What's SNI Teachings
Basic Teachings of Seicho-No-Ie
The major characteristics of Seicho-No-Ie teachings are; (1) only God-created perfect world (True Image) exists, (2) our environment is a reflection of our minds, (3) All religions emanate from one universal God.
Only God-Created Perfect World Exists
The “True Image” of the “Only God-Created Perfect World Exists” is the world that truly exists, the world created by only and absolute God. The True-Image world is filled with God’s attributes and blessings. Here man is a child of God, and God, nature and man are in grand harmony. In other words, what truly exist are only God and the perfect and harmonious world created by God. We describe this as “Only God-Created Perfect World Exists.” On the other hand, the world we perceive through the five senses of human beings is called “phenomenal world.” The phenomenal world is a world temporally created by our brain based on only limited information filtered from vast information from our eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin. Therefore, although there seems to be wars and terrorism or imperfect incidents in the world, we say because they are all “phenomena” and it is not the “True Image” that truly exists.
Our Environment is a Reflection of Our Minds
The “Our Environment is a Reflection of Our Minds” means that this phenomenal world is a world that created by man’s mind. Here, the mind means the “word.” The “word” includes “physical action,” “verbal word,” and “thought of the mind.” By making full use of these three karmas--the accumulation of our actions through “physical action,” “verbal world,” and “thought of the mind,”--we can create our phenomenal world by the Law of Mind as we wish. The Law of Mind is strict and fair; therefore, when we use negative words, a negative world will be manifested. Accordingly, if we wish to realize a world of goodness, we should express through words of wisdom, love and life that are God’s virtues and the good words of the True-Image World.
All Religions Emanate from One Universal God
The “All Religions Emanate from One Universal God” does not mean to bring all religions into one (Seicho-No-Ie). It means that the one Universal Truth emanate in diverse ways as various religions. Therefore, the differences in religions as being cultural differences like how people’s dress differs by country, region, or ethnicity. Let us think of this as a sunny-side up. The egg yolk in the central part is the universal fundamental Truth shared by each religion. On the other hand, the egg white, the peripheral part, changes according to culture, ethnic group, and time. When the religions of the world recognize the common central part (the egg yolk) and the diversity of the peripheral part (the egg white) in one another, the conflicts among them will disappear. It is expressed straightforwardly in the teaching of the “All Religions Emanate from One Universal God."