Happy Science North America

A Universal Religion for Today and for Future Generations

Happy Science is a global religion that aims to teach the truth about life, the world, and ourselves to inspire and give guidance in the 21st century and onwards. The founder, Master Ryuho Okawa, teaches the global and universal Truth of El Cantare, whose mission is to create harmony and prosperity for all people. The Principles of Happiness taught at Happy Science transcend nations, cultures and religions and are the key to resolving religious conflicts worldwide.

Learn more about our Teachings

Our Mission

Happy Science aims to empower individuals to discover happiness for themselves and to spread it to their families, communities, countries, and the world. The grand mission of Happy Science is to create utopia - a world filled with love, peace, harmony and prosperity.

"I predict that the society of the future will base its learning and scientific advances on a philosophy that affirms the existence of the spirit world and reincarnation. What we need now is a religion that will make this possible and I am convinced that Happy Science is the only religion that can take on this weighty responsibility."
(From the book: The Laws of Prosperity)

Science of Happiness

Universal happiness without the happiness of each individual is not possible, nor is personal happiness independent of the well-being of the whole. Each of us needs to first look within and take responsibility for our own happiness or unhappiness, the result of our thoughts and actions. We do this by learning and practicing the teachings of love, wisdom, self-reflection and progress and with the same Principles of Happiness, we work to spread happiness to others.

These teachings embrace the core teachings of the world's philosophies and religions yet transcend religion's traditional boundaries to provide direction for the development of modern science, politics and management - a direction that keeps both progress and harmony in balance.

Founded in 1986

Happy Science ("Kofuku-no-Kagaku") was established in Japan in October 6th, 1986 by Ryuho Okawa who attained Great Enlightenment on March 23rd 1981. He began by publishing his findings on the principles of the mind and the truth of the Spirit World, which generated a following, culminating to an assembly of 50,000 people at Tokyo Dome on July 15th, 1991. Since that day, what Master Okawa described as "the graduate school of life" became a missionary movement to spread these teachings of happiness and salvation all over the world. Today, there are members in over 90 countries and the number only continues to grow.

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Who is Ryuho Okawa?

Ryuho Okawa, founder of Happy Science, is a living Buddha of the 21st century and a World Teacher of True Happiness. In the tradition of Shakyamuni Buddha, Jesus Christ, Confucius, and Moses, Okawa teaches the Truth and the principles that bring people true happiness and open the path to a new and better era. His teachings incorporate all truths discovered by enlightened humans that have become shining beacons of light throughout human history and creates new guiding principles necessary for contemporary society to live in peace, harmony and prosperity.

On March 23rd, 1981, Okawa started communicating with the Spirit World and attained Great Enlightenment. He awakened to the fact that he is the rebirth of Shakyamuni Buddha and the core consciousness of El Cantare - the supreme God of the Earth. In 1986, Okawa renounced professional pursuits and devoted his life to spreading the Truth. He established "Happy Science" (in Japanese "Kofuku-no-Kagaku"), which was registered as a religious organization in 1991 . Since then, Okawa has been guiding countless people to happiness, publishing over 2,200 books, giving over 2,500 public lectures, creating numerous seminars and producing full-featured movies based on his teachings.

Ryuho Okawa's personal history

Welcoming you all to our universal teachings of Truth

At Happy Science, we learn the universal Truth about ourselves, of life, the world and the universe to discover the infinite paths to happiness. No matter where you come from or what religion you may belong to, be it Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Jewish, Hinduism or others, Happy Science welcomes you to join us and study these teachings together. With over 2,200 books and counting, it is a fountain of wisdom revealing the workings of the mind and the universe, unveiling the method to achieve great harmony between private and public happiness.

In a nutshell

One of the most important Truths about life is that Divinity exists. Furthermore, Heaven - the Spirit World - also exists, and our 'real self' is an existence that continues even after death - that people's souls are blessed with eternal life. During our life in this world, the happiness we seek must be one that bridges from this phenomenal world to the next, which is the Real World and an inevitable destination for us all.

Who am I?

Although our physical life in this world is limited, our 'real self' - the soul - is a unique but eternal existence incarnating many times between Heaven and Earth. You are a child of God or Buddha, hence, like a diamond in the rough, the more you refine and polish yourself, the more your soul will shine.

What is happiness?

The happiness that we should all seek is a harmony of personal and public happiness and one that is a balance between quiet happiness, which emphasizes contentment, and active happiness, which represents progress and development. It is every person's responsibility to develop a 'Right Mind' - a mind that is attuned to Heaven. By changing our thoughts, we can change our actions and bring real change to the world we live in now.

The purpose of life

This material world that we all live in is a temporary but valuable place for us to polish and refine our soul. Life is a workbook in which the struggles and hardships we face are whetstones to deepen our wisdom and capacity to love. We are given the freedom to realize ourselves in any direction, but God or Buddha wills us to grow towards Him.

Why study Truth

A soul is a spirit that is conscious of itself as a human being, so it is just natural that acquiring new spiritual knowledge brings a person intrinsic joy and happiness. Knowing the Truth and leading life according to it, helps us to overcome all setbacks, misfortunes; live happy and productive lives on earth and successfully return to our real home - the Spirit World.

The Principles of Happiness

The Fourfold Path, known as "The Principles of Happiness" is the unique teaching of Happy Science. It is a set of guideposts in exploration of the Right Mind and achieving true happiness - the kind of happiness which extends from this material world to the next one - the Spirit World. The Principles of Happiness are the four methods of freeing ourselves from worldly worries and distress, and, at the same time, a modern path to enlightenment accessible to each and every person.

Love

The Principle of Love teaches people to love others. Whilst this teaching of love is connected to the Christian idea of "love thy neighbor," it is also an equivalent of the philosophy of compassion that runs through the heart of Buddhism.

Wisdom

The Principal of Wisdom focuses on the importance of studying the Truth - the teaching which provides us an opportunity to know the mind of God (Buddha) and grasp the true meaning of life.

Self-reflection

The Principal of Self-Reflection emphasizes the importance of correcting wrong thoughts and returning our mind to a clean state - a state where we can discover our Buddha-nature.

Progress

The Principle of Progress focuses on success or happiness through positive action and development. Progress is the attitude to develop one-self to attain not only prosperity, but also happiness that spreads to others.

Experience it

Happy Science is a universal religion that unites everyone; therefore, we welcome all who wish to improve themselves through the exploration of the Right Mind and daily practice of The Fourfold Path of Love, Wisdom, Self-reflection and Progress. Through self-refinement, members learn to enact positive change in their lives. Imbued with a sense of purpose our members gain confidence to pursue roles that positively affect society.

Contact your local branch to learn more

Membership

For your convenience, we offer two options:

Register online to receive the Dharma of the Right Mind (digital format) and membership related communications - ($10 donation).
Visit a branch to consult with a minister and receive the Dharma of the Right Mind prayer book. This option is recommended for those seeking to become Devotees.

Become a member

Happiness Planting

There are many expressions of offerings in Happy Science, such as offering time, experience or skills. As a non-profit organization, we rely solely on contributions from members (and friends) to fund activities and support our ministers. It is not the quantity that matters, but the quality and attitude of the offering, so we encourage all who appreciate our teachings to consider a showing of gratitude in the form of regular offerings.

Plant happiness today!

Membership

For your convenience, we offer two options:

Register online to receive the Dharma of the Right Mind (digital format) and membership related communications - ($10 donation).
Visit a branch to consult with a minister and receive the Dharma of the Right Mind prayer book. This option is recommended for those seeking to become Devotees.

Become a member

Happiness Planting

Plant happiness today!

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National Directory

The following are contacts for Happy Science local Temples in North America. For a listing of worldwide contacts, please visit our international directory.

New York

79 Franklin Street

New York, NY

USA