President's Message at Japan's National Events
Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi's Message at Three National Events in Japan: The White Dove Association National Leaders' Seminar, The Brotherhood Association and Prosperity Society Joint National Leaders' Seminar and The Youth and Young Adult Association National Convention
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The three national events were held in Japan from May 1 to 3 under the same theme, “Aiming at Harmony Between Man and Nature Through the Sundial Way of Life.” On May 1, the Second Seicho-No-Ie White Dove Association National Leaders’ Seminar was held at four sites: the main site was the Omiya Sonic City Hall in Saitama City, and the sub-sites were Sapporo Missionary Center, Uji Temple and Fukuoka Missionary Center. On May 2, the Second Joint Seicho-No-Ie Brotherhood Association and Prosperity Society National Leaders’ Seminar was held at four sites: the main site was the Yomiuri Hall in Yurakucho, Tokyo, and the sub-sites were the Sapporo Missionary Center, Uji Temple and Fukuoka Missionary Center. On May 3, the 62nd Seicho-No-Ie Youth and Young Adult Association National Convention was held at the Yomiuri Hall.
The events were open to leaders only: branch heads and those above, female heads of Regional Lecturers Society and School Personnel Society for the White Dove Association National Leaders’ Seminar; and those above the heads of unit Brotherhood Associations, and officers of Prosperity Society branches and those above, and male heads of Regional Lecturers Society and School Personnel Society for the Brotherhood Association and Prosperity Society Joint National Leaders’ Seminar. The Youth and Young Adult Association National Convention was open to members only.
The number of attendees totaled 9,244: 6,446 for the White Dove Association, 1,851 for the Brotherhood Association and Prosperity Society (1,487 for the Brotherhood Association and 364 for the Prosperity Society), and 947 for the Youth and Young Adult Association.
At each of these events, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi gave a one-hour lecture. His lectures were organized in three stages. Rev. Taniguchi first explained the meaning of the Buddha’s Four Immeasurable Minds for the current times.
After explaining in detail the Four Immeasurable Minds, or loving kindness, compassion, joy and non-attachment, the President emphasized that the practice of non-attachment is especially difficult. He encouraged the attendees to practice the Four Immeasurable Minds toward not only humanity but also nature and stressed the need to change our lifestyle toward yielding to nature by forsaking attachment.
The second stage of the President’s lectures dealt with the connection of the recent science on the brain and the Four Immeasurable Minds. As an example of it, Rev. Taniguchi introduced Jeremy Rifkin’s theory from his book, The Empathic Civilization: there is a nervous cell called “mirror neuron” in the human brain which has a function of mirroring and reproducing another person’s figures and actions. He stated that a system that allows us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes is built into our brain from the beginning and stressed that the neuroscience is proving that the Buddha Nature dwells in man.
In the third stage of his lectures, Rev. Taniguchi emphasized that today, when the global warming is worsening, religion can be useful to humanity without contradicting with the up-to-date science. Referring to the difference between “digital” and “analog,” he introduced a section from his book, Shokan Zakkan (Random Thoughts), Part 15, which points out that giving a cow a name when raising it helps to increase the milk production. He stressed the importance of doing away with the digital viewpoint which clearly differentiates man from nature and of having an analog view that recognizes man and nature existing as extensions of each other.
Rev. Taniguchi next introduced and explained the idea about “symmetry” and “asymmetry,” namely, to recognize that a cow and a human being are of the same kind is “symmetry,” and to emphasize the difference between the two is “asymmetry.”
The President pointed out that in our consciousness, the social system is built on “asymmetry,” but in our subconsciousness we long for “symmetry.” Citing such examples as a bear doll wearing a muffler on his neck or a pumpkin cake with a human face drawn on it, Rev. Taniguchi said that man recognizes non-human beings as being the same as human beings.
The President went on to show a diagram which compares a life amid nature and the city life. He pointed out that it is likely that that in nature the focus is on mirror neurons, the right brain, analog, symmetry and subconsiousness, whereas city life has an emphasis on the left brain, digital, asymmetry, and consciousness.
Rev. Taniguchi stressed that it is important that the Seicho-No-Ie Headquarters moves to the forest away from the lifestyle which is heavily city-oriented and show to the humanity a balanced lifestyle that shows great concern for nature.
Mrs. Junko Taniguchi lectured for 40 minutes at the White Dove Association National Leaders’ Seminar, and 30 minutes each at the Brotherhood Association and Prosperity Society Joint National Leaders’ Seminar and the Youth and Young Adult Association National Convention.
At the White Dove Association National Leaders’ Seminar, Mrs. Taniguchi encouraged the attendees to practice the sundial way of life in their daily lives by using the Sundial Diary and holding the two types of Readers’ Meetings as if both are wheels of a car and disseminate the joy of doing so to many people.
At the Brotherhood Association and Prosperity Society Joint National Leaders’ Seminar, Mrs. Taniguchi pointed to the fact that our behaviors are often automatically determined by our habits of many years and that new discoveries and joy can be gained by energizing our right brain through the attendance at the new type of Readers’ Meeting.
At the Youth and Young Adult Association National Convention, Mrs. Taniguchi talked about the spiritual journey which she took until she found the God of only goodness. She encouraged the attendees to express the goodness of God with the power of words and live a wonderful and fulfilling life.