“I have been destroying my parents’ lives; there is nowhere else I can live but Shogyoji Temple, the place that gave me back my life. How warm those words sounded, ‘you are welcome to return here whenever you wish’! It is the temple that is the source of my life.” A young follower who has recently recovered from his fatal illness.

“Until recently I have been listening to the Dharma alone but now that I am married I no longer seek after the Dharma just on my own. Although it is not always easy for us to live together listening to the Dharma, I have now begun to walk towards the Buddha even more earnestly.” Newly married husband.

“One of my Dharma friends said, ‘Even if you leave the temple for Osaka, I will not miss you.’ He is one of the people I made friends with here at the temple, and there is a strong bond of good karma between us. How happy I am that wherever I go I will still find myself in the Samgha! I won’t miss him either.” Young man leaving the temple to train in the outside world.

“The Head Priest said to me, ‘It is parents who know so little about their children.’ Now I realize that I am ‘the impoverished son of a rich man’. ” Father whose son has been educated at the temple for the last year.

“I was moved to tears to see my son given new life and hear him vow to be together with his bride even beyond the end of this life. The bride brought me the blood-line of the nembutsu.” Father whose son has been educated at the temple for the last year.

“Because there is death there is life. It is vitally important we live life in constant awareness of death. Dr. M lived his life to the fullest extent, burning his life’s energy right to the very end.” Former Head Priest of a neighbouring temple.

“New shoots of faith grow from the real activities of lay people. The saying, ‘Our tradition is created by lay people,’ refers to exactly this point.” Head Priest.

“Having grown up without any true encounter with my parents, I found I remained like a child. Neither respecting my husband nor serving my parents in law, I was really very much in the wrong. Through my daughter’s introspection session, however, I myself, burdened with such karmic transgressions, was saved by the Buddha when I recited the nembutsu.” Mother who was moved to tears to witness her daughter undergo an introspection session.

“All you students of our Spring Assembly (Haruango) at Shogyoji, you understand now why your parents have brought you here. It is so that the Temple can help you solve your own personal karmic burden, a burden far heavier than those used roofing slates from the Main Hall that your carried today.“ Old priest at the temple.

“Our life is a heavy load. The weight of life is the weight of karma. If we remain heavily burdened as though bearing some huge boulder, we cannot help but sink into the water. But when we are taken onto the raft of Namu-amidabutsu, then we can cross to the other shore. How grateful we are for such an encounter!” Old priest at the temple.

“As beings we are like bits of slate or rubble. It is because our Samgha, the earth on which we live, keeps moving that our minds, too, can change and move forward. As the earth of the Samgha on which we stand moves forward, so our minds like little bits of slate or rubble move forward likewise. What a wonder it is!” Old priest at the temple.

“Now I understand the meaning of the word ‘fire’ in the phrase ‘to pass through the flaming fire of the Chiliocosm.’ It refers to the flame of my desire that controls my entire existence, causing in me a tendency to use even my Dharma friends’ expression of faith to help me take a step upwards.” Woman in her twenties from the Kanto District.

In the eyes of the Buddha we are each of us complete. The object of the Buddha’s teaching is to remove piece by piece all that still remains in our bodies of a superfluous nature. For this purpose I do service morning and evening.” His Eminence, Reverend Jung-woo, at Guryong Temple.

“An English lady I met in London said that although she wanted to visit Shogyoji, as her youngest son was not grown up yet, she was afraid of flying. Hearing her speak like this reminded me of how much I, too, had been loved and protected by my parents and of all they had done for me. ” Girl student who had participated in the Spring School.

In the past I used to think that whilst I was really myself when healthy, I became a different person when ill. I considered those two states as quite separate, in fact. Now I have discovered both are parts of my true self. ” Young priest.

“It is said that if one were to trace one's direct ancestors back for the last two thousand years, they would number some two hundred million. That being so, our common inherited DNA could be referred to as ‘our natural climate.’ ‘The Analects’ being part of this natural climate, it follows that we are perfectly able to familiarise ourselves with the traditional way of reading them aloud.” Dharma friend who attended a meeting to read ‘The Analects’.

“I experienced a great many encounters while at Three Wheels. Guided by one of my predecessors, however, I became aware that these encounters were limited to my narrow, preconceived world. True encounter is not about gathering information but about becoming one's true self just as one really is, awakened to the fact that others wish us to be happy.” Priest who had stayed at Three Wheels.

“I was proud that I had led my friend to the temple and I asked him to return to this country after having attained pure faith in Japan. I was, however, completely wrong. It was him who was walking in front of me. I am sorry.” Englishman who heard his friend talking about his experience of Chomon (introspection) in Japan.

“The meaning of The Eitaikyo Ceremony (Memorial Service for Ancestors) lies in understanding our ancestors’ hearts through our whole being.” Former Head Priest of a neighboring temple.

“New shoots of faith spring up within the Dharma movement of lay people. Rennyo Shonin’s words ‘This tradition is built by lay people’ refer to this point.” Head Priest.

“Worry and care are different. I now understand worrying is only protecting oneself.” Girl student who attended the Spring Assembly.

“A ‘taya’ house is a place where our karmic problems cannot be left unsolved.” A senior person’s words remembered by a student of the Spring Assembly.