2023 Fuji SOPP
A World Connected by Prayer
For the nineteenth consecutive year, the Symphony of Peace Prayers (SOPP) was celebrated around the world on May 21, 2023. The live-streamed broadcast from Fuji Sanctuary in Shizuoka, Japan brought together people all across the globe in heartfelt prayers for peace, harmony, and healing among human beings and all life on earth.
Held every May since 2005, the SOPP is a powerful demonstration of interfaith unity in a shared wish for peace throughout the world. It has also been the venue for a variety of global initiatives, including the inauguration of the Fuji Declaration (2015), the launch of the Soul of WoMen campaign (2016), and the worldwide introduction of the Divine Spark IN (2018).
This year’s ceremony was the fourth to be held online. The online format enables people to take part in the ceremony from anywhere in the world, and also allows for enhancing the ceremony with beautiful visuals to accompany the prayers, messages, music, and poetry.
For 2023, the SOPP was shaped around the theme of ‘Circulation: a world connected by prayer,’ with a special focus on the ways in which our prayers resonate across the globe, and even return to us. The chairperson and vice-chairs of host organization Byakko Shinko Kai elaborated on this year’s theme in their written messages (reprinted below).
This year’s ceremony included prayers from six faith traditions, prayers for peace in each country and region on earth, a prayer of Gratitude for All Life, the Divine Spark IN, and a presentation on the Fuji Declaration, including messages of peace from three individuals closely connected with the SOPP.
In addition to the main ceremony that was live-streamed from Fuji Sanctuary, a number of smaller gatherings took place in various locations around the world. We are pleased to share reports from these events beginning on the 2023 International Events page.
We begin below with written messages from the leadership of Byakko Shinko Kai, followed by a detailed account of the online event. The recorded broadcast from Fuji Sanctuary can be viewed on the SOPP 2023 page.
Message from the Chairperson
It gives us great pleasure to announce that the Symphony of Peace Prayers (SOPP) will be holding its 19th annual celebration this year. We would like to express our deep gratitude for this opportunity to connect with people around the world and send out the light of our peace prayers again this year. Whether you are viewing the live stream on the internet or participating through the booklet, we invite you to join with us in prayer, and to envision the divine light that is being emitted worldwide from the place where each one of you is located.
The theme of this year’s SOPP is “Circulation: a world connected by prayer.”
The power that is needed around the world today is the power of belief. What is life? What is the purpose of this lifetime that we are living? The answers to these questions may vary from one person to another; however, my message is that our life in this world unfolds solely according to what we believe.
A person’s life has its ups and downs, and we all experience suffering. However, although we may be of different ethnicities, born in different generations, we are all divine and equal by nature. The world is divided into different nations, and sometimes there are conflicts and struggles, but the people of all ethnicities have the same, innate divine spark within them and there are no intrinsic differences among us. All of us descended to this earthly plane and are living here.
The steady belief of those who can recognize this principle is more important than anything else right now. Our firm belief is what is most needed at this time.
So many people today are shifting left and right, confused by the phenomena they see, the circumstances that surround them, and the conflicts occurring in front of them. They are all unsure of what is true and what they should believe in. Each one of us needs to recognize and deeply cherish the power of our belief.
First and foremost, we need the belief that keeps us praying to draw out our own inner truth. No matter what happens, we have to keep looking at the core of our belief. It is important to have faith in it and keep looking at it, even if we can’t see it. For us, our belief is the belief that all of humanity is divine. Let us keep believing in humanity’s innate divine spark and keep striving to see it. This belief in our sacred divine spark is what creates the future.
When we think about our belief in divinity, our first step is to believe in the innate divine spark of our own selves. Divinity is not something that exists in some distant place, far away from ourselves. Please believe in the divine spark within you. Based on that belief, we send out our prayers and let them work for humanity.
With our power, our love, and our will, we think about and pray for the peace of humankind. As a result, our sacred divine energy will circulate through the world.
In any field, be it religious, political, economic, educational, medical, and so on, the belief that human beings are divine should be the foundation. Everything depends on whether we believe in our divine nature or not. Can we keep looking at our intrinsic divinity, or do we lose sight of it? Do we believe so much in the past that we see the future only as an extension of the past? At this time, we need a transformation in our collective consciousness.
Those who believe in their own divinity are the ones who can guide many people forward. First of all, we ourselves must achieve a transformation in our own consciousness. As we transform ourselves, our unshakable belief becomes a great magnetic force, a magnetic field, and amplifies the circulation of prayer. Our belief will then connect people’s hearts to one another. This is how it will spread. Even if people do not grasp it in their heads, they will understand it in their hearts. They will feel in their hearts that all human beings are originally divine. The prayers of many people will be drawn out, sparking a great divine reawakening.
Thankfully, this year again we will be able to connect with wonderful religious leaders in prayer, and we will understand from many angles that our prayers continue to circulate. And together with all those who are joining with us around the world, we will resonate prayers filled with love and care, not only for ourselves, but for all humankind.
This year, joining hands with all of you, we will again bring together the prayers of many people and create continuing cycles of prayer. Let us maximize the power of our divine spark. Our belief will create the era of the future on earth.
Masami Saionji
Chairperson, Byakko Shinko Kai
Message from the Deputy Chairperson and Vice Chairs
This year marks the 19th annual Symphony of Peace Prayers. As we look ahead to the 20th anniversary next year, we are once again reminded of the history of this event and the many prayers that all of you have prayed over the years.
It is thanks to you that the SOPP has come this far, and we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for continuing this symphony of prayers year after year, even during the coronavirus pandemic. Over the years, numerous religious and spiritual leaders, young people working in various fields, musicians, and cultural figures from many parts of the world have been guests at this event. They have joined the thousands of participants, and together we have prayed, celebrated, declared, and resonated. Transcending languages, nations, continents, religions, and denominations, at the SOPP we have been able to send out a great many prayers from Fuji Sanctuary.
For many years, our prayers have circulated throughout the world and embraced everything in nature. Therefore, this year’s theme is “Circulation: a world connected by prayer.” As symbolized by all the national flags flying at Fuji Sanctuary, many prayers for peace have been sent out from this sanctuary to all the countries of the world, as have the prayers of various faiths and spiritual traditions. Through the SOPP, we have truly built a world connected by prayer.
Our prayers circulate. They do not just travel in one direction and then disappear. They continue circulating around, on and on, and at some point they even return to us. Prayers offered to nature are not just absorbed by nature. Nature receives the prayers and then responds with its own prayers. The prayers that we send out to all nations, and the prayers that transcend religious boundaries do not simply disappear. They live on and continue to circulate.
Because we have been praying for so many years, we naturally have a deep understanding of this circulation of prayer, and of a world where we are all connected through prayer. This year, we would like to focus on this circulation of prayers. And as we send our prayers out to the world, we hope you will feel how the prayers cycle around and around, resonating in all directions, and how they invisibly return to us, so that we too are prayed for.
Our prayers have already circulated throughout the world, thanks to numerous SOPP events held not only in Japan but in dozens of other countries. Through our prayers for peace, we have been able to connect with many people all across the globe, transcending religious and other boundaries. This year, the SOPP will again be held online. But even though we are not gathering in person, our consciousness will be united through our prayers for peace in each and every country and region. One by one, our prayers will be released into the world, touching the hearts of many others, and eventually they will return to us. Let us celebrate the 19th annual SOPP together, united in the circulation of our prayers around the world.
Yuka Saionji, Maki Saionji, and Rika Saionji
Deputy Chairperson and Vice Chairpersons of Byakko Shinko Kai