We want to change. We want to change something within ourselves, don’t we? Even though we may love who we are, we want to change, for example, our tendency to easily get jealous, to readily get irritated, to say that one thing you know you shouldn’t have said or something like that. And the thing is, no matter how hard we try, no matter how much we want, it is really difficult to control our emotions and actions, isn’t it? That is, it is really difficult to change and overcome our weaknesses. To this, Kyoshu-sama gave us a solution: for us, who act in a way we ourselves do not even want to act or we who say things that we ourselves do not want to say, to surrender the whole of ourselves to God in the name of Messiah, as ones whose sins are already atoned for and forgiven. In essence, Kyoshu-sama is encouraging us to accept the atoning blood that Jesus shed for us two thousand years ago. Even though I cannot stress enough how important this practice of surrendering is, today, I want to provide another solution to our problem, and that is diet, or more specifically, a vegan diet. Let me quote directly from Meishu-sama’s Sacred Word. He said: Vegetables made from Nature Farming are delicious . . . and this is truly important. If they are delicious, people will eat more vegetables. As you know, eating vegetables is good for your health, but more importantly, your nature changes. Human nature changes. People today are aggressive and easily get into fights or even kill others. This violent nature is related to what we eat. Unfortunately, vegetables today are grown with a lot of fertilizers and taste bad. That’s why people are forced to eat a lot of meat and fish. . . . But when vegetables are grown without fertilizers, they become delicious. The inclination toward conflict is deeply rooted in what we eat. . . . As the world of Miroku comes, I need to make people eat more vegetables. For that, vegetables need to be delicious. To produce delicious vegetables, they have to be grown without fertilizers. The benefit of Nature Farming for humanity is truly enormous. You didn’t realize this point until today, did you? But I believe we have to let the world know about this, too.~Sermon, April 27, 1952 Here, Meishu-sama is saying that the reason why we easily get irritated and become aggressive is because we are eating meat and fish. He is saying that the cause of conflict in the world is due to meat-eating. This, I say, is very understandable. I mean what do you expect? The animals we eat are dealt the most aggressive form of our expression—killing them. This sonen, this aggressive sentiment, of course enters our bodies when we consume them. More than that, as all living beings wish to survive, before those animals are slaughtered, they feel so much fear, anxiety, despair, helplessness and all the other negative feelings we human beings would also go through if we were about to be killed. These negative feelings also, of course, enter our bodies if we eat them. However, through the Sacred Word I just cited, Meishu-sama is providing a solution to this great problem of the violent human nature, that is, eat more vegetables, or rather, change your diet to a vegan diet. This way, human nature will change, and there will be less conflict in the world. As a result, a paradise on earth will emerge. This is huge, isn’t it? I mean I thought I had to live with my human nature and my weaknesses forever. But Meishu-sama is saying that we do not have to give up. He is saying that if we change our diet to a vegan diet, preferably eating vegetables grown without any agrochemicals of course, but also without any chemical, biological or natural fertilizers, like manure or EM, our human nature can change into one that does not lead to conflict or fights or war, but to peace and harmony, one that can construct a paradise on earth, an ideal world that all of humanity have been wishing for for a long time. Let me put it this way. From Meishu-sama’s point of view, the key to constructing a paradise on earth does not rest in the hands of politicians or presidents or businesspeople. Rather, it is in the hands of those who stand in the kitchen. It is in the hands of farmers, who work with their bare hands, covered with mud, not using any fertilizers or agrochemicals. It is not in the hands of those who wear suits, like me, but in the hands of those who wear aprons and rugged clothing. It is not in the hands of those who just eat food, but yes, in the hands of those who cook and produce it. Everyone, this is a revolutionary message. Until today, we thought that an ideal world could come only when those who occupy important jobs, like those world leaders, do something. But Meishu-sama is saying that this perspective is completely wrong. And actually, it is the opposite of what we have believed until today. He is saying that the power to change the world lies in the kitchen, that is, it lies with you and your hands. If you cook a vegan diet in your kitchen, this will reduce the aggressive and violent nature of human beings and lead to the creation of a paradise on earth. If you, on your farm or in your small garden you have at home or wherever and however, produce vegetables without using any additives, believing in the power of soil itself, this leads to a paradise on earth. To put it more bluntly, I say that it depends on each one of you as to whether a paradise on earth arrives or not. Because if the key to world peace is in the kitchen, you can no longer blame others like politicians or presidents of the world and say that the world is in chaos because of them. It is you who need to do something for the world. I mean Meishu-sama is showing us that a paradise on earth starts from the kitchen and from the soil. It doesn’t matter whether you are a man or a woman. But you who stand in the kitchen have a power that none of us have realized until today. But can I just say, isn’t it an undeniable fact that until today, men have often thought that the work they do outside the house is more important than the work that women do within it, namely looking after the home and standing in the kitchen? How wrong this thinking has been! So I say, the time of revolution has arrived. The paradigm has shifted. The center of divine work is definitely not outside the house, but yes, inside the house, where women often are. And I say that now, men need to throw away this erroneous thinking that what men do is more important than what women do, and that the time for women to take the lead has arrived, really. Here, I am in no way suggesting that women should continue to be the ones who do the cooking. No way. Men definitely need to do that, too. I am trying to make us all, women and men alike, awaken to the truth that a paradise on earth starts from the kitchen. I myself am doing my best to spend as much time as possible in the kitchen and share the responsibilities of housework with my wife. You might say, “Oh, but those organic vegetables are so expensive!” But you have to remember the posture of Meishu-sama who started to produce his own food when there was a food shortage in Japan. And actually, this was how he started Nature Farming. So let us follow the example of Meishu-sama and produce food, instead of simply buying and consuming it. We thought that we needed to do something special to serve in divine work. But if Meishu-sama is saying that humanity follows a vegan diet in the world of Miroku, then every day, with every meal you prepare, you can be a part of the divine work of constructing a paradise on earth. So let us, with burning passion, believe in the words of Meishu-sama, practice Nature Farming, get muddy, and prepare and eat vegan food. Like this, let us change the world from the kitchen. And as we are talking about the importance of soil, I now feel the necessity to revisit the only sacred ground of Meishu-sama on earth at the moment: the Sacred Ground of Soil. That’s right. If all the bureaucratic and administrative issues are cleared, I will once again go to Angola, to Africa, this year too, hopefully in August. And this time, I am coming with my wife, Mami.