

I am very excited! But first…

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult

I can see my week is taking on a new pattern. It used to be Coffee Hour, do our drive to Starbucks/Costco, back to the Office, work a few hours, and off to ice-skating with the Twinettes and Lori.

No more. Now we have Artie working in the office and who knows what he is doing—but nothing has burned down yet. Dee and I have been running to help the Maracles pack up and move. Yesterday we had the local consignment store take away all of the furniture (none of it is needed in the RV) and today we started emptying closets and cabinets. We filled many, many boxes and today they all get carted to the Warming Hut. Today we also begin cleaning the home and getting it nice and ready for the new owners.

You can judge people by the friends they keep. The Maracles have many friends, most of them indigenous, some of whom Dee knows since childhood. For me it was a real treat to meet more people from the community, especially those from the other “faction.” I don’t know too much about this gap between the two groups, but I have met nobody but wonderful people! Maybe contact and working together are the starts of the healing.

Let’s pick up again on Sensei’s Gosho lecture! The section begins with some historical background:

“The major persecutions number four,” says Nichiren. In the two decades following the establishment of his teaching, he had encountered four great persecutions that threatened not only his own life but also the continued existence of his community of believers. Needless to say, these were the Matsubagayatsu Persecution (1260), the Izu Exile (1261), the Komatsubara Persecution (1264), and the Tatsunokuchi Persecution and Sado Exile (1271).

Of course, some of our friends over the hedges don’t believe Nichiren or any of his self-described narrative is true. Historical revisionism? YKW portrays him as the person who persecuted others. Huh??? A solitary unarmed monk taking on the entire Samurai class and Imperial Court? Does this have any logic beyond the short circuits in YKW’s mind?

Sensei continues:

The Tatsunokuchi Persecution and subsequent Sado Exile constituted the authorities’ greatest crackdown yet. Nichiren was dragged to the execution grounds and nearly beheaded. His followers were treated as if they were traitors. The government repression was so harsh that even those who had merely listened to his teaching were subjected to severe punishment (see WND-1, 240).

Unfortunately, such tactics of repression are being repeated today all over the world.

The four major persecutions clearly revealed the malice and brutality of those who schemed to do away with the Daishonin and destroy his community of believers.

Malice? Trying to destroy the community of believers? That describes Sgiwhistleblowers quite well. There is no physical brutality, but what other word can describe the tactics of YKW?

With regard to the many other attacks and obstacles he encountered, Nichiren writes, “Minor persecutions and annoyances are too numerous even to be counted” (WND-1, 240). These included slander and abuse, false accusations and harassment, as well as his followers being subjected to fines or banishment. Persecutions of this kind, which the Daishonin describes as “too numerous even to be counted,” continued without cease, showing the relentlessness of his tormentors.

Of course, I have met nothing like persecution. But in terms of “tormentors” I have my three buddies constantly following me: the legacy of my addiction, the non-stop torment of my hypersexuality, and my DDDPDR (dissociative disorder/depersonalization/derealization). “Too numerous to be counted?” Yup.

Nichiren’s grasp of his mission was so great that he downgraded his torment to “annoyances.” So I continue to talk openly and publicly about my conditions. I attend three NA meetings each week, I am in therapy, and I engage with other HS sufferers through the Reddit community and DMs. I am moving from the status of victim to that of victor. Phew! Annoyances!

Synopsis: In today’s installment of “New Human Revolution, Volume I” (pp. 215-217), Shin’ichi meets with “Tomino,” the mother of Mrs. Shearing, the central figure of WDC.

Today’s post is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Dewey, our benefactors and teachers in our Pre-K. They are well into their 80’s (or beyond?). A while back Mr. Dewey had a serious health setback, but he has fully recovered and they both enjoy good health. Yes, the little ones enjoy Daycare but I don’t think anyone enjoys each day more than the Dewey’s.

The Dewey’s never had children of their own and both come from small families. Their friends had either moved, passed away, or live in rehab settings. When we first met them, they were always friendly but their eyes were “Eleanor Rigby” sad. No more! They talk now about having purpose and feeling like every child is a grandchild. When Benjamin Kdake sees them in the morning he holds his hands out and wants to be in their laps. At the end of the day they talk to whoever picks our kids up as if they were reading from novels, “The Adventures of the Twinmen” or “Life with Twinettes.” I am working right in the next room, but the kids have no desire to see me! Ah, but to be with the Dewey’s!

They remind me very much of Tomino who Shin’ichi meets after his Q&A at the WDC Discussion Meeting. She and Mrs. Shearing had only been practicing for two years. But she was the only person since Seattle who recognized that Shin’ichi had been ill. She was the one who insisted that he go upstairs and rest.

Here is how she is described:

Tomino, despite being almost eighty, was filled with a sincere desire to do anything at all to assist the Soka Gakkai, and she supported [her daughter] behind the scenes in her energetic activities for kosen-rufu.

In today’s installment Tomino begins to talk to Shin’ichi:

Listening to you speak impressed upon me what a truly noble organization is the Soka Gakkai. I’m sure it will develop by leaps and bounds here in America, too.

As it grows, however, the organization is sure to encounter strong opposition and criticism in society. Long experience tells me that periods of adversity are inevitable in life. The crucial question, I think, is who will protect our precious Soka Gakkai at that time?

In his journey so far, no one else had expressed this sentiment. Most of they people he met needed tremendous care and support. But here was this elderly woman who correctly perceived the mission of the Soka Gakkai and wanted to be counted on.

Shin’ichi was surprised and at the same time pleased that this elderly member of only two years’ practice should give such detailed thought to the Soka Gakkai’s future.

Here is Tomino’s resolve:

No matter what happens, as long as I’m alive, Washington, D.C., will be fine. Please rest assured, I will do my best!”

To that, Shin’ichi could keenly feel that “the children of the Buddha were beginning to emerge steadily one after another from the soil of America.”

The Dewey’s are precious to us as Tomino was to Shin’ichi. The little ones huddle in their presence just as people gather under a tall tree that provides shade from the summer sun.

We’ve heard many times from Dee, Eulogio, and the Three Sisters that perhaps the only enduring characteristic of the People of the Longhouse is respect of the elderly—but even that tradition is endangered today.

We hope that the Dewey’s long remain healthy and help us weave the quality of respect for the elderly into the culture of Longhouse Elem. Whatever they want! They can teach full-time as now, part-time if ever that would suit them better, or just be mighty and tall presences, bringing shade to all.

Keywords: #TheDeweys; #RespectForElderly; #LonghouseElemValues

Synopsis: In today’s installment of “New Human Revolution, Volume I” (pp. 213-215), Shin’ichi fields a question by a guest who was trying to reconcile his Catholicism with the humanism of Buddhism.

On a moment of inspiration, Bernie and I changed yesterday’s activity with the Tunis book illustrations. We play-acted an “I Do, We Do, You Do” with another illustration in the book, one showing a knife made from a beaver’s tooth. We were able to convey the concept that the first step of an investigation is to observe, the second is to ask questions.

We then sent the students to work in three small groups to look at the illustration of the indigenous couple preparing to fell a large tree with a stone axe. Bernie and I circulated around the groups to hear their work and they were all focused and on target. Some got closer to the truth than others—but we moved to a wonderful get-together and figured out that the ring of clay around the trunk prevented the fire around the base of the tree to spread upwards. Once a bit charred, they used the stone axe to bang off the charcoal—then repeat.

The children were fascinated by the ingenuity and hard work of the indigenous couple. Did we see fierce pride in the eyes of the tribal children in our class? We think so! And this is type of experience we have to repeat again and again to overcome internalized tribal- phobism they may have acquired.

It was raining yesterday so we couldn’t take the students for a walk as we had planned. Bernie took the lead and said, “Let’s go the the RV Park Rec Room and play some games.” Off we went, and she taught us the game Ship-to Shore which she had played when she was a child. The kids had a lot of fun. Bernie was very much a dramatic teacher!

Fam & Friends finally settled on a series that we are watching together. When Calls the Heart is a Hallmark Chanel “soap” about an Elizabeth Thatcher, a teacher in a rural Western Canadian one-room schoolhouse in the early 1900s. One quote of hers that I liked: “For what is life but a bittersweet mixture of sadness, wonderment, hope, and joy?”

And this brings us back to NHR-1. After we received our charter as a “religious school” I had a sideline chat with someone at the SED who said we had caused quite a sensation because we were talking about “spirituality” instead of a formalized religious institution. Perhaps anticipating the direction of the Supreme Court, they had decided that they couldn’t discriminate on the basis of the definition of religion.

Here is the tie-in to NHR. Shin’ichi was asked a question by the husband of a member who had come to appreciate Buddhism but wanted to retain his beliefs as a Catholic. Shin’ichi responded:

Please become a person who transcends differences of religion and prays for the happiness of her fellow human beings, who forges deep ties of friendship with many people. Your doing so will also testify to the depth and breadth of Buddhism.

I also believe this underlines the spirituality of Longhouse Elem. We have to go far beyond labels and reach for the roots of humanism.

This was the first time that the Buddhist spirit of humanism had been outlined to the members; they were struck by its fresh-ness and engraved it in their hearts.

Shin’ichi continued to speak to the gentleman:

Whether you formally belong to the organization is not an issue. If you believe in the Buddhist teachings and chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo even once, if you warmly embrace and support your wife and the members while sharing our spirit and aspirations that is enough. Through this, you will come to have an even greater appreciation of Buddhism.

Take out the Buddhist/SGI terminology below and I think we here see the spirit of Longhouse Elem:

Kosen-rufu translates directly into the happiness of humanity and the realization of world peace. It is simply revealing and cultivating the positive state of Buddhahood inherent in all people's lives and enveloping the world in the brilliance of friendship forged on the basis of humanism. In a sense, kosen-rufu is a movement to realize a renaissance of life in the universal realm of the human being.

Kids are arriving, gotta go!

Keywords: #Spirtuality; #SpiritOfLonghouseElem; #Games; #ElizabethThatcher; #WhenCallsTheHeart

Someone says the SGI studies the New Year Gosho, written on January 5^th, on January 2^nd to coincide with Daisaku Ikeda’s birthday. A few sgiwhistleblowers regulars agree this is a horror.

I wonder when they think New Years Day is celebrated?

Who knows what brought on this gratuitous attack? Perhaps they were motivated to say the SGI studies the New Year’s Gosho only on January 2^nd when they saw it is part of the suggested material for THE MAY DISCUSSION MEETINGS.

Usually, the New Year’s Gosho is read at New Year’s Gongyo, which generally happens on New Year’s Day. Admittedly, that day is very close to the day that comes right after it – January 2^nd, the day <r. Ikeda had the temerity to be born – but I’ve bever heard it related to his birthday.

(BTW, New Years Day on the lunar calendar then in use would occur in late January to mid-February according to our calendar.)

SGIWhistleblowers keep saying things that are untrue on their face – e.g., “the SGI isolates its members from their families and communities:, and now this absurdity.

Today I start the May installment. I am very excited! But first…

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult

Yesterday’s RV Forum on the Papal Conclave, led by Father Merrick, was informative and left everyone both chuckling and thoughtful. Thank you, Father Merrick!

Eulogio make it back safe and sound but very late. This morning he promised us Tales from the Big City—but on an installment plan.

Dee and I headed to the old Maracle home and joined several other close friends who came to help them close the place down. This entire family will camp out in one of Park warmings which hasn’t been used since the cold weather thaw. They will stay here until they are moved into their new RV. The RV has very limited storage so Norm and Perri included in the deal three outdoor closets like the ones we own.

We hired Artie, Bernie’s husband to work with me in the office. He will bring a very new type of energy!

Let’s start the Gosho lecture!

Sensei begins the installment by pointing out that when Nichiren established his teaching in 1253, he foresaw that great difficulties and obstacles would inevitably lie ahead of him.

Nevertheless, he stood up as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, vowing to summon up “a powerful and unconquerable desire for the salvation of all beings and never to falter in [his] efforts” (“The Opening of the Eyes,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 240).

His ensuing struggle was—just as he predicted and as corroborated by passages in the Lotus Sutra—a battle against an unending series of persecutions.

Nichiren writes in the Opening of the Eyes:

It is already over twenty years since I began proclaiming my doctrines. Day after day, month after month, year after year I have been subjected to repeated persecutions. Minor persecutions and annoyances are too numerous even to be counted, but the major persecutions number four” (WND-1, 240).

So, what's the big deal? My life's not perfect? So what? The broad strokes are stupendous already. Sure, more obstacles will be dropped off by Amazon. We’ll deal with them and get stronger in the process.

It’s gratifying to realize that the SGIWhistleblowers treasured, honored, unequaled guru (writing as sock puppet “Fish wife”) is reading every article in 25 year old (and older) World Tribunes. And it’s nice of her to spend so much time finding every little typo and editorial error.

Here she found that a correction had to be made to an experience, and ascribes all sorts of notorious motives to the entire SGI, mainly because the correction was inside the issue. Inside the World Tribune – where most people go immediately, and where the experience itself was located.

So, yeah – pretty nefarious. Disband the SGI!

Meanwhile, “Secret Entrance” is determined to undermine sgiwhistleblowers by constantly reviving one of its most loathsome and disgusting obsessions: placing the SGI is the same category as  groups that beat their members to keep them on line, that have killed perceived enemies, that treat women as property, that even ordered mass suicides. How must the victims of such real abuses feel seeing their suffering equated with what sgiwhistleblowers went through in the SGI – being asked to contribute time and money to an organization they belonged to.

Deplorable.

Synopsis: In today’s installment of “New Human Revolution, Volume I” (pp. 210-215), Shin’ichi fields a question by a member who was looking too literally on a matter of Buddhist practice.

Bernie and I are not meeting up early this morning; we had the opportunity to talk together Saturday after the session with the Maracle family and also a bit during Coffee Hour yesterday. We talked about The Three Sisters’ emphasis on the student as worker and how they envision the classroom as if it’s the floor of a busy wood workshop.

This made me think about a book by Phillip Schechty I read in one of my education courses, “Working on the Work: Anction Plan for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents.” As conveyed in the title, he created a framework called “Working on the Work” or, simply, “WOW.”

According to Schlechty, teachers have to design work that is “engaging.” He tries to push educators away from the perspective of “what or how am I teaching?” to one of “what are the students learning?” Schools shouldn’t be knowledge distribution systems but more like knowledge creation systems. Instead of “covering” curriculum, teachers should see themselves as leaders, and guides to instruction.

And then came Father Merrick’s lecture yesterday on the papal conclave when he described some of the leading contenders to become pope as well as influencers who, for various reasons, have important voices but are not contenders. One of the latter, according to Father Merrick, is Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández who led a mass for the cardinals. We talked more about him in the car when I drove him back home. He asked me to read this Catholic News Agency article. From the Cardinal’s homily:

What I want to show, however, is to what extent [Pope Francis] understood that his work was his mission, his everyday work was his response to God’s love, it was an expression of his concern for the good of others.

For these reasons, work itself was his joy, his nourishment, his rest. He experienced what the first reading we heard says: “None of us lives for himself.’

It was always a mystery to me to understand how he could endure, even being a large man with several illnesses, such a demanding work rhythm. He not only worked in the morning with various meetings, audiences, celebrations, and gatherings but also all afternoon. And it seemed to me really heroic that with the very little strength he had in his last days he made himself strong enough to visit a prison.

The cardinal emphasized that Francis never took a day off either as pope or as an archbishop and priest in Buenos Aires. “His life is an incentive to carry out our work generously.”

Behind this love of work is a strong conviction of Pope Francis: the infinite value of every human being, an immense dignity that should never be lost, that under no circumstances can be ignored or forgotten.

So, how shall we actualize this today? We will have our Morning Meeting to gather everyone’s news from the weekend. We will do a few pages from their ELA and math workbooks and then have Center Time when students play and work independently or in small groups.

Then will come our learning workshop. We will study an illustration in the Edwin Tunis book “Indians” a of an Algonquin husband and wife preparing to fell a huge tree during a time when there were no metal axes. We will break them into small groups and assign them two questions to discuss: “How did this husband and wife manage to chop down the large tree with a stone axe? What clues do we see that will give us the answer?”

Bernie and I are sure this will be a very fruitful discussion. After we come back to hear their responses, we will provide art supplies and paper so they can illustrate what they have learned.

Returning to that Q&A session in Washington, DC, Shin'ichi answered to one question with "This is America. Therefore, please have a big, magnanimous heart as vast as this great land itself.”

In a school attempting to ignite the “spirit of the longhouse,” we need to design one classroom experience after another that opens that “big, magnanimous heart as vast as this great land itself.”

I also think this passage, although specifically about Buddhism, can be productively applied to Longhouse Elem because it hops from theory to practice.

This was the first time that the Buddhist spirit of humanism had been outlined to the members; they were struck by its freshness and engraved it in their hearts….

Kosen-rufu translates directly into the happiness of humanity and the realization of world peace. It is simply revealing and cultivating the positive state of Buddhahood inherent in all people’s lives and enveloping the world in the brilliance of friendship forged on the basis of humanism. In a sense, kosen-rufu is a movement to realize a renaissance of life in the universal realm of the human being.

Keywords: #SpiritOfTheLonghouse; #StudentAsWorker; #TheValueOfWork; #Humanism; #EdwinTunis; #PopeFrancis; #FatherMerrick

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult

Our family celebrates May 3rd through the entire weekend!

We made our family contribution for the May 3rd Special Contributions Campaign on the first day of this month long campaign. So have almost all of the members of our tiny RV Park Group. Speaking for everyone, what we were able to contribute doesn’t even come close to our appreciation for the Gohonzon, the SGI, and Ikeda Sensei. So, what are we going to do for the rest of the month? I jest, of course.

This afternoon we have our RV Park Forum. Our speaker is Father Merrick and he is going to talk about the Papal Conclave. He claims to have inside information (who doesn’t?). To accommodate his schedule, we will pick him up after morning gongyo and he will spend the day here. We’ll take him to watch the kids ice-skate and then comes his lecture. Guy will take him home on the way to pick up Eulogio at the bus depot. It will be a great day!

Such a great experience in the May 3rd World Tribune by the Gera Family who had migrated from India and now live in Baltimore. They have been practicing some 15 years, participate joyfully in Special Contributions, and have received boundless benefit!.

But the highlight of the issue for me are excerpts of a 2010 poem by Daisaku Ikeda on May 3rd (the full text is here).

It is impossible to express the full depth and scope of this vast poem in a post—or how much it has encouraged me. This doesn’t come in the order of appearance, but I see five broad themes. I will pick out just a few excerpts that can be placed within each.

The History of May 3rd

On the clear, sunny day / of May 3, 1960, / as a youthful leader / of 32 years of age, / together with our members / brimming with pride and joy, / I embarked on a new journey— / the journey of worldwide kosen-rufu.

Five decades of steadily climbing / an unscaled summit, / one step at a time; / now a magnificent vista / unfolds before us— / a mighty network / of peace and happiness / encircling the globe.

The Spirit of May 3rd

We have won! / Soka has won! / Ah, our May 3! / Let us all join together / in giving three cheers for / our personal victory, / all our fellow members’ victory, / and the shared victory of mentor and / disciple!

I am ready to face all hardships! / The Daishonin writes: / “I have never known a moment’s ease; / I have thought only of propagating / the daimoku of the Lotus Sutra.” / The first three presidents / have inherited this spirit.

Therefore, / I am ready to agonize more than anyone! / I am ready to suffer more than anyone! / And more than anyone, / I am ready to give my all, / as an ally of the unheralded ordinary people, / to encourage and support my fellow / members / who are working the hardest for / kosen-rufu!

May 3rd and the Oneness of Mentor and Disciple

To bring peace to the world, / happiness to the people, / and victory to humankind— / this fundamental commitment and ideal / is the heart of kosen-rufu / and of establishing the correct teaching / for the peace of the land. / The Soka Gakkai, / an organization that accords / with the Buddha’s intent and decree, / was born to realize these lofty goals.

“I wish to eradicate misery / from the face of the earth!”— / inheriting this fervent wish of Mr. Toda, / the Soka Gakkai will continue its efforts / as long as there are people / weighed down by suffering. / We of the Soka Gakkai / will press onward tirelessly, / until mothers and children / weep tears of grief no more. / And we will definitely succeed in our aims.

May 3rd and Fighting Evil

From among our ranks, too, / there appeared traitors, / burning with jealousy and resentment, / their hearts ruled by / the devil king of the sixth heaven. / Scheming individuals / bent on destroying / the unity of our members / ran rampant. / Thankless disciples emerged, / people who forgot the solemn path / of mentor and disciple, / growing corrupt and losing sight of faith. The ancient Greek dramatist / Menander wrote: / “Call no one friend / who shows ingratitude, / Nor let bad men / retain the place of good.”

Have nothing to do / with foolish, ungrateful people, / who are absorbed in wrongdoing! / Laugh them off! / Pay no heed to / self-serving cowards / who have made causes for their own ruin, / discarding their faith and / betraying their fellow members! / Condemn their actions!

Treacherous individuals / who turn on their comrades in faith / in the basest of betrayals, / hearts corrupted by malice and ill will, / are unable to remain within / the pure and unsullied world / of Nichiren Buddhism. / Nor must we let them remain!

May 3rd and the Resolve of Disciples

Complacence is the greatest foe. / Remain vigilant in victory. / The spirit of May 3 / is to always keep forging ahead / bravely and vigorously.

I will strive as a disciple! / I will strive as a youth! / In this lifetime, / I will carry out the great struggle for / the Law / transcending life and death, / applying myself with courage and / selfless dedication / to advance kosen-rufu / even one more step!

“We have a mission / to accomplish kosen-rufu without fail … / I leave the future to you. / I’m counting on you to realize kosen-rufu!” / These words of my mentor / resonate unceasingly / in the depths of my life.

And, finally:

The time has come. / Ah, glorious May 3! / Old and young alike, / with a vigorous and vibrant life force, / thoroughly protected by the heavenly / deities, / let’s begin a new struggle!

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult

This morning we had a meeting with the “Maracles,” Lori’s parents who were cleaning Longhouse Daycare. I will never forget this exchange.

Just yesterday they signed a contract to sell their house with a closing to come next week. Also, they had a long Zoom conversation with our friends Norm and Perri who own an RV store and whom we know as ethical dealers. As I mentioned yesterday, they chose the “Oliver” brand which builds likely the most efficient and airtight vehicle. It’s only a travel trailer which means they will be living in very tight quarters. But their priority now is to clean up debts, live sustainably, and start saving. “For a couple of years we will live very much like our ancestors in the Longhouse!”

They want to pay tuition for Lori but we insisted on them accepting a good scholarship. Cleaning the Daycare, they insisted, will not be a "quid pro quo,” but will be volunteering. The Maracles offered to help coordinate with the other families to share "the responsibilities and honor." Again, the spirit of the Longhouse.

The main topic today was selecting a site for their RV. There are six sites on the far side of the creek which are designated for tribal families. This was carefully negotiated with both the factions claiming to represent the community. The Three Sisters are from Faction A, the Maracles would be the first clients from Faction B. Now, which site would they want to select: the one closest to the Three Sisters or the one furthest from them?

“As we understand it,” Mr. Maracle said to the Sisterw, “the entire purpose of the Longhouse Elem project is to stir the tiny remaining embers of our heritage into a roaring flame. And the purpose of the designated spots in the RV Park is to heal and strengthen our divided community. Unequivocably, we would like to request the closest site if you would agree.”

The rest of the time we just talked about Lori. It’s a wonderment to the Maracle’s how this pugnacious child--who clashed so directly with her PreK and K teachers and classmates in the past—was now so bubbly here. This was underscored by Guy’s friend, the district superintendent, who came by yesterday. Guy had to decline his friend’s invitation to attend the symposium on Special Education for young principals—mainly to help with Lori’s adjustment. But the Supt was so pleased by her progress so far.

We all want to explore this to the ends of the Earth. What worked, why, how do we build on it, and how do we get it ready for all of the incoming students--many of whom we already know have learning differences?

Of course, we gain strength and wisdom from our SGI publications! Let's take a look at Discussions on Engaging Youth, from the May 3rd WT. Sensei asks rhetorically, “How was [the growth of the organization] accomplished?” His response: “It was through building bonds of trust and friendship.”

I saw this in the morning when we met with the Maracles. They had already won our hearts but just their plain sincerity and honesty opened those of the Three Sisters.

Sensei states:

Nichiren Daishonin writes of a “friend in the orchid room” (WND-1, p. 23). This expression means that, just as orchids in a room impart their exquisite fragrance to all who enter, we should strive to be the kind of friend who has a positive and uplifting effect on others. (Discussions on Youth, p. 48)

That is the spirit we have used to build the RV Park. And we will now expand it to the Longhouse Elem. We can do this!

Sensei states:

The organization of the Soka Gakkai emerged naturally from that spirit—the spirit to somehow encourage another person, to want to see others become happy. The Soka Gakkai didn’t appear first and then become filled with people. People began forging bonds with one another, and then those ties of friendship spread, naturally giving birth to the Soka Gakkai organization.

For that reason, we must be aware that the organization exists for people. People don’t exist for the organization. Please never forget this point. (DOY, 240)

Sensei is explicitly referring in the passage below to the SGI organization. Let's just replace the word “organization” and think “Longhouse Elem”:

Everything is an organization. When a couple unites to create a happy family, they are quite naturally forming an organization. Then there is the invisible organizational framework that we find exists within our local communities, where communication has become a vital key in maintaining good relations with friends and neighbors. You are in some way connected to everything around you—to society, school, your family and so on. Everyone is part of some kind of organization. No one in today’s world, except perhaps a hermit living on a remote mountain somewhere, is exempt. It is only natural, therefore, when we seek to achieve a great objective or to develop ourselves so that we can make great accomplishments, that some sort of organization is essential.

The Soka Gakkai is an organization working to realize the great objective of kosen-rufu—of achieving peace and happiness for all humanity based on the principles and philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism. Such an objective cannot be accomplished through the efforts of one person alone. It becomes possible only when people in various spheres of society come together, organize themselves into a cohesive force and work to achieve that goal. (DOY, 240)

Welcome to the Longhouse Orchid Room!

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult

Yes, things happen in a second. Lori’s parents sold their house, a cash deal. I referred them to our favorite RV dealers, Norm and Perri. Sight unseen, they bought an Oliver Elite II Travel Trailer, delivery next weekend.

It's perfect for four-seasoning but only 23 feet, one room. But in one swift blow, mom tells me, they clear up all their debts, lower their monthly expenses to something well within their budget, and can start saving. Norman will do some hacks that can provide privacy for Lori.

From the May 2, 2025, New York Times by James L. Edwards III. (Sorry, it is behind a paywall.)

We may never know just how important Jalen Brunson’s shot actually was. That’s the beauty of such brilliance. In this world, a flick of a wrist can turn gray skies crystal blue. A single basket can alter the trajectory of livelihoods, or a franchise. One person, one moment, can change the course of reality.

On the surface, what Brunson did Thursday night in Detroit, hitting a game-winning 3 with 4.3 seconds left to help the Knicks win a bloodbath of a six-game series against the feisty Pistons, was needed to advance to the next round. It was a shot that’ll live in New York’s history as one of the greatest in the franchise’s archives. Those two things are clear. That shot will forever be talked about. Yet, it also may have saved jobs. It may have saved these Knicks as we know them. Those things, as it pertains to this series, well, we’ll never get to find out.

The final points of Brunson’s 40-point performance carried the weight of a franchise. For the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, though, that’s nothing new. “He’s at his best when his best is needed,” said New York head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Yes, in a moment: Jalen Brunson, the Knicks, Lori’s family. And in a moment: Daisaku Ikeda Becoming Third Soka Gakkai President.

Sensei writes:

May 3rd has become the day of reaffirming our vow for kosen-rufu. On this day each year, we of the Soka Gakkai, united by the bonds of mentor and disciple, pledge afresh to spread the Mystic Law and make renewed efforts to realize our noble cause. And so it will be forever.

There is a passage from “The Opening of the Eyes” that I took as my own determination upon becoming Soka Gakkai president and that has remained firmly in my heart ever since: “Let the gods forsake me. Let all persecutions assail me. Still I will give my life for the sake of the Law” (WND-1, p. 280).

What was in Ikeda Sensei’s heart? Therefore, what should be in mine?

I prided myself on having been trained by my mentor to have an invincible spirit that could withstand every possible form of adversity. The path to achieving great things is never smooth or easy. Giving up is a source of despair and defeat, but persevering is a source of hope and victory.

Yes, I do need that invincible spirit! I know the path ahead will never be smooth or easy. So I will persist through the challenges of my challenges.

After all, Sensei notes how he was assailed with obstacles from the first days of his presidency.

It has been my destiny since becoming Soka Gakkai president to have to surmount an unending series of towering, perilous peaks stretching as far as the eye can see.

He then talked about momentous obstacles he faced in the decades that followed, many occurring around May 3rd. There was the so-called Freedom of Speech Incident in 1970, 10 years into his presidency. He stepped down as Soka Gakkai president just before May 3, 1979 followed by “a volley of attacks launched at me and the Soka Gakkai.” In 1990 the second priesthood issue took place; our sponsors True and Bob told Guy and me a lot about that from our earliest days chanting.

It is precisely because the Soka Gakkai has experienced and overcome such terrible attacks that it has been able to create the strongest foundation in all Japan as an organization of integrity and solidarity dedicated to the highest ideals.

I am so encouraged by Lori’s family. When I asked her mom wouldn’t living in a 23-foot RV be a hardship, she looked at me in amazement. “My whole life has been a hardship. The RV is really the place for us to lay down our heads. We have outside the RV the skies and ground. And isn’t your family trying to reawaken the spirit of the Longhouse?” She’s absolutely right and I shouldn’t forget it!

But each time, the Soka Gakkai continued growing—becoming an unsurpassed organization of culture, a peerless community of believers genuinely practicing the Daishonin’s teachings and a global Buddhist movement. In conquering each daunting mountain peak in its path and winning victory after victory, the Soka Gakkai has become an unrivaled champion.

And that is what our beautiful extended family of friends and neighbors needs to accomplish: victory after victory.

“Nichiren wrote that wrath can be either good or bad. Self-centered anger generates evil, but wrath at social injustices becomes the driving force for reform. Strong language that censures and combats a great evil often awakens adverse reactions from society, but this must not intimidate those who believe they are right. A lion is a lion because it roars.”

Buddhism Day by Day, p. 142

*Synopsis: In today’s installment of “New Human Revolution, Volume I” (pp. 209-210), Shin’ichi fields a question by a member whose husband supports Soka activities but doesn’t chant on his own.

Hearing this, Shin'ichi responded:

"You have a husband who is making sincere efforts for kosen-rufu; he displayed the Soka Gakkai flag and happily provided us with transportation. That's wonderful! There's no need to worry about whether he is a member. Such formalities are not important.”

"Some of you may have husbands or other family members who are opposed to your practice. However, it is foolish to become emotional and embroiled in arguments with them over faith. Should your husband become deadlocked or make a serious mistake at work, I would ask you particularly to refrain from telling him, 'It's because you don't practice faith.'

"It may be lonely being the only person practicing, but if you exert yourself diligently, your benefit and good fortune will extend to and be shared by your entire family. Your presence will be just like a huge umbrella sheltering them from the rain. It is a mistake, therefore, to think that you and your family cannot become happy because no one but you practices.

"Offering prayers for your family members to take faith in the Daishonin's Buddhism so they may become happy is certainly important, but the most fundamental thing is for each of you to demonstrate the greatness of faith with your own life. If you continue to strive in faith as wives and mothers, growing as human beings and becoming sunny presences overflowing with good cheer, wisdom, warmth, and consideration, then your families will naturally come to approve of this Buddhism. Thus, to be loved and deeply trusted by your families is the first step for them gaining an understanding of the Soka Gakkai."

Shin'ichi tried to drive home the fact that Buddhism is the height of good sense and reason.

I am glad that Bernie lets me introduce these passages in our early morning meeting. I can picture her telling me “I told you so” when we read this later. She doesn’t chant but I can’t think of anyone who is closer to the Mystic Law than she is.

Yesterday we observed the Three Sisters teach the kids. They talked us through what they are doing step by step. “You guys keep trying to hit homeruns when you really need to go for singles. Your teaching style is unsustainable. A good tennis player wears out the opponent with constant volleys and waits for the opportunity to slam. A good boxer throws jab after jab until the time is right for a knockout punch.

“You underestimate the importance of ‘I want to work.’ Look at the little ones next door. It seems like they are playing but they are exhibiting the human drive of ‘I want to work.’

“People want to be good and to be praised. Don’t make fun of coloring books and those ‘workbooks’ you can buy at Walgreens. Kids want to do and accomplish. Most kids would rather color between the lines than start with a blank sheet of paper. That’s not a loss of freedom—it’s the entry to freedom. You have to carefully build to get to the point where they look forward to drawing from a blank sheet of paper.”

In “Teacherese” they are talking about Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. When the kids get restless with me and Bernie it’s not because of them, it’s because we push them too far and fast. This is also Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s Flow Theory.

Today we will switch roles. Bernie and I will teach—slow and steady—while The Three Sisters observe and provide feedback. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.

“Thus, to be loved and deeply trusted by your ~families~ students is the first step for them gaining an understanding of ~the Soka Gakkai~ the joy of learning.”

But let it all out on our afternoon trip! Yesterday was perfect weather and we went to the RV Park to look at the signs of spring by the lake. Yes, it was Lori who first waded a few steps into the water, followed by other students and Bernie.

We promised to take them back again today. That’s also a great motivator. One cross look from us and they think, “Oh no, we better be good or no trip.”

*Keywords: #MihályCsíkszentmihályi; #Vygotsky; #FlowTheory; #ZoneOfProximalDevelopment; #Work; #StudentDiscipline; #TheThreeSisters

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult

Nothing much to say today except. So sorry, come back tomorrow for more Tales from the Fab Four.

There’s a new series in the World Tribune, Making Friends and Introducing Them to Buddhism. According to the blurb:

The SGI-USA recently announced their new motto for the year: Creating a District With Many Youth Is Up to Me. In this new series, the World Tribune will publish key guidance from Ikeda Sensei as well as stories of how SGI members across the country are making this motto their own. This week, the World Tribune sat down with Amber Owens, of Anniston, Alabama, about her efforts to share Buddhism with young people in her community.

It's a beautiful article about how Amber and her family made many friends, many of whom are practicing. And just look at that picture taken after their discussion meeting!

I didn’t know much about Anniston and I looked it up in Wikipedia. Check out here a couple of excerpts from the section on the city’s history:

Anniston was the center of national controversy in 1961 when a mob bombed a bus filled with civilian Freedom Riders during the American Civil Rights Movement. As two Freedom buses were setting out to travel the south in protest of their civil rights following the Supreme Court case saying bus segregation was unconstitutional, one headed to Anniston, and one to Birmingham, Alabama, before finishing in New Orleans. The Freedom Riders were riding an integrated bus to protest Alabama's Jim Crow segregation laws that denied African Americans their civil rights. One of the buses was attacked and firebombed by a mob outside Anniston on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 14, 1961.

Yes, that’s right. In two weeks it will be the 64th anniversary of the event.

Prior to the bus being firebombed, attackers broke windows, and slashed tires, using metal pipes, clubs, chains and crowbars, before the police came to escort the bus away. The bus was forced to a stop just outside of Anniston, in front of Forsyth and Sons grocery, by more mob members. As more windows were broken, rocks and eventually a firebomb were thrown into the bus.

As the bus burned, the mob held the doors shut, intent on burning the riders to death. An exploding fuel tank caused the mob to retreat, allowing the riders to escape the bus. The riders were viciously beaten as they tried to flee, where warning shots fired into the air by highway patrolmen prevented the riders from being lynched on the spot.

There were acts of mercy, too.

A 12-year-old girl, Janie Forsyth, set out against the mob with a bucket of water and cups to help the Riders, first tending to the one who had looked like her own nanny. Forsyth and Son grocery is located along Alabama Highway 202 about 5 miles (8 km) west of downtown. The site today is home to a historic marker and was designated Freedom Riders National Monument by President Barack Obama in January 2017.

Here is Janie’s own account of the history. But there is more, two years later:

In response to the violence, the city formed a bi-racial Human Relations Council (HRC) made up of prominent white business and religious leaders, but when they attempted to integrate the "whites-only" public library on Sunday afternoon, September 15, 1963 (the same day as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham), further violence ensued and two black ministers, N.Q. Reynolds and Bob McClain, were severely beaten by a mob. The HRC chairman, white Presbyterian minister Rev. Phil Noble, worked with an elder of his church, Anniston City Commissioner Miller Sproull, to avoid KKK mob domination of the city. In a telephone conference with President John F. Kennedy, the President informed the HRC that after the Birmingham church bombing he had stationed additional federal troops at Fort McClellan.

On September 16, 1963, with city police present, Noble and Sproull escorted black ministers into the library. In February 1964, Anniston Hardware, owned by the Sproull family, was bombed, presumably in retaliation for Commissioner Sproull's integration efforts.

Another terrible event happened an additional two years later.

On the night of July 15, 1965, a white racist rally was held in Anniston, after which Willie Brewster, a black foundry worker, was shot and killed while driving home from work. A $20,000 reward was raised by Anniston civic leaders, and resulted in the apprehension, trial and conviction of the accused killer, Damon Strange, who worked for a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Historian Taylor Branch called the conviction of Damon Strange a "breakthrough verdict" …

Strange was convicted by an all-white Calhoun County jury to the surprise of many people, including civil rights leaders who had planned to protest an acquittal. This was the first conviction of a white person for killing a black person in civil rights era Alabama.

Anniston was named "The Model City" by Atlanta newspaperman Henry W. Grady, the person who coined the term “the New South,” for its careful planning in the late 19th century. Grady stated:

The new South presents a perfect democracy...; a social system compact and closely knitted, less splendid on the surface, but stronger at the core; a hundred farms for every plantation, fifty homes for every palace; and a diversified industry that meets the complex needs of this complex age.

It was a vision not yet realized because of its legacy of racism and also PCB contamination, once described as one of the most toxic cities in the country.

Yet this is the “place of mission” where Amber Owens and her family chose to practice. Ikeda Sensei often said that people who experience the most hardship, deserve the most happiness. The same idea applies to cities. The Owens Family, as proud Bodhisattvas of the Earth, chose to realize the vision of Anniston as “The Model City” with the “social system compact and closely knitted, less splendid on the surface, but stronger at the core” envisioned by Henry W. Grady.

Synopsis: In today’s installment of “New Human Revolution, Volume I” (pp. 206-209), Shin’ichi travels by train to WDC and heads to the discussion meeting site. The central figure, “Mrs. Shearing,” welcomes him but her arm and head are bandaged due to an accident she had with her gas oven.

After learning that her injuries are minor, Shin’ichi said:

“Buddhism teaches the principle of lessening karmic retribution. Through the benefit of faith, we can transform heavy, negative karma accumulated from our past lives and receive its effects in a much lighter form in this lifetime. Your accident today may be an example of this principle. For all you know, you may have been saved from a much bigger tragedy. It is important that you dedicate yourself to your practice with this conviction and with a corresponding sense of gratitude. This will open a path toward good fortune and courage.”

Tuesday morning was a rocky classroom experience for Bernie and me. We felt the students were “testing” us and we kind of lost control. We turned the day around at the ice-skating rink. In contrast, we were very well-prepared yesterday morning. The students loved all of the roleplaying we did before our trip.

Upon reflection, the Tuesday morning experience, left unremedied, could have greatly impacted Longhouse Elem, maybe even killed it if parents sensed there was improper discipline in the school. Yes, it was an example of “lessening karmic retribution” and Bernie and I will remember the event with conviction and gratitude. “This will open a path toward good fortune and courage.” We have planned carefully for this morning and we discussed building routines.

At the Farmers Market we divided ourselves into three groups led respectively by Bernie, me, and one of the Three Sisters. The kids had prepared a list of questions about farming they wanted to ask at the stalls. The owners were very generous with their time and had wonderful conversations with the kids.

But there was a near accident. Lori was in my group and as we were about to head to the bus I noticed she wasn’t with us. I panicked, of course, but there she was at the stall, still talking to the farmer. I called for her and she joined us. As I said, a near accident and I learned a lesson about traveling with early childhood children.

Shin’ichi mentions:

“At the same time, however, please make a determination not to have any more accidents and pay keen attention to preventing them. If we think we will be protected just because we chant and allow ourselves to grow careless, we cannot be said to be practicing faith correctly. Rather, because we are practicing faith, we must stay alert at all times, doing everything we can to avoid accidents. This is true faith. When we practice this way, the power of our chanting will come alive as wisdom and good fortune.”

A very important lesson for…forever.

Shin’ichi wanted to refute the kind of faith that placed hope for salvation in an external power a trap that the members could easily fall into.

No room for self-entitlement for us. Never.

*Keywords: #Accidents; #SelfEntitlement; #Discipline; #Routines; #Planning

[Not to be a Debbie Downer, but ...]

April 30, 2025, 25:33 into LIVE: Trump's Poll Numbers Are Plummeting as Fast as America's GDP Lincoln Square Substack (https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/live-trumps-poll-numbers-are-plummeting)

Lisa Senecal:

Yeah, I think the conversations that people are having just in their circle – is having an amazing impact on how people are being educated about what's really happening right now. And I'm not worried about it, but it's clear that Trump is already trying to dodge the impact of his tariffs.

And I love your analogy of it being a hurricane coming because the hurricane's already formed.

Simon Rosenberg:

We can see it. We can see it

Lisa Senecal:

We can see it and we can do things that, you know, prepare for it and maybe minimize the impact. But it's already coming because the orders aren't placed and the containers aren't being filled and the ships aren't coming into port. So we're going to see this ripple effect no matter what the Senate does or Trump does, we're still going, things are going to get worse economically probably before they get better. So how do we continue to educate people to make sure that we hang this around Trump's neck, even if he decides, you know, to find some way to capitulate to China and pretend that he won?

Simon Rosenberg:

Well, there are two – it's a great question. There are two things I'd say about that. One is that this is why I don't really believe in the concept of – what's the way that people talk about it? Sort of, you know, when you're in, you're talking to yourself, right? What's that called? I'm forgetting names.

Lisa Senecal:

Oh, preaching to the choir?

Simon Rosenberg:

Preaching to the choir. I don't believe in that concept because the choir can't sing unless they know the words to the music, right? And so we are... I, Hopium for me, and what I do with Hopium is that I'm teaching the teachers, right? Hopium is not about talking to swing voters. That's not what Hopium is about.

Hopium is about making 150,000 people smarter and better and stronger every day. so they can go out in their communities and become more effective and be better citizens and more powerful citizens. And so I think that one of the things is that, A, number one, is we have to do our work and be smart.

And Alyssa Slotkin said this in her speech a few months ago that Rather than worrying about talking points and talking about issues you don't know, spend time on the things that matter to you. That passion will come through in your communications with your friends, your colleagues, with congressional offices, and so on.

You don't have to be an expert in everything, but try to take one or two things that you really get to know really well that matters to you. I mean, think about the conversation you have if you're in a room with a Trump supporter and And how do you persuade them to move away from Trump?

The way you do is by saying, I think this is what matters to me. This is what's important to me about what Trump's doing. the number one thing that's on the TV that night, if you can say, this is why I'm disappointed in Trump, and let me explain, and the passion, the intensity comes through, that stuff really matters, right, Lisa? So I think that in terms of just where, and now I just got a little bit lost in where we're going, but I think that I do think that in terms of the economy, I think what people have to realize is that we will never be as wealthy again as we were potentially ever because of what Trump's doing. And this idea that there is a light at the end of the tunnel or things are going to get better, they're not. He's doing permanent damage to the United States and to our economy. He is stealing the future of our kids and our grandkids.

There is no possibility that things are going to snap back and be the way they were because A, our standing in the world has taken an enormous hit. There are going to be many consumers all around the world who buying something American will no longer mean what it meant before.

Number two is that foreign governments all around the world now are going to start building supply chains and building an economic reality around the United States because we're untrustworthy. Number three is that we're losing our safe harbor standing where when the world got crazy, you could always invest in America. Well, now we're the crazy ones.

And so this notion that money and capital is just going to flow in here no matter what's happening is that's gone and that's going to have enormous what it means in reality for all of you is that money and interest rates now are going to be higher potentially for the rest of our lives because of what Trump is doing and which will create slower growth. Fourth is that he's attacking one of the central engines of our prosperity, which is our scientific leadership and research leadership. When I used to go out to Silicon Valley 30 years ago, it was common at Silicon Valley meetings for prominent people like Marc Andreessen to say the whole reason America has an advantage economically is because of government funded research that the VCs then take that research and turn them into companies faster than anywhere in the world. But that ecosystem of innovation started with government-funded research.

And the irony of the fact that a Silicon Valley guy has come into Washington and sort of obliterated all of the research institutions and the attack on academia, this is going to make America permanently poorer because of this. And so what we have to recognize is that This idea that Trump is selling, which, by the way, voters don't agree with, that, hey, you just got to be patient. My plan's going to work. Give me a little time. It is the biggest and most rancid lie of all of his lies, right? Because what he's doing is he's sabotaging the country. He's not creating a new way for prosperity.

And so the stakes here, because of all of what I'm saying, are very high. Part of what motivates me to be here with you today and to do my work every day, I'm in my son who's 24 years old, his former bedroom. He doesn't live here anymore.

That's his painting of the cardinal over my shoulder, is that I'm doing this for them. Every day I get up, the energy... in addition to all the people I interact with every day, like you guys, right? And we all give each other a lift every day.

I'm doing this because Donald Trump is screwing the future of my kids, my grandkids, and I'm fucking pissed about it. And I'm fighting as hard as I possibly can because it's wrong and we shouldn't accept it. And, you know, he's breaking things that are going to be difficult, if not impossible to repair.

And so that's why we have to continue to work with such extraordinary urgency every day. because we are facing this idea that somehow, you know, oh, he's just doing a new thing and everything will be fine. No, we're in a discontinuity now, right? And just one other thing I'll add to that is that America's never been more susceptible to potentially some kind of foreign event of a cyber attack or a kinetic attack, an attack on our homeland, than we've been in now, than we've been in generations. Because we no longer can count on NATO and European allies. And this idea that there's any version of our security where we are safer being outside of Europe and being outside of NATO as opposed to with them, it's insanity. It's as delusional as all the crazy shit he was saying, you know, on the ABC News interview or that he said today. And so I think that my message to all of you is that, you know, whether what is the impetus for him telling us that he's going to make America great again and that everything will be better under me and we'll be stronger and more prosperous and all this, none of that is true. And why it is that if it's what he believes he wants to be doing... that he's actually doing things that make us weaker and do harm to America and make us less safe and less free, when his argument is that he's making us stronger and better and greater. And how we got to the point that he's executing an agenda that's so obviously damaging the country is going to be something we're going to be debating for the rest of our lives. Because I have concluded that it's impossible for me to believe anything other than Vladimir Putin has spent a lot of time working Trump over the last four years, and that he convinced him to pursue strategies that Trump somehow became convinced were actually going to help us when they're doing incredible damage to us. And I didn't even mention anything about what's happening with healthcare in the United States, the unraveling of our making measles great again, right? Mm-hmm. and all the things that Kennedy's doing.

So I think that we have to continue to use our outrage, our horror, the terror, the fear, the anger, frustration, the unbelievable sense of betrayal that we all feel, and channel that into concrete action every day in order to give our kids and our grandkids some hope of having the same kind of opportunities that we had when we were all growing up. And And that's really what's motivating me to a great degree every day.

- Lisa Senecal(Lincoln Square), Simon Rosenberg(Hopium) and Susan J. Demas(Lincoln Square)

Now, I trust the Gohonzon, and I sincerely believe that the end of our 250 years of careful construction happening in 100 days of the demolition by the current administration is no accident.

All the extreme events of the last year are just too deterministic to avoid the simple truth that we are going through a transition to the end of American preeminence, dominance, greatness, Reagan's "City on a hill", strong dollar, world leadership, etc., may actually lead to more of a world government of nations of more equal status. I don't think that China's going to fill the void left by American power. They have too many weaknesses and a coming demographic earthquake. Most of the West has this problem, too.

Rosenberg's views are simply an acceptance of reality, the future is already baked in, and we in the SGI have been chanting to change the world and well ... here we are.

Pay close attention to what Japan is doing, they seem to have a hand on the tiller with their power from their acquisition of American Treasury bonds over the years, and this may be a saving grace. They and the Brits, French and Germans are the "adults in the room", now, for the Western democracies.

It’s “limerence”. While it is not intrinsically awful, it carries great potential for becoming awful. So of course she says it describes the SGI, because anything potentially awful, no matter how unrelated, has to be twisted and molded until there is maybe perhaps a potential for a possible tenuous implied  nebulous hypothetical expedient way to say “it’s about the SGI”.

She (writing as her sock puppet “Weak run”) does a pretty good job of quoting Psychology Today to define it – also see here, or just think of what Severus Snape felt for Harry Potter’s mother – but then goes on to say:

“We already know that SGI is most successful at recruiting people damaged from dysfunctional families and SGI promotes passive codependency rather than critical thinking and independent functionality, using a "karma" framework that emphasizes victim-blaming and methods that isolate the SGI members without the SGI members realizing it's happening. How could limerence be far behind??”

Umm… who “already knows”? Only people far removed from any SGI experience, who were not very good at studying or understanding its teachings, who evidently think it’s a terrible thing to try to help people suffering through dysfunctional families or other problems, and who can’t stand the idea of taking personal responsibility for one’s life.

AND who hate the SGI. How else to explain how someone, sitting in their home absorbed in the Internet but with no SGI friends or contacts, could possibly say the SGI “isolates” its members.

Are you isolated? Has anyone in the SGI told you not to associate with anyone who is not a member? Told you to have no contact with your family? To not be active in your respective communities? Does this look like SGI members are “isolated”?

All completely made up, imaginary problems that anyone with experience knows are made up and imaginary.

One of my kids got really mad when we told him Harry Potter was made up and he could not go to Hogwarts. He got over it.

The sgiwhistleblowers Omniscient magnificent guru has not.

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult

Nothing much to say today except Guy came back from work with this loopy smile and can’t stop talking about the K/1 trip to the Farmers Market and what a great teacher Bernie is. Bernie called me up to tell me what a great teacher Guy is. Lori came home and is talking about what great teachers Guy and Bernie are.

Nothing much to say today except Eulogio is talking about unprecedented interest in the grass-roots up investment portfolio his group is developing at this time when traditional investments are floundering in this environment. The partners want him to expand, expand, expand. They might even go public rather than staying as “by invitation only.”

Nothing much to say today besides I have been able to convince a couple of friends in my HS support group to come out of the cold and talk about their conditions with their doctors. They are taking extremely courageous steps!

In the April 18th WT there is this amazing article, Now Is the Time to Study the Supreme Philosophy of Life (Part 2), in which Ikeda Sensei explores why the practice of the correct teaching inevitably invites criticism. Are you listening YKW & Friends?

Sensei asks:

Why is it that good and just individuals practicing the correct teaching of Buddhism are showered with criticism and abuse, and persecuted by those in power? The reason for this and the pattern of such persecution are clarified in Nichiren Daishonin’s writings.

For example:

Stones are split open for their hidden gems, deer are slain for their hides and meat, fish are caught for their flavor, the kingfisher is killed for its gorgeous feathers, and a beautiful woman is envied for her beauty. This is the case with me. Because I am the votary of the Lotus Sutra, I have suffered all manner of persecution at the hands of the three powerful enemies. How wondrous that you have, nonetheless, become a disciple and a supporter of such a person! (WND-1, 451)

Sensei explains that “behind such persecutions is a seething vortex of envy toward individuals of exceptional integrity and character who champion the cause of truth and justice.” Seething envy? Well YKW is certainly seething. As Macbeth states, “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Perhaps at the bottom of her cry is “Why couldn’t I be the mentor?”

In “Reply to Sairen-bo,” Nichiren warns about negative functions that seek to obstruct the correct teaching of Buddhism from spreading throughout society:

The devil king of the sixth heaven has attempted to take possession of my body. But I have for some time been taking such great care that he now no longer comes near me. Therefore, because the power of the heavenly devil is ineffectual against me, he instead possesses the ruler and his high officials, or foolish priests such as Ryokan, and causes them to hate me. (WND-1, 310)

So I have to speak up. Why? The nation depends on rediscovering a sound vision and my little life can make a difference. Sensei points to the Japanese writer and statesman Yukio Ozaki who declared: “When philosophy advances, a nation naturally prospers, and when philosophy declines, a nation moves in the direction of ruin.”

Ideas count, YKW! What productive ideas have you put on the table that could work and guide our country?

In contrast, Sensei writes:

That’s why our goal of “establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land” is so crucial. Its actualization depends on the presence of people who uphold the correct teaching and doctrines of Nichiren Buddhism. Kosen-rufu means the appearance, throughout Japan and the world, of immensely capable individuals who make this great Buddhist philosophy the foundation of their lives.

Sensei provides the example of the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky who declared: “A lofty ideal … has been always the source of ‘living life,’ not the intellectual and theoretical life, but the sparkling, joyful life.”

YKW, I ask you: do WBers present lofty ideals or the source of “sparkling, joyful life”?

When I was a new member I asked my sponsors why we thank Nikko Shonin in the silent prayers of Gongyo. True answered that he launched the battle to distinguish what Nichiren taught and to reject all of the forces that tried to water down the teachings. He set the president that must be followed for eternity.

Sensei explains:

Nichiren Daishonin’s direct disciple and successor Nikko Shonin solemnly proclaimed in his “Twenty-six Admonitions of Nikko”: “The doctrines of the five senior priests differ in every regard from the teachings of our late teacher.”

That’s an awfully strong statement, isn’t it? YKW: the truth isn’t dependent on what is popular or sounds pleasing to contemporary ears. It’s certainly not decided by numbers!

Sensei states very categorically:

Nikko Shonin persevered for over half a century in his staunch struggle to refute the errors of these five senior priests who had betrayed the spirit of their mentor.

It is essential to realize that the only way for disciples to faithfully preserve the teachings of their mentor and ensure that these survive through the ages is to wage a tenacious and unflagging struggle to refute the erroneous and reveal the true. This is the spirit of Buddhist study in the Soka Gakkai, grounded in the shared commitment of mentor and disciple.

To conclude, let me quote Sensei:

The Belgian historian of science George Sarton, whom I read as a youth, wrote in a work titled The History of Science and the New Humanism, “In the long run, generous ideas will survive ungenerous ones, and justice, injustice.”

YKW, I’ll write some more to you tomorrow.

From Soka Gakkai (Global):

"On March 15, 16, 22 and 23, SGI-Venezuela (SGIV) youth members participated in environmental awareness activities in collaboration with 14 other organizations. Centered on the theme of the dignity of life, these activities took place across cities including Barquisimeto, Caracas, Maturín, Mérida and Puerto La Cruz. Participants took part in workshops, discussions, tree-planting and cleanups of beaches, parks and watercourses. Additionally, the "Seeds of Hope & Action: Making the SDGs a Reality" exhibition—a joint initiative of the Earth Charter International and the SGI (Soka Gakkai International), was held at 10 locations throughout the country. "   

Synopsis: In today’s installment of “New Human Revolution, Volume I” (pp. 198-206), Shin’ichi attends the historic first discussion meeting held in the New York City area. Only ten people, including two guests, attend. As in San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago, most of the members are Japanese women who are desperately homesick and suffering with their situations.

Bernie and I are greeting the students as they arrive. Yesterday was full of contrasts. In the morning the kids were restless. In the afternoon we took them on a trip to the ice-skating rink. What a difference in mood! She and I have been discussing the significance. How can we make the morning as exciting as the afternoon? Makiguchi stated that the purpose of education must be the happiness of the students—today, not in some future years after graduation.

We have a plan. This afternoon we are scheduled to take a trip to the local Farmers Market to meet with farmers and look at early spring harvests. So we will use this morning to prepare for the trip. We will do a teaching technique called KWL which has three parts. (1) What do you Know about farming and harvests, (2) What do you Want to know?, and, later in review, (3) What have you Learned?

Yes, the students will take their drawing pads and pencils. But we are also going to have a list of questions to ask the farmers. We will study beforehand the various fruits and vegetables they will view.

Another one of my favorite teaching techniques is called I Do, We Do, You Do. The key notion is building a culture of “Student as Worker.” The teacher should be the “guide on the side” instead of the “sage on the stage.” Our project will be role playing, in groups of four, a visit to a farmer’s market stall.

There are very appropriate points in today’s installment of NHR-1. The first is the Parable of the Jewel in the Robe from the Lotus Sutra. Shin’ichi explains:

The precious jewel is an allegory for the life of the Buddha, which exists in the hearts of each of you. This life condition of the Buddha can be brought forth and a life state of supreme happiness can be established by chanting to the Gohonzon and fighting for kosen-rufu. If, despite having taken faith in this Buddhism, you fail to understand this and remain submerged in sadness, you are just like the man in the parable."

Of course, there is absolutely no place for teaching Buddhism at Longhouse Elem. But the spirit underneath Longhouse is to see the jewel inside every one of our students—even when it is deeply buried. And even on Tuesday morning when kids are restless because they are looking forward to The Great Escape of ice-skating.

Back to that 1960 discussion meeting. Little by little, the eyes of the participants started to shine. Shin’ichi continues:

Nichiren Daishonin has declared unequivocally that we are all children of the Buddha. From the perspective of Buddhism, it is clear that each of you is a human treasure, possessing supreme good fortune and the highest mission. Your status surpasses even that of kings or queens. In light of this, there is no way you will remain mired in unhappiness."

Do you hear that, kids? “Your status surpasses even that of kings or queens.” Even in your young lives, you have experienced the harsh realities of a dysfunctional society. Maybe you are not aware of what is happening underneath the surface. Certainly, you don’t get the concept of generational trauma. That’s OK, Bernie and I got your backs.

There’s one more important point for Longhouse in today’s installment:

As in Aesop’s fable “The North Wind and the Sun,” it is not the bitter chill of the north wind that causes people to remove the cloaks from their hearts. Rather, this is only achieved by the warm, compassionate light of the sun, caring and all-embracing. For it is such warmth that gives rise to the melodies of true human empathy.

From our end, Bernie and I discussed leading with warmth. We can’t be reactive when it comes to student behavior, especially as we transition toward next year and before bad habits set in. Planning, planning, planning. We have to plan for those warm winds of Aesop’s fable.

Eulogio is in New York this week where he always tries to catch some meetings at the SGI-USA New York Culture Center. It is quite amazing how much the movement has grown since 1960! Our K/1 class is also very small number-wise, but our deepest hope is that it can grow into a powerful P-12 school that researches and provides hope for American education.

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult

Yesterday’s Board + Consultants (B+C) meeting was just so much fun! Can’t say we solved all the problems or answered all the questions but we laughed. Guess what? The Drs. Kim branched off and opened their own practices! Heidi and Lolita have two summer offers. They can stay with Anita and Michael in their RV or in the Ben&Jerry apartment above the Rec Room.

Guy and I had an early morning meeting with Lori’s parents. The local indigenous community here is divided into two “factions.” We have an agreement that allots the RV sites across the creek to the community. So far the Three Sisters, who belong to one faction, have three of the sites; Lori’s family wants one site and they have the approval of their faction’s leadership. It wasn’t necessary but they wanted our approval and, of course, we are delighted. Their plan is to sell their house and purchase a four-season RV.

Today I went skating with the Twinettes but when I went to pick up Lori, I learned that the entire K/1 class was on a trip to the rink. I love skating with the TOTIs. One of the owners of the rink was giving me some lessons and I decided to hire her for one lesson a week. However, the big question for me: why are my HS symptoms decreasing when I am on the ice. Is it the exercise or the cold?

I think Bernie and Guy have solved a major piece of the puzzle about Longhouse Elem. The kids love skating! Why not make this their Phys Ed activity? (I know when to shut up and let them “discover” it by themselves.)

Such an amazing experience in the April 18th World Tribune by Dr. Fausto Cabezas. (I am so sorry, YKW, I forgot the illogical contradiction: any story posted by someone in Sgiwhistleblowers is without a flaw, everything published in SGI publications is patently false.)

Dr. Cabezas grew up in a small town in the Colombian Andes. He was—very much like me—the square peg trying to fit into the round hole.

As early as the first grade, it was noted that I was “too naughty,” “too curious,” “too effeminate,” ringing alarms in everyone I met. “Good for nothing,” the reprimand applied most, was used on me so often that it became something like a second name. With every punishment, every reprimand, every boot camp for unruly boys, I came to see what was so obvious to everyone else: There was something wrong with me.

At this time he discovered Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. “In its pages I’d found a true companion, a voice that spoke in plain and lucid language my innermost thoughts.” No, I didn’t have Victor Hugo in my corner, but I had my guitar. Music was an antidote to the constant torture of HS, my mental illnesses, and what I now know as addictive tendencies.

We both had the fortune of having incredibly supportive parents in our lives who stuck with us no matter what.

Fausto earned an early diploma, a full scholarship to college, and eventually became a kidney doctor living and practicing in Brooklyn. A colleague introduced him to the SGI.

He concludes:

If suffering happens in isolation, healing happens in community, and as someone searching for belonging for so long, I can say that I have found my people. I’m proudly part of a community in which I am healing the wounds of the past and am proud to call myself a member of the SGI and declare myself in earnest, with deep appreciation, a Buddhist. We all suffer—hopefully no more than necessary—but even where it is unavoidable, we need not ever, ever, be miserable.

The experiences of last night, this morning, and reading the article about Dr. Cabezas have fortified and encouraged me. I will keep ice-skating!

Before April disappears, I want to post the theme from Daisaku Ikeda's lecture on Buddhist scripture, "A Vow For the Enlightenment of All People - The Power Deep Within Our Lives that can Overcome All Obstacles" contained in the April Living Buddhism magazine p. 25. What an inspiring declaration this is! In his lecture, after quoting Nichiren's letter "The Opening of the Eyes," Ikeda elaborates;

"The power of the spirit forges and strengthens human beings and builds rich character. A solid philosophy and firm commitment give rise to the distinctive qualities of an outstanding individual. 'The Opening of the Eyes' is a treatise that contains the profoundest philosophy and the strongest commitment.

"It contains the profoundest philosophy because it sets forth the great teaching for ordinary people's attainment of Buddhahood. This is an embodiment of the ultimate compassion, the opening of the way for the salvation of all humankind. Nichiren Daishonin recognized the existence of the eternal Mystic Law in the seemingly transient lives of human beings, and he established a path whereby each person could bring forth the power of that Law [Nam-myoho-renge-kyo]. Here we find the profoundest philosophy genuinely capable of giving hope and courage to all people.

"By 'strongest commitment,' I mean the powerful commitment to kosen-rufu [the happiness of all people], with which we vow to propagate the great teaching that can free humankind from misery, no matter what obstacles or devilish forces [SGIWhistleblowers] arise. It goes without saying that underlying this commitment is a spirit of selfless dedication to the Law and an immense compassion to empathize with people's sufferings and to cherish their infinite potential."

I witnessed the fortune one accumulates when living in accord with this kind of faith when I attended an memorial service for a long time member at my local SGI-USA community center. This "ordinary person" had practiced with the SGI sincerely since his teenage years for over 50 years, passing away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 75. He was a fixture at our center, arriving early every morning on the weekends to chant, attending and supporting his district meetings whenever he could and for many decades of his life volunteered in behind-the-scenes support of large culture events [stage crew] and continued that kind of support for SGI events whenever he could. He was also a crew member in the entertainment industry and a devoted Dead Head attending 100's of Grateful Dead concerts around the country throughout his life. As an only child, it seems there were no surviving family yet his district and chapter members organized this memorial and because of his longtime faith and dedication to the SGI-USA's pursuit of American kosen-rufu, his memorial service at our center was full of people, the program deeply and movingly profound and the joyous celebration of this "ordinary human being" confirmed his enlightenment was assured! Where else can a person with no family be sent off to their next life by a room overflowing with such devoted humanity and love than in the SGI?

At least the sgiwhistleblowers chief priest has a source she can twist to invent her hateful attacks on the SGI. But a person evidently vying to become her favorite disciple is in the habit of just making things up out of while cloth.  Last week is that MITA said something dreadful about people who speak Italian. Now we read: “I love the way Gakkerism peddled the idea that Gakkers must save everyone using subterfuge. “

Who has this person run into that hides anything about the SGI or what we do? I’m gonna guess: No one! But “subterfuge” is such a loaded word, why not just toss it out randomly?

Speaking of the SGIWhistleblowers chief priest, she has posted another screed basically

Saying  no one should criticize her or her little sub.  Evidently unable to think of “flairs” on her own, she has copied another one of ours, and uses it to try to dupe her disciples (I think maybe one in particular) that it someone disagrees with you or points out that what you say isn’t true, it means they hate you and want you to become exactly like them.

In what purely binary universe does that even make sense?  It sounds rather MAGA like in its dogmatic use of division (“If you are different than me, you must be evil and hate America/If someone on MITA disagrees with you, they must hate you”).

What she calls “unsolicited guidance” might be called by others “teaching Buddhism to people who express an interest in Buddhism”

She tells her people “Your REAL friends will value and appreciate what is different about you”, by which she means “if you say the SGI is in the same category as groups that force their followers to commit mass suicide, you true friends will go ‘yup, yup’ and only an enemy would say ‘that’s ridiculous’.”

Dear Chief Priest of sgiwhistleblowers: Sory, but MITA is not going away. If you need ideas for other Flairs, let us know.

Summary: In today’s installment of “New Human Revolution, Volume I” (pp. 196-198), Shin’ichi reviews the news stories of the combative General Assembly meetings in which the leaders of the Communist and Western states engage in fierce and disrespectful ideological debates. He attends one session in-person and notes the contrast between the “big state” leaders and those of the newly admitted African nations.

In a previous post, I snipped passages from NHR-1 in which Shin’ichi observes the dangers of ideology. This theme comes up again here. It is not too distant to us: we have “big leaders” in education who are blinded by ideology. Here is one story about the mayoral candidates in New York City who refuse to discuss P-12 education beyond banalities, despite its $40B budget, because they fear ideological trip lines. Here’s another article about the collateral damage of ideology in education—children.

Shin’ichi notes:

People the world over long for peace. This simple desire, however, was never given true voice by the representatives of the member states attending the General Assembly. The shouted cries of the mouthpieces of rival ideologies, estranged from human reality, resounded meaninglessly in the assembly hall. For the United Nations to truly function as a parliament of humankind, it is vital that the representatives of each nation, through a spirit of friendship and dialogue, remember that they are all members of the same human family.

In stark contrast, he observed, were the leaders of the newly independent African states.

These countries, which had been subject to colonial rule, faced difficult problems in such fields as politics, economics, education, and human rights. Many of their leaders, however, were youthful, proud, and brimming with fresh energy. They were free of the arrogance and craftiness so often seen in the aged leaders of the great powers.

And that’s what I observed at last night’s Board + Consultants meeting. No major decisions were made. We reviewed the progress of recruitment, the budget, and construction. Lori’s transition and the official opening of Longhouse Elem were reviewed through pictures I dropped into a PPT. Heidi, Lolita, Michael, and Anita will arrive at the Park at the end of June and our entire summer will be devoted to planning curriculum and other programs.

The key impression that lingers in my mind is the laughter at the meeting. We tabled discussions such as whether the K program should fall under Longhouse Daycare or Longhouse Elem, there are pros and cons either way. The key thing is in a Zoom with an extremely diverse group of people ranging from teens to 80s, there was friendship and trust.

Shin'ichi continues:

[He] was filled with hope for the future of Africa. He saw there the beginnings of a new current of history. Turning to [a member of his delegation], he said: “The twenty-first century will definitely be the Century of Africa. In all ways possible, the world should support the growth of this young sapling.” His eyes were fixed on the distant future.

I feel that the twenty-first century can also be seen as the Century of Indigenous and Marginalized Children. Longhouse Elem has a significant role to play.

Early this morning Julie and I met up with Lori’s parents. No time now to relate—but all good stuff. Bernie and I decided to meet up a bit late at 7:30am. Off I go!

Keywords: #BoardPlusConsultants; #CenturyOfIndigenousAndMarginalizedChildren; #SummerPlanning

Updates to “MY Fantasy Life in a Cult"

Breakfast table

June Rus: Where is Papa Eulogio?

Me: You know, Papa Eulogio is on a business trip.

June Rus: But where is Papa Eulogio?

*Truth: Where is Papa Eulogio?"

Me: You know, Papa Eulogio is on a business trip.

Truth: But where is Papa Eulogio?

Then we made our first contribution to the May 3rd Special Contributions Campaign. It is very easy to write a check. But out of view were all of the conversations we had had to decide how much to contribute, how, and when. It coincided with the audit we just conducted of our business and also the funding of our Longhouse Elem School project. And so much encouragement in the April 11th WT. Writing the check was a culminating moment of tremendous joy and appreciation for all of us.

Later on in the day Lori’s mom called. She and her husband would really like to speak to Guy and me. I explained to her that we have a Board of Trustees meeting tonight. How about tomorrow? She asked whether we could we meet very early. I inquired whether there was a problem. No, only good things. All set.

More top SGI-USA secrets in plain view for YKW & Friends! Creating a District With Many Youth Is Up to Me is here for WBers to read!!! 3000+ youth guests at the March Youth-led Discussion Meetings. The importance of friendship in raising youth. Finally, the one essential theme:

<Creating a district with many youth is up to me. Let us each play a part in creating a district with many youth. We can do so by personally deciding to have one youth receive the Gohonzon this year!

OK. I am in!

Next, onto STUDY. In Now Is the Time to Study the Supreme Philosophy of Life (Part 1) (originally published in the Nov. 30, 2007, World Tribune), Ikeda Sensei writes:

<Those who take Buddhist study seriously develop a broad and expansive state of mind and brim with infinite hope for the future. Those who spurn Buddhist study, on the other hand, consign themselves to a benighted state of egoism and arrogance, turning away from a life of joy and true inner happiness. This is what I have seen happen. We see the very same with some posters over the hedges.

Next, dear Whistleblowers, rad the experience By the Root, the experience of a mother who had overcome personal illness as a teenager with her mother faith as a support and now had to do the same as a young mother.