Great Construction

An Age in Which Newspapers Inspire Fear

     Vigorously we endeavor day and night in our sacred task of salvation, bringing back to life those who had been facing death, providing light to those in despair, transforming those who had been in the depths of misfortune to a state of joy, and accomplishing many other such forms of salvation for which we receive reports filled with appreciation from all regions. The rapid growth of the Japan Kannon Church speaks to the fact of how it contributes to the transition of this hellish world situation to one of brightness and cheer.
     Still, it seems as if not one day passes in which an article about the Kannon Church does not appear in some newspaper across the nation. We gather reports on all these articles, and not one of them touches upon the actual facts. All are full of false information. The sources for the information about accounts of members in those regions are in many cases those who have been affected in some way or another by the growth of the Kannon Church or else who are scheming in various ways. These characteristics come across clearly in the newspaper articles. Since antiquity has been the phrase, “Shakyamuni and Devadatta,” and there is no doubt that the actions of these newspapers are those of Devadatta. You can be forgiven for thinking that matters have not changed at all in the past two thousand six hundred years and that in this age of twentieth-century civilization, Devadatta is still active.
     Of course, because those who have the materialistic concept that does not believe in what it does not see do behave in this way, it is permissible for them to do and permit anything as long it does not impinge upon the laws made by human beings. Because the laws made by God are not visible, it is only natural that captives of materialism take the view that does not admit the possibility that something invisible even exists.
     Matters being the way I have described above, the two hundred thousand members of the Japan Kannon Church scattered throughout the nation are constantly terrified the most by newspapers. Of course, because irresponsible newspaper articles warning of the danger of the Kannon Church as a superstitious and heretical religion have affected different regions, these articles are especially harmful in the smaller districts. It is a fact that not few are the cases that end in unfortunate circumstances where those that could have been saved are not saved. Because the actions of these newspapers result in individuals who cannot be saved, there are aspects of their crime that cannot be forgiven. We are quite full of appreciation for the fact that, thanks to General MacArthur, we have come after the war to have a democratic government and that we can now live in a free, bright, and cheerful society, but because that sentiment is continuously darkened and threatened by newspapers, it has been made, as the title of this essay states, to be an age in which newspapers inspire fear, a point that I do hope will be acknowledged upon having read this essay.
 

Hikari, Issue 32, October 22, 1949
translated by cynndd