Fall Festival
Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi Gives an Address
Let’s Turn Our Eyes to “Light” that is in everything
On November 21, the 34th Ryugu Sumiyoshi Hongu Fall Festival and the 31st Ryugu Sumiyoshi Reigu Fall Festival were held at the Seicho-No-Ie Main Temple in Nagasaki Prefecture. On the following day (November 22), a Ceremony to Commemorate the Birth of Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi was held. The President of Seicho-No-Ie, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi served as the Chief Priest at these ceremonies. Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie White Dove Association, was also present.
On November 22, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi addressed the 985 attendees for 28 minutes in the worship hall in his capacity as the Superintendent.
The President began his address by mentioning that even after a quarter of a century after his death, Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi’s passing does not feel real because he can always access his teachings in various ways.
The President next introduced Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi’s last book, Hekiganroku Kaishaku (Interpretation of the Hekiganroku, currently out of stock) and explained the chapter on “Quiz 86: Light in Human Beings.”
He first pointed out that this case deals with a lecture which a Chinese high-ranking Zen monk, Unmon, gave to his students: we are taught that Buddha resides in every human being, but even if he tries to see it, he cannot see it easily and feels discouraged. Unmon then asked his students what they thought of the teaching, “Light dwells in human beings.” No one answered. Unmon then said, “The temple has a kitchen and a two-story gate.”
While quoting from Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi’s interpretation, the President said that the kitchen is not tall like the gate but enables good food to be prepared. In the same way, human beings manifest Buddhahood, as they are, while having their own unique personalities.
The President next introduced the word, “jisho komyo” (finding light upon self-reflection) and explained that every living being has his own unique light, that he will know that he is a precious, holy person if he can see his own light, but that that light is invisible to the physical eyes.
Rev. Taniguchi said that normally we recognize the existence of Buddha’s life in the beauty such as that of autumn foliage today around Lake Kinryu at the Main Temple. He urged that we “see the invisible;” in other words, see the life which is inherent even when seeing the straight trunk of a tree in the winter whose leaves and flowers have fallen off. The President stressed that the inherent life which is not manifested on the surface is also Buddha.
Rev. Taniguchi then noted that the recipients of the Headquarters Awards are wonderful people, but those who led them, as well as those who were not saved in the Great East Japan Earthquake, are all Kanzeon Bosatsu Buddha who are guiding and leading us to deepen our enlightenment. He made a point that Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi taught us the way to see the invisible.
The President next turned the topic from the human society to the natural world. From his book, Shokan Zakkan (Random Thoughts), Part 19 he referred to the entry, “A Thought When Mushroom Gathering.” He introduced the part which says that in the 3.5 billion years of life’s existence, plants, animals and germs evolved through the cycle of mutual exchanges between the organic and inorganic before human beings were born.
The President pointed out that the greatest danger of nuclear power generation lies in the fact that it destroys the genes of living beings thus created. If we consider the ecosystem on earth, which is a manifestation of life’s activities, the direction in which we should go should naturally become clear.
In concluding his address, Rev. Taniguchi stressed that it will lead to the salvation of human beings and the prosperity of all living beings to build a way of life for man to live in accordance with nature’s blessings. He said that it is important to continue the way of life to cherish the foundation and the prosperity of all living beings and asked the attendees to spread to many people the teaching that Buddha dwells in every human being and hence accomplish the role of realizing heaven on earth, which Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi strove for.
The Ceremony began at 10:00 a.m. After the singing of the national anthem, there was a message by Rev. Kazuo Isobe, Chairman and CEO of Seicho-No-Ie, Ms. Midori Fukuda, the head of Miyagi Missionary Area White Dove Association, gave a congratulatory message on behalf of the domestic followers, On behalf of the overseas followers vide letters by Mr. and Mrs. Buzaid Algouz and Mr. and Mrs. Alfredo F. Reis were shown. After Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi’s address, there was a Headquarters Award presentation and so forth. The ceremony ended at 12:04 p.m.