“A Movement that Grows With Nature”
SEICHO-NO-IE
Toronto Newsletter
Seicho-No-Ie Toronto September
2013
662 Victoria Park Avenue Toronto, Ontario M4C 5H4
Tel: (416) 690-8686
SEPTEMBER
& OCTOBER SCHEDULE
Date
|
Event
|
Place
|
Time
|
Lecturer
|
|
Sept 1
|
Sun
|
Sutra Reading
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Sept 1
|
Sun
|
Sunday Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
11:00 AM
|
TBA
Skype (Rev.
Taka)
|
Sept 8
|
Sun
|
Sutra Reading
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Sept 8
|
Sun
|
Sunday Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
11:00 AM
|
TBA
Skype (Rev.
Taka)
|
Sept 14
|
Sat
|
Lecturers/Propagators Study (Japanese)
|
Toronto Centre
|
1:00-3:00 PM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Sept 15
|
Sun
|
True Image Chanting
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00 AM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Sept 15
|
Sun
|
Fall Memorial Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Sept 15
|
Sun
|
Japanese Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
1:00-3:00 PM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Sept 21
|
Sat
|
Rummage Sale
|
Toronto Centre
|
||
Sept 22
|
Sun
|
Sutra Reading
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Sept 22
|
Sun
|
Sunday Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Sept 22
|
Sun
|
Lecturers/Propagators Study (English)
|
Toronto Centre
|
1:00 -3:00 PM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Sept 29
|
Sun
|
True Image Chanting
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00AM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Sept 29
|
Sun
|
Sunday Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
11:00 AM
|
TBA
Video (Rev.
Taka)
|
Sept 29
|
Sun
|
Centre clean up
|
Toronto Centre
|
1:00 -2:00 PM
|
|
Oct 6
|
Sun
|
True Image Chanting
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00 AM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Oct 6
|
Sun
|
Rev. Seicho Taqniguchi 5th year Memorial
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Oct 6
|
Sun
|
Third Violin Concert
|
Toronto Centre
|
1:30 -2:30 PM
|
|
Oct 12
|
Sat
|
Lecturers/Propagators Study (Japanese)
|
Toronto Centre
|
1:00-3:00 PM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Oct 13
|
Sun
|
Sutra Reading
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Oct 13
|
Sun
|
Ancestors Memorial Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Oct 13
|
Sun
|
Japanese Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
1:00-3:00 PM
|
Rev. Taka
|
Oct 20
|
Sun
|
Sutra Reading
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Oct 20
|
Sun
|
Sunday Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
11:00 AM
|
TBA
Skype (Rev.
Taka)
|
Oct 20
|
Sun
|
Centre clean up
|
Toronto Centre
|
1:00 -2:00 PM
|
|
Oct 27
|
Sun
|
Sutra Reading
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:00AM
|
|
Oct 27
|
Sun
|
Sunday Service
|
Toronto Centre
|
10:30 AM
11:00 AM
|
TBA
Skype (Rev.
Taka)
|
Let
us express our gratitude to our ancestors
I
am writing this newsletter article on August 15thwhile the persons
from Fire Alarm Inspection Company are inspecting the alarm system of SNI
Toronto Centre. By doing maintenance like that, we can use this Centre without
worrying about the fire or other problems.
In
order for us to have Seicho-No-Ie activities, it is good to have our own
Training Centres. Thanks to our predecessors, we have two Centres in Canada,
one in Toronto and the other in Vancouver. On May 25thSNI Vancouver
Centre celebrates its 39thyearanniversary and on August 25thSNI
Toronto new building celebrates its 15th year anniversary.
Seicho-No-Ie calls these centers as “Life’s Purification Centre” (Inochi no Yuniwain Japanese.) In the
Divine Message of Life’s purification Centre, it is written as follows:
“Life’s
Purification Center” means a place of purification wherein the Truth is
manifested. The word “Truth” means to remove all delusions. Since man is a
child of God, when his True Image is manifested, there is no disease, no
trouble, no death, no misfortune of any kind. …
(Message from
the Spirit of the Lord on March 14, 1932)
So,
it is important to remove all delusions. On August 15th, in Japan,
it is also the commemorative day for the Urabon Memorial Service. The story of
this memorial service is based on Maudgalyayana (MokurenSonjya in Japanese) and
his mother. Maudgalyayana was known as one of the Shakyamuni Buddha’s disciple.
One day, while Maudgalyayana was meditating, he saw his deceased mother
suffering in hell.
He
decided to visit his mother in hell. Since his mother could not eat anything,
he decided to give her some food. However, when she tried to eat, the food
became fire and she could not eatit.So, Maudgalyayana visited Shakyamuni and
asked his advice. Shakyamuni suggested that Maudgalyayana offered food to
sangha, the community of ordained Buddhist monks or nuns. As soon as he offered
food to them, his mother was liberated from her suffering. Because he was so
happy he expressed his joy by dancing. This is how the so called Bon-odori or
"Bon dance" started.
By this story, we know the importance
of memorializing our ancestors with offerings. Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi
explained the importance of the offerings as follows. At first Rev. Masaharu
Taniguchi explained that in Shintoism the offering means to offer our gratitude
to God. Then, he explains the meaning of offering in Buddhism as follows.
In Buddhism, there is “a ceremony of
feeding the hungry spirits” (segaki) when food and the Holy Sutra recitation
are offered to the spirits during Ullambana (a Buddhist festival observed
during the summer with the purpose of saving spirits.) However, it is not the
material food that the spirits actually eat. The spiritual world is a world of
thought and the spirits live with thoughts as their food. It is not the
magnitude or amount of the offering but it is the thought waves of the person
who makes the offering that are broadcasted to the spiritual world and the
desire feeling of giving. In other words, the feelings of love become the
driving force and are sent to the spiritual world, in the form of the offerings
which were triggered by thoughts.
(“Truth
of life Magazine” July 2012, pp. 22-23 / From Shinpan Jinsei wo Shihaisuru SenzoKuyo,”
Ancestral Memorial Service That Controls Your Life” p21).
The original meaning of Urabon or Obon can be found on Wikipedia as follows:
Obon is a shortened form of Ullambana
(Japanese: 于蘭盆會 or 盂蘭盆會, urabon'e). It is
in Sanskrit for "hanging upside down" and implies great suffering.[2]
So, what is the meaning of hanging upside
down? At first I thought it was how Moluren’s mother was, hanged in hell, but
later when I read the real meaning of hanging upside down, what came to my
mind, was the idea of “Delusion.” Also, as many of you know, in the Holy Sutra
Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines, it is written about delusion as follows.
Delusion
exists because we imagine that what is nonexistent exists.
(Holy Sutra “Nectarean Shower of Holy
Doctrines” p. 34)
Then, how can we remove all these
delusions, the state of “hanging upside down” by ourselves? As I quoted at the
beginning of this article, it is important to know the Truth. And we can learn
the Truth at the Life’s Purification Center.
By the way, in Seicho-No-Ie we have
Hozo Shrine Urabon Memorial Service for three days every year at the
Seicho-No-IeUji Temple in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture; every year they will be
held from August 17 to 19. The Hozo
Shrine Main Festival, the Memorial Tower for Neglected Souls of Aborted
Children throughout Japan Festival and other festivals will be held and
conducted by Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, having him as the Chief Priest. Mrs.
Junko Taniguchi will be also present. Also from last year, the Memorial Service
for Victims of Natural Disasters will be held on August 18th.
We
had already announced about it to the SNI members in Toronto and Vancouver in
the end of June. So, you have probably already submitted the application forms.
Those forms were already sent to Uji temple in Japan and the memorial tablets
for your ancestors will be prepared and their names called and the Sutras read
to them during the memorial service.
At
Uji Temple, the SNI priests read the Holy Sutras to the ancestors, more than
150,000 people, about 4,000 times a year until the tablets are burned in the
following year during the Urabon Memorial Service. So those spirits
memorialized at Uji temple receive the Spiritual Offerings or Truth as
spiritual blessings. Therefore, let us all express our gratitude to our
ancestors by memorializing them.
Thank
you very much.
August
15th, 2013.
Yoshiharu
Taka
Chief
of Toronto Missionary Area
Resident
Ordained Minister in Canada
Youtube
Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/alohamahaloyoshi
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15th anniversary of the completion
of the
Seicho-No-Ie Toronto Centre’s new
building was Held
On
August 25th, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the completion of the
Seicho-No-Ie Toronto Centre’s new building. We were blessed with wonderful
weather. Prior to the celebration, we read the Holy Sutra. Five people read the
Sutra.
Despite
the busy summer-holiday season, 17 people gathered for the celebration. The
celebration started with the Worship True Image, led by Ms. Yumi Nakamura who
was MC. After we sang "Song of Faith," the opening prayer was
conducted by Rev. Yoshiharu Taka, Chief of Toronto Missionary Area.
We
offered silent prayers to express our gratitude to our pioneers and
predecessors. Then, as chairperson of Seicho-No-Ie Toronto Missionary Area, Ms.
Fumiko Shiba expressed her gratitude to our pioneers in her congratulatory
address.
Ms.
Susana Ochi, read a message from Rev. Yukishima, Vice Chairperson of Religious
Juridical Person "Seicho-No-Ie."(Seicho-No-Ie International
Headquarters)
Our long-time
member, Ms. Kay Yamamoto, also gave her testimony. She shared with us not only
how the new Toronto Centre building was built, but also talked about how
Seicho-No-Ie Toronto was organized and how it acquired the old building. Since
it was quite interesting, I would like to ask her to share her testimony in one
of our future newsletters.
There
was one Brazilian lady who came to the Centre about 15 to 20 years ago. She
also shared her experience about how Seicho-No-Ie teaching helped in her life.
Another
interesting story Ms. Yumi Nakamura shared with us was that when we celebrated
completion of the new Toronto Centre's building 15 years ago, there was a
problem with the toilet. The toilet did not flush. So, everyone had to go to
the shopping mall to use their washroom!
In
Rev. Taka's commemorative lecture, he shared his experience of his first visit
to the Toronto Centre about ten years ago, when we celebrated the 5th
anniversary of the Toronto Centre's new building.
In
his lecture, he also emphasized that the importance of practicing "Sundial
Way of Life." In order to master this Sundial Way of Life, he recommended
participating in any Truth Realization Seminar or Spiritual Training Seminar.
These are usually held at a Centre, such as Seicho-No-Ie Toronto’s Centre or the
Vancouver Centre. He also quoted Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi's 10th Anniversary
message as well as the Divine Message of Mind Purification Center.
Then,
he shared how Seicho-No-Ie’s new headquarters building, “Office in the Forest,”
just celebrated its completion ceremony on July 7th, 2013, and explained why
Seicho-No-Ie International moved its headquarters into the forest from Tokyo.
You can read his lecture in the following issue.
After
Rev. Taka's Lecture, he shared a video of the completion ceremony of “Office in
the Forest.” After Rev. Taka's lecture, Yvonne led the reading of “Seicho-No-Ie
Article Of Faith and Rules Of Daily Conduct.”
Those
were the highlights of the 15th year anniversary.
After
we finished the formal part of the ceremony, we enjoyed a delicious lunch. Many
of the members brought some food or desserts and fruit. They were all
wonderful.
Ms.
Shizuko Malouf brought a delicious seafood curry. Despite her busy schedule and
the fact that she could not attend the ceremony, she cooked it and brought it
early. The curry was so delicious that even though the kitchen crew prepared
lots of steamed rice, there were no leftovers at the end of the lunch. Some
people took second or even third servings of curry rice!
While
we were eating, we all enjoyed telling stories together. It seemed like nobody
wanted to go home. When we finished talking, it was already past 1:30 p.m.
After
the celebration, many participants expressed their gratitude and said they want
to observe the celebration next year, too.
Since
next June will be the 50th anniversary of Seicho-No-Ie Canada Inc.’s
incorporation, we are planning a big celebration for this wonderful occasion.
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Notice of Special Fall Events!
Guest Speaker: Rev. Yoshiko Teshigawara, Bishop of Seicho-No-Ie
United States Headquarters with interpreter
One Day Truth Realization Seminar
Saturday, November 9, 2013, 10:30 pm
– 4:00 pm
Seicho-No-Ie
Toronto Leaders Seminar
Saturday, November 9, 2013, 6:00 pm
– 8:30 pm
Sunday, November 10, 2013, 10:30 am
– noon
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LECTURERS
AND PROPAGATORS STUDY (ENGLISH)
The schedule for August and September Lecturers and Propagators study
in English is as follows:
September 22nd (4th Sunday) 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
October: Cancelled
Lecturers and Propagators study in English will change according to
Rev. Taka’s schedule. Please refer to
the newsletter for the exact dates.
FALL
MEMORIAL SERVICE (SEPTEMBER 15th
)
Due to Rev. Taka’s schedule. Fall Memorial Service will be held on 3rd
week of Sunday.
SEPTEMBER JAPANESE SUNDAY SERVICE (SEPTEMBER
15th)_
Japanese Sunday service also will be held on third week of
Sunday. October will be held regular 2nd
week of Sunday.
RUMMAGE
SALE (SEPTEMBER 21st)
Time: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Please mark the calender for the rummage sales the community is
waiting for.:
It’s time to the Fall cleaning up, before the arrive of Winter.
Remember that your trash might be someone elses’ treasurers! You can start bringing now, but please call
beforehand sdo some one will be at the Centre.
If items are big, we can
arrange to pick up after September 10th. Please call the Centre 416-690-8686.
WE NEED YOU!
We desparately need volunteers! to sort out, pricing , and setting
up. Of course manning the booths on 21st.
Please call the Centre or e-mail Fumiko Shiba at: greenlawn@gmail.com.
THANK YOU. WE WILL CALL YOU !
CENTRE
CLEAN UP(SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29th )
Centre cleanup will held 4th Sunday of afternoon. Clean up the centre with gratitude.
REV.
SEICHO TANIGUCHI’S MEMORIAL(SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6th )
Please join Rev. Seicho Taniguchi’s memorial service. It is 5th memorial service.
FALL
VIOLIN CONCERT
(OCTOBER
6th AND NOVEMBER 10th
1:30-2:30 pm)
After successful Summer concerts, we’re
eagerly looking forward to next two Fall concerts.
October 6th :
Paul Meyer, who plays First Violin section of
the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is married to Ms. Miho Hashizume, who played for
us on June 2nd. It was great
family performance, with Paul playing viola and their daughter Natsumi dancing
Irish dance. Would be so lucky again ?
November 10th :
Jonathan Crow needs no introduction,
playing as young concert master for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since
2011. Rising international star with
great future, his performance is not to be missed.
Tickets: $20.00 for adults; $10.00 for students. Children under 12 are
free.
The sale will be used for Seicho-No-Ie Centre’s
roof repair. Great gift to invite friends !.
✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧
FOOD
BANK DONATION CONTINUES
As food banks are in need of food throughout the year, the committee has decided to continue supporting the food bank drive.
A donation box is located downstairs in
the multi-purpose room. Please place your
donations in the box.
COLLECTION
OF HAZARDOUS WASTE
The centre has been collecting batteries to bring to the recycling centre. We are now expanding our list (see below) of accepted hazardous waste to make sure it goes to the recycle centre and not the
landfill. Participate to improve our environment. Collection box is located downstairs.
Accepted hazardous waste:
Batteries (include rechargeable), fluorescent
lights, light bulbs, cell phones, printer toner
cartridges, small electrical appliances (can be carried by hand).
