Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 86
open questions of how teaching and teachers were considered in their USCs. The
seriousness of the consequence (to the old man) of the wrong answer implies the profound
influence of the role of teacher. Hyakujo‘s response to the old man implies limitations –
humanization --of the enlightened person. Clients may be asked what their perceptions of
teacher(s) were in their groups. They may be also asked for their hopes for what their
expectations were for themselves as they matured in their practice within their group. How
do clients feel now about their current goals about growing personally? Have their
experiences with USCs reduced their hope in their potential? Where would that put them in
the process of the events of Hyakujo and the fox?
It is also interesting that the story does not depict the old man as evil or malicious, but
rather as just wrong. Yet, he was reborn as a fox for generations. Like western culture, the
fox in Asian folklore is seen as tricky and dishonest and more – like the black cat associated
with witches (Aitken, 1990). What might this say about the retrospective opinions clients
have about the leaders in their USCs?
The Seal Maiden
The story of the Seal Maiden was beautifully described by Estes (1992) under the name
―Sealskin, Soulskin.‖ Many of Estes insights with respect to application of the story to
women can be extrapolated for their application to ex-members of USCs. In Estes rendition
of the story, it begins with a lonely man hunting from his kayak in the waters of the far
north. He observed a group of naked women dancing on a rock in the sea, as if made of
―…moon milk, their skin shimmered with little silver dots like those on the salmon in
springtime…‖ (Estes, 1992, p. 258). He watched fascinated and, almost without being
aware, paddled adjacent to the rock. In listening to their singing and laughter, the burden of
loneliness was lifted from his chest. As he climbed on the rock he found a number of
sealskins lying there. Without thinking he grabbed one and hid. Soon, at a signal from one,
all the women ran for the sealskins, slipped them on, became seals and dove into the water.
The tallest remained, searching for her skin. The man stood before her and asked her to be
his wife. At first she refused, but he agreed that if she chose to leave after seven summers
he would return her seal skin at that time.
Soon they had a child. While others taught children about land animals, she carried the child
and taught him of all the creatures of the sea that she knew so well. As time went on, her
skin began to dry and peel. She became more and more pale, gaunt and even lame.
Although the seven summers had passed, the man refused to return the seal skin. He
berated her for her selfishness at wanting to leave him and her son. One night, the young
boy awoke, fascinated by a call of an old seal in the quiet of the night. When he went out to
listen, the boy stumbled upon the sealskin hidden under a stone. Upon seeing the skin, his
mother immediately slid into it and began moving toward the sea. She grasped her son,
crying for his mother, and jumped with him into the sea. Her son met his grandfather in the
sea before returning to live on land. The mother was revived and vital when again in her
true home.
The chronologically first part of the story describes how the seal maiden was playing happily
on the rock with her friends. The man is described as taking a significant amount of time to
reach them, but the seal maidens all remained oblivious. The experience of ex-members of
USCs is similar, in that their intuitive radar was not functioning in a manner to detect the
present danger. The presence of the group of seal maidens is an appropriate image for ex-
members of USCs, in that they also were not alone in joining/being recruited/seduced into
joining the community (clients may select the level of influence they find appropriate to
their community). The fact that all in a group were oblivious could be taken two ways: 1)
The approach of danger was so subtle or skillful that they were all unable to detect it, or 2)
the intuitive blindness was not personal but collective. Due to tendencies in the culture, they
open questions of how teaching and teachers were considered in their USCs. The
seriousness of the consequence (to the old man) of the wrong answer implies the profound
influence of the role of teacher. Hyakujo‘s response to the old man implies limitations –
humanization --of the enlightened person. Clients may be asked what their perceptions of
teacher(s) were in their groups. They may be also asked for their hopes for what their
expectations were for themselves as they matured in their practice within their group. How
do clients feel now about their current goals about growing personally? Have their
experiences with USCs reduced their hope in their potential? Where would that put them in
the process of the events of Hyakujo and the fox?
It is also interesting that the story does not depict the old man as evil or malicious, but
rather as just wrong. Yet, he was reborn as a fox for generations. Like western culture, the
fox in Asian folklore is seen as tricky and dishonest and more – like the black cat associated
with witches (Aitken, 1990). What might this say about the retrospective opinions clients
have about the leaders in their USCs?
The Seal Maiden
The story of the Seal Maiden was beautifully described by Estes (1992) under the name
―Sealskin, Soulskin.‖ Many of Estes insights with respect to application of the story to
women can be extrapolated for their application to ex-members of USCs. In Estes rendition
of the story, it begins with a lonely man hunting from his kayak in the waters of the far
north. He observed a group of naked women dancing on a rock in the sea, as if made of
―…moon milk, their skin shimmered with little silver dots like those on the salmon in
springtime…‖ (Estes, 1992, p. 258). He watched fascinated and, almost without being
aware, paddled adjacent to the rock. In listening to their singing and laughter, the burden of
loneliness was lifted from his chest. As he climbed on the rock he found a number of
sealskins lying there. Without thinking he grabbed one and hid. Soon, at a signal from one,
all the women ran for the sealskins, slipped them on, became seals and dove into the water.
The tallest remained, searching for her skin. The man stood before her and asked her to be
his wife. At first she refused, but he agreed that if she chose to leave after seven summers
he would return her seal skin at that time.
Soon they had a child. While others taught children about land animals, she carried the child
and taught him of all the creatures of the sea that she knew so well. As time went on, her
skin began to dry and peel. She became more and more pale, gaunt and even lame.
Although the seven summers had passed, the man refused to return the seal skin. He
berated her for her selfishness at wanting to leave him and her son. One night, the young
boy awoke, fascinated by a call of an old seal in the quiet of the night. When he went out to
listen, the boy stumbled upon the sealskin hidden under a stone. Upon seeing the skin, his
mother immediately slid into it and began moving toward the sea. She grasped her son,
crying for his mother, and jumped with him into the sea. Her son met his grandfather in the
sea before returning to live on land. The mother was revived and vital when again in her
true home.
The chronologically first part of the story describes how the seal maiden was playing happily
on the rock with her friends. The man is described as taking a significant amount of time to
reach them, but the seal maidens all remained oblivious. The experience of ex-members of
USCs is similar, in that their intuitive radar was not functioning in a manner to detect the
present danger. The presence of the group of seal maidens is an appropriate image for ex-
members of USCs, in that they also were not alone in joining/being recruited/seduced into
joining the community (clients may select the level of influence they find appropriate to
their community). The fact that all in a group were oblivious could be taken two ways: 1)
The approach of danger was so subtle or skillful that they were all unable to detect it, or 2)
the intuitive blindness was not personal but collective. Due to tendencies in the culture, they
