Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Dinner

  On Christmas Eve, I cooked a Christmas dinner for my family. The menu I cooked is as follows:

 1. Appetizer (Fried gyoza dumpling with avocado and onion
  with mayonnaise. Inside the gyoza is eggplant only)
 2. Baked onion soup
 3. Pasta with butter, Shoyu, and garlic
 4. Chicken with vinegar with hot vegetables (asparagus, carrot,
  potato, mushroom)
 5. Dessert (shortcake, pudding with strawberry and berry




















  I cooked from the scratch for all the dishes, therefore, it took more than three hours to complete them. Other than that, I prepared a special meal for my daughter because she cannot eat some of the dishes above. Her dishes are fried rice, french fries, and spaghetti.

  We enjoyed our special dinner and had a memorable Christmas.

Tetsuya Abe

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Article for Starbulletin

I contributed an article to Starbulletin, a local newspaper. This article appeared on November 21st.

Golden Words That Improve Your Destiny
Tetsuya Abe, Acting Chief, SNI Hawaii Missionary Area

   There are people who want to improve their destiny but fail to succeed despite putting in some effort to do so. If their efforts are half-hearted and don't yield good results, they might meekly accept the consequences. But there are some who cannot achieve a good result in spite of their hard work, and wonder why. That is because hiding behind the thought "I want to improve my destiny" is the thought that "Right now, my destiny is not good." By the law of mind, namely, that what you strongly envision will be realized, your thought that "Right now, my destiny is not good" becomes what you experience.

   Therefore, those who want to be happy and fortunate have to visualize that they are already happy and fortunate. To think of those positive thoughts once or twice does not lead you to the desired result. You need to conceive those thoughts over and over again to plant them in the bottom of your subconscious mind, which accounts for 95% of your mind and has an influence on your destiny.

   Let us recite the following words 20 times a day. You will be surprised to see your environment greatly improve one month later:

   I am a child of God, consummate and perfect. Every day, in every way, things are getting better and better.

   A salesperson who recited these words quietly to himself all day long while walking improved his sales performance, rising from the bottom of the branch office to the top in a couple of months. Why don't you try it? Thank you very much.


 

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

2009 December Message

With Gratitude to the Outgoing Year
Tetsuya Abe, Acting Chief, SNI Hawaii Missionary Area

   December is the month of Christmas and year-end; it is also the month in which Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, was born. He was born on Christmas Eve in 1951. As some of you may know, he has a master's degree from Columbia University in international relations and he is really enthusiastic about propagation in English more than anyone else. He came to the United States on his Public Lecture tours in 1992 and 1994, chose New York as the first venue of the Special Conference for World Peace, and frequently came to this country and guided us in English.

   As a Japanese who is engaged in propagation activities in English, I know how much energy, time, and patience are necessary to disseminate the teachings in a foreign language. Despite his and Mrs. Junko Taniguchi's extremely busy schedule, they come all the way to the U.S. because they consider the development of our movement in America as being essential to bring about real world peace. Let us be appreciative for their thoughtful consideration and strive to make every effort to promote the "Movement that Grows with Nature" in the Hawaii Missionary Area.

   By the way, how are you going to spend the Christmas holidays? I hope you have a cheerful and happy time. The custom to celebrate Christmas prevails not only in countries like the U.S. where Christianity is practiced but also in countries where many of the people do not believe in Jesus Christ. However, to our astonishment, it was more than 300 years after Jesus passed away that December 25th was decided on as the birthday of Jesus Christ.

   According to "Shokan Zakkan Part 6" or "Random Thoughts Part 6," (pp. 52-55) written by Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, a faith that worshipped the sun god or Sol was very popular in the fourth century of Rome, and the shrine to worship the god was built by government expenditure and all the costs to employ priests were also covered by the nation. They designated December 25, the day of the winter solstice in their calendar, as the holiday for the sun god. However, the leaders of the Roman Church, who felt a sense of crisis, made the day an important holiday for Christianity to prevent people from going to the shrine of the other faith. This was around 336 A.D.

   Whether December 25 is Jesus' actual birthday is open to question; according to "Random Thoughts," there is no description about the birthday of Jesus Christ in the Holy Bible, nor is there any evidence that early Christians celebrated December 25th as Jesus' birthday: "Christmas is a holiday in which Jesus and the teachings of Jesus are taken into the cultures and customs of a given area and restructured. In other words, Christianity, a religion based upon Judaism, accepted a pagan culture. Taking the fact that it has been celebrated for thousands of years throughout the world into consideration, I strongly feel the significance of culture and custom in religion" ("Random Thoughts Part 6," p. 55)

   It can be said that for the teachings of Seicho-No-Ie to be rooted in the United States, further efforts to make the outward elements in religion blended with our culture seem necessary.

   In conclusion, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who practice and convey the teachings in your areas and positions. It is my sincere prayer and hope that the next year will be a much more productive and meaningful year to you. Please purify your mind by reading the following article by our founder Masaharu Taniguchi, and have a happy new year. Thank you very much.

   This year will finally end today. We vow to cease all bad habits, getting angry and showing hate, holding a grudge, grumbling, and having needless fear of the future. We never get angry about anything, see only the goodness and never see the evil in people's minds and deeds, live the present moment, and proceed with a bright and cheerful mind. We swear to awaken ourselves that are perfect and harmonious children of God, endowed with infinite abilities and health, and steadily advance the way of God. (Masaharu Taniguchi, "Shimpan Komyo Hogo," or "Sermon on Light: Volume on the Way," new edition, pp. 317-318)
 

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Come and Join Us at the 49th ISTS in Hawaii

   The 49th International Spiritual Training Seminar (ISTS) will be held at Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Jisso Center from February 19 to 21, 2010. The ISTS is hosted by International Spiritual Training Center (ISTC) located in New York, and all programs of the seminar will be conducted by Ordained and Assistant Ministers including Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara, Bishop of the United States Missionary Headquarters. Please DON'T miss this priceless opportunity to come together with people from the mainland and other countries as well as other Hawaiian islands!

   All the programs will be conducted in English and all ceremonies are arranged so that average American people can feel comfortable learning the essence of the SNI teachings. That is why it is the perfect occasion for you to invite your friends and others who are not familiar with SNI. Especially those who have any troubles will no doubt be able to find solutions by participating in this seminar.

   When you elevate what you learn from "knowledge" to "beliefs" and put those things into practice in your life, you can have a so-called "miraculous" improvement in your life. For example, Cindy Murakami, a Holy Mission Fellowship member who lives in Hawaii Kai, attended an ISTS two years ago not knowing that the ISTS is conducted in English. She was bewildered at first; however, as the programs went on, she awoke to the fact that she is a real child of God. At that time, she had been on very bad terms with her husband for a long time and they were about to get divorced. However, after her awareness as a child of God deepened and she started to practice Shinsokan meditation and Holy Sutra reading in gratitude to her ancestors and to speak gentle and kind words to her husband after she returned home, their marital relationship miraculously improved. She is still leading a very happy life with her husband and her business is going very well despite the declining economic situation. Every STS is guided by God and all attendees are protected and embraced by God's love and life; therefore, every single attendee is able to be reborn as a child of God and start a completely new life.

   Rev. Seicho Taniguchi, former President of SNI, led many, many people to a true faith and real healing by conducting STSs, including the first STS held at Tobitakyu (Tokyo) in 1948. Rev. Taniguchi taught us how meaningful it is to attend an STS in his book, "Inochi wo Hikidasu Renseikai," or "A Spiritual Training Seminar That Draws Out Life" as follows:

   In terms of training in human life, there is nothing more important than to find and follow a good mentor. Some people claim that they are truly enlightened without any mentor. If it is true, they must have a special talent in religion. However, in many cases, they are apt to fall into a self-conceited faith. I believe all of you are very fortunate to find a good mentor and lead a life based upon a religious faith. However, a religious activity at home or in a community is prone to be "lonely" and "self-satisfied." That is why we have to learn the teachings and train ourselves diligently at Spiritual Training Centers at least once or twice a year and master the true faith and proper attitude toward the teachings. (Seicho Taniguchi, "Inochi wo Hikidasu Renseikai," or "A Spiritual Training Seminar That Draws Out Life," p. 82)

   In deepening our faith and leading a life of "Child of God man," to grasp the essence of the SNI teachings and to practice it are far more important than to understand it intellectually. The reason why there are so many people who waver in theif beliefs despite reading "Truth of Life" volumes and knowing the significance of being grateful to and reconciled with the whole universe seems to be that they are not practicing the teachings beyond "intellectual comprehension." In this case, the programs in STS perfectly help us deepen our faith and lead us to a real faith. The programs consist of practicing visualization of the True Image, reading the words of Truth, and practicing deeds of love, and all of them should be conducted thoroughly. (Ibid, p. 104)

   For people to change their long-held custom or way of thinking, it is necessary to do good things over and over again. "Attending an STS" per se is a good thing. When you attend an STS repeatedly, even if you do not concentrate on the programs, your soul does. I want you to know that your soul learns something important through religious vibrations and what you hear during the seminar.
   A sermon is usually provided by "words." However ceremony is also "words," and statue, temple, church, and Spiritual Training Center, which are the manifestation of the truth, are also "words." That is why you can listen to the "words" in Main Temple and Missionary Center which are filled with religious vibrations. (Seicho Taniguchi, "Riso Sekai," or "Ideal World," Dec. 1997)


   I hope you come and join us at this ISTS. I am looking forward very much to seeing you at Jisso Center. Thank you very much.


 

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Reading Circle for Just Two of Us

  My wife and I started Reading Circle for just two of us at home from about three weeks ago. We are doing this after our daughter goes to bed. We are now using "Truth of Life" vol. 34 (Japanese) as a text book. I read all the 40 volumes of "Truth of Life" books (Japanese) 6 times for each book so far. Each time I read those volumes, I feel my faith is refreshed and I am impressed by the parts which did not impress me that much when I read in the past.

  Our Reading Circle is about half an hour including reading and discussion. When we are very busy, we make it short such as for 10 or 15 minutes. Even if a page or two, we are trying to do that as much as we can regardless of the situations.

  The reason we started this is because we have been talking about this Reading Circle for quite a long time and we want to have marital conversations based upon the Seicho-No-Ie teachings.

  After we started this, I was very surprised to find that it is more than we expected. I am not only moved by the teachings on the book but also I realized that there are many things of each other that we have not known so far through discussions. I also remembered my state of mind when I started to learn and convey the teachings in my early twenties. At that time, I was constantly hearing the tapes of our founder Masaharu Taniguchi's lectures and I used almost every night for SNI propagation activities such as attending a Readers' Meeting, studying class, seminar, and door-to-door visitations. I also studied hard trying to answer my questions from within like "what is human being?" "what it means that evil does not exist or mind does not exist," and others. I want to keep my mind so pure and fresh as much as I can.

  Does anyone who is doing like this?

Tetsuya Abe

Monday, November 02, 2009

2009 November Message

In Boundless Gratitude to Holy Master Masaharu Taniguchi
Tetsuya Abe, Acting Chief, SNI Hawaii Missionary Area

  I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of you who attended the Public Lecture held at Ala Moana Hotel on September 20th. I believe you savored the wonderful truth of Seicho-No-Ie taught by Rev. Hiei Ando, National Ordained Minister, and Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara, Bishop of the United States Missionary Headquarters. I also appreciate those who planned, publicized, promoted and implemented the Public Lecture as committee members. Please see page 3 for an article about this event.

  November is the month in which the founder of Seicho-No-Ie, Masaharu Taniguchi, was born. He was born on November 22nd in 1893. November 22nd is considered a "good couple day" in Japan due to a good combination of sounds when read in Japanese. I would like to introduce how the founder and Mrs. Taniguchi were a good couple who fully understood and took care of each other by referring to Mrs. Taniguchi's book, "Shi to Aogi, Otto to Aogite," or "Looking up as Mentor, Looking up as Husband."

  A few years after they founded Seicho-No-Ie, Mrs. Taniguchi read in a newspaper article that a mother who tried to save her drowning child died with her child in the ocean. She thought that if she had been taught how to swim when she had been a child, she could take her daughter Emiko, 8 years old at that time, to the ocean and river without any concern, and told her husband about it. Then, the founder Taniguchi kindly made a suggestion, saying, "It's not too late. Take a swimming lesson."

  Mrs. Taniguchi found a group that gave swimming lessons from 5 a.m. in the morning at the seashore nearby. However, she was hesitant to do so because if she were to take those lessons early in the morning, she would inconvenience her husband and daughter since she could not prepare breakfast for them. Nevertheless, Founder Taniguchi allowed her to do so by saying, "Don't worry about us and take that training seriously. I will prepare our breakfast." Mrs. Taniguchi appreciated his kindness and took the training for two weeks and became an adequate swimmer.

  The founder Taniguchi prepared their breakfast just as he said he would and waited for his wife to come back home every morning. After breakfast, he rushed to change his clothes and went to work. Mrs. Taniguchi reflected on that time and wrote as follows:

  .... After he finished his work, my husband came back home in the evening and did writing for Seicho-No-Ie magazine until late night. Dawn came before he got enough sleep and he prepared our breakfast instead of his wife from early morning. I practiced with all my might every morning to respond to his loving thought. (Teruko Taniguchi, "Shi to Aogi, Otto to Aogite," or "Looking up as Mentor, Looking up as Husband" p. 46)

  In this way, the founder Taniguchi's love for his wife was always brimming over. On the other hand, Mrs. Taniguchi looked up to her husband as mentor as well as loving him as her husband. She wrote how she respected him in the March 1937 issue of "Shirohato" or "White Dove" as follows:

  Once I entered a training center, I am not his wife. He who is on the podium is not my husband but my mentor. I knew God who dwells within me. I, who knew indwelling God, no longer need to seek God without. However, my soul sincerely seeks to brighten my mind and manifest indwelling God. My soul also asks for the infinite growth by doing so. I visited the training center by following my mentor even on very windy and snowy days. (Ibid. p. 60)

  I believe you understand that loving thoughts by husband and respectful thoughts by wife are foremost to a harmonious life for a couple. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the founder and Mrs. Masaharu Taniguchi who showed us this teaching by being role models, and I will pledge to practice the teachings and promote our movement with a cheerful and bright mind. Thank you very much.
 

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Never give up...

   I am here in LA for In-person meetings sponsored by SNI United States Missionary Headquarters. I left home at 6 a.m., got aboard Hawaiian Airline 10 that departed Honolulu at 8:10, and arrived at LAX around 5 p.m. After we picked up our luggage with two delegates members from Hawaii, we headed to the hotel by taxi where we have meetings and stay. Then, I rushed to eat dinner and attended a minister's meeting. I felt one day finished as quick as lightening.

   I took a book to read on the plane, however, it seems a little too serious to read in this situation, I bought a novel at a bookstore in the airport. However, when I tried to turn on the overhead reading light, it didn't work. I wondered that since it takes more than 5 hours to LA, if I cannot read a book, what should I do... I neither feel like watching the movie on the screen because I have to purchase earphones with $5, nor renting a portable DVD player with $15. So far, when overhead light didn't work, I changed a seat and read book, however, it seemed at capacity flight, I couldn't do that.

   Since it was still bright when beverage and food were served, I could read anyway. But I don't like to give up using the light for no special reason, I tried to turn on the light every 10 minutes or so. But it still didn't work. However, surprisingly, it finally turned on after more than 10 times trial. Although the light was weak at first, it gradually became an enough brightness, then, I could enjoy reading a book. Through this experience, I learned that I should not give up for anything.

   The book I read was "MIRACLE" written by Danielle Steel. It was a very intriguing and moving story. I read one third of the book in one-way flight. I am not a native speaker of English, I am very pleased to read that much.

   By the way, I saw some people were reading a book with "Kindle," an electric book sold through Amazon.com. "Kindle 2 International," a machine which can be used outside the U.S., just started to hit the market, I bought it, although I didn't use it. Its weight is about 10 oz and 1,500 books can be downloaded to the machine. The price was originally $279, however, three days after it released, Amazon.com informed me that they discounted it by $20. I am looking forward to using it before very long.

Tetsuya Abe
 

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Article for "Starbulletin"

   I posted the following article for "Starbulletin," Hawaii's local newspaper. I am supposed to write every 6 weeks and this is the second time for me. I receive a positive response from a follower of Christian Science. I deeply appreciate that.

Tetsuya Abe

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Take Everything Positively and Make an Effort with A Bright Mind
Tetsuya Abe
Acting Chief, Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Missionary Area

   In our surroundings, both pleasant and unpleasant things happen. There are good news and bad news in the world. Someone may say, "I am happy because only wonderful things come to me." Someone else may say, "My life is filled with hardship and unfavorable things." What accounts for this difference? That is our "mind." To put it simply, the former person has a bright mind and the latter has a dark mind.

   There may be some people who enjoy rock-climbing by thinking, "This is a very exciting sport. I love it." But others may be turned off that sport by thinking, "What a dangerous sport!" Furthermore, some may say, "Running makes me really refreshed," but others may say, "Running is boring. It only makes me tired."

   Even if different people do the same thing, how each one feels about it depends on his or her outlook. That is why even if your situation may be difficult, it will surely improve if you keep up your effort by thinking, "This is a good opportunity for my ability to emerge. Things will be getting better and better." On the contrary, if you think "I can't stand it. There is no hope in my future," you cannot make a success of anything, because what we strongly think constantly about becomes our life and destiny.

   Therefore, let us conceive bright and cheerful thoughts no matter what happens. If you keep those positive thoughts, beautiful flowers will bloom on your life's stage before long without fail.
 

 

Monday, October 12, 2009

Weekend in Kauai

   I went to Seicho-No-Ie Kauai Center with my family over last weekend. I am supposed to visit all four Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii neighbor island centers twice at each center, it was the second time visit to this island. It is a very greenery island and I feel the appearance is similar to a rural area in Japan where I was born, it became one of my favorite sites in Hawaii. More than that, my kindergartener daughter was in the midst of 10-day holiday and a little bit boring, that is why I decided to take my wife and daughter there.

   As usual, we are warmly greeted by SNI members in Kauai center and I delivered two English and Japanese combined lecturers on the day. One is about "Holy Mission Fellowship" and another is about the "Movement that Grows with Nature." In the end of the second lecture, I presented the photos I took in Brazil and had them savored the exciting atmosphere of Special Conference for World Peace in Sao Paulo in August.

   We stayed a cottage named KALAHEO INN and visited candy company and coffee factory on the next day guided by David Hamada, a long-time and devout leader of SNI Kauai. Seeing David Hamada talking with people very friendly everywhere we went, I thought it is an ideal community where people feel like a big family, or "Ohana" in Hawaiian language.

Tetsuya Abe
 



 

Friday, October 02, 2009

2009 October Message

In Gratitude to Rev. Seicho Taniguchi, former President of Seicho-No-Ie
Tetsuya Abe, Acting Chief, SNI Hawaii Missionary Area

  October is the month in which the late Rev. Seicho Taniguchi was born and passed away. He was born on October 23, 1919, and departed this physical world to a high spiritual world on October 28, 2008.

  Rev. Seicho Taniguchi knew about Seicho-No-Ie from reading a Truth of Life book he borrowed from a private first class while he was hospitalized for lung tuberculosis during World War II. He told us the following story in his lecture: The private first class was reading the book with a happy smile; that is why I (Rev. Seicho) thought it must be an interesting novel. However, when I read the book, I was struck by the strong words of Truth such as "Man is a child of God" or "Disease does not exist."

  After the War, to show that Seicho-No-Ie is teaching the universal truth, the Founder of Seicho-No-Ie, Masaharu Taniguchi was thinking of translating literature and documents written by enlightenment thinkers and writers in the Western world, and advertised for workers for translation. One of the applicants and the most excellent among them was Rev. Seicho Taniguchi (he was Seicho Arachi at that time). He was immediately hired by the Founder Masaharu Taniguchi, married Emiko Taniguchi, Founder Taniguchi's only daughter, and became successor to Founder Taniguchi in accordance with the will of God. In the Seicho-No-Ie 40-year history book, Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi recalled that "the advent of Seicho Arachi was truly meaningful not only to the Taniguchi family but also to Seicho-No-Ie."

  Rev. Seicho was only 28 when he started to conduct Public Lecturers and was 33 when he started to publish a book. Throughout his life, he sincerely dedicated himself to the Humanity Enlightenment Movement. When he was young, he manifested his state of mind as follows:

  I sometimes make a mistake, I am partly imperfect and am not necessarily satisfied with myself, however, I am delighted to be able to move forward seeing the brightness ahead without any mental attachment. With a belief that my love is growing and makes every single one of the people in the world not getting sad, with my prayer for the happiness for our spiritual friends who seek the way, I always lead a bright and cheerful life. (Seicho Taniguchi, "Seicho-No-Ie," December 1950)

  I become a trumpet for the teachings of Truth with a great joy. I deeply come to understand that there is nothing I can do by my own strength. Everything is the strength of God. The power of God appears in this world without fail through our Founder. (Seicho Taniguchi, "Jinsei no Kaitakusha," or "Pioneers of Human Life," p. 257)


  Twelve years before the Founder Masaharu Taniguchi made a peaceful transition to a high spiritual world, he showed all of the SNI members that his successor was decided by providence by the following article:

   However, as the time for me to go comes closer, through providence, my successor, well-gifted with ability, has already appeared. I was struck with admiration to read Rev. Seicho Taniguchi's commentary on Shobo Genzo in Seishin Kagaku ("Mental Science"). Rev. Seicho Taniguchi's able interpretations of Dogen's difficult Zen terminology not found in an ordinary dictionary, into understandable modern language without missing a single phrase or word, as well as interpreting the Truth through the keys of the Truth of Life―are not simple feats to be attained. This has been accomplished basically through enlightenment and inspiration that came [to Rev. Taniguchi] from the spiritual world. To have such a worthy successor chosen to appear, I feel, was not conceived in the world of humanity. I can now enter the spiritual world with peace of mind knowing that I have a worthy successor. (Masaharu Taniguchi, "Seicho-No-Ie," November, 1975)

  After the Founder Masaharu Taniguchi passed away, as President of Seicho-No-Ie, and based upon his resolve in his young age, Rev. Seicho guided us and all people in the world to the right faith that believes in God correctly - through Public Lectures worldwide, Spiritual Training Seminars, numerous writings, and through other means for 23 years, and finished his highly inspiring and productive earthly life of 89 years last year.

  One year ago this month, Rev. Seicho Taniguchi passed on to a high spiritual world. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for his achievements and guidance, and vow to promote God's Humanity Enlightenment Movement - International Peace by Faith Movement in Hawaii with all of you. Thank you very much.
 

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Leaders' Seminar in SNI Hawaii Missionary Area

  On Saturday, September 19, 2009, blessed with fine weather, the 17th Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Leaders' Seminar was held at Jisso Center with 29 attendees, including David and Frances Hamada of Kauai and Gordon and Shari Ann Ogi of Kona. Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara, Bishop of the United States Missionary Headquarters, Rev. Hiei Ando, Seicho-No-Ie National Ordained Minister, and Rev. Tetsuya Abe, Acting Chief of Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Missionary Area conducted the seminar, and Ms. Pat Wada interpreted Rev. Teshigawara's lectures.

  Rev. Teshigawara gave two lectures titled, "The Role of Leaders Who Carry out the Deeds of Holy Missioners" and "Seicho-No-Ie's Mission to Bring About World Peace."

  In the beginning of her first lecture, she shared her impressions of her visits to neighbor island centers in Hawaii as follows: When I paid visits to Kona, Kauai, Hilo, and Maui centers, I was overwhelmed to see that the trees planted by the Founder of Seicho-No-Ie, Masaharu Taniguchi, have grown up so big. I gained an appreciation of the tremendous efforts and deeds of love done by senior leaders and members that made SNI Hawaii what it is today.

  Then she praised all of the seminar's attendees for their daily efforts and encouraged them by saying, "You are the master of our movement." Then, she taught that the Special Conference for World Peace is an event that follows the will of the Founder of Seicho-No-Ie, Masaharu Taniguchi, who had started the Special Conference for Japanese leaders in 1962, and that the concept of this Special Conference, "Nature and Man Living Together and Coexisting," is a realization of the principle of the "Divine Message of Grand Harmony."

  She talked about what SNI leaders who carry out our movement should keep in mind: that they should never lose radiance in their minds and should express their minds' radiance in their daily life generously. She also introduced an inspiring article titled "You Are the Master of Your Destiny" written by Rev. Seicho Taniguchi.

  In addition, she showed that Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, has constantly been seeking what we SNI followers and leaders should do as individuals and as an organization based upon the "Divine Message of Grand Harmony" and Truth of Life volumes. She continued that the "sundial way of life" and the "life of not taking from others" are what SNI leaders and members should seek in life, and that we need to practice a "life of giving" by making best use of our expressions, words, and minds. Rev. Teshigawara stated that all of these prescriptions are the guidance of President Taniguchi.

  She concluded her first lecture by encouraging leaders to pass on the "flame of life," since one and all others are one in God. We who learn the truth and know the joy of practicing the truth are the people who have the motivation to convey the joy of faith to others.

  In her second lecture, she talked about the significance of Seicho-No-Ie's movement to preserve the global environment because of the following reasons: In this day and age when the planet is warming, a movement to revere nature as the Creation of God is imperative; Global environmental problems are the manifestation of Kanzeon Bosatsu (Bodhisattva or Goddess of Mercy) who dwells behind nature. Development of human beings alone is not enough; to promote this movement is a motive power to realize true world peace.

  Rev. Ando gave two lectures titled, "What We Can Learn from a Natural World View of the Native Americans and Major Traditional World Religions" and "The Significance of Propagation through Publications in Seicho-No-Ie." In his first lecture, he summarized in only 35 minutes what worldwide leaders learned at the Special Conference for World Peace in Brazil in August, and did so in a very understandable manner. He also gave us wonderful guidance about propagating the teachings through publications, including his own testimony.

  I was in charge of two lecturers, "What is the Carbon Zero Movement?" and "How We Can Use the Internet in Our Movement." I explained how we can realize "Carbon Zero Movement" as an organization, and talked about the characteristics of the age of the Internet and the importance of the role of Holy Missioners in releasing bright and cheerful information to the world.

  In addition to lectures, the seminar included testimony by Irene Revilla, who shared with emotion her experiences at the 2009 Brazil Special Conference, a question and answer session, and resolutions by Gary Tashiro, President of SNI Hawaii and Shari Ann Ogi, representative of neighbor island centers.
 
Tetsuya Abe


 

Friday, September 04, 2009

Restaurant HALE

  I found a restaurant named "HALE," about 5-minute drive from my workplace, in other words, very close to Ala Moana Shopping Center. The restaurant is for a vegan, who does not eat meat, fish, eggs, milk and other foods which contains animal products.

  I myself do not eat red meat, therefore, I think myself a moderate vegetarian, however, to tell the truth, I haven't favored vegan foods until I tried at this restaurant. I ate foods similar to sower pork and vegetables, in which soy was used instead of pork, with blown rice and miso soup. The taste was much better than I expected, and of course, it is very good for health because all the ingredients are organic. You can enjoy those foods by takeouts.

  I feel those "good foods" expel something bad in my physical body, therefore, I sometimes go to the restaurant when my health condition is not good or I feel pressured with important events are upcoming.

  According to their brochure, the name of the restaurant "HALE" comes from "home" or "castle" in Hawaiian language, "sunny" in Japanese, and "healthy" in old English. The owner is a Japanese, but I saw two English speaking waitresses, both of them are beautiful. Incidentally, there was signature and message from a Madonna's dietician on the bulletin board. Madonna is well-known as a vegetarian.

Tetsuya Abe
 


 

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

2009 September Message

The 2009 Brazil Special Conference for World Peace
Tetsuya Abe, Acting Chief, Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Missionary Area

  I attended "2009 Brazil Special Conference for World Peace with Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi" held in Sao Paulo with 26 participants from the United States including Irene Revilla, a leader of Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii. The theme of the Conference was "The Nature and Man Living Together and Coexisting." The syllabus, which was distributed to all the attendees, explained the meaning of the Special Conference as follows:

  Today, at the start of the 21st century, amid the increasingly more serious climatic change from global warming, humankind is being driven toward the development of sustainable societies. Nevertheless, the world's population continues to increase and in such newly developing countries as China, India and Brazil, warming advances unchanged because their economic growth follows the same course as the advanced countries. Humankind now stands at the turning point of civilization and it needs the philosophy, thinking and faith that will draw it toward the proper course. Yet the spirituality to support the new age is not entirely new at all but can probably be found within the wisdom that is already in the possession of humankind. Why? Humankind has a long history of coexistence with nature. During our Special Conference for World Peace we will we look through history, reexamine the wisdom and thinking of living together with nature, which was hidden in the shadows of the material development from modernization and find ways to apply them to the new age. While basing our examination upon the study at the previous Special Conferences, this year's Seicho-No-Ie Special Conference for World Peace will be held on the theme of the Nature and Man Living Together and Coexisting.

  We can say that it is a magnificent project which has been realizing the ideals shown by the Founder of Seicho-No-Ie, Masaharu Taniguchi, that we illuminate the path of all mankind. As you already know, our Founder Masaharu Taniguchi started the Seicho-No-Ie movement to light the direction in which human beings should go, and wholeheartedly led our God's Humanity Enlightenment Movement to brighten and correct all people's minds until he passed away in 1985. Rev. Seicho Taniguchi carried out Founder Taniguchi's will as it was and dedicated himself to this movement until he passed away last October.

  Under the guidance of Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, current President of Seicho-No-Ie, we are now trying to show the "philosophy, thinking, and faith" that are necessary for the current people in the world and to demonstrate that we can lead a life based upon them. However, we have learned at the Special Conference that this philosophy, thinking, and faith are not what Seicho-No-Ie discovered for the first time but they are part of the wisdom of Native Americans and major traditional world religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

  One of the things that impressed me most about Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi's guidance was that the religious viewpoint that a human being is a part of nature is common among the major world religions and we can agree that that viewpoint is a central part of the religious truths with many religions. It is very significant that we have been taught that our movement which emphasizes the commonality among religions can be promoted by disseminating the following ideas: Nature is a unique figure of God; Nature is a manifestation of the infinite benevolence of Buddha; and Nature is what provides us with a place to express a child-of-God nature. As a whole, I thought I was given a priceless opportunity to think deeply about how we should put into practice the teachings such as "God's creation is perfect and absolute goodness" and "a phenomenal world is a manifestation of our mind" in our lives and how we, as an organization, can contribute to our current society by making the best use of the teachings.

  President Taniguchi spent all of the time allocated to Lecture One answering all the questions that had been submitted to him in advance. One of the questions was from Irene Revilla of Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii. Her question was as follows: "As a parent of two young adults, this generation of youth has a sense of doom surrounding them as the world is full of economic problems and natural changes. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, as the President of SNI, do you believe that our movement can progress realistically to create more positively in this 21st century and why do you feel this way? Thank you very much."

  The answer Rev. Taniguchi gave to the question was "YES." The outline of his full answer will appear in a couple of months in the SNI-ONLINE electronic newspaper published by International Headquarters for leaders living outside of Japan.

  All of President Taniguchi's lectures were so profound and covered so much that my note-taking could not keep up. I was seated with leaders from Europe and Canada as well as the United States. I was very moved when I looked over at them during the President's lectures because all the participants from the United Kingdom, all Brazilians, were taking notes with their whole hearts.

  Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, President of SNI White Dove Association, disclosed the significance of practicing the "Sundial Way of Life" in modern times in her lecture and generated religious exultation among all the attendees. More than that, she spoke as if she were talking to every participant individually, and applause followed almost every word she spoke.

  Regarding the leaders in Brazil, I was overwhelmed by their passionate, bright and cheerful, and sincere personalities. Whenever Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi entered the hall, and before and after their lectures and remarks, all the participants showed their appreciation with big applause. They were like supporters cheering for their country in a soccer stadium. They clapped and said with their hands stretched high, "Eooooo, eoooooo, eoo eoo eoo Sosai!" Sosai means President in Japanese.

  After the Conference, a welcome party for Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi sponsored by SNI Brazil Headquarters was held at its annex. There seemed to be about 400 people present. After President Taniguchi made opening remarks, everyone toasted. We enjoyed dinner, then all participants stood in line, shook hands and talked with Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi in turn. You can easily imagine how their generosity pleased all the attendees. Seeing Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi blessing them, I thought how wonderful it is to be a SNI member.

  Incidentally, Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi left Sao Paulo early the next morning for Belem, a city in northern Brazil whose port lies in the vast Amazon River delta. There, they conducted a public lecture at which about 1,000 people gathered. Then they flew back to Sao Paulo where they also conducted the National Convention, which about 6,200 attended.

  In the SNI Hawaii Missionary Area, we would like to move forward the "Movement That Grows with Nature" in accordance with the guidance we received from President Masanobu Taniguchi.
 

Monday, August 31, 2009

Manami's Fifth Birthday

  Today is Manami's birthday. She became five years old. Today's service was called Family Sunday Service, at which both Japanese group and English group attend, which is held once or twice a year and we have some fun after the Service. Normally, we have three Sunday services; English and Japanese services at Matlock Center, English service at Jisso Center. After the service finished, all of the attendees sang "Happy Birthday to You" to Manami, and she was supposed to blow off all the five candles in the cake we specially ordered. However, she was too shy to do that in front of people, therefore, we, parents, did that. She was given heartfelt gifts from some of the attendees. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for all the kind deeds they did for Manami. Thank you very much.

  By the way, Democratic Party of Japan won a landslide victory in the general election in Japan. It is the first time for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to be away from the dominant party since its founding in 1955. I hope the next government will deal with an environment issue more sincerely and seriously and turn Japan to a right direction.



















Tetsuya Abe
 

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Mothers' Study Class and Manami's Kindergarten Life

  August Japanese Mothers' Study Class was held at Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Matlock Center with 5 participants including my wife and myself today. A number of participants was not so big, that is why we could share what we were into lately and our impressions on material distributed and a lecture provided. We truly enjoyed our company and learned an important mindset as a mother based upon the SNI teachings. Thank you very much everyone who came and made this class so meaningful!

  Time really flies fast. It has been a year since this Mothers' Study Class started in last year's August. Outstanding is growth of children who have constantly been attending. A boy and a girl of two years old who attended today are quite different from who they were one year ago. This is not only true for the children but also for their moms. I firmly felt that we, as a parent, are also being grown through child-raring.

  By the way, it has been about three weeks since my daughter, Manami, started to go to a nearby kindergarten. She seems really to enjoy her kindergarten life with two former preschool's class mates and one Japanese boy who came from Japan just one month ago. However, she seems very tired every day; she takes a nap for a couple of hours, sometimes for FOUR hours! Nevertheless, after she wakes up, she has a dinner, does her homework with mom and dad, takes a shower, and watchs TV and has some fun for a short time, then, she goes to bed and falls asleep soon.

  To our surprise, despite the fact that she is still four years old, she already had homework to be done at home. She cannot understand what for and what she should do, however, she starts to practice to write her own name, ABC..., and numbers. More than that parents have to record a title of the books they read and how many minutes for reading with parents initials every day. It is an unbelievable thing for a Japanese! We are also fed up with so many handouts for parents to be read because, to do so, we have to take much more time than native speakers do. We need to have Manami favor doing homework, we give her chocolate after she has done the homework. So far it works well. Every time we finish a dinner, she said, "Let's start homework!"

  A Japanese boy I mentioned above is Calvin Nishihara, as same old boy as Manami, and Ian, 7 years old boy. After school hours, the kindergarten prepared an ESL class for Japanese students. However, if Manami attends the ESL class, she cannot afford to do her homework. Then, I asked the ESL teacher whether she has to attend the class. Her answer is she doesn't have to because she can communicate with teachers and friends without any problem. Therefore, Manami will attend the class once or twice a week in accord with her condition. But, to tell the truth, she wants to participant in the class because the teacher gives them some snacks in the end of class, which attracts Manami so much, and she is very looking forward to playing with those boys after the ESL class.

  A dad of the boys was born and raised in Hawaii, however, he speaks very fluent Japanese. He stayed in Japan for 9 years and taught English at a high school there. Their mom, Kazue, was born and raised in Kobe, in Kansai area, and speaks with a Kansai accent. She is kind and friendly and frequently contacts with my wife by e-mail.

Tetsuya Abe
 

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

An Impression on the Conference by a SNI HI leader

Hi everyone,

With her permission, I would like to share an impression on the Special Conference for World Peace by Irene Revilla, one of SNI Hawaii leaders. It is concisely written but I believe you would feel energy and enthusiasm through her experience.

Tetsuya Abe

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My impressions of the Brazil Special Conference
By Irene Revilla, Hawaii Missionary Area

Thank you very much. I was one of the US participants who attended the 2009 Brazil Special Conference. Rev. Tetsuya Abe and myself were the two representatives from Hawaii. I was truly blessed to be apart of this conference as it has been a wish of mine to attend a conference in Brazil. Since the first conference held there several years ago I had always hoped someday I would go. This year my wish came true. It was all that and more than I had expected. The greatest emotion that I experienced during the 2 day conference was the joy I felt when all of the attendees rose to their feet and cheered joyfully with love and admiration for Rev. Masanobu and Mrs. Junko Taniguchi as they entered the huge convention hall. All 3,000 supporters clapped and cheered for them in unison with such emotional energy that I could feel the vibrations throughout my whole body. It was an experience indescribable with words. The lectures were very informative and gave a great deal of historical background leading up to how our environment, nature and human beings have been affected by industrialization both in North America, Central and South America. The relationship of all this to our current situation with global warming and depletion of resources was very evident in all the lectures. As an organization, Seicho-No Ie is clearly a proponent in supporting ways to correct and preserve Mother Nature and mankind for future generations. Listening to ways to promote these positive changes and bring peace to the world truly makes me proud to be a Holy fellowship member of SNI. I hope one day all of you will get an opportunity to attend a special conference and feel the gratitude and joy I had experienced.
 

Monday, August 24, 2009

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

  The other day, I saw an article in The New York Times and TIME magazine that say "Ponyo on the cliff by the sea" would be released in about 1,000 theaters in the United States on August 14. "Ponyo" is a Japanese animation movie written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Japan's master in that field, Academy Award winner for his last work, "Spirited Away," in 2001. I looked for a theater at which the movie is being shown by the Internet, I found. My wife and daughter once or twice watched that movie in the original Japanese version, but I haven't. It is one of my daughter's most favorite movie, therefore, I took her to a nearby theater yesterday.

  The show time we watched started 6:50 p.m. Many of the audience came with family. According to the August 24 issue of TIME magazine, Miyazaki made a movie in 2-D, hand-drawn animation and created a frame-by-frame storyboard -- 180,000 drawings for Ponyo with minimal help from PC. Asian viewers may recall the devastation wreaked by the December 2004 Indian Ocean disaster, but Miyazaki's intention is different. "Rather than the tsunami destroying the town," Miyazaki says, "I took it as her own sense of life overflowing, and that helped to revitalize the town. None of the buildings were destroyed in the flood. You can see them all beneath the water. That's magic." ("TIME" Aug. 24th, 2009 issue)

  My impression on the movie is the pictures shown on the screen were terrific and they are just the nature of Japan as it is. I have never returned to Japan during two years and three month while staying here, I missed Japan very much. Of course, I am grateful for our life here; we can learn and experience various kinds of new things and savor beautiful nature. However, my thought on my home country is very special. One of the things that impressed me most is there is no "evil" in the movie. That is why I think it appropriate to have show it to children. My daughter has concentrated on the movie for one hour and forty minutes.

  Coming back home, while talking with my wife about the movie, I realized that there are many lines that only the English version has but the Japanese one doesn't. According to a Japanese site for the movie, Miyazaki seems to cut as many lines as possible so that the theater audience themselves think about hidden messages. However, it is possible only in Japanese because "silence" is highly valued in the Japanese culture. If you want the movie seen in a country of western culture, in which to express themselves is valued, you have to make adjustments in many ways.

  As a whole, the movie made me feel very comfortable and reminded me a Japanese sense toward nature. I hope my daughters' friends watch it.

  You can see the movie's trailer by clicking the following addresses:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BfNtYF94cQ(brief one)

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALsYgbxOZuI&NR=1(long one)

 Tetsuya Abe
  

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Meeting at a Kindergarten

  There was a meeting today for parents at a kindergarten my daughter is going from August 10th. At first, principle provided his greetings and there was a workshop with which parents and children together dealt. We heard a good reputation of the school, Ahuimanu school, from preschool teachers and others. My impression to the school was what we've just imagined with a good support system and friendly teachers and atmospheres.

  Attending the two-hour meeting, I saw their will that they want to develop children's creativity and personality and cope with whatever problem taken place. According to the school, three Japanese children joined the school including my daughter and they will provide a supplementary class after school.

  My daughter attended a preschool for a year and seven months, I don't think there is any problem with her communication skills in English, however, it is good for her to be followed in such a way because she still has less time to speak and hear English compared to local children. If I point out further good points:

  1. There are two preschool classmates whom my daughter gets along well
  2. Since my daughter's home room teacher is a Japanese-American, she
    understands about adjustment in a inter-cultural situation
  3. There is a fluent Japanese speaker who had studied for Waseda
    University in Japan among parents. To my surprise, she is a complete
    Caucasian. More than that, a principal is person who loves Japan,
    have been there so many times, and can speak daily conversation
    in Japanese

  My wife was very relieved to see she has a new friend who speaks in Japanese in Kaneohe. Incidentally, my wife's communication skills in English has rapidly been improving and she came to be able to read the material distributed by the school. It is a great pleasure for both of us.

  A school system here and in Japan is quite different. Japan does not have a system equivalent of kindergarten. They go to a preschool until 6 years old and then enroll an elementary school. That means that their mandatory education starts one or two years later than children here.



















With her Hawaiian friend Taish



















Three of us enjoyed the workshop

Tetsuya Abe
 

Thursday, August 06, 2009

2009 August Message

To Convey the Seicho-No-Ie Teachings Today Is the Greatest Deed of Love
Rev. Tetsuya Abe
Acting Chief, SNI Hawaii Missionary Area

Thank you very much.
  I have wonderful and pleasant news for you. Mrs. Carol Perreida, Oahu propagator, passed the Regional Lecturer's Examination that was held last year. Congratulations Carol! Her success is attributed not only to her tireless daily efforts to learn the teachings but also to guidance from Rev. Leslie Iwatani and support by our senior members and colleagues. I extend my sincere gratitude to all of those concerned, and would like to share the joy of her success with all Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii members. Thank you very much.

  Regional Lecturer is a very important and responsible position appointed by the President of Seicho-No-Ie. I hope Carol and all other Regional Lecturers carry out this noble responsibility by practicing the three important religious practices―Shinsokan meditation, reading the Holy Sutras and SNI books, and practicing Deeds of Love―while understanding the Movement Policy which is a written guideline that all of the SNI members in the world should follow throughout the year, engaging in propagation activities based upon the will and policy of the International Headquarters. It surely leads our movement to grow in the right direction that is in accordance with God's divine will.

  On June 28, I visited SNI Maui center to share this wonderful teaching with SNI Maui members. After the Sunday service there, all participants and I enjoyed a delicious lunch at a restaurant near a beach and we enjoyed each others' company. I strongly felt that we can count on those members, including President Neil Masuoka and Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Nakata, because they are bright, cheerful, and passionate about propagation.

  With this visit, I finished my first visitation to all four neighbor island centers this year. My transportation costs are covered by the SNI Hawaii Holy Mission Fund, which consists of past Holy Mission Fellowship dues which should have been sent to SNI International Headquarters but were held in Hawaii due to some federal regulations. That is why we need approval by the SNI Hawaii Board of Directors, SNI, Inc. BOD, and International Headquarters before we use it. I will make every effort to meet expectations of our neighbor island members, as well as those who approved this expenditure. And I also want to share the importance of our activities as holy missioners in my second visiation this year.

  By the way, we are going to hold the annual Public Lecture on September 20 at the Ala Moana Hotel. It is usually held in November, but due to some reasons, the Lecture will be two months ahead. The following is basic information:

[English Program]
 Date: Sunday, Sept. 20, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
 Place: Ala Moana Hotel
 Speaker:
 Rev. Hiei Ando,
  U.S. National Ordained Minister
 Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara,
  Bishop, U.S. Missionary Headquarters

[Japanese Program]
 Date: Sunday, Sept. 20, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
 Place: Ala Moana Hotel
 Speaker: Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara
     Rev. Hiei Ando

  The theme of English lecture is "A Bright Mind ― A Healthy and Prosperous Life" and the Japanese theme is "Hogarakana Kokoro―Kenko to Hanei wo Anatani."(朗らかな心―健康と繁栄をあなたに)

  The price of gas has begun surging again, and health issues including the H1N1 flu is everybody's concern. With the depletion of fossil energy impacting world economies, the global environment declining, unemployment rate at a record high, and uncertainty and anxiety spreading throughout society, people are seeking guidance for their lives. Now is Seicho-No-Ie's time to respond. Nothing is a more precious deed of love than to convey the Seicho-No-Ie teachings in this troubled time, because you can solve all problems by knowing that there is a perfect and harmonious world created by God, the True Image world, and believing and envisioning that perfect world and what is positive and already granted to you, and constantly carrying out that practice in your daily life. I would like to ask you to invite as many people as possible including your family, relatives, friends, neighbors and others to the Public Lecture. Thank you very much.
 

Monday, August 03, 2009

2009 Sepcial Conference in Brazil (4)

  Today was the second day of Special Conference which consisted of two presentations by ordained ministers, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi's concluding lecture, words of encouragement by Mrs. Junko Taniguchi. We also had an ordained (assistant) ministers' meeting, and welcome party for Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi at Brazil Headquarters' annex.

  In the lecture provided by the President, there were so many inspiring, deep, and profound messages that I could not catch up with ..... We learned that how important to hold a religious point of view that "A human being is a part of Nature," and it is firmly existed in the Native North, Central, and South American culture, and also in the traditional major religions' teachings such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism, and to have a consensus that it is one of the essence of all correct religions should contribute to world peace in this day and age.

  Mrs. Junko Taniguchi's popularity was outstanding here in Brazil. Her deeply loving messages which were simmering into people's hearts brought about religious exultation, therefore, every time she spoke a sentence the site was surrounded with applause.

  Whenever Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi entered the hall, and before and after their guidance, all the participants showed their welcome with big applause and claps. They were like a supporter who cheer their own country in the soccer stadium. They said with their hands outstretched high and clapped, "Eooooo, eoooooo, eoo eoo eoo Sosai!" Sosai means President in Japanese.

  Not only during the lecturers provided by Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi, but during all the presentation delivered, applause took place frequently. It is Brazil!

  Throughout the Special Conference, as a whole, I was given an opportunity to think deeply about how our SNI leaders should put the teachings such as "God's creation is only good, perfect, and harmonious" and "This phenomenal world is a reflection of mind" into our daily life as an individual, and how we should contribute to our society by those teachings. More than that, we learned that one of the central parts that all the correct religions should be shared is that a human being is a part of Nature.

  Regarding a reception, held at the annex of SNI Brazil Headquarters, at a glance, there seemed 400 people invited. After President Masanobu Taniguchi made opening remarks, everyone cheered. We enjoyed dinner, then, all participants stood in line, shook hands and talked with Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi in turn. You could take a photo of them.

  I will fly to LA tomorrow night and come back to Hawaii in the late night of Tuesday.



















Since we cannot take a photo during the event, it is a break time.



















With Irene and Cassandra Revilla



















With Alessandro da Silva from Scotland, who seated next to me.



















With Rev. Enio Masaci Hara. He is a former President of SNI Brazil Youth and Young Adult Association. He came to Japan to study about how to run a SNI organization in early 1990 and I took him various places for his study.



















At the reception

Tetsuya Abe
 

Sunday, August 02, 2009

2009 Special Conference in Brazil (3)

  Today was the first day of "2009 Special Conference for World Peace" which was held at Fanchal Lecture Hall in Sao Paulo that was from 1 to 7 p.m. According to my memory, there were 2,965 attendees from 16 countries.

  The participants from the United States were allotted a relatively front seat with participants from Europe and Canada. A person next to me was a very nice man and propagator from Scotland and he shared his impressive story about how he was introduced to Seicho-No-Ie when his family members in Brazil were also introduced to SNI.

  I was able to meet very familiar people whom I was concerned about including Rev. Akinori Jo, a former stationed minister in Europe whom I constantly contacted with when I was at International Headquarters, a woman who was in London, whom I once interviewed for a Japanese magazine, and Rev. Enio Masaki Hara, a former President of Youth and Young Adult Association of SNI Brazil.

  The theme of Special Conference was as follows:

   Learning from the Natural World View of Native Americans
        (1) North America
        (2) Central and South America

   Learning from the Natural World View of
         the Major Traditional World Religions
        (1) Judaic and Christianity
        (2) Islam
        (3) Buddhism and Hinduism

  Today, we studied the three themes from above, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi's lecture, which was consisted of his answers to the questions submitted beforehand, and Mrs. Junko Taniguchi's lecture.

  One of the four questions submitted to President Masanobu Taniguchi was Irene Revilla's following questions:
---------------------------------------------------
As a parent of two young adults I listen to them discussing events that are happening around them. This generation of youth have a sense of doom surrounding them as the world is full of economic problems and natural changes. As the President of SNI do you believe that our movement can progress realistically to create more positively in this 21st century and why do you feel this way?
----------------------------------------------------

   You will have a summary of Rev. Taniguchi's answer in the SNI-Online which will be sent out about two month's later.

   The primary language at this Conference was Portuguese. Rev. and Mrs. Masanobu Taniguchi's lectures and presentations done by other than Portuguese, consecutive interpretation was conducted. When presenters speak Portuguese, they were simultaneously interpreted into Japanese, English, and Spanish.

   Material for each presentation was distributed in advance, I was able to listen to the English presentations without Japanese interpretation. When presented in Portuguese, I chose a Japanese interpretation in some case and a English interpretation in other case.

   Those who were engaged in interpretation are not professional translators, nevertheless all of their performance were excellent! I understand that how challenging to interpret those material and to prepare that in a short time, they've definitely done wonderful jobs.

   I was overwhelmed by their impassioned, cheerful, sincere, and honest atmosphere. All of them are the great SNI leaders. Especially, I was so impressed by the participants from Britain but all Brazilians who surrounded writing down memos all the while Rev. and Mrs. Masanobu Taniguchi's lectures. Of course, I jotted down their lecturers as much as possible because I am responsible to conveying what they taught us.

   Tomorrow, we will have the second day program, ordained (assistant) ministers meeting led by Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, and welcome party for the President sponsored by SNI Brazil Headquarters.

Tetsuya Abe
 
 

Friday, July 31, 2009

2009 Special Conference in Brazil (2)

  Our tour group visited Ibiuna Spiritual Training Center (STC), the biggest STC outside of Japan, and Japanese town yesterday, and we attended a leaders meeting held at SNI Brazil Headquarters today.

  Ibiuna STC has a big hall in which about 1,000 people can be accommodated and also Hozo Shrine, where the ancestors of Central and Southern American countries' members are shrined.

  While Seicho-No-Ie Brazil has now been making an every effort to obtain an ISO14001 qualification which is "a standard for environmental management systems to be implemented in any business, regardless of size, location or income," (Wikipedia) Ibiuna STC has been renovated. Other than a main hall, Hozo Shrine, they have a tower to memorialize miscarried children, senior citizens' homes, which is run by SNI Brazil in which 28 people can be accommodated at a maximum. One of what impressed me most is a design gap between a tower to memorialize miscarried children in Japan and here in Brazil. The Japanese tower is an image of a mother who carries a child, on the contrary, Brazil's one is consisted of two curving lines and a ball. According to the responsible person of the STC, Rev. Paulo Fujinaga, those two lines express a man and woman, and the ball symbolizes a soul.

  It took an hour and half by drive to Ibiuna STC from our hotel, what I concerned about was rough road and the way they drive a car. It means that it is very dangerous! Despite that streets there are very narrow, they drive at a high speed and came close to our bus. Although it is meaningless, I found myself trying to fend off those coming up cars in a bus seat.

  Today, we had a leaders' meeting which was held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. 79 leaders from 13 countries attended the meeting under the guidance from Rev. and Mrs. Masanobu Taniguchi. All remarks were translated into the following four languages; English, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. It was truly an International Meeting! Those leaders had a hot discussion about how to realize "Carbon-neutral Movement," "Internet Lecturer," and "Afforestation."

  Today's dinner was a Japanese course meal. It was very satisfactory and so delicious! I'll show you some pictures I took.



















There are lots of graffiti on the wall in the city. But isn't it artistic?



















A freeway taken from a bridge nearby Japanese town
























Group photo at Ibiuna STC. There were 27 participants from United States, they are a part of them.



















Tower memorializing miscarried children



















Recycled bins



















Brazil Headquarters' building



















There are plenty of Portuguese books available at a book store in the building



















"Masaharu Taniguchi Street" is five-minute walk from the Headquarters

Tetsuya Abe
 

Thursday, July 30, 2009

2009 Special Conference in Brazil (1)

  I left my home at 5:30 in the yesterday morning (on 28th), get aboard a flight from Honolulu to LA, change a flight from LA to Sao Paulo, and checked in the hotel which is located in the center of the town around 4 o'clock on 29th. It seems to take 34 hours and hafl, however, due to 7 hours time difference, it actually took 27 hours and half. It is still a long time!

  It is winter because Brazil is in the Southern Hemisphere. Local people said that the weather there has been unusual and they had a lot of rain. I felt very cold when I went outside the airport building.

  I joined the particpants of Southern and Northern California Missionary Area, therefore, I didn't have to worry about how I would get through custom and go to the hotel.

  Seeing thick trees and feeling a relaxed atmosphere, I thought this city a little looks like Hawaii.



















At the airport



















A photo from a bus window



















These young man and woman are highly promising leaders who came from Southern California

Tetsuya Abe

  

Monday, July 20, 2009

Address at Bon Memorial Service

The following is a draft of my address at Bon Memorial Service conducted at SNI Hawaii Jisso Center on July 19th, 2009.

--------------------------------------------------------

  Thank you very much for coming to 2009 Bon Memorial Service. Especially, I believe those families who have the first Bon have a special feeling.

  In this season, I sometimes see words of "Bon" or "Bon Dance" written in a sign at a Buddhist temple. Or I saw the words in the newspaper or flyer. I suppose there are many people who know the existence of "Bon" other than SNI members and Japanese descendants.

  Bon is originally a Buddhist custom, however, "Bon" conducted here is different from the original one. "Bon" conducted here is that we welcome deceased spirits, memorialize them, and see them off. This custom is based upon a combination of Buddhist custom and Japanese ancient custom that is believed ancestors come to this earthly world and leave to a spiritual world back and forth.

  Incidentally, let me explain an original Buddhist custom of "Bon." Bon is a shortened form of the legendary Urabonne or Ullambanna. It is Sanskrit for "hanging upside down" and implies great suffering. Then, that people started to try to alleviate the suffering of the "Urabanna" is the origin of "Bon."

  One day, one of the top ten disciples of Buddha, Mokuren, who is considered as NO. 1 in terms of supernatural power, remembered his loving deceased mother. When he saw his mother with clairvoyance, he found her suffering. She was falling into the world of hungry ghosts. He felt so sorry for her and gave her some food with his supernatural power, however, when the food was about to enter her mouth, it burned. The disciple was shocked, shed tears, and got impelled to save her with at all cost, and asked Shakyamuni how he can save her. Shakyamuni instructed him to do this way; "You must try to save all the people in the hell of starvation as well as your mother."

  Mokuren followed his advice and cooked and made lots of delicious food, and offered those foods to the monks who read the Sutras to those who in the world of hungry ghost on July 15. The reason such a loving mother had to fall into the hell is because she loved and took care of only her son and ignored others' happiness.

  Please pay attention the following point in an original Buddhist context, they offered foods to monks, not to the spirits. However, when the customs came into Japan, it was combined with a Japanese tradition, the spirits are invited, memorialized, and seen off by their descendants.

  In this way, a form was changed when the ritual was transferred to a place of another culture. However, the essence, namely a desire to help our ancestors have never changed. This shows that when a religion is conveyed in a distant land, while the essence and core remain the same, the outward elements of that religions like the rituals, ceremonies, and others should be changed in accordance with the situations of time, place, races, cultures, and others. In other words, when a religion is conveyed in a far place, if it doesn't change its formality, it has to be faded away.

  In Buddhism, Buddhism that was originally believed in India at a time of founding and Buddhism that was believed in China and Japan are quite different. To put it simply, the Buddhism originally believed in India is called Hinayana Buddhism and the Buddhism believed in China and Japan is called Mahayana Buddhism. Hinayana Buddhism has a tendency to view Shakyamuni Buddha as a historical figure with a physical body, and disciples tried to follow that model of devotion and pursuit of faith by purifying themselves, studying the teachings, and trying to free themselves from the bondage of this world. It was believed and monopolized by the elite or socially and economically blessed minority. It is called "Lesser Vehicle" by the other party, namely, Mahayana Buddhism because Hinayana Buddhism tend to concentrate on their own enlightenment.

  However, 700 years after the death of Shakyamuni, Mahanaya Buddhism was born and supported by the ordinary people and the newly emerging merchant class. In that Buddhism, the Buddha is not limited to being a historical mortal person, but is seen as the ideal superhuman transcending bodily existence.
In order to bring about salvation beyond individuals, the spirit of "altruism" and "mercy" were emphasized. The attitude of Mahayana Buddhism is that efforts should be made not only for personal salvation, but what Buddha truly desires is for the salvation of all human beings and all living beings.

  It is not my intention that which is worthwhile to believe in. My intention is to let you know that the original Buddhism and the Buddhism believed in China, Japan, and even in the United States are quite different. I hope it is a good tip to understand that for a religion to survive in a global arena, it has to change its outer elements in accordance with time, place, and people. The same applies to Christmas. I will not talk about it in detail, but how to celebrate Christmas is very different from country to country.

  In this respect, there is a possibility that Bon Memorial Service in the United States can be changed in the future. The Founder of Seicho-No-Ie, Masaharu Taniguchi taught as follows:

   "Enlightenment" or vibrant and flowing life cannot be captured by shape or form. However, it can be provisionally given form. When enlightenment is expressed in form it already begins to be confined to a set form. This causes the mistaken thinking that a set form is religion. While in religion life is expressed and understood through a particular form of expression, enlightenment itself is found deep beyond that form of expression. To express life a form is always necessary, however at the same time we must throw away that form of expression. The same applies to Seicho-No-Ie. While one manner of explanation was used in the past, on another occasion an entirely different method is used. The manner of explanation is form; therefore it must constantly change. A religion that does not change on its own will be reduced to a lifeless shell and be replaced by another religion. This is happening to religions of the past with the advent of new religions and religious revolution. A religion that can progress while revolutionizing itself from within is a religion that will continue eternally. Should a form of expression once decided continue on forever that religion will degenerate into a kind of explanation when that form must be changed. Life that is reduced to form cannot be expressed.(Masaharu Taniguchi, Truth of Life, vol. 33, p53)
 
  By the way, the Founder Masaharu Taniguchi placed the importance of Ancestors Memorial Service as follows:

 God is the earth, 
 The ancestors are the roots,
 Parents are trunk,
 The descendants are the branches and leaves.
 To bloom and bear good fruits
  in your family tree,
 Be good and kind to your parents
  and memorialize your ancestors


  As shown here, what is important as well as Ancestors Memorial Service is to be grateful to your parents. God says in "Divine Message of Grand Harmony" that "Those who are grateful to God but cannot be grateful to their parents are against the Divine Will." How strong message it is! Even if you practice Shinsokan meditation every day, read the Sutras and SNI books, and show your sincere respect to God, if you cannot be grateful to your parents, God said that it goes against His will.

  You can be grateful to your parents if they are good and kind enough to be being grateful to, however, what if your parents are not those who are deserved to be grateful to? Your father may be a person who behaves like a dictator at your home and the rest of your family members are in serious trouble everyday. In that case, do we have to be grateful to him and if we cannot, can't we be happy?

  I believe you don't think so, but it is quite natural that a beginner of Seicho-No-Ie or non member of Seicho-No-Ie thinks so. Because apparently it is very unfair. If we think that this earthly life is only our life, in other words, if we don't consider reincarnation, it is truly unfair. However, we can think that our life is a sort of life's school. By reincarnating so many times, we are able to learn our life's assignments given each time. An assignment for Mr. A may be learning politics as a politician, but Ms. B's assignment may be living as a pianist. But Mrs. C's assignment may be to be grateful to her father whom it is difficult to be grateful to. That is because by overcoming that situation, both Mrs. C and her father can grow spiritually.

  We are no doubt given life. Where our life comes from is our parents. There is no exceptional on that. Our life is connected with our ancestors without fail for millions of years. Our life never choose our parents by coincidence. There is a strong spiritual tie between our parents and us. By that relationship, we can develop our life and our parents can also develop their lives most appropriately. It gives us mutual benefit. This is a world of Life of God and the workings of nature.

  That you cannot be grateful to your parents right now is not necessarily to blame. This means that you are given an important assignment in life's school. When you become grateful to your parents whom the ordinary people cannot be grateful to, it means that you graduate from high-level life's assignment.

  There is a woman named A who has various problems. She doesn't like herself, breaks up soon after she falls in love, gives up her job easily, and on and on. Then, she went to Seicho-No-Ie Uji temple to attend 10-day Spiritual Training Seminar. At the seminar, almost every day, the lecturers taught that be grateful to your parents, be grateful to your parents. She got bored to listen to those lecturers. When she was about to leave the temple by saying to a minister, "Thank you very much. Since I understood that to be grateful your parents is very important, I am now leaving here." However, the minister who talked with her sensed that she was strongly rebellious against the teaching that be reconciled with and grateful to your parents.

  Then, the minister suggested her that if you understand that it is important to be grateful to your parents, why don't you go back home with peace of mind after you would actually be grateful to them. He finally persuaded her to pray with him and took her to a prayer room. They started to pray, "Dear father, thank you very much. Dear father, thank you very much."

  Her father is usually kind and descent person, however, once he drinks, he completely changes to be violent and out of control. The rest of the family members patiently have to wait until he goes to sleep once he starts to drink. However, she once watched a disgusting and infuriating scene. Her father teared her mother's valuable kimono by sword. That kimono was a memento from her mother's mother who passed away way ago. When she saw the scene and her mother screaming, she made up her mind that she would never forgive her father.

  The minister and A recited "Dear father, thank you very much, dear father, thank you very much," for half an hour in the prayer room, that disgusting scene that her father was going on a rampage and her mother was crying came to her mind and tears of sadness came down. Then, she kept on "dear father, thank you very much" chanting, then, an image of her father sitting helplessly came to her mind. He was scolded by his wife because he could not keep working for his job at one place and had to change his job quite often. Japan is a society where changing job too often is not considered decent. Since A's mother spoke ill of her father constantly, Miss A conceived ill feelings against her father and though she didn't speak ill of him in his presence. Now Miss A finally understood how he felt misery by being ridiculed by his wife, family, bosses, colleagues, and others. And Miss A could share the same loneliness, disappointment, and other negative feelings that her father conceived.

  This time, a sense of repentance bubbled forth from her mind and she sincerely apologized him saying, "I am so sorry, dear dad, for looking down on, holding a grudge, and ignoring you. You must have been so lonely and disconsolate. I am sorry, dad." She started to sob convulsively. It was as if tears never stopped. When she stopped crying, their prayer also finished. The minister told he gently, "Now you are able to be grateful to your father. Go back home." But she said, "No, I would like to stay here and take the rest of the seminar programs."

  Our love and sense of gratitude to our parents are our real nature like a appetite and need for sleep. However, when that honest feeling is clouded by some reasons such as hatred and other ill feelings, people encounter various kinds of challengings. In many cases, the source of the problems we face in our life is complaint against our parents.

  One day, there was a participant for a SNI STS who had evil eyes. Actually, he was a seven-time convict. All of the attendees, receptionists, and others were afraid of his looking. A minister asked him why he came to a STS, and he answered that my son has been suffering from a severe illness. I've heard that many difficult illnesses were healed at this place." No matter noble a neighbor man would be, he will not come to STS for neighbor's child is suffering from a serious illness.
Even if a several-time convict, a mind that he will go to any places if his son can be saved is a mind of parent and mind of God. The Founder Masaharu Taniguchi taught in this respect as follows:

  It is because there are roots that there are branches and leaves. It is because of parents that there are children. Since parents are the roots and their descendants are the branches and leaves, those who want to prosper must take good care of their parents. The mind that treasures one's parents cultivates the roots and, in turn, it becomes the source for our life to grow. Parental love far exceeds any child's feelings for his parents. (Masaharu Taniguchi, OPEN THE DOOR OF YOUR LIFE, vol. 4, p. 161)

  In this good opportunity, I would like you to deepen your sense of gratitude to your parents and ancestors, and lead a bright and productive life. Thank you very much for your attention.