Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi Gives A Message at New Year’s Celebration
Let’s Put God’s Will First when Passing Judgment
On January 1, 2012 a New Year’s Celebration was held at the Seicho-No-Ie Headquarters in Harajuku, Tokyo. This year, four sites were connected via the Internet for the first time for the transmission of the programs. These sites were the Headquarters, Seicho-No-Ie Main Temple. Uji Temple, and Fuji Kawaguchiko Spiritual Training Center.
At the New Year’s Celebration held at the Headquarters, Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, gave a New Year’s Message to the 475 attendees for 19 minutes in his capacity as Superintendent.
Rev. Taniguchi first reflected on last year, mentioning the democratic reform called the “Arab Spring,” the Great East Japan Earthquake, the nuclear accident and so forth. He noted that change occurs constantly and that change itself is not necessarily bad. The important thing is whether change moves in the right direction or not and now is the time for us to decide that direction.
The President next touched upon a change in Seicho-No-Ie’s Movement: a portion of the ceremony held at the Main Temple was transmitted to other sites via the Internet for the first time. He made a point that the Internet technology enables fast, large-volume transmission of high-quality information to a distant place, which also triggered the “Arab Spring.” This technology, which makes it possible for many people to share high-quality information, can lend great power to the dissemination of the Truth and has a great potential for carrying on propagation activities even after the Headquarters’ move to the “Office in the Forest” at Mt. Yatsugatake.
The President next referred to the fact that this year is the Year of the Dragon in the twelve horary signs and pointed out that the dragon is the only fictional animal in the horary signs. He said that the dragon, currently a physical existence on earth, which is to soar to heaven some day, is man’s ideal. Rev. Taniguchi urged that we leap to our ideal in the Year of the Dragon.
Mentioning that the Year of the Dragon is followed by the Year of the Snake, Rev. Taniguchi referred to the proverb, Ryuto Dabi (right beginning, dull finish). He said that its source is the Hekiganroku (ten-fascicle collection of koan (catechetical questions)) and quoted the koan, “Monjuzen Sansan (Monjusri’s three by three,” in which the dragon and snake appear, from the Hekiganroku Kaishaku (Interpretation of Hekiganroku) by Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi, published by Nippon Kyobunsha, currently out of stock). He explained that it means that at a time of great change, if one hesitates one cannot capture the opportunity at hand and one must distinguish without fail between the dragon and snake (good and evil) using another eye above the brow (mind’s eye).
Rev. Taniguchi next interpreted this proverb in Seicho-No-Ie terms and stressed that it is important that we move forward while practicing opening our mind’s eyes in order to know God’s will. He also said that another interpretation is that we should not neglect to practice Shinsokan Meditation and put God’s will first in passing judgment, since we focus our mental concentration on the brow during Shinsokan Meditation.
Rev. Taniguchi next stressed that it is important that we always practice Shinsokan Meditation and live each day with our mind’s eye fully energized in order not to end this year as Ryuto Dabi (a bright beginning and a dull ending). In neuroscience the brow is frontal lobe and we now know that it controls the reason’s functioning and high-level judgment. The President said that the fact that another “eye” exists there is not nonsensical.
In concluding his message, the President urged the attendees that in addition to polishing and refining their antenna and advancing with courage on the proper path, they live with their minds focused on the will of God both in the Seicho-No-Ie Movement and their private lives.