Readers’ Meeting Held in Sydney, Australia
Study Includes Shinsokan and the Sundial Way of Life
In Australia, a Seicho-No-Ie Readers’ Meeting (English) was held at the Vibe North Sydney Hotel on March 26 and was attended by 14 people, including two first-timers. Rev. Akiko Minamoto (Assistant Minister, Asia, Europe and Oceania Section, International Department) was dispatched from the International Headquarters as a lecturer. She guided in English.
The breakdown of the attendees: 1 Australian, 4 Brazilians, 1 Peru, 3 Englishmen, and 5 Japanese.
Since there are no Regional Lecturers in Australia, the followers hold a Readers’ Meeting once a month through cooperation and read Seicho-No-Ie publications, taking turns.
Rev. Minamoto gave three lectures, using PC images. In her morning lecture, “Man Is a Child of God,” she explained the True Image and phenomena, using the English version of the Truth of Life, Vol. 1 by Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi and later led the practice of Shinsokan. Also, at the attendees’ request, she again led the Shinsokan practice during the lunch break, using the English version of Shinsokan CD.
In her afternoon lecture, “A Happy Life Born from Words—Sundial Way of Life,” she distributed paper on which to practice entry in the Sundial Diary. The attendees made entries and shared them with one another. She also encouraged an active use of the Postingjoy (English version), an SNS site managed by Seicho-No-Ie to post joyous comments, in order to spread the Sundial Way of Life. First-time attendees’ comments included: “I was deeply moved. I hope that more people practice the teachings of Seicho-No-Ie”; and “I liked the teachings. I practiced Shinsokan for the first time and felt grateful for the many blessings that are already given to me. I would like to attend again.”
Rev. Minamoto commented, “I was impressed with the attendees’ earnest attitude to study the teachings. In Australia, the development of lecturers is a major problem. I would like to continue to provide advice from the International Headquarters by using Skype (a free communications service on the Internet) and other means.”