, is a Japanese (new religious movement) founded in 1924 by Tokuharu Miki ( 御木徳一; 1871–1938), who was a priest in the

Ōbaku Ōbaku Zen or the Ōbaku school () is one of three main schools of Japanese Zen Buddhism, in addition to the Sōtō and Rinzai schools. The school was founded in Japan by the Chinese monk Ingen Ryūki, who immigrated to Japan during the Manch ...

sect of

Zen Buddhism Zen (; from Chinese: '' Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka ph ...

. The stated aim of the Church of Perfect Liberty is to bring about

world peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...

. It is headquartered in

Tondabayashi is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 108,803, in 51,632 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Tondabayashi is located in the sou ...

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

, Japan.

Teachings

PL teaches that "Life is

Art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

" and that humans are born to express their own unique individuality in everything they do, "creating true art". To assist them in improving their lives and overcoming hardships,

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

members are taught why they have these problems and are guided in solving them by the Patriarch (known as , 'teacher-parent') and church ministers. In PL Kyodan, God is referred to as () or (), both of which are different readings of the same characters ().

Precepts

PL does not have a

holy book Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

, but it has which were announced by Tokuchika Miki on September 29, 1947. They became the basic teachings of the Church. The 21 PL precepts are: # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Other texts used by PL Kyodan include ''PL Gaido Bukku'' (PLガイドブック) L Guidebookand ''PL kyōten'' (PL経典) L Prayer Book

Membership

The church claims to have more than one million followers worldwide and 500 churches located in ten countries. Most of the parishes are located in Japan, but due to the active missionary work in the 1960s PL was established in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and the United States as well. In the 21st century it also has a presence in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

n headquarters was founded in the 1990s in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. Small communities exist in Europe as well, especially in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. 1970 saw the construction of the '' PL Peace Tower'', a monument to all the people who have died in war, from the beginning of time.

Organization

PL's spiritual leader, the Patriarch, is called ('Father of the Teachings'). The third and current Patriarch of the church is Takahito Miki ( 御木貴日止). Miki is also the vice president of , the Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan. The second Patriarch, Tokuchika Miki, visited the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

three times, and met two

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

s to improve inter-religious cooperation.

Activities

Every year on August 1, the PL Art of Fireworks is held to commemorate the two founders of PL Kyodan.

References

External links

PL Kyodan International: official website
* {{Authority control Religious organizations based in Japan Japanese new religions Religious organizations established in 1924 1924 establishments in Japan Organizations based in Osaka Prefecture Tondabayashi, Osaka