You Are the Master of Your Destiny!

The following lecture was delivered at the SNI Orange County Center's One Day Truth Realization Seminar on October 27, 2012:

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We are all children of God; therefore, we are the master of our lives. We can change our lives to whatever we want. As today’s One-Day Truth Realization Seminar’s flyer states: “You are always the master. You control your own destiny. That is why you must not think that others are to blame for your misfortune. You are solely responsible for your misfortune or happiness.”

In Seicho-No-Ie, there are several important teachings that you should not miss such as “You are a child of God,” “You are the master of your destiny.” and “All environment by which you are surrounded are reflections of your mind.” You are the master of your life, but your wishes are not always realized because your fervent wish and sincere wish are different. Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi wrote:

“Your sincere wish will come true. Sincerity does not merely mean being fervent. It means your innermost truth. The innermost is the opposite of a superficial shallowness. By following fashion, satisfying one’s vanity, hastily welcoming the situation, rashly swimming with the tide, and being swayed by rumors, one wants to do something. But that something cannot be a sincere wish. Jesus fervently prayed with bloody perspiration in the garden of Gethsemane, ‘If you are willing, take this cup from me’ (Luke 22:42, NIV). However, this was not his actual sincere wish.” (Truth of Life magazine Oct. 2010, p. 25)

Jesus fervently wished to take that cup from him, but this was not actually his sincere wish. Rev. Taniguchi continued:

“Jesus’ sincere wish was that he himself be crucified on the cross for the sin-consciousness of human beings, in the same way that Moses had saved the Jewish people from the fury of God by lifting up the bronze snake and putting it up on a pole. Therefore, he prophesied that, ‘just as Moses lifted the snake up in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up’ (John 3:14, NIV). This was his subconscious sincere wish. However, his conscious fervent wish was ‘take this cup from me.’ However fervent the wish in your conscious mind, it shall not come true when you have the opposite wish in your subconscious mind.” (Ibid., p. 25)

Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi described the mind in the following manner: “The mind is like an iceberg, with the subconscious mind becoming increasingly larger as it goes deeper. The conscious mind, which appears above the surface, is only the tip of the iceberg. What appears above the surface of the water is only a small portion of the iceberg as most of its large mass is below the surface and out of sight...The subconscious mind is exactly like this. It becomes bigger as it goes deeper, and the lower portion of the subconscious mind is what is common to and interconnected with all mankind” (Prosperity and Health, p. 276).

Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi likened each person’s conscious and subconscious minds to the above diagram. The conscious mind is about 5 percent of the total individual mind. The subconscious mind is almost 95 percent of the mind. Within the subconscious mind there are several layers of consciousness. Rev. Taniguchi described the relationship between conscious and subconscious minds: “The conscious mind is merely a point that protrudes on the surface of the subconscious. It has the role of receiving or preventing unwholesome things from entering the mind. The subconscious mind, on the other hand, passively accepts whatever is impressed on it by the conscious mind, entrusting it further to the creative power of the grand Life (God) of the universe. The conscious mind is the surface mind that consciously selects whatever impressions that come” (Control Your Life By Your Mind, p. 63-64). Furthermore, Rev. Taniguchi explained the relationship between the subconscious mind and the Super-consciousness (God-consciousness) in the above-mentioned book, Prosperity and Health. I won’t quote the entire section of this, but his core point is that each individual person’s subconscious mind is directly connected to God through his or her God-consciousness. Therefore, we call every person a child of God.

Rev. Taniguchi said our subconscious minds control our lives. For example, if something embarrasses us, we suddenly blush and our heart rate goes up. How can we stop blushing and bring our heart rate back down? We cannot control these reactions with our conscious minds. When something negative happens to us, we just add another worry or concern into our minds. In other words, we have continuously accumulated negativities in our minds without cleansing them away. If we repeatedly hold old grudges, our minds are more inclined to become upset and angry, and even hateful. These emotions can cause great harm to our physical and mental health as well as our business and personal relationships. Many people do not recognize that our subconscious and conscious thinking habits are what prevent us from leading healthy and happy lives. One of the reasons is that people usually forget about their negative thoughts at the conscious level after a certain period of time has passed and assume that they feel fine. However, these negative thoughts did not disappear but have accumulated in their subconscious minds. This is like sweeping dirt and dust under a rug. It has simply been hidden from view. However, it is still there doing great harm from the deep recesses of the subconscious mind.

In order to remove these harmful thoughts from our mind, we periodically hold the Mind Purification ceremony at the centers. When we cleanse our negative emotions and thoughts from our minds and accumulate positive thoughts, our conscious and subconscious minds agree and our wish becomes sincere.

What then is a positive thought? A positive thought is enlightenment. To become enlightened we have to know the following three things:

1)      Deny the existence of phenomena. Phenomena are not true existences. They are reflections.

2)     Affirm that we are all children of God.

3)     Realize that our minds create our destinies.

We are all perfect spiritual beings and have God nature deep within ourselves. However, phenomenally we can still see imperfection through our physical eyes. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi expounds this in his prayer, Prayer to Visualize the Non-Existence of Misfortune, in Daily Prayer (Hibino Inori). (Underline was the parts I read.)

Prayer to Visualize the Non-Existence of Unhappiness

  The world created by God is perfect.  All is sufficient, give to one another, support one another, and are in harmony.  There is no lack or deficiency, taking or stealing from one another, and there is no conflict.  All ideas, beauty, and goodness fill and permeate throughout, and are given order through various laws. That is what is being referenced when it is written in “Genesis,” “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good….”  I believe in God from the bottom of my heart, and because I have great confidence in Him, I believe in this, and declare, just as God did, “All things created by God are exceedingly beautiful, exceedingly good, and perfect and harmonious.

   This is the Truth, the True Image, and the true form of the world of the world of God, the Buddha Land, the Pure Land.  It is not possible for me to see it with my physical eyes, hear it with my physical ears, smell it with my physical nose, or taste it with my physical mouth, nor can my skin feel it.  As a child of God, I can simply visualize it directly with my mind.

   Because I deeply visualize the True Image that exists, I know that the “unhappiness” I see is not real.  I know that the “unhappiness” I hear with my ears is not reality.  I know that that which I smell with my nose is not real.  I know that that which I taste with my mouth is not the essence of things.  I know that that which I feel with my sense of touch is not the True Image.  The world I know through my five senses is not the true world created by God.  It is a “reflection of my mind” in two ways. The first is because our senses do not sense everything of all existence, but only what is necessary to maintain the survival of the entire body. The second is because I do not know the feeling itself but reinforce what I am trying to know with my senses.  In other words, I select from my senses only it is that I “want to know.”  That is why, when I feel that “there is happiness before me,” I am reflecting that “unhappiness.”  It is not God’s creation, and because it is not God’s creation, though it may be sensed as phenomena, it is not reality so is non-existent, false, a temporary reflection, and is something that shall eventually crumble.

   Although I may feel that unhappiness stands solemnly before me, it is not God’s “anger,” “punishment” or “trial.”  God does not create “unhappiness.”  He has created only the perfect and harmonious world of Grand Harmony. Hold fast to this faith.  Grasp tightly on to your trust in God.  That which “angers” is our own mind, that which “punishes” is our own mind, and that which seeks “trials” is our own mind.  That which our mind seeks manifests before us as phenomena.  That which appears to be “unhappiness” is a reflection of my mind. When my mind limits or restricts “happiness” to suit itself, any phenomena other than that manifests as “unhappiness.”  Although I may be happy, I am feeling unhappiness of my own volition.  Do not hold God responsible for whether or not you are happy.  He does not create phenomena.  He creates only the True Image and reality.  He creates only the world of God and the Pure Land of Buddha.  In the world of God, all people are happy from the beginning.  In the Pure Land, all living things are filled with infinite happiness from the beginning. 

   Now, as I deeply contemplate and visualize the True Image of existence, I truly know and feel that all things that truly exist are perfect and harmonious and filled with infinite happiness.  My existing is happiness.  My being able to use the tool that is my physical body is happiness.  My having parents who gave me that physical body is happiness.  My having a life that was “marked” by my parents and ancestors is happiness.  Being able to share cultures is happiness.  Being able to have relationships with animals is happiness.  Being able to love the flowers and fruits of plants is happiness.  Being able to feel and sense the sky, oceans, wind, and clouds is happiness.  That is not saying that the breeze, sudden showers, or the sounds of breaking waves, the voice of the thunder, lightning, the cries of the birds, insect sounds, the babbling brook, the sound of the waterfall, or the sound of the surf—the phenomenon itself that we know through our senses—is not in itself happiness.  The greatest and most certain fact behind those infinite number of things—there is a Creator that transcends all of this abundant and diverse phenomena, and there is, here, a perfect and harmonious world created by that God.  That is why, phenomena appearing as that “reflection”—this is the source of happiness. Because, as a “reflection” the phenomenal world is sufficiently magnificent, beautiful, filled with goodness and ideas, think of how the world of God, the True-Image world that is the “source,” must be. Contemplate this.  Meditate on it.  The True Image lies behind the senses.  I am in the center of the perfect and harmonious world of God, and if I visualize and feel only this, happiness is there.

    God is the source of my happiness.  God does not create unhappiness.  “Unhappiness” is merely the house of cards given birth to by the delusion that the physical being is the self.  I offer my heartfelt appreciation to God for teaching me this Truth.

I read Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi’s Daily Prayers every morning and they help me to enlighten my day. I will occasionally introduce his prayers. The next thing we should do is to affirm that we are all children of God. We have to practice Three Important Practices which are Shinsokan Meditation, reading the Holy Sutras and SNI books and perform deeds of love daily. Some may say that we can practice the first two but that the “deeds of love” is not easy to perform every day. You have to change your perceptions. “Deeds of love” in SNI is not only to subscribe to Truth of Live magazines and share them with other people. To be kind to your family members and neighbors, to clean up the streets, to give encouragement, to give a smile and bring joy to other people, or even to pick up trash are all deeds of love. You cannot say that you won’t be able to such things.

The third thing is to realize that our minds create our destinies. I’d like to share a recent book which I read. This book explains how to organize and clean your room. By reading this, I realized that to clean and organize our rooms depends on our minds. I also realized that keeping material things for a long time and cherishing and caring for them are completely different.

In my house there were many material things and I didn’t know how to organize them. However, by reading this book I understood why. The author, Mari Kondo, is an expert in teaching how to clean and organize rooms and offices. Under her guidance, every customer can clean and organize his/her room. In business, repeaters are important, but she has no repeat customer because everyone can do a better job after her guidance.

According to Ms. Kondo, with regard to organization problems, out of 100 percent 90 percent of the cause is related to one’s mind. She said, “There is no way to mess the room without involving you. In other words, you are the one who makes a mess in your room and it is the reflection of your mind.” She also said that she almost never cleans her room because her room is always clean and organized. She said probably once a year she cleans her room for about an hour.

Then, how do you start organizing your room? She gives us the following advice:

1)      What kind of room do you want to live in? Visualize the ideal room. If you cannot visualize the room, find an ideal room from magazines and put that model room or ideal room on the wall.

2)     Repeatedly ask yourself at least 5 times; “Why do you want to live in that room/have that kind of lifestyle?”

3)     Organization is not to rearrange things in your room or discard things that you don’t need. Organization is to keep what you use and what you need.

4)     Organization is a process to select what you want to keep not what you want to discard. In order to do this, you have to set a standard of your things and decide what you want to keep by touching each item with your hands.

5)     Do not clean by room but clean by categories. Collect the same items in one room and start organizing and/or sorting.

6)     Start organizing things which are easy to sort such as clothes. Recommendation: clothes-> books-> documents-> small things (DVD, accessories, stationery, cosmetics, medicine, kitchen things, daily necessities, food, etc.)-> things rich in memories such as photos and letters.

7)     Sorting order of clothes: tops (shirt, sweater)-> bottoms (pants, skirts)-> hanging clothes (jackets, suits, coat)-> socks-> underwears-> bags-> small things (scarves, belts, hats, shoes)-> event clothes (Halloween, bathing suit, party dress)-> bags

8)    When you get rid of your personal stuff, do not give them to your family members and proceed disposing without letting them know. You will always be interrupted.

When I read this book, I thought the author did not think of material things as materials. She said, “A gift is to convey a person’s feeling. Recall the touching moment when you received it and be grateful and then discard it.” “To organize is to clean up the past.” “Please dispose all the letters from someone whom you associated with. The purpose of love letters belongs to the moment to receive and read it. Generally speaking, those who have sent a letter do not remember what he wrote or even remember the fact that he had sent it. Regarding accessories and jewelry, you should keep them if they are precious to you. Otherwise, get rid of them, or you may miss a new encounter.”

When I read this book, I realized that I did not fully utilize things that I kept at home. They accumulated in the closet, on the shelves, under the bed and in the garage, and I haven’t seen some of them for over 3 years, 5 years and even over 7 years. How can I say that I care for my personal things? It means I don’t care for them. So, I cleaned my room and separated what I really want to use and what I do not need and prayed in my Shinsokan meditation, “O God, I have many things that I haven’t used for years such as clothes, bags and personal belongings. I am sincerely grateful to them which brought me joy and surprise. Please send these things to those who most need them. O God, thank you very much for granting my sincere wishes.” I had a garage sale. I gave some of them to my friends and took some of them to the Salvation Army and Goodwill. Through this experience I was able to refresh my feelings towards my personal belongings and again be grateful to them. These material things are not things that I need or do not need but are the manifestation of God’s life. I am grateful to my experience that I could cherish my life again and feel passion toward the material things that I have. They are not matter but manifestations of the life of God.

Conclusion:

We are all children of God; therefore, we are the master of our lives. We can change our lives to whatever we want. To do this, we need to realize the three things which are:

-         Deny the existence of phenomena. Phenomena are not true existences. They are reflections.

-         Affirm that we are all children of God.

-         Realize that our minds create our destinies.

We also practice Three Important Practices which are Shinsokan Meditation, reading the Holy Sutras and SNI books and perform deeds of love daily. Then even our rooms will be able to reflect on our minds and become organized. Thank you very much.

I realized that there was a friendship bond, family bond.

This is a translation of my short Japanese lecture into English which I gave at the White Dove Public Lecture on May 20, 2012:

There was a question on the flyer introducing that day’s lecture event. “What is bonding with another? How is this achieved?” The origin of the word Kizuna comes from tying a leash to a dog or horse and from there it became to mean the loving bond between people. 

Even if there is a lonely person without a family, that person is still bonded with animals, plants and nature. This bonding is important and in Seicho-No-Ie, we are taught many ways to keep this loving bond.

For example, in order to create a loving family what things need to be done? In the Truth of Life volumes there are many things written regarding this topic:

・  Use loving words in the home. There is no such thing as using too many loving words. (Vol. 7)

・  Even when you are alone with your spouse, always think that you have a guest called “God.” (Vol. 12)

・  Don’t measure life by a ruler. It will bend, shrink, and become small. (Vol. 14)

・  At the very least when we are with family, let’s make it a living paradise. That is to have laughter. (Vol. 15)

・  It is very important to know how to take care of your spouse. To be able to relax at home is happiness beyond words. It is because you cannot relax in the work environment.

・  If you have a bad relationship with your spouse, it means that loving words of praise is mutually lacking. You both must give abundant words of praise. (Vol. 25)

・  The origin of the word for husband and wife in Japanese derives from the meaning “complete bonding.” (Vol. 29)

・  Abandon the words, “I am the only one supporting the family.” (Vol. 29)

・  The secret to bring happiness to the family is by your facial expression alone. (Vol. 29)

・  Marriage is living life. It is not a romance. (Vol. 29)

There are many many more, however, in the end, in order to have a loving bond within your family, it is necessary to do the above written things. Everyone, do you laugh with your family? If your family does not laugh much together then immediately increase the laughter in your home. Some time ago, I used to tell jokes to my family. And if everyone laughed, it made me happy. Because of the happiness I felt, I would try to find new jokes that I could share with my family. 

To praise one another is not only for husbands and wives but also important for children. When a parent sees a bad or negative point of the child, the parent wants to point that out. However, before doing so you must find several good or positive points to address first.

Even between husband and wife, if one wants to caution the other, you must praise the person twice over before addressing the negative.  This is the bases of a loving and peace filled family. The facial expression of the husband and wife will influence one another, and the facial expression of the parent will influence the children. This is not only for children but your pets also will be influenced in the same manner. Facial expressions are important. Facial expressions are not spoken words; however it is one important method of communication.

When my children were young and upon my return home, they would come running to greet me with a hug. As you can imagine, this made me very happy. These days, they say in a loud voice, Okaerinasai or welcome home without leaving their rooms. I’m still glad that they say something to me. I can understand why everyone would want to have a dog. A dog always comes running to greet its master when he arrives home, wagging its tail, showing how happy he is. 

You must take care of these small things, if not, you will not create a happy, loving family. I’d like to read you a quote about Marriage not being a romance:

“During the honeymoon period of marriage, one is drunken with happiness, however, in time you will become sober and realize that marriage is not a honeymoon. You settle into the reality of marriage and find that it is ordinary and not poetic any longer. You now must find the joy of marriage in your ordinary life. You must work on expressing your love every day in a quiet ordinary way.” (Truth of Life Vol. 29, page 72)

This is the same for anyone who has a job. Our daily work day is not filled with adventure, happiness, new excitement or romance. Our daily job consists of simple tasks done over and over again. If you want to find happiness and bonding in the workplace, you must do the same as with your family, then your workplace will change. Already all of you have bonded with another. You have bonding relationships with your family, with your co-workers, and even your pets, animals as well as with mother nature. You already have wonderful bonds. In order to make your relationships filled with love and happiness, please practice the several points from the Seicho-No-Ie teachings explained today. Thank you very much.

Positive Attitude Creates Positive Life

The following lecture was given at the 55th ISTS in Connecticut in June, 2012: 

Thank you very much. In Seicho-No-Ie we often talk about how important it is to have a positive attitude and encourage people to practice the use of positive words such as “I am a child of God. I am happy, healthy and wealthy. Only good things come my way.” You have to know that positive words have power to create and shape our positive destinies. Positive words include our thoughts, utterances, actions and expressions. Why can positive words create and shape a positive destiny? It is because the law of the mind permeates in the universe. One of the very important laws of the mind is that what you recognize appears. Therefore, by learning this law of the mind and applying the power of the word we will be able to realize what we recognize in our minds.

In March my mother visited my family. While she was with us, she said, “I am happy to be here. So, when I return to Japan, I may die (drop dead) any time.” I told her don’t say that and encouraged her to enjoy her longevity. I suggested to her to use more fingers to give a stimulus in her brain or do more exercise. She used to play the piano but quit, so I suggested she resume it again. Then she said, “I want to, but I cannot read the music notes. My eyes become blurry. I want to walk more, but once I sit down then my body doesn’t move as I wish.” What she said was that she wanted something, but her brain denied what she wanted. In other words, something that we want to do is denied by our brain. According to a brain scientist, our body limitation and our brain limitation are different. The brain limitation comes earlier than our physical body limitation. Therefore, although our physical bodies want to do something, our brains stop it. However, In Seicho-No we learn this in the Holy Sutra, Song of Angel as follows: “When we forget our physical body and are in a state of selflessness,/ Our body will function most perfectly.” (p. 19)

We have to know that no one can change or restrict our destiny. The person who can do this is only you. It is obvious that my mother’s physical eyes cannot allow her to read musical notes due to her physical condition. However, the restriction to practice piano because of her eyes is not the true reason. If this is the reason, why do many mothers try their younger child of age 2 or 3 years old to play piano? A 2-year-old child cannot read a music sheet, but he or she can learn from another way. My mom may play the piano not from reading a musical sheet but another way. But, she doesn’t try it because not her eyes but her brain limits her action.

On the contrary, my mother told that she read one Seicho-No-Ie book at least once a month. She loved reading when she was young. According to my mon, when she was a teenage student, she enjoyed reading Anna Karenina and War and Peace by Tolstoy. But recently she can only read a book once a month not because of her eyes but of her ability to understand the content. She said she reads the same paragraph 4 or 5 times to understand. Before she understood almost everything just by reading once, but recently she cannot understand the difficult sentences by reading just one or two times. She still reads every day. For me if her eyes are blurry, I think she cannot read both a musical sheet and a book. But she reads books by using a magnifying glass. It is obvious that her mind or brain confines her action. In order to free our brain’s restriction we need to relax our brain. The state of that situation is called the “state of flow.” Dr. Kenichiro Mogi, brain scientist wrote: “From the viewpoint of brain science we can maximize our potential while our brain is in a state that is relaxed but focused. When our mind and body are relaxed and happily concentrating on something, we will be able to do our best performance.” (The Way of Thinking of the Brain, p. 105)

Then, how are we able to become such a frame of mind? Dr. Mogi said that we need to prepare in order for our brain to be in a relaxed and focused state. To reach this state we have to experience difficult situations. So, he suggested to the readers to have confidence even without a reason, but we should have confidence that we can do it. In other words, we have to become optimistic.

In Seicho-No-Ie we learn how to be positive and optimistic. We have to know that we are all children of God and that we can do anything. We also practice three important Seicho-No-Ie practices which are Shinsokan Meditation, reading Holy Sutras and holy books and performing deeds of love.

I would like to introduce Mr. Tadashi Asoma who, in the beginning, didn’t have any confidence but had great teachers and achieved wonderful art works in his life. He was born in 1923 in a very old farming family which has continued over 200 years and he was expected to succeed in the house. When he was very young, he loved painting, but his father didn’t allow him to be an artist. However, after World War II his father passed away, his mother let him paint. At that time he was an art teacher at a middle school. He really wanted to become an artist when he was 35 years old, but he didn’t have confidence that he could become one. In order to have strong confidence, he thought that he would go to Paris. He asked his art teacher, “Sensei, I didn’t have a formal art study, so I think it is a good idea to go to Paris to study. What do you think?” His art teacher, Prof. Manjiro Terauchi, said, “Then, tomorrow at the teachers’ briefing in the morning, say to everyone that you will go to Paris.”

“Is it okay to say that?” replied Mr. Asoma.

“Yes, that is the best way. Proclaim to everyone at the briefing that you will go to Paris. I will explain you the rest tomorrow.”

Mr. Asoma did what Professor Terauchi said. Then, he was called to the principle’s office and told, “It’s trouble. Although you said that, we cannot help you at all, okay?” That day Mr. Asoma went to his art teacher and asked what he should do next. Then, Prof. Terauchi said, “Wake up at 5 am.” “What?” “You want to go to Paris, don’t you? You need to speak French.” “I see.” “Wake up at 5 and listen to the radio broadcast of the French class.”

In this way Mr. Asoma started learning French when he was 35 years old. When he finished his work at school, he started attending French language school in the evening. In order to go to Paris at that time he needed to receive a scholarship from the government and pass the exam. The first time he took the exam, he was so intimidated by the atmosphere because all the people who wanted to go to Paris were young people who had students of art colleges or who were just graduated from the college. He is the only one who was middle one’s thirty. He failed his first exam. At his second exam he passed the first-stage exam but failed the second one because the second exam was an oral exam. The interviewer was a French teacher and he asked Mr. Asoma if he could speak French. He said he could. Then the interviewer asked many questions in his native speed. Mr. Asoma was not able to reply to anything.

He failed the third, fourth and fifth exams. After the 5^th exam an examiner called out and stopped Mr. Asoma and said, “You are a school teacher, so isn’t it enough? You don’t have to quit your job. You should not go to Paris.” Mr. Asoma replied, “But I declared to everyone that I would go to Paris. All students and their parents know about this. They ask me when I will go to Paris. I cannot withdraw it anymore.” “But you are the only one who took the exam 5 times.”

When Mr. Asoma failed his 6^th exam, while the examiner was repeating “Trouble, trouble,” he asked Mr. Asoma, “Please stop taking exams.” At his 7^th exam he was finally able to pass the exam. Before going to Paris his art teacher, Prof. Terauchi, showed his favorite book which was the Truth of Life. After finishing one year study in Paris Mr. Asoma decided not to go back to Japan but continue his study in New York. After he moved to New York, he notified of his school his decision. He attended the art school in New York during the day and worked during the night because he needed to send money to his wife and three children. It is a big decision to follow his dream although the fact that he has his responsibility to raise his family in Japan. That was 1959 and he studied in New York for 2 years. Then he returned to his old school in Japan and worked for 1 year and returned to New York to continue his study.

Mr. Asoma studied very hard to improve his art skills at the college and worked during the night at the restaurant as a bus boy to send money to his family in Japan. After 5 years he was finally able to call his family to New York. However, his oldest son who was a freshman at college was not able to call him “father” because of a lack of bonding. His wife also had problems adjusting to life in New York. At that time he saw an ad in a Japanese newspaper about the Seicho-No-Ie Public Lecture conducted by Dr. Katsumi Tokuhisa. He and his family attended this seminar and he learned how important it was to maintain a positive attitude and bright countenance. Dr. Tokuhisa had a chance to see Mr. Asoma’s paintings and commented that his paintings were very beautiful but had a lack of brightness. In order to become positive and bright, Dr. Tokuhisa taught the following words to recite anywhere. “I am bright. I am going to improve more and more. I am the best painter in the world. My family members are all wonderful and I am so happy. I am very rich.”

In Manhattan no one cared what Mr. Asoma was reciting. People might think that this guy was talking to himself loudly. So, he continued saying these words over and over again anywhere for many months. These words are a kind of prayer. Without knowing it he was able to restore the harmony between family members and his family became bright and cheerful. Meanwhile his paintings improved and sold more. These pictures are some of his paintings. He moved back to Japan when he was 73 which was in 1996. He succeeded his family line and opened his art studio. His has continued painting up until now and is very successful. I have his risograph and it is very expensive. Even his poster is over $50 or $60. When he came back to Japan, he was able to open up a new field and started painting cherry blossoms.

Mr. Asoma followed the idea to be harmonious with nature which is the teachings of Seicho-No-Ie and put solar panel on his house and studio. The owner of the solar panel company talked about Mr. Asoma’s painting to his friend who was the owner of an art gallery in Ginza, Japan. As soon as he saw Mr. Asoma’s art, he wanted to exhibit his paintings in his gallery. Mr. Asoma said okay, but he didn’t expect a lot because his real paintings were very expensive. However, within a week three of them were sold. He will become 90 next year, but he is still active. He had exhibitions in Tokyo, New York and Florida last few years. He is a Seicho-No-Ie Regional Lecturer and occasionally gives a lecture. He was able to achieve many things including becoming an artist, being prosperous and realizing harmony in his family because he practices the Seicho-No-Ie Sundial Way of Life. I hope those who attend today will practice the sundial way of life which emphasizes a positive life in our daily lives. Thank you very much.

The Law of the Mind

The following lecture was given at the 54th ISTS in California.

Thank you very much for attending the 54^th International Training Seminar. I will discuss “The Law of the Mind and the Power of the Word.” When I looked at the list of the attendees, I saw many familiar names from the Southern California Missionary Area, and I saw names for the first time. So, before starting this session, I will ask you about your philosophy of your life. I will distribute to two different sheets of paper. First one is a copy of a page from Sundial Dairy. I call the second one a gratitude note. On the opposite side of the paper there are 3 lines on the top. So, in 25 words or less, please write down your philosophy of life in two minutes.

“I always see the bright side of people and things and never their dark side because God’s created world is already perfect and harmonious.”

Some of you may have finished writing and some cannot write your philosophy of life in 2 minutes. It is okay. The reason why I asked you to write is because by writing it will give you a chance to think of your life philosophy. Now, I will explain what kind of philosophy of life a Seicho-No-Ie member should have. When the Seicho-No-Ie Founder Masaharu Taniguchi published the very first issue of the Seicho-No-Ie magazine in March 1930, he wrote the article, The Seicho-No-Ie Way of Life, and introduced three ways of life. They are: In Seicho-No-Ie we live laughing merrily, The way of life of the sundial principle, and Seicho-No-Ie is a way of life based on the worship principle.

The situation at the time when Seicho-No-Ie started is similar to the recent year in the United States. Since September 2008 when Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the US economy has deteriorated. The average unemployment rate in 2011 was a little over 9%. Before starting SNI, the situation was very similar. In 1930, Japan fell into total economic chaos. The most important industry at that time was the silk industry. The price of raw silk fell 55% between 1930-1931. Related to this was the 52% decline in price of cotton thread. Rice fell 50% to half price. Exports fell off by 43.2%--about half—and imports fell by 40%. In 1930, the number of unemployed was 2.37 million; in 1931, it was 2.5 million, and in 1932, it was 2.37 million.

In that situation Founder Masaharu Taniguchi published the Seicho-No-Ie magazine and wrote the Seicho-No-Ie way of life. This way of life is expounded in the Truth of Life Volume 7. When you open the contents of the Truth of Life Volume 7, you will be able to see many ways of life. They are:

1. Make the Most of the Early Morning

2. Live Laughing

3. The Sundial Way of Life

4. Revere the True Image of the Life Dwelling in Others

5. Leap Right Into the Realization That You Are a Child of God

6. Burn Your Bridges Behind You

7. Rule the Kingdom of Your Mind

8. Always Entertain Good Thoughts

9. Let the Future Take Care of Itself

10. Be Decisive, Determined, and Courageous in Carrying Out Your Plans

11. He Who Staunchly Refuses to Anticipate Defeat Eventually Wins

12. Bring Light Into Your Home

These ways of life is to only focus ourselves on the positive side. For example, in the section of The Sundial Way of Life, it is stated as follows:

“Let us become as sundials which record only the hours of sunshine. What is there to gain by keeping sadness forever in our minds? What profit is there in recalling our losses forever? No one receives any benefit if we keep regretting our mistakes and become despondent. These are only the dregs among the events in our lives. Do not be bothered forever by the dregs. Throw them out. Cast them out of your mind in the same way that you would throw out a thief. We must know that our minds are worth much more than these dregs.” (p. 35)

“If you wish spiritual growth, do not be seized by your emotions. Do not allow yourself to be controlled by violent emotions. Do not become a slave. He who is seized or controlled is a slave. Make your emotions do as you bid. Control violent emotions. Become sovereign over your own mind.” (p. 123)

We should know how our destinies are created. They are created by our words which are thoughts, words and actions. The following message by Rev. Taniguchi shows an important truth:

“Bright and Cheerful Thoughts

We human beings, who are children of God, are bestowed not only with a free will and the right to select and determine our own fate, but also with a tool whereby to materialize what we choose. This apparatus is nothing but our own thoughts, words and actions. In other words, if we exploit thoughts, words and actions which are positive and constructive, we create a good, fortunate destiny, whereas with those of a pessimistic and destructive nature, we forge an unfortunate, ill fate.

If we wish to generate good thoughts, we must not turn our minds to the evil portents in our actual life, such as misfortunes and illnesses. First we must focus our being upon God, impress all the attributes of God deeply upon our minds, and then exalt them and inundate ourselves with gratitude for them.” (365 Golden Keys to the Summit of Fulfillment, pages 14-15)

When we use and think positive words and thoughts, our lives will definitely change. However, how can we focus on only the positive side when we are sick or have pain? How can we not think of our failures or mistakes which caused a great damage in our lives? Unfortunately, if we repeatedly recall our failures and mistakes in our minds, we will only reproduce similar situations in the future. Therefore, we have to practice positive, bright thoughts, words and actions. Practice is important.

It is easy to worry about your job if you lose your job. It is natural to have fear if your family member suffers from an illness. What should do is the opposite thing. When we are sad, let us laugh out loud. When suffering a difficult situation, be joyful. When in fear, be brave. When depressed, be bright and cheerful. These are practices.

Last week I read a book, Flourish, by Dr. Martin Seligman who started Positive Psychology in 2005 and Positive Psychology is currently being used as a recovery program of post traumatic stress disorder in US Army and many different places. One of the reasons why he started Positive Psychology was that he really wanted to help his patients. He wrote: “As a therapist, once in a while I would help a patient get rid of all of his anger and anxiety and sadness. I thought I would then get a happy patient. But I never did. I got an empty patient. And that is because the skills of flourishing—of having positive emotion, meaning, good work, and positive relationships—are something over and above the skills of minimizing suffering.” (p. 54)

The positive thoughts have power. Dr. Seligman utilizes the power of positive thinking. In his book it is written as follows:

“Having established that positive emotions can be very useful, it is critical to pause and draw attention to the fact that people often do not know that they have such power within them. You have the power within you to figure out what inspires you, what makes you laugh, or what gives you hope, and to cultivate those emotions…This can help you optimize your life by setting up moments of genuine positivity for yourself. Do not underestimate the benefits of doing this.” (p. 141)

I have not yet visited his website and tried his program, so I don’t know the whole procedure of his well-being program, but he mentioned here and there what he does. For example, Dr. Seligman suggested to write down three things that went well today and why they went well. In Seicho-No-Ie Readers Meeting program, we share good things that happened since the last meeting. Sharing the positive happenings with participants, we are able to enhance our feeling of joy more. We also suggest to members to write things daily that go well. We have the Sundial Dairy. You have received a copy of the today’s page. So, you can write down your positive thoughts in it later.

Dr. Seligman also suggests for readers to write gratitude letters. He said, “Gratitude can make your life happier and more satisfying. When we feel gratitude, we benefit from the pleasant memory of a positive event in our life. Also, when we express our gratitude to others, we strengthen our relationship with them.” (p. 30) Therefore, it is important to express your gratitude. The Divine Message of Grand Harmony clearly states, “Be reconciled with the whole universe. When you are so reconciled the whole universe is your friend. When the whole universe is your friend nothing whatever can harm you…True reconciliation cannot be achieved by patience or forbearance with one another. To be patient or forbearing is not to be reconciled from the bottom of your heart. When you are grateful to one another, true reconciliation is achieved…Be grateful to the blessings from your country. Be grateful to your parents. Be grateful to your husband or wife. Be grateful to your children. Be grateful to those who serve you. Be grateful to all people. Be grateful to everything in the universe. Within those thoughts of gratitude you will find me and receive my salvation.” In Seicho-No-Ie we have Gratitude Practice. Some members practice thank you very much recitation ten thousand times a day. When we practice, practice makes us perfect. Dr. Seligman said, “World-class piano soloists log 10,000 hours of solo practice by age twenty, in contrast to 5,000 hours for the next level of pianist, and in contrast to 2,000 hours for a merely serious amateur pianist…The advice that follows is straight-forward: if you want to become world class at anything, you must spend 60 hours a week on it for ten years.” (p. 115)

In Seicho-No-Ie we do not recommend extremes. To apply the positive way of life we optimize our words, thoughts and actions. Please write your positive things in the Sundial Diary. I would like to suggest to not only write things that went well but also write why. This is an example: “My husband gave me a bouquet of flowers for our anniversary. He remembered our anniversary and showed his love for me. I am delighted.”

Conclusion

So far I explained how important it is to think positively when we encounter negative things. But, the question of how to deal with a negative situation in a positive mind still remains. To solve this, first we have to think clearly about our problem or adversity. We should know Albert Ellis’s ABCDE model pointed by Dr. Seligman: “C (the emotional consequences) do not stem directly from A (the adversity) but from B (your beliefs about the adversity). This simple fact comes as a surprise to many of the sergeants, dispelling the common belief that adversity sets off emotion directly.” (p. 167) When we are fearful or angry at something due to suffering an adversity, consequences appear because of our feeling of resentment or terror. When we can change our feeling of resentment or terror by the power of the positive words, we will be able to change our adversity to a chance to become better. In the Truth of Life Volume 7 it is stated as follows:

“For us human beings, who are light and also life, there is no real darkness, nothing that we can call a real obstacle. Darkness serves only to sharpen the brilliance of light as the latter advances. Obstacles serve only accentuate the hidden freedom that lies in life. Because there is resistance in the path of electrical flow, electricity becomes light and heat. Electricity without resistance and water without an obstacle are not really free, for they are not faced with adversity.

Indeed, is adversity not something that gives greater freedom to our lives? Is the aircraft not able to fly because there is the resistance of air? Is the automobile not able to run on the ground because there is friction between the tires and the ground? A world without obstacles, a world without resistance, a world without friction, may appear to be free, but its freedom is never to be displayed. As such, does it not remain forever a world of seeming possibility?

Therefore, an obstacle is what makes our lives shed light. Resistance is what makes our lives leap upwards and rise to the highest world. Hardship is what actualizes the freedom that our lives possess.

If so, regardless of what hardship we might face, we do not need to look at its dark side.” (pages 224-225)

Let us practice focusing ourselves on only positive side. Thank you very much.

New Year's Message

Happy New Year!

There were many incidents which occurred last year. According to the TV news, the most memorable news for New Yorkers was the death of Osama Bin Ladin who was killed by the American military. I believe New Yorkers were so hurt by the terrorist attack on September 11. It is obvious that I believe many Japanese would pick up the news of the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake. The Thai people would pick up the news of floods.

The hearts of human beings would be moved by things or incidents which relate to them. On New Year’s Day there was a magnitude 7 earthquake under 230 miles of sea level near Torishima island which is 370 miles from Tokyo. My sister-in-law’s house which is on the third floor was shaking pretty much according to my mother-in-law. My wife and I were very concerned about it. Fortunately, there was no damage. On the other hand, people do not pay much their attention if things or incidents do not relate to them. Many people who work in the financial sector, especially receive influence by the credit crunch of Greece or Italy of Euro, and are seriously concerned about the problem; however, those who are not influenced by this might not care much about it. For example, on July 9^th, 2011, the 54^th independent nation in Africa (Southern Sudan) was born, but I don’t think many people gathered here today are interested in this news.

However, it is the time for us to turn our consideration towards not only the immediate events related our daily lives but also global events. It is because the world has become closer due to the development of science, and at the same time the destruction of world environment by humans’ activities is increasing. Environmental issues are directly connected to human beings, animals and plants and it will be possible that environmental issues would be a worse threat than Osama bin Ladin. However, nature is not a threat but a part of God’s life like us. In Seicho-No-Ie, we practice from the time it was founded as a way of life “to be reconciled with everything in the universe.” This year, in order for people in many countries to practice this way of life, we who are members of Seicho-No-Ie should perform this life as an example to seriously live in harmony with nature. Let us continuously practice God’s Love and the Four Immeasurable Minds of the Buddha and the life of grand harmony with nature. Furthermore, let us be united as one through the teaching given by the President, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, follow the guidance of the Bishop, Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara and promote our movement with joy. Thank you very much.

What Do We Learn from Nature?

The following message was delivered at the Spring Memorial Service.

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Thank you very much for attending the Seicho-No-Ie Southern California Missionary Area's Spring Memorial Service. This memorial service is aim for memorializing the predecessors of Seicho-No-Ie Southern California as well as our ancestors. We pray for those who passed away that they will go on to the high angelic world by realizing the truth and, at the same time, we ask that they protect and help improve our Humanity Enlightenment Movement and International Peace by Faith Movement.

When these spirits deeply realize the Truth, from the spiritual world they can protect us and, at the same time, with their spiritual power to guide us, our movement will also increase. As you know, the Seicho-No-Ie movement is to hold the flame of truth high to guide humanity and realize world peace. This movement is not only for mankind in this physical world abut also for the spirits who live in the spiritual world. We perform our movement to realize peace on earth with guidance from the high spiritual world. Therefore, we must let people know the truth not only to the ones living in this physical world but also to spirits who reside in the spiritual world and help them also to hold the flame of truth high in the spiritual world. To do so we continue to memorialize the spirits through these memorial services.

Many people's lives were taken by the recent earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan. I extend my sincere and heartfelt prayers and offer my deepest condolences and sympathies to those who perished in this disaster. I also extend my sincere prayers to the disaster victims who are trying to survive the best they can without daily necessities, with hope and they will be able to return their normal lives.

The situation for some victims is grave. The hardships faced is doubled or tripled in their lives due to the earthquake, tsunami and/or failure of nuclear power plants. On the other hand, some people were able to escape disasters depending on the time, place and situation. Though a disastrous incident some people become unfortunate, however, some people become stronger and eventually fortunate. Therefore, I sincerely pray that although the earthquake disaster was so devastating, people in general will be able to improve their spiritual level and become fortunate and happy.

Now, I would like to quote some passages from the Truth of Life and how it explains about these kinds of disasters, misfortunes and difficulties:

"For me the three worlds (note:physical world, spiritual world and mental world) are reflections of the mind; therefore, when our minds are purified, earthquake or tsunami will not occur."(Truth of Life Volume 16, p. 109)

Every incident in this world is created by the mind; therefore, our founder, Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi, said even an earthquake or tsunami is created by our minds. Therefore, by purifying our minds, it will lead us to world peace. However, when such an disaster occurs, there are people who ask "Where is God?" and "Why does God make these disasters happen?" It is created by mankind's minds. So, God is not responsible for the earthquakes or tsunamis. However, we must know that in any situation such as this devastation, God's guidance always permeates the universe. By learning through these incidents, we can develop our souls.

We sometimes call this the work of Kanzeon Bosatsu (Goddess of Mercy). Rev. Msaharu TAniguchi explained this in the "Prayer in Praise of Kanzeon Bosatsu" from the Holy Sutra, Recitations of the Truth. "Kanzeon Bosatsu is not the name of a particular bodhisattva but the mercy, wondrous wisdom, and 'laws of the mind' that permeate the universe." Kanzeon Bosatsu also helps us by changing his appearance in 33 different ways. The change is not only to human beings but also to nature. "Kanzeon Bosatsu appears to us in every possible way to teach us the ways of salvation. The mountain air, moving clouds, whistling wind, flowing water--these all show us Kanzeon Bosatsu's mercy. Listen, with your mind's ears. See, with your mind's eyes." (Truth of Life magazine, May 2002)

The earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear power melt downs are all reflection of our minds in this physical world. It is written in detail in the Truth of Life:

"To think that we cannot avoid disasters is because we think that heavy rains, typhoons, earthquakes and such are physical phenomena. With only this type spiritual understanding, it is impossible to destroy the fundamental thinking that matter does not exist. The heavy rains, typhoons and earthquakes are the reflection of our minds or the materialization of karma. By realizing the wondrous wisdom of the Goddess of Mercy, in other words, enlightenment, we will be able to transcend these disasters." (Truth of Life Volume 25, p. 119)

Through these disasters, what do we learn? Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi writes in the "Prayer to Visualize Grand Harmony between Nature & Human Beings" as follows:

"If human beings think of Nature as being their enemy, or as being hostile, as a reflection of a deluded mind, conditions then appear from Nature from having been treated or dealt with as being hostile. Though human beings may chip away at the mountains, cut down forests, dam rivers, fill the lakes and oceans, and focus only on prosperity for themselves alone, that is not God's will. That is a failed creative work that does not in the least bit resemble the True-Image World that God proclaims to be 'very good.' The time shall always come when that which is not the True Image shall face destruction and ruin. That is the collapse of that which is false and the disintegration and self-destruction of karma."

We use nature as we desire and if it is not enough we continue to destroy nature. The Arctic glaciers will melt within 10 years. Without regards to this, we continue to use and destroy nature for our profit. To continue in this way is not towards the development of human's soul. It is written in the Truth of Life Volume 18 as follows:

"Many people pray for healing of their physical bodies, however, God guides man in the most loving way in order that man may find his best destiny. If man creates circumstances to improve his soul without poverty or misfortunes, then consequently poverty and misfortunes will disappear. It will vanish with the development of the spirit."

For example, if someone who loves sweets cannot eat them because of his diabetes, it is hard for him. On the contrary, someone stops eating sweets because of prayer to achieve his goal and takes a vow for abstinence of sweets. In both cases they cannot eat sweets but their situations are quite different because one chose to not eat sweets by his own will.

Someone presently suffers poverty. He cannot spare any money. He cannot even afford to buy a cup of coffee. If he was robbed and all his money was stolen, he would get into a predicament. On the contrary, imagine that the same person heard about the East Japan Great Earthquake and thought that he had to be grateful because he still had a place to live. He decided to give all his money to the charity. In this case it is not a situation that poverty strikes him because he willingly donated money. In other words, his mind is not attached to poverty but is actually purified.

So, we must purify our minds and continue to light the flame of truth to the world then our souls most certainly will improve and poverty, misfortune, and disasters will disappear. In the prayer, "Prayer to Visualize Grand Harmony between Nature and Human Beings" by our president, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, I would like to share the following passage:

"However, we must not consider this to be 'God’s wrath. We must not look at the tsunami traveling at unfathomable speed, destroying vast expanses of farmland as it pushes its way forward and think of it as the actions of God, filled with anger and fury. God does not destroy mountains and fill the seas. He does not make the beaches into agricultural land. He does not build factories. He does not make airports or nuclear facilities. They are all acts of human beings thinking of their own profits and benefits without considering the extinction of plant and animal species. Earthquakes hitting the Japanese islands and the area in and around New Zealand are a part of the changes in the earth’s crust which have happened repeatedly since ancient times, and are definitely not anomalous conditions. They appear to be so because of the narrow outlook of human beings, the time axis of their thinking being so short, and because they are so self-centered."

The self-centered way of thinking, to think of only one’s own profit must be changed. The time is now to change our ways and live in harmony with nature. This is not the only thing we learned from the recent earthquake disaster. Many people have been given the wonderful opportunity to give and aid the victims of this disaster. That is God’s love, and the appearance of the four immeasurable minds of Buddha. This is the sprouting of that wonderful love.

Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi explained in the “Prayer to Receive God’s Protection and Wisdom” from the Holy Sutra, Recitations of the Truth that God has already given us everything abundantly; therefore, if we want to be happy, we have to give more and more. . In order to realize this, “First, I repay God by giving donations so that other people may receive salvation as I have. Second, I donate to help the needy.” (pages 28-29) Therefore, we first repay God by giving donations and then help people who are in need as much as possible. Furthermore, the Truth of Life states as follows:

“If you come in contact with someone who is crying because of a misfortune to his family or close relatives, cry with him. If you cry with him, it is important that you do not become attached to the sorrow. You must cry for him with the thought of helping him.” (Truth of Life Volume 18 page 190)

To feel compassion and cry with him, and to show sympathy is very important. However, you must not only cry with him but also do so with the thought of saving him, which is most important. This is what is meant by the completion of the four immeasurable minds of Buddha.

One of the Southern CA Missionary Area Seicho-No-Ie members relayed the following to me. Her son is presently living in Tokyo and seeing the situation with the disaster victims, he no longer could sit still and standby watching. He decided with his friend to travel today, Sunday, to Sendai and take necessary supplies to the victims of this disaster. After hearing this from his mother, my wife and I decided to help him with funds and donated a small amount toward his cause.

His mother is a Seicho-No-Ie member giving tithing through the Holy Mission Fellowship and receives the blessings of God through her many donations and deeds of love. Her son’s sole desire is to help the unfortunate people and without thinking of his own safety, chose to go on this dangerous and difficult mission. When I heard this story, I realized how wonderful this Seicho-No-Ie family was.

Everyone, I hope that learning from this disaster, and at the same time practicing God’s love and the four immeasurable minds of Buddha, developing our souls, bring about world peace and co-existing and mutually prospering with nature through the movement of Seicho-No-Ie, we can go forward with the guidance from the spiritual world.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your attendance today at the Southern CA Missionary Area Spring Memorial Service. Thank you very much!

Sincerity Is the Power to Invoke God

Two weeks ago I gave the following lecture on our Sunday Service. I would like to share it with you.

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Thank you very much for coming to this Sunday Service. As you know, on March 11 a devastating earthquake struck Tohoku District of Japan and over a thousand casualties is counted. (Now, the number is over 20 thousand people) There are many members in Seicho-No-Ie Japan working hard to contact fellow members in that area.

The International Headquarters' website informs current situation of each Missionary Center. There are three centers whose ceilings had fallen partially. Other than these, each Missionary Center is fine. They are currently busy to inquiring after their members in each Missionary Area. All we can do is to pray for the victims of this earthquake and send peaceful vibrations to them. After this Sunday Service we would like to read the Holy Sutra together in the mail hall at 11 a.m. If you have time to read after this service, please recite the Holy Sutra together with us and pray for them. I would like to have a short prayer for them right now with you. Please close your eyes and put your hands in prayer. (We prayed for the victims.)

Thank you very much for your prayer. Today, I would like to talk about life. If we want to live our life fully, we put everything in one moment and one thing. In the third article of Seicho-No-Ie Articles of Faith, it is stated: "I am sincere in my every word and action!--Troubles do not come from the outside. When sincerity is not manifesting--that condition is in effect trouble. It is not that one has no sincerity within himself. It is just that he does not manifest it. By sincerity is meant one's entire mind, total power, all one's might. Sincerity gives life to now. Wherever sincerity is demonstrated the place becomes a heavenly paradise at once."

In other words, when we demonstrate our sincerity, it is the same thing as living our life fully. Then, God's salvation comes to us. In the Truth of Life Volume 7, Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi wrote about this as follows:

"When a person puts his entire body and soul into what he is doing, a certain sincerity of intent is displayed. Sincerity in Japanese is makoto, which literally means the 'total mind,' or 'wholeheartedness.' It is an attitude that would concentrate one's entire power on one thing. That is the power to which Lord Michizane Sugawara alluded in his poem:

If only with the way of sincerity the mind accords,

Even without praying, God protects.

When one's entire strength is concentrated on one thing, completely, the infinite power of God goes into action." (Ibid., p. 82)

This is essential for us to live this way of life. Then, without praying God protects us. Last Tuesday, I went to a restaurant in front of the beach in Malibu for a wedding. It was a small wedding only for the couple, their parents and family members. There were 10 people including the photographer and me. I was asked to officiate at this wedding ceremony by Mrs. Shigeko Sasamori who is a Hiroshima's Atomic Bomb survivor. According to Mrs. Sasamori, almost all people who were around within 1.5 km of the bomb explosion were killed. However, she was an exception.

Mrs. Sasamori and her friend saw something falling from the sky when she was 13 years old. Then, suddenly a big explosion occurred. Her friend died instantly. Her entire upper body was exposed to radiation and her upper body skin was all dark black and came off and was partially hanging. Mrs. Sasamori wandered around and in front of the elementary school, she fell down. She murmured her name and address. Someone heard this and four days later her parents were able to find her. Her upper body was keloidal like a fire scar.

Fortunately, Mrs. Sasamori found a church whose music gave healing of her mind. Then, she was selected as an aid program started by Norman Cousins and was able to go to the United States after World War II to have surgery. She had surgery over 20 times. When I saw her at the wedding, she was a very healthy person comparing with other people on her age. However, when she had surgery right after the World War II, her situation was different. Because of these surgeries, her attached fingers were separated and implanted skin from her legs to face and upper body. She was saved by kind American doctors and nurses.

Through this experience she decided to become a nurse. Norman Cousins helped her. She went to a nurses' college in Connecticut and started working in New York. Later she married and had a baby boy. She named him Norman. She later moved to California. Through her life experience she was able to forgive America and decided to live in the United States.

In June, 1980, Mrs. Sasamori was asked to speak of her experience of the bombing first time. Then, she has helped whatever she could to contribute to world peace. She believes that is her mission. Last year she traveled about 6 months because she volunteered and shared her experience. She went to Europe, Japan and South America.

Mrs. Sasamori works hard to help others and contribute to world peace regardless of her age by sharing her experience. Two years ago she was invited to the graduation ceremony at Winona State University in Minnesota. At first she declined because she didn't think she was a person to speak at a university graduation. However, they insisted and persuaded that "Students will graduate by listening to your experience." So, she gave a speech and, at the same time, received an honorable doctor's degree of humanity from the university. I believe she deserved it. She lives her life fully with honest and heartfelt gratitude toward people who helped her. At the reception of the wedding she told me that she totally agree how important it is to be grateful to our parents and everyone and everything in the universe described in the Divine Message. "...first to be reconciled with your brothers before making offerings at the altar of God. The greatest among your brothers and sisters are your parents. Those who are grateful to God but cannot be grateful to their parents are against the Divine Will...Be grateful to the blessings from your country. Be grateful to your parents. Be grateful to your husband or wife. Be grateful to your children. Be grateful to those who serve you. Be grateful to all people. Be grateful to everything in the universe. Within those thoughts of gratitude you will find me and receive my salvation..." When you can be grateful to everyone and everything in the universe, God's salvation will appear. Mrs. Sasamori is grateful to everyone and everything in the universe and life her life fully. In other words, she demonstrates her sincerity. Our founder wrote:

"When we say that sincerity is lacking we mean that a person is not doing his best. He can put forth much greater effort, that is do much better, but he is only trying to get by. He who tries only to get by does not live the Seicho-No-Ie way of life. He does not tread the path of spiritual growth. He does not walk the road to victory." (Truth of Life Volume 7, p. 83)

Let us walk the road to victory by living sincerely. Please show your sincerity and help those who are victims of the earthquake in japan as much as you can. Thank you very much.