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Hey, you. Ever been in a cult? Wait, let me rephrase that. Have you ever been a member of a group that uses emotional manipulation to keep you among the ranks?
Did they tell you that bad things would happen to you if you left, and worse things would happen to you if you ever criticized the group? Did they claim that if you did everything right, you would reap benefits and rewards and be on the fast track to enlightened salvation?
Any of that ring a bell? If so, you might be interested in this story in the LA Times about a survivor of a high-pressure, abusive cult of personality: Emerging from a notorious hell of abuse to counsel others.
In other news, the lay leader of a Nichiren Shoshu temple in the UK has been accused of sexual harassment, according to this article in the Daily Mirror. (UPDATE: Please see corrections in the comments.)
Meantime, Soka Gakkai seeks to recruit a larger share of the Latino market:
William Aiken, director of public affairs for Soka Gakkai International, says ...
"The growth of Latino Buddhist can be in part due to our number of growing Latinos holding leadership positions. We have a great deal of Hispanics who are essential to coordinating the expansion of this community," he says.
And in South Carolina, one person was apparently so eager to connect with Soka Gakkai that she drove her car into a community center. On accident.
Richland County deputies say a 77-year-old woman rammed her Toyota Camry into Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organization....
Deputies say the driver confused the accelerator with the brake, which led to the accident
As long as she doesn't confuse the true teaching of Soka with the demonic teachings of everyone else, she should be fiiine.
The author of a new biography about Sonia Gandhi notes that Gandhi's dialogue with Daisaku Ikeda "was interesting as it happened just nine months after the assassination [of Gandhi's husband], and to the best of my knowledge is one of the few recorded exchanges of that time."
Nichiren Shu is helping monks find love. Japan's monks turn to wife matchmaking parties:
Ageing populations and shrinking birthrates combined with the often solitary life of a monk have resulted in growing concerns surrounding the hereditary succession of temples.
As a result, one such matchmaking event was recently organised by a consultation office at the headquarters of the Buddhist order Nichiren Shu.
Sounds like fodder for a Bravo TV Series: Meet My Monks. Who Wants To Marry a Monk? Monk Housewives of Mount Fuji.
Ba-dum-bum. Thanks, folks. I'll be here all week.
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