New Year’s Day Address
January 1, 2010
Reverend Shogu Kimura
I wish you all a Happy New Year on this first day of the “Year of Advancing Toward Kosenrufu.”
Our 68th High Priest Nichinyo Shonin and our 67th Honorable Retired High Priest Nikken Shonin have welcomed the New Year in good health and high spirits, and we, as priests and lay believers, sincerely offer our appreciation to them for the great compassion and directions they send to us.
I have just completed the New Year’s gongyo, and I have offered my sincere prayers for you to put forth increased efforts in your activities; for you to redouble your faith; for you to perform successful shakubuku; for peace and harmony to reign in your home; and for the successful achievement of all your objectives throughout this year.
This year represents the first step in our shakubuku campaign to increase the number of Hokkeko believers by 50% by the year 2015, which marks the 770th year since the birth of Nikko Shonin. This goal is absolutely essential for the objective of achieving 800,000 Hokkeko believers by the year 2021. As we embrace this New Year, we have once again received three great objectives.
The first of these is:
(1) To forge ahead toward kosenrufu with the spirit of many in body, one in mind.
As we do shakubuku, upholding faith based on the principle of many in body but one in mind becomes increasingly important. If there is spiritual disharmony among the priests and lay believers of Nichiren Shoshu, their faith would lapse into chaos, their practice would manifest disorder, and they would lose their seeking spirit to learn. Under such conditions, they would be unable to even advance forth together, much less do shakubuku. First and foremost, we must believe and follow the directions of our High Priest Nichinyo Shonin. Furthermore, we must uphold absolute faith in the Dai-Gohonzon, and we must proceed together with great devotion and unity based on different bodies but one mind, to achieve our shakubuku goals.
(2) To carry out shakubuku toward increasing the membership of all nations by 50% by the year 2015, when we will celebrate the auspicious occasion of the 770th anniversary of the birth of Second High Priest Nikko Shonin.
This precious directive was directly announced by our High Priest last year during the General Tozan Pilgrimage of the 75,000 Believers. Based on this, at Myoshinji Temple, our annual shakubuku goal, which had been 50 until last year, will be increased to 84. Some of you may feel that this is a huge goal; however, unless we definitively achieve this new annual goal each year, we would be unable to achieve the overall objective by the year 2014. The history of Nichiren Shoshu has been characterized by the principle of “enduring difficulties to propagate the Law” (nin nan gutsu) in doing shakubuku, ever since the lifetime of our master Nichiren Daishonin. I sincerely pray that each of you assembled here today will advance forth and exert increasingly vigorous efforts in doing shakubuku, based on a solid unity between priests and lay believers, to achieve this objective without fail.
(3) To consistently do Gongyo and chant Daimoku, while fostering capable individuals.
Needless to say, gongyo and Daimoku represent our fundamental practice. It would be absolutely impossible to progress forth if this fundamental practice is lacking. First and foremost, we must consistently perform solid morning and evening gongyo, and the priests and lay believers should chant Daimoku together. Based on this, we would be able to successfully achieve our shakubuku goals and our various other objectives. Furthermore, we would be able to amass great benefits. In our effort to foster individuals of talent, I ask you to try your best to frequent the temple. Moreover, I ask you to create a plan to go on your next tozan pilgrimage and to act to make it a reality. Going on the tozan pilgrimage is, indeed, the very best way by which to foster individuals of talent.
Our High Priest Nichinyo Shonin presented us with the following directions last year, in his sermon during the Otai-e Ceremony at the Head Temple:
This year, the priests and lay believers of Nichiren Shoshu formed a solid unity and managed to exceed the projected attendance at the “General Meeting of the Great Assembly of 75,000 Believers.” The assembly, consisting of 78,423 participants, was truly splendid and a tremendous success. … Now into the future, I ask you to sustain the joy of this victory and hold fast to your conviction that “you can succeed if you try” and build on the current momentum to make great advancements to accomplish the objectives set forth for 2015 and 2021. To do this, it is essential for each chapter nationwide, regardless of its size, to form a solid unity between priests and lay believers, based on different bodies but one mind. Furthermore, it is essential to unite together and participate courageously in great shakubuku campaigns, so that all chapters, one after another, without fail, will successfully achieve the objectives.
Now is, indeed, the time for us to form a solid unity as priests and lay believers, to advance forth with great devotion, based on the directions today from our High Priest and the guidance from Reverend Gyoyu Urushibata, our Overseas Director, towards the achievement of our objectives during the “Year of Advancing Toward Kosenrufu.” Let us work together to achieve these objectives.
I would like to conclude my address for today by sincerely praying for your continued good health and your increased achievements. I thank you for all your efforts in attending this ceremony.