Thank you very much for attending today’s service.
Some people asked about the result of the Presidential Election last Tuesday
and sought for my opinion. So, I would like to briefly speak about it.
Some people wonder what will happen when Mr. Donald
Trump becomes the President of the United States of America next year. Meanwhile,
a couple of people said why did God allow him to be elected. You have to know
that God never chose Trump as the new President-elect but the citizens of
America did. In other words, the phenomenal world is actually a manifestation
of our minds. In Seicho-No-Ie we have learned that our environment is created
by our minds and we should be grateful to the current environment because it is
a work of the Bodhisattva Who Reflects
the Sounds of the World. We have to learn from a phenomenon which is unfolded
before us.
Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi, founder of Seicho-No-Ie,
said, “The Bodhisattva Who Reflects the
Sounds of the World appears in different forms and gives us lectures of
salvation.” (Song In Praise Of The Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the
World, p. 2) Therefore, our environment is the best teacher to give us
lessons to improve ourselves. We need to learn from our environment. This
election is no exception.
Many people have resentment and are in
disbelief of this result based on some of Trump’s disgusting remarks. These
people thought he should not be the President-elect, but he was elected. Why?
As you often heard that the candidates of this election were very unpopular and
voters often thought their main criterion was who is worse. Trump’s comments were
in disbelief because these words were uttered by the future President. Any
remark given during the Presidential election is very important and influential
to not only American citizens but also people in the world, but what he said
was beyond our common sense.
Trump’s comments are as if a doctor who gives a
serious diagnosis jokingly to his patient. For example, if a doctor told his
patient that she had cancer and would not be able to live more than 6 months.
Doctors never say this kind of joke to their patients. The future President of
the United States of America is the same. As a candidate for the Presidency he
should not have said certain things like this doctor’s joking comment. The
worse was that these remarks were not jokes but part of his belief. However,
the result of the election was that Donald Trump was elected as the future
President.
Why was he elected? The next morning of the
Presidential Election Day, Matthew Dowd, a political consultant, was talking
about an interesting thing on the TV show Good Morning America. He spoke about the
popular vote of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in California. He said, “112
of 115 polls in the last four days had Hillary Clinton winning in this
election… First, there’s about 6 million or 7 million votes out in California.
Hillary Clinton is going to get a net of 2 million or 3 million more votes in
California and going to win the popular vote by a fairly large margin, a
million to a million-five. Right now Donald Trump has less votes than John McCain
did when he lost to Barack Obama in 2008 and Mitt Romney did when he lost to
Barack Obama in 2012 and one of the things I looked at for all of the work that
everybody did there was about 3 million to 4 million democrats that did not
show up and vote yesterday in the course of this election. This election will
have the lowest turnout percentage-wise in 20 years.”
The fact is that people did not like Trump’s
comment, but obviously many democrats in California did not vote. They did not
support Hillary Clinton to win. This phenomenon showed not only in California
but all of the United States. Many people did not vote and as a result Donald
Trump was elected. This result is not his fault at all. Of course it is not
God’s fault either. Last Wednesday over 10,000 people gathered in Manhattan to
oppose Donald Trump or the result of this election. My daughters who live in
Santa Barbara, California also said that about 1,000 young people gathered in
the city of Santa Barbara and marched to oppose the future President Donald
Trump. I think they should have marched as many times as they could before the
election.
Everything in this phenomenal world is created by
our minds. We have to deeply realize this truth, decide our plans and carry
them out immediately and courageously in accordance with the plans. Rev.
Masaharu Taniguchi wrote as follows:
Turn your decision into action now. Thoughts are only
dreams until they are put into practice… Go! When you proceed boldly, the road
opens up. When a person proceeds with firm resolve, a countless number of
people will pay homage and ask if they might not help. Difficulties fade before
those who would insist on advancing courageously, without losing heart when
others would lose heart, without despairing when others would despair. (Truth
of Life Volume 7, p. 159)
The first step is to make a decision. To make a
decision means to give up something. Rev. Taniguchi wrote as follows:
When a decision is needed, there is a choice that has to
be made between one objective and another that also has its merits. When there
is only one aspiration that draws a person’s attention, there is no need for
anything like a decision. He will easily decide to go in the direction of that
aspiration.
Therefore, a decision means that something has to be
given up. To give up something means that a clean break is needed with whatever
it is that has been rejected. A person must be good at making a clean break with
what he has rejected. (Truth of Life Volume 7, p. 163)
I think Mr. Trump is a person who is good at
making a decision and proceeding with it immediately. Because he is a man of
action, I think he was elected this time. However, you should know that whatever
we decide and proceed immediately is not enough. We need to choose a right
decision. Basically, Trump’s decision is to make America to go back to the old
time and revive the economic power again by using the underground resources
because he seemingly does not believe climate change and global warming. The
“great America” should not go back to that old economic power. The “great
America” should be the eco-friendly power which creates a bright future for
future generations. In that sense the Seicho-No-Ie movement is very critical to change
our future.
To conclude my lecture, I would like you to be
strong to perform what you believe in. Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi also emphasizes
this. I share Rev. Taniguchi’s encouragement and conclude my lecture.
To have a loving consideration for those about us is a
necessary virtue that we must cultivate by all means. But, to be considerate
toward others and to worry about others are two different things. To have a
deep consideration for others is a virtue that comes from a deep and healthy
love; to worry about others is an attitude stemming from personal weakness.
Since the former comes from a strong personality, he who has consideration for
others does not hesitate and worry about what others thing…
Once you have decided that a task is good and it should
be done, tell yourself that this is a final pronouncement of the God who dwells
within you, and carry it out. (Truth of Life Volume 7, pages 160-161)
I hope all of you practice Shinsokan Meditation
daily, receive inspirations from the higher spiritual world, make a right
decision, and carry it out promptly. You are a child of God. You can do it.
Thank you very much.
