I would first like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your support that you continuously exercise through your dedicated participation in our daily and monthly services, whether it be in-person or online, as well as your consistent engagement in our practices of faith, centered on the practice of Johrei and the study of Meishu-sama’s Teachings.

We have here with us today numerous out-of-town visitors that I would like to introduce to you:

- Rev. Guilherme de Souza, his family and members from Boston.

- 

- 

Welcome to our service!

* * *

The late Rev. Tetsuo Watanabe shared inspiring words during an Annual Ancestors Service in Japan, and I would like to convey some of his thoughts to you today:

He shared some feelings regarding the song “A Thousand Winds”, which is also known as “Do not stand at my grave and weep”.

The lyrics in this song are really wonderful. 

“Please do not stand at my grave and weep,

I'm not there, I do not sleep

I am the sunlight on the ripened grain

I'm the gentle Autumn rain

I am a thousand winds, I am a thousand winds that blow

I am the diamond glint on snow

I am a thousand winds that blow.

Please do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there I did not die

I am the swift rush of birds in flight

I am the stars that shine at night”

The song we heard during the pine branch offering was sung by Hayley Westenra.

Sandai-sama, our Third Spiritual Leader also liked this song. On the first anniversary of the passing of Reverend Yoji Yoshioka, who was the director of the MOA Museum of Art, she recited a poem of her own. One of the stanzas of this poem reads: "One wind, among a thousand winds, brought me this morning's rain." On the day of that service, it was a little windy and also it was raining. I felt that there was an irrefutable interplay of feelings going on, since Reverend Yoshioka had spiritually paid a visit during the service in order to convey his gratitude.

Apparently, the original lyrics of “A Thousand Winds” come from a poem by the American Mary Elizabeth Frye. She wrote this poetry for a friend named Margaret Schwarzkopf. Margaret had left Germany, fleeing the Nazi regime, leaving her aged mother in her homeland. When she next received news regarding her mother, she learned that she had died, and since that moment, Margaret spent her days crying. Her greatest sadness was not being able to say goodbye at her mother's grave. Mary, wanting to revive her friend Margaret, wrote the poem included in the song “A Thousand Winds”.

Through this episode, we can better understand the meaning of the first two stanzas: “Please do not stand at my grave and weep, I'm not there, I do not sleep”.

So, we wonder, “If it's not in the grave, where is the spirit anyway?” In fact, the expression used does not mean “I have become a thousand winds”, but rather, “I am within the thousand winds”. And the poetry continues: “I am in the silence of the morning”, “I am in the flowers, in the birds and in all the things you like, so don't cry at my grave. I'm not in it. Because I didn't die..."

In the phrase, “I am in all the things you like”, the message is contained: “I am inside you, the person I love the most”, and whoever hears the lyrics of this song thinks: “So, she is still alive inside me, too”. And thanks to that understanding, they feel encouraged and comforted.

The fact that this song is so successful may correspond to the great expansion of Meishu-sama's Divine Work. This is because the countless thousands of people who love this music are really feeling the presence of their ancestors within themselves. It directs us then to become aware of our mission as “responsible guides for our ancestors”, and to commit ourselves to our practices of faith in order to receive wonderful miracles.

It is important to maintain the strong understanding that our ancestors are still alive, and also, that we wish to be utilized together with our deceased parents and all other ancestors and a great number of people, in order to be able to materialize Meishu-sama's will.

Let us become renewed individuals, much like a blank piece of paper, having this ancestor service mark a starting point from which we can learn best how to perceive messages from our ancestors. I would therefore like to tell you of the experience lived by a particular couple.

Upon marriage, this lady's husband adopted her surname to ensure the succession of her family name, and not long after they married, her mother came to live with them. However, due to her husband's job transfers, the mother-in-law had to live alone. As the years went by, she began to have difficulties in her day-to-day life due to her advanced age, and consequently the wife decided to go back to live with her mother in order to take care of her. It was then that the husband proposed: “Let's bring your mother to live with us”, and thus they all began to live under the same roof once again.

Although the wife was very grateful to her husband, over time she began to whine. This is because her husband was always in a bad mood and constantly isolated himself in the bedroom. Besides, the wife was frequently tired from having to take care of her mother, which contributed to projecting her irritability upon her husband. Although she tried to change her behavior pattern, she wasn’t able to do so. And so it was that she began to largely lose control of her emotions.

Once, when attending a monthly service, she heard the minister speak about feelings of gratitude, commenting that true faith consists of manifesting one’s gratitude daily in a concrete way, through conscious actions.

When she reported to the minister that she had made a donation of gratitude on behalf of her mother, he asked her: "Under whose name did you make this donation?" When she responded that she had done it in her own name, the minister asked: "Why didn't you do it in your husband's name?".

Not understanding the meaning of the question, she said that the mother was hers and that she was free to use the money as she pleased. The minister then advised: “Your mother is also your husband's mother, you know? Doesn't your husband work every day to support your home? I suggest that as soon as you get back home, that you begin practicing your gratitude by first apologizing to him. What do you think?”

When she heard this, she realized that she had inadvertently been asking Meishu-sama to take care of a grumpy ancestor who was manifesting itself in her husband through his being prone to isolation, with her deep hope being that her husband would change. However, this was not the actual message that his ancestor wanted to convey. 

By becoming heir within his wife's family and assuming her surname, the husband spiritually became one with the ancestors of her family. Therefore, when the wife ignored her husband, it was as if she were ignoring her own ancestors. So, these ancestors wanted to reveal to her, through her husband's demeanor, that she needed to realize her wrongful attitude. With her greater awareness, the wife then apologized with all her heart, truly understanding at last that she continued to exist thanks to her husband, thanks to her parents and thanks to her ancestors.

As soon as the woman changed her feelings, her husband, who was on a business trip, sent an email from his cell phone, saying: "I bought a present for your mother." He also started conversing with virtually everyone: “Living with my mother (referring to his mother-in-law), I started to understand and see in her many positive things, which until now I could not. I am so grateful!" The husband began to manifest changes that the wife never imagined could happen. For her part she realized that even though they were husband and wife, they had not been getting along properly, and hence, she felt a desire to deeply apologize to her husband.

The next morning, before her husband left for work, she told him everything that she was feeling and said to him: “I would like to make a donation to materialize my feeling of gratitude. How much do you think I should donate? I would like you to decide.” Her husband responded immediately and the amount, stipulated by her husband, was exactly what she had herself considered to offer.

The wife is very grateful and has commented that there is no greater joy than being blessed to feel united with her husband. As for the mother, who until then suffered from a severe physical challenge whereby she could only move around by crawling, walking now comes easy with just a little support. And this could only be possible thanks to Meishu-sama. The couple could testify to how joyful their ancestors were feeling. Such was this couple's experience. What do you think?

What I found most important was that behind the wife's change of heart, we can perceive both Meishu-sama's intervention and the strong desires of the ancestors. At first, the wife felt that she needed to do something to change her husband, and so she began to offer prayers. However, as she continually prayed, she came to realize that she was misunderstanding her ancestors' message.

In this case, it wasn't "I realized", but rather it was, "they made me realize". This reveals the great love of God whose wish is to educate each of our ancestors as well as each of us human beings, who unquestionably manifest both positive and negative traits.

Another important thing we need to understand is that both the man who assumes the family name and the woman who inherits her husband's name, or even the couple whose husband and wife are adopted (to give continuity to the family that adopts them) are not in this situation by chance, or because they had chosen to experience such a reality. In actuality it all stems from the deep affinity of past lives and the fact that they are linked by the same ancestors.

We are usually led to consider as our ancestors only the ancestors of the family into which we were born. We typically never consider the ancestors of the other family as our own ancestors. That is a significant error, because without realizing it, we end up ignoring important ancestors.

This becomes easier to understand when we change our point of view. For example, for children, both the ancestors of the father's family and those of the mother's family are their ancestors. Thus, the father has the same ancestors in common with his son, even those who come from the son’s mother’s family lineage.

For those who do not have children, it is worth quoting a Japanese saying: "Every encounter, even if casual, happens because it was already predestined". All people in some way have a connection and are themselves, both ancestors and descendants, linked by a profound affinity.

Once we really become aware of this truth, the spiritual environment will most certainly change within our family. Accordingly,  conflicting relationships such as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law problems, or parent-child conflicts, and even relationship issues with other people can also change for the positive. 

- Gratitude for having problems

By the way, I want to ask you, what is your concept of what happiness really looks like? If your belief is that happiness is a perfect state, free of worries or any suffering, I am sure you will not be able to find anyone who fits such a description.

Although at first sight, someone may seem to be happy, every human being of flesh and blood, experiences at least one or two forms of suffering that others cannot perceive. Even amongst you, who are present here, I believe that there are people who are faced with problems so big and formidable that solving them in this lifetime may seem to be impossible, no matter how much effort is given.

Have you ever wondered why God, who is the source of all love, makes human beings suffer? When I was young, I thought about it many times. And one day I understood that suffering has a deep and profound meaning and purpose.

I believe this occurs because God wants to create, within each one of us, a heart that is trained to express gratitude. Wanting to be happy is something natural for all human beings, but by aspiring for perfect happiness, all too many people fail to be grateful for the things that they really need to be grateful for. And consequently, because they are solely concerned with what is lacking, they potentially may live a life filled with pessimism and dissatisfaction until the day they die.

Not long ago, I met a lady a bit more than 80 years old who still works in the fields and who enjoys good health. She practices our faith every day by saying, “Thank you God for such a delicious breakfast”, and “Thank you God for helping me get the weeds out of my garden”.

Yet, she is unable to give thanks for her husband, with whom she has lived with her for many, many years. She complains that he quits working in the garden very quickly and that he rests more than he works. She complains that he doesn't help her anymore; she complains about everything her husband does or says. She said to me: "As much as you implore me to be grateful for the husband I have, I simply can't, I just cannot!"

When I said to her, “I believe you already have grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, isn't that so?” She began smiling and replied: “I certainly do. My grandchildren are wonderful, and my great-granddaughter is so cute”. I responded: “Wow, so then you are very happy, aren't you?” She said, clasping her hands together, she replied: "Yes, my daughter-in-law takes good care of me and, thanks to Meishu-sama, I am very grateful for everything", but then she added: "Now regarding my husband...", she sighed.

It was then that I advised her to envision a picture of her great-granddaughter on her husband's forehead. That way, every time she would look at her husband, she would not complain and will just say, “Thank you, sweetheart.” She had a good laugh, but deep down she understood what I was attempting to convey.

In essence I was saying that if her husband did not exist, neither her grandchildren or her great-granddaughter would exist at all. As all human beings are the synthesis of countless ancestors, her husband is much the same, in fact he too is embodied within their grandchildren and great-granddaughter. Therefore, if the feeling of love and affection for the grandchildren and great-granddaughter is true, she should be able to express with all her heart, gratitude to her husband. Accepting this woman’s experience as a model, I believe that anyone should be able to genuinely express gratitude for circumstances that people ordinarily never consider being thankful for.

- The love of God

There is one more important reason why God puts us through difficulties. Purification is God's great love that forgives, purifies, and saves us.

Typically, when we are going through periods of great adversity, we seek Meishu-sama’s wisdom in order to find out exactly what it is that we need to recognize about ourselves and manifest appropriate transformational changes within ourselves. We may pursue an understanding of what might be the best way to relate with people around us; we are given special opportunity to open our ears to the will of our ancestors and give thought as to how our actions may align with the highest good. Between the trials and errors that we personally  experience through adversities, we are provided invaluable opportunities to elevate our soul. 

Therefore, when we have a purification that has not yet been resolved, it represents the love of God who wants to raise and educate us as His true children. So, awakening to this Divine love, and understanding that the greater the purification is, the greater the love of God. Living and seeing things through a positive perspective, is indicative that we are following, step by step, the pathway that leads us closer to God.

In one of his poems, Meishu-sama tells us: “Whoever loves life and helps others will be loved and protected by God wherever they are”. A human being does not get energy to live, just by being loved and served by people. Accordingly, they cannot experience genuine happiness. Likewise, we will not experience God's love if we simply wait for Him. However, I firmly believe that if we love and serve others, God will develop the manifestation of true love within each of us. And we will be able to feel life and taste true happiness, proportionately as such a love grows within our being.

What matters is not how many years we live, but how we live them. In another poem, Meishu-sama states: “The human soul is priceless. Repeating birth and death over and over again, growing and expanding throughout eternity”. He teaches us that through the continuous process of living and dying countless times, we will be able to learn the glory of loving others and our ancestors, so that we can realize what the love of God is, while being led to eternal prosperity.

* * *

Now I would like to talk about our next major service, which is Meishu-sama’s Birthday. We will celebrate here at our Headquarters on the first Sunday of December, the 3rd , at 11:00 am.

We actually begin our preparation for this very special service today. Similar to the way that we have prepared ourselves for this Annual Ancestors Service, for Meishu-sama’s Birthday Service we will have specific prayer forms available, both online as well as in a printed format.

Through these prayer forms we have the opportunity to express our gratitude to God and Meishu-sama for all the blessings we have received in 2023, as well as for all the challenges we faced this year. Additionally, we will have the opportunity to list the names of family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and acquaintances whom we would like to inspire and guide towards our movement and its practices of faith.

Accordingly, start preparing these prayers now by writing notes in a piece of paper that may be included later on the special prayer form that will be provided in the near future. Also, set aside  your special donations of gratitude. I am certain Meishu-sama will be very happy with your participation, whether in-person or online.

Thank you very much, have a safe return to your homes, enjoy your Labor-Day weekend, and have a joyful and successful month of engagement in our practices of faith!