This is the lecture I spoke
on May 3, 2020, at the zoom online Sunday Service.
Thank you very much. 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.
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