(This is the lecture given on May 3, 2020, through the internet.)
I am happy that I am finally able to resume my work and come to
you through the internet. During my illness, I lost a lot of weight and
strength, but have been slowly gaining back the weight and increasing my
strength. I am grateful to God for His guidance.
Today,
I will talk about infinite existence. Founder Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi wrote:
The Absolute, the Super-Human, the
Omnipresent, the Infinite that dwells within; the Infinite that is in the
Finite; the Absolute appearing to be the Relative; the Super-Human Being that
is behind all that seems material; the Eternal as it is at present; the
Infinite while Finite at the same time; the Omnipresent while Individual at the
same time—that is I, that is you, as well as all other persons. The realization
of this truth should be cause enough to lead people to natural and spontaneous
mutual worship. (365 Golden Keys to the Summit of Fulfillment, p. 115)
Human
beings are physically a finite existence, but our true existence which is a
child of God is an infinite existence. When we understand our true existence,
we understand that we are an absolute existence and at the same time a relative
existence; and that we are an eternal existence and at the same time a
transient existence. If we only believe we are our physical bodies and only of
material existence, we do not understand our infinite existence. Rev. Taniguchi
continued his message as follows:
Insofar as one regards himself as merely a
physical, bodily existence, there is no way for him to escape the boundaries of
limitations and restrictions. That way he cannot receive total freedom. Thus,
in order to transcend and go beyond physical restrictions and seize liberty, one
must know the truth, as Jesus aptly said, “The truth shall make you free” (John
8:32). Although Jesus fell silent and did not answer when asked (by Pilate),
“What is the truth?”, when he was asked again, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
(Luke 23:3), Jesus answered, “It is as you say.” What Jesus meant by “King” is
the “Absolute” that is sacred and untouchable. Legally speaking, not all
persons are kings, but from a religious point of view, each and every person is
a king possessed with absolute freedom. Verily, this is the truth. The
knowledge of this truth will give every man true freedom. (Ibid., pp. 115-116)
Rev.
Taniguchi taught that as long as you see yourself as a physical body and only a
material existence you will be limited by physical boundaries. He also
explained from a philosophical standpoint that every person is the king of
their own lives possessed with absolute freedom to live life however they
desire. We are free to become sick and free to not become sick.
As
you may know, I suffered from a high fever for two weeks. Many people prayed
for my health. One of our Regional Lecturers was asked why I became sick
because Seicho-No-Ie teaches that we are all children of God. Today and next
week I will answer this question.
On
Friday, March 20, my whole body was in pain and I could not get up for two
days. I had a fever, severe headache and nausea. So on Monday, March 23, I had
a video appointment with my doctor and she gave me a ten-day prescription of
Tylenol (acetaminophen) to help alleviate the fever and body aches, but it did
not help and the next day I vomited.
The
next day the doctor gave me a stronger medication of Tylenol and
Oxycodone-Acetaminophen. This medication caused me to have hallucinations and I
was unable to distinguish between dreams and reality. I would have a dream, but
believe the dream was real. I dreamt I could stab myself with a knife or jump
off a building to escape from the pain. Then I believed the dream would
disappear by snapping my finger. On the second night after I started taking
this medicine, I woke up in a lucid moment and realized that I had been having
hallucinations and I got so scared that I asked my wife to flush all the
medicine into the toilet.
The
next morning I talked with my doctor, and finally I agreed to take 4000 mg of
Tylenol a day along with a drug that suppresses stomach acid. So I had to take
twenty 200mg tablets of Tylenol each day. During the next 6 days, I lost over
25 lbs.
Around
the 6th day of my illness, I was able to sit on the floor bending my knees. At
that time, I felt infinite gratitude from the bottom of my heart that I was
able to sit on the floor. I was so overwhelmed I could not stop the tears.
Seicho-No-Ie teaches us that we should be grateful for ordinary things. I have
practiced gratitude many times repeating empty words saying, “Thanks for the
air,” “Thanks for drinking water,” etc. There was no emotion. I have never felt
the gratitude that just bending my knees and sitting on the floor gave me. Even
though my gratitude and my tears were sincere, my physical pain still was
severe. I was physically suffering lying in bed.
My
wife’s journal entry of Sunday, March 29, said that at 6:30 am I went to her
and was suffering so badly that I cried to her saying: “Help me.”
(Mario)
“It’s so painful ...”
(Fujiko)
“You’ll be okay, you just took the medicine!”
“Panting
breathing.”
I
was so weak that I did not have the strength to speak loudly enough to be
heard. My doctor called me often to check up on me. When she called, I was
unable to speak on the phone with her so my wife had to speak with the doctor
when she called to check up on me.
Thanks
to God’s blessing, my ancestors’ guidance, profound prayers of friends and members,
and the love and devotion of my wife and children, my fever stabilized on the
12th day. On Friday, April 3rd, I finally had no fever.
I
am eternally grateful to my doctor’s wisdom and guidance. She did all she could
to avoid having me come to the hospital. Recently she told me that she did not
think I would have made it if I was hospitalized during my illness because at
that time the epicenter of the New Rochelle cluster of Covid-19 was one street
away from my home.
Through
all of this, I learned it is not enough to practice gratitude just by crying
tears from the bottom of my soul. I learned the truly important lesson of
living life every day with true gratitude. I am grateful and fortunate to have
the love and prayers from so many people.
I
believe that this experience was what I truly needed at this time. It gave me
the ability to experience the true gratitude that I may not have been able to
find if I had gotten ill ten years earlier or ten years later. The law of the
mind is always applied correctly without exception.
Next
week I will continue to talk about how our world is created in accordance with
our mind and talk about the reasons that I fell ill.
Because
of Covid-19 many people have departed to the spiritual world. Also, over 30 million
people have filed for unemployment. People are suffering not only in the United
States, but all over the world. I offer my sincere prayer asking for God’s
guidance, protection, and blessings for those who made their transition to the
spiritual world.
