Spring Memorial Service Solemnly Held
Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi Gives A Message and Stresses that Death Is Not “Evil”
Soul Registers of 211 People Newly Memorialized
The Spring Memorial Service for Deceased Distinguished Propagators was held at the Seicho-No-Ie Headquarters in Harajuku, Tokyo on March 20. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, served as the Chief Priest. Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, President of White Dove Association, was also present. The souls of 211 people, who dedicated their lives to the Humanity Enlightenment Movement/International Peace by Faith Movement, were newly memorialized.
At the end of the Memorial Service, Rev. Taniguchi gave a message and said that what we consider to be evil is what we see through the tainted glass called attachment. We tend to view death as a bad phenomenon, because the physical body to which we have attachment crumbles, but death is not necessarily bad.
Rev. Taniguchi next spoke about the terrorist incident in Iraq which killed many people that day. He also introduced an economist's book, which points out that the number of people who die of starvation around the world is comparable to the number of passengers on 300 jumbo jets that crash every day. Many people die of starvation, but normally we do not take note of it and believe that death is nonexistent. Seicho-No-Ie's teaching that "death is nonexistent" is not about not recognizing death, but rather, it means that even if there is death in physical terms, life lives on eternally. The President praised the people whose souls were summoned for memorialization at the Service, recognizing an important role they played in spreading that message at the front line of the Movement during their lifetime.
Rev. Taniguchi next referred to a section from the Holy Sutra, Recitation of the Truth and said that with the arrival of spring flowers are opening up all at once. But it does not mean that the natural world was dead in the winter but that it was storing energy in preparation for spring. In the same way, even though our life may seem to have died in physical terms, it is welcoming spring in the spiritual world.
In concluding his message, the President said that the truth that the physical body is nonexistent does not mean that we can treat it carelessly but rather, we should use it with care as a tool to be used in our daily life. He urged the attendees that without attachment to their body, they receive the baton of the wonderful achievement from the deceased and pass it on to the next person.
The Memorial Service started at 10:00 a.m. It was attended by 437 perople, including Seicho-No-Ie Missionary Councilors and the families of the deceased. After the purification rite and the Invocation, Rev. Taniguchi read the supplication and offered a sacred branch. This was followed by the summoning of the souls. The Head Priest then read the words of the Spring Memorial Service, which was followed by the offering of a sacred branch by Mrs. Junko Taniguchi. While the attendees read the Holy Sutra, Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines, sacred branches were offered by Seicho-No-Ie Missionary Councilors, officers of affiliated organizations and the newly bereaved family members. Attendees burned incense. On behalf of the bereaved families, Mrs. Yumiko Hamatake, the wife of the oldest son of the late Tamiko Hamatake, a Regional Lecturer in Ibaraki Missionary Area and the recipient of the East Japan Ring of Award, gave words of appreciation. The number of souls memorialized since the founding of Seicho-No-Ie totals 13,044.