2007 August Message

Seicho-No-Ie Is Wonderful! Let Us Express Words of Joy!
Rev. Tetsuya Abe
Actind Chief, SNI Hawaii Missionary Area

　　　It has been a month and a half since I arrived here in Hawaii. I cannot find the appropriate words to express my appreciation to you for your heartfelt hospitality and countless support that you have extended to me. On July 6, my wife and 2-year-and-10-month-old daughter happily joined me to start our new life. It is a great pleasure for us to join you to promote our movement that conveys the wonderful Seicho-No-Ie teachings here in Hawaii.

　　　One of the things that impressed me the most since I arrived is that whomever I met kindly said, "Please tell me whatever you need" or "I want to do anything that I can to help you." This fills my heart with a deep sense of gratitude. Again, thank you very much for your kindness.

　　　Well, as you already know, Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi, Holy Master, founded Seicho-No-Ie to enlighten our way of thinking by using the creative power of words which will lead to a happy and cheerful life and in the end realize world peace. Dr. Taniguchi taught about "Power of Words" in Truth of Life, Volume 30 as follows:

　　　As thus mentioned, we need to pay attention to our words. The Bible says that the "Word is God and everything is created by words." In this way, it is true that the key to happiness is in our words. Therefore, it is Seicho-No-Ie's Humanity Enligtenment Movement that stresses the importance of “Words” to use and read only good words. And it lets all mankind know the power of words and to draw out their divine nature with good words.
(Seimei no Jisso "Truth of Life" Vol. 30, p. 10)

　　　For the sake of putting the spirit of Seicho-No-Ie into practice in your daily life, "Sundial Diary" was published at end of last year (Edited by Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, Vice President of the White Dove Association, it is not yet available in English). The diary encourages you to record only what is positive and joyful, and words of gratitude.

　　　Since keeping a diary from the beginning of this year, I feel I’ve become good at finding praiseworthy points in people and things, and in deepening my faith that whatever happens to me is only to elevate my soul. Incidentally, almost everyday I write, "May God's infinite love flows into all members in Hawaii and make them all happy and prosperous" which also gives me a great sense of joy.

　　　So let us record only the good in our minds. And lead a joyful, cheerful and happy life. Then manifest and sincerely extend that to everyone around you! Thank you very much!

Aloha Message!

Aloha! Mahalo Nui Loa! Thank you very much!

　　　I am Rev. Tetsuya Abe and I have been assigned to the Hawaii Missionary Area as Acting Chief to succeed Rev. Shozo Sawa who will be retiring at the end of June.

　　　It is my great pleasure to meet you all. I was in Hawaii in 2000 to attend the 19th International Spiritual Training Seminar at Jisso Center when I was a reporter at the Public Information Department, Seicho-No-Ie International Headquarters. It seems only yesterday that we were greeted by the bright blue sky and radiant smiles of all the members here. By participating in the seminar, I was extremely moved to share the joy of believing in the absolute Goodness of God with people of various cultural backgrounds. Then and there, I had a dream to join the movement, expanding the joy of practicing the teachings of SNI with those in the United States.

　　　After I was transferred to the International Department in 2002, I was assigned to support leaders in Europe and South Korea, attending many seminars as the minister representing International Headquarters. I met many wonderful members at the Spiritual Training Seminars and Leaders Seminars held in South Korea and Europe, as well as Readers Meetings and Leaders Seminar in Hong Kong. At these seminars, we studied together the basic teachings of SNI such as, "Man is a child of God," "Our environment is a reflection of our mind," and "All religions emanate from one universal God" and shared the joy of practicing the teachings with the attendees. Through these experiences, I have gained an invaluable spiritual asset that encouraged me to propagate the teachings of SNI in the global arena.

　　　Now, I am honored to join you here in Hawaii as a person responsible to promote the Humanity Enlightenment Movement-International Peace-by-Faith Movement. I would like to keep in mind the fact that the SNI movement in Hawaii has a long, valuable history and there are many distinguished senior members who have dedicated themselves. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to them as well as to Rev. Shozo Sawa who has given priceless guidance and Rev. Leslie Iwatani who has long contributed to the movement here.

　　　I will strive to develop our movement and make as many people as possible happy by deeply awakening to the basic teaching that we are children of God as taught by Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi, studying the teachings as delivered according to current situations by Rev. Seicho Taniguchi, President of SNI, and Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, Vice President, and following the guidance given by Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara, Bishop of U.S. Missionary Headquarters.

　　　Actually, since the day I arrived at Honolulu Airport, I have felt like I AM already an AMERICAN and a HAWAIIAN. Let us join hands and promote the International Peace-by-Faith Movement in a bright and cheerful manner. Thank you very much! Mahalo Nui Loa!

I had a relatively long talk with my wife on the phone. I mainly reported her on how my work at Matlock Center, a base of propagating the teachings of Seicho-No-Ie in Hawaii, is going and also how our future life here will be going. I am now getting the picture about activities in this Missionary Area. What I can say now is all people here are kind, friendly and enthusiastic about learning the teachings of Seicho-No-Ie. Every single man and woman who I met told me like, "If you have some problem, please tell me without hesitation." I feel relieved every time I hear that. I would like to make a further effort to meet their expectation and contribute to expanding our movement that makes people happy in a real sense.

-TA

Just Arrived!

　　I arrived at Honolulu airport on 10:00. I was honorly greeted by Rev. and Mrs. Shozo Sawa, Rev. and Mrs. Leslie Iwatani, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Tashiro and Mrs. Edna Nishimura. It was a first step for me to lead a new life in Hawaii. Rev. Sawa will be retired at the end of this month, therefore, I will be assigned as Acting Chief of Hawaii Missionary Area. I would like to be active and helpful to contribute to spreading the teachings of Seicho-No-Ie as much as possible.
　　Since Rev. Sawa is going to return to Japan on 23rd this month, he lost no time in succeeding his job and gave me some explanation on his work in a concise manner.
In the evening, I entered a Japanese restaurant where I ate curry and rice. But unfortunately it included four loafs of beef, I could not eat them. Other than that, it was satisfactory.
　　Last not but least, I really appreciate who support me in various ways.

VISA

　　Today, I went to the U.S. embassy in Tokyo with my wife to be interviewed for R-1 and R-2 VISA, or a Non-immigrant visa for religious affiliated people and their family. Thefefore, we asked a nearby nursery school to take care for our 2-year-and-8-month old daughter beforehand.
　　However, there was an abrupt accident. The daughter got a high fever of 40 degrees centigrade yesterday and went to see our home doctor. He diagnosed her as a simple cold but since the fever was really high, the nursery school isn't supposed to accept such a sick kid. And we also cannot leave her home alone. We were really at a loss, then, my wife consulted my younger sister who worked as a public nurse by phone. She immediately lent a helping hand to search for a service available such an emergency. It is fortunate to say that such a service is accessible in Nagareyama City where we live. My sister gave my wife some information of facilitator of "Family Support," including her name and phone number.
　　My wife called the facilitator in no time whether someone can come home to take care of our sick kid. She was kind enough to make an effort to look for someone available, and she ended up finding a very kind elderly woman who deals with this situation. We were astonished to see that happened so smoothly and were grateful for all concerned.
　　Today, when we saw the woman, Mrs. Watanabe, at our home in the morning, we were impressed by her tender and mild atmosphere. Though our daughter burst into tears when my wife and I left home, but according to Mrs. Watanabe, she's stopped crying for ten minutes or so and started to play in a cheerful manner.
　　At the U.S. embassy, we had to wait more than an hour and half before our interview. The officer we met pointed out a lack of document, therefore, our section which is responsible for the matter started to contact with our U.S. organization to meet their demand. I've heard that when it arrives at the embassy, we are going to obtain R-1 and R-2 visa and are able to go to Hawaii as scheduled.

-TA

Religion and Me

There was an eye-catching story that tells "Religion now getting an 'A' at U.S. universities" on the May 3rd issue of International Herald Tribune. According to the article, two-third of 112,000 freshmen surveyed said they prayed and almost 80 percent believed in God. The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 by Islamic extremists and increasing number of international students seem to be some of the reasons.

When asked why I came to believe in the religion that I trust, though it is not easy to answer in a concise manner, I will reply that the religion has a dynamic power to change your life.

I was introduce to the religion, which is called Seicho-No-Ie(SNI) or home of infinite happiness and prosperity, by my parents, but it was when I was 18 years old that I started to learn the SNI teachings with passion. Before that I considered religion as something that helps people who are not confident or independent. When I attended a spiritual training seminar in Uji temple in Japan, however, I completely change my mind toward religion; A true religion has a power to change your life in the right direction and guide you forever.

That experience in Uji was a real eye-opener that I never, ever forgot through my life. Rev. Kamino Kusumoto, elderly SNI ordained minister, who does not speak fluently but speaks words by words in a heartfelt way, shared the attendee with how he devoted all his life into the way propagating the teachings. Listening to that, I realized that I had only understood the SNI teachings superficially but rather I should put it into practice to my everyday life.

Since then, my life, fate and environment have completely changed and began my new life as giving spiritual gift to others.

One year after I joined SNI International Headquarters in 1992, the International Peace by Faith movement was launched. After being involved in a youth movement for 5 years, I was transferred to Public Informaition Department where I was in charge of International affairs. Reading reports on events held in a global arena and writing articles, my enthusiasm to the movement was bubbling up and desired to share the spiritual joy with people of all over the world by attending those events. At last I attended an International Spiritual Training Seminar held in Hawaii in 2000, where I was deeply inspired and encouraged. Then I started to learn English so as to propagate the teachings in English and am now doing that.

Before participating the spiritual training seminar at Uji temple, I never dreamed of engaging in religion or working in English. Now I am going to Hawaii to make as many people as possible by conveying the teachings. Religious faith certainly changed my life brilliantly.

-TA

Go to Hawaii

Long Time No See!

I am now assigned to go to Hawaii as Acting Chief of Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Missionary Area on the day of July 1st. It was adopted at the Seicho-No-Ie Top Level Conference held on March 7th. My wife and I are devoting ourselves to preparation for the move, because I am scheduled to go there earlier than expected though the date of departure isn't fixed.

After the decision, I became to feel that I am supported by much more people than I recognized. Some are kind enough to be pleased with my move as their own affairs, while others worry about my family members. Fortunately my wife likes to go abroad and is eager to learn English so that she can communicate with local people there, therefore, my wife, my 2-year-old daughter and I take this as an ouspicious occasion.

-TA

Early Bird

What time do you usually wake up in the morning? You may say it depends on what time you go to bed. It is true.

About a dozen years ago, a Japanese woman, a prestigious environmentalist as well as a simultaneous interpreter, published a bestseller book titled, "You can do everything you want by waking up 2 o'clock in the morning." She describes herself "a common household wife" who turned into a interpreter in two years while doing child rearing. But you should not be deceived the word "common," because she has a graduate degree from Tokyo university, top-notch in Asia.

Setting aside her academic background, however, according to her book, she always goes to bed 8 o'clock in the evening and wakes up 2 o'clock in the morning. This is why she can make use of even 4 hours for her own affairs before every other family members wake up.

I was impressed by her way of living, but I cannot do the same thing. But I agree with her idea of making use of morning time. It is true that increasing numbers of companies in Japan are holding a morning in the meeting rather than in the evening. They say it helps employees work more productively.

As for me I usually wake up 5 o'clock in the morning. I spend one hour doing meditation and Seicho-No-Ie's Holy Sutra reading, which provides me with spiritual enlightenment. In other words, these make up a vital spiritual training for me that enables me to see a brighter side in my life and every man and woman as a child of God. After these conducts, I spend time keeping a diary, watching a movie with a portable DVD player in English, or studying English by using other material. Morning time is said to be compared to gold of the day, I completely agree with this notion.

-TA

Intercultural Communication

In the end of last month, we had a Delegetes' Conference, at which Seicho-No-Ie movement policy for 2007 was disclosed and discussed by mainly Japanese leaders with a dozen of world leaders. As a member of the International Department of our organization, I took care of those representatives from the U.S., Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany.

After the Conference, I joined some of the members and went to a sushi restaurant. What the background of them and the languages available are as follows:

　Japanese American who lives in California
　　　　---- English, Japanese(very little)
　Japanese German who lives in Germany
　　　　---- German, English, Japanese(to some degree)
　Korean who lives in South Korea
　　　　---- Korean, Japanese, English(listening only)
　Japanese who lives in Germany
　　　　---- Japanese, English
　Japanese who lives in Japan but has lived in the U.S.
　for 10 years
　　　　---- Japanese, English
　Japanese who has lived in Spain for study
　　　　---- Japanese, Spanish(to some degree)
　And me, who lives in Japan with no experience living
　abroad
　　　　---- Japanese, English...

We all enjoyed cheerfully talking about sushi and so on. Sometimes the German told us how to call a name of fish in German and some of Japanese encourage westerners raw fish. I believe it was a precious time for all of the participants.

Some say that difference is a source of conflict, but I don't think so. Through this experience, I become more confident that difference is rather a source of abundance.

-TA

Children learn from learning Parents

I read a piece of issue on the "Asahi Shimbun," Japanese leading Newspaper, that says a child whose parents are enthusiastic with learning something tend to study hard at school. According to the writer, junior high school teacher, when listening spontaneously to conversations among students, he found that they were proud of their parents learning something. A student saying "My mother joins chorus. Her practice sometimes bothers my homework" seems to be proud of her mother, the author said. A further student showed a picture letter drawn by her mother to her company with a happy look.

The teacher introduces this story when he is consulted by some parents who gripe that, "My sons or daughters never study at home. How can I have them work hard?"

I totally agree with him. It is true that Kids want to be proud of their parents. If kids are very young, they undoubtedly imitate what their parents do. From that perspective, I really admire my 80-year-old father-in-law because he keeps studying at the University of Air and leads a vivid life.

As for my wife, while she is rearing a two-year-old daughter, she studies baby massage and the teachings of Seicho-No-Ie, which not only shows how to lead a fruitful life based on true faith but also deals with the latest issue like Climate Change or the state of the art scientific technology. I believe her behavior has a good impact on our kid's education.

Anyway, I will keep it in mind and this blog as much as possible.

-TA

An Awesome Grandma of Saga

I read a very impressive non-fiction book written by a Japanese comedian, Yoshichi Shimada. The book is "Saga no Gabai Bachan," or "An Awesome Grandma of Saga."

The author's father passed away from hibaku, or receiving nuclear radiation during World War 2 in Hiroshima when Shimada was very young. This is why his mother had to work until late night, so he was transferred to a rural town in Saga, western Japan, when he was eight years old from an educational perspective. When he had lived with his mother, though his life was hard and lonely, he led a relatively happy life except for his mother's absence during night time.

Therefore when he heard that he would move to Saga he expected to be a more comfortable life there, while felt isolated being separated from his mother. However he was astonished and shocked to find out that his awesome grandma was further needier than his mother.

What impressed me most is that the awful grandma was an extreme optimist. She once said laughing, "There are two kinds of poor in the world. One is gloomy, the other is cheerful. We're happy because we are cheerful poor. Do not worry about that because it is not recent that we've got poor but we are 'hereditary poor.'" In this way, whatever happened to her, she was never upset and took it in a very positive manner.

Another episode that strikes me is as follows:

Yoshichi: Grandma, I don't understand English at school.
Grandma: Write your answer sheet that "I am Japanese(that I don't need English)."

Y: I am also bad at History...
Grandma: Do you also hate History? Write that I don't care about the past.
(He actually wrote that way but his teacher heavily scolded him...)

Y: I need to write something about my father as my home work, but I don't remember who he is. How do you think I should do?
Grandma: Write only "I DON'T KNOW." with a big letter in the paper.
(He got a perfect score by writing that way)

Other than that, there appears lots of heartfelt community members, teachers, friends and so on.

This book has gotten extremely vogue among Japanese people because it I think speaks well for good old Japanese, which has been fading away these days. The impressions also comes across to me.

The book is written with very plain Japanese, so if you can read Japanese or want to learn Japanese and its heart and culture, I strongly recommend you to read it. It only costs 540 yen or 4.5$.

-TA

Bridging the Gap

I found a very intriguing story about a Japanese group, members of which kept planting seeds in an abandoned and devastated Chinese village, on the English version of Asahi Shimbun, one of Japanese leading newspaper.

The paper features a serial of issue titled "Bridging the Gap." As you may know the relationship between Japan and China is sour mainly due I think to misunderstandings. I feel very pity of the fact that Japanese soldiers exerted kinds of atrocities on people in China during Japan-China War and we need to reflect upon those situations in a sincere manner, but there is another fact that such brutalities have been much focused on school education in China. More than that, I feel very sorry that some Japanese nationalistic legislators said what hurt Chinese people several times.

Despite that, the news reasonable and moderate citizens keep efforts to bridge the gap pleased and relieved me a lot. The project is organized by Osaka-based nonprofit organization Green Earth Network and its Chinese counterpart office in the city of Datong, Shanxi province over the past 15 years. According to the article, since Shanxi province was the location of harsh combats during the War, when 58-year-old secretary general, Kunio Takami, visited the village and planted for the first time, he was disdained and told as demon. However their continuous dedications broke the ice and started to bear beautiful fruit. The group so far "provided nearly 800,000 apricot saplings to farmers and schools, as well as instructions on how to grow the trees," the issue said.

As a result, once ravaged village was revitalized and local peoples' memories of Japanese military acts were separated from current Japanese people. In August, Takami was awarded to be an honorary citizen. Now that whenever he visits the village, he is greeted by cheers.

I am really moved by the story. Heartfelt dedications by selfless people not only revivified the land but also bridged the gap between China and Japan. Whatever difficulty I face in my life, I want to do what I can step by step. You can read whole story by the address.

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200702050124.html
-TA

Biofuel Technology

The news on the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is spreading around the world. We've already known and sensed that human activities have contributed to climate change, but this report is a final declaration for human being to be able to SURVIVE or NOT as a member upon the Earth.

More than that, we have futher news that shows even though the goal is admirable, if the steps to achieve that goal is not appropriate, the outcome will not be good. The article titled "Scientists are taking 2nd look at biofuels Dutch efforts verge on nightmare" may be an eye opener for even those environmentalists enthusiastic about promoting biofuel technology.

According to the article, increasing demand for palm oil in Europe caused devastation of Southeast Asian rain forest. Worse than that, space for the expanding palm plantations was often created by draining and burning peat land, which sent huge amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. As a result, the article said, "Indonesia had quickly become the world's third-leading producer of greenhouse gases that scientists believe are responsible for global warming, ranked after the United States and China, concluded a study released in December by researchers from Wetlands International and Delft Hydraulics, both in the Netherlands." Here is an address of the issue:


http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/30/business/biofuel.php

I think we need to concentrate more our energies, technologies and efforts on alternative energy like wind, solar and hydrogen one.

-TA

Effective Diet

Recently, my wife has successfully losed her weight by about 10 kilograms in the two years and half. But she said that there is no intention for her to slim down but she only hopes to be healthy preparing for the next pregnant, although there is yet any sign.

All she has done is an exercise of stretch, taking the dog for walk and avoiding snack as much as possible. She has eaten regular meals three times a day but prevented foods with beef, pork and poultry by religious and ecological reasons.

Actually, when she gave birth her first baby in August 2004, there was a critical accident that her placenta started to leave the fetus in the womb. Very fortunately, the baby was not damaged by that incident, but so huge was our anxiety. This is why she decided to create a healthy and sound body for a future better childbirth. She is even now keeping these efforts, so I am looking forward the following outcome.

From this fact, I learned that to set a clear goal is really efficient when it comes to realizing your dream. In addition that, if the goal comes from an unselfish desire, you may get to the objective easily.

-TA

Family Reunion

My wife, a 2-year-old daughter and I went to Shizuoka to have a family reunion on Sunday.

Total of 13 family members gathered and enjoyed eating lunch, which some of them sincerely prepared, and chatting. Among of 13 were one boy and two girls of 2 years old and one 5-year-old girl, therefore, the site was filled with cheerul shoutings like a nursery. These kids were really energetic, powerful and persistently asked me to play with. I, who innately like to play with kids, amused them and myself by doing various things. I expected to have been tired at that time, but I wasn't. I suppose this is because not only I give them my energy, but they also provide me with their fresh energy.

The oldest among them was my grandfather, who was celebrated his 88 years old birthday by all participants. Incidentally, his mother, great grand mother to me and passed away about 20 years ago, had lived so long as 99 years and 10 months. We all hope him lead a sound and healthy life.

-TA

State of the Union Address

US President George W. Bush delivered State of the Union Address. I could not listen and watch it, but I read the whole article on the White House's website.

I appreciated that Mr. Bush referred to environmental issues, connecting the environment to national security as a theme of importance. I strongly hope he takes this issue more seriously and put it into practice immediately. Whether what he said is true or not will depend on the kind of budget he will propose for alternative energy development.

However, I am disappointed that he reiterated his justification of his Iraq policies despite the opposition of the American public in the latest election.I accept that U.S. is in a difficult situation in Iraq whatever policy they take, but I hope they reconsider Iraq policy to a direction where international community can cooperate together.

-TA

Sundial Diary

I started to keep a diary from the 1st day of the year. However, the diary is different from a common one that you only record what is good in it. You may know that a sundial only show the time when sun is shining, like this, the "Sundial Diary" should be written only the bright side of your life. It was complied under the supervision of Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, Vice President of Seicho-No-Ie White Dove Association.

It has been about three weeks since my wife and I started to write the positive sides of our life, our desire, our gratitude, and so on every day. So far, it has astonishingly been working well. By writing a positive aspect, we unconciously tend to find brigh, pleasing and grateful elements in our daily life. This brings our home happiness and harmony.

This notion is basically suggested by Dr. Masahar Taniguchi, founder of Seicho-No-Ie, over 70 years ago, this idea is I think increasingly necessary this day and age, when bad and negative news are inclined to be broadcasted by mass media.

How about trying at your home?

-TA

Business Trip to HK

I went to Hong Kong for business purposes from 12th to 15th January. This is the second visit to HK to me within a year. We had Chinese and Japanese readers' meetings, a parents' class and a workshop for executive members in this region. All lectures were delivered in Japanese with a translation into Mandarin Chinese. The main theme provided was "Global Environment Preservation Movement and our ordinary life based on a religious faith."

I am a minister of a religious organization, based on Japan spreading to about 30 countries and regions, which currently focuses on global preservation movement based on a true faith as well as preaches our religious principles. At the meetings in Hong Kong, I told them that what kind of God we believe, how we see this world and what we consume make a big difference when it comes to thinking about world peace.

According to the leaders there, especially in recent years, many many people who live in mainland China have been flooding to Hong Kong. This is why I saw quite a few Chinese people from mainlnad China in the meetings. When I asked some shop workers how to go to a subway station, all of them could not understand English. Therefore what they told me must be true. I felt this is what is Hong Kong because "dynamic change" is one its characteristic.

A Happy New Year!!

I hope you spent a sound and cheerful holiday season.

As for our famiy, my wife and I concentrated on Year End Cleaning at home, Osoji in Japanese, and welcomed the New Year with a fresh feeling. But really unfortunately, all of my family ―my wife, my daughter and I ―had a caught early this month. This is why we spent this new year holiday in the bed!

Now we all are fine. Then, I am grateful to what we can lead an ordinary life without any problem.

Public Lecture for married women

On December 3rd, I delivered a public lecture for married women in their thirties or fourties in Seya, Kanagawa prefecture. The theme of my lecture is "How we establish a good relationship with our family." I gave a 60-minute speech and was in charge of question and answer time. The number of participants is estimated 120.

During my lecture, I focused on three points for bringing about a happy family life. First of all, I spoke that creating a good husband-wife relationship is essential and inevitable. Because children never fail to feel uneasy if their father and mother have conflicts on a daily basis. Some statistics show that there is a tendency that those kids who commit a crime have problematic parents.

Secondly, it is also important for you to love your children unconditionally. If you only love your children when they get a high score at a school exam, you love the score, not your kids. From a religious perspective that all human beings are children of God, that is one of the Seicho-No-Ie's main principles, you need to embrace your children despite their appearances. When you recognize they are wonderful as they are, you feel happy at any time.

I also introduced the other principles of the Seicho-No-Ie teachings;

・Your destiny and environment are reflections of your mind. Therefore you are a master of your destiny and when you change the world surround you will change.
・All religions emanate from one universal God.

Through my presentation, I projected some pictures and key words on the screen by using a presentation soft, Powerpoint. To tell the truth, though I presented my lectures many time, I did not use a presentation soft during my speech before. I believe it is helpful to the listeners.

After the speech, I had three questions from the participants.
(continued)

Forest Expansion

Many of us realize that global environment is degrading and forest is diminishing. We all know something innovative measures should be taken, but so far we could not see any effective measures that would save the planet. However, I found a really gratifying move that forests in the world are expanding. At first, I could not believe the news, but it seems to be true. The Reverend Masanobu Taniguchi, Vice President of Seicho-No-Ie, introduces this news on his website, quoting International Herald Tribune's article. His website is available only in Japanese.

According to the article by Pekka Kauppi, a professor at University of Helsinki, who leads a team of researchers in Europe, the United States and Asia, it seems possible that we could reverse a global trend that many people thought was irreversible. Yes, since some experts even expect our earth to be skinhead by 2050, the fact that more developed countries had more and denser forests in 2005 than in 1990 or countries like Vietnam and Turkey seemed to have reversed the trend, along with India and China, must encourage people, like us, who are engaged in a movement to a protect global environment or try to lead a life not to deprive from nature.

As I attached solar panels to our roof, I've been more concerned about how environment preservation movements are going on. I believe we have more and more fellows who take care of world's environment and enlightening general public as a position granted. I hope there will come a day when almost all people in the world respect any men and women, animals, plants, foods, resources and others, in other words whole universe, as a manifestation of God's life.

Solar Panels started to work!

On the September 30's issue of my blog, I wrote about our installment of a solar panel generation system. Those panels were set up on our roof around the end of October and started to generate electricity from a week ago. The maximum amount of electricity they generate is 1.34 kilowatt per an hour. It is estimated to create ranging from 100 to 130 kilowatt of electricity per month, that is not a big deal but is a significant step forward.

Previously, I thought the fact that we have electricity by putting on a switch is a matter of course, but I changed this idea. Through a monitor, we can see how much of carbon dioxide we save to discharge as well as how much electricity is produced any time. It feeds our family great joy and encourages us to save resources like electricity, gas and water as much as possible. And I notice that the system even provides us with a mindset of preserving grand nature.

I would like to report in the end of the month about how much electricity we generate and how much we save our fuel and light expenses.

Interview Test

I've halted to update my blog in a week what with concentrating on preparation for an interview test sponsored by Society for Test of English Proficiency, or Eiken in Japanese. I took a paper test including a listeng test for the 1st grade last June. To be fortunate I passed it, but failed the 2nd step, interview test in July. In a case you fail the interview test, you will be granted a pivilege to take two more inteview tests with a first step test exempted.

In a 1st grade interview test, after a brief conversation with two examiners of a native speaker and Japanese, you are supposed to choose a topic from five topics printed in the paper and organize a speech based on the topic. You are required to do all these processes within a minute. And then, you make a two-minute presentation and have some questions on your speech from examiners in four minutes. That's all.

This was one of the toughest test that I've ever taken. When I took this exam in July for the first time, I could not arrange my speech well and it ended up falling apart. Then, seraching more information on that, I found there were wide range of sociable questions in the past interview tests, like this:

・Are we doing enough to protect the environment?
・Would you be willing to pay higher taxes for better government sevices?
・Should certain books, movies, or music be censored?
・The pros and cons of self-employment
・"Love conquers all" - do you agree?

Therefore, I prepared 20 topics which I predict which is likely on the speech list. In addition that, my English teacher gave me some practice exercises and evaluated my speech in an every lesson. Thanks to these efforts, I believe I could relatively organize my speech and answered the questions from examiners, despite the questions delivered were all unfamiliar. I hope I can make it this time. Incidentally, the topic I chose was:

Should parents be responsible for their childrens' behavior?

My answere is of course, YES.

Marriage

Marriage has been a traditional life goal for many people in the past. However, reflecting on the diversifications of values among people these days, some choose to stay single all their life. As a matter of fact, in Scandinavian countries, the number of couples who do not claim their marriage despite they share their life is increasing by leaps and bounds. Though I accept the idea that people have their own values, I would like to focus on the advantages of marriage.

First of all, I think raring a child is a priceless experience. Raising children gives you an opportunity to reflect upon yourself and be grateful to people who have supported you all through life. I really appreciae my parents from the bottom of my heart especially after my wife carried a child.

Secondly, through marriage, you tend to become more moderate and tolerant. Unless you accept the ideas of your spouse, you will never feel at home in life. This helps you deal with your boss, colleagues, friends and others.

However, there are also some disadvantages. For example, especially when your children are young, you may have to do many household chores and spend time with your family. This may lead you to feel bound or may hamper you from accomplishing your personal objectives-----such as learning English.

Having said that, though, I believe the advantages of marriage overwhelm the disadvantages.

With my home sweeter and happier, I want to convey the joy of raising a family to young, unmarried people. This may lead the world more comfortable to live in and to make peace.

Why is Ijime(bullying) outstanding in Japan?

In my previous English lesson, my teacher asked me why ijime(bullying) appears to be prominent in Japanese schools. It is one of the preparation for an upcoming Eiken(Society for Testing English Proficiency) 1st grade interview test. I think it a frequently and polularly asked question from non-Japanese people. I would like to share my view on it.

Recently, a news report said, a school boy killed himself on the ground that his school teacher played a significant role to trigger other student's bullying. The school's principal seemed to admit the case. It is, not to mention, an unbelievable and unforgivable incident if it truly happened.

One of the reasons, in my view, that we've got so many ijime-related incidents is that Japan is a monoethnic and monoculutural society, therefore, people here tend to be embarrassed with what is different from others. Some people say it comes from the fact that Japanese people have tradiitonally relied their living upon agriculture. It means to harvest crops is required to unite and cooperate each other. This is why they've counted on team work and excluded what's seemed different. I consent to this notion somewhat.

Another reason is that people are inclined to have a group from several people. These gropes are very exclusive, therefore, some people especially who can't make clear themselves tend to feel lonely and be bullied.

More than that, mass media's behavior is also problematic. They too much focus on this kind of accidents. If they report about these incidents as a headline, they will spread all over the world immediately. It gives an impression for the rest of the world to connect Japanese with bullying.

To cope with this issue, Japanese society needs training to accept various kinds of views. In other words, we should have a mindset of diversity. I don't think it is easy to do as a matter of reality, but we can and must do it for fruitful, prosperous and cooperative future.

English-language boot camp in OSAKA

As is often said that, generally speaking, Japanese are not good at speaking English, despite their enthusiasm for leaning. However, it is true that quite a few Japanese are very good commanders of English, but it is also the case that many of learners do not have confident to speak English in front of native speakers or they seem to believe they cannot deal with that language well from the very beginning.

To overcome these situations, Osaka education authorities decided to ship their teachers to English teachers boot camp, where ALTs(Assistant Language Teachers) are their instructors, the October 27th issue of ASAHI Online reported. According to the article, about 600 teachers will have attended by the end of fiscal 2007.

One of my extended family members is an English teacher for junior high school, but I've heard that he recently started to listened to an NHK radio course because he cannot speak English well and would be tested in the near future. Unfortunately, I think it is a matter-of-fact.

This is why such a drive must have a good impact on English education in Japan, but in addition that, in my view, what material would students learn is also important. Though I don't know how English is now taught at a junior or senior high school, I recommend them to use material that would attract students' attention. In other word, as a rule, the text books they use are too boring, stuff and stodgy. For example a piece of article of TIME, an American weekly newsmagazine, that include Ichiro or Matsui or some outstanding Japanese must be more intriguing even if it is too difficult for them to read without a dictionary. However, you can learn real English and students can sense how those people are described by top-notch writers of native English speakers.

Anyway, I hope Osaka's education body's approach should expand to all across the country and contribute to boosting this country's competitiveness in an Interatnaional arena.

Must-see comedy for IRAQI

When you are mope and sullen, how do you cope with that?
You may eat what you like or do shopping, or call your friends, or possibly write a blog...
One of the easiest and cheapest way is laughing out loud. Even in a war-torn country like Iraq, or because of such a tragedy, laughing may attract people's attention. These are pieces of a newscast parody by an Iraqi comedian who delivers so-called Must-see comedy in his country.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(quote)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a recent episode, the host, Saaed Khalifa, reported that Iraq's Ministry of Water and Sewage had decided to change its name to simply the Ministry of Sewage - because it had given up on the water part.

In another episode, he jubilantly declared that "Rums bin Feld" had announced American troops were leaving the country on 1/1, in other words, on Jan. 1. His face crumpled when he realized he had made a mistake. The troops were not actually departing on any specific date, he clarified, but instead leaving one by one. At that rate, it would take more than 600 years for them to be gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(quote)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can read the whole story by clicking this address. I found it profound in his following sentence, "We need fun in our lives because of our tragic circumstances".
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/24/africa/web.1024comedy.php

Gender Equality

Yesterday, I read a very sad story about abused women in India, where economic growth has been spiraling skyward these days. An article in the October 22nd issue of the International Herald Tribune titled, "Indian brides pay a high price" reported that "Violent dowry harassment is an increasingly visible phenomenon in India".

According to the article, as their lifestyles are becoming westernized, dowry comes to be used as a convenient tool to get what they want ---- such as a color TV, a motorcycle and a refrigerator. I am astonished to see some grooms even resort to violence with their brides complaining their dowry is too little.

'"People are getting more greedy and aggressive in their dowry demands," said Jha, of the Delhi Commission for Women. "You might expect that as the country becomes more and more Westernized, this traditional practice would be dying out, like other traditions, but actually the reverse is true. The old habits remain,"' the article said. Very unfortunately almost all the victims are women.

However, I found an intriguing take on Islam with an article written by Nicholas D. Kristof, a NY Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist specializing in East Asia. He said on the report of the October 16th issue of the International Herald Tribune that Islam itself may face a Reformation, such as what Christianity experienced in the 16th century.

"I've written often about the honor killings and other abuses suffered by women and girls in some Muslim countries and many Westerners think Islam is inherently misogynistic. But Muslim women themselves naturally resent that kind of Western paternalism, for they want opportunities and equality ― and yet they frequently don't want to discard their faith(or even their head scarves), " he wrote.

Another interesting episode he quoted is that the Proohet Muhammad's youngest and ostensibly most beloved wife, who is thought to be the first Islamic feminist, once said, "In the name of God, I have seen the Prophet saying his prayers while I was there." This message no doubt contradicts the well-known statement, which is considered to be said by Muhammad, that man's prayers are ineffective if a woman, dog or donkey passes in front of the believer.

Kristof concluded that Islam is much more complex than the headlines might suggest. I completely abide by that. Then, what teachings represent true Islam?

Dwindling Birth Rate(3)

So, how should we cope with this conundrum?

What in my view is important is to make them stop abortion from a religious perspective. As an ordained minister of a religious organization called "Seicho-No-Ie," which is based on Japan and spread now over about 30 countries worldwide, I want to focus on preserving life. We consider an embryo and a fetus as an independent human being. In Japan, about 300,000 fetuses are said to be aborted in a year, while the number of new born babies is about 1 million in 2005. Therefore, if there is no aborted children in Japan, birth rate problems should be resolved.

Secondly, to enlighten general public is necessary. If you want to return home early to hold a quality time like having a dinner with your wife and children, you cannot do this without understanding of your boss. Fortunately, I can go back home relatively early and have a good relation with my famliy. However, I think many of executive workers themselves did not participate in child-rasing, some of them may still think only women should do domestic affairs. Therefore, we have to make an atmosphere that children should be raised by the whole society as well as their father and mother.

As a matter of course, some financial support by government is also needed. Tax deduction to child-raring families should be effective as well as increasing lump-sum birth allowance.

Last but not least, it is a good idea to set up father and mother classes where parents can learn how cheerful child raring and how to take care of them. Those participants can exchange information on child raring and get in touch with each other after the classes.

In Seicho-No-Ie, we have thousands of father and mother classes all around Japan sponsored respectively by Seicho-No-Ie Brotherhood Association, men's organization, and Seicho-No-Ie White dove Association, an organization of women.

If people take the problem more seriously, I think there are many things to do.

Dwindling Birth Rate-(2)

The reasons why I think the birth rate in Japn is declining are ―

First of all, women's role in Japan has fairly been diversified these days. For example, some women choose to be single while working all their life, or much more married women tend to work. I think working women feel independent and satisfied with not only serving as housewives but also as career women. They may want more offspring than they have now, but they may hesitate because of dreading to lose the position at work.

Secondly, there is a fact that much less fathers engage in child-raring. Despite women's view toward child-rasing having dramatically changed, men's view to child-raring seemed not to be changed like as women's. Quite a few men have to work late everyday because the number of full-fledged employees has been decreasing due to recent layoffs, while the workload has not changed or even been expanding. This is why they cannot spend quality time if they want. This may discourage women from bearing more babies.

Lastly, financial problem should also be counted. Increasing number of people now work as a part timer, they are financially unstable and end up avoiding bringing up children. More than that, educational cost is skyrocketing by leaps and bound.

I suppose what so many factors are combined makes the problem diffiult to solve, even though we all know we must do something. Well, how should we deal with this situation?
(continued)