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Action
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Having an understanding of our inner
self is not enough to create a change in it. It
requires perseverance and determination, more
importantly; enough positive will power to change.
As long as the self-centered nature of our ego leads
us to isolate ourselves by caring for or worrying
about only our problems, the unconscious momentum of
self-centered actions that negatively influences our
behavior will continue to grow stronger. To overcome
it, Reiyukai teaches us to develop a strong,
positive force of will to enable us to change our
behavior patterns. To do this, first of all we must
change our perspective and instead of caring only
for ourselves; we should try our best to care for
others. The first step in creating this caring
attitude is to try to open our mind when we recite
from the Blue Sutra. From this comes a feeling of
appreciation for all beings and things, because
everything has an irreplaceable role in the entire
interconnected network of existence. Development of
this “altruistic” attitude is an essential part of
the Innerself Development and Reiyukai Practice.
As we become conscious of the connections we have
with our ancestors, we gain an appreciation of how
much those lives have affected our ideas, attitudes
and lifestyles. Furthermore, as we mature we
accumulate patterns of behavior based on prior
experiences, which effect our actions.
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Meeting at Gaya
Daily recitation from the Lotus Sutra, while envisioning and making a
determination to act for the well being and betterment of others as well as
ourselves, gradually starts to produce an altruistic counter force to counteract
the self-centered force of ego. Each effort will bring us positive feelings of
satisfaction for having realized some improvement in ourselves – feelings that
are reflected in our way of being and in our interaction with the people around
us. They see and react to our new behavior and tell us of the changes they have
noticed, providing us with proof that our improvement process is working, and
also with motivation to continue our efforts. Thus the people around us become
an important part of our improvement effort, and that is how the sharing aspect
of the practice begins.
Through Michibiki or guidance we can act towards the benefit of not only others
around us, but also towards improving our own selves. Not only can we show our
friends or members (people whom we have introduced to the Reiyukai), how to
access and illuminate their own inner selves with the ancestral Sokaimyo and the
Lotus Sutra. We can also change our own basic mental attitude in our
interactions with them, by introducing them to the Reiyukai. While recitation of
the Sutra helps us to bring our latent subconscious elements to the surface and
makes us more receptive to the realities around us, Michibiki helps us to
understand how these elements affect our actions and interpersonal relationships
and enables us to improve them. We cannot see our own eyes without the aid of a
mirror, likewise our mind also needs something external to reflect its image.
Through Michibiki we come to realize that the people whom we interact with
reflect our weaknesses and strengths through their negative or positive
responses.
In Michibiki we observe the effect of our actions
and behavior from the viewpoint of others. As long
as we persist in our viewpoint, we cannot observe
ourselves objectively.
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In the process of introducing others to the
practice, we shall be coming across people similar
to us in many ways as if exemplifying the English
proverb “Birds of the same feather flock together”.
When they disclose their weaknesses, we will see
that we also have the same weaknesses. Since
weaknesses observed in others appear in the sharper
focus, we can know the nature and causes of our
common weaknesses more easily.
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Thus we are able to
work more objectively towards rectifying them. It
is very difficult to overcome our weaknesses by the
force of our mind alone. However, the process of
helping our members to overcome their weaknesses
through our sincere efforts and actions bring us in
turn the strength to overcome our own weaknesses.
That is, our efforts and actions originally meant
for helping members to overcome their weaknesses
change our own mental attitudes in a positive way;
and the continuation of this process makes this
positive mental attitude a part of our nature.
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