"With the Divine Spirit of Asahi Hanasaki."

  What?! It has already been left for you—right there, fully prepared. Your grandfathers, grandmothers, and ancestors left a place for all of you, ensuring you wouldn't be left helpless. It is a sanctuary where, in times of hardship, everyone in the community can come together to share wisdom, help one another, support each other, and make up for what others lack. That place is the "church" that stands in your very own town. In our country, "Japan," we also have shrines and temples, and their numbers far exceed even that of convenience stores. Once upon a time, these shrines and temples were not merely places for prayer. They functioned as places of learning for local children and as gathering hubs where people from the community could come together. In other words, they were spaces that formed close-knit communities where people would gather whenever trouble arose, pooling their wisdom to overcome various hardships and crises. In fact, 15 years ago, our nation ...

  Hello. The other day, I came across a video on a streaming site—I am not sure if it was hosted by a religious organization or a spiritual circle—that resembled a study group. The theme was "Those Summoned by Kannon (Avalokiteshvara)." Although it was a video format, there were no visuals, only audio. It was quite intriguing to me, primarily because the perspective shared was different from my own thoughts and reflections. If you were to ask people, "What kind of being is Kannon?", most would likely answer that she is a compassionate entity who rescues those in distress and grants prayers. Indeed, Buddhist monks convey Kannon’s existence in this manner, and it is described as such in parts of the Kannon Sutra. Today, I would like to write a little about the presence of Kannon, who is deeply close to our lives. First of all, when we say "Kannon," there are actually many manifestations, often referred to as "XX Kannon." For instance, mirroring the...