Tenko Nishida

Ittoen was founded by Tenko Nishida in 1904.
　It is a community of people who seek to live a life of having no possession and service,in a spirit of penitence. At the foundation of this community is the faith that when human beings live in accordance with the way of nature, we are accepted and enabled to live,even without owning things,and even without converting labor into money.
　At Ittoen,necessities for life that are provided by Light (God,Buddha,mother nature)for practical life are entrusted to"senkosha"."Senkosha、" then,is an economic function and organ for managing goods in such a way that they serve people, and not become a source of social conflict. The physical and social community embodying the way of Ittoen exists as Kosenrin in Yamashina district of Kyoto. It is one form of"senkosha"(which may be described as alternative institutions based upon perceived workings of Light),and fulfills a headquarters-like function as well. Kosenrin Village was established in the present location
　in 1928, and it was incorporated as a foundation in 1929. At present,there are about 70 structures spread over 33 hectare of land,and approximately 100 house holds with 300 persons living in the community.
　The permanent members (residents) are called "donin" (fellow members),and they are actively living and working along the way of Light as a big family with the spirit and way of life left to us by Tenko-san as the foundation.There are differences in the depth of faith and practice among us,but,young and old,we all strive with the spirit of repentance,thanksgiving,and service.We live in accordance with our ability,and with a prayer and vow that we be fulfilled in life in accordance with the laws of nature,where we are blessed in accordance with the need.
　"Ittoen"is a spiritual ground for experiencing a life of no possession,and Kosenrin as one of "senkosha" is a place which explores harmonious ways of holding goods in trust.

The Foundation of Ittoen Life
Enabled to Live-We Are Accepted and Sanctioned to Live.
　It is said that human beings eat to live,and that in order to eat,we do our work.Underlying this is a view of human beings and of human life which holds that the purpose of human beings is to live,and it is human to work with the aim of eating.
　It was Tenko-san which turned this around 180 degrees,and held that this life is provided to us,that we are enabled to live without our striving to survive.And precisely because we are accepted and enabled to live by Light,we work as a way of thanksgiving.And we are provided with the food that is necessary for life.Tenko-san lived on the basis of this faith.And,Ittoen life is founded on this way of living,this view of human beings,and of human life.
　When we look back on human history and development of human society,we find that the desire for survival(for living and for eating)and assertion of rights has turned into its opposite,and has become a cause for conflict in human society,and various types of disputes and struggles.Now, to say,'in order to live,in order to eat,"is to"have the will to survive."
　One may ask,can human beings survive if we negate this? Is it possible for us to live without asserting and insisting on our right for self-survival?
　Tenko-san founded a way of life which will never create a seed for conflict,precisely by totally renouncing one's claim to this right to self-survival.
　In 1892,Tenko-san led one hundred farming households to emigrate to Hokkaido,to clear 500 hectares of land.He was 20 years old.Soon,he was caught between the investors,on one hand,and tenant farmers, on other,regarding the interest payments and return on the investment,and the group was also hit with the recession following the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95. Situated in this crisis,Tenko_san fell into an abyss of spiritual torment:why do human beings have to stand opposed to,and hate,one another,and fight among them-selves?
　Is there not away of life where one does not have to fight,absolutely? After going through much questioning and thinking,he with drew from the Hokkaido project,and left with no possessions of his own,he began to sit in meditation and fast in a small temple in his hometown of Nagahama.He made up his mind to meditate there, with out taking in any food until he found the answer,even if he were to starve to death.
　In the early morning of the fourth day (April,29.1904 when he was 32 years old),he heard a baby crying,and when the baby stopped crying,a scene of the baby drinking mother's milk in her arms came to his mind, which struck him sharply.Mother and child,they are in the positions of provider and user of milk,which are two different positions.Still,far from being in conflict,we see the two of them being fulfilled and contented,and fusing into one in peace.While their positions are different,and at two opposite sides of a process (an interdependent relationship),there is a world of sharing and harmony... Is this not the essential,primordial foundation of life? And the milk,too,is nothing other than a natural blessing provided by nature.
　Human beings are not born with the intention of being born.Life is given by Something(great nature,God, Buddha)which transcends us,and we are accepted and enabled to live in the same way.Here is the true picture of all forms of life being born,and the actual mode of all forms of human life and survival.And in this true picture alone,does the world of harmony and sharing emerge. All that we need to do is to trust that greater being for everything and all things,and live in the way we are enabled and accepted to live.Such is the fountain spring of a world without conflicts,and here we find a world where we can live and share our joy,and eat,with out conflict.
　Tenko-san came to understand profoundly that this was the answer that he had been searching for.
　And this profound awakening (satiric)became the starting point and basis of Ittoen life.

Life of Being on the Road(Roto) and Service(Takuhatsu)
-Practice of thanksgiving and returning Kindness
　Ittoen life is a way of believing that if human beings go back to the original mode of life and live in accordance with the way of nature,we are accepted and enabled to live,even if we do not own any possessions,and even if we do not exchange our labor for money.It is a life of taking the stand of being out in the street at all times,and of having no possession,and of serving.
　When human beings are born,we come into the world with no possessions,and our very life has been granted to us,There is nothing that we can truly claim is our own, and we are in no position to really insist on rights.Thus, having nothing,and no property ownership,is the original state of human beings.
　"Roto,"being on the roadside and serving,outside of home,and even without a home,is also the foundation and true picture of this state of having nothing and of non-possession.At the root of all conflicts among men is desire(greed)and self-centeredness.And human beings become attached to properties,to social position,to fame,and so on.It is necessary to cut off this kind of attachment and possessiveness,to cleanse one's heart of selfishness,and get back to our starting point.This is called the practice of 'roto,' that is, 'going back on the roadside.' We need to return all the things that have come upon us and that have gathered around us,to Light as gifts that rightly belong to the whole,and get back out on the road having nothing,not to go adrift,but to get back to our original mode.
　"Takuhatsu"(service and mendicancy)also emerged out of Tenko-san's reflection upon experience in Hokkaido, For,in the course of leading the pioneering project there.he really saw how ugly human beings can become when they /we are engulfed in disputes over money,and how much baseness can come out of us in a struggle for survival.
　Money is what puts people in opposing sides,and induces us to engage in ugly fights.Is there a way of living with out money? If there is such a way,then,it must make it possible for us to work without converting labor into money.For example,when parents and children,a married couple,or a family,are united into one with true love.then,each can work and contribute to the well-being of others without calculating and converting their own labor into money.In short,working and labor is not really for making money or surviving,but devoting our heart and strength for others' welfare,in the same way that each one of us is accepted and enabled to live by others working. That is,we do 'takuhatsu'(service and mendicancy) with prayer toward,and on behalf of,others.
　However,we cannot demand of this mode of working and living from others.We start do 'takuhatsu' ourselves.We a�tept ourselves to be "nothing," and give everything to others.Only by so doing,can we become one with others.

To pray is negate and accept ourselves into nothingness. When we ourselves become nothing,then,we become the whole."(Tenko-san)
　Such is the life of being on the road('roto'),and of service and mendicancy ("takuhatsu").

To go beyond self-concern and work for other's well-being:This is what human beings are called upon to practice. (Emperor Meiji)

Life of Sange (Penitence) and Geza (Sitting at the Lower End)
-Being penitent to one another,and praying (being reverent)to one another.
　Human beings tends to be self-centered and selfish, and our desires are practically limitless.Our hearts seek comfort and pleasure,and to be superior to others,and even without our being aware,we hurt others,and give birth to all sorts of negative things such as jealousy,desire for revenge,and hatred.
　In the final analysis,human beings have really no ground upon which to insist on our being righteous or claim rights.On the contrary,the only way is to be self-critical of the egotistical feelings that are inside us from the depth of our being,and to ask for forgiveness and be penitent for the deep-going sins which push us to keep on creating negative impediments for others.

I have searched for the root
of all the troubles of the whole wide world,
and I have found that it lay within my own heart.
From this knowledge,sprang this act of worship.
　It is vital for us not only to find the cause of one's own troubles within oneself,but also to take a straight look at the reality that event he root of various troubles and conflicts in the larger society and world exists within our individual selves,and to have a heart filled with deep sange(penitence).
　In all spheres and matters of life,we look at our own shortcomings first and foremost,rather than blame or criticize others.And we place ourselves at a lower position than others,and live according to the standpoint of suffering people and weak people at all times.This is the "life of sitting at the lower end("geza")."When people live their lives and engage in their day-to-day work with this kind of spirit mutually,and encourage and support one another.then,there is no room for conflicts to emerge.

The Hope of Ittoen Life
-Achieving of fulfillment and enlightenment of everyone,And true world peace in the future。
　The ultimate objective of Ittoen Life is not merely "absence of wars"(precious as that is)、but to build a genuine peace in our hearts which will help root out all causes of conflicts of various types,hatred,vengeance, and disputes,and which does not create any new seeds. And we pray for every family and household to come together,for every country to be justly-governed,and for the world to realize a true peace.
　When we take up the spirit of being on the road having nothing ("roto")just like when we were born,then we come to realize that all the things in this world (goods, positions,etc.) are only things that we have been entrusted with provisionally (for the time being).To strictly ask ourselves how to accept in trust such things as goods, properties.position,food,shelter and clothing,and even knowledge and our bodies,and how to use it for the good of the whole...such is the role and function "senkosha." Put another way,"senkosha" relates to how human beings actually live in the existing world.
　Thus,Ittoen life has both "Ittoen" which stands on the ground of nothingness,of cutting off goods and worldly things, on one hand,and "senkosha" which stands on the ground of holding things in trust,on the other,and these two aspects are working like two wheels moving the cart in unity.

-Achievement of fulfillment and enlightenment of everyone.
　To have every one on this globe attain true self-awareness may be a goal to be attained only in a distant future. Nevertheless,we walk on the path to pray and engage in practice unceasingly for the realization of this goal.

-And building true world peace in the future.
　To build a true peace in the world may be a hope which will fall short of being fully realized eternally.Be that as it may,we believe in this goal,and we believe that in persevering to pray and practice for true peace without falling into either pessimism or optimism,there is the dignity and glory and future of human beings.

Ittoen:Life at Kosenrin
　At Kosenrin about three hundred persons in one hundred families live communally.The fundamental principle governing the life in this village is KomyoKigan (The Five Prayers printed on the back of the front cover), and there are no other rules.People,from young to old, work and study in various areas of work,in accordance with their ability,etc.The products and proceeds from their work("takuhatsu") are all offered to Light.Since we work as a way of thanksgiving to Light and great nature for accepting and enabling us to live,there is nothing that we can truly call our own,and goods and services that are necessary for day-to-day life are provided for by Light. Those who live this life are called"donin"(fellow members). The responsible person for Kosenrin overall is called  "Toban"(Director,literally,"staff on duty")from the stand point of Ittoen.And just as various work areas are "senkosha,"(organs entrusted with the practical management of goods and work on behalf of Light), Kosenrin as a whole is a "senkosha" as well.

Morning Service,Evening Service
　Ittoen is not a religion,and there is no single object of worship;rather,Ittoen members and friends of Light pay homage to.the essence of all great religions.The front of the Worship Hall has a circular window from which we can worship the great nature.It is God,gods,Buddha,which we in Ittoen refer to as Light,one and indivisible.
　The morning service consists of prayer and reading aloud of selected Buddhist sutras and Tenko-san's "One Fact of Life," while the evening service consists mainly of reading the selected sutras.
　Yuima(Vilamakirti)Sutra is a sutra by Yuima(Vilamakirti), a lay Buddhist teacher who can be regarded as a forerunner of the Ittoen way, while Hanna(Prajna-Paramita-sutra) sutra is a short sutra which sums up the essence of Buddha's teachings very concisely,"One Fact of Life"is a short excerpt from Tenko's inner account of reaching a new life, which expresses the Ittoen way in a succinct way.

Work(Takuhatsu and Labor)
　Every member in Kosenrin village engages in work such as cooking,boiling bath water,cleaning,working at the nursery and day care center,teaching at Ittoen schools, lecturing,forestry work,farming,and various business divisions.Work is called"samu"(work as service),and when cabled upon,members go out of the village to work. All the proceeds from work,both inside and outside,are contributed to the common pool of Light.

Education
　When children become three years old,they enter Ittoen's Izumi Kindergarten along with other children from the surrounding communities,and when they reach the school age,they enroll in Ittoen Elementary School,and then,Ittoen Junior High School,and Ittoen High School.
　While pupils at the elementary and junior high schools go to school fulltime like pupils at other school,the high school and college-level Daigakurin have a system of integrating study and work.Thus,high school students work during the morning hours,and study in the afternoon and evening,while students at Daigakurin do"takuhatsu" and samu(labor as service)in various divisions,and study at night time.

Meals
　Ittoen members,non-member residents,and non- member staff of business divisions join together,sit together on the wooden floor of the dining hall,and after saying prayers and reading short excerpts from Hannya sutra (Prajna-paramita-sutra),they have a simple and nutritiously balanced,meal quietly.After finishing,people recite in unison Emperor Meiji's poem:
"To go beyond self concern and work for other's well-being:
This is what human beings are called upon to practice."

Activity of Ittoen
Rokuman Gyogan
　When the League of Nations was formed in 1919 in the aftermath of the First World War,Tenko-san was deeply struck with the realization that work of building toward true world peace must begin with resolving and removing seeds of dispute from the hearts of individual men and women.With this realization and determination, he set the vow of Rokuman Gyogan.
　Rokuman Gyogan is a practice of nurturing and strengthening of the heart of taking the lower position ("geza")within us through being allowed to clean the toilets of other families,and of doing this work as we pray and make a vow for the future of the world with out conflict. Embodied in this practice are six interrelated prayers of praying(paying homage),"geza"(taking the lower position,humility),service,consolation,"sange" (penitence)、and"gyokotsu"(to do mendicant labor).And since 10,000 households were counted as a basic unit of this service(and movement),it was named as Rokuman Gyogan(six prayers practice for 10,000).
　This has been continued and spread through"gyogan" in Kyoto and Shiga,the annual New Year's"gyogan" throughout the country,November"gyogan,"and "gyogan" by participants in Ittoen's training Program, which is carried out every year.
　This activity of spreading circles and rings of peace through"gyogan"is called L.P.C.movement(Life of Peace-Creative movement).
Light-Gammadion-Cross Movement
　The uItimate hope of Ittoen life is achievement of true peace in the world,and based upon the realization that true peace can be built only by setting our hearts right and by straightening out our own personal conduct and life. And,Ittoen set the vow for"the Light-Gammadion-Cross" movement in 1930 in order to work actively for peace. In the same spirit,after the Second World War,Ittoen has been cooperating fully with the Japanese Association for the United Nations,the UNESCO movement,and Kokusai Shukyo Doshikai (International Religious Fellowship Association),the World Congress of Religion and Peace (WCRP), from their inception.Moreover,we take part in the International Association for Religious Freedom(IRA). Throughout these activities,we strive to take the lower position("geza"),go beyond boundaries of different religions and denominations,and actively take part in prayers for world peace.Light-Gammadion-Cross is the symbol of this.
　Based upon this activity,we have had a significant number of visitors from overseas,and there are always several friends from other countries who live in the community.
Educational Activity
　Ittoen Life based upon the principle of "living without seeds of dispute" has established educational organs within Kosenrin with the hope of training successors.While most of the pupils are children of Ittoen members,the schools are open to those who share our ideal,Ittoen Elementary School was opened in 1933,and since then, Toei Gakuen was established as a school foundation,and it runs Izumi Kindergarten,Ittoen Elementary School, Ittoen Junior High School,Ittoen High School,and Ittoen Daigakurin,and these Schools base their education on Confucius' teaching on "'integrating practice with study."  Kindergarten was founded from the outset to accept young children from the local community.
Chitoku Training Sessions
　This short-term training program on Ittoen Life was started in 1941 with the aim of enabling people to train themselves in wisdom(chi)and virtue(toku),from which its name is derived.The two-day training program is held in first half of each month.The training consists of morning and evening prayer service and lectures on Tenko_san's teachings and Ittoen Life,with the central role filled by Rokuman Gyogan(toilet training as a form of religious service and practice)and"takuhatsu" service on"roto"(out on the streets).Each month,this training program is used in a broad range of areas:for individual spiritual training, as a part of corporate training program,and as a form of training of recruits(new employees of various business enterprises).
Friends of Light and Friends of Light Association
　There are a large number of persons who live outside of Kosenrin and who do not directly take part in the collective life of Ittoen,but who are inspired and share in the ideal of Ittoen Life.They are called"Koyu"(literally Friends of Light),and they have formed Koyukai(Friends of Light Association)throughout the country.As such, they engage in Gyogan,"takuhatsu " activities and events, and implement lecture meetings,in a down-to-earth way. The headquarters of the Friends of Light organization is located in Kosenrin Village.The Friends of Light Association started with Tenko-san's prayer at the time of the Great Kanto Earthquake(1922).The day-to-day norms observed and encouraged by the Friends of Light include:

-Let us leave our footwear in a neat way [with toes pointing outside] when entering a building.
-Let us pray and gives thanks for the food that is provided us.
-Let us engage in work in a spirit of service.
-When you engage in the service of toilet cleaning ("gyogan"),then all of these become quite easy to practice.
　These points have been agreed to,but there are no other rules and there are no membership dues or even a membership list.Any and all persons who read the organs "Hikari"(Light)and"Koyu"(Friends of Light)and who aspire to walk on the same path are all"Koyu-san."

The numbers in parentheses indicate Tenko-san's age at the time.

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