PL Kyodan

The Church of Perfect Liberty location at 1010 Hunt Club Road Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

PL Kyodan, or the Church of Perfect Liberty (パーフェクト リバティー教団, Pāfekuto Ribatii Kyōdan), is a Japanese shinshūkyō (new religious movement) founded in 1924 by Tokuharu Miki (1871–1938), who was a priest in the Ōbaku sect of Zen Buddhism.[1] The stated aim of the Church of Perfect Liberty is to bring about world peace.[2]

Teachings

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PL teaches that "Life is Art" and that humans are born to express their own unique individuality in everything they do, "creating true art".[2] To assist them in improving their lives and overcoming hardships, church members are taught why they have these problems and are guided in solving them by the Patriarch (known as oshieoya-sama, 'teacher-parent') and church ministers.[2]

Precepts

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The Dai Heiwa Kinen Tō, 600-foot-tall (180 m) PL Peace Tower

PL does not have a holy book, but it has 21 PL Precepts which were announced by Tokuchika Miki on September 29, 1947. They became the basic teachings of the Church.[1]

The 21 PL precepts are:[3]

  1. Life is art
  2. To live is to express one's self
  3. God appears through one's self
  4. Being annoyed limits your expression
  5. One's self is lost by being emotional
  6. Efface your self conceptions
  7. Everything exists in relativity
  8. Live as the sun
  9. Human beings are all equal
  10. Love yourself and others
  11. Always be with god
  12. Everything has a way according to its name
  13. There is a way for men and a way for women
  14. World peace is everything
  15. All is a mirror
  16. All things progress and develop
  17. Grasp what is most essential
  18. Each moment is a turning point
  19. Begin once you perceive
  20. Live maintaining equilibrium between mind and matter
  21. Live in perfect liberty

Membership

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The Church of Perfect Liberty in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The church claims to have more than one million followers worldwide and 500 churches located in ten countries.[4]

Most of the parishes are located in Japan, but due to the active missionary work in the 1960s PL was established in South America and the United States as well. In the 21st century it also has a presence in Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Peru. The Oceanian headquarters was founded in the 1990s in Brisbane, Australia. Small communities exist in Europe as well, especially in France, Portugal and Hungary.

1970 saw the construction of the 600-foot-tall (180 m) PL Peace Tower, a monument to all the people who have died in war, from the beginning of time.[1]

Organization

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PL's spiritual leader, the Patriarch, is called Oshieoya-sama ('Father of the Teachings'). The third and current Patriarch of the church is Takahito Miki.[1] Miki is also the vice president of Shinshuren, the Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan.[5]

The second Patriarch, Tokuchika Miki, visited the Holy See three times, and met two popes to improve inter-religious cooperation.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Church of Perfect Liberty (July 11, 1996). "PL History". Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  2. ^ a b c "What is PL?". Canada: Church of Perfect Liberty. 2010. Archived from the original on 11 April 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  3. ^ Church of Perfect Liberty Canada (2010). "Teachings". Archived from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  4. ^ Church of Perfect Liberty (September 27, 2007). "PL Home Page". Archived from the original on November 3, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  5. ^ Rissho Kosei-kai (December 2004). "RK World News Archives 2004". Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
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