Excerpts from Recent Lectures and Guidance

We all have interest in the cycle of the Development of the World; in other words, interest in how the world moves, and how the world develops.
I believe that many salaried workers are here today. I would like you to imagine yourselves in your scenario at work and your interest in the growth of your work performance. This is something that many of you may have and it is an interest that takes place in the outside world.
You also take interest in the growth of market share you have obtained as a result of your sales activities and how much the company has grown. These are in fact things that occur in the realm of the world.
Do you not take interest because these are factors that are associated with your career advancement and salary amount? They are part of why you take interest in how much the company has grown.
On the other hand, this first  cycle is associated with issues of the heart; and the following questions are directed toward the heart in relation to work:
“What is my attitude and motivation towards my work?”
“Did I make preparations with truthfulness and sincerity?”
“Did I make the correct decision in each of those moments in time?”

What do you think when you hear this? We often direct our attention outward, but we rarely take interest in our inner realm.
I would like you to reflect on the reason for this. What occurs in the cycle of the Exploration of the Inner Realm within our hearts cannot be seen with our eyes nor touched by our hands. Do you not have the impression of it being shapeless and vague? This may lead us to think that it doesn’t have very much meaning.
Some of you may feel that “issues of the heart” are indeed important; still, you may believe that the end result takes precedence – as long as things turn out alright in the end, as long as the “end result is good, then things are ok.” Has your heart not been given secondary importance?
However, as you have just seen in Mr. Okaniwa’s practice report, when he set out to enrich his own life and to live his life with happiness, the deepening of his heart was vital.
For Mr. Okaniwa, assiduously polishing his heart and developing the soul resulted in an unimaginable reality and future.
Here at GLA, thousands of people, regardless of age, gender, or occupation, have given practice reports like that of Mr. Okaniwa on how they overcame various trials to pave new paths in life.
There is something that is common among these practices of thousands of people. What is common is that the cycle of Exploration of the Inner Realm for certain nurtures our hearts. I believe that this is essential for the happiness of each person.

February 23, 2014: New Year Gathering at GLA Kyoto Hall