February 2010

Members Undergo Annual Midwinter Training in Sutra Chanting

At the coldest time of year, January 20 to February 3, members of Rissho Kosei-kai throughout Japan and of Korean Rissho Kosei-kai, a sister organization in Seoul, South Korea, received special training in reciting the whole Threefold Lotus Sutra in such places as the Great Sacred Hall at the headquarters in Tokyo, local Dharma Centers, hoza centers, and members' houses.

On January 20 at 6 a.m., when the temperature in Tokyo was four degrees Celsius (39.2 degrees Fahrenheit), some 4,200 members from six Dharma Centers in Tokyo gathered in the Great Sacred Hall for this year's first midwinter sutra-chanting training session.

At the Matsue Dharma Center in Shimane Prefecture, members of the Young Wives' Group and Children's Group received training together. The Ohgaki Dharma Center in Gifu Prefecture also gave training for its Children's Group.

At the Shizuoka Dharma Center in Shizuoka Prefecture and the Takayama Dharma Centers in Gifu Prefecture, there was training for families, with hoza sessions afterward to deepen the families' understanding of what they had learned about sutra chanting.

After training sessions, two Dharma Centers gave breakfast to people on their way to work. The Honjo Dharma Center in Yamagata Prefecture served rice porridge, and Korean Rissho Kosei-kai served Korean pickles and hot soup.

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