FROM SHUMEI MAGAZINE, Vol. 240. JULY/AUGUST 2002

Spiritual Journeys: A changing perception of Jyorei
Mary Ann Scott (Pasadena)

In 1990, Mary Ann Scott began giving Jyorei. She has been an active member of SSA ever since. Mary Ann is a practitioner of Oriental Medicine and the Editor-in-Chief of this publication.

    When Eugene Sensei asked the membership of Shinji Shumeikai of America to review their spiritual journeys and write about them, many images and memorable events came to mind. I have experienced and changed so much since joining Shumei in 1990. But, looking back, perhaps one of the most dramatic changes that occurred over the last twelve years has been my perception of Jyorei.

    I first received Jyorei in the midst of a crisis. I was working as a volunteer for a national transformational program, and I was filling in for a staff person in the organization’s local office who was on vacation. I was desperately trying to get the weekly registration statistics together so that I could telephone them to San Francisco by a certain hour, and everything that could go wrong, did. The figures that I was working on would not balance. My fellow volunteer and friend, Dorit Papelbaum, offered to help and we quickly got nowhere. It became such a disaster that I was unable to complete the work and the Los Angeles statistics went unreported. This had never happened before and the missing numbers made the national figures unreliable. Much later we discovered that the reason the numbers would not balance was that some of the figures that had been given me were incorrect. This late information did not make me feel better. People had depended on me and I had let them down. I was so upset that I could not think straight. Then, with 30 minutes left to meet the deadline, Dorit offered to give me Jyorei. We went outside to the parking lot where I received Jyorei for the first time. I was hoping to become centered, so that I could resolve the problem ahead of me. Instead, my only experience of my first Jyorei was the beautiful colors, especially the emerald green, that I saw in my mind's eye; nothing else. I guess I was meant to experience purification that day.

    Over the next year, I received Jyorei intermittently. On rare occasions, I again saw colors, but nothing quite as beautiful as when I first received Jyorei. Other than that, I experienced nothing except, occasionally, a mild sense of contentment. The value of Jyorei was definitely not manifest to me. For over a year I refused all invitations to visit the Shumei’s Hollywood Center. It was not my Jyorei experiences, but meeting Eugene Sensei that convinced me to become a member of Shumei. We sat down together for my first introductory meeting and he began to tell me of his experiences with Shumei and Jyorei. I was moved. His sincerity and conviction were so remarkable that I decided at that moment to participate in SSA. I received my Ohikari the next day.

    I went to Misono for Grand Sampai some months later and received Jyorei in Meishusama Hall. Again, just as when Dorit first gave me Jyorei, I was looking for something specific. I expected an incredible spiritual awakening. I had anticipated my visit to Misono to be a nurturing, contemplative time spent on sacred grounds. Instead, as we were rapidly herded from one site to the next, the intense spiritual light of Misono made me feel out of balance. I expected to profoundly feel the Jyorei that Shumei's spiritual leader, Kaishusama, gave us. Instead, her Jyorei seemed about the same as that I had received from Dorit. I was disappointed that my moment of epiphany had not come and that I did not have a truly remarkable experience on the trip. I had felt so sure that I would. It was as if I had been given a promise. I resigned myself to an eventless trip. Then, on my last morning in Misono, Eugene Sensei took a group of us to Mikotosama's Memorial. It was there that unexpectedly I had my spiritual moment. I came away with a deep sense of purpose and commitment to Shumei and a deep love for Mikotosama. I think of the love I have for Shumei's late president as a response to the great love he had for America.

    My new commitment and sense of purpose found expression as a "planner" and "executer." Administrative duties come easily to me, so that is what I did. I helped organize this, was responsible for that, and assisted someone else on another thing. There was Hashimoto Sensei's visit (with numerous other Senseis), the Pasadena National Center's Installation of the Komyo Scroll of Light and Grand Opening and Open House celebrations, our first Anniversary, our second Anniversary, our third Anniversary, and on and on.

    I watched people come and go with the Seagulls, the visiting young volunteers who spread Jyorei, when they were active at our Centers. I admired them, but had no particular interest in joining their activities. If someone in my life had an illness or physical complaint, I thought of my medicine—not Jyorei—as the first recourse. Sometimes, I was so caught up in getting a job done or a meeting underway that I almost resented the interruptions caused by chanting and Jyorei.

    Fraught with purification, I spoke with Eugene Sensei and decided to undertake a hundred-day Sampai, which is a commitment to a hundred consecutive days of chanting and exchange of Jyorei at a Shumei Center. I had to overcome torrential rains and the Los Angeles Riot, but I did it. This seemed to thrust me into a new domain of spirituality, happiness, and challenge. One of the most important moments for me occurred on another visit to Misono when the Okuno Family told their moving story of blindness, disease, and Jyorei's power to cure. Although I had read Meishusama's words carefully, his teachings about spiritual cords were brought to life by them. Through their story, I came to understand the true power of Jyorei. I became active in Jyorei evenings every one or two weeks, attended and hosted home Jyorei evenings, and participated in New Member Orientations once a month. I gave Jyorei in the malls, and among other Jyorei activities participated at the Whole Life Expos. Second, third, and fourth trips to Misono for Grand Sampai were taken, and each time I drew strength and purpose from Mikotosama at his memorial.

    It is not only my understanding of Meishusama's philosophy that has grown over the years, but my personal experience and appreciation of Jyorei. The effects of Jyorei are cumulative, and are enhanced by gratitude. A recipient's responsiveness to Jyorei is increased by repeated exposures to it. In my case, I was initially so toxic that I perceived little effect, even when receiving Jyorei from Kaishusama at Grand Sampai. As the Light of Jyorei dissolved my spiritual clouds, the experience became more discernible, which in turn deepened my appreciation for it. I always feel Jyorei now when I receive it. Sometimes I see colors or images. When I am weary, I feel refreshed and energized. And at rare moments, I am so moved that tears run down my cheeks. I experience Jyorei differently at Monthly Sampai, when Jyorei is given collectively by Sensei to all present, than I do when it is exchanged on a daily basis between two members. At Monthly Sampai, I always seem to have a larger sense of community after Jyorei - even if the experience of Jyorei was profoundly personal. And, I experience Jyorei differently at our Anniversary celebrations than I do at other times. At these annual occasions, I seem to experience a sensation of rhythmic pulsing. Sometimes the pulsation is gentle, barely perceptible, and at others, it is very powerful. Regardless, afterwards I am filled with pure happiness and love for everyone in both our community and the world.

    I have learned that Jyorei's power is influenced by the giver. Jyorei is at its most powerful when the giver supplants his or her own ego and self-centered motives with the simple and sincere desire to share God's Light with the person who is receiving Jyorei. It is based on no more specific a motive than wanting what is best for the other person. Over time, this approach to giving Jyorei enables the giver to transmit an increasingly large amount of Light. It is as if the giver starts with a thin straw through which Jyorei flows to the recipient and over time, as the giver's spiritual Journey proceeds, that straw becomes a large pipe. Those personal conduits that transmit Jyorei's Light are enlarged by selflessness and hearts filled with love.

    Also, the quality of Jyorei may be influenced by the occasion at which it is given or, more precisely, by the intentions, thoughts, and efforts we invest in that occasion. For example, exchanging Jyorei can be done on the spur of the moment or at our convenience, whereas a scheduled Sampai is an occasion that takes place at a specific hour. Effort is needed for a scheduled Sampai to occur. A Monthly Sampai is a specific date and hour for a given month, and requires additional planning and scheduling for it to occur and for anyone to attend. Finally, the Annual Anniversary Celebration is scheduled for more than a year in advance and requires a significant amount of planning and scheduling for the actual event, travel arrangements, and for guests to be invited, and so forth. Thus, more powerful Jyorei is possible at Monthly Sampai and the most powerful Jyorei in America will occur at the Anniversary Celebration.

    I have journeyed from being someone who was not overly impressed with Jyorei to being someone who is awed by its power. I would not miss the opportunity to receive the most powerful Jyorei in America.

    See you at our tenth Anniversary Celebration!

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