2008 November Message

Let Us Propagate the Teachings Sincerely, Correctly, and Enthusiasitically
Rev. Tetsuya Abe
Acting Chief, Seicho-No-Ie Hawaii Missionary Area

　　　Today is October 12, the last day of the Seicho-No-Ie Inc., Board of Directors In-Person Meeting in LA. Before going to LAX, I am writing this article at the U.S. Missionary Headquarters. I suppose you will receive this Newsletter just before the Public Lectures. Let me ask you once again to invite as many people as possible to these wonderful inspiring events.

　　　At this meeting, the Board of Directors of Seicho-No-Ie, Inc. and the ordained ministers assigned to the U.S exchanged ideas proactively for further development of our movement, and I was very impressed with their sincerity and great passion to propagate the teachings based on Seicho-No-Ie, Inc.'s policy. The point, "to propagate the teachings based on Seicho-No-Ie, Inc.'s policy," should be greatly emphasized. The more enthusiasm you have, the more you should be careful about going in the right direction, otherwise you go with the wind.

　　　Rev. Seicho Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, once taught the following: There is a printing company whose employees work very hard. They worked diligently to the extent they didn't have any rest for three days and nights over a certain printing order. Their efforts paid off and they completed the order on time. After a while, however, all of those employees were arrested. What happened?

　　　To tell the truth, what they were printing for three days and nights without any sleep was fake bills. Although they had the enthusiasm and energy, they were heading in the wrong direction. This is an extreme case, but we can learn from this case in terms of propagation of the teachings.

　　　Since the advent of Seicho-No-Ie, organizations that seemed to expound a similar teaching appeared and disappeared just as when a masterpiece is created, a fake is circulated. This made our Founder Masaharu Taniguchi feel so bewildered that he taught we should not be deceived by an imitation and that there was a difference between being similar and the same.

　　　Certainly, one of the most important pillars of the Seicho-No-Ie teachings is that all religions emanate from one universal God. However, if you think all other religions are the same as Seicho-No-Ie or you can go to any organization without discretion, it is a misunderstanding of the teaching that all religions come from one universal source. Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi clearly taught, "Other than the religions that appeared like mushrooms after a rain and disappeared soon after, the religions that have lasted for several hundred years and failed to cease illuminating people profess the great truth for salvation." ("365 Golden Keys to the Wisdom of Life," p. 54)

　　　As I reiterated on this monthly message, the center of the SNI teachings is the will of God and the will of Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi is the unfoldment of the will of God. That is why as you practice Shinsokan Meditation, read the books of Dr. Taniguchi, Rev. Seicho and Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi who succeeded Dr. Taniguchi's will, learn from and convey those teachings, for the first time, you will feel joy as a member of Seicho-No-Ie and the joy of propagation will bubble forth.

　　　Various organizations including religious ones have their own ideas, purpose, and approach. Some are worthy of respect and others are not. Since its founding, Seicho-No-Ie has carried out its propagation in its own way. We worked together with other groups on one occasion, while we didn’t on other occasions. It sometimes worked and sometimes failed. Now, our policy is to be very careful when doing so.

　　　I would like to ask all of you to keep in mind that the only way that makes Dr. Taniguchi happy is for us to learn, practice, and propagate "the Seicho-No-Ie teachings" wholeheartedly, correctly and enthusiastically everyday. And by doing so, you can experience a spiritual joy that comes from the universal God that also dwells within you. Thank you very much.