Prayers for Peace and Gratitude

Next, Rika Saionji addressed participants to introduce the SOPP’s second core program, in which prayers are offered for peace in each of 193 nations and for all the other regions of the world.

For this year’s SOPP, the nations were grouped by continent or region, and the prayers for each region began with a brief slideshow of scenes from that part of the world. In a prepared video presentation, Byakko staff members presented the flag of each nation as its name was announced, and then spoke the word ‘peace’ in that country’s national language(s). Both the country’s name and its word for ‘peace’ were displayed on screen in Japanese and English, for participants to join in prayer. After all the flags of that region had been presented, a prayer was offered for peace in that continent or region. At the very end, a prayer was offered for peace in ‘all the other regions of the world,’ followed by the prayer May peace prevail on Earth.

From there, the program transitioned to a prayer of Gratitude for All Life on Earth, which has been part of the SOPP since 2015. The message on screen read: “Today, each and every one of us is connected with people all over the world. We will offer a prayer of gratitude, to send our collective love to each and every thing on earth.” As each line of the prayer appeared on screen, the video showed beautiful scenes depicting various elements of the natural world—the oceans, mountains, animals, plants, and so on.

Gratitude for All Life on Earth
(spoken in Japanese and English)

Thank you, dear Oceans.
Thank you, dear Mountains.
Thank you, dear Earth.
Thank you, dear Animals.
Thank you, dear Plants.
Thank you, dear Minerals.
Thank you, dear Water.
Thank you, dear Air.
Thank you, dear Sun.
Thank you, dear planet Earth.
May Peace Prevail on Earth.

Rika Saionji thanked participants for joining in this prayer, and then introduced the next segment of the program, the Divine Spark IN. The Divine Spark IN (pronounced ‘een’) was introduced at the 2018 SOPP, as a new way of praying that is easy to learn and practice, so that as many people as possible may quickly connect with their inner divine nature and contribute to building a peaceful world.

The video showed a small group of people performing the IN outdoors, while the words on screen described the intentions that accompany each movement:

While inhaling, we concentrate with our whole being
While exhaling, we empty our mind
We invite divinity from heaven
Our true self radiates light
We receive divinity from heaven
This same divinity is within us
All within us is harmonized
We send divine light to all humanity
The light spreads to every human being
All humanity resonates with the vibration of divinity…
and recalls their essential divine nature
All human beings are divine lives