January 2010
President Delivers First Dharma Talk of New Year
On January 7, President Nichiko Niwano delivered his first Dharma talk of 2010 at a gathering in the Great Sacred Hall in Tokyo, and the event was relayed by satellite TV to all Rissho Kosei-kai Dharma Centers throughout Japan. Some 3,400 members gathered in the Great Sacred Hall to hear him speak and rededicate themselves to their religious practice throughout the year.
The event began with offerings of lighted candles and flowers at the altar before the image of the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni. Then President-designate Kosho Niwano led the gathering in sutra recitation, and Rev. Yasutaka Watanabe, chair of the board of trustees, offered a New Year's greeting. After two representative members pledged to devote themselves to practice of the Buddha's teachings, President Nichiko Niwano displayed two hanging scrolls of his first traditional Japanese calligraphy of the new year. One scroll bore the characters for gassho (placing the hands together in prayer) and the other for zenyu (good friends). He then gave his Dharma talk.
President Niwano said that when something apparently impossible happens, people since ancient times have regarded it as the work of the gods and buddhas and accepted it with gratitude. He therefore emphasized the importance of our always praising the gods and buddhas with gratitude and veneration when we clasp our hands in prayer, instead of asking them to grant our wishes.
Explaining zenyu, he said he had a strong impression that, although exactly ten years had passed since the founder's entrance into nirvana, the Dharma had spread widely among members, and many of them had found the way to true happiness in the Sangha. He explained that "good friends" in this sense means members of the Sangha who share the common purpose of liberating themselves and others through the Buddha's teachings.
After the service, traditional rice porridge seasoned with seven kinds of spring herbs was served free at the entrance to the Great Sacred Hall.
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