《Opening》
[Yuka-sensei]
Good morning, everyone.
[Rika-sensei]
Good morning.
Thank you very much for joining today’s Video Prayer Gathering. Today happens to be February 14, Valentine’s Day. I have a daughter in high school, and last night she bought a lot of chocolate, saying she would give them to her friends and others. She stayed up late, melting chocolate and making gifts while thinking about the people she would give them to. On a day like this, it feels as though love fills the world even more than usual.
There was a time when I felt that Valentine’s Day seemed like a commercial event just for selling chocolate, and I thought, “I don’t really like it.” But now, when I think about it, everyone is trying to send love while thinking of someone. That kind of energy feels as though it is overflowing everywhere.
Thinking that perhaps it is good to have such a day, I feel grateful that today as well, through this Video Prayer Gathering, we can deliver love and prayer to the world together with all of you.
[Yuka-sensei]
Thank you in advance. If it hadn’t been mentioned, I would have forgotten. I had completely forgotten. But whether it is Valentine’s Day or not, we are always grateful that we can think of others, send love, and pray for one another.
I have one announcement to share here. In fact, a small number of people who do not speak Japanese are participating in this “Video Prayer Gathering.” They adjust their time from overseas and join earnestly because this is often their only opportunity to connect with “Byakko” and “the Fuji Sanctuary.” We received a message from someone overseas saying, “Even though we do not understand what is being spoken in Japanese or what will happen next, we still participate.”
When I heard that, I felt that they are not asking for full interpretation of all the content as before, but they said, “At least if you could explain what will happen next, even in one line in English, we would be able to participate accordingly.”
So, from now on, we will include English only for the part explaining what will be done next. Thank you for your understanding.
For today’s main program, Rika-sensei has selected words from Goi-sensei, so I hope we can all receive them and deepen our understanding together. May we begin the program now?
[Rika-sensei]
Please.
[Yuka-sensei]
Then today, we will first recite “How Man Should Reveal His Inner Self” in Japanese only, and afterward we will pray the Prayer for World Peace. To begin with, we will recite “How Man Should Reveal His Inner Self.”
《How Man Should Reveal His Inner Self》
[Yuka-sensei]
Thank you very much. Now, we will offer the Prayer for World Peace.
《Prayer for World Peace》
[Yuka-sensei]
Now, for the main program, Rika-sensei, please.
[Rika-sensei]
Yes, thank you very much. From around 2025, Masami-sensei has often spoken to all of you about how “Japan will become the center” and how “peace will be sent out to the world from the Fuji Sanctuary.”
Regarding that, I have also been thinking for a long time, “What does it mean that Japan will become the center, and that the Fuji Sanctuary and Japan have a very special role?”
I have considered various aspects—whether it is Japan’s history, the blood of the Japanese people, spiritual lineages and spiritual systems, or culture—thinking that perhaps there is a complex flow formed by all these overlapping factors.
Then, earlier this year, while speaking with someone, I was told, “What makes Japan truly Japan is the sound of the Japanese language.”
When that person said that, I thought, “Ah, the Japanese language.” The Japanese language is indeed Koto-dama (the spiritual power inherent in words) and Sound Spirit (the spiritual essence of sound). At its source, it is Koto-dama and Sound Spirit. The same applies to prayer. This language, Japanese, is what makes Japan. The sound of the Japanese language carries what can be called “the original working of the spirit,” which is Japan’s role.
We usually speak in Japanese like this, but even ordinary words, or their resonance—such as “Arigatou” or “Itadakimasu”—each sound contains clear vowels, and these words lie at the foundation of the Japanese way of living and spirituality. When I thought that perhaps we are originally immersed in such sounds, I felt, “That may be so.”
Then I found a passage in Goi-sensei’s book “Fudō no Kokoro (Immovable Mind)” where he speaks about Koto-dama. When I read it, I felt convinced that this must be true, and so today I would like to share that passage with all of you.
After reading from the book, when we form the IN of “Ware soku Kami nari (I Am One with God),” we will voice only the Sound Spirit part—the part spoken aloud. In the past, together with forming the IN, we would emit the Sound Spirit “Uuu” while forming the IN. Today, however, we will take special time to sound only this Sound Spirit part—the resonance of “Uuu”—and allow this vibration to permeate our entire being.
So, first, I will read the section in which Goi-sensei speaks about Koto-dama, and after that, we will vocalize “Ware soku Kami nari.”
Now, I will read from page 111 of “Fudō no Kokoro.”
《Reading from Goi-sensei’s book》
From Masahisa Goi, “Fudō no Kokoro (Immovable Mind)”
Sound Spirit · Clapping Hands · Light
It is written in the Bible, “In the beginning was the Word (the origin of words).” We must realize, “Ah, God is the Word.” Centered on the vowels “A, O, U, E, I,” with consonants attached, the Japanese language is composed of fifty sounds.
What is that Word? It is light. There are fifty kinds of light. There is the light of A, the light of E, the light of O, the light of U, and the light of I. Each of you is one ray of such light. Light flows and is here. That light itself is the Word. What is voiced in that way is called Koto-dama. What Ueshiba-sensei did the other day was Koto-dama. He was chanting “AOUEI,” wasn’t he? That becomes the light of purification.
At one time, I also purified by saying “Ooom.” There were times when I did not clap my hands but instead made rubbing motions. I would say “Ooo” and stop with “m.” That was my form of purification. When you say “Ooo,” the possession attached to a person would suddenly fall away. Then illness would be healed. It is quite dramatic. If in a small house someone kept saying “Ooom,” everyone would think he was crazy (laughs). So instead of “Ooom,” it naturally changed to clapping hands.
Clapping hands (the act of striking the right and left palms together) is the same as Koto-dama. It is the act of emitting the resonance of light. When that light appears through the vocal cords, it becomes Koto-dama. If you say A, the light of A flows. If you say O, the light of O flows. If you say U, the light of U flows.
There are people whose function is O, people whose function is U, people whose function is E, and people whose function is I. There are various functions such as A, Ka, Sa, Ta, Na, and so on. Because it is light. Each time you move, each time you walk, light flows. This must be understood.
Human beings are originally all light. When you move to the right, light flows to the right. Wherever you move, there is the flow of light. Thus, you walk while letting light flow. Where the lights harmonize well, the earthly world is formed.
That is called the radiant world of great light. There is no religious person who does not speak of light. There is no one who does not speak of light. All is light. Spirit means light. When the fifty sounds combine harmoniously, a Heaven on Earth is formed.
For Heaven on Earth to be established, it is not enough merely to say, “God, please save us.” One must become light oneself. You may be functioning as A, or as O, or as I. That does not matter. To make yourself shine as light, you must remove all at once the deluded thoughts and karmic thoughts within you—thoughts such as “That is bad,” “This is bad,” “What if I become ill?” or “What if I become unhappy?” I always say this.
How do we remove them? Enter God and become God’s light. However, since God cannot be seen, what should we do? Pray for World Peace, which is the Will of God. As your thoughts enter World Peace, you yourself become light, and thus you become happy.
Therefore, becoming happy is simple. It does not require such effort. Special ascetic practices such as standing under waterfalls, bathing in cold water, retreating into the mountains, or fasting are no longer necessary. It is already too late for such things. Since someone like me has appeared, and God says, “Pray for World Peace,” if you simply pray for World Peace, you will become light. Karmic thoughts will disappear. You only need to eliminate karmic thoughts. There is no need to do anything special. (Omitted) You are surely destined to serve God.
It was not decided only when you were born into this world as so-and-so, but from the time you were born as a soul, from the time the earthly world was created, it was already determined that the final Heaven on Earth would be established. It is determined in God’s divine plan. Therefore, whether you were this soul, born into this or that, no matter how many times, you should simply think that you will surely serve God.
The life you are living now may be your last. There are many whose present life is their final one, without further rebirth. In the end, you will surely fulfill your mission. It is not that you fulfill it by your own power; God’s Will fulfills it. It is not good to think that you yourself will accomplish it. That is the ego. It is the physical body thinking on its own. But on God’s side, everything has already been decided.
That I would be born on November 22, 1916, was decided long ago. It was also decided that I would do this kind of work. Yet, until it is decided, you do not know it. When I was born crying, I did not say, “Above heaven and earth, I alone am honored” (laughs). Some people ask, “When you were born, was there some miracle?” But I have no memory of standing up and walking at birth (laughs), nor of saying, “I am light.” Nothing of the sort. Apparently, my parents did not think anything special either. They were busy earning a living in poverty (laughs). It is perfectly fine to be born ordinarily.
Even the stories of the births of Jesus or Buddha as they are told today were created later. Such stories are embellished to make saints or one’s teacher appear great. It is far more meaningful when someone who was born ordinarily and raised ordinarily becomes great.
Be born ordinarily, grow up ordinarily, live ordinarily, and simply surrender your life wholly into God, praying, “God, please let it be according to Your Will. Please allow me to fulfill my mission. Please use me for Your work.” That is enough.
It is the same to pray, “Please use me for Your work; please allow me to fulfill my mission.” Or even simply, “Please allow me to fulfill my mission. Thank you, God.” That alone is sufficient. In all things, simply pray that the meaning of your birth may be revealed.
To fulfill your mission, there are times when it is better to become poor. Through hardship, you may learn many things and then fulfill your mission. Or after repeated serious illnesses, you may finally enter the path of your mission. Such matters cannot be understood from the side of the physical body. There is no point in saying, “In this year and month I will do this, and in that year and month I will become this, and then I will do that.” It will not turn out that way. Therefore, such thinking is meaningless. (Text continues)
Today, I read a slightly longer passage. Yuka-sensei, do you have anything to share?
[Yuka-sensei]
Today, I read a slightly longer passage. Yuka-sensei, do you have anything to share?
[Yuka-sensei]
Thank you very much. As I listened to Rika-sensei reading, there were so many important points that I found myself taking many notes while listening.
What remained most strongly within me this time was the part that said, “Whether it is Koto-dama or clapping hands, it is light, and the light flowing there is ourselves.”
The part that says, “Wherever we move becomes a flow of light, and where the lights harmonize, Heaven on Earth is born.” And, the part that says, “Everyone is serving God.” These became powerful key words for me.
And so, I thought I would like to ask all the members about their own experiences when you felt that you are light, or moments and events when you felt that you were letting light flow.
Like Rika-sensei, there was a time when I was walking somewhere and suddenly felt from within, “I want to enshrine the breath of divinity in this vessel of my physical body.” The breath of divinity, or the flow of light. And what I was saying was “Sekai Jin-rui ga Heiwa de ari-masu you-ni,” and just as Goi-sensei taught us, as I simply continued saying it while walking, I had an experience of truly feeling the flow of light—the sense that all light flows there.
So, I felt that if we truly pray these wonderful prayer words of light that Goi-sensei bestowed upon us, we ourselves become light, a flow of light arises there, and simply by being present, we are serving God. I felt that very strongly—my own experience and what Goi-sensei is speaking about now matched within me.
That kind of feeling is wonderful. I am sure that all of you, because you have continuously prayed for the Prayer for World Peace, must have many moments and experiences in which you suddenly felt that you were letting light flow.
But at the same time, it is also us—our own karma—that can block this light which would otherwise flow naturally. I felt that if we are the self that cannot fully trust ourselves, then I want to remove that block and be a pure vessel united with God.
Truly, Sound Spirit and Koto-dama have been a great learning experience for me, and I would love to speak more about them, but for now I will end here. Thank you very much.
[Rika-sensei]
I also felt that many messages from Goi-sensei were included. So, when I think about what Goi-sensei said— “The Word is God. It is light. It is vibration.” It is not that there exists some anthropomorphic God as an actual entity controlling everything; rather, God descends here as words that emit sound, as resonance, as light. When I think about that, I feel that the fifty sounds of the Japanese language especially have an extremely high resonance.
Today, as was explained earlier regarding the vowels “A, O, U, E, I” and Goi-sensei’s explanation of their workings, when we form the “IN of Ware soku Kami nari” together with all of you, we will work with the sound “Uuu, Uuu,” the Sound Spirit that is vocalized. Instead of producing the sound merely from the throat or mouth, we will emit energy firmly from the lower abdomen—the Dantian—and voice it from within the soul.
There may be some of you who cannot vocalize because family members are nearby or due to your environment. So, in such cases, I think it is fine for you to listen quietly, without making a sound.
But please hold the awareness of releasing this vibration from the depth of your abdomen, where God dwells within you—letting it flow from within to without—and we will vocalize only the Sound Spirit of the “IN of Ware soku Kami nari,” “Uuu, Uuu,” five times. Now, thank you very much. May we have the slide, please? As you repeat it several times, the resonance will naturally arise from deep within your abdomen, so please relax as you vocalize.
《Sound Spirit vocalization of Ware soku Kami nari five times》
Please feel the resonance of your own voice throughout your whole body and take a short moment of quiet. Thank you. Now, we will form the IN of Ware soku Kami nari once.
《IN of Ware soku Kami nari once》
[Rika-sensei] Thank you very much. Yuka-sensei, please lead the “Peaceful Breathing.”
[Yuka-sensei]
Now, continue to bathe in the light that comes from the Sound Spirit we have just voiced. As Goi-sensei says, it is the same as clapping hands. While bathing your whole body in that light, once again repeat “Ware soku Kami nari · Jouju! · Jin Rui Soku Kami Nari” with the breathing method of inhale, hold, and exhale seven times, and let light flow with the firm awareness that you yourself are originally light itself. Then take time to feel that “We are serving God.”
《Chanting of Koto-dama seven times》
Now, please return to your normal breathing. While feeling once again that “We ourselves, and all humanity, are truly God and truly light,” and that “We are all serving God,” we will form the Divine Spark IN once together with everyone.
《Divine Spark IN once》
[Yuka-sensei]
Now, please return to your normal breathing. While feeling once again that “We ourselves, and all humanity, are truly God and truly light,” and that “We are all serving God,” we will form the Divine Spark IN once together with everyone.
《Imagining the sacred light spreading everywhere》
【Various announcements from Yuka-sensei】
– Announcement of “A Day When I and the World Shine”
– Announcement of the “Online Instructor Training Session”
– Announcement of the “Web Prayer Gathering”
– Announcement of the “Event for those with less than three years”
(*For details, please check the Byakko magazine or the Byakko Shinkou Kai website.)
《Announcement of the Goi Peace Foundation “General Assembly” (Video: Maki-sensei)》
《Closing》
[Yuka-sensei]
Rika-sensei, thank you very much today. Before we finish, may we have your impressions?
[Rika-sensei]
I am glad that today we were able to share Goi-sensei’s words and his teaching about Koto-dama. In our daily lives, when we speak, we use words as tools to convey messages.
Among them, the Japanese language carries light firmly within the resonance of its vowels, and the words themselves become light. I felt gratitude once again that God’s vibration and light naturally enter our daily lives, and I would like to continue to cherish and use the Japanese language carefully. Thank you very much.
[Yuka-sensei]
I also felt that the Sound Spirit of voicing only “Ware soku Kami nari,” which Rika-sensei led, was truly comfortable.
It connected with Goi-sensei’s words earlier, that “the light of A, the light of O—every sound contains light,” and it was a very happy time to quietly feel the lights resonating together. I believe many of you felt the same way.
Also, what Rika-sensei said at the very beginning—that what makes Japan truly Japan is this Koto-dama and Sound Spirit, and that Goi-sensei has manifested this light to its fullest through clapping hands, Koto-dama, and the Prayer for World Peace—was something I deeply felt during this time.
Thank you very much again today. And everyone, have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. With the feeling that “We are sending chocolate from the two of us,” (forming a heart shape with her hands), we send it to you. Thank you very much.
That’s all.