Knowing Weakness - Ryuho Okawa's Guidelines for the Heart 176 -

July 20, 2019（Last Update: June 13, 2026）

Ryuho Okawa open_in_new's work "Guidelines for the Heart" is serialized in the Happy Science's publication Monthly 'Happy Science' open_in_new. Posters are displayed at branches nationwide, and it is widely known as the monthly face of Happy Science.

For those who want to read the Guidelines for the Heart in the monthly magazine, you can also find it in Monthly 'Happy Science' August issue open_in_new.

This month's "Guidelines for the Heart" discusses how knowing weakness strengthens religious character and the importance of letting go of worldly attachments. I spoke with Mr. Katsuaki Kijima from the Happy Science Public Relations Bureau about his experiences regarding the "true strength" that emerges after knowing weakness.

When I acknowledge my weakness...

After reading this month's "Guidelines for the Heart," I remembered my experience of confronting my own "weakness" decades ago.

At that time, as a staff member of Happy Science, I was working with believers, trying to live by "the love that gives." But for some reason, the harder I tried, the more I felt a "huge shell" forming inside me, and my heart became painful.

One day, during a meditation opportunity, I went deep into my heart. Then, I saw a "door of the subconscious" at the bottom of my heart, and when I opened it, my evil thoughts overflowed. Thoughts like, "I want to be respected," "I want to be praised alone," and "I don't care about others," were all self-centered.

(Wow, what are these thoughts...?)

I was surprised. I didn't realize that there was such a "bad self" full of attachments within me. However, I couldn't remove the shell of my heart without acknowledging it.

(It can't be helped. This is who I am.)

It took a lot of courage, but I acknowledged my "evil" and "weakness" and let go of my attachment to wanting to be thought well of. Over the next ten years, as I peeled away the shell of my heart in light of the truth of Buddhism, I transformed into someone who could convey the truth and act with the wish for the happiness of others, regardless of how I was perceived.

I want to convey "true value"

It is human nature to want to be thought well of, and in a democratic society, "how to gain popularity" is emphasized. Before serving in Happy Science, I was in the advertising industry as a CM planner, but the projects that were accepted were mostly those that were "popular with the masses" rather than those that included "spiritual value." However, through learning the truth of Buddhism and practicing spiritual training in Happy Science, I feel that truly valuable things cannot necessarily be measured by "popularity" alone.

Just as the persecuted Christianity eventually became a world religion, even if it is not immediately accepted, continuing to convey the "teachings of the divine" and "the love of the divine" will empower many people to find happiness. I will continue to convey this teaching until everyone in the world is happy.

This content is reprinted and edited from Monthly 'Happy Science' Issue 390 open_in_new.

The very popular "Guidelines for the Heart" is featured in Monthly 'Happy Science', and subscriptions open_in_new are also available, so please take advantage of it!

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