E25105

     When religions are discussed these days, we often hear critiques to the effect that in the beginning of a religion, the founder, top followers, and others wear coarse clothing, eat simple meals, and live in hovels. Trains and buses are considered the height of modern technology when traveling, and all concerned with the faith are urged to be as simple and frugal as possible. Indeed, in ancient times, when propagating their faith, founders wore straw sandals with leggings and went out alone proclaiming their message in the streets, experiencing the hard and painful such as at times suffering in the wilderness or mountains, fasting, and sitting under ice cold water falls. Because they were thrown in jail or sentenced to exile, we cannot look at them today without tears forming over the achievement of their tribulations. It is not for a good while until the religion has expanded in one area or one region, and usually it is several generations or tens of generations after the death of the founder that the religion comes to cover the entire nation in scope. Compared to the present, the realities of how these adversities persisted cannot be imagined.
     Because the conditions described are so ingrained in the heads of everyone today, it is only natural that people would make mistakes when looking at New Religions through the same glasses. Of course, the religions that people are imagining are shojo faiths. The origins of shojo faiths are very ancient, with Brahamanism in India from before the birth of Shakyamuni. The chief aim of Brahamanism is to obtain satori through asceticism and austerities. It appears that even now there remain in certain regions of India a few adherents of Bramanism, and it is said they are able to manifest significant psychic powers and miracles. Gandhi’s practice of fasting was because in his youth he was an adherent of Brahamanism.
     There is an interesting account in regard to Brahmanism which is the basis for Shakyamuni’s expounding of 84,000 sutras. What Shakyamuni saw when he objectively looked out over the Indian society of his times was that because Brahmanism prevailed, it was believed that satori could not be obtained unless asceticism and austerities were practiced, that these were the correct path of faith. The pictures and statues of arhats that can still be seen all over Japan today are depictions of the practice of asceticism and austerities by followers of Brahmanism which allows us to picture what kind of faith it is. With his great compassion Shakyamuni could not bear this situation and so opened a path, the path of sutras, that did not depend on the practice of asceticism and austerities. By merely chanting the sutras and without having to practice asceticism and austerities, spiritual enlightenment was possible, so the joy of the populace who first heard of the path of Buddha need not be stated. The Buddhist Law spread throughout all of India and Shakyamuni was revered and venerated as the greatest beneficial saint. Shakyamuni’s accomplishment could be said, of all his activities of salvation, to be his greatest.

Shojo Religion Is a Delusion of the Age

     As the preceding shows, shojo faiths of asceticism and austerities run counter to the great compassion of Shakyamuni. Indeed, the object of Shakyamuni’s salvation was Brahmanism to which he slanted his message. How mistaken are shojo faiths is obvious. Thus it can be imagined the extent of Shakyamuni’s rejoicing in the World of Ultimate Bliss. The above shows how mistaken are the shojo faiths, and it should be understood that shojo faiths are delusions of their ages. Or, when viewed from another aspect, in propagating religions today, when the development of transportation and publishing techniques have made possible in one day what used to take a decade, the truth is that civilized technologies appropriate for the age should be utilized to their utmost. It is obvious that one religion using ancient, primitive methods will not be able to accomplish its true aim. The best evidence for this is the clear fact that existing religions today are less befitting to the times in which we live.
     Therefore, when the religious activities that we now are actually conducting are observed those with shojo eye spectacles can only be astonished, not even able to imagine how truth can be grasped. That by itself would be acceptable, but one part of those who view our work, publish wrongful criticism about us stating that we live in golden palaces and lead luxurious lives. However, as we operate on only what our believers contribute, we have no personal need for money, and supposing that the criticisms of those of shojo faith were correct, the foodstuffs that with great effort have been donated would spoil or would have to be thrown into the rubbish. Also, the many physical articles that have been given cannot be sold on the black market nor can they be returned. Furthermore, there are believers who with sincerity have donated houses, so it will not do if the real estate is not utilized. But such criticisms are not the main issue. Through the use of these offerings the great task of the salvation of humanity is possible, so when considered in those terms, the extent of the erroneous thinking of those with shojo minds is understandable.

World Messianity Creates a Joyful Life

     Because World Messianity takes as its ideal the formation of a world free of disease, poverty, conflict, those who enter the faith of World Messianity are all in good health and have become able to spend lives in harmonious joyousness, so from the eyes of those languishing in today’s hellish-like society, not only are such lives unimaginable, rather they deny that reality and think the accounts of such persons only bait to entice. And, these sufferers may also think that the prototypes of paradise on earth that are currently being constructed are only golden palace-like items of luxury, but our purpose is to cultivate noble sentiments that permit escape from the hellish society of today and allow occasionally basking in a heavenly environment of truth, virtue, beauty within a space outside the sullied world, so it should not be necessary to declare that such a project is necessary for contemporary human beings. The overall atmosphere of society today is a hotbed for social ills that leads to the formation of mean-spirited human beings and to the degradation of youth. It would be fair to declare that our earthly paradises will be unique contemporary oases. When our sublime, far-reaching plan is come to be truly accepted, censure will not be an issue. Rather, hands will be raised in agreement and applause.
     But at this point, an important issue should be raised. That is, there is no need to state the extent to which Japan has been misunderstood by the world, how much trust Japan has lost trust through the recent wars of aggression. Regaining that trust as soon as possible is surely the most earnest task that has been assigned to us. In this sense, our prototypes will be important institutions that show the natural beauty of Japan and the unique aesthetic talent of the Japanese people. We now look forward to the time when from abroad more guests will visit whose sentiments are comforted by their travel here and our work is useful in raising recognition of the high aspects of Japanese culture, so that at the dawn of its realization, the whole world will be in praise.