Great Construction

A World Completely Free From
Disease, Poverty and Conflict

     When I speak of a world completely free from disease, poverty and conflict, I know people in general will say that such a world is only an ideal not to be realized. But our work is being advanced with absolute conviction.
     Let me tell you what is of basic importance in order to free the world from all these miseries: It is nothing other than the eradication of disease.
     Suppose a person is attacked by some illness. There comes a double weight from the expenses needed for this and the losses caused by his being unable to work, and these increase even more as the illness is prolonged until fortune may be spent. There are more than a few observable examples of people who have used up all their savings which took years of hard work to accumulate, who have borrowed all the money they could from relatives or friends and have come to a dead end. There are some families who have lived peaceful, happy lives in abundance before but have now reached pitiable condition, have fallen into lives of barest existence and are continuing to bear the suffering of poverty and sickness.
     Moreover, when a member of a family is attacked by a serious sickness, not only the individual but all the rest of the family have to bear the boundless responsibilities. Sometimes relatives and friends and in some cases even fellow workers become more or less involved in bearing some parts of the disaster. Therefore, the result is terrible, not only for the sick person who has to suffer but for family members and other outside the family who may be affected. In a case involving two or three members of a family who fall seriously ill one after the other, even though it is a family with a fortune of millions of dollars the circumstances may be such that they are obliged to moved to a slum street. We know of such situations from a number of actual examples.
      People generally save money for one or two purposes. One is to build a fortune and the other is to be prepared for the extra expenditures that will be necessary in the even of sickness. The former is for an active purpose and the latter is for a passive one, but as many of you know, we find the latter to be far more common. Because of all this, when we say that the greatest cause of poverty is sickness I don’t think many people will deny it.
     Now, as to the cause of conflict, I think everybody knows that whether a nation or an individual is involved the greatest cause is financial. Therefore, in order to eradicate disease, poverty and conflict it is the right order to begin by solving the problem of disease, which is really the root of all trouble. To create people free from disease is the first dilemma to be solved.
     Whatever anyone may say, this and nothing else can achieve the true salvation of human beings. And the only power that can bring this into realization is the Power of Kannon; there is absolutely no other power. This is such a wonderful project. It is one that neither Gautama Buddha nor Jesus dreamed of because of course, the time was premature. We may say that those who can believe this are indeed the most fortunate of all who have ever lived on this earth.

What Is the Kannon Movement That Will Construct a World
Free of Disease, Poverty, Conflict? September 15, 1935
translated by KH

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"Byōhinsō Zetsumu no Sekai,” published in the Dainippon Kannonkai (Japan Kannon Society) publication Byōhinsō Zetsumu no Sekai o Tsukuru Kannon Undō to wa Nani? (What Is the Kannon Movement That Will Construct a World Free of Disease, Poverty, Conflict?), September 15, 1935, was never anthologized while Meishu-sama was living. “Byōhinsō Zetsumu no Sekai” has previously appeared in translation. Citation is given below for reference.

“A World Without Illness, Poverty, and Conflict,” True Health, 1987, page 13.