Please do not delete comments, be they negative or positive. Ktsquare (talk) 20:32, 27 May 2005 (UTC)
Please do sign and date your comments using ~~~~, be they negative or positive. I.H.S.V. (talk) 00:06, 12 August 2005 (UTC)
A personality cult *has* grown up around Ikeda in the form of his religious corporation known as SGI or Soka Gakkai, and this is well documented in the press. I have noticed that when others try to add this fact to this profile, someone comes along to remove it. I think it's only fair to state that while there are many who adore Ikeda, there are many who see him as a cult leader.
http://freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/s/soka/
--Goettel 01:24, 8 May 2004 (UTC)
The allegations of rape on the above site are very serious:Did the case go to court? Andycjp 8/5/04
Good question. I do not know. The following link has many news reports from the New York Times. I will look for more info. http://www.sokacult.com/JealousLies.html --Goettel 06:48, 8 May 2004 (UTC)
Daisaku Ikeda and Seikyo Shimbun
Daisaku Ikeda doesn't own the Seikyo Shimbun newspaper. It Soka Gakkai that owns it. Distribution is between 5 and 6 million.
About the rape: "The Tokyo District Court dismissed the allegations in May 2000 as "an abuse of the right of action." The judge found "no factual evidence" to support their allegations and stated that their lawsuit was "entirely against the principle of good faith."
I don't know how to get to the actual court documents, but there is unofficial summary and translation of the court judgment at http://www.sokagakkai.info/html3/viewpoint3/record3/rec08_nobu_case.html
And Soka Gakkai's official answer to some of other accusations at http://www.sokagakkai.info/html3/viewpoint3/record3/record_index3f.html
Please ignore the websites that are just seeking to destroy the credibility of Mr. Ikeda)
If you happen to bounce upon a site that talks ill of Mr. Ikeda, please ignore it. Those people have absolutely nothing to do and are wasting their time. They fabricate stories and tell lies just to mislead people, and I hope you will instead go to the following site: Soka Gakkai International
Mr. Ikeda is an recipient of more than 150 honorary degrees and citizenships, and has held dialogs with many important figures around the world. Every year, he sends his proposals for peace and sustainability to the United Nations. Like all people through peace, culture, and education, Mr. Ikeda has great hopes for the future of humanity. For more information please visit www.sgi.org
Money can do a lot.LordofHavoc 18:50, 11 September 2005 (UTC)
-- 13:43, 9 Sep 2004 User:193.166.21.100
- I feel it is sad that the people who seek to defend this man almost never give their names. -- User:Andycjp 29th March 2005
Given the level of vitriol spewing forth from the keyboards of some visitors, I am not surprised that people won't sign! Nonethelss, I would suggest to one and all that the best way to determine the validity of any of these claims - good or bad - is to visit the sites, SGI USA, or SGI, get to know someone who practices, and read something -- try The Buddha in Daily Life by Robert Causton (if you can find a copy - it is currently out of print), or The Buddha in your Mirror by By Hochswender, Martin & Moreno ISBN 0-9674697-1-6, available at Barnes' and Noble and other fine book stores near you --151.198.99.71 22:40, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
Typical cult behaviour
Trying to silence the voices of decent is typical behaviour of brainwashed cultists. It is really very unpleasant to witness. Ikeda is a controversial figure, but this article reads like an autobiography of L. Ron Hubbard. Do we really need to know about every award he ever received? The Rumanian ex-dictatur Ceausescu and his wife also had some impressive titles. They were still put up against a wall and shot. (That's something you don't see often enough.) -- 04:04, 15 Apr 2005 User:62.107.63.48
Name one thing President Ikeda has been accused of that has been proven...I dare you. --- 20:32, 27 May 2005 User:Butsushin And don't forget to cite any sources you have. --- 03:59, 13 July 2005 User:Butsushin
The reason people think Sokka Gakkai is a cult-
Sokka Gakkai members will always defend ANYTHING the organization, it's leader and their political party does. --- 05:26, 15 July 2005 User:64.71.189.133 What sort of religious organization can afford to send a million dollars to a dump? --- 05:36, 15 July 2005 User:64.71.189.133
Excuse me, but that money was actually hidden by the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood, not the Soka Gakkai.--gab 00:45, September 12, 2005 (UTC)
Actually, that is not necessarily true. I'm an SGI member myself although I could care less for Mr. Ikeda. I'm a member because of the practice, not the people. Personally I see Ikeda as being a money-hungry arrogant tyrant who cares more about his own agenda than that of the SGI. Being a member of SGI-USA I look up to my leaders here, in America, not Japan. Say what you want about Mr. Ikeda. This is one SGI member who will not be offended, promise. :) --- 22:07, 28 July 2005 User:24.215.92.110
The easiest way to determine the validity of any of this is to visit the site, get to know someone who practices, and see for yourself. SGI International andSGI-USA. 12 mllion people seem to agree that SGI and Nichiren buddhism works for them. Are they all just mistaken or brainwashed? 151.198.99.71 22:27, 28 September 2005 (UTC)--151.198.99.71 22:29, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
I Find it Funny that the SGI Member did not sign his name, I also find it hard to understand the fact that he repects his leaders, who in turn repect President Ikeda yet he beleives him to be a Tyrannt. Why would his Respected leaders rescept a tyrannt. He is clearly missing the whole point.- Iravan September 28 2005
---
I find it funny that you find it so funny! "Given the level of vitriol spewing forth from the keyboards of some visitors, I am not surprised that people won't sign!"
In my reading of this article, the dispute seems unfounded - everything that is stated is biographical, and can be proven time and again, by more than one outside source. In addition, the article does address some of the less popular sentiment. So I don't understand where there is a bias. Unless one has already made up ones mind in spite of a wealth of evidence to the contrary -- but then, of course, that would be biassed and POV...
It seems that you may have had bad experiences, and if so, it would be helpful if you would share them, for the sake of other people's well being. At this point, there are over 12 million people who seem to feel that Daisaku Ikeda comes by his accolades and accomplishments quite honestly. They can't all be wrong, can they?
Perhaps it might be worth the effort to get to know someone who practices, and maybe read something.
Try these:
- "The Buddha in Your Mirror,"
- "Choose Hope: Your Role in Waging Peace in the Nuclear Age" or
- "The Toynbee-Ikeda Dialogue: Man Himself Must Choose
by Arnold Toynbee and, Daisaku Ikeda. There are also some interesting articles of note:
- "Born in the USA: Racial Diversity in Soka Gakkai International an excellent and very intriuing article in Tricycle magazine from it's 50th issue, April 2004. Probably available at your local public library
- Or perhaps this bok might be helpul "Soka Gakkai: From Lay Movement to Religion," by Karel Dobbelaere
There's also:
- "The Cultural Significance of New Religious Movements: The Case of Soka Gakkai. By: Dawson, Lorne L.. Sociology of Religion, Fall2001, Vol. 62 Issue 3, p337-364, 28p
- and NPR's All THings link titleConsidered "Profile: Practice of Soka Gakkai in the US By: MICHELE NORRIS. All Things Considered (NPR), 05/12/2004
I wish you well. - Ruby --68.45.57.193 03:00, 4 October 2005 (UTC)
Rape charge
The rape charge was thrown out when it was found that the woman had been lying about President Ikeda's whereabouts. It was also found by the judge that the woman, Nobuko Nobuhira and her husband Junko had attempted to extort money from President Ikeda, and when the attempt failed, she charged rape. See http://www.apublicbetrayed.com/case_studies/case_study3.htm, under the subheading "False Accusation." It also includes the court's summation of the case.
-gtdanyelz-gab 00:43, September 12, 2005 (UTC)
THis is correct. In fact, there seem to be many accusations, but no convictions. And there are many reprints of the courts' summation and decision on this case, as well as those on several other accusations that have been lodged against Dr. Ikeda and the SGI. For example, here is a summary posted by an organization that appears, on the surface, at least, to be an impartial outside analyst:
From: Human Rights Without Frontiers ,Ave. Winston Churchill 11 / 33 – 1180 Brussels – Belgium – Phone: + 32 2 345 61 45 – Fax: +32 2 343 74 91 – Email address: info@hrwf.net
- "There is no evidence that Honorary President Ikeda committed rape. Nobuko Nobuhira, a former member of Soka Gakkai, brought a lawsuit, alleging that he raped her. She lost because the statute of limitations had run out (without determining whether he committed a rape). Yet, in the lawsuit brought by her husband, the court dismissed the case because he abused a right to access to the court by not bringing sufficient evidence of rape and continually altering the date and circumstances of the alleged incidents. The court determined that Ikeda did not commit a rape. Additionally, Soka Gakkai denies any other rape allegation.
and...
- "Soka Gakkai promotes democracy, the respect of human rights and of the child’s rights, non-discrimination, ecology, nuclear disarmement. This role has been recognized by the United Nations. In 1981, Soka Gakkai became a UNHCR-recognized NGO and in 1983, it was also registered with the ECOSOC. Soka Gakkai sponsors artistic
events, concerts, theatre performances, exhibitions, etc."--68.45.57.193 01:29, 5 October 2005 (UTC)
Here is a link to the [http://http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/UN section on NGOs. I searched "Soka Gakai" to find it, in case the link doesn't connect. --68.45.57.193 01:29, 5 October 2005 (UTC)