Ryuho Okawa - A Life of Triumph: Unleashing Your Light Upon the World

A LIFE OF TRIUMPH
Unleashing Your Light Upon the World
Copyright 2017 by Ryuho Okawa
Originally published in Japan as Hikariaru Toki Wo Ikiyo by IRH Press Co., Ltd., in September 1992.

ISBN: 978-1-942125-17-4 / 1-942125-17-8

PUBLISHED BY:
IRH PRESS
New York

Book Design: Jess Morphew
Cover image Shutterstock / grop
Interior images: Clouds Shutterstock / Sundra
Mountain Shutterstock / grop

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owners and the above publisher of this book.

eab:20160825

Unleashing Your Light Upon the World

Founder of Happy Science

IRH Press

As I reviewed the manuscript of this book, I was amazed by the hope, courage, and energy that came welling forth within me. It is a marvel to me, indeed, that even I, the author, find my own spirits uplifted when I publish a book on a theme from New Thought. I am certain that you and all the readers around the world who pick up and read it will equally feel your spirits raised as much as a hundred times their previous level.

It is my hope that, in times of exhaustion, you will go through this book once more, and that in times of setback and despair, you will keep it always close at hand. I am certain that this book will be your promise of absolute triumph in this life.

FOUNDER AND CEO
Happy Science Group

A Life of Triumph, by Ryuho Okawa, was published with the simple desire to inspire us with hope, courage, and a never-ceasing flow of energy when we need to find confidence in our power to rise above our struggles and pave the way forward to our dreams. There are poems and discussions that cover a range of themes, such as on having hopes and dreams for our future, summoning our courage and love for others, resolutely believing that we are children of God, and having strong faith in our inner light to spread Gods light throughout the world.

All of the ideas presented in this book are based on the firm conviction that when we live with a positive, spiritual perspective on life, we can never truly be defeated by any problem or adversity that may befall us, nor can our happiness ever be destroyed by any event or circumstance that may arise in our journey through this world. This is because this perspective gives us the confidence that we are here in this world to fulfill a meaningful purposeone that is even larger than just the scope of this life and that is designed to bring an abiding, lasting happiness to our eternal soul.

Ryuho Okawa presents a philosophy of life that closely resembles the teachings espoused by the philosophy of New Thought, especially as this philosophy has been articulated in Japan, and for a good reason: a large part of this book was inspired by the divine guidance of the Shinto god Ameno Minakanushi, who is one of the central gods of the Shinto religion. He is often considered to be the source of the universe, a creator-like god, but in truth, he was a god of Japan who lived in the flesh approximately three thousand years ago and became one of the central figures that laid the foundations of the Japanese civilization in the region of southern Kyushu. He was an exceptional religious leader as well as a statesman, and he pioneered a government of the people by a leader who can hear and understand the words of the divinities. His foresight was so powerful and mystical and his discernment of human character so keen that everything he forecasted came true and all the statesmen he chose were virtuous. He earned great respect and the trust of his people.

Ameno Minakanushi believed so strongly and declared so persistently that goodness and light are the only Truths that his words inspired the realization of a world of happiness and light throughout his land. You will notice that the words in the pages that follow impart the same resolute belief in the essential goodness within human beings and the same staunch determination to actualize light in this world. Living with his philosophy is sure to inspire us to take action to realize a world of happiness and light as we face difficulties and issues around the globe that may otherwise discourage us and make us lose hope.

In this book, Ryuho Okawa introduces a philosophy that our effort to enhance beauty and strength in ourselves and others is as essential to our happiness as reflecting and improving on our flaws and weaknesses is. When we pay too much attention to our flaws, we humans are prone to developing a pessimistic outlook on life and, as a result, pushing happiness further away from our reach. If we aim instead to achieve dreams of higher value and to live with a broader perspective on life, what becomes vital to our achievements is looking on the bright side of all things. This mindset of thinking positively and constructively is essential to our ability to seize those evanescent opportunities of advancement when they momentarily appear before us.

This book shows that our desire for advancement arises not just for our own sake, but even more so for the sake of the world. The ability to contribute work of value to the world requires positivity, action, and optimism. To accomplish things of benefit to society, we need to begin by bringing ever-flowing light and hope to our own mind. Doing so is precious, in and of itself, and is also compassionate because it brings light and hope to those around us. The pages that follow will inspire an abiding, unfaltering belief in our inner light and awaken our power and our sense of true purpose of spreading Gods light and realizing societies of happiness and prosperity in this world.

When you encounter joy in your life, do you feel a deeper sense of happiness by keeping the joy to yourself or by sharing the joy with those around you? You are probably more deeply happy when there are others, such as family members, to savor the joy with you.

This is because it is our essence, as human beings, to feel delight in seeing ourselves and others grow together in harmony. We decided to be born into this world out of our desire to help those who have never savored joy in life to find their own way forward to happiness. We left the world above of bliss and peace to come to this world, where there is suffering, because we hold the wish to create ideal societies of happiness for all. This was Gods purpose in allowing humans to live among each other to form communities.

The creation of a truly utopian society like this depends, I believe, on our belief in the possibilities that we can achieve through growth and progress. What does progress mean? In essence, progress is the pursuit of the advancement of all of creation from this point where we are standing today. It is the growth of every persons state of mind and the development of the societies we live in. And God instilled a mission within the hearts of all humankind to resolve any discord that arises out of everyones pursuit of their own self-growth and evolution so we can continue forward in harmony with one another.

This pursuit of progress in our own happiness as well as that of others is what I call the principle of progress. This is one of four principles in my chief philosophy, The Principles of Happiness, which enables us humans to find the right mindset that will allow us to truly grasp happiness in life.