Overcoming challenging obstacles

In our meeting on November 10 (Sunday evening), the main topic we discussed was 'overcoming challenging obstacles'. From the discussion, we exchanged many ideas.

Some people may ask themselves why they have to face difficult challenges. I see a challenge as a positive component of our life. Without difficulties, we do not have the motivation to improve ourselves and opportunities to show that we can overcome them.

A difficulty gives us the opportunity to understand who we are. Sometimes we do not realize in a regular situation how capable we are. We all have infinite potential, but we do not realize this until we can put ourselves to the test.

After we start taking a positive attitude towards an obstacle, we become less fearful. We should believe that no matter how difficult the problem is, we always have the ability to solve it. All the answers to our problem are already within ourselves. We are all children of God, and God equips us with the abilities and knowledge that we need, and sends us the people, things and circumstances that are more appropriate to us.

Any time that you have available, instead of thinking of the negative side of the challenge, say to yourself 'I have infinite potential within, and my problems are already solved, thank you very much.’ In the end, there is no point in going over the negative part of a problem. A negative attitude only drains our energy and ruins both us and people around us.

But it is also impossible to not think about anything. That is why it is important that we be brave, and enumerate our qualities and use the power of word to put all these good qualities to the test. If we do not recognize our good qualities, we just forget about them, and feel overwhelmed with the problem, and the future results that comes from it that can never materialize.

So if you have time to complain about your problems, try just to switch your attitude. Start thinking that you are a perfect child of God, that no matter how imperfect you or your situation looks, this is not the Real you, the Real situation. Behind our physical eyes, there is a perfect being, a perfect situation, and your wish to change the imperfect situation is just a sign that this desire is real and the Perfect you exists and is within yourself. We just need to use the mental laws to make this Real you or the Real perfect situation appear in this phenomenal world. And being able to recognize the good things that you already possess is an excellent start.

Thank you very much for reading this article!!

Sachiko

Let us live God’s will first

It has been a year since I moved to Canada. When I think of this year, I really feel that time flies. Thanks to your support, I was able to fulfill my duty as the Chief of the Toronto Missionary Area and Resident Ordained Minister in Canada.

I hope you understand that my article touches upon not only the story based on the Truth, but also an updated report. That is because I had the chance to write the article based on current events.

From the end of August to the beginning of September, I was in Vancouver. I remember that I took the same route last year from Japan. On August 30^th, 2012, I came to Vancouver and then headed to Toronto on September 6^th.

In Vancouver, we had a second Japanese Truth Realization Seminar on September 7^th, 2013. Since we did not have enough preparation time or enough promotion, we only had six participants. However, we were able to include the “Let Us Clean Our Mother Earth” event, which was originally planned for the following weekend. Those who participated in the seminar were able to do the cleanup around the Centre and the park next to the Centre.

Furthermore, we had the Fall Memorial Services – one in Vancouver on September 8^th and another one in Toronto on September 15^th. I talked about why Seicho-No-Ie has no fixed form. Even though Seicho-No-Ie’s memorial service in Japan follows the Shinto style, Shinto style is not the Seicho-No-Ie style. I also talked about how, in other countries and regions, memorial services are conducted based on the local culture. “The Fundamental Thinking on Ceremony in Seicho-No-Ie” says that “The mental element of a ceremony is universal, but the external element of ceremony is not universal.” Moreover, the meaning of a memorial service is “Offer and Nurture.” Also, when we talk about offerings, there are two elements: “Offering of Food or Material Things” and “Offering of the Truth.”

I am writing this article the day after the rummage sale on September 21^st in Toronto. At first, we canceled the rummage sale, which is usually held in June. Then, we decided to hold it on September 21^st instead. I rented a van and visited six members’ places to pick up things for the sale. I also had a chance to help the day before the actual sales date and rummage sale day. I really appreciate Ms. Shiba’s planning and other members’ efforts; the sale was very successful!

I was really impressed that one couple who bought quite a few things told me that they will send those items to family who live in their homeland of Guyana. Also, because the prices of many items were so low, many people seemed to be enjoying the sale and came to the Centre up to three times.

Because of those experiences, I think the rummage sales are not merely fundraisers, but an “Offering of Food or Material Things.” We also had a chance to distribute the Truth of Life magazines and flyers for the November Truth Realization Seminar and October and November violin concert. In that way, we were also able to do a “Offering of the Truth.”

There is a law that states, “Give, and it shall be given unto you." Luke 3:68 is one of the Laws of Mind. You can also find similar words in the “Golden Rules” in world religions. For example, in Christianity, “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:1) In Confucianism, “Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state.” (Analects 12:2) In Islam, “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.” (Sunnah)

Therefore, once we throw away our egos and make offerings, God’s will appears. Since Self and Other are essentially one, those offerings will eventually come back to us. It is also similar to, “One good turn deserves another.”

At the end of my article I want to share with you the importance of living God’s will first. Rev. Seicho Taniguchi wrote as follows in “Shinsokan is Wonderful.”

"Everything will go well for a person who is always shining with hope. However, should this hope stem from egotism or a selfish desire, while it may materialize temporarily, it is not necessarily true that one will become happy. Since this hope is not in accord with the will of God, it may even lead to an unhappy fate. Therefore, it would probably be better to change the word "hope" to the words "will of God."

How can we know the will of God? It is best to ask Him. God already dwells within you as the true you, so it is not in the least difficult to ask God. If you practice listening to God daily, you will be sure to hear Him. This practice is Shinsokan.                                                       ("Shinsokan is Wonderful,” p. 3)

           In this way, the True Image World Created by God is already “Perfect and Harmonious.” The more we practice the Shinsokan and the more we act according to God’s will, the sooner a harmonious world will surely appear in this phenomenal world. Let us practice Shinsokan at least once a day to listen to God’s will. Thank you very much.

           September 22^nd, 2013.

Yoshiharu Taka

Chief of Toronto Missionary Area

Resident Ordained Minister in Canada

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/alohamahaloyoshi

Let us express our gratitude towards our ancestors

I am writing this newsletter article on August 15^th while the persons from Fire Alarm Inspection Company are inspecting the alarm system of SNI Toronto Centre. By doing maintenance like that, we can use this Centre without worrying about the fire or other problems.

In order for us to have Seicho-No-Ie activities, it is good to have our own Training Centres. Thanks to our predecessors, we have two Centres in Canada, one in Toronto and the other in Vancouver. On May 25^th SNI Vancouver Centre celebrates its 39^th year anniversary and on August 25^th SNI Toronto new building celebrates its 15^th year anniversary. Seicho-No-Ie calls these centers as “Life’s Purification Centre” (Inochi no Yuniwa in Japanese.)  In the Divine Message of Life’s purification Centre, it is written as follows:

 “Life’s Purification Center’ means a place of purification wherein the Truth is manifested. The word “Truth” means to remove all delusions. Since man is a child of God, when his True Image is manifested, there is no disease, no trouble, no death, no misfortune of any kind. …

                                  (Message from the Spirit of the Lord on March 14, 1932)

So, it is important to remove all delusions. On August 15^th, in Japan, it is also the commemorative day for the Urabon Memorial Service. The story of this memorial service is based on Maudgalyayana (Mokuren Sonjya in Japanese) and his mother. Maudgalyayana was known as one of the Shakyamuni Buddha’s disciple. One day, while Maudgalyayana was meditating, he saw his deceased mother suffering in hell.

He decided to visit his mother in hell. Since his mother could not eat anything, he decided to give her some food. However, when she tried to eat, the food became fire and she could not eat it. So, Maudgalyayana visited Shakyamuni and asked his advice. Shakyamuni suggested that Maudgalyayana offered food to sangha, the community of ordained Buddhist monks or nuns. As soon as he offered food to them, his mother was liberated from her suffering. Because he was so happy he expressed his joy by dancing. This is how the so called Bon-odori or "Bon dance" started.

            By this story, we know the importance of memorializing our ancestors with offerings. Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi explained the importance of the offerings as follows. At first Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi explained that in Shintoism the offering means to offer our gratitude to God. Then, he explains the meaning of offering in Buddhism as follows.

In Buddhism, there is “a ceremony of feeding the hungry spirits” (segaki) when food and the Holy Sutra recitation are offered to the spirits during Ullambana (a Buddhist festival observed during the summer with the purpose of saving spirits.) However, it is not the material food that the spirits actually eat. The spiritual world is a world of thought and the spirits live with thoughts as their food. It is not the magnitude or amount of the offering but it is the thought waves of the person who makes the offering that are broadcasted to the spiritual world and the desire feeling of giving. In other words, the feelings of love become the driving force and are sent to the spiritual world, in the form of the offerings who were triggered by thoughts.

(“Truth of life Magazine” July 2012, pp. 22-23 / From Shinpan Jinsei wo Shihai suru Senzo Kuyo,” Ancestral Memorial Service That Controls Your Life, New Edition,” pp. 17-29).

The original meaning of Urabon or Obon can be found on Wikipedia as follows:

Obon is a shortened form of Ullambana (Japanese: 于蘭盆會 or 盂蘭盆會, urabon'e). It is in Sanskrit for "hanging upside down" and implies great suffering.[2]

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Festival)

            So, what is the meaning of hanging upside down? At first I thought it was how Moluren’s mother was, hanged in hell, but later when I read the real meaning of hanging upside down, what came to my mind, was the idea of “Delusion.” Also, as many of you know, in the Holy Sutra Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines, it is written about delusion as follows.

Delusion exists because we imagine that what is nonexistent exists.

                                         (Holy Sutra “Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines” p. 34)

            Then, how can we remove all these delusions, the state of “hanging upside down” by ourselves? As I quoted at the beginning of this article, it is important to know the Truth. And we can learn the Truth at the Life’s Purification Center.

            By the way, in Seicho-No-Ie we have Hozo Shrine Urabon Memorial Service for three days every year at the Seicho-No-Ie Uji Temple in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture; every year they will be held from August 17 to 19.  The Hozo Shrine Main Festival, the Memorial Tower for Neglected Souls of Aborted Children throughout Japan Festival and other festivals will be held and conducted by Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, having him as the Chief Priest. Mrs. Junko Taniguchi will be also present. We had already announced about it to the SNI members in Toronto and Vancouver in the end of June. So, you have probably already submitted the application forms. Those forms were already sent to Uji temple in Japan and the memorial tablets for your ancestors will be prepared and their names called and the Sutras read to them during the memorial service.

At Uji Temple, the SNI priests read the Holy Sutras to the ancestors, more than 150,000 people, about 4,000 times a year until the tablets are burned in the following year during the Urabon Memorial Service. So those spirits memorialized at Uji temple receive the Spiritual Offerings or Truth as spiritual blessings. Therefore, let us all express our gratitude to our ancestors by memorializing them.

Thank you very much.

August 15^th, 2013.

Yoshiharu Taka

Chief of Toronto Missionary Area

Resident Ordained Minister in Canada

Watch this lecture on prayer

Lecture on Prayer by Rev. Taka

The importance of practicing the Truth in our daily life

              I am writing this article in the airplane, on my way to Vancouver from Toronto, on June 17^th. Today in the morning, the maintenance technician came to the Toronto Centre and stayed longer than I expected. Due to that, I could not make the 45-minute prior departure deadline for check-in and lost the 5 p.m. flight. So I had to take the 6 p.m. flight instead. I am grateful for having the availability of flights from Toronto to Vancouver on hourly basis. In this way, we all have unexpected events in this phenomenal world. Through these unexpected experiences, we are given opportunities to see the bright side of things and circumstances.

               28 years ago, on this exact date June 17^th, Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi passed away. Thus, today on June 17^th Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi’s 28^th Years Memorial Service is held at the Seicho-No-Ie Main Temple in Nagasaki and other centers. In Canada, at Toronto Centre and Vancouver Centre, this memorial service was held yesterday, on Sunday June 16^th. 10 people participated in Toronto, and I was told that 25 participants were present in Vancouver. Since I would conduct and give a lecture at Toronto Centre on the same day that the memorial service would be held in Vancouver, I made a video message the previous day the Vancouver members to see during the memorial service. This video message can also be found on my Youtube Channel at

 http://www.youtube.com/user/alohamahaloyoshi .

              In the video message I shared the first words exchanged by Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi and Rev. Seicho Taniguchi in their first encounter. Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi asked whether Rev. Seicho Taniguchi went to the battlefield during Second World War and Rev. Seicho said “No.” Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi then replied "It was good; you did not kill anyone.", and reaffirmed the same idea many years later. On Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi’s last lecture in May 1985, he told us to spread to others the highest level ethic of “Do not kill.”

               On Saturday, June 15^th we also had, in more than 15 years, in Toronto, the first Japanese ‘Truth Realization Seminar’ with 10 participants. In May we had the Truth Realization Seminar in English with two people new to Seicho-No-Ie teachings, and seven people in total. So far we have had two Truth Realization Seminars. In this August in Toronto, we are going to have the second Truth Realization Seminar in Japanese.

              Furthermore, on June 22^nd, we are going to have One Day Truth Realization Seminar in Japanese in Vancouver from the early morning at 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. and, in the following months, many other substantial events are planned. From now on, I hope to conduct as many Truth Realization Seminars as possible.

              Of course, we should tailor some activities for new members, such as the Sunday Services. However, we should plan new activities, such as the Truth Realization Seminars for those who would like to deepen the study of Seicho-No-Ie teachings. That is because Seicho-No-Ie Centres are not merely a place, but are the so called “Life’s Purification Centre,” in which we manifest our True Image as children of God. Through the conduction of the Truth Realization Seminar or Spiritual Training Seminar, the study and practice of the Truth with all members together, the centre will fulfill its purification missions.

              During the Truth Realization Seminars and Spiritual Training Seminars, we have the opportunity to also wash dishes together after the meals. This is a wonderful act. During the Spiritual Training Seminar, without distinguishing the lecturer from the participant, we work together and practice "Acts of Gratitude" and various “Religious Ceremonies,” such as the "Shinsokan Meditation for Mutual Prayer" and the “Mind Purification Ceremony”. Through the conjoint practice of the teachings, we understand the hard to grasp teachings by ourselves through the hands-on activities.

              Seicho-No-Ie also deals with environmental issues. The teachings embrace the practice of the Truth in our daily life by the awareness that “Man is a child of God.

In the book “Learning from Nature” by Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, it is shown an email by Mr. T, one of the Seicho-No-Ie members, asking Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi to talk more about the Truth instead of environmental issues. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi replies Mr. T quoting Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi’s words. Below is an excerpt of Rev. Masanobu’s book.

Mr. T says in an email that the environmental and gene-related issues are "after all, the phenomenal world." However, if we don't practice our faith in our daily life, the religion would have no meanings. This is preached in the koan "Joshu washes dishes" in the seventh chapter of "Gateless Gate (Mumonkan)". considered the book number one of Zen Buddhism. I would like to quote the commentary on it by Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi, founder of Seicho-No-Ie below:

One day, one of the new-comer Zen Monk came before Joshu and asked: "Please teach me regarding enlightenment."

             "Have you eaten your rice porridge?" asked Joshu.

"Yes, I have," replied the monk.

"Then you had better wash your bowl," said Joshu.

This bowl is a dish. The monk was asked "Wash your dishes".

Then, the monk for the first time "reflected upon himself." He did not yet reach enlightenment, because he had not washed his dishes. Therefore, "He had the chance to reflect upon himself."

  (Masaharu Taniguchi “Truth in our daily life- Gateless Gate and Holy Bible” pp. 8-9)

　

Then Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi wrote the importance of knowing the True Image and applying it in the phenomenal world by quoting Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi’s article as follows:

You must know that the “torch” is the “fire.” It is false to think that we can distinguish “torch” from “fire” by saying “torch is torch, and fire is fire.” The torch is one representation of fire. Fire is the “Main Body” of “the torch.” “The torch” is the phenomenon of “fire.” (…) It seems it is not such an important matter by saying “Being enlightened, Being enlightened” but if the enlightenment does not appear in our daily life, it is as if there is no fire in the flame, so it is a worthless "torch".

   (Ibid, p. 11)

　After this quote, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi wrote as follows:

  

One might think that a religious teacher should preach nobler matters, such as “God” and “Buddha,” whereas the world's common sense should be used to deal with day-by-day phenomenal matters.

However, this mentality is just as same as saying “Since torch and fire are different, you should talk more about fire.” Even though you understand “fire” abstractly, if you cannot use any “torch,” you cannot say you truly understand what a “fire” is. Who in the world would believe in a person who preaches “Buddha’s life resides in food”, but does not wash the dishes?

Masanobu Taniguchi “Learning from Nature” (Imakoso Shizen Kara Manabou)

               In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to the people who work at the kitchen for not including “meat” in our meals. This is the practice of the Truth “Man is a child of God” and “Thou Shall Not Kill.” Since we know that eating meat pushes forward the environmental disruption, not serving meat at the Centre during our activities is the use of torch by knowing the essential meaning of "fire."

               Furthermore, we defined our Movement Policy in Canada which can be found in this newsletter, for this and next years. This policy also corresponds to applying the Humanity Enlightenment Movement-International Peace by Faith Movement in the phenomenal world by knowing the True Image. In other words, it is as using the “torch” knowing the meaning of “fire.” Please read it carefully.

               I would like to end my article by expressing my gratitude towards your daily contribution and cooperation to the Humanity Enlightenment Movement.

               Thank you very much.

June 17^th, 2013.

Yoshiharu Taka

Chief of Toronto Missionary Area

Resident Ordained Minister in Canada

              Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/alohamahaloyoshi

Let's express our gratitude concretely

I am deeply thankful for the love from all of you.

I am writing this manuscript on Victoria Day. This year we planned a series of six violin concerts at the SNI Toronto Centre, two concerts this spring, two concerts in the fall and two more concerts next year. On May 12^th, the first violin concert was held and was performed by Ms. Etsuko Kimura, violinist of the Toronto Symphony. Also, this month, the 39th anniversary of the SNI Vancouver Centre will be held on May 26^th. On this occasion, Youth Class students will perform some music instruments such as piano and those who have been participating in the "Music and Prayer meeting (Ongaku to Inorinokai)" on Wednesday will sing some songs. On June 2^nd, the 2^nd Violin Concert will be held at Toronto Centre.

Through these concerts, our members will have a chance to be enveloped in a prayerful atmosphere.  This is a great opportunity for I strongly believe that "music and prayer" have a close relation to one another.

              When the first concert was held in Toronto, I sent an email of gratitude to the violinist Ms. Etsuko Kimura. She gave me permission to publish part of her reply, so I would like to share this part of her email.

Thank you very much for allowing me to perform Bach in such a wonderful space. In Seicho-No-Ie, you might not call yourselves a “church”, however, Bach was a composer who continuously wrote music for God. It is said that in the end of his works, he wrote “Glory to God Alone.” Much music comes from prayer. Before music scores were created, man used to use music for prayer.

 Concerts performed in large concert halls are wonderful, but I like to perform in small churches very much. Just being in that space, I feel keenly grateful to be able to perform music. I am not at all a religious teacher, but incidentally when I perform music I have a mythical sense of being seized in different space and world.  I play the music in order to share the feeling of happiness with the listeners. I believe that music heals minds of people in the same way as prayer heals the mind of people.

Please share the wonderful space and prayer with as many people as possible. In addition, I hope that there is an opportunity for me to perform music again there. Thank you for everything.

I am very grateful for her to have played the violin with such a pure feeling.　Because she performed with such an earnest feeling, there were many of us who were naturally attracted by her atmosphere resulting in nearly 90 participants present that day.

Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi wrote about the importance of being dedicated to your work as done by Ms. Kimura in “For Young People,” ‘Chapter 10: A Life of Thanks for everything’ as follows:

Whether our field of expression should be music, literature, physical beauty, or scientific invention, we shall witness the presence of eternal life when the product is truly great.

             If we wish to express ourselves perfectly, we must not forget to be grateful. Since our self-expression is really a self-expression of God’s life, all expressions come from God. We must then not forget to offer thanks to God. Since the activities of our daily lives, from the time we get up to the time we go to sleep, are all carried out by the life force that flows from God, we must not forget to thank God for everything, even for the smallest effort that we allowed to make. “Give, and it shall be given unto you” is the golden rule for receiving infinite supply, and this does not apply only with respect to physical wealth. If we make it a point to give thanks to God for everything in our daily lives, for each and everything as it takes shape, our abilities will definitely become even more abundant and we shall be able to carry our next plan to completion in an even greater manner.

(“For Young People”, pp. 72-73)

If we deepen our awareness that we are a child of God, and express ourselves with the feeling of gratitude, we truly tune ourselves with God's mind, and our prayer is answered.

Then what does it mean ‘to give thanks to God’ in the above excerpt? It is written in the "Divine message of the grand harmony" as follows:

Those who are grateful to God but cannot be grateful to their parents are against the Divine Will. To be reconciled with the whole universe means to be grateful to everything in the universe.

And this Divine Message ends as follows:

Since I am Love, I shall appear when you have become reconciled with the whole universe.

Therefore, ‘to be grateful to God’ means ‘to be grateful and reconciled with the whole universe’. Moreover, Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi emphasizes in the Truth of Life vol.7 that if you are working, you have to give your life fully to the object of your work or love, as follows:

If you are working, you have to give your life entirely to your work.  When you love, you have to give your life fully to the object of your love. Your effort must be undistracted. You must not look this way and that. Concentrate. Gather the energy that has been scattered on various fronts in one place and become one with your objective. If necessary, take the initiative to burn your bridge behind you.

(“Truth of Life” Vol.7 p. 71)

If we work with such an earnest feeling as demonstrated by Ms. Kimura, and express our gratitude concretely towards our parents and the whole universe, we will truly be able to bring heaven on earth.

Thank you very much.

May 20^th, 2013.

Yoshiharu Taka

Chief of Toronto Missionary Area

Resident Ordained Minister in Canada

              Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/alohamahaloyoshi

Toward Grand Harmony between Nature and Human Beings

The day that I am writing this article, April 22^nd, is Earth Day. As a response to the call from the US Headquarters of Seicho-No-Ie for Earth Day, we have accepted their invitation to read the following prayers and sutras: Divine Message of Grand Harmony, Holy Sutra Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines, Prayer to Visualize Grand Harmony Between Nature and Human Beings, Song in Praise of Nature and Prayer for World Peace at the same time throughout the entire week. Gatherings to recite the prayers and sutras have taken place both at the Toronto and Vancouver Centres. The event celebrating Earth Day started on April 22^nd in all over the world, ending on the 24^th at the Vancouver Centre, the 25^th at the Toronto Centre, and the 26^th at the US Missionary Headquarters. On the first day, there were two participants in Toronto and four participants in Vancouver.

On April 20^th in Toronto, as part of the Earth Day Event, a community cleanup was held. There were eight participants, including two kitchen staffs. We collected the garbage around the Toronto Centre from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. While I was participating, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the activity. I was so absorbed that when I stopped to look up, I realized I was far away from the other members and alone in a nearby park. The day was very cold and windy as forecasted, and there was even a little snow remaining, although it was half past the month of April. Despite the chilly forecast, because of everyone’s valiant efforts, all together we gathered 12 bags of garbage. Our hands became numb in the cold weather, but we were pleased once we were able to partake in a delicious warm meal, after finishing all the hard work.

            On April 21^st, we held Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi's 25th year Memorial Service in Toronto. On this Memorial Service day, I introduced what Mrs. Taniguchi once explained to us as: the importance of balancing "salt" and "sugar," as a metaphor for “wisdom” and “love” in raising children. One week before the memorial service in Toronto, I presented a similar service which was held in Vancouver with the transmission of a video message, which was previously recorded, delivered by me on a similar topic.

Besides that, I have released videos with mini lectures in Japanese onto Youtube in response to requests made by some Japanese members. Since it was Earth Day and close to Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi's 25th year memorial service, my first video lecture was on how Mrs. Taniguchi used to live her daily life by being ‘considerate towards the environment’. I introduced her article about a Memorial Service for old sewing needles from her book Mezame Yuku Tamashii (The Way to Spiritual Awakening.)  Mrs. Taniguchi first explained the purpose of the memorial service, called ‘Hari Kuyo’ (Gratitude for the Needles or Festival of the broken needles).  It was held yearly, in giving thanks to the needles used for sewing purposes. She stated that bent or broken needles, after being kept for one year, were re-used and skewered into tofu or roasted rice cakes on February 8th. She wrote as follows:

However, it is not at all a useless act. Whether it is inorganic or organic matter, all things in nature were made by God’s and people’s love. All things are filled with mind. God made iron, the raw material of the needle, and through love, it can be used for the benefit of people’s life. And the person who made it in the form of a needle, made it with love to help people to sew. And the needle itself exists to fulfill its mission. By the grace of God, and thanks to the manufacturer and the needle, we can sew various small things including a kimono. It is only gratitude.

(Mezame Yuku Tamashii “The Way to Spiritual Awakening” p. 18)

In this way, Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi found the love of God, the love of the manufacturer, and the love of needle in the needle itself. We as human beings tend to consider ourselves as superior to all beings, but we cannot live without these unanimated beings. Human beings keep close to material possessions which are convenient. However, they discard or ignore what may seem like inconvenient things. While man created the city by destroying nature, dwellers in the city have lost the opportunity to be in contact with nature. While man in the city can still enjoy a convenient urban life, this lifestyle can cause negative events in the world of microbes and insects. For example, large quantities of bees have been found to not return to their nests and are found dead. The cause is not clear, but it seems that the present natural environment makes it harder for bees to survive.

            When I first arrived in Toronto, I thought the city did not have enough nature.  After I gave up my car and started walking from home to the subway station and taking the subway to the Seicho-No-Ie Centre, I realized that Toronto is indeed surrounded by nature. One nice day, I decided to walk on a trail in Warden Woods Park on my way home from the Toronto Centre. After only ten minutes, I felt refreshed. Soon, I realized the paved path became muddy as the snow had just melted and my shoes then became muddy as a result. While I was walking through nature, I remembered times from my childhood. I used to play in the woods and in nature. My parents were farmers, growing mandarin oranges in Hiroshima and we lived halfway up a mountain. It took us approximately 15 minutes by car from home to downtown. To get to the elementary school I went to, it took approximately one hour by foot, two thirds of this path being in the mountains.  This was about the same distance I walked on that day in the park in Toronto. During my childhood, I considered my home to be in such an inconvenient location compared to my classmates who lived downtown. However, every time that I returned to my parents' home, I felt very relaxed.

            At the end of Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi’s article, “Memorial Service of the needles,” she wrote as follows:

Not only when memorializing the needle, nor when worshipping the machine, but with all things, food, clothing and shelter, we need to keep in mind that we have been supplied with lots of things indispensable in our daily life. Let us reflect upon ourselves whether we have a feeling of thankfulness and a considered warm heart toward all things we touch.

(Mezame Yuku Tamashii  “The Way to Spiritual Awakening” p. 22)

A while ago, there was the common belief that Nature was in abundance. However, we see now that nature has been devastated, causing global warming and climate change, and the situation of our global environment is worsening. The first step to solve environmental problems such as global warming, in my opinion, is to regain the heart of thankfulness for everything around us, as we have learned in this topic of the memorial service for needles.

Thank you very much.

April 22, 2013

Yoshiharu Taka

Chief of Toronto Missionary Area

Resident Ordained Minister in Canada

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