Vol. 24# 5
Divine Parent of the Universe Grand Ceremony
It is the season where new life is sprouting in the fields and mountains, and we can feel the life of heaven and earth within us. On May 12 at 10:00 a.m., the Divine Parent of the Universe Grand Ceremony for the Gardena and Los Angeles Churches will be held at the Gardena Church Service Hall. Please join us with your family, friends, and acquaintances.
Konko Daijin taught, "Because heaven and earth are alive, all human beings can live as well." The fundamental reason why all things, including humans, can live is that the Universe is alive. In other words, the "life of heaven and earth" can be said to be the source of "life" of all things. For example, each branch and leaf of a tree can be alive because the entire tree is alive. It would be similar to this relationship.
Humans live by incorporating the life of heaven and earth into their own life. The life of heaven and earth is not different from our own, that is, our life is a part of heaven and earth.
Rev. Kametaro Nakayama - A heart that allows me to do something - continued from April
I graduated from Nakasho Elementary School in 1918 and was admitted to Konko Junior High School. At the time, the Obie Mine was abandoned, and my mother and I did not have a home. However, with the assistance of Rev. Kinzo Sato, the former principal of Konko Junior High School, my mother was given a job and a house for us in the sacred place of Konko town.
My mother worked at a so-called "profitable udon noodle shop," which was founded by young people who followed the teachings of the Konko faith and were inspired by the rice riots of 1912. It was founded with the hope that by bringing together capital and labor, and contributing both mentally and materially to society, they could make low-profit, low-cost udon and somen noodles to feed those who cannot afford rice. My mother felt ashamed that she used the food from the restaurant to cook their own meals, so she also volunteered her time, tilling the fields and growing vegetables to help keep the restaurant prosperous.
My mother’s faith development became evident as she realized that she was able to accomplish tasks with Kami rather than by her own strength. With this realization, she desired to express her gratitude and joy through her work for others.
For this reason, during my five years in junior high school, I was able to study without any inconvenience thanks to my mother's infinite love, the compassion of others, and the boundless blessings of Kami. Even before I graduated from junior high school, I started thinking about studying more in Tokyo, but this was really a risky and unrealistic wish. It was a dream that seemed unlikely for someone like me with one leg, but my mother prayed to Kami that she wanted to somehow make her child's wish come true.
After I graduated from junior high school, I had been helping with the proofreading and writing of the magazines for the Konkokyo Youth Association for over half a year. One day the plasterer who was painting the walls of Principal Sato's study asked, "Mr. Sato, what will you do with that one-legged child?" The principal said, "I still have no idea." The plasterer said, "Then, what about being a narrator in movies? He may be able to do it." There is a saying, "Heaven speaks through men.'' I believed that Kami was informing me of this opportunity through the mouth of the plasterer, and I was grateful for it.
Nowadays, movies have sound, but during this period, all movies were silent, requiring a narrator to provide commentary. This was at a time when the entertainment industry was said to be bad for education, therefore, movies would have had great educational effects depending on the way they were narrated. Narrators needed to be analytical and educators. I went to Tokyo to fulfill this admirable and suitable job, in hopes of earning tuition and to study.
Part-time job
Principal Sato introduced me to Rev. Hasegawa of Kojimachi Church, who in turn asked Mr. Otani, the President of Shochiku Cinema, to work as a narrator at Shintomiza theater in Kyobashi. Since I was not able to earn a living right away, my mother helped out by working for about a year, but when I was able to live on my monthly salary, I asked my mother to stop working.
After that, I started to have more free time, and while working part-time at a movie theater, I attended Toyo University's College of Professional Studies and studied Ethics and Education. I graduated in 1930, and in 1938, I was granted a secondary school teaching license by the Ministry of Education.
After the movies incorporated sound, I was commissioned to be a lecturer at the Central Association for the Education of Workers and Educators within the Social Education Bureau of the Ministry of Education, and at the same time I became involved with the Yoshizaki School.
During the war, I was commissioned by the Ministry of the Navy and the Ministry of War, to be a lecturer at a military hospital where I used my experiences to teach the injured and sick people to regain their independence. We taught them practical daily life skills such as how to eat and ways of using the bathroom.
I was affected by the great air raid on April 13, 1945, and with only the clothes on my back, I said goodbye to the Tokyo life I had lived in for 20 years and returned to the spiritual place of Konko. I am now in charge of office work for the church office.
To be continued in next issue
Exercises for the Mind/Heart/Spirit
This booklet was published by the Konkokyo Osaka Center in the 140th year of the founding of the Konko Faith. It contains 100 practices for living a happy life. I believe that the 100 items in this book will be very useful for everyone's daily devotional practice, and with the permission of the project's executive committee and the person in charge, Masanobu Wakabayashi, I would like to share it with everyone.
Konko Daijin gave each person who came to him for advice about their worries a way to "practice happiness of the heart." These "pathways for living a happy life," passed down by our founder, have been translated into "mental exercises" that we can implement in our own daily lives. I hope that the practices presented here will be of use to you.
One exercise will be included in our monthly newsletter so that you can continue to have happiness in your daily life.
001 Let’s make it a game!
It doesn't matter if it's picking up trash or cleaning up. Let's do something that makes someone happy. The condition, however, is to do it unnoticed. Instead of doing it for the sake of receiving praise from others, enjoy it for what it is and think of it as a game. Let's get started!
Konko Church of Gardena and Los Angeles Announcements
Morning Service and Shinto-kai meeting
On Sunday, May 5, we will be holding a morning prayer at 9 am. After praying, let’s clean the inside and outside of the church. The Shinto-Kai meeting will follow the cleanup. If you are interested, please join us.
Divine Parent of the Universe Grand Ceremony
On Sunday, May 12, from 10:00 a.m., we will be holding the Divine Parent of the Universe Grand Ceremony at the Gardena Church Service Hall. See above for details.
Gardena Church Work Committee Study Group
The GCWC will meet on Sunday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to work on Farmer to Founder discussion questions. Please contact Rev. Uzunoe if you are interested in joining this group.
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