Monday, May 10, 2010

Article for Starbulletin

I wrote an article for Starbulletin which appeared on May 8, Saturday. It is my final article for that newspaper. I appreciate for being given this opporunity and also appreciate Clifford Nishimura who editted my article every time.
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Let Us Awaken to Our Eternal Life
Tetsuya Abe
Acting Chief, Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Missionary Area

  The founder of Seicho-No-Ie, Masaharu Taniguchi, expounded about "life and death" in the Divine Message of the Return of the Soul to the Spiritual World as follows:

   Your physical body is a musical composition performed on the strings of thought. The concept that Life dwells in the physical body is a dualistic one and not the truth. Properly speaking, Life manifests the physical body in accordance with the composition performed on the strings of thought. ... All people must someday lose their physical body, but they do not die. Man is a child of God and therefore deathless.

   In Seicho-No-Ie, we firmly believe that everyone is a child of God. Since God is the source of the infinite, a child of God has infinite potential and abilities within. However, in this earthly life, we cannot manifest all our abilities in a single lifetime. An engineer can manifest his ability as an engineer during his adult life; however, his inner ability as a politician, pianist, lawyer, or teacher is still dormant. That is why by being born to this world over and over again, we are able to manifest our infinite power within this physical world.


   To think that our life is just a single occurrence is contrary to the principle of natural growth. A day starts from the morning, the sun shines in the daytime, and night comes quietly. It repeats every day without fail, as does the seasonal cycle of spring, summer, fall and winter. In this way, circulation is the principle of natural growth. Therefore, the life of a human being, as a part of nature, follows this principle of repetition and growth.

   If we understand this, we no longer have to worry about failures and misfortunes. Since we can think about our life in the long run, even if we fail at something, we are able to try it over and over again until we are satisfied with peace of mind. Let us awaken to our eternal life and live our life to the fullest.
 



Sunday, May 02, 2010

2010 May Message

Farewell Words of Gratitude

   In accordance with the decision made by the Top Level Meeting at Seicho-No-Ie International Headquarters on March 10th, I will be transferred from the position of Acting Chief of SNI Hawaii Missionary Area to work for the Missionary Activities and Lecturers' Department at International Headquarters as of May 23. I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude for all of the support and kindness that were shown to us officially and by individuals over the past three years.

   With Oahu members, I was able to learn the teachings at Sunday services, Spiritual Training Seminars, Truth Realization Seminars, and other activities, and I also learned from you the right attitude in faith and in advancing our movement, and many other things.

   When I visited the four neighbor island Centers, all Center members warmly welcomed my family and me, and we could share the wonderful SNI teachings cheerfully with you all. It was one of the greatest pleasures to me.

   I cannot find appropriate words of appreciation for everything given to my family and me both officially and privately.

   One of the most memorable things during my tenure in Hawaii is that we could accomplish big changes with your cooperation, such as changing the rituals and ceremonies to a way that is suited to the U.S. It is truly your understanding, efforts, and right faith in God that made it possible to achieve this without any major disruptions.

   It is also highly appreciated that President Tashiro and the entire Board of Directors are perfectly in accord with SNI Inc.'s policy, take guidance from Bishop Rev. Teshigawara in a sincere manner, and wholeheartedly support our movement in its administrative aspects.

   Another thing I am grateful for is that you listened to my lectures and remarks with great patience. I made every effort to improve my English, but I don't think it was enough for English speakers.

   As far as our movement is concerned, we still have plenty of work to do: holding many more English Readers' Meetings, further improvement of Sunday services, nurturing the leaders who shoulder our movement, expansion of the number of Holy Missioners, and effective usage of the Truth of Life magazine and expansion of subscribers. I feel sorry that I could not be of enough help to promote these movements.

   Regarding my family, although they faced many challenges in the past three years, they learned many things, could grow in various ways, and had priceless experiences. Especially, our daughter Manami enjoyed her school life in Hawaii surrounded by loving and thoughtful teachers and many good friends. She was also kindly treated by SNI members as if she were their own granddaughter. I believe she obtained valuable experiences in building her personality.

   Lastly, I would like to pray for the happiness of all of you and the further development of SNI Hawaii Missionary Area under the leadership of Bishop Teshigawara and the guidance of your new Chief. My prayers are always with you. Thank you very much.

Yours sincerely,
Tetsuya Abe