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.


 

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