PL Kyodan
, is a Japanese founded in 1924 by Tokuharu Miki, who was a priest in the Ōbaku sect of Zen Buddhism. The stated aim of the Church of Perfect Liberty is to bring about world peace. It is headquartered in Tondabayashi, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
Teachings
PL teaches that "Life is Art" and that humans are born to express their own unique individuality in everything they do, "creating true art". 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 and church ministers.In PL Kyodan, God is referred to as Daigenrei or Mioya Ōkami, both of which are different readings of the same characters.
Precepts
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.The 21 PL precepts are:
- Life is art
- To live is to express one's self
- God appears through one's self
- Being annoyed limits your expression
- One's self is lost by being emotional
- Efface your self conceptions
- Everything exists in relativity
- Live as the sun
- Human beings are all equal
- Love yourself and others
- Always be with god
- Everything has a way according to its name
- There is a way for men and a way for women
- World peace is everything
- All is a mirror
- All things progress and develop
- Grasp what is most essential
- Each moment is a turning point
- Begin once you perceive
- Live maintaining equilibrium between mind and matter
- Live in perfect liberty
Membership
The church claims to have more than one million followers worldwide and 500 churches located in ten countries.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 PL Peace Tower, a monument to all the people who have died in war, from the beginning of time.
Organization
PL's spiritual leader, the Patriarch, is called . The third and current Patriarch of the church is Takahito Miki. Miki is also the vice president of, the Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan.The second Patriarch, Tokuchika Miki, visited the Holy See three times, and met two popes to improve inter-religious cooperation.