Kiitsu Kyōkai

 Kiitsu Kyōkai — Returning-to-One Gathering
 
On the first and third Thursdays of each month, the meeting will be held between 7:30-9:00pm UK time.

On the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, the meeting will be held between 10:30am-12:00 midday UK time. 

NB. There will be no meetings on any fifth Thursday, nor during the month of August. 

Here is the stable Zoom link for both morning and evening meetings:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85775868333?pwd=LEuyKnfbRJORbqsuzkhsonHui4ttwA.1

Meeting ID: 857 7586 8333
Passcode: 970614

 —o0o—

Kiitsu [帰一] means ‘returning to one’. In this context kyōkai [教會] is best rendered not as ‘church’ or ‘congregation’ but as ‘gathering’: a community devoted to communal learning, moral–ethical cultivation, and the mutual exchange of ideas about a universal, dynamic, creative and liberative free-religion [自由宗教 jiyū shūkyō], rather than the transmission of fixed doctrines. Hence Kiitsu Kyōkai is best translated simply as ‘Returning-to-One Gathering’. 

The inspiration behind this free-religious gathering is the work and ideas of the Japanese educator, interfaith pioneer, and advocate of jiyū shūkyō, Imaoka Shin’ichirō-sensei (1881-1988). A selection of his essays can be found at the following link:

A selection of Imaoka Shin’ichirō’s essays on jiyū shūkyō (a dynamic, creative, inquiring, free and liberative religion/spirituality)

After a brief informal welcome, our gatherings begin with twenty minutes of Seiza [静座](Quiet Sitting). Basic instruction for this is always provided for first-time attenders, but before joining us online, should you wish, you can also watch an introductory video and download a free PDF book about Seiza found at the bottom of this page, or via this LINK. This is followed by a short thought for the day, offered by one of those attending, on some aspect of jiyū shūkyō that they have noticed in their own life and practice. The remainder of the meeting consists of a free-flowing, open-minded and open-hearted conversation on the same theme/subject. You can gain a general sense of what our meetings are like from the following order for a gathering. A PDF of this can be obtained by clicking this LINK.

—o0o—

A short period of Seiza (Quiet Sitting) [see note below]  

Lighting of a candle
(said by the convenor of the gathering) 
 
Mindful of truth ever exceeding our knowledge, and community ever exceeding our practice, reverently we meet together, beginning with ourselves as we are, to share the strength of integrity and the heritage of the spirit, in the unending quest for wisdom and love. 

Our Principles of Living [Provisional]
(said by the convenor and all those who also wish to say them)

I have faith in (my) Self.
I have faith in Others. 
I have faith in Cooperative Community. 
I have faith in the trinity of Self, Others, and Cooperative Community.
I have faith in the returning-to-one of life and nature—the Cosmic Cooperative Community.
I have faith in the Kyōkai.
I have faith in jiyū shūkyō.

A short reading and/or talk by a member of the gathering

Music (optional)

A time of free-flowing, open-minded 
and open-hearted conversation
 
A moment of silence ended with 
the following closing words 
(said by the convenor and all those who also wish to say them)

We receive fragments of holiness, glimpses of eternity, brief moments of insight. Let us gather them up for the precious gifts that they are and, renewed by their grace, begin to walk a path that is safer than the known way.

May we all be persistent in a universal, dynamic, creative, inquiring, liberative and free faith, and go forward for the purpose of realising the Kingdom of God, or Pure Land of Buddha, that is nothing but the Ideal Cooperative Community. 

Amen.

*  *  *

Our Principles of Living [Provisional] 
(with annotations)

I. I have faith in (my) Self

By awakening to the Agency, Creativity, and Sociality of the Self, I experience life as deeply worth living. Agency, Creativity, and Sociality may also be described as Humanity, Divinity, and Buddha-nature.

II. I have faith in Others

Others are neighbours who possess the Self as others. By having faith in the Self, I inevitably have faith in Others.

III. I have faith in Cooperative Community

Though Self and Others each possess unique individuality, they never exist in solitary isolation; rather, they inevitably give rise to mutual interdependence, solidarity, and Cooperative Community.

IV. I have faith in the trinity of Self, Others, and Cooperative Community 

Self, Others, and Cooperative Community, while each retaining unique individuality, are returning-to-one/kiitsu. Therefore, there is no difference in priority or superiority among them; each always presupposes the other two.

V. I have faith in the returning-to-one of life and nature—the Cosmic Cooperative Community 
The trinity of Self, Others, and Cooperative Community further returns-to-one (kiitsu) with all beings throughout Heaven and Earth, forming a Cosmic Cooperative Community.

VI. I have faith in the Kyōkai/Church 

The Kyōkai/Church is a microcosm of the Cosmic Cooperative Community. Only by belonging to the Kyōkai/Church do I truly become myself.

VI. I have faith in jiyū shūkyō/free-religion 

While placing trust in the Kyōkai/Church, the endless pursuit and improvement towards universal and ultimate truth is the core of religious life. Such a dynamic religion is called jiyū shukyō/free-religion.
 
—o0o—

A note about Seiza (Quiet Sitting)

“Do not seek; sit quietly in the country of unconditioned spontaneity. With only a half-mat of space, the springtime of heaven and earth flows within you, and there life’s energy and life’s joy arise. Seiza is truly a gateway to the ultimate happiness (bliss).” 
—Okada Torajiro (1872-1920)—

UPDATED on 16th May 2026 
 
At the end of September 2023 my friend, dharma-friend, and Seiza meditation teacher, Miki Nakura-sensei, visited Cambridge both to lead a Seiza (静坐 — literally, “quiet sitting”) meditation session at the Cambridge Unitarian Church and to conduct my Kikyoshiki service. For those who are puzzled about why this style of meditation was being taught in a Unitarian setting, it’s helpful to know that Seiza meditation was the preferred form of meditation practised by the Japanese Unitarian movement thanks to the great twentieth-century advocate of a creative, inquiring, free and liberative spirituality or religion (自由宗教 jiyū shūkyō), Imaoka Shin’ichirō-sensei (1881-1988). Imaoka-sensei personally knew and studied with the founder of Seiza meditation, Okada Torajiro-sensei (1872-1920), and he continued to practise Seiza meditation for the remainder of his life. Indeed, as he often said, it was his own primary religious/spiritual practice.

Anyway, we both thought it would be a good thing to record the teaching sections of the session and put them up on YouTube to give as many people as possible the opportunity to benefit from them. That’s now been done and so, at the end of this page, you’ll find an embedded video. However, before you get to that, here are a few other Seiza-related links you might find helpful. 

The first few links are to various PDF documents about Seiza by Miki Nakura-sensei and also to American and British formats of a new translation of Kobayashi Nobuko-sensei’s booklet called “Seiza — Quiet-sitting for Beginners”: 

Miki and me in the Cambridge Unitarian Church, Sept. 2023
 

Additionally, here are three links to three important pieces by the influential Seiza practitioner, Yanagida Seijiro [柳⽥誠⼆郎]:

 “Seiza is a lifelong practice,” from the book,  “The Heart of Okada Style Seiza” [岡⽥式 静坐のここ ろ]

“A Recommendation of Okada-style Seiza” [岡田式静坐のすすめ]

“The Life Found Through Seiza [静坐] (1983): An interview with Yanagida Seijirō [柳田誠二郎]” 

And now, as promised above, here’s a short video of Miki Nakura-sensei teaching the basics of Seiza Meditation (both the traditional posture and using a chair) in the Cambridge Unitarian Church:

 
And here is another video by Miki Nakura-sensei specifically about practising Seiza on a chair:
 

Miki Nakura holds weekly Seiza sessions on ZOOM (link below) every month, mostly Tuesdays, from Noon to 1 PM (New York Time) and Saturdays, from 8 AM to 9 AM (New York Time), but to check the current schedule, please contact him at:

Passcode: 552956

These are free virtual live sessions which anyone in the world can join.
 
Imaoka-sensei (on right) practising Seiza in 1985 before a Tokyo Kiitsu Kyōkai meeting


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