“How to Cope with Life’s Perplexities”

Delivered from Happy Science’s Sacred House, Taigokan on January 5th, 2015

There is no end to difficulties in life: family issues, dead-end situations, and relationship worries to name a few. This lecture took place in a Q&A fashion, providing a prescription for 4 simple but common troubles in life.

Overcoming Relationship Issues at Work

Relationship issues are aconcern common to all generations. These problems become especially distressing at the workplace as, contrary to the associations that people make during their days inschool , they become something that cannot be evaded. Around 30% of university graduates quit their first jobs within 3 years. They often refer to a common reason for leaving, ‘There was a disagreeable superior.”

Master Ryuho Okawa provided some ways to solve such relationship issues at the workplace. First, he explained that those in the workforce need to possess different abilities than they had when they were students. Outstanding students have a tendency to be unsatisfied if their excellence does not manifest in power or influence over other people. The workforce does not operate in this way. For such people, changing jobs to overcome relationship hurdles does not alter anything; it only guarantees the repetition of the same mistakes in the future.

Master Okawa instructed in order to attain the skills needed for a particular job, it’s important to maintain an attitude that allows you to learn from people that are different, and to be learn even from those that are younger if they possess something worth learning. There is a need for one to strive to broaden one’s field of vision and experience.

In addition, simply following someone’s orders is not enough to survive in society. There’s indeed a large disparity between people who do and don’t possess the intuition and sense to carry out their superiors’ unspoken needs, or the ability to adjust to certain situations in the workplace. It’s important to realize that these new abilities are required in society, and despite being young, to hold aspirations and to cultivate an attitude that’s favorable to learning those new skills.

Evaluating the Rights and Wrongs of Cosmetic Surgery

During this lecture, Master Okawa also assessed the ethics of cosmetic surgery from a religious point of view. In recent times, many have been suffering from inferiority complexes regarding their self-images, which have given rise to the popularity of many minor cosmetic surgeries. On the other hand, there are those who believe that artificially altering their body parts is unethical and sinful. The situation is complex.

Master Okawa stated that although he does not completely deny the right to cosmetic surgery, there is certainly a limit to the pursuit. He conveyed that there is a need to realize that even without surgery, it is possible to change oneself through personal effort; that transforming your mind will also change one’s appearance. Master Okawa recommended those with low self-esteem should study the laws of the mind to make the adjustments that they desire for themselves.

He explained that people should attempt to form good impressions of their physical bodies while at the same time, they should work to establish their inner selves; that is, to command a strong willpower, and to strengthen their thought processes and sense of truth. Master Okawa further explained that people have the ability to compensate for their weaknesses by putting in efforts and that making a breakthrough in establishing one strong suit could conceal other flaws.

Master Okawa additionally covered over topics such as what is required when passing down faith from a parent to child and advice for those who want to marry but can’t.

This lecture demonstrated how the teachings of Happy Science are filled with hints to overcome life’s various worries and problems.