Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi met Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi when they belonged to the Omoto Sect. Mrs. Teruko was attracted to Rev. Taniguchi’s serious attitude to seek God. As a newlywed couple, they were both totally devoted themselves to the Omoto Sect and lived on the Omoto property. Rev. Taniguchi’s only possessions were a toothbrush, a towel, and a basket to carry them along with a few pieces of clothing. They were young and poor, but they had faith. Mrs. Teruko respected Rev. Taniguchi as a husband and also as her teacher. Her belief in and respect for her husband never changed throughout her life.
Today, I would like to share one of Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi’s articles from her book, Kokoro no Yasuragi [Peacefulness of Mind]. As the White Dove president, she received many letters from members so once she responded to these letters she rarely kept them except for certain letters whose content moved her a lot. Mrs. Teruko happened to come upon one of these old letters and read it again.
The letter from Mrs. K said that her home encountered a severe typhoon, that flood washed away the ground floor of her home, and that all her Seicho-No-Ie books and precious items of her memory vanished. However, instead of clinging to her lost treasured possessions Mrs. K wrote her gratitude and farewell towards her losses.
Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi was deeply moved when she first read this letter because Mrs. K had the similar strong faith as she did: to focus only on the True Image regardless of phenomenal appearance. When Mrs. Teruko read this letter a second time, the feeling of respect and gratitude toward Mrs. K welled up again within her.
Mrs. K believed that this typhoon and the flood washed away all her past sins and delusions and she was grateful for this disaster. In addition, her pear orchard was destroyed but some of the fruits of pears were left on the trees. She thanked God and courteously wrapped and sent the pears to her acquaintances with prayers. She then planted tangerine trees after the pear orchard the next year.
Mrs.
Teruko Taniguchi hoped Mrs. K’s new tangerine trees would grow many tangerines the
following year. Mrs. Taniguchi praised Mrs. K’s faith and wrote as follows:
When faced with misfortune, some people start
to doubt God’s blessings and quickly lose their faith. I am saddened to see how
some people have so little faith in God. “Our house burned down in the fire,” “I
was injured in a car accident,” “I failed my entrance exam,” “Our marriage
ended in failure.” When put in difficult situations such as these, some people go
as far as denying the existence of God, brooding on their complains, and
feeling discontent. Regardless of what form misfortune may take, the person who
meets it calmly and stays grateful with his mind aligned with God’s divine
Providence indeed has true faith in God. Even in the midst of what appears to be
misfortune, a person of faith does not lose sight of God and can still put his
hands together in prayer for everything in this universe under divine guidance.
(Truth of Life, February 2008)
In the Divine Message of No-Forms, All-Forms Nature of God it states: “My advent is not for the sake of matter but for the sake of life, not for the sake of the flesh, but for the spirit. There are few who have awakened to this. For those attached to the appearance and disappearance of matter, when matter is increased their faith is raised and when matter is decreased they lose their faith. When their bodies become healthy they praise God, and when someone in their family falls ill they lose their faith. Such people have no faith in God but only in matter.” (Excerpt)
Miracles happen when there is a strong faith. If you have witnessed miracles and want to experience them you must nurture your faith. If you came to Seicho-No-Ie only for miracles then your faith is in matter, not in God.
Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi decided to move to Nagasaki, Japan when he was almost 81 years old to build the Seicho-No-Ie Main Temple. The plans for this building was created and under the direction and supervision of Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi, four years later on his 85th birthday, the Main Temple called, Ryugu Sumiyoshi Hongu (enshrined Lord of Sumiyoshi) was completed and the official opening ceremony was held. The main hall can accommodate over 1000 people and there is a training center which can accommodate approximately 200 people.
Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi always had total faith in God and in Rev. Taniguchi. She always visualized the True-Image child of God in Rev. Taniguchi, not a weak 80-year-old man. Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi, at the age of 82 took on huge spiritual, financial, and environmental responsibilities to build the Main Temple. He was a person of faith and Mrs. Teruko was always there supporting him.
A few years after the Main Temple building was established, they acquired some more acres. The Main Temple currently has over 800 acres including mountings and brooks and preserves nature. Rev. Taniguchi also built an additional temple called Ryugu Sumiyoshi Reigu (enshrined Lord of Izanami who governs the spiritual world), the Seven Lighthouses to illuminate the Truth of the world, etc. Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi, who always believed in Rev. Taniguchi, followed him and supported him in his final project for saving the world.
On
this special occasion of Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi’s 35th Memorial Service, I would
like you to strive for the same faith as Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi.
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