by Masuo Nezu

These are personal reminiscences about the late founder Rev. Nikkyo Niwano from his former chief secretary, Masuo Nezu, now in retirement. During his years of service, the writer accompanied Rev. Niwano on dissemination tours, interreligious cooperation activities, and peace promotion work, both in Japan and overseas. This series recalls not only heartwarming episodes from the founder's everyday life, but also the spiritual insights derived from his words and deeds.

2

Thoughtfulness

During the coffee break at a study seminar of the Japanese Committee of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP/Japan), a senior leader of our organization came up to me and said with feeling: "I was watching Founder Niwano from the back of the room. He was sitting in the first row, listening very attentively to the lecturer and taking notes from time to time. When the lecturer came down from the stage, Rev. Niwano went up to him and politely bowed to him. He seemed to be thanking him, and talking about his impressions of the presentation. Rev. Niwano was one of the founding figures of the WCRP movement and was of a great age, as well as being the most senior of those present, but he looked very modest. His attitude is always the same. It never changes."

This man served for many years as a Japanese parliamentarian. Wishing to devote himself to bodhisattva practice, he changed the course of his life to a religious one and would visit a Rissho Kosei-kai church every day, eventually becoming a leader of the church to which he belonged. He was also an associate member of WCRP/Japan and made every effort to travel each year from some distance by bullet train to its New Year's gathering held in the Horin-kaku Guest Hall at Rissho Kosei-kai headquarters complex in Tokyo. He said that his reason for doing this was that "I always look forward with joy to listening to what the founder has to say as he greets the beginning of the new year."

May I Have Another Cup of Tea?

On March 5, 1994, the 30th anniversary of the enshrinement of Rissho Kosei-kai's focus of devotion, Rev. Niwano (center) welcomes Mr. Shinkan Nishikido (left), its sculptor, in a back room of the Great Sacred Hall.

Whenever a ceremony or event was held in the Great Sacred Hall also located at the organization's headquarters, Rev. Niwano would wait in a back room connecting to the sacred platform in the hall before delivering his sermon. One day he was there as usual, talking with some people. A woman served him a cup of tea. On that day, also as usual, he held the cup by clasping it in both hands. Bringing it up to his lips, he drank from it. Then he kindly said to the woman, "This is very delicious tea. Could I have another cup, please?" Everyone smiled. The woman put his cup on a tray and withdrew to the pantry. Removing the cover of the Japanese-style cup to pour in some more tea, she was surprised to see the inside of the cup. It was clean and dry, indicating that perhaps there had been no tea in it from the beginning. Astonished, she touched the cup. It had no trace of warmth. She realized that she had served Rev. Niwano an empty teacup, perhaps due to nervousness or to being in a hurry. She was embarrassed and now doubly tense. Contrite, she poured another cup of tea and served it to the founder. He very happily enjoyed the "second" cup and continued talking with other people as though nothing unusual had happened.

Moved by the thoughtfulness of Rev. Niwano in doing this so that no one would be aware of her mistake and to make it possible for her to return home with a sense of satisfaction that she had done what she wanted to do well, this woman must have related this incident herself with a feeling of self-reproach for her carelessness. No one else could have known of the incident, yet it was widely circulated.