Seicho-No-Ie

Seicho-No-Ie, sometimes rendered "Seicho-No-Iye", (生長の家, "Seichō no ie", (IPA|IPA: [seːtʃoː no ie] ) roughly translated into English means "The Home of Infinite Life") is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic, New Thought religion, one of the 新宗教 Shinshūkyō (or new religious movements) in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II. It emphasizes gratitude for nature, the family and the ancestors and, above all, religious faith in one universal God. It inherits its basic characteristics from Buddhism, Christianity and Shinto.

Seicho-No-Ie is the world's largest New Thought group. ["Masaharu Taniguchi." Religious Leaders of America, 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. ]

History

Seicho-No-Ie was founded in Japan by Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi (谷口 雅春 "Taniguchi Masaharu") who was born in Kobe, Japan in 1893. He majored in English Literature at Waseda University in Tokyo. While studying both Eastern and Western philosophies, to know what answers they offered to the problems of mankind, he discovered many contradictions. In 1929, after extensive study, contemplation and while in deep meditation, he stated that he received a divine revelation, and that he felt compelled to spread this new philosophy to humanity known as "Truth of Life". His main theme is that each person can reach spiritual fulfillment when we come to realize the God consciousness within us, and that our lives are meant to be harmonious, joyful, and fulfilling in all aspects.

By 1930, Dr. Taniguchi, working as an English translator, published the first issue of what he called his "non-denominational truth movement magazine", which he named "Seicho-No-Ie" to help teach others of his revelations. 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 revelations personally.

Dr. Taniguchi died on June 17, 1985 at the age of ninety-one.

Beliefs

Basic tenets of Seicho-No-Ie are:
# The universe is (created as) a reflection of a divine force (God), which is perfectly harmonious.
# Man and everything else are perfect creations of God. Apparent imperfections are illusory.
# Our material environment, destiny, and bodies are all reflection of our mind and spirit.

In Seicho-No-Ie's teachings, every human is considered to be a child of God. Thus, all humans also have the infinite creative power inherent to God, being able to change its own world. The material world (including its imperfections like disease, poverty, and death) is basically a reflection of our mental world.

One of the main goals of Seicho-No-Ie is to create peace on Earth. In order to achieve this, one must be grateful to everything and everyone, especially one's parents.

In their literature and on their websites, Seicho-No-Ie's "Truth of Life" philosophy states that it embraces all religions, races, and creeds. And although it does incorporate teachings from Buddhism, Christianity, and Shintoism it emphasizes that "the Truth" is common to all major religions as they all emanate from "One Universal God". They encourage their members to maintain their original beliefs and affiliations, emphasizing that they do not seek to replace any formerly held religion but wish to enhance what one has already learned, shedding additional light on the individual's path so that he/she may "progress more rapidly to spiritual fulfillment".

Daily Practice of devotees involves:
#Shinsokan [Meditation] .
#Discourse through lectures, the Holy Sutras, other holy books, as well as the "Truth of Life" magazine.
#Kanshagyo (Acts of Love) Engaging in selfless acts of gratitude and deeds of love.

An important activity of Seicho-No-Ie is the annual Spiritual Training Seminar. Devotees attending the Seminar (which can last several days), do not hear the "imperfect words of the outside world" but instead only hear about and practice the "life of a child of God in the purified atmosphere of the training hall". This is meant to help a devotee to realize and develop their divinity, which in turn will cause "disharmony to disappear" and consequently "liberation from all human suffering".

ee also

* Ernest Holmes
* List of New Thought denominations and independent centers
* List of New Thought writers
* Religious Science

External links

* [http://www.seicho-no-ie.org/ Portal for USA, Brazil & Japan sites]

References

* Clarke, Peter B. (ed.), "A Bibliography of Japanese New Religious Movements: With Annotations and an Introduction to Japanese New Religions at Home and Abroad - Plus an Appendix on Aum Shinrikyo". Surrey, UK: Japan Library/Curzon, 1999. ISBN 1-873410-80-8.
* Clarke, Peter B. (ed.). "Japanese New Religions: In Global Perspective". Surrey, UK: Curzon Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7007-1185-6.
* Gottlieb, Nanette, and Mark McLelland (eds.). "Japanese Cybercultures". London; New York: Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-27918-6, ISBN 0-415-27919-4.
*"Masaharu Taniguchi." "Religious Leaders of America", 2nd ed. Gale Group, 1999. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008.