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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781942125501 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Irh Press |
| Publication date: | 03/15/2019 |
| Pages: | 208 |
| Sales rank: | 1,109,038 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
In 1986, Okawa founded Happy science as a spiritual movement dedicated to bringing greater happiness to humankind by uniting religions and cultures to live in harmony. Happy Science has grown rapidly from its beginnings in Japan to a worldwide organization. The spiritual workshops Happy Science offers are open to people of all faiths and walks of life and are rooted in the same principles of happiness that inspired Okawa’s own spiritual awakening. Okawa is compassionately committed to the spiritual growth of others; in addition to writing and publishing books, he continues to give talks around the world.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
How to Develop Your Passion
Aim to Become a Selfless Leader
Lecture given on February 3, 2018 at Miyakonojo General Cultural Hall, Miyazaki, Japan
1
Consider Everyone, Including Yourself and Others, as Precious
* * *
The profound meaning of the given scenario of your life
Thirty-three years have passed since Happy Science began its mission, and we are expanding our activities into a wide range of related projects in addition to our main work as a religious group. Although I cannot supervise the small details of all our activities, I believe the fundamental ideas behind each project are based on those I have taught for these 30-plus years and they have been carried out in accordance with the intended purposes.
While these are voluntary activities conducted mainly by Happy Science believers, oftentimes the general public participates in some of these projects. For example, we have the "You Are An Angel!" movement that provides support for children with disabilities. This movement also carries out ideas based on Happy Science spiritual values.
It is generally believed in modern society that people are born with DNA that determines their physique and how they will live with it. There certainly is a kind of blueprint for the physical body, and our bodies will take shape according to those instructions as we age. The soul inside the body, however, is not the same as that which can be seen from the outside. Even if a person has some disability in outward appearance, the actual soul that resides within is an intact, adult soul that used to live in the heavenly world before being born into this world. In essence, people with disabilities were previously able to think, speak, and hear naturally as souls, and were born with the hope to achieve something.
There are of course cases in which a disability occurs due to some kind of accident when a person is born, but it is not always the case. It is actually part of the plan to have different kinds of people born onto this earth. A world filled with the same kind of individuals is undesirable, which is why there are differences in gender and age, and also in appearance. As people grow into adults, they determine their own path that matches their aptitude and capabilities.
Sometimes parents give birth to a disabled child or their child becomes ill as he or she gets older. Even if they had wished to live freely and actively, it may turn out that they face a decades-long life with a burden much heavier than they had expected. But this, too, is life. There are no two lives the same. It may be surprising, but although a soul may be reborn, its life will differ each time because the era, the region, the surroundings, and how work is done would all be different.
It is often said that you only live once. It is true in that you can only live this current life once. But the opposite is also true; this life is not your only chance because you have actually experienced many lives in the past and will most probably experience more in the future as well.
People's experiences in this lifetime differ; some are born as men, some as women; some are born healthy, some with disabilities; some suffer from serious illnesses, some from physical disorders at some point in life. But it is better to consider these experiences as individual scenarios prepared especially for each person; these are experiences worth going through in one of the brief journeys of life that can last about a hundred years.
Being born into this world as a human, you may often wonder why you have been given the scenario you are now experiencing. But once you know how you have lived throughout your long history of reincarnations, and the plans for this life you had before you were born, including why you chose your parents, you will be able to understand the problems you are expected to solve in this lifetime.
Young people in particular may fret over their differences when they compare themselves to others, but you don't have to be exactly the same as others. Even if people are distinct and not the same as others, everyone is precious; they are equal in value.
People with disabilities give us courage
For over 30 years, I have been working as a religious leader working to give energy to many people in different places, but as long as I have a physical body, things do not always go as smoothly as they do in the heavenly world. I have already given over 2,800 lectures [as of October 2018], and I feel overwhelmed when I think about how much more I have to do. At this rate, the number of my lectures would eventually exceed 5,000, which would take more energy than climbing high mountains. Thinking that far in advance makes me feel this way, but I believe it is important to accumulate good work one at a time.
Some 30 years ago, I gave my very first sermon (November 1986) and public lecture (March 1987). I have continued to do this work since then. The number of publications under my name now exceeds 2,400 [as of October 2018].* I have reached such high productivity, far beyond average, accumulating all this by taking it one step at a time. Rather than trying to put out something immensely huge, I have simply taken each step one at a time.
One of these efforts is the "You Are An Angel!" movement I mentioned earlier. This activity is introduced in the Happy Science documentary film, Heart to Heart [released May 2018]. I, too, am strongly encouraged when I see people with disabilities making efforts in their daily lives. I cannot tell whose "assignment" is heavier, the one assigned to me or to them. They have many challenges in their lives and their efforts inspire me to work harder.
2
You Can Cultivate a New Talent And Stay Active throughout Life
* * *
Ask yourself if you can give yourself A passing score for the day
Sometimes people get tired during the long walk of life, but once they take a rest, they can somehow get re-energized. A person involved in political activities, for example, may sometimes lose his voice by overusing it as he continuously gives loud speeches campaigning on the streets. But after some rest, one's voice naturally comes back and the ability to speak returns to normal again. Fresh energy will well up after several hours of sleep, just like the sun rises every morning. This is something to be grateful for.
In my case, I have already published over 2,400 books and I still continue to write book after book, with advertisements of new book releases successively appearing in newspapers. Some people may wonder how far I will go. I am actually quite tenacious. There are people who dream of going to metropolitan cities like Tokyo from their local towns to achieve great success and make a name for themselves, but I am not that type and not really attracted to instantly-made heroes. I am more intrigued by continuous effort and perseverance.
When I have the feeling that, "I cannot go any further," I take one more step forward. Then, I take another. As I continue to take one step at a time in this way, I manage to pass the difficult point and things start going smoothly. I find happiness in this type of endeavor. I rarely think about the past, and instead focus on how I can take one step forward. I am constantly thinking of how I can take a new step forward every day. My work is the accumulation of such efforts.
It is destined that life given to us in this world is limited. In this limited life, what can I do? What is it that I can do in the timeframe of one day in this world? Can I give myself a passing score for the day? Did I do all I could? I have constantly worked with these questions on my mind, and I intend to keep doing the same going forward.
In society in general, many people of my age have already retired from their jobs and are enjoying a free and comfortable lifestyle. Such twilight years are certainly a blessing and precious; it is a wonderful, lovely way to live. But I am expected to stay active throughout my life, and the longer I live, the more I would have to work. I am in a very challenging environment. Comfortable twilight years may await most people; even the current Emperor of Japan may be looking forward to his life after abdication. It is indeed difficult to continue working if you are over 80. Nevertheless, there is no retirement for professional religious leaders, so I believe I have to work actively until the last moment of my life.
Even if you find no talent in a certain field, A new path will open as you make efforts
You may often find other people who are blessed with greater talent or physical stamina compared to yourself. For example, golfers walk seven to eight kilometers [about five miles] for a round, while soccer players run about ten kilometers [six miles] during a game. They have a great amount of energy. If I had the same stamina, I could tour different localities using the bullet train, stopping along each station in the region to give lectures. But unfortunately, I no longer have the kind of stamina to play in a soccer match. Even so, I have been steadily accumulating my efforts every day in building my physical strength, in studying, and in working, and at present have no problem writing, giving lectures, and making decisions.
Strangely enough, some activity in which you thought you had little talent in your early years may later develop into a path for you to walk as you have kept pursuing it. Put another way, as an existing path broadens and extends out, a new path nearby will also open up little by little. If you make efforts even in something that you have no talent in by taking interest in it, studying it, and observing how other people do it, you will find that a path will open for you little by little. Surprisingly, every year, even for someone my age, there will be moments when you feel grateful to find out that you can still do new things well. This is truly amazing.
Developing a new talent after the age of 50
Earlier, I mentioned the Happy Science documentary film, Heart to Heart. This movie has a theme song with the same title, "Heart to Heart," for which I wrote both the lyrics and music. I created the original song and sang it over a microphone before asking a professional singer to sing it for public use.
Never did I think I had this talent, nor did I ever imagine doing such work. Even now of course I do not consider myself a professional artist. When I was young, I wrote and sent poems as love letters to a lady who went to the same university, but she didn't accept me, so I thought I would never make it as a professional poet. But several decades have passed since then, and now I am able to write lyrics for theme songs and others for movies in a matter of 20 minutes. Then, I would sing for about five minutes using a microphone and produce a new song in one try.
Actually, I have the support of a genius musician, Yuichi Mizusawa, who touches up the songs to fit the movie and make it sound professional. While understanding and interpreting my original musical themes, he arranges them just perfectly, so when a song is ready for final production, I often am amazed at how well he is able to refine it to my intended image.
I also come up with movie concepts and write original scripts. In the process, I create songs that I want to fit into the story. By doing so, a kind of worldview or a space of art is formed. Then, that attracts and produces many artistic people such as screenwriters, actors, and singers, types of people that we did not have before. I never thought I would be doing this kind of work, but these abilities have gradually developed.
People in the mass media can understand that I write books but not music, so they often ask me where I studied music. The truth is that I haven't. I watch all kinds of movies and listen to a lot of music before I produce my own movies, and in doing so I have somehow developed an ear for music to be able to say, "This music fits this scene, while this doesn't," or "This is a nice tune." I guess I am developing new abilities even though I am over 50.
When studying languages, I often pick up words and phrases by ear, so I guess I learn music that way as well. I do not think I have a particularly good ear or memory, but I can grasp the overall feeling as I casually listen to the music several times. Perhaps I do have such an ability. Then, strangely enough, space of music is formed. I did not have any special talent in this area before, but such an ability developed over time.
3
Leaders Who Can Bring Happiness to Both the Strong and the Vulnerable
* * *
Spot others' abilities And make them carry through their work
The Happy Science Group is now helping to nurture people in the field of entertainment, although I feel out of place since I've never worked as one. However, there are people growing as entertainers, and those who were once amateurs have now become bona fide.
For instance, Ms. Rin Kijima, who has the reporter role in the movie Heart to Heart, is a former student of the Happy Science Academy, Class of 2013. I once had an interview with her, where I suggested that we produce a documentary film with her in the main role. I proposed the idea and drew up a plan, which she then carried out.
Everyone has his or her own unique abilities, and you may sometimes feel, "This person could perhaps be good at this or that." If you spot others' abilities in this way, you should encourage them to use those abilities and make them accomplish new things. These people will then gain confidence and some will even become professionals. As you can see, nurturing people is very enjoyable work; it creates exciting future prospects.
Use your abilities to open paths for other people
When people are young, they are preoccupied with how to improve themselves and to achieve success. I do not deny this endeavor because such a period of time is necessary in life, but we must not live our entire lives just for our own benefit. When you are young, it is natural that you study, exercise, and carry out various activities to build yourself up, and work hard to be capable and successful as an upstanding person in society. Once you have come to a certain point, however, you must start to live a life to give back. You need to feel the obligation to give back to other people.
What is the most difficult part in doing this? When you are striving to realize something, for example in your studies, sports, or whatever your focus, you try to get ahead in competitive environments, surpass everyone else and gain recognition, and aim to become a professional. Everyone will naturally want to develop their expertise to the extent they can earn a living. However, it is extremely difficult to hold back the selfish desire for growth as you walk your path to become a professional.
It is of course fine to have personal desires in the beginning, but if, as you succeed, your desires become more selfish and self-centered, you will tend to nurture stronger desires with statements like, "I want to market myself more," "I want to be known to more people," "I want to gain higher status," or "I want more money." This is called the "false self." If many aspects of your false self become manifested and magnified, the latter half of your life will be a somewhat pitiful one. Therefore, once you have worked so hard to polish and build yourself to be successful, you should then use your abilities for the benefit of other people. Change your mindset and think how you can use your abilities for others.
Try to repress your selfish desires a little at some point in life, and direct your thoughts to what you can do to help others. This is actually quite difficult in practice. Even as a part of religious training, it is a practice that you will continue to try to master until the very end.
What kind of life is a life served for the sake of others? One aspect could be that, when you reach a certain age or attain a certain level of social status or income, you indicate to other people which path they should take or advise them how they can walk a better track of life. It is important to help other people open their paths in this way.
Develop selfless leadership, not selfish leadership
Initially, people usually only think about how they can get others to work. They believe that leaders are those who get others to work for them, and when they are successful in doing this they believe they are good leaders. But you must not just remain at this level. To go beyond this level and be a true leader, you need to consider how you can nurture others, or consider what you can do to help many others open their own paths, which is to walk even greater paths than that which they had imagined. Give every effort in this; then you will grow to be a true leader.
It is essential to shift from "leadership based on selfish desires" to "leadership based on selflessness." It is extremely difficult to eliminate the sense of "me" from oneself and be selfless. You cannot attain this state of mind unless you aspire to have it.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Laws of Bronze"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Ryuho Okawa.
Excerpted by permission of IRH Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Preface, 13,
CHAPTER ONE How to Develop Your Passion Aim to Become a Selfless Leader,
CHAPTER TWO The Spirit of Self-Sacrifice A Way of Life that Serves the People and the World,
CHAPTER THREE Bronze Doors How a Person of Faith Should Live in the Modern Global Society,
CHAPTER FOUR The Opening of the Space Age Living the Mission to Spread Freedom, Democracy, and Faith,
CHAPTER FIVE The Power to Spread Love God's Love that Moves You,
Afterword, 187,
About the Author, 193,
What is El Cantare?, 194,
What is a Spiritual Message?, 196,
About Happy Science, 200,
Contact Information, 214,
About IRH Press, 217,
Books by Ryuho Okawa, 219,