THE 20TH-YEAR MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR MRS. TERUKO TANIGUCHI
Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi Addresses Attendees and Teaches to live infinite life Through Ordinary Day-to-Day Living
The 20th-Memorial Service for Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi was held on April 24 at the Taniguchi Family Monument at the Seicho-No-Ie Main Temple in Nagasaki Prefecture. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, Vice President of Seicho-No-Ie, addressed 320 attendees.
Referring to the Seimei no Jisso (Truth of Life), Vo. 19 (Volume on Autobiography), Rev. Taniguchi talked about Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi’s first impression of Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi that she had a beauty like a hydrangea. The Vice President went on to say that in her book, Jinsei no Hikari to Kage (Light and Shadow of Life) it is written that at the time she was wearing a summer kimono with a design of hydrangeas, which gave Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi that impression.
In those days Mrs. Taniguchi did not know the true God and hence was searching for Him. After she married Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi, she discovered the world of only goodness and later became a driving force to promote the Seicho-No-Ie Movement with her husband.
The Vice President referred to Mrs. Taniguchi’s book again. When guiding her maid, who was afraid of dying, Mrs. Taniguchi said that man lives his life to his fullest and then returns to eternal life. She encouraged her maid to live each day as best she could. Hearing this story, Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi taught that it was well to fear death, because fear of death helps man take good care of his body and it is in God’s will to care for the body and live a long life.
Rev. Taniguchi next touched upon the Divine Message of Natural Circulation, which teaches that Seicho-No-Ie is not a place to produce miracles but rather it eliminates miracles. He said that if one knows that fear of death makes man take care of his body, he can appreciate that a normal daily life lived in a normal and ordinary way is, in itself, a wonderful blessing.
Rev. Taniguchi next talked about the teaching, “The body is nonexistent.” Warning that this does not mean that one needs not take care of his body, he introduced his experience that after only one day in the hospital for a medical examination, his muscles lost strength. Just as the body needs some degree of work, to try to resolve adversities is enjoyment which has been given by God. Rev. Taniguchi urged the attendees to express light in their normal day-to-day life.
At the conclusion of his address, the Vice President quoted Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi’s teaching from the same book: hydrangeas die but open up again the following year, and in the same way the human life is eternal even though his physical life ends. The Vice President suggested that the attendees recall that infinite life continues when seeing hydrangeas and asked them to continue propagating the teaching.
The Memorial Service began at 10:00 a.m. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi served as the Chief Priest. After the purification rite, the Invocation, and the reading of supplication, sacred branches were offered by Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, Vice President of Seicho-No-Ie; and Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, Vice President of the White Dove Association. It was followed by the offering of a sacred branch by the Head Priest. Then, while the attendees read the Holy Sutra, Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines, sacred branches were offered by Rev. Kotaro Miura, Chief of the Missionary Council, and Rev. Kazuo Isobe, Chairman and CEO of Seicho-No-Ie. The attendees burned incense and offered gratitude to Mrs. Teruko Taniguchi’s soul. The removing of the offerings and the Affirmation of Perfect Peace and Harmony followed. The Memorial Service came to an end with Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi’s address.