- I have faith (shinzuru) in myself. I recognize my own subjectivity and creativity and feel the worth of living in life (ikigai). Subjectivity and creativity can be rephrased as personality, divinity, and Buddha-nature.
- I have faith in my neighbour. The neighbour is oneself as a neighbour. If I believe in myself, I inevitably believe in my neighbour.
- I have faith in a cooperative society. Both oneself and a neighbour, while each possessing a unique personality, are not things that exist in isolation. Because of this uniqueness, a true interdependence, true solidarity, and true human love are established, and therein a cooperative society is realized.
- I have faith in the trinity of self, neighbour, and cooperative society. The self, neighbour, and cooperative society, while each having a unique personality, are entirely one. Therefore, there is no differentiation of precedence or superiority/inferiority between them, and one always contains the other.
- I have faith in the unity of life and nature (shizen). Life, which constitutes the trinity of self, neighbour, and cooperative society, further unites with all things in the universe.
- I have faith in the church (kyokai). The church is the prototype/archetype (genkei) and driving force of the cooperative society. I can only be myself by being a member of the church.
- I have faith in a specific religion. In other words, I am a member of the Tokyo Kiitsu Kyōkai. However, a specific religion (including the Tokyo Kiitsu Kyōkai) neither monopolizes religious truth nor is it the ultimate embodiment of it.
- I have faith in free religion (jiyū shūkyō). While having faith in a specific religion, the endless pursuit and improvement towards universal and ultimate truth is the core of religious life. Such a dynamic religion is called a free religion.
Subjectivity
- Can be translated: autonomy in making independent choices.
- Where can “ego” overlap here?
- We need enough ego. Required in being in a body and mind.
- Understand your ego so you can see it in your neighbor.
- Look for the subjectivity, creativity, and ego in the neighbor.
- I can only go out through introspection.
- For her introspection shuts you from the world.
- Imaoka bounced out of Christianity because charity work is ego-driven.
- Liberation theology (let them to decide what they need).
jiyu shukyo
- figuring it out
- religio (community) that binds us together to be free
- we need freedom but also a binding quality
- doesnt have a form so it bows to others (the illiberal religions)
- We are free but we need boundaries. Balance openness and boundaries.
- the person who is homophobic can be welcome until he changes but there has to be boundaries
Covenant groups
- Establish security and trust.
- Starts open then by gentle agreement it becomes close later on.
Celia is a therapist.
- With low self-esteem, difficult to trust others
Creed of life
- My Life Principles
- Find a generalized principles.
- If you don’t buy on these things, this isn’t probably the best place for you.
Building a porous circle (not open circle).
Open circle
I still don’t have an answer to it.
These creed has to be presented in a circle
jiyu shukyo doesn’t have to look like a Sunday service.
Sunday
jiyu shukyo can be expressed in different things
We need a center of gravity to return to that is expressed into other things.
Gravity is a lovely gentle force.
To acknowledge God in everyone.
To have compassion you need to have suffered.
- We recognize our suffering so we are able to be good.
The Wounded Healer
- Flipping sense of self
Tatagata
- describes the Buddha
- The One who does come or goes (Coming and Going)
“Ring of voices”
“Intersectionality”
- The person who has overlapping intersectionality could only tell the truth.
- We can’t
Intersectionality is a nightmare.
It is our overlapping that is precisely why we can talk to each other.
Groups form themselves because of visible problems.
What we can’t see is what is linking us together.
Marianna Michell Frank Stephen Lawrence
Nora Bateson
- There is no problem. There are hidden forces in play.
Questions
- How can the self and the neighbor be unique but not differentiated?
Faith in the unity of life and nature.
- Human unity with the non-human
Faith in the church.
- Are two or three people coming together already a church?
- Perhaps this creed can be simplified not by using the word church but by emphasizing the act of “coming together,” which is always in place. So this church as an action. I can only be myself by coming together with the other human and even the nonhuman.
- What I know is that any attempt to bring forth an alternative society needs a community. It will never succeed in isolation. A group, no matter how small, has to be established.
Faith in the religion.
- This doesn’t work with me now because I am not affiliated to any religion. But it serves as a reminder that I could be part of one as long as I remain faithful to jiyu shukyo.
Faith in free religion.
- What does this “universal and ultimate truth mean”?
- Some people are against the use of this word. That nothing is universal. That having something as universal means that it relies on a rule-giver such as God or a predominant ideology such as patriarchy.
- I sincerely wonder what Imaoka means here?
Change from “Creed of Life” to “Principles of Living”
From George and Andrew:
A couple of days ago, George wrote to me (in part) saying:
The arrangement of “the essentials” on Free Religion in one place is fantastic! Prof. Wakimoto’s interview is amazing. He was just a junior professor at Univ. of Tokyo’s sociology of religion department when Imaoka sensei sent me there to interview two professors who had studied a Seisoku Academy when he was principal. He also sent me to each of the groups mentioned in Wakimoto’s interview that makes me think that he saw my tiny booklet, LRRJ, and the work that was happening there in gathering up Imaoka sensei’s essays after those interviews.
On a different note, I am stumbling over the term “creed.” Imaoka sensei always spoke of his “tentative statement of faith.” Perhaps, my poor oral Japanese did not catch the possible meaning of “creed.” But “creed” in any Western sense or usage is wrong, I think. Please help me with this. What are the Japanese word or words used? Is there an evolution of terms from the 1973 document to any later materials and my conversations in the 1980s? Isn’t “creed” a non-free religious term?
To this second paragraph, I replied:
_Good to hear from you.
Not wanting to add any more aches to your head, I’ll just make here a quick note about the title “Creed of Life.” I think you are right about this. So, here’s a breakdown of the title of that first piece 私の生活信条（訂)
私 (わたし, watashi) means “I” or “me.” It’s apparently somewhat formal and is gender-neutral.
の (no) is a possessive particle that can be translated as “of.”
生活 (せいかつ, seikatsu) means “Life” or “living,” referring to a person’s daily life or lifestyle.
信条 (しんじょう, shinjou) means “creed” (in the sense of the Latin, “credo”) or “belief” and refers to a principle or belief/faith that guides a person’s actions. It’s made up of two characters: 信, meaning “trust” or “faith,” and 条, which can mean “article,” “clause,” or “condition.”
訂 (てい, tei) — the character in parentheses, means “correction,” “revision.”
So, one possible way of translating the title that avoids “creed” would be “My Principles of Living (revised).”
What do you think? It feels better and, on reflection, I’m puzzled about why I went for “Creed of Life.” It certainly resonates better with Imaoka-sensei’s basic stance. Thanks for this important prod!!!!
Unsorted
According to Andrew James Brown, these principles of living “are not the kind of restrictive belief statements one finds in the usual kinds of creed but, instead, statements of faith about how one IS in the world.” He added that “[t]hey aren’t there to restrict a person but to free them.”