I was recently writing on a Facebook page for Tenrikyo followers. After writing a few articles, I was told to stop writing negative articles, which reflected my interpretation of the teachings. Let me tell you my side of the story, In the Ofudesaki (Tip of the Writing Brush), there are a few verses (chapter 6 and 8) that says that natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes are the result of God’s anger and regret. These verses have always bothered me when reading this sacred book. Are these people the hurricanes effect being punished by God? Being both a scientific and religious person, I proposed that the negative thoughts of the world built up as energy that God releases as natural disasters that effect our climate. I was not blaming the people that were affected by the storms!

I do not know why God causes these natural disasters. But history is full of stories where weather has affected the lives of many people. I do not remember exactly if this is a true story; but there was a country that was saved because an armada of ships was destroyed because of the weather at sea. Let me humor you on one of my thoughts. Could have millions of people have been saved by these severe hurricanes that affected the United States? If the cost and labor of rebuilding from the damages of the storms were not so enormous, would our country have taken military action toward North Korea? Possibly this is another weather event that has saved many people?

I do notice that these people that claim that they are serving God, pick verses from different scriptures that suit their own agenda. They ignore or do not understand the verses that are visibly written in their holy books. There is a saying that “if you are a hammer, you only look for nails”. In our holy book, God tells us to purify our minds to understand God’s teachings. In one of the verses, God tells us not to have a mind like a distorted mirror, because it does not reflect the true image.

I also notice that there are religious leaders that only try to only pick verses from scripture that brings upon a positive reaction to their audience. They make the audience feel good about themselves, but it does not bring upon change in their lives. It is like drugs and alcohol, which only brings temporary satisfaction. We all like to hear good things about ourselves, but sometimes it is the negative comments that help us become a better person. We must realize that there are verses in our sacred books that we may not like to hear; but if we truly believe that they are from God, we must not ignore them.

To the people that manage the Tenrikyo Resource on Facebook, read your most sacred book, the Ofudesaki with a pure mind. May God bless you.