Compass of the Times 262

Creating the Flow

Keiko Takahashi

Beginning a New Cycle of In-En-Kaho

What kind of year will 2026 be for you? Some of you may already sense the signs of what kind of year it will be.

During the past few years, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced a succession of unbelievable realities. Everyone has sensed that our era is undergoing profound change.

Changes have occurred in our assumptions of things, social norms (conventional wisdom), values, as well as our way of living and doing things. Everything has undergone major transformation.

The approaching wave of change brings trials beyond words and difficult realities. It could be said that it imposes an overwhelming sense of pressure and obstruction upon us. The weight of our nation’s many challenges and the forewarning of a harsh future only intensify this burden.

Amidst such challenges, we welcome the new year. What kind of year will this be for you? What aspirations do you have as you begin your journey in this coming year?

What matters is this: no matter what burdens our era carries, and no matter what challenges our nation faces, a new beginning always holds hidden possibilities that are limitless.

This beginning has no limitations or constraints.

It is a time when all power and wisdom flow in. It is none other than a space filled with every possibility.

Within this new cycle, we initiate a fresh cycle of In-En-Kaho¹, originating from ourselves as In. We do this so that we can manifest what is hidden and concealed within us to the external world. Turning the cycle of In-En-Kaho means to manifest the Blueprint² entrusted to us.

Creating a New Flow of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Space

When a new time begins to unfold, it becomes vital for us to actively receive abundant support from the world.

Last year, each of us undertook the Bodaishin Challenge³ with individuals’ resolved Bodaishin⁴. It was our journey to awaken and nurture within us the wisdom and power embodied by the great nature.

Our ancestors expressed the elements shaping nature as earth, water, fire, wind, and space. These are considered the fundamental elements, archetypes of nature, believed to contain condensed wisdom and power.

Each element has unique wisdom and power, and they are contained in the Twelve Bodaishin or the Twelve Hearts of Light we have cherished; namely, the moon, fire, sky, mountain, ears of rice, spring, river, earth, Kannon Bodhisattva, wind, sea, and sun.

One of the goals we pursue through the Bodaishin Challenge is to draw forth and embody within us the wisdom and power held by these elements of nature.

As beings living within nature, we inherently carry within us this flow of earth, water, fire, wind, and space. Humans are not separate from nature; we are children of the Earth, children of the universe. That is precisely why we can draw forth the power of the universe and nature.

Beginning the journey of a new year means creating anew from within us the flow of earth, water, fire, wind, and space. We are beings capable of drawing forth the flow of wisdom and power harbored by nature from within us.

Pour Your Soul Into Every Single Moment

We create a fresh cycle of In-En-Kaho, the new flow of earth, water, fire, wind, and space. Each of us possesses greater power than we realize, capable of generating profoundly wise, intricate, and magnificent currents.

What kind of year do you wish to make this new year? What will you seek, and what will you give forth in these limited days?

If we cherish the time of our lives, we will surely strive to make each and every moment the best it can be. To do so, we must know and respond directly to the question: “What do I wish for and seek in a true sense right now?”

This means to face every encounter and event with our whole soul, and to show the best way of living. It is the surest truth of all that such an attitude toward life is what will fill the new year with light.

Editor’s Note:

1. In-En-Kaho

In-En-Kaho is the law of cause and effect. All phenomena are seen as the manifestation of the result (Kaho) produced by combining together cause (In), which is the source, and conditions (En). In other words, we grasp the flow of the energy that controls all of creation and destruction in this world by using the three poles. There is not a single phenomenon in this world that can be separated from the law of In-En-Kaho. All matter in the universe and every possible reality are the result (Kaho) that is created by the cause (In) and the conditions (En). (Excerpts and summary from pp. 125-126 of The Soul Doctrine as a Way of Life by Keiko Takahashi)

2. Blueprint

Originally, a blueprint is referred to as plans showing how to build something, such as a building or a machine. From there, it has come to refer to diagrams or plans for just about anything or for diagrams of the future that ought to be. It is the reality that we seek to realize and aspire to achieve. In the Study of the Soul, the term is also imbued with the meanings of the Idea (ideal form) hidden in all things and the promise made with the Great Existence, with God. (Excerpted from p. 105 of The Golden Path by Keiko Takahashi)

3. Bodaishin Challenge

In 2024, the year of the 55th anniversary of GLA, the 31st Commemorative GGP was opened on the basis of the 30-year history of the GGP studies, and its annual theme was the Bodaishin Challenge. The Bodaishin Challenge was also continued in 2025. This was a challenge in which each participant sets one Bodaishin to nurture within them, and with that Bodaishin, they faced issues, problems, and trials to open a new path in concrete ways.

4. Bodaishin

Bodaishin is a Buddhist term originally used to refer to the “mind that seeks enlightenment.” I would like to define Bodaishin more broadly as a “mind that seeks one’s true self, loves others, and contributes to world harmony.” Bodaishin is a mind that not only seeks to develop and perfect oneself but also expands one’s boundaries to care for others and work for the good of the whole. The major problems of our time, such as global warming, world poverty, and social inequality, cannot be truly solved without Bodaishin at work. Bodaishin is what is essential for our lives and the world to truly shine. (Excerpt from pp. 4-5 of Twelve Bodaishin: The Way That the Soul Shines Brightest by Keiko Takahashi, currently available only in Japanese)

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