FORMER SGI-USA LEADER DENOUNCES TAWDRY MONEY CCOLLECTING STYLE
OF AMERICAN SOKA
GAKKAIShukan Shincho, 8/4/94
"The Soka Gakkai is the world's largest cult." Scathing flames of
denunciation blaze up from a former leader who engaged in
activities in the U.S. for 20 years. Until three years ago, Mr. Frank Ross (46),
who resides in Chicago, served as the Lake Shore Headquarters Chief in the
American SGI (Soka Gakkai International). The money gathering style in the U.S. he speaks
of is pernicious, the same as in Japan. He says Honorary President Ikeda is a
"money-sucking
vampire."
Mr. Frank Ross was born in 1948 in a rural town on the outskirts of Chicago.
His father is Polish and his mother is German. Mr. Ross himself was originally a
Catholic, as are both his parents. He currently is employed as a manager
(assistant manager) for a major company in the retail trade. He is married and
has a ten year old son.
"It was 1968 when I first came into contact with the SGI. At that time it was
known as NSA or Nichiren Shoshu Academy. The Cold War was in full swing, and the
war in Viet Nam was going strong. President Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther
King had been assassinated. Young people in America were horrified at the world
into which they were just beginning to emerge as adults. And I was 20 years
old."
He left his home town and went to work in San Francisco. The first person who
approached him about Buddhism was a certain Japanese woman. "A woman I happened
to meet invited me to a Buddhist discussion meeting. I declined at first, but I
ended up going with her. We removed our shoes outside the meeting site, and when
we went inside, there were many people gathered. One woman was speaking about
world peace. Since then, I had been pulled into this religion which chanted
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, with the belief that whatever I prayed for would be
realized."
He was told that the Soka Gakkai began its propagation activities in the U.S.
around 1960. At that time, activities centered around so-called "war-brides,"
Japanese women who had gone to the U.S. after marrying American servicemen who
had served in Japan during the Occupation.
However, most of the credit must be given to George Williams, a.k.a. Masayasu
Sadanaga, the current SGI-USA General Director
Emeritus. He was originally a full-fledged Japanese, but he changed his name and
his citizenship for the sake of propagation. This man built the foundation of
activities in the U-S. The basic style of activities at that
time was to hold stage shows in the streets, do street shakubuku, and solicit
hippies and such. Mr. Ross was one of the Americans who was swallowed up by the
Gakkai.
"I thought that by serving the Gakkai, I would achieve magical, mystical or
supernatural results. I was convinced that benefits lay only in attending
meetings, buying Gakkai publications and receiving guidance from leaders.
Afterwards I repeatedly changed jobs, and spent several months in New York, but
the Gakkai members always helped me. I joined in 1969. After that, I was a
Gakkai slave for more than 20 years."
In 1991, because he followed up on the dishonest way the money collected from
believers was being spent, Mr. Ross was instructed that he was excommunicated.
However, Mr. Ross, as a leader, experienced the
Gakkai's cruel money
gathering activities.
He further relates, "Several years ago, an SGI Headquarters Chief in Chicago
contracted AIDS and subsequently died, even though hundreds of SGI followers
were summoned to the Kaikan to chant for his recovery. He was called enlightened
and with Buddha. On the other hand, if I get so much as a pimple on my nose, the
Gakkai would now tell me, 'You received punishment from the Gohonzon' That is
how much they employ brain-washing and mind-control. However, they clearly are
nothing more than a business which borrows the title of religion to use as
'bait.' l truly regret doing the activities I did."
The SGI-USA
organization is comprised of 4 major regions under the current General Director
Fred Zaitsu Eastern (New York, Florida, etc.), Midwestern (Chicago, New Orleans,
etc.), Southeast and West (California). It is then further divided into smaller
regions. Responsible positions range from two people responsible for the
smallest organizational unit up to 15 Vice- General Directors. The person
responsible for Chicago, including its surrounding environs, is Vice-General
Director Guy McCloskey. It is said that in the entire country, he is in the
number two position behind Mr. Zaitsu.
Mr. Ross began engaging in activities of the World Tribune, the U.S. version
of the Seikyo Shinbun, as a staff member in the 1970's. For 18 years he
participated in this work in a non-salaried position.
"The World Inbune is exactly like Pravda of the old Soviet Union. I wrote
nearly one article a day, but the contents were entirely favorable to the
Gakkai. Their only goal was to brain-wash existing Gakkai members and to acquire
new members. I had my choice of which meetings to cover, but I was told by the
leaders to falsely report the number of attendees. A camera angle from one shot
could make a few hundred participants seem like several thousand, and that's
what we reported."
However, Mr. Ross says that aside from acquiring subscription charges for
that kind of periodical, the contrivances to coerce donations from believers are
the same in the U.S. as they are in Japan.
"Donations are all made by check. A representative would then gather them
together and remit them to the Los Angeles Headquarters. When I was doing
activities, the minimum a person could give every month was $20, but there were
many people who donated $100 a month. This would be either inserted into a box
at the Headquarters, or placed in previously distributed envelopes. Among those
giving donations, there are some Japanese women who married wealthy Americans
and who give $500 a month, but of course there are also many people who are
struggling financially in their daily lives. I too, collected money from such people, and
I truly regret it."
At that time Mr. Ross, as well, threw himself into propagation activities,
including donating to the Gakkai one-third of his $20,000 a year salary. "I
naturally was often asked by believers, 'What's this money used for?' However, I
had no authority over how the money was spent, so I could
only answer, 'It's used for world peace.'"
In addition, the infamous money gathering activities
in Japan known as zaimu [financial affairs] are also designated as zairnu in the
U.S.
"Zaimu campaigns are conducted once a year. In September of both 1988 and
1989, large scale zaimu campaigns were conducted for a one month period. At that
time, I was the Lake Shore Headquarters Chief with over 300 members. At that
time, $3,500,000 was collected, and the purpose of the money was to construct a
completely new Ikeda Auditorium on the site of the existing Chicago Culture
Center. However, though it's now 1994, not a single structure has been
built."
Lying behind the Soka Gakkai's slipshod money gathering activities
are pathetic believers. It could be said that this is something all nations
share in common.
"The zaimu related to the building of this Ikeda Auditorium caused suffering
for many people. For example, a young man named Jon Samos donated the entire
inheritance, $40,000, he had received from his father who had just passed away.
He told his leaders that it was too much to give, but a leader told him to give it
to him, and the leader
walked away with the check. In addition, a man and a woman sold their engagement
rings and donated $5,000. Another young couple, despite having trouble buying
milk for their child, somehow managed to donate $1,000. I myself took two
mortgages out on my house, and in 1989 donated $2,500. I eventually went
bankrupt with over $20,000 worth of debts. In spite of that, I still continued
doing activities, because the Gakkai always taught that no matter what happens,
it's your karma. When something bad happens, their explanation is that it
happened because you don't have enough enthusiasm."
A Women's Division Chapter Chief under Mr. Ross continued to donate $100 a
month, despite having no heat in her residence and her refrigerator being
broken. In the end, she declared bankruptcy just like Mr. Ross, but currently
she has yet to extract herself from Gakkai activities.
Mr. Ross repeatedly questioned the organization's upper echelon about how the
money was spent, but what
he received in reply was a notice that he was excommunicated.
"Since I joined, the total amount I paid out for the Gakkai exceeds $100,000.
However, that is a trifle compared to the total of donations the Gakkai takes
in, and they have never made public how that money is spent. Despite
hiring a high-priced accountant, cash, checks and receipts frequently were lost.
However, the Vice-General Directors and others are paid a salary, and when there
is even a single conference in Los Angeles, they use high- class hotels, and
they purposely hold some conferences in Hawaii. I demanded to know how the money was being spent, and
they ultimately told me to resign my Headquarters Chief position. I've sent 15
letters to Mr. Daisaku Ikeda requesting that donations be returned, but I've
never received even a single reply."
Incidentally, Mr. Ross twice came to Japan, once in 1970 and once in 1973. He
says that he met Mr. Daisaku Ikeda at Taisekiji, where Mr. Ikeda happened to
be.
"I was completely immersed in the Gakkai, so at the time, all I could say
about meeting him was that it was wonderful. However, now I'm convinced that
Ikeda's a money-sucking
vampire. The Soka Gakkai is the world's largest cult. Not only are they
dishonoring Japan, but in America as well, their existence is inhuman and causes
trouble to people. Currently, Vice-General Director McCloskey took the
previously mentioned zaimu and arbitrarily purchased a separate plot of land
than the one for which the auditorium was previously planned, and says that they
will build the auditorium there. However, even by Chicago standards, that
location is famous for being in a high crime area overrun with drug dealers and
prostitutes. Any religious group which continues such activities will only end
up being disbanded."
Journalist Kunio Naito says, "No one will stay in an organization which
exhibits objections and suspicions. This applies equally to Japan and the U.S.,
and is a sickness which is characteristic of the Gakkai. In the same way, it is
unwholesome for the flow of money to be extremely
cloudy. Unlike the Japanese, American Gakkai members abound with discernment and
if they do not agree with something, they will steadily resign. I've heard that
in America, there are not a few believers who joined amid the background of a
heightened interest in Buddhism which occurred in conjunction with the
advancement of the hippie movement, which itself occurred in response to the
intensification of the Viet Nam War. However, regardless of the particulars of
how they joined, veterans like Mr. Ross who have worked for 20 years or more of
course become business-like and devoid of sentiment. If they were to disagree,
they would be discharged, or they would be given the option to resign."
Mr. Toshimitsu Ryu, a former Komeito Party member
of the Tokyo Diet, makes the following observation about the American Soka
Gakkai of late. "In the U.S. they are saying that if money is paid to the SGI,
benefit will result. This is worse than an 'Inspiration Business.' At any rate,
in that country, they are stressing the adoration of Ikeda as a sage, and are
teaching that kosen-rufu means spreading Ikeda's name, but Ikeda has been
excommunicated from the sect, so to do such things cannot be justified.
Originally, U.S. believers knew nothing about such things, but now the facts are
coming to light. Last year during a speech at the SGI-USA General Meeting,
Ikeda called Clinton an idiot. His true image is becoming completely clear to
U.S. Gakkai members. For that reason, Gakkai members are quitting one after
another. In order to locally maintain the organization and paid staff, they have
no choice but ignore appearances and collect money under the pretext of
constructing buildings."
Of course, Mr. Ross himself is aware of such circumstances. He says that in
the U.S. they are playing a "numbers game." "Just how many Gakkai members
currently exist throughout the entire country presents a very interesting
problem. In the 1980's, the current SGI-USA General Director
Emeritus George Williams claimed a membership of 500,000 and a World Tribune
subscription base of 100,000. However, it is a certainty that today in 1994,
there are 20,000 World Tribune subscriptions. This is a surprising decrease.
Furthermore, Vice-General Director McCloskey tells the mass media that the SGI-USA has 350,000
believers, but recently, he admitted to a certain group of people that the
actual number of members is close to 20,000, the same number as World Tribune
subscriptions." No matter how much they bluff, the Soka Gakkai
International-United States of America is certainly walking down a path toward
destruction. Translated by: Michael
Bowman; E-mail address: wtell@ix.netcom.com
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