Here, in Tokyo, the centre of Japan's commercial and secular life and the seat of government, I have been asked by the Venerable Chimyo Takehara to say a word to you about the future of Shogyoji.

This is both a great honour and a dangerous request, since, as you know, I am not myself a believer, a man of faith. I am, however, an historian, and one who has seemingly by chance become deeply involved with Shogyoji.

Its past, its present, and its future are consequently of the deepest interest and concern to me.

It is therefore fitting, perhaps, that I should be talking about the future on a day when we have come together to continue the happy celebration of the marriage of Keimei and Sanae which is, in itself, a symbol of the future.

We do not always remember the fact that each and every moment in the life of an individual or of a Temple is a critical moment that helps to determine the nature and direction of the path into the future.

I think, however that no one will have any difficulty in recognising the truly critical significance of the present moment in the history of Shogyoji.

Under the leadership of the Reverend Takehara, with his intense care for the great traditions of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism and his concern for each and every individual, Shogyoji has undergone, and is still undergoing, a major period of expansion.

It has become the harmonious, life-giving centre of a growing interactive constellation of associated and dependent temples.

It has shown its concern for one of the looming problems, not only of Japan but of the developed world at large, by building, next to the Temple, a splendid new home for the aged amongst its followers. It has widened its horizons immeasurably in an intellectual, as well as in a physical sense, by setting up Three Wheels in London.

The latter is a place where young and old, but most especially the young, can gain direct and intimate experience of the western world and its ways of thinking, whilst quietly spreading the influence of their faith simply by being there.

But all great adventures, all successes, have their risks.

Shogyoji embarked upon its present, independent path as a means of remaining true to its vision of the pure Jōdo Shinshū faith.

If one looks at the history of Buddhism as a whole, or even of Buddhism in Japan, one can see that similar processes have recurred again and again, just as they have in the two thousand years of western Christianity.

Time and again in the West, what begins as a movement of purification and reform, fired by the deep faith of a dedicated few, becomes a great movement.

A small family of like-minded people, working together with no need of elaborate systems, becomes a vast organisation, and everywhere, in all religions, successful spiritual movements tend to generate great wealth and great temptation.

The influence of a single saintly person, a single leader, even if he or she is also an organising genius, is not enough, over the years, to maintain the original spiritual temperature throughout the whole.

To find the handful of deeply spiritual men and women who are essential if a Temple is to maintain its fervour, is hard enough.

To find the many to provide the leadership and spiritual examples that are needed to ensure the harmonious future of a widening circle of associated Temples is difficult indeed. Without a leavening of true sanctity, in priests and laity alike, the vision dies.

The fire, which once warmed all who neared it, gradually begins to flicker and be overlaid by ash.

The peace and harmony, the love for all, which was the universal aim, breaks up in arguments and jealousies, in fights for power and influence and the control of money. This is, to a greater or lesser extent, the recurring history of religious reform and expansion in the West.

For Shogyoji, I believe that the present spiritual growth and physical expansion will continue, despite the general contraction of belief in the midst of an increasingly secular world, for as long as the fire and vitality which is also present here in Tokyo as in Shogyoji, and in each of the Temples I have visited, are successfully maintained.

One of the most essential, and the most encouraging, pointers to Shogyoji’s future is the great emphasis which, under the Reverend Takehara's leadership, is being placed on the encouragement of young people in general and on the attraction and training of young priests in particular.

It is with the young that the future lies, and in the modern world the maintenance of belief from childhood through the 'teens, and the attraction of young people to Buddhism, are increasingly difficult, and no one is more aware of this than the Reverend Takehara.

In particular, the discovery and encouragement of those who may become priests and those who, whether they are priests or not, may be leaders in the community and, above all, the nurturing of those within an already restricted group, who may already be, or who may grow to be, truly saintly men and women, constitute the great challenge which Shogyoji, and all those associated with it, now face.

It is one which they will always face for as long as the Temple lasts.

Whether that challenge is continuously met throughout the years depends not only on those to whom you look for present leadership, but on each and every one of you.

It is not just some of you, but all of you, who present the image of your faith to the outside world and gain respect for it even from those who are not themselves Believers.

It is you, each one of you, who will, by your actions in every sphere, by being who you are, attract or repel the young people from whom the future community of the faithful, the real, the living Shogyoji, will come, and from whom your future leaders and saints will arise.

It is in each individual that a Temple lives.

It is for the individuals that each of your Temples exists.

And so, at the end of this somewhat inept and impertinent talk, I would like to return to the individual, or rather to two individuals whose marriage is also a hope for the future and a symbol of the harmonious coming together of institutions which is so bright a feature of Shogyoji's recent history.

I hope that Keimei and Sanae will not mind if I therefore finish by reading to you a poem which is, in English, a waka, that l wrote for them, and which is theirs, but which also, in a way, encapsulates my feeling for all of you.

Minds
in harmony,

travelling a single road,

two hearts
become one,

know no sadness,
no seasons,

find their home
in the Pure Land.