For 20 years, I was willing to give SGI the benefit of the doubt. Here's why:

When I joined, I was told that those who practiced consistently would see miraculous benefits by their 20th anniversary of starting the practice. See, those "inconspicuous benefits" (remember those?) would accumulate over those two decades to the point that they'd overflow in "conspicuous benefits" like water rushing through a failed dam. That at this point, you'd be all "Can the benefits please let up just long enough for me to catch my breath??"

In the twenty years since then, their family business thrived, and they repaid their debts. Striving cheerfully in Soka Gakkai activities, the woman became a prefecture-level leader in the organization. The couple enjoyed a fulfilling and happy life together. And the woman’s oldest son, whom she had contemplated committing suicide with, was now in his fourth year at Soka University and was studying hard to go on to graduate school overseas.

Shin'ichi said: "The power of the Gohonzon may not be fully apparent overnight, but if you strive earnestly in your Buddhist faith and practice for ten or twenty years, you will achieve clear and indisputable results." Source - also in a scan of the NSGI Times here

By the time I joined, they'd discarded the earlier promised "10 years", because ten years came and went and nothing happened. Nothing at all O_O

In ten years you'll be the leader of five thousand people, perhaps ten thousand. In ten years you'll have abilities that will change the destiny of this planet. ... Of course I cant tell you exactly how long that will take; it won't be a sudden transformation, either. But within ten years, I think it's safe to say you won't see anything remotely resembling what you see today. ...you will be growing up into one of the leaders of this country. Source

So they moved it out to twenty years.

Now, back to the “20-year connection theory.” I was still living in California, and around 1981 I remember that President Ikeda said to give yourself at least a 20-year goal to stick with this practice. Just like an oak tree, you don’t see much for the first few years after the seed is planted in the ground, and maybe the tree isn’t very tall even after 10 years. We always seem to want to see results overnight when we chant for our goals and dreams. But have patience, he said, and compare your life after 20 years to when you started this Buddhist practice. Source

Okay then! Pair that with this oft-repeated passage from the Gosho (which I was apparently the only one who studied):

For example, the journey from Kamakura to Kyoto takes twelve days. If you travel for eleven but stop with only one day remaining, how can you admire the moon over the capital? Nichiren

This was often referenced as the reason someone didn't get a desired benefit - they gave up to early. That wasn't going to be me!

I’ll get back to the 20-year theory a little later.

At our district meeting last year, a member was trying to recall a quote from Nichiren Dai-shonin’s writings to ask a question of a senior leader. This one I knew from memory and recited it for her. At one time in history, the city of Kyoto was the capital of Japan. The passage reads: “It takes twelve days to journey from Kamakura to Kyoto. If you travel for eleven but stop on the twelfth day, how can you admire the moon over the capital?” ( The Major Writings of Nichiren Dai-shonin, vol. 1, p. 254–55). To me this meant, if you do not continue to fight on the path for your goals in life no matter what the obstacles are, you will never reveal your hidden potential and complete your journey into the winner’s circle. Source

Exactly. And in 20 years, kosen-rufu was supposed to be attained:

"We've just got 20 years to go." - from the SGI's "Shakubuku Fight Song" (from the 1970s)

Of course, no starting point is mentioned, so all one can conclude is that it's 20 years from one's OWN starting point. Fine.

We did 1984 shakabuku in the month of august, the most in twenty years. We have been waiting for this moment for twenty years. Source

Twenty years is like the 12 million membership number - stable and constant, never changing despite reality. Source

Remember Matilda Buck? I think I've figured out why she got shipped off to irrelevance in the UK:

Lately, I have been talking to people who have hit a wall after 20-plus years of Buddhist practice. Most people might think that after decades of practice, life should be filled with deep satisfaction.

Yes. Because Ikeda TOLD us so: Faith gives rise to a life of the highest value and greatest satisfaction. Never forget the importance of the word "faith" as you build a life of total fulfilment which is overflowing with benefit. Source (Monday 22nd February)

Well, I believe that everything we experience prepares us for the next step — and there’s always a next step. I know, because it was after 20 years of practice — after I had already made dramatic changes in my life — that I found myself plunged into undeniable sadness. The deep-seated sadness that I thought was gone had only been hiding.

In other words, in TWENTY YEARS, she had only been medicating the symptoms - the real cause had gone unaddressed. And it took her TWENTY YEARS to realize that O_O

That wasn’t the worst part. As I was chanting, I went even deeper and was startled to find another more profound feeling: true hopelessness, an ironclad conviction that I would never be happy or at ease. I could endure things better now, I could dedicate myself to a noble cause, but I would never feel right. I didn’t deserve happiness. The core of my life, I believed, wasn’t Nam Myoho-renge-kyo — it was sadness.

I described something remarkably similar here O_O

How could this be, after so many years of practice, of wholeheartedly working to help and encourage others? What had I been practicing 20 years for?

Good question! But you aren't supposed to acknowledge that! Remember that promise of all those profound, overwhelming benefits at the 20-year mark? It says a lot to the delusion of SGI members that they will arrive at that all-important anniversary feeling as Buck describes above - and not hold Ikeda and his SGI strictly to account for having LIED to them!

So that's why I practiced for 20 years. It wasn't like I was consciously counting the minutes to that all-important anniversary, but it was a thought that kept me going. I didn't want to miss out on the wonderfulness by quitting too soon!

But that all-important anniversary came and went and, yep, nothing. Nothing. Within a month, I had left. Ikeda lied. The SGI leaders lied. The practice did not produce the results they'd promised/guaranteed. Therefore, I was done wasting my time on it. I gave it a trial period that would be the envy of any marketing group, and it failed - spectacularly. So, if you're an SGI member and you're reading this, do NOT tell me I'm wrong until YOU've practiced for a full 20 years yourself. Because I've got 20 full years of experience I'm drawing on. Don't imagine that your paltry 8 months or even 6 years trumps 20 full years of experience.