Seicho-No-Ie

History

In 1930, Masaharu Taniguchi, working as an English translator, published the first issue of what he called his "non-denominational truth movement magazine", which he named Seichō no Ie to help teach others of his beliefs. This was followed by forty volumes of his "Truth of Life" philosophy by 1932. Over the next forty years, he published an additional four hundred–odd books and toured many countries in Europe, South America, and North America with his wife Teruko, to lecture on his beliefs personally. Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science, and his brother Fenwicke were of great assistance to Taniguchi. Fenwicke traveled to Japan and co-authored several books, with one called The Science of Faith becoming a cornerstone of the denomination.

Taniguchi died in a Nagasaki hospital on June 17, 1985, at the age of 91. Today the president of Seichō no Ie is (谷口雅宣).

In the 2000s, the Seicho-No-Ie Fundamental Movement (生長の家本流運動) seceded from the headquarters. As of 2017, there are three factions of the original movement. The two largest factions are led by Masanobu Taniguchi, the president of Seichō no Ie; a group of elder teachers of Seichō no Ie known as Manabushi leads the other faction.

Scriptures and publications

The four holy sūtras of Seicho-No-Ie are:

• Nectarean Shower of Holy Doctrines. Taniguchi Masaharu claimed that it was divinely revealed to him by Kannon on December 1, 1930. There are eight sections: God (神), Spirit (霊), Matter (物質), Reality (実在), Wisdom (智慧), Delusion (無明), Sin (罪), and Man (人間). Similar to many Nichiren sects' views of the Lotus Sutra, this sutra is treated as a protective amulet that can be carried, read, or copied for protective benefits. In Uji, Kyoto, there is a hall for followers to copy the sutra.
• Song of the Angel: consists of the Divine Messages of Eternal Life and the Holy Sutra itself (two sections: Song of the Angel and Song of Eternal Life)
• For Spiritual Healing (): consists of the Divine Messages of Repentance and the Holy Sutra itself ("For Spiritual Healing")
• Prayerful Song to Praise and Bless the Holy Missioners

The following two prayers are typically placed before and after compilations of the four sutras, respectively:

• Invocation
• Song of Reality

Other scriptures include:

• Daily Recitation of the Thirty-Chapter Sutra
• Pure Land Revelation Sutra
• Great Japan Divine Nation

The most important texts in Seicho-No-Ie are:

• Truth of Life, which consists of 40 volumes (main edition, 頭注版) published since 1932; this is the religion's most important doctrinal text. There is also an abridged edition (愛蔵版) with 20 volumes.
• The Truth, which consists of 11 volumes, was initially published from 1954 to 1958. It summaries key doctrines mentioned in the Truth of Life.

Seicho-No-Ie publishes a newspaper called Seishimei "聖使命, Sacred Mission"). It also publishes three magazines:

• Inochi no wa (いのちの環, "Circle of Life") for general readers
• Shirohato (白鳩, "White Dove") for women
• Hidokei 24 (日時計24, "Sundial 24") for young readers

Beliefs and practices

Seicho-No-Ie is a syncretic religion that incorporates concepts and terminology from Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions. The religion teaches belief in the "single absolute divinity". One of their proverbs is "Be grateful for everything in the world". Seicho-No-Ie's other basic teachings are:

• "Only God is reality"
• "Only the mind affects phenomena" (a key tenet of New Thought denominations)
• "All religions are one"

The Seven Promulgations of Light is one of the main doctrines of Seicho-No-Ie. At Seicho-No-Ie's Sōhonzan head temple in Saikai, Nagasaki, there are seven stone lanterns representing the Seven Promulgations of Light.

''Shinsōkan'' meditation

ShinsokanMeditation in Seicho-No-Ie is called shinsōkan (神想観), of which one type is *inori-ai shinsōkan * (祈り合い神想観, ). There is also the prayer for world peace.

Shinsōkan meditation originates from a type of meditative technique called chinkon kishin, which was widely practiced in the Oomoto religion from 1916 to 1921.

Associations

Some Seicho-No-Ie member associations are:

• Seinen-kai 青年会 (Youth and Young Adult Association), founded in 1948
• Sōai-kai 相愛会 (Brotherhood Association; ), for middle-aged men
• Shirohato-kai 白鳩会 (women's organization), founded in February 1936
  • Shiyū-kai 誌友会, small women's groups that are magazine study groups for discussing Shirohatokai's monthly magazine Shirohato
• Chichi-oya kyōshitsu 父親教室 (fathers' study groups)
• Haha-oya kyōshitsu 母親教室 (mothers' study groups)

Education

Higher educational institutions include Seichō no Ie Yōshin Joshi Gakuen (生長の家養心女子学園), a tertiary young women's boarding school in Yamanashi Prefecture that was founded in 1954.

Locations

Seicho-No-Ie has centers in the following locations.

• Japan
  • The Office in the Forest is Seicho-No-Ie's international administrative headquarters, located in Hokuto, Yamanashi near Kai-Ōizumi Station at the foot of Mount Aka.
  • Sōhonzan, Seicho-No-Ie's spiritual headquarters in Saikai, Nagasaki, hosts Ryūgū Sumiyoshi Hongū (龍宮住吉本宮), the religion's head temple where ancestral rites are performed. Established on November 21, 1978, the temple enshrines Sumiyoshi Daijin (住吉大神) and other Shinto kami. Prominent members of the Taniguchi family, including Masaharu Taniguchi, are buried at Sōhonzan. Sōhonzan has a garden, museum, and seven large stone lanterns representing the Seven Promulgations of Light.
  • Uji Bekkaku Honzan, a special head temple (or additional main temple) in Uji, Kyoto. It is located just to the southeast of Byōdō-in, within walking distance. Hōzō Shrine is located inside the temple complex. Every August, the Memorial Festival (annual ancestor ceremony) is held at this temple.
• United States: Gardena, California (US headquarters); Manhattan, New York; North Miami Beach; Fort Lauderdale; Denver; Seattle; Honolulu. In Florida, Seicho-No-Ie members are mainly from the Brazilian community.
• Canada: Toronto and Vancouver
• Brazil: Jabaquara, São Paulo (Brazil and Latin America headquarters)
• Germany: Frankfurt
• Taiwan: Taipei
• Hong Kong

References

References

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