REV. MASANOBU TANIGUCHI’S ADDRESS AT THE FOUNDING DAY CELEBRATION
Let's Spread the Japanese People's Ideal of Not Telling Lies
The Founding Day Celebration was held at the Seicho-No-Ie Headquarters on February 11. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, Vice President of Seicho-No-Ie, addressed about 500 attendees for about twenty minutes in his capacity as the Superintendent.
Rev. Taniguchi first pointed out that Japan’s Founding Day originated in the myth that the country was founded by Emperor Jinmu and therefore it has many interpretations because a myth is a kind of literary work. He referred to his Founding Day Celebration address of last year, in which he noted that since the ideal of Japan’s founding was shown clearly in the episode of the time when the Emperor founded Japan, it was important to spread that ideal.
The Vice President next introduced the episode of Emperor Junmu from Shokan Zakkan Part 9 (Random Thoughts, Part 9). When fighting a very difficult battle against a strong opponent, the Emperor decided that it was not in God’s will to advance his troop toward the sun and so he receded once before advancing with the sun on his back. Last year the Vice President taught that Japanese people needed to build a consensus about the spirit of Japan’s founding, that is, rather than putting one’s own benefit first, we should listen to God’s will and practice what is correct with docility.
Rev. Taniguchi next spoke about the prevalent social phenomenon of covering up the truth, such as seen in “eco deception” which involves false labeling of the period the food stays good or the ratio of recycled paper used. He noted that a major cause lies in the fact that we have forgotten the ideal of Japan’s founding, or “advance straight toward the truth.”
The Vice President next introduced the theory of a philosopher, Mr. Takeshi Umehara, who maintains that people in the Jomon Period had faith that “spirit resides in words so that one cannot tell a lie.” Rev. Taniguchi deplored the fact that Japan’s long-held ethics of not telling a lie has been destroyed socially. Seicho-No-Ie teaches that words are God—words refer to three catgories of actions of deeds, words and thought—and that words have the power to create the phenomenal world. Therefore, spreading the Seicho-No-Ie teachings contributes to expanding the ideal of Japan’s founding. He stressed the importance of restoring the ethics of being honest and truthful, which is most lacking in today’s Japan. He concluded his address by calling upon the attendees to spread the message that the Japanese’ ideal is not to tell lies and help make a bright society.