Excerpts from Recent Lectures and Guidance
January 20, 2013: New Year Gathering
(Simultaneous broadcast from Osaka International Convention Center to six venues nationwide)
At the beginning of the new year, let us consider together the wonderment of what it means to become a human being.
First of all, what does it mean for us to be born into this world? Please refer to this board. The dimension from which we originated before our birth, and which is also where we go after death, is known as “the other world” in Buddhism. In the Study of the Soul, we refer to it as the “dimension of our origin.” This corresponds to the other world. On the other hand, the world we live in now is called “the phenomenal world.”
Why is it called “the phenomenal world”? This is because various incidents and events take place in the world in which we live. From the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night, we are involved in encounters and incidents. Therefore, this world is characterized by phenomena as it is filled with incidents and encounters.
Our souls harbored strong yearning when we were born into this phenomenal world; and sought birth in order to experience all types of phenomena.
New Year Gathering held in Osaka International Convention Center on January 20, 2013