Religion:PL Kyodan
PL Kyodan, or the Church of Perfect Liberty (パーフェクト リバティー教団 Pāfekuto Ribatī Kyōdan), is a Japanese Shinshūkyō (new religious movement) founded in 1924 by Tokuharu Miki (1871–1938), who was a priest in the Ōbaku sect of Zen Buddhism.[1] The stated aim of the Church of Perfect Liberty is to bring about world peace.[2]
Teachings
PL teaches that "Life is Art" and that humans are born to express their own unique individuality in everything they do, "creating true art".[2] To assist them in improving their lives and overcoming hardships, church members are taught why they have these problems and are guided in solving them by the Patriarch (known as oshieoya-sama 'teacher-parent') and church ministers.[2]
Precepts
PL does not have a holy book, but it has 21 PL Precepts which were announced by Tokuchika Miki on September 29, 1947. They became the basic teachings of the Church.[1]
The 21 PL precepts are:[3]
- Life is art
- To live is to express one's self
- God appears through one's self
- Being annoyed limits your expression
- One's self is lost by being emotional
- Efface your self conceptions
- Everything exists in relativity
- Live as the sun
- Human beings are all equal
- Love yourself and others
- Always be with god
- Everything has a way according to its name
- There is a way for men and a way for women
- World peace is everything
- All is a mirror
- All things progress and develop
- Grasp what is most essential
- Each moment is a turning point
- Begin once you perceive
- Live maintaining equilibrium between mind and matter
- Live in perfect liberty
Membership
The church claims to have more than one million followers worldwide and 500 churches located in ten countries.[4]
Most of the parishes are located in Japan , but due to the active missionary work in the 1960s PL was established in South America and the United States as well. In the 21st century it also has a presence in Canada , Brazil , Argentina , Paraguay, and Peru. The Oceanian headquarters was founded in the 1990s in Brisbane, Australia . Small communities exist in Europe as well, especially in France , Portugal and Hungary.
1970 saw the construction of the 600-foot-tall (180 m) PL Peace Tower, a monument to all the people who have died in war, from the beginning of time.[1]
Organization
PL's spiritual leader, the Patriarch, is called Oshieoya-sama (English: Father of the Teachings). The third and current Patriarch of the church is Takahito Miki.[1] Miki is also the vice president of Shinshuren, the Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan.[5]
The second Patriarch Tokuchika Miki three times visited the Holy See, and met two Popes to improve inter-religious cooperation.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Church of Perfect Liberty (July 11, 1996). "PL History". Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071104011249/http://web.perfect-liberty.or.jp/history.html. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "What is PL?". Church of Perfect Liberty. 2010. http://www.perfectliberty.ca/whatispl.php. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
- ↑ Church of Perfect Liberty Canada (2010). "Teachings". http://www.perfectliberty.ca/teachings.php#. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
- ↑ Church of Perfect Liberty (September 27, 2007). "PL Home Page". Archived from the original on November 3, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071103081717/http://web.perfect-liberty.or.jp/index.html. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
- ↑ Rissho Kosei-kai (December 2004). "RK World News Archives 2004". Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20071116065241/http://www.rk-world.org/news/newsarc04.html. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
External links