In September 2008, the Joyous Life Lecture was conducted at four locations in Europe–Paris on the 21st, Cologne on the 24th, Leeds on the 27th, and London on the 28th–drawing a total of 244 people. The lectures are mainly designed to introduce and explain the teachings to beginners and non-followers. This year, the Europe Diocese invited Dr. Kazuo Murakami, professor emeritus at Tsukuba University who is an internationally acclaimed genetics scientist. He gave a lecture titled “Live with our genes switched on–how to awaken our beneficial genes.”<\/p>\n
At each venue, Dr. Murakami started his lecture by talking about his research experiments with an entertainment firm to determine which genes are switched on and off by laughter. He went on to share his reflections and insights on his professional experiences. He shared his belief that we are merely renting a body which is comprised of atoms and molecules from the universe, and all of us must return our body to the earth without exception. After speaking about Something Great that governs the entire universe, he concluded his lecture by saying: “In order to turn on the switches of genes, the most important thing is to be thankful for the fact that our existence itself is a marvelous wonder. This attitude of thankfulness will awaken the good genes in you.”<\/p>\n
The venue for the lecture in Leeds, the U.K., was Tenrikyo Leeds Mission Station. A total of 25 people including the head of the mission station attended the lecture.<\/p>\n
On September 28, Dr. Murakami gave his lecture at Wellcome Trust in Euston, London. A total of 90 people attended the lecture, including 53 non-followers, making it the largest turnout for the London venue in recent years. A lively question and answer session was held following the lecture. The lecture received positive reviews from the participants who said that they enjoyed the lecture because it was filled with fascinating stories and reflections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In September 2008, the Joyous Life Lecture was conducted at four locations in Europe–Paris on the 21st, Cologne on the 24th, Leeds on the 27th, and London on the 28th–drawing a total of 244 people. The lectures are mainly designed to introduce and explain the teachings to beginners and non-followers.\u2026<\/p>\n