The heinous killings and the senseless massacres in the world remind me of a warning in one of our sacred books, the Ofudesaki (Tip of the Writing Brush).

Step by step whatever happens, this world is God’s body.

Ponder, and realize it. 3-40

All human bodies are things lent by God.

What thoughts are you using them? 3-41

The verse above states that we are part of God’s body? We are like the millions of individual parts or cells that comprise God’s body. When we kill or hurt others, we are hurting God. By looking at the evil in the world today, one may even be able to conclude that God is not well (spirited). In the Ofudesaki, God tells us to be spirited so that God will be spirited. How do we become spirited? We can become spirited by removing evil (greed, arrogance, miserliness, covetousness, and self love) from our minds. When the world becomes spirited, God will become whole and spirited. In the Ofudesaki, God guarantees paradise when this occurs.