Community of Sant'Egidio - Community of Sant'Egidio - Naples 2007 - A WORLD WITHOUT VIOLENCE

23/10/2007 - 09:30 - Sala Calipso - Stazione Marittima PANEL 32 - A World Without Violence: the Task of Japanese Religions
Nobuo Nagao Tenri Kyo School, Japan

Allow me to begin by thanking God for the fact that I have been able to join religious leaders from around the world in offering a prayer for peace here in the beautiful city of Naples.

I feel deeply honored to be given the opportunity to speak on this prestigious occasion. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to St. Egidio Community and everyone concerned for offering me this opportunity. Thank you very much.

I have been asked to speak on the topic of ï¿½Banishing Violence from the World: The Responsibility of the Japanese Religionsï¿½ï¿½which is an extremely important topic. I would like to share some of my thoughts on this topic based on God the Parentï¿½s teachings conveyed by Oyasama, the Foundress of Tenrikyo. May I take a few moments of your time.

Before departing from Japan, I was looking things up on the Internet and came across a comment by a Japanese visitor to Naples who wrote that there is a saying that goes, ï¿½See Naples and die.ï¿½ Indeed, everything here is beautiful, including the sea, skies, and greenery. I was struck by the great beauty of this city, which is the result of centuries of history going back further than the beginning of the Common Era.

At the same time, like any other city in the world, even this city has seen sad conflict between nations, peoples, ethnic groups, and individuals. Today, however, this place is peaceful and is without conflict, and that is why we are able to enjoy the beautiful scenery and appreciate the historical and cultural heritage in this city.

Nevertheless, a closer look might reveal that, on a smaller scale, conflict still exists, for example, in the form of marital conflict, parent-child problems, and disputes between neighbors, as well as crime and violence. This certainly applies to Japan, where, almost every day, TV and newspapers report terrible incidents involving people who seem to have no respect for life. In some recent cases, parents killed their children, and, in other cases, children murdered their parents. Every time I hear about such a crime, my heart aches with sadness.

If we turn to the wider world, we are forced to admit that the world has never been completely free from fighting, whether it is fighting between ethnic groups or between countries. This is truly regrettable, and that is why we assemble for a meeting like this one.

The Foundress of Tenrikyo has taught that the intention of God the Parentï¿½God of Origin, God in Truthï¿½in creating humankind was to see us human beings live the Joyous Life and to share in our joy.

All of us throughout the world are equal brothers and sisters, whose Parent is God. How much regret and sorrow God, the Parent of all humanity, must be feeling at the sight of us, brothers and sisters, hating and killing one another!

Human beings are designed to live joyously by helping one another. Why is it, then, that fighting does not end? Why is violence still committed by individuals and countries?

The reason is, I believe, that the human race has yet to awaken to the true meaning and purpose of human existence. The world was created by God, and all living things in the world are enabled to be alive by God.

What is it, then, that distinguishes humans from the rest of creation? The answer is the mind. Humans alone are endowed with the mind, which we are able to use in any way we want to. Humans are given the free use of the mind.

God of Origin created human beings, not robots with no mind. We can feel happy, just as we can feel sad. This is because God has allowed us the wonderful free use of this mind.

Godï¿½s hope is that we humans will work, of our own volition, to build the Joyous Life while going through births and rebirths in this world.

The mind, however, can be difficult to handle in some respects. Although the mind often behaves in a positive way without us even being aware, it can also fall into negative states.

This should be no problem if we awaken to the true meaning of our existence, reflect on our thoughts and actions, and correct what need be corrected. However, if our mistaken thoughts and actions persist and accumulate, our minds will develop negative tendencies and habits.

Over the course of our long history, we humans have done wonderful things, but we have also used our minds and conducted our lives in ways that bring little joy to God. What we see happening in the world today can be regarded as reflecting the history of human minds. Moreover, the way we use our minds and the way we act now will shape the future of humankind.

Are we past the point of no return? Is the human race no longer capable of living the Joyous Life through mutual help? That is not at all the case.

Yet, to begin with, we must use our freedom of mind to truly understand and internalize the fact that we are all true brothers and sisters. We must take it to heart that all human beings, who are brothers and sisters, are meant to love one another, help one another, and live in harmony with one another. We can begin this effort in our immediate relationships such as those between husbands and wives and parents and children, as well as other family relationships, but we must tell more and more people loudly that all of us throughout the world should purify and polish our minds so as to live the Joyous Life together.

Having said that, I am also aware of how powerless we can sometimes feel in the face of all the fighting that is going on in the world. Whenever I feel that way, I remind myself of how Oyasama once described the world of the Joyous Life. She compared the world to a bunch of grapes, saying that everyone is to relate to each other with round minds like grapes. We can start by polishing and purifying our minds in the context of our close relationships so that peace may reign in our families and local communities, with everyoneï¿½s mind becoming mature and round. I remind myself that, as such families and communities increase in number, the day will surely come when the whole world will finally be at peace.

In order to allow that day to come, one important thing for us to do is to pray to God, the Parent of all humankind, for a true settling of the world. We should pray, not for our own benefit, but for the salvation of others around us and also for the minds of all people involved in fighting to settle in peace.

At the same time, those of us who have become aware of the true meaning and purpose of human existence should watch our states of mind while dealing with whatever is happening in our lives and in the world at large, so that we can let go of our mindsï¿½ habits of thought and allow our minds to develop loving-kindness and soft and mature roundness, which God desires of us. We ought to make these efforts in our daily lives.

If we are to bring about the world of the Joyous Life, in which God and humankind dwell in perfect union, those of us who have awakened to Godï¿½s intention should show sincere consideration for others and convey Godï¿½s intention heart to heart to others, starting with those close to us, so that more and more people may join together in prayer and in implementing efforts to bring Godï¿½s intention to fruition. Such prayer and implementation may seem like a long and roundabout way to achieve the goal, yet I believe that it is, in fact, the quickest way to ï¿½banish violenceï¿½ and return humanity to its originally intended condition.

Today, we are praying for peace, which is a prerequisite for the happiness of all humankind. Todayï¿½s experience has renewed my belief that promoting such prayer and implementation in wider and wider circles is the duty of those of us who serve God of Origin, God in Truth. Let us work together to make progress in building a peaceful world.

Thank you very much for listening.