Sunday, March 02, 2008

2008 March Message

Celebrating the Founding of Seicho-No-Ie
Rev. Tetsuya Abe
Acting Chief, Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Missionary Area

   Thank you very much, everyone!

   As you already know, March 1, 2008, is the 78th Anniversary of the founding of Seicho-No-Ie. I would like to celebrate this auspicious occasion with all of you and extend my sincere gratitude to Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi and Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi who gave us the precious teachings and started our Seicho-No-Ie movement.

   After being robbed of most of his possessions, Dr. Taniguchi received a revelation from God to "Stand Up Now!" and started to write the inaugural issue of "Seicho-No-Ie" magazine. Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi, wife of Dr. Taniguchi, worried about his adventurous enterprise and expressed her concern to him; however, his resolve was too firm to be changed. In the end, she pledged to wholeheartedly cooperate in his venture.

   In her book, Mezameyuku Tamashii, ("Awakening Soul"), Mrs. Taniguchi mentioned the joy of founding Seicho-No-Ie from the perspective of a wife:

   After he returned home from Vacuum Oil Company (where Dr. Taniguchi worked) and had dinner, it was time to write for the "Seicho-No-Ie" magazine. My physically fragile husband used to return home exhausted from work. However, without any time to relax, he devoted himself to writing until midnight. Day after day, there were severe cold nights. As many freezing cold nights continued, my husband kept on writing, laying on his stomach in bed. Whenever he was inspired, he concentrated on writing, never thinking about the cold, hunger, or the next day's work. (Partially omitted)

   When I saw my husband's joyful expression after he finished writing and editing the magazine, a sense of joy and relief bubbled forth from me.

   One thousand copies of the newly printed "Seicho-No-Ie" magazine?what joy! Pure white paper, clearly printed pages, and on the cover stood a strong-muscled man raising a brilliant light. Every single word was a shining word of Truth. I deeply prayed for God to answer my husband's prayer to let the life of the magazine's readers fill with spiritual joy. (Mezameyuku Tamashii, "The Awakening Soul," pp. 65-67)


   Seicho-No-Ie's propagational activities initiated by Dr. and Mrs. Taniguchi now expand to about 30 countries and regions, contributing to solving the problems that people today are facing, and continue to brighten their future.

   Rev. Seicho Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, once taught as follows: The foot of a tall mountain is expansive. By the same token, it is necessary to let as many people as possible know about the existence of Seicho-No-Ie for further development of our movement.

   Even though people don't know what "Seicho-No-Ie" is, letting them know the fact that Seicho-No-Ie is wonderful is a great help to us. Just letting them know the name of Seicho-No-Ie will greatly help us because "Seicho-No-Ie" means the "great universe" manifesting the "world of God."

   Let's say, some may think it is fruitless to give a Truth of Life magazine to others because there's no one who will come to our service or become a member.

   But that is not true. If we sow seeds, they will sprout and bear fruit. In the same way, if we tirelessly propagate the teachings to someone, the seeds of the teachings will surely sprout and yield results. We don't know when it will happen. It may be one year or ten years later, or in the next lifetime.

   In November of 2007, 10 of our leaders visited about 200 neighbors to promote the Public Lecture by distributing a packet which included a Truth of Life magazine.

   Just three months later, we were pleased to welcome one of the neighbors at our Matlock Center Sunday Service on February 3rd. Seeds planted will surely sprout and bear fruit.

   Let us offer our sincere gratitude to Dr. and Mrs. Taniguchi who gave us the teachings and propagate with joy under the guidance of Rev. Seicho Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, and Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, Vice President of Seicho-No-Ie. Thank you very much.